Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-12-11


In lecture delivered in New York, a few
days ago, Professor John Draper spoke of the
origin of modern science, as follows:
There are certain ideas which have become
dominant in the intellectual world which we call
science Modern science is not, as generally
supposed, built upon elements derived from
Greece and Rome. This IS a tradition without
foundation Science owes more to Alexandra
than to Athens There Euclid, Ptolemy, Appel
Ionius. Hipparchus, and Archmedes studied.
The speaker when a boy, was impressed by the
fact that the names of the stars were Arabic.
One of them, situated thirty-two degrees from
the south pole of the heavens, and which did
not show north Of Egypt or Arabia, he specially
noticed. The heavens have been spread like
scroll, upon which man may record his thoughts.
Some say the ArabianS were mere commenta'
tors. But since they classified the stars they
must be regarded as original discoveries and
philosophers. This false idea arose from polii-
.cal anImosities. 1t is necessary TO study all the
phases OF the history of thought 10 reach It's
real springs. Every event and action IS tue re-
suit of q tOrcGOne event or action. we eau ohiN
see the nearest links OF the cham OF DESTINY.
We can not see who or what holds the hfst. INK.
The old magicans were said 10 have magic
crystals, in which, when they looked, would APP
pear past events. The doctor imagined himself
reading history in such a crystal. Iwen-
~ centuries ago Rome ruled large part
Of the world. The Caesars were worshpped
rs gods though their dominion of this
planet even was far from universal Some feeble
Syrian fishermen were then plying their trade by
Galilee whose laoOrs were destined TO have
mighty results. Four centuries after the faith
they taught had spread through the Roman en-
pire. A great battle is fought by Constantine,
and he becomes autecrat OF the empire. lie de-
grades Rome into provincial city, builds new
capital. and legalizes new religion. Ihree cen
turtles LATER in a corner iof Arabia, an earnest
man has been earnestly perSuadlng ms
neighbors to worship God He wins vic
tories over souls as well as bodies. His
Arabian armies overrun the Holy Land They
capture Asia Minor, Egypt, and all OF North
Africa They establish themselves IN SPAN.
The emperor and sultan are then confronted.
France is in danger of falling, when the caliph
atsDamascus orders his armies TO halt lie IS
dsobeyed. barelooted envoy comes from
Damascus Seizes the general before his army
and takes him to Damascus, and France Is
saved Twice has Rome ruled Europe-once by
her Caesars, once by her popes. In the twelfth
century the two great powers, CHRISTIAN ana
Mohammendan, were still confronted. Ihec cap
turQ of the holy sepulchre was taken as an insult
| to MI Chustendom. Thepopes had made the pos
session OF that place a test of their legitimacy.
But they had to let it 90, and it remains still in
| the hands OF the Moslem. The prestige OF the
papacv was shaken by the failure OF the cru
sadcs The vanquished bitterly hated the vic
tors. Rome was now sinking in decay. Inc
| Cesar palaces were Wondering. Columns,
temples, arches in ruins added only desoatlon
| to tile scene The chief towns of Europe had
only novels for houses. Streets were unpaved.
| There were no sewers or !aqueducts. windows
| and beds were lacking. Clothing once put ON
remained on the person till il rOted. Resort TO
| shriues was the only medicine. Meanwhile Bag,
| dad and Cairo were full Of luxury, elegance and
comfort They had baths, libraries,l and spleil-
| did dining halls, City and country were iuil OF
| happiness Their leasts were marked by SoOrle-
| Nv instead of the drunken wasSail OF the barbar-
! Gus north. Again, while Rome denied all right
| Of private Judgment among the Christians,
among the Moslems the human mind was IN
| fettered SChoolhouses stood by all the
| mosques. Greek classics were carefully studied.
| On one point they were circumscrlbed; they
| could not make pictures or paintings, as they
| were forbidden to make "grayen images. But
| a reaction ensued. 1t was impossible that the
refinement OF Seville should not sooner or later
pass into France. The south Of France soon
| felt the charm of the love songs of the trouba-
| dours Iasso, PetTarch and Dante led the way
| into civilization. The science of the Sara
| Gems brought Iuthers TO Languedoc four
| centuries before they appeared IN Ter
| many Innocent the Third saw the danger from
these bright Moorish unovators. He had
Languedoc wasted with fire and sword The
| Saracenic science that most disturbed the popes
| was the Arabic science of arithmetic The Arabs
| had improved on the Enumeration received from
| the HinduOs Their system is most wonderful
and simple, We speak Arabic when we use the
word cipher" But the Arabians also taught
| Europe lis algebra. They were the authors of
| most Of the current mathematical rules, In
| tugonometry they introduced "sines." They
| said ''the symbols Of geometry by thinking for
us save US the trouble" They give us the rudi-
ments Of chemistry. They give Us nitric and
| muriatic acid, and other chemicals. They intro.
| duced tue transmutation of metals as posi-
| billy. The speaker believes it will be done in
| this generation (ApplHuse.) Their advance
/ ment in astronomy IS a proof that they were at
| a high position in science. When Europe was
| no better than Cahraua they gave us their
| mathematical construction of the heavens
| Laplace found use for some Of their observa-
lions; yet, at the time these were made the Ed
ropCans thought that the world was square.
| Terrestrial globes were in use among them.
| They discovered the pendulum clock and the
| true length of the year, measured the
| height of the atmosphere and understood the
| twnkliDg Of the stars. They built the first OBJ
| selyatorv at Seville, They saw far into physics
! made tables OF specific graYltiLs, In OpucS they
| corrected the Greek theories. They explained
how we see singly looking from two eyes.
They introduced rice, cotton, morocco, sugar,
| coffee, steel blades into Europe and lastly the
Arabian horse They made the "grain" the
standard of weight and used the word "carat."
| In their scientific books there is Curreat Of
| true devotion to deity. They mingled all their
discoveries with implications for blessings from
| heaven. Their philosophical opinions, as a Gu
| riOSity at least are interesting. In spite Of
tEeir fatalism their best philosophers rest on
the fact that every living thing rests ON some
| thing that existed previous to 1t. This world
being thing of life, they say it must h ave been
produced and maintained by living being.
they believe that God will finally absorb all
| things. These ideas peryaded all Europe after
/ q w "a Z IA
| The Franciscans adopted them; the D0mnicans
| hated them In the thirteenth century Paris
! was their headquarters, and they were all the
| fashion in Venice. Columbus was first led by
an Arabian book TO believe that there existed a
| western hemisphere. If from Rome as a cen
| IRE a line be drawn te the Rosphorus
and another to the Pyrenees, we may
| say that throughout the middle ages the dark
| ness Of Ignorance lay above these lines the
light Of intelligence and the comforts of clyliza.
| ton below. The two regions were in deadly en-.
| nifty. The southern nations were the deposi-
tories Of Old time knowledge. This passed into
| France through the gates Of I Pyrenees. Ii
! began in the light literature Of IassO Petrarch
| and AriOstO. Then came the weightier sciences.
| Literary and scientific tidal waves swept up
! from the south, though bitterly opposed by the
| Churchmen as a political necessity, How feeble
their resistance to the current OF eyentsl those
| who in this day have been Its landmarks oil
| science can afford to give due credit 10 their
! predecessors Of the Moslem faith, The cry Of
the crusaders has TOO long Outliyed the crusldes.
| Let us do justice to the noble Mosem for all
| those scientific achievements which history
! credits him with. Science was feeble a century
| ago. Now she is strong. Judge her by her
acts. Her manuisc lures, steam, telegraphs ,tcIe-
] scopes, microscopes, spectTDscOpes, are creating
/ q revolution in all modern thought She is
answering all the questions Of the modern mind.
| Ia another century she will have unified the
| human race. 10 her present day Of power let
her be just 10 those who protected her in her in
| fancy.