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Third Preface to Volume XXXIV: The Years "Forty-three"Author(s): George SartonSource: Isis, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Winter, 1943), pp. 193-195Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/225837 .
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THIRD PREFACE TO VOLUME XXXIV
THE YEARS "FORTY-THREE"
1543
IN the year 1543 there were published two books of fundamental importance: first, the De revolu- tionibus orbium coelestium of NIcOLAUS COPER- NICUS, one of the first copies of which was brought to his deathbed on May 24; second, the De humani corporis fabrica of ANDREAS VESALIUS published in June. Thus these two books which were, respec- tively, the foundation of modern astronomy and the foundation of modern anatomy, appeared within a couple of months. The German invasions make it impossible to celebrate the fourth cen- tenaries of these two events in the proper manner, the first in Belgium, the second in Poland. How- ever, Belgians and Poles will celebrate them, wherever they happen to be, and citizens of the free world will celebrate with them.
The story of the VESALIUS centenary is so curious that it deserves to be told here. In 1912, an international committee had been constituted to prepare the celebration, in 1914, of the fourth centenary of VESALIUS' birth in Brussels.' That celebration never took place because of the first German invasion of Belgium. That invasion was not caused by any kind of enmity between the two nations, but Germany wanted to reach her enemy, France, as quickly as possible, and therefore con- sidered herself entirely justified in invading the territory of her small neighbor. What would you think of a man who did not hesitate to attack his friendly .neighbors-say, to kill a couple of them and keep the rest of their families under duress- in order to take vengeance upon more distant ones? But there were then seven and a half million people in Belgium. The Germans knew well that they were jeopardizing those millions of innocent and friendly people; many would die in combat or be foully murdered, a great many would be bru- tally enslaved, all-men, women, and children- would be submitted to infinite miseries. The Ger- mans knew that very well, but they did not hesi- tate a moment.
After more than four years of torture, the Belgians were finally liberated and they soon made plans for a new Vesalian celebration. Instead of solemnizing the fourth centenary of VESALIUS'
birth, one might solemnize the fourth centenary of his golden year, the year of publication of the Fabrica. This would be done in 1943. In the mean- while, the Belgians had forgotten the miseries which they had suffered at the hands of their
I MARION HARRY SPIELMANN: The iconography of Andreas Fesalius (xxxvii+243 p., 68 pl., ill., London 1925).
merciless neighbors; it is unbelievable how quickly and completely they had forgotten it. When the Library of the University of Louvain was rebuilt, the architect wanted to place the following inscrip- tion on the balustrade
FVRORE TEVTONICO DIRVTA DONO AMERICANO RESTITVTA
That inscription was a sober statement of the facts, but it was not allowed by the University authorities for fear of offending or aggrieving the good Germans.2 Had the latter hesitated to destroy the library and the city of Louvain, to kill a great many of its inhabitants, and inflict unspeakable miseries upon the others?
During the years of peace the Germans had thoroughly analyzed the events which had given them their early triumph and their final ruin. They realized that the invasion of Belgium had been the first cause of their downfall. That had been a grievous error indeed. They should never have attacked Belgium alone; in order to do a good job it was necessary to invade not only Belgium, but also the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark. The three last named countries were Germany's best friends; incidentally, they are (together with Sweden and Switzerland) the most truly civilized countries on the face of the earth. The industrious and peaceful inhabitants of those four nations were twenty-four millions in number. Twenty-four mil- lion people, think of that-the Germans did not hesitate to put them in the direst jeopardy, to expose them to every kind of brutality, to try to enslave them, and to bring to many of them death or that which is worse than death. The Germans did not hesitate to sacrifice twenty-four million friends for the sake of taking revenge upon other people. Ordinary men could not commit in cold blood such atrocious deeds, supermen would be even less able to perpetrate them; it took super- devils to carry them out.
I am afraid that you are not able to understand this, dear Reader. How could you understand it, that is, imagine it, realize it? You could perhaps imagine the criminal who kills two of his kind neighbors and manacles the rest of them in order to get even with his enemy-but how could you
2PIERRE DE SOETE: The Louvain library controversy. The misadventures of an American artist (30 p., 15 pl., Rumford Press, Concord, N. H., 1929). The new library was destroyed by the Germans in 1940. Let us rebuild it after the war with the inscription
FVRORE TEVTONICO BIl DIRVTA DONIS AMERICANIS BIS RESTITVTA
193
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194 G. Sarton
NIGOLATI GO- PERNICI TORXNENSIS
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abcsin hocoperciam recensnato& tdito tudiofclc&or,Motus fteltarum, tam lixrum,
quifn trradiarum,cum cx ucteribus, rm cciam ex rccentibus obltruationibus rellitutos& no* uis infupcrac admirabilsbus hypothclibus or* natos.Habcs Ciam Tabulas expeditiisimas 'ex qutbus cor(em ad quoduis temptls q.uim facilli mc calculare poerisigitur cmc,egc,tfrurc.
Noriin t bcg apud roh. Priumn, Anne Ms. D. X Laai.
imagine human beings who do not hesitate to mutilate and sacrifice twenty-four million friends in-order to revenge themselves upon other people? It is truly impossible for decent men to encompass with their minds crimes of such enormity and multitude.
However, you must try to imagine it, dear Reader, and to remember it. Forgive me for hav- ing raked up that filth, but I had to. You know that it is not my habit to do so and that I prefer to remain silent, but there are times when a man must speak out or his heart would burst.
You know now why the Belgians failed twice to commemorate their illustrious countryman in the proper way and in the proper place. They were prevented from celebrating the fourth centenary of his birth, and from celebrating the fourth cen- tenary of his immortal work, by the same fiends.
1643
In the year 1643, men of science celebrated in their hearts the first centenary of COPERNICUS and VESALIUS, and did thelr best to increase the spir- itual patrimony which they had inherited. For instance, it was in that year that VINCENZO VIVIANI performed in Florence the experience devised by
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EVANGELISTA TORRICELLI, which enabled him not only to establish the existence of atmospheric pres- sure but to measure it. It is true, that experiment was not the first of its kind but it was the decisive one and our knowledge of barometry dates prac- tically from that year.3
1743
In the year 1743, men of science celebrated the seconId centenary of COPERNICUS and VESALIUS and the first centenary of the Torricellian ex- periment. Their new contribution was splendid: the Traite de dynamique of D'ALEMBERT, one of the golden books of scientific literature, truly worthy to stand close to the Revolutiones and the Fabrw'a.
1843
In the year 1843, men of science celebrated the third centenary of COPERNIcUS and VESALIUS, the second centenary of TORRICELLI, and the first of
3 TORRICELLI a MICHELANGELO RICCI, Firenze, 11 giugno 1644 (Opere di E. Torricelli edite da GINo LORIA e GIuSEPPE VASSURA, VOl. 3, 186-88, Faenza 1919; Isis 5, 151-54). CORNELIS DE WAARD: L'expe:rience barometrique (198 p., Thouars 1936; Isis 26, 212-15).
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The Years "Forty-Three" 195
TRAIT I D E
D YNA M I Q UE, DANS LEOJJEL LES LOIX DE L'E,QUILTIRE
& du Mouvense'it des Corps ront rcduiecs au Plus petit stitisiei 1-4: lible & diniontteesd'utne matiere nouvsdlle & o; rot do ai: tunt
ir5icrpc ,Oitr3l pstur trouvcr lc Mossvs'mentt tlc plulictis Corps qui ag,ilk Tsc s tots ot ks autrcs, d{ute satiite tilu.konque.
Par M4. dA L e .t a X it R & dX 1' n IA zf!;,,,e J*ydle des Sci.t.::.
A PA R I S, Chete DA VID r3;ti4, Libraire, rue Saint Jacqus, a I Psme doe.
M D C C X L I I 1. JrIEC -4PRoAs7AoN Et PRIIYLEGE DU ROt.
D'ALEMBERT. Many contributions were made by them, too many to be quoted, but I cannot think of a single book which might be placed alongside those already quoted, except, perhaps, the System of logic of JOHN STUART MILL. Yet brilliant as MILL'S exposition was, brilliant and pregnant, a monumental synthesis, his book was not as radi- cally new as those of COPERNICUS, VESALIUS, and D'ALEMBERT, and cannot be equalled to them.
Among the special investigations it is difficult to choose, for an investigation in one definite field is hardly comparable with another in a different field, but if I were permitted to indicate my own preference, I would recall that it was in that year, 1843, that JOSEPH PLATEAU, of Brussels (like VESALIUS) published the first of a series of ad- mirable memoirs devoted to the study of field masses withdrawn from gravitational influences.4 PLATEAU thus originated a new field of research and built new bridges between cosmology, physics
4 Memoire sur les phenomenes que presente une masse liquide libre et soustraite 'a l'action de la pesanteur (Nouveaux memoires de l'Acadetmie royale de Bruxelles, tome 16, p. 3-34, 1 pl., 1843). Ten more memoirs were published in the same collection from 1843 to 1868 under the general title Re- cherches experimentales et theioriques sur les figures d'equi- libre d'une masse liquide sans pesanteur. They were reprinted under the title Statique . . . des liquides soumis aux seules forces moleculaires (2 vols., Gand 1873). For a mathematical appreciation see RIcHARD COURANT: Soap film experiments with minimal surfaces (American mathematical mly., vol. 47, 167-74, 1940), or R. COURANT: What is mathematics? (386- 91, Oxford University Press, 1941).
A
SYSTEM OF LOGIC,
RATIOCINATIVE AND INDUCTIVE,
BEING A CONNECTED VIEW OF THE PRINCIPLES OF EVIDENCE,
AND THE METHODS OF SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION.
JOHN STUART MIILL
IN TWO VOLUME&
VOL. 1
LONDON: JOHIN W. PARKER. WEST STRAND.
and mathematics. Among other things he showed how minimal areas between given boundaries could be realized by means of soap films! That was a very beautiful contribution indeed, beautiful in its ingenuity and simplicity.
1943
In this blessed year 1943, we shall celebrate the fourth centenary of COPERNICUS and VESALIUS, the third centenary of TORRICELLI, the second cen- tenary of D'ALEMBERT, the first centenary of JOSEPH PLATEAU and STUART MILL. Very well, but that is not enough. What shall we add to those treasures.?
In the year 2043, our descendants will celebrate the fifth centenary of COPERNICUS and VESALIUS, the fourth centenary of TORRICELLI, the third cen- tenary of D'ALEMBERT, the second centenary of JOSEPH PLATEAU and STUART MILL, and the first centenary of what?
Many things are expected from us. It is our responsibility to reconquer the political freedom and the freedom of thought without which the progress of science becomes impossible and futile. If our generation does nothing but that-but it will do much more-it will already have fulfilled its destiny. That is the main thing. It must be done and it will be done.
GEORGE SARTON
Cambridge, Mass., November 12, 1942
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