a history of science-1-第29章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


dea　of　the　problems　of　generation　and　heredity　is　shown；　together　with　a　distinct　disavowal　of　the　doctrine　of　spontaneous　generation　a　doctrine　which；　it　may　be　added；　remained　in　vogue；　nevertheless；　for　some　twenty…four　hundred　years　after　the　time　of　Pythagoras。　（6）　A　remarkable　analysis　of　mind　is　made；　and　a　distinction　between　animal　minds　and　the　human　mind　is　based　on　this　analysis。　The　physiological　doctrine　that　the　heart　is　the　organ　of　one　department　of　mind　is　offset　by　the　clear　statement　that　the　remaining　factors　of　mind　reside　in　the　brain。　This　early　recognition　of　brain　as　the　organ　of　mind　must　not　be　forgotten　in　our　later　studies。　It　should　be　recalled；　however；　that　a　Crotonian　physician；　Alemaean；　a　younger　contemporary　of　Pythagoras；　is　also　credited　with　the　same　theory。　（7）　A　knowledge　of　anatomy　is　at　least　vaguely　foreshadowed　in　the　assertion　that　veins；　arteries；　and　nerves　are　the　links　of　the　soul。　In　this　connection　it　should　be　recalled　that　Pythagoras　was　a　practical　physician。　As　against　these　scientific　doctrines；　however；　some　of　them　being　at　least　remarkable　guesses　at　the　truth；　attention　must　be　called　to　the　concluding　paragraph　of　our　quotation；　in　which　the　old　familiar　daemonology　is　outlined；　quite　after　the　Oriental　fashion。　We　shall　have　occasion　to　say　more　as　to　this　phase　of　the　subject　later　on。　Meantime；　before　leaving　Pythagoras；　let　us　note　that　his　practical　studies　of　humanity　led　him　to　assert　the　doctrine　that　〃the　property　of　friends　is　common；　and　that　friendship　is　equality。〃　His　disciples；　we　are　told；　used　to　put　all　their　possessions　together　in　one　store　and　use　them　in　common。　Here；　then；　seemingly；　is　the　doctrine　of　communism　put　to　the　test　of　experiment　at　this　early　day。　If　it　seem　that　reference　to　this　carries　us　beyond　the　bounds　of　science；　it　may　be　replied　that　questions　such　as　this　will　not　lie　beyond　the　bounds　of　the　science　of　the　near　future。

XENOPHANES　AND　PARMENIDES　There　is　a　whimsical　tale　about　Pythagoras；　according　to　which　the　philosopher　was　wont　to　declare　that　in　an　earlier　state　he　had　visited　Hades；　and　had　there　seen　Homer　and　Hesiod　tortured　because　of　the　absurd　things　they　had　said　about　the　gods。　Apocrypbal　or　otherwise；　the　tale　suggests　that　Pythagoras　was　an　agnostic　as　regards　the　current　Greek　religion　of　his　time。　The　same　thing　is　perhaps　true　of　most　of　the　great　thinkers　of　this　earliest　period。　But　one　among　them　was　remembered　in　later　times　as　having　had　a　peculiar　aversion　to　the　anthropomorphic　conceptions　of　his　fellows。　This　was　Xenophanes；　who　was　born　at　Colophon　probably　about　the　year　580　B。C。；　and　who；　after　a　life　of　wandering；　settled　finally　in　Italy　and　became　the　founder　of　the　so…called　Eleatic　School。　A　few　fragments　of　the　philosophical　poem　in　which　Xenophanes　expressed　his　views　have　come　down　to　us；　and　these　fragments　include　a　tolerably　definite　avowal　of　his　faith。　〃God　is　one　supreme　among　gods　and　men；　and　not　like　mortals　in　body　or　in　mind；〃　says　Xenophanes。　Again　he　asserts　that　〃mortals　suppose　that　the　gods　are　born　（as　they　themselves　are）；　that　they　wear　man's　clothing　and　have　human　voice　and　body；　but；〃　he　continues；　〃if　cattle　or　lions　had　hands　so　as　to　paint　with　their　hands　and　produce　works　of　art　as　men　do；　they　would　paint　their　gods　and　give　them　bodies　in　form　like　their　ownhorses　like　horses；　cattle　like　cattle。〃　Elsewhere　he　says；　with　great　acumen：　〃There　has　not　been　a　man；　nor　will　there　be；　who　knows　distinctly　what　I　say　about　the　gods　or　in　regard　to　all　things。　For　even　if　one　chance　for　the　most　part　to　say　what　is　true；　still　he　would　not　know；　but　every　one　thinks　that　he　knows。〃＇6＇　In　the　same　spirit　Xenophanes　speaks　of　the　battles　of　Titans；　of　giants；　and　of　centaurs　as　〃fictions　of　former　ages。〃　All　this　tells　of　the　questioning　spirit　which　distinguishes　the　scientific　investigator。　Precisely　whither　this　spirit　led　him　we　do　not　know；　but　the　writers　of　a　later　time　have　preserved　a　tradition　regarding　a　belief　of　Xenophanes　that　perhaps　entitles　him　to　be　considered　the　father　of　geology。　Thus　Hippolytus　records　that　Xenophanes　studied　the　fossils　to　be　found　in　quarries；　and　drew　from　their　observation　remarkable　conclusions。　His　words　are　as　follows：　〃Xenophanes　believes　that　once　the　earth　was　mingled　with　the　sea；　but　in　the　course　of　time　it　became　freed　from　moisture；　and　his　proofs　are　such　as　these：　that　shells　are　found　in　the　midst　of　the　land　and　among　the　mountains；　that　in　the　quarries　of　Syracuse　the　imprints　of　a　fish　and　of　seals　had　been　found；　and　in　Paros　the　imprint　of　an　anchovy　at　some　depth　in　the　stone；　and　in　Melite　shallow　impressions　of　all　sorts　of　sea　products。　He　says　that　these　imprints　were　made　when　everything　long　ago　was　covered　with　mud；　and　then　the　imprint　dried　in　the　mud。　Further；　he　says　that　all　men　will　be　destroyed　when　the　earth　sinks　into　the　sea　and　becomes　mud；　and　that　the　race　will　begin　anew　from　the　beginning；　and　this　transformation　takes　place　for　all　worlds。〃＇7＇　Here；　then；　we　see　this　earliest　of　paleontologists　studying　the　fossil…bearing　strata　of　the　earth；　and　drawing　from　his　observations　a　marvellously　scientific　induction。　Almost　two　thousand　years　later　another　famous　citizen　of　Italy；　Leonardo　da　Vinci；　was　independently　to　think　out　similar　conclusions　from　like　observations。　But　not　until　the　nineteenth　century　of　our　era；　some　twenty…four　hundred　years　after　the　time　of　Xenophanes；　was　the　old　Greek's　doctrine　to　be　accepted　by　the　scientific　world。　The　ideas　of　Xenophanes　were　known　to　his　contemporaries　and；　as　we　see；　quoted　for　a　few　centuries　by　his　successors；　then　they　were　ignored　or　quite　forgotten；　and　if　any　philosopher　of　an　ensuing　age　before　the　time　of　Leonardo　championed　a　like　rational　explanation　of　the　fossils；　we　have　no　record　of　the　fact。　The　geological　doctrine　of　Xenophanes；　then；　must　be　listed　among　those　remarkable　Greek　anticipations　of　nineteenth　…century　science　which　suffered　almost　total　eclipse　in　the　intervening　centuries。　Among　the　pupils　of　Xenophanes　was　Parmenides；　the　thinker　who　was　destined　to　carry　on　the　work　of　his　master　along　the　same　scientific　lines；　though　at　the　same　time　mingling　his　scientific　conceptions　with　the　mysticism　of　the　poet。　We　have　already　had　occasion　to　mention　that　Parmenides　championed　the　idea　that　the　earth　is　round；　noting　also　that　doubts　exist　as　to　whether　he　or　Pythagoras　originated　this　doctrine。　No　explicit　answer　to　this　question　can　possibly　be　hoped　for。　It　seems　clear；　however；　that　for　a　long　time　the　Italic　School；　to　which　both　these　philosophers　belonged；　had　a　monopoly　of　the　belief　in　question。　Parmenides；　like　Pythagoras；　is　credited　with　having　believed　in　the　motion　of　the　earth；　though　the　evidence　furnished　by　the　writings　of　the　philosopher　himself　is　not　as　demonstrative　as　one　could　wish。　Unfortunately；　the　copyists　of　a　later　age　were　more　concerned　with　metaphysical　speculations　than　with　more　tangible　things。　But　as　far　as　the　fragmentary　references　to　the　ideas　of　Parmenides　may　be　accepted；　they　do　not　support　the　idea　of　the　earth's　motion。　Indeed；　Parmenides　is　made　to　say　explicitly；