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2 RECENT TIMES.
35
vices to physics, the theory of gravitation was enough to' |
place his name among the first in the history of this ,
science. He was one of the greatest mathematicians and
physicists that ever lived. If we wish to indicate in one
word the intellectual tendency of that time, fruitful as it
was, to an uncommon degree, in results and discoveries
bearing upon physics, we need only recall the name of
NEWTON—its most prominent representative.
What a mighty revolution in thought had been effected
in the interval of time between GALILEO and NEWTONl, J
The natural sciences, which still in the 16th century were
oppressed and controlled by the ruling authorities, regarded ,|
with indifference or disdain by the public, cherished and.'^
actively" advanced only by a few, stood now in the focus of
intellectual interest and were permitted fearlessly to draw ?
within the range of their investigations the highest proV :
blems of man's existence.
Natural philosophy proceeded to its tasks with the fiery
zeal of youth and the successes achieved, rapid as they
were and exceeding all expectations as they did, seemed to
justify the hope that no limit was fixed to its progress.
When this hope was not fulfilled and insurmountable
obstacles opposed themselves to human knowledge, industry
slackened and work began to stop. Men turned.|
again to other efforts which promised greater results than •
the pursuit of the natural sciences. To the victorious
advances made by the natural sciences in the 16th and 17th
centuries there succeeded in the 18th century a retreat or
at least a halt. This period contributed no essential increase
to the sum of knowledge, but, under the influence
of a tendency in men's minds towards encyclopaedic literature,
led to a collecting and sifting of such results as had
been gained—a proceeding useful and necessary for their
further development.