LIFE OF STENO i8i 



after he had finally declared his conversion before the Nuntius also, 

 he received a letter from his King, which he called an invitation, 

 with the command to return as soon as possible. An annual pen- 

 sion of four hundred scudi was promised him from the day of his 

 departure. There are no further stipulations, and he can expect an 

 increase of this amount. Still, he is unwilling to begin the journey 

 until he has learned whether His Majesty will support him in this 

 way in spite of his change of belief. Inasmuch as we cannot hope 

 that this will be the case, we have the prospect of keeping him 

 with us.' ^ 



According to BlondeP Steno wrote to Frederik III informing him 

 of his change of belief. While these negotiations were in progress 

 Steno composed his Prodromus^ (1668). The original plan of writ- 

 ing the treatise in Italian was given up in favor of Latin, and when 

 the remarkable essay appeared it was under the title Nicolai Stenonis 

 De Solido Intra Solidum Naturaliter Contento Dissertationis Pro- 

 dromus. It was printed at Florence, in 1669, with the full sanction' 

 of the papal authorities, among whom were his influential friends, 

 Redi and Viviani. 



The Prodromus was intended as a preliminary statement of prin- 

 ciples which the author expected to elaborate more fully in a later, 

 comprehensive work, which is referred to throughout as the Disserta- 

 tion. The larger work, however, never appeared, probably because 



' Quoted by Plenkers, Niels Stensen, p. 51. This order of Frederik III, dated 19 October, 

 1667, is still preserved in Copenhagen. Compare op. cit., note i. 



'^ Les Vies des saints pour chaquejour de Vannie, Paris, 1722, p. 738. 



^The use of the word Prodromus to designate a treatise preliminary to a larger work is not 

 found in classical Latin. The New Oxford Dictionary amply illustrates its occurrence in 

 English, but the examples are from works subsequent to Steno's time. Francis Bacon (1561- 

 1626) employs the word in the Tnstauratio Magna, Prodromi sive Anticipationes Philosophiae 

 Secundae (edition of Spedding, Ellis, and Heath, Vol. V, p. 182). Larousse, s.v. Prodrome, 

 not only gives the best definition of the word as used by Steno, but also cites an excellent 

 example of a writer whose accomplishment, like Steno's, fell short of his original expectation : 



" Ce mot a €x.€ employ^ pour designer une preface, une introduction, un discourse prdlimi- 

 naire ; mais, dans sa signification la plus g^ndralement accept^e, il est le titre meme d'un 

 ouvrage destine a preparer d'autres Merits dont il donne I'id^e et auxquels il prepare le lecture. 

 II a €i€ fait des livres de ce genre sur les matiferes thdologiques et philosophiques. II en 

 existe aussi qui sont relatifs aux sciences exactes et naturelles. L'un des plus remarquables 

 est celui que Candolle a public sous ce titre : Prodrome du syst^me du regne v^gdtal (Paris, 

 1824 et suiv. in 8™). Ce c^l&bre botaniste avait d'abord coni;u le plan d'un ouvrage extreme- 

 ment vaste, qu'il intitula : Syst^me naturel du r^gne v^g^tal, et dont il fit paraitre deux volumes 

 (1818-1821, in 8™) ; mais, comprenant que la vie d'un homme ne se suffirait pas k remplir ce 

 plan, il y renonfa et fit son Prodrome, recueil ddjk fort vaste, presentant le repertoire des 

 ordres, des genres, des espfeces du rfegne v^g^tal, et qu'il ne put terminer." 



