THE SEQUOIA 



Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth, each the foremost scholar of 



his day. But naturally a wider and deeper knowledge of bio- 

 logical phenomena was necessary before philosophical biology 

 could have a strong foundation. Hence the philosophy 



gy dates from the awakening of science in the seventeenth 



century. 



From the time that the Big Tree was a mere seedling Up t<> 



the time that it measured fully [3 feet in diameter, there was 



scarcely a single discovery in the field of natural science worthy 

 of record. One event, however, which occurred when the tree 



measured only 12 inches in circumference is of some interest. 

 Silk was one ^\ the treasures obtained from the Far East. Its 



production was carried on solely by the Chinese, who jealously 



•led the silkworms and their eggs. The story is that two 

 m<>nks travelling in China succeeded in smuggling some eggs out 

 i4 the country by concealing them in a hollow cane, and brought 

 them into Europe. In the warm climate of the south the eggs 

 developed into strong healthy worms. From such a humble 



inning arose the extensive silk industry of southern Europe. 



The stagnation of the study of anatomy for more than a 

 thousand years was due to an extravagant admiration of Galen, 

 over-confidence in his writings, and the failure of men to make 



ervations for themselves, or to believe what they saw with 



their own eyes. Vesalius (born in [514) was the first anatomist 



rl independence, and t<> him is due the credit of laying 



nidations of modern anatomy. Vesalius dissected the 



human b< >dy and accurately described what he f< >und. I [e estab- 

 5ch< »• '1 1 >f anat« >mv at Padua, and am« »ng his students was 



her of Harvey, whostartled the world in i6ig 



with hi- of the circulation of the blood. This dis 



which revolutionized the study of phj ivenew 



impetus t<» the study <>f anatomy, met with bitter opposition 

 from the followers of Galen, but Harvey 



himself. 



men t< 1 thinking, and in 



tioi. All forms of lif. studied with all available 



Harvey, from an invi n on the develop! 



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