a history of science-1-第32章

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ld　prevent　it　from　having　power　over　anything　in　the　same　way　that　it　does　now　that　it　is　alone　by　itself。　For　it　is　the　most　rarefied　of　all　things　and　the　purest；　and　it　has　all　knowledge　in　regard　to　everything　and　the　greatest　power；　over　all　that　has　life；　both　greater　and　less；　nous　rules。　And　nous　ruled　the　rotation　of　the　whole；　so　that　it　set　it　in　rotation　in　the　beginning。　First　it　began　the　rotation　from　a　small　beginning；　then　more　and　more　was　included　in　the　motion；　and　yet　more　will　be　included。　Both　the　mixed　and　the　separated　and　distinct；　all　things　nous　recognized。　And　whatever　things　were　to　be；　and　whatever　things　were；　as　many　as　are　now；　and　whatever　things　shall　be；　all　these　nous　arranged　in　order；　and　it　arranged　that　rotation；　according　to　which　now　rotate　stars　and　sun　and　moon　and　air　and　aether；　now　that　they　are　separated。　Rotation　itself　caused　the　separation；　and　the　dense　is　separated　from　the　rare；　the　warm　from　the　cold；　the　bright　from　the　dark；　the　dry　from　the　moist。　And　when　nous　began　to　set　things　in　motion；　there　was　separation　from　everything　that　was　in　motion；　all　this　was　made　distinct。　The　rotation　of　the　things　that　were　moved　and　made　distinct　caused　them　to　be　yet　more　distinct。〃＇3＇　Nous；　then；　as　Anaxagoras　conceives　it；　is　〃the　most　rarefied　of　all　things；　and　the　purest；　and　it　has　knowledge　in　regard　to　everything　and　the　greatest　power；　over　all　that　has　life；　both　greater　and　less；　it　rules。〃　But　these　are　postulants　of　omnipresence　and　omniscience。　In　other　words；　nous　is　nothing　less　than　the　omnipotent　artificer　of　the　material　universe。　It　lacks　nothing　of　the　power　of　deity；　save　only　that　we　are　not　assured　that　it　created　the　primordial　particles。　The　creation　of　these　particles　was　a　conception　that　for　Anaxagoras；　as　for　the　modern　Spencer；　lay　beyond　the　range　of　imagination。　Nous　is　the　artificer；　working　with　〃uncreated〃　particles。　Back　of　nous　and　the　particles　lies；　for　an　Anaxagoras　as　for　a　Spencer；　the　Unknowable。　But　nous　itself　is　the　equivalent　of　that　universal　energy　of　motion　which　science　recognizes　as　operating　between　the　particles　of　matter；　and　which　the　theologist　personifies　as　Deity。　It　is　Pantheistic　deity　as　Anaxagoras　conceives　it；　his　may　be　called　the　first　scientific　conception　of　a　non…　anthropomorphic　god。　In　elaborating　this　conception　Anaxagoras　proved　himself　one　of　the　most　remarkable　scientific　dreamers　of　antiquity。　To　have　substituted　for　the　Greek　Pantheon　of　anthropomorphic　deities　the　conception　of　a　non…anthropomorphic　immaterial　and　ethereal　entity；　of　all　things　in　the　world　〃the　most　rarefied　and　the　purest；〃　is　to　have　performed　a　feat　which；　considering　the　age　and　the　environment　in　which　it　was　accomplished；　staggers　the　imagination。　As　a　strictly　scientific　accomplishment　the　great　thinker's　conception　of　primordial　elements　contained　a　germ　of　the　truth　which　was　to　lie　dormant　for　2200　years；　but　which　then；　as　modified　and　vitalized　by　the　genius　of　Dalton；　was　to　dominate　the　new　chemical　science　of　the　nineteenth　century。　If　there　are　intimations　that　the　primordial　element　of　Anaxagoras　and　of　Dalton　may　turn　out　in　the　near　future　to　be　itself　a　compound；　there　will　still　remain　the　yet　finer　particles　of　the　nous　of　Anaxagoras　to　baffle　the　most　subtle　analysis　of　which　to…day's　science　gives　us　any　pre…vision。　All　in　all；　then；　the　work　of　Anaxagoras　must　stand　as　that　of　perhaps　the　most　far…seeing　scientific　imagination　of　pre…Socratic　antiquity。

LEUCIPPUS　AND　DEMOCRITUS　But　we　must　not　leave　this　alluring　field　of　speculation　as　to　the　nature　of　matter　without　referring　to　another　scientific　guess；　which　soon　followed　that　of　Anaxagoras　and　was　destined　to　gain　even　wider　fame；　and　which　in　modern　times　has　been　somewhat　unjustly　held　to　eclipse　the　glory　of　the　other　achievement。　We　mean；　of　course；　the　atomic　theory　of　Leucippus　and　Democritus。　This　theory　reduced　all　matter　to　primordial　elements；　called　atoms　　because　they　are　by　hypothesis　incapable　of　further　division。　These　atoms；　making　up　the　entire　material　universe；　are　in　this　theory　conceived　as　qualitatively　identical；　differing　from　one　another　only　in　size　and　perhaps　in　shape。　The　union　of　different…sized　atoms　in　endless　combinations　produces　the　diverse　substances　with　which　our　senses　make　us　familiar。　Before　we　pass　to　a　consideration　of　this　alluring　theory；　and　particularly　to　a　comparison　of　it　with　the　theory　of　Anaxagoras；　we　must　catch　a　glimpse　of　the　personality　of　the　men　to　whom　the　theory　owes　its　origin。　One　of　these；　Leucippus；　presents　so　uncertain　a　figure　as　to　be　almost　mythical。　Indeed；　it　was　long　questioned　whether　such　a　man　had　actually　lived；　or　whether　be　were　not　really　an　invention　of　his　alleged　disciple；　Democritus。　Latterday　scholarship；　however；　accepts　him　as　a　real　personage；　though　knowing　scarcely　more　of　him　than　that　he　was　the　author　of　the　famous　theory　with　which　his　name　was　associated。　It　is　suggested　that　he　was　a　wanderer；　like　most　philosophers　of　his　time；　and　that　later　in　life　he　came　to　Abdera；　in　Thrace；　and　through　this　circumstance　became　the　teacher　of　Democritus。　This　fable　answers　as　well　as　another。　What　we　really　know　is　that　Democritus　himself；　through　whose　writings　and　teachings　the　atomic　theory　gained　vogue；　was　born　in　Abdera；　about　the　year　460　B。C。that　is　to　say；　just　about　the　time　when　his　great　precursor；　Anaxagoras；　was　migrating　to　Athens。　Democritus；　like　most　others　of　the　early　Greek　thinkers；　lives　in　tradition　as　a　picturesque　figure。　It　is　vaguely　reported　that　he　travelled　for　a　time；　perhaps　in　the　East　and　in　Egypt；　and　that　then　he　settled　down　to　spend　the　remainder　of　his　life　in　Abdera。　Whether　or　not　he　visited　Athens　in　the　course　of　his　wanderings　we　do　not　know。　At　Abdera　he　was　revered　as　a　sage；　but　his　influence　upon　the　practical　civilization　of　the　time　was　not　marked。　He　was　pre…eminently　a　dreamer　and　a　writer。　Like　his　confreres　of　the　epoch；　he　entered　all　fields　of　thought。　He　wrote　voluminously；　but；　unfortunately；　his　writings　have；　for　the　most　part；　perished。　The　fables　and　traditions　of　a　later　day　asserted　that　Democritus　had　voluntarily　put　out　his　own　eyes　that　he　might　turn　his　thoughts　inward　with　more　concentration。　Doubtless　this　is　fiction；　yet；　as　usual　with　such　fictions；　it　contains　a　germ　of　truth；　for　we　may　well　suppose　that　the　promulgator　of　the　atomic　theory　was　a　man　whose　mind　was　attracted　by　the　subtleties　of　thought　rather　than　by　the　tangibilities　of　observation。　Yet　the　term　〃laughing　philosopher；〃　which　seems　to　have　been　universally　applied　to　Democritus；　suggests　a　mind　not　altogether　withdrawn　from　the　world　of　practicalities。　So　much　for　Democritus　the　man。　Let　us　return　now　to　his　theory　of　atoms。　This　theory；　it　must　be　confessed；　made　no　very　great　impression　upon　his　contemporaries。　It　found　an　expositor；　a　little　later；　in　the　philosopher　Epicurus；　and　later　still　the　poet　Lucretius　gave　it　popular　expression。　But　it　seemed　scarcely　more　than　the　dream　of　a　philosopher　or　the　vagary　of　a　poet　until　the　day　when　modern　science　began　to　penetrate　the　mysteries　of　matter。　When；　finally；　the　researches　of　Dalton　and　his　followers　had　placed　the　atomic　theory　on　a　surer　footing　as　the　foundation　of　modern　chemistry；　the　ideas　of　the　old　laughing　philosopher　of　Abdera；　which　all　along　had　been　half　derisively　remembered；　were　recalled　with　a　new　interest。　Now　it　appeared　that　these　ideas　had　curiously　foreshadowed　nineteenth…century　knowledge。　It　appeared　that　away　back　in　the　fifth　century　B。C。　a　man　had　dreamed　out　a　conception　of　the　ultimate　nature　of　matter　which　had　waited　all　these　centuries　for　corroboration。　And　now　the　historians　of　philosophy　became　more　than　anxious　to　do　justice　to　the　memory　of　Democritus。　It　is　possible　that　this　effort　at　poetical　restitution　has　carried　the　enthusiast　too　far。　There　is；　indeed；　a　curious　suggestiveness　in　the　theory　of　Democritus；　there　is　philosophical　allurement　in　his　reduction　of　all　matter　to　a　single　element；　it　contains；　it　may　be；　not　merely　a　germ　of　the　science　of　the　nineteenth…century　chemistry；　but　perhaps　the　germs　also　of　the　yet　unde