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Introduction to the History of Science

<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> <h3>SCIENTIFIC THEORY SUBORDINATED TO APPLICATION—ROME: VITRUVIUS</h3> Vitruvius was a cultured engineer and architect. He was employed in the service of the Roman State at the time of Augustus, shortly before the beginning of the Christian era. He planned basilicas and aqueducts, and designed powerful war-engines capable of hurling rocks weighing three or four hundred pounds. He knew the arts and the sciences, held lofty ideals of professional conduct and dignity, and was a diligent student of Greek philosophy. We know of him chiefly from his ten short books on Architecture (De Architectura, Libri Decem), in which he touches upon much of the learning of his time. Architecture for Vitruvius is a science arising out of many other sciences. Practice and theory are its parents. The merely practical man loses much by not knowing the background of his activities; the mere theorist fails by mistaking the shadow for the substance. Vitruvius in the theoretical and historical parts of his book draws largely on Greek writers; but in the parts bearing on practice he sets forth, with considerable shrewdness, the outcome of years of thoughtful professional experience. One cannot read his pages without feeling that he is more at home in the concrete than in the abstract and speculative, in describing a catapult than in explaining a scientific theory or a philosophy. He[Pg 31] was not a Plato or an Archimedes, but an efficient officer of State, conscious of indebtedness to the great scientists and philosophers. With a just sense of his limitations he undertook to write, not as a literary man, but as an architect. His education had been mainly professional, but, the whole circle of learning being one harmonious system, he had been drawn to many branches of knowledge in so far as they were related to his calling. In the judgment of Vitruvius an architect should be a good writer, able to give a lucid explanation of his plans, a skillful draftsman, versed in geometry and optics, expert at figures, acquainted with history, informed in the principles of physics and of ethics, knowing something of music (tones and acoustics), not ignorant of law, or of hygiene, or of the motions, laws, and relations to each other of the heavenly bodies. For, since architecture "is founded upon and adorned with so many different sciences, I am of opinion that those who have not, from their early youth, gradually climbed up to the summit, cannot without presumption, call themselves masters of it." Vitruvius was far from sharing the view of Archimedes that art which was connected with the satisfaction of daily needs was necessarily ignoble and vulgar. On the contrary, his interest centered in the practical; and he was mainly concerned with scientific theory by reason of its application in the arts. Geometry helped him plan a staircase; a knowledge of tones was necessary in discharging catapults; law dealt with boundary-lines, sewage-disposal, and contracts; hygiene enabled the architect to show a Hippocratic wisdom in the choice of building-sites with[Pg 32] due reference to airs and waters. Vitruvius had the Roman practical and regulative genius, not the abstract and speculative genius of Athens. The second book begins with an account of different philosophical views concerning the origin of matter, and a discussion of the earliest dwellings of man. Its real theme, however, is building-material—brick, sand, lime, stone, concrete, marble, stucco, timber, pozzolano. In reference to the last (volcanic ash combined with lime and rubble to form a cement) Vitruvius writes in a way that indicates a discriminating knowledge of geological formations. Likewise his discussion of the influence of the Apennines on the rainfall, and, consequently, on the timber of the firs on the east and west of the range, shows a grasp of meteorological principles. His real power to generalize is shown in connection with his specialty, in his treatment of the sources of building-material, rather than in his consideration of the origin of matter. Similarly the fifth book begins with a discussion of the theories of Pythagoras, but its real topic is public buildings—fora, basilicas, theaters, baths, palæstras, harbors, and quays. In the theaters bronze vases of various sizes, arranged according to Pythagorean musical principles, were to be used in the auditorium to reinforce the voice of the actor. (This recommendation was misunderstood centuries later, when Vitruvius was considered of great authority, and led to the futile practice of placing earthenware jars beneath the floors of church choirs.) According to our author, "The voice arises from flowing breath, sensible to the hearing through its percussion on[Pg 33] the air." It is compared to the wavelets produced by a stone dropped in water, only that in the case of sound the waves are not confined to one plane. This generalization concerning the nature of sound was probably not original, however; it may have been suggested to Vitruvius by one of the Aristotelian writings. The seventh book treats of interior decoration—mosaic floors, gypsum mouldings, wall painting, white lead, red lead, verdigris, mercury (which may be used to recover gold from worn-out pieces of embroidery), encaustic painting with hot wax, colors (black, blue, genuine and imitation murex purple). The eighth book deals with water and with hydraulic engineering, hot springs, mineral waters, leveling instruments, construction of aqueducts, lead and clay piping. Vitruvius was not ignorant of the fact that water seeks its own level, and he even argued that air must have weight in order to account for the rise of water in pumps. In his time it was more economical to convey the hard water by aqueducts than by such pipes as could then be constructed. The ninth book undertakes to rehearse the elements of geometry and astronomy—the signs of the zodiac, the sun, moon, planets, the phases of the moon, the mathematical divisions of the gnomon, the use of the sundial, etc. One feels in reading Vitruvius that his purpose was to turn to practical account what he had gained from the study of the sciences; and, at the same time, one is convinced that his applications tend to react on theoretical knowledge, and lead to new insights through the suggestion of new problems. The tenth book of the so-called De Architectura[Pg 34] is concerned with machinery—windmills, windlasses, axles, pulleys, cranes, pumps, fire-engines, revolving spiral tubes for raising water, wheels for irrigation worked by water-power, wheels to register distance traveled by land or water, scaling-ladders, battering-rams, tortoises, catapults, scorpions, and ballistæ. On the subject of war-engines Vitruvius speaks with special authority, as he had served, probably as military engineer, under Julius Cæsar in 46 B.C., and had been appointed superintendent of ballistæ and other military engines in the time of Augustus. It was to the divine Emperor that his book was dedicated as a protest against the administration of Roman public works. In its pages we see reflected the life of a nation employed in conquering and ruling the world, with a genius more distinguished for practical achievement than for theory and speculation. Its author is truly representative of Roman culture, for nearly everything that Rome had of a scientific and intellectual sort it drew from Greece, and it selected that part of Greek wisdom that ministered to the daily needs of the times. In his work on architecture, Vitruvius shows himself a diligent and devoted student of the sciences in order that he may turn them to account in his own department of technology. If you glance at the study of mathematics, astronomy, and medicine among the Romans prior to the time of Greek influence, you find that next to nothing had been accomplished. Their method of field measurement was far less developed than the ancient Egyptian geometry, and even for it (as well as for their system of numerals) they were indebted to[Pg 35] the Etruscans. The history of astronomy has nothing to record of scientific accomplishment on the part of the Romans. They reckoned time by months, and in the earlier period kept a rude tally of the years by driving nails into a statue of Janus, the ancient sun-god. As we shall see, they were unable to regulate the calendar. Again, so far were they from contributing to the development of medicine that they had no physicians for the six hundred years preceding the coming of Greek science. A medical slave acted as overseer of the family health, and disease was combated in primitive fashion by prayers and offerings to various gods, who were supposed to furnish general health or to influence the functions of the different parts of the body. So rude was the native culture of the Romans that it is doubtful whether they had any schools before the advent of Greek learning. The girls were trained by their mothers, the boys either by their fathers or by some master to whom they were apprenticed. The Greeks were conquered by the Romans in 146 B.C., but before that time Roman life and institutions had been touched by Hellenic culture. Cato the Censor (who died in 149 B.C.) and other conservatives tried in vain to resist the invasion of Greek science, philosophy, and refinement. After the conquest of Greece the master became pupil, and the conqueror was taken captive. The Romans, however, never rose to preëminence in science or the fine arts. A further development in technology corresponded more closely to their national needs, and in this field they came undoubtedly to surpass the Greeks. Bridges, ships, military roads, war-engines,[Pg 36] aqueducts, public buildings, organization of the State and the army, the formulation of legal procedure, the enactment and codification of laws, were necessary to secure and maintain the Empire. The use in building construction of a knowledge of the right-angled triangle as well as other matters known to the Egyptians and Babylonians, and Archimedes' method of determining specific gravity were of peculiar interest to the practical Romans. Julius Cæsar, 102-44 B.C., instituted a reform of the calendar. This was very much needed, as the Romans were eighty-five days out of their reckoning, and the date for the spring equinox, instead of coming at the proper time, was falling in the middle of winter. An Alexandrian astronomer (Sosigenes) assisted in establishing the new (Julian) calendar. The principle followed was based on ancient Egyptian practice. Among the 365 days of the year was to be inserted, or intercalated, every fourth year an extra day. This the Romans did by giving to two days in leap-year the same name; thus the sixth day before the first of March was repeated, and leap-year was known as a bissextile year. Cæsar, trained himself in the Greek learning and known to his contemporaries as a writer on mathematics and astronomy, also planned a survey of the Empire, which was finally carried into execution by Augustus. There is evidence that the need of technically trained men became more and more pressing as the Empire developed. At first there were no special teachers or schools. Later we find mention of teachers of architecture and mechanics. Then the State came to provide classrooms for technical instruction[Pg 37] and to pay the salaries of the teachers. Finally, in the fourth century A.D., further measures were adopted by the State. The Emperor Constantine writes to one of his officials: "We need as many engineers as possible. Since the supply is small, induce to begin this study youths of about eighteen years of age who are already acquainted with the sciences required in a general education. Relieve their parents from the payment of taxes, and furnish the students with ample means." Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.), in the encyclopedic work which he compiled under the title Natural History, drew freely on hundreds of Greek and Latin authors for his facts and fables. In the selection that he made from his sources can be traced, as in the work of Vitruvius and other Latin writers, the tendency to make the sciences subservient to the arts. For example, the one thousand species of plants of which he makes mention are considered from the medicinal or from the economic point of view. It was largely in the interest of their practical uses that the Roman regarded both plants and animals; his chief motive was not a disinterested love of truth. Pliny thought that each plant had its special virtue, and much of his botany is applied botany. So comprehensive a work as the Natural History was sure to contain interesting anticipations of modern science. Pliny held that the earth hovers in the heavens upheld by the air, that its sphericity is proved by the fact that the mast of a ship approaching the land is visible before the hull comes in sight. He also taught that there are inhabitants on the other side of the earth (antipodes), that at the time of the winter[Pg 38] solstice the polar night must last for twenty-four hours, and that the moon plays a part in the production of the tides. Nevertheless, the whole book is permeated by the idea that the purpose of nature is to minister to the needs of man. It further marks the practical spirit among the Romans that a work on agriculture by a Carthaginian (Mago) was translated by order of the Senate. Cato (234-149 B.C.), so characteristically Roman in his genius, wrote (De Re Rustica) concerning grains and the cultivation of fruits. Columella wrote treatises on agriculture and forestry. Among the technical writings of Varro besides the book on agriculture, which is extant, are numbered works on law, mensuration, and naval tactics. It was but natural that at the time of the Roman Empire there should be great advances in medical science. A Roman's interest in a science was keen when it could be proved to have immediate bearing on practical life. The greatest physician of the time, however, was a Greek. Galen (131-201 A.D.), who counted himself a disciple of Hippocrates, began to practice at Rome at the age of thirty-three. He was the only experimental physiologist before the time of Harvey. He studied the vocal apparatus in the larynx, and understood the contraction and relaxation of the muscles, and, to a considerable extent, the motion of the blood through the heart, lungs, and other parts of the body. He was a vivisector, made sections of the brain in order to determine the functions of its parts, and severed the gustatory, optic, and auditory nerves with a similar end in view. His dissections were confined to the lower animals. Yet[Pg 39] his works on human anatomy and physiology were authoritative for the subsequent thirteen centuries. It is difficult to say how much of the work and credit of this practical scientist is to be given to the race from which he sprang and how much to the social environment of his professional career. (In the ruins of Pompeii, destroyed in 79 A.D., have been recovered some two hundred kinds of surgical instrument, and in the later Empire certain departments of surgery developed to a degree not surpassed till the sixteenth century.) If it is too much to say that the Roman environment is responsible for Galen's achievements, we can at least say that it was characteristic of the Roman people to welcome such science as his, capable of demonstrating its utility. Dioscorides was also a Greek who, long resident at Rome, applied his science in practice. He knew six hundred different plants, one hundred more than Theophrastus. The latter laid much stress, as we have seen in the preceding chapter, on the medicinal properties of plants, but in this respect he was outdone by Dioscorides (as well as by Pliny). Theophrastus was the founder of the science of botany, Dioscorides the founder of materia medica. Quintilian, born in Spain, spent the greater part of his life as a teacher of rhetoric in Rome. He valued the sciences, not on their own account, but as they might subserve the purposes of the orator. Music, astronomy, logic, and even theology, might be exploited as aids to public speech. In the time of Quintilian (first century A.D.), as in our own, oratory was considered one of the great factors in a young man's[Pg 40] success; mock debating contests were frequent, and the periods of the future orators reverberated among the seven hills of Rome. To him our schools are also indebted for the method of teaching foreign languages by declensions, conjugations, vocabularies, formal rhetoric and annotations. He considered ethics the most valuable part of philosophy. In fact, it would not be pressing our argument unduly to say that, so far as the minds of the Romans turned to speculation, it was the tendency to practical philosophy—Epicureanism or Stoicism—that was most characteristic. This was true even of Lucretius (98-55 B.C.), author of the noble poem concerning the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura). In this work he writes under the inspiration of Greek philosophy. His model was a poem by Empedocles on Nature, the grand hexameters of which had fascinated the Roman poet. The distinctive feature of the work of Lucretius is the purpose, ethical rather than speculative, to curb the ambition, passion, luxury of those hard pagan times, and likewise to free the souls of his countrymen from the fear of the gods and the fear of death, and to replace superstition by peace of mind and purity of heart. From the work on Physical Science (Quæstionum Naturalium, Libri Septem) of Seneca, the tutor of Nero, we learn that the Romans made use of globes filled with water as magnifiers, employed hothouses in their highly developed horticulture, and observed the refraction of colors by the prism. At the same time the book contains interesting conjectures in reference to the relation of earthquakes and volcanoes, and to the fact that comets travel in fixed[Pg 41] orbits. In the main, however, this work is an attempt to find a basis for ethics in natural phenomena. Seneca was a Stoic, as Lucretius was an Epicurean, moralist. When we glance back at the culture, or cultures, of the great peoples of antiquity, Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, and Roman, that which had its center on the banks of the Tiber offers the closest analogy to our own. Among English-speaking peoples as among the Romans there is noticeable a certain contempt for scientific studies strangely mingled with an inclination to exploit all theory in the interest of immediate application. An English author, writing in 1834, remarks that the Romans, eminent in war, in polite literature, and civil policy, showed at all times a remarkable indisposition to the pursuit of mathematical and physical science. Geometry and astronomy, so highly esteemed by the Greeks, were not merely disregarded by the Italians, but even considered beneath the attention of a man of good birth and liberal education; they were imagined to partake of a mechanical, and therefore servile, character. "The results were seen to be made use of by the mechanical artist, and the abstract principles were therefore supposed to be, as it were, contaminated by his touch. This unfortunate peculiarity in the taste of his countrymen is remarked by Cicero. And it may not be irrelevant to inquire, whether similar prejudices do not prevail to some extent even among ourselves." To Americans also must be attributed an impatience of theory as theory, and a predominant interest in the applications of science. [Pg 42] <h3>REFERENCES</h3> <div class="hanging-indent"> Lucretius, The Nature of Things; translated by H. A. J. Munro. Pliny, Natural History; translated by Philemon Holland. Professor Baden Powell, History of Natural Philosophy. Seneca, Physical Science; translated by John Clarke. Vitruvius, Architecture; translated by Joseph Gwilt, 1826. Vitruvius, Architecture; translated by Professor M. H. Morgan, 1914. </div> <hr class="chap" /> [Pg 43] <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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