a history of science-1-第25节

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n　watery　halls；　and　beasts　whose　lair　is　in　the　mountains；　and　birds　borne　on　wings。〃＇17＇　All　this　is　poetry　rather　than　science；　yet　such　imaginings　could　come　only　to　one　who　was　groping　towards　what　we　moderns　should　term　an　evolutionary　conception　of　the　origins　of　organic　life；　and　however　grotesque　some　of　these　expressions　may　appear；　it　must　be　admitted　that　the　morphological　ideas　of　Empedocles；　as　above　quoted；　give　the　Sicilian　philosopher　a　secure　place　among　the　anticipators　of　the　modern　evolutionist。

VII。　GREEK　SCIENCE　IN　THE　EARLY　ATTIC　PERIOD　We　have　travelled　rather　far　in　our　study　of　Greek　science；　and　yet　we　have　not　until　now　come　to　Greece　itself。　And　even　now；　the　men　whose　names　we　are　to　consider　were；　for　the　most　part；　born　in　out…　lying　portions　of　the　empire；　they　differed　from　the　others　we　have　considered　only　in　the　fact　that　they　were　drawn　presently　to　the　capital。　The　change　is　due　to　a　most　interesting　sequence　of　historical　events。　In　the　day　when　Thales　and　his　immediate　successors　taught　in　Miletus；　when　the　great　men　of　the　Italic　school　were　in　their　prime；　there　was　no　single　undisputed　Centre　of　Greek　influence。　The　Greeks　were　a　disorganized　company　of　petty　nations；　welded　together　chiefly　by　unity　of　speech；　but　now；　early　in　the　fifth　century　B。C。；　occurred　that　famous　attack　upon　the　Western　world　by　the　Persians　under　Darius　and　his　son　and　successor　Xerxes。　A　few　months　of　battling　determined　the　fate　of　the　Western　world。　The　Orientals　were　hurled　back；　the　glorious　memories　of　Marathon；　Salamis；　and　Plataea　stimulated　the　patriotism　and　enthusiasm　of　all　children　of　the　Greek　race。　The　Greeks；　for　the　first　time；　occupied　the　centre　of　the　historical　stage；　for　the　brief　interval　of　about　half　a　century　the　different　Grecian　principalities　lived　together　in　relative　harmony。　One　city　was　recognized　as　the　metropolis　of　the　loosely　bound　empire；　one　city　became　the　home　of　culture　and　the　Mecca　towards　which　all　eyes　turned；　that　city；　of　course；　was　Athens。　For　a　brief　time　all　roads　led　to　Athens；　as；　at　a　later　date；　they　all　led　to　Rome。　The　waterways　which　alone　bound　the　widely　scattered　parts　of　Hellas　into　a　united　whole　led　out　from　Athens　and　back　to　Athens；　as　the　spokes　of　a　wheel　to　its　hub。　Athens　was　the　commercial　centre；　and；　largely　for　that　reason；　it　became　the　centre　of　culture　and　intellectual　influence　also。　The　wise　men　from　the　colonies　visited　the　metropolis；　and　the　wise　Athenians　went　out　to　the　colonies。　Whoever　aspired　to　become　a　leader　in　politics；　in　art；　in　literature；　or　in　philosophy；　made　his　way　to　the　capital；　and　so；　with　almost　bewildering　suddenness；　there　blossomed　the　civilization　of　the　age　of　Pericles；　the　civilization　which　produced　aeschylus；　Sophocles；　Euripides；　Herodotus；　and　Thucydides；　the　civilization　which　made　possible　the　building　of　the　Parthenon。

ANAXAGORAS　Sometime　during　the　early　part　of　this　golden　age　there　came　to　Athens　a　middle…aged　man　from　Clazomenae；　who；　from　our　present　stand…point；　was　a　more　interesting　personality　than　perhaps　any　other　in　the　great　galaxy　of　remarkable　men　assembled　there。　The　name　of　this　new…comer　was　Anaxagoras。　It　was　said　in　after…time；　we　know　not　with　what　degree　of　truth；　that　he　had　been　a　pupil　of　Anaximenes。　If　so；　he　was　a　pupil　who　departed　far　from　the　teachings　of　his　master。　What　we　know　for　certain　is　that　Anaxagoras　was　a　truly　original　thinker；　and　that　he　became　a　close　friendin　a　sense　the　teacherof　Pericles　and　of　Euripides。　Just　how　long　he　remained　at　Athens　is　not　certain；　but　the　time　came　when　he　had　made　himself　in　some　way　objectionable　to　the　Athenian　populace　through　his　teachings。　Filled　with　the　spirit　of　the　investigator；　he　could　not　accept　the　current　conceptions　as　to　the　gods。　He　was　a　sceptic；　an　innovator。　Such　men　are　never　welcome；　they　are　the　chief　factors　in　the　progress　of　thought；　but　they　must　look　always　to　posterity　for　recognition　of　their　worth；　from　their　contemporaries　they　receive；　not　thanks；　but　persecution。　Sometimes　this　persecution　takes　one　form；　sometimes　another；　to　the　credit　of　the　Greeks　be　it　said；　that　with　them　it　usually　led　to　nothing　more　severe　than　banishment。　In　the　case　of　Anaxagoras；　it　is　alleged　that　the　sentence　pronounced　was　death；　but　that；　thanks　to　the　influence　of　Pericles；　this　sentence　was　commuted　to　banishment。　In　any　event；　the　aged　philosopher　was　sent　away　from　the　city　of　his　adoption。　He　retired　to　Lampsacus。　〃It　is　not　I　that　have　lost　the　Athenians；〃　he　said；　〃it　is　the　Athenians　that　have　lost　me。〃　The　exact　position　which　Anaxagoras　had　among　his　contemporaries；　and　his　exact　place　in　the　development　of　philosophy；　have　always　been　somewhat　in　dispute。　It　is　not　known；　of　a　certainty；　that　he　even　held　an　open　school　at　Athens。　Ritter　thinks　it　doubtful　that　he　did。　It　was　his　fate　to　be　misunderstood；　or　underestimated；　by　Aristotle；　that　in　itself　would　have　sufficed　greatly　to　dim　his　famemight；　indeed；　have　led　to　his　almost　entire　neglect　had　he　not　been　a　truly　remarkable　thinker。　With　most　of　the　questions　that　have　exercised　the　commentators　we　have　but　scant　concern。　Following　Aristotle；　most　historians　of　philosophy　have　been　metaphysicians；　they　have　concerned　themselves　far　less　with　what　the　ancient　thinkers　really　knew　than　with　what　they　thought。　A　chance　using　of　a　verbal　quibble；　an　esoteric　phrase；　the　expression　of　a　vague　mysticismthese　would　suffice　to　call　forth　reams　of　exposition。　It　has　been　the　favorite　pastime　of　historians　to　weave　their　own　anachronistic　theories　upon　the　scanty　woof　of　the　half…　remembered　thoughts　of　the　ancient　philosophers。　To　make　such　cloth　of　the　imagination　as　this　is　an　alluring　pastime；　but　one　that　must　not　divert　us　here。　Our　point　of　view　reverses　that　of　the　philosophers。　We　are　chiefly　concerned；　not　with　some　vague　saying　of　Anaxagoras；　but　with　what　he　really　knew　regarding　the　phenomena　of　nature；　with　what　he　observed；　and　with　the　comprehensible　deductions　that　he　derived　from　his　observations。　In　attempting　to　answer　these　inquiries；　we　are　obliged；　in　part；　to　take　our　evidence　at　second…hand；　but；　fortunately；　some　fragments　of　writings　of　Anaxagoras　have　come　down　to　us。　We　are　told　that　he　wrote　only　a　single　book。　It　was　said　even　（by　Diogenes）　that　he　was　the　first　man　that　ever　wrote　a　work　in　prose。　The　latter　statement　would　not　bear　too　close　an　examination；　yet　it　is　true　that　no　extensive　prose　compositions　of　an　earlier　day　than　this　have　been　preserved；　though　numerous　others　are　known　by　their　fragments。　Herodotus；　〃the　father　of　prose；〃　was　a　slightly　younger　contemporary　of　the　Clazomenaean　philosopher；　not　unlikely　the　two　men　may　have　met　at　Athens。　Notwithstanding　the　loss　of　the　greater　part　of　the　writings　of　Anaxagoras；　however；　a　tolerably　precise　account　of　his　scientific　doctrines　is　accessible。　Diogenes　Laertius　expresses　some　of　them　in　very　clear　and　precise　terms。　We　have　already　pointed　out　the　uncertainty　that　attaches　to　such　evidence　as　this；　but　it　is　as　valid　for　Anaxagoras　as　for　another。　If　we　reject　such　evidence；　we　shall　often　have　almost　nothing　left；　in　accepting　it　we　may　at　least　feel　certain　that　we　are　viewing　the　thinker　as　his　contemporaries　and　immediate　successors　viewed　him。　Following　Diogenes；　then；　we　shall　find　some　remarkable　scientific　opinions　ascribed　to　Anaxagoras。　〃He　asserted；〃　we　are　told；　〃that　the　sun　was　a　mass　of　burning　iron；　greater　than　Peloponnesus；　and　that　the　moon　contained　houses　and　also　hills　and　ravines。〃　In　corroboration　of　this；　Plato　represents　him　as　having　conjectured　the　right　explanation　of　the　moon's　light；　and　of　the　solar　and　lunar　eclipses。　He　had　other　astronomical　theories　that　were　more　fanciful；　thus　〃he　said　that　the　stars　originally　moved　about　in　irregular　confusion；　so　that　at　first　the　pole…star；　which　is　continually　visible；　always　appeared　in　the　zenith；　but　that　afterwards　it　acquired　a　certain　declination；　and　that　the　Milky　Way　was　a　reflection　of　the　light　of　the　sun　when　the　stars　did　not　appear。　The　comets　he　considered　to　be　a　concourse　of　planets　emitting　rays；　and　the　shooting…　stars　he　thought　were　sparks；　as　it　were；　leaping　from　the　firmament。〃　Much　of　this　is　far　enough　from　the　truth；　as　we　now　know　it；　yet　all　of　it　shows　an　earnest　endeavor　to　explain　the　observed　phenomena　of　the　heavens　on　rational　principles。　To　have　predicated　the　sun　as　a　great　molten　mass　of　iron　was　indeed　a　wonderful　anticipation　of　the　results　of　the　modern　spectroscope。　Nor　can　it　be　said　that　this　hypothesis　of　Anaxagoras　was　a　purely　visionary　guess。　It　was　in　all　probability　a　scientific　deduction　from　the　observed　character　of　meteoric　stones。　Reference　has　already　been　made　to　the　alleged　prediction　of　the　fall　of　the　famous　meteor　at　aegespotomi　by　Anaxagoras。　The　assertion　that　he　actually　predicted　this　fall　in　any　proper　sense　of　the　word　would　be　obviously　absurd。　Yet　the　fact　that　his　name　is　associated　with　it　suggests　that　he　had　studied　similar　meteorites；　or　else　that　he　studied　this　particular　one；　since　it　is　not　quite　clear　whether　it　was　before　or　after　this　fall　that　he　made　the　famous　assertion　that　space　is　full　of