SAPPHO. "Some thoughtlessly proclaim the Muses nine, -Ascribed to Plato. ARISTOPHANES. "The Graces seeking for a shrine, Whose glories ne'er should cease, Found, as they strayed, the soul divine ARISTOTLE. -Plato. "Here, from one mould, a statue we erect To Aristotle and to Intellect.”—Anonymous. ARTISTIC. "The Paphian Queen to Cnidus made repair WITTY AND SATIRICAL. "Asclepi'ades, the Miser, in his house Espied one day, with some surprise, a mouse; 'Tell me, dear mouse,' he cried, to what cause is it I owe this pleasant but unlooked-for visit?' The mouse said, smiling: 'Fear not for your hoard, "Dick cannot blow his nose whene'er he pleases, CRETAN WARRIOR'S SONG. "My spear, my sword, my shaggy shield! With these I plant the fertile vine; My spear, my sword, my shaggy shield; Before my shaggy shield must bow, Their fields, their vineyards, they resign, And all that cowards have is mine." GRECIAN SCIENTISTS. In the history of ancient literature science cannot properly claim a place, or at least only to that extent to which scientists have established a literary reputation. Yet a chapter on the scientific labors of Greece may not be an undesirable addition to our work. Such science as was possessed was of late birth, and may be considered as originating with Aristotle, who certainly found very little of value on which to base his labors. The astronomical knowledge of the Chaldeans does not seem to have penetrated into Greece, if we may judge from the theory of the Rising of the Nile, already given in our notice of Herodotus. Physical and medical science had possibly made some slight progress before the days of Aristotle and Hippoc' rates, yet we must look to the former of these for the earliest valuable researches in natural history, and to the latter for the establishment of Medicine as a science. The works of Aristotle have been already noticed. Those of Hippocrates are numerous, though many of those ascribed to him are undoubtedly spurious. Of his history very little is known. He was born in the island of Cos, probably about the year 460 B.C. The medical school of Cos acquired a high reputation under his care, and he was highly esteemed as a physician and an author. The age at which he died is given at from 85 to 109 years by different writers. In his works he divides the causes of disease into two principal classes, those consisting of outward influences, and those of a personal character, proceeding from the food, exercise, etc., of the patient. The four fluids of the body (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile) he viewed as the primary seats of disease, health resulting from their due combination, and disease from their disturbance. His treatment of diseases was cautious, often consisting solely in attention to diet and regimen; and he was sometimes reproached with letting his patients die by doing nothing to keep them alive. He is most popularly known by his Aphorisms, some of which are as follows: "Life is short and art long." "Time flies." "Experience is deceitful, and judgment difficult." Another of his sayings is: "If it were possible to make men healthy in various ways, it would be best to choose that which is least troublesome; for this is both more honest and more scientific, unless one aims at vulgar imposition." The most celebrated scientist of Athens, after the death of Aristotle, was Theophras'tus, his pupil, and his successor as president of the Lyceum. He was very highly esteemed by the Athenians, living to a great age, and being followed to the tomb by the entire population. He is said to have complained, on his death-bed, of the shortness of life, which ended just as he was about to solve its enigmas. The object of his labors was to develop the philosophy of Aristotle, explain its difficulties, and fill up its incomplete portions. Of his scientific works the following yet exist: Of Sensuous Perception and its Objects; Of the History of Plants; Of the causes of Plants; and Of Stones. For a continuance of these scientific labors we must seek Alexandria, where the establishment of the Museum and the liberal endowments of the Ptolemies, aided greatly in progress in this direction. All branches of learning progressed under their fostering care, and Grammar, Chro nology and History received a most valuable impulse. Science, too, gained an impetus such as it had never before received, taking on its modern form of exact observation and accurate induction. Among the earliest and most famous of these eminent scientists was Eu'clid, whose valuable Elements of Geometry still holds its place as a text-book in our schools. He was born at Alexandria, about 300 B.C., but his history is obscure. We know little more than that he was an adherent of the Platonic philosophy, and that he taught mathematics in the famous Alexandrian school. He did not originate the science of mathematics, as has been claimed for him, but he certainly gave it an immense impetus. In his exact and rigid geometrical method he has never been excelled. There are also extant treatises on music, optics, etc., ascribed to him, though it is doubtful if they are all authentic. The second of these great names is that of Eratosthenes, whose varied erudition gained him the repute of knowing everything, and who held the second place in all sciences, and the first in two, Astronomy and Geography. He was born at Cyrene, 276 B.C., and was librarian of the Alexandrian library, under Ptolemy Euergetes. He died at eighty, of voluntary starvation, having become blind and weary of life. As an astronomer he held a most eminent position among ancient scientists. He measured the obliquity of the ecliptic, with a result remarkably correct, considering the means at his command. He also drew up a catalogue of the fixed stars, amounting to 675, but this work is lost. In his geometrical labors he measured an arc of the meridian, and calculated from it the magnitude of the globe, with a result not very greatly distant from the true figures. His work on geography was of great value in his times, being the first truly scientific treatise on the subject. He |