LIFE OF STENO 185 



trouble he began to long for the peace and friendships of Italy.i and 

 was preparing to return when the missionary post at Schwerin was 

 offered to him. He accepted it in 1685 as a call to further service. 

 But the change meant only increased fasting and abject poverty, 

 to which he succumbed November 26, 1686. At the request of 

 Cosimo III Steno's body was taken to Florence and laid in the famous 

 San Lorenzo. 



The physical change which Steno's self-denial entailed is strikingly 

 shown in his portrait as Vicar of Schwerin. The original, by an un- 

 known artist, is still in Schwerin. Until recently it was his only 

 known portrait. An excellent copy, reproduced in our Plate VI, 

 is in possession of the Anatomical Institute of the University of 

 Copenhagen. 



On the walls of the cloister of San Lorenzo there is to-day a 

 medallion portrait of Steno, surrounded by a marble wreath, with 

 the following inscription, in black letters, beneath it : 



NICOLAI • STENONIS ■ IMAGINEM • VIDES ■ HOSPES 



QVAM • AERE • COLLATO • DOCTI • AMPLIVS • MILLE 



EX • UNIVERSO • TERRARUM • ORBE ■ INSCULPENDAM 



CURARUNT • IN • MEMORIAM • EJUS • DIEI • IV ■ CAL • OC- 



TOBR • AN • M • D ■ CCC ■ LXXXI • QUO • GEOLOGI • POST • CON 



VENTUM • BONONIAE ■ HABITUM • PRAESIDE ■ JOANNE 



CAPELLINIO • EQUITE ■ HUG • PEREGRINATI • SUNT • AT- 



QUE • ADSTANTIBUS • LEGATIS • FLOR • MUNICIPII • ET 



R • INSTITUTI • ALTIORUM • DOCTRINARUM • CINERES 



I 

 VIRI ■ INTER • GEOLOGOS • ET ■ ANATOMICOS • PRAE- 



STANTISSIMI • IN ■ HUJUS • TEMPLI • HYPOGEO ■ LAUREA 



CORONA • HONORIS • GRATIQUE • ANIMI ■ ERGO • HONE- 



STAVERUNT 



The medallion portrait is by Vincenzo Consani. Plenkers (Niels 

 Stensen, p. 88) quotes the inscription, but does not divide it properly 

 into lines. My own transcript was made in Florence June 20, 19 11. 

 The Latinity of the inscription is open to criticism ; altiorum in 

 line 9 should be altiarum, and the hyphens at the ends of lines 4, 

 7, 10, 12 are not in accordance with ancient usage. I add a trans- 

 lation : 



1 Indicated in the letters to Madame Arnolfini (Plenkers, Niels Stensen, p. 178). 



