VIII 



STEPHEN HALES 1 



1677 — 1761 



In attempting to give a picture of any man's 

 life and work it is well to follow the rule of the 

 Dictionary of National Biography, and begin with 

 the dates of his birth and death. Stephen Hales 

 was born in 1677 and died in 1761, having had 

 experiences of the reigns of seven sovereigns. 



The authorities for his life are given in my 

 article on Hales in the Dictionary of National 

 Biography. Botanists in general probably take 

 their knowledge of the main facts of his life from 

 Sachs' History of Botany. It is therefore worth 

 while to point out that both the original and the 

 English translation (1890) contain the incorrect 

 statement that Hales was educated at Christ's 

 College, Cambridge, and that he held the living of 

 Riddington, whereas he is one of the glories of 

 Corpus, and was perpetual curate of Teddington. 

 These inaccuracies, however, are trifles in relation 

 to the great and striking merits of Sachs* History, 

 a work which, to my thinking, exhibits the strength 

 and brilliance of the author's mind as clearly as any 

 of his more technical writings. Sachs was no 



' Reprinted by permission of the Syndics of the Cambridge 

 University Press from The Makers of British Botany. 



"5 



