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 SCHEINER

526

SCHELSTRATE

Catechism" (Baltimore). A new German edition was published at Strasbm-g in 1892.

HcBTER. Xomencl. lit., V (Innsbruck, 1S95), 3; Sommervogel, Bibliotheque de la Compagnie de Jesus, V, VII (Paris, 1S96), 727.

F. X. Delany.

Scheiner, Christopher, German astronomer, b. at Wald, near Mindelheim, in Swabia, 25 July, 1575; d. at Xiesse, in Silesia, 18 Jul}-, 1650. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1595, and after studying math- ematics at Ingoldstadt, became professor in that branch at Dillingen. In 1610 he was recalled to Ingoldstadt, where he taught Hebrew and math- ematics with great success and became actively en- gaged in scientific research. He had already invented his well-known pantograph or copj'ing instrument, and he now constructed a telescope, with which, aided by one of his students, he began to observe the sun. He made use of a helioscope composed of coloured glasses in the beginning, but afterwards conceived the idea of projecting the sun's image on a screen in order to study its surface. Kepler had independently sug- gested the method, but Scheiner was the first to apply it in practice. It was thus that in March, 1611, he discovered the existence of sun-spots, a phenomenon so contrarj' to the philosophical notions of the time that his superiors did not wish him to publish it under his own name for fear of ridicule. He therefore com- municated the discovery to his friend Welser in Augsburg, who, in 1612, published his letters under an assumed name. In subsequent letters he described the rotation of the spots and the appearance of the jacalce. In the meantime Gahleo claimed to have observed the spots before him. This led to further correspondence and a long dispute followed regarding the priority of discovery. It appears, however, that they were first noticed by Fabricius shortly before either, and although Gahleo may have observed them before Scheiner, the latter made his discovery quite independently and also published it before him. Schoiner's special claim, that he was the first to make continuous observations of scientific value, cannot be disputed. Apart from his letters, he continued his systematic study of the sun for nearly sixteen years before beginning the pubhcation of his great work, the "Rosa Ursina" (Bracciani, 1626-30). This is a standard treatise on the subject and besides his numerous observations, contains a detailed account of his methods and apparatus. One of his most valuable results was also his determination of the rotational elements of the sun. In 1616 the Arch- duke Maximihan of Tyrol, attracted by his growing fame, inxnted him to Innsbruck, where, besides carry- ing on his astronomical researches, he made important studies on the eye, showing that the retina is the seat of vi.sion. He likewise devised the optical experiment which bears his name. He became rector of the new college of his order at Neisse in 1623, and later pro- fessor of mathematics at Rome. His last years, devoted to study and to the ministry, were spent at Nei.sse. Scheiner was one of the leading astronomers of his time, and poss(?s.sed to an uncommon degree the true scientific spirit. Though not endowed with the deep insight into the truths of nature of his great contemporary Galileo, he was nevertheless ingenious in devising methods and a skilled and painstaking observer. He insisU;d particularly on the netsd of accurate data as a basis for subsequent theory. He desf^rves the title of "pioneer " in the study of sun-spots. He wrote "Tres epistulic de maculis solaribus" (Augsburg, 1612); "De maculis solaribus et stellis circa Jovem errantibus accuratior Disouisitio" (Augs- burg, 1612); " Refra/;tiones ca-lestes (Ingoldstadt, 1617j, in which he first called attention to the ellip- tical form of the sun when near the horizon and attribut<;d the phenomenon to refraction; "Oculus h. e. Fundamentum opticum" (Innsbruck, 1619); "Pantograph ice seu ars delineandi" (Rome, 1631).

Braunmuhl, Christoph Scheiner ah Malhemalicer physiker u. Astronom. (Bamberg, 1891); Sommervogel, Biblioth. de la C. de J.. VII (Paris, 1896), 734; Wolf, Gesch. d. VAstTonomie (Munich, 1887), 319; Del.4Mbre, Hist, de I'Astronomie Moderne, I (Paris, 1821), 081; Schreiber. Nalur u. Offenbarung, V, XXXXVIII, 1 sqq.

H. M. Brock.

Schelble, Johann Nepomuk, musician, b. 16 May, 1789, at Hiiffingen in the Black Forest; d. there 6 Aug., 1837. At the age of 18 he obtained a position as court and opera singer at Stuttgart, and having there begun the study of composition, he wrote an opera ("Graf Adalbert") and other smaller pieces for voices or instruments; there too he was appointed teacher at the musical school of the city. Seven years later (1814), in order to perfect himself in his art, he went to Vienna, where he made the acquaintance of Beethoven. Among other of his compositions during his stay at the capital of Austria, a Missa Solemnis for four voices and orchestra deserves special mention. Upon his arrival in Berlin in 1818, Clemens Brentano, with whom he had formed a friendship, procured him a place as first tenor at Frankfort-on-the-Main. In this city he remained for the rest of his life, and there founded the Society of St. Cecilia, which during the last hundred years has done much for the populariza- tion of classical music among the citizens of this town. He began by giving a weekly musical enter- tainment in his own house; and so great was the success of these meetings that before long he was able to give them a permanent form under the title Cdcilienverein. Its members steadily increased in numbers: in 1818 he began with 21 members; in a few years there were a hundred. The first concert given was the "Magical Flute" of Mozart; soon followed the best works of Handel, Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, and after 1828 those of Bach, not neglecting the older masters, such as Palestrina, Pergolesi, etc. In 1836 his health became impaired, and he returned to his native country to recruit; but in vain. The following year he died. During his absence Felix Mendelssohn took his place as director of the society. So deep and sincere was Mendels- sohn's affection for him, that at the death of his (Mendelssohn's) father, he wrote to Schelble: "You are the only friend who after such a loss can fill the place of my father". Nor were these the sentiments of Mendelssohn alone, but all those who knew him attest that, in loftiness of character and nobility of temperament, he shone forth as an artist and a man in the ideal sense of the word.

Weismann, Johann Nepomuk Schelble (Frankfurt, 1838); Festfeier des C&cillien-Vereina zu Frankfurt hei Gelegenheit seines SO Jahrigen Jubil&ums, 1868; Frankfurter Familienblatter, 7 Feb., 188; Brie/e von Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, II, 121-133.

A. Walter. Schelfhaut, Philip. See Roseau, Diocese of.

Schelstrate, Em.manuel, theologian, b. at Ant- werp, 1649; d. at Rome, 6 April, 1692. While he wiis a canon of the cathedral of Antwerp, he was called to Rome by Innocent IX and made an assis- tant librarian of the Vatican Library.

He was a fine scholar in early ecclesiastical history and became the accredited defender of the papal supremacy. For this reason his writings have often been very severely judged. His "Antiquitas illus- trata circa concilia generalia et provincialia" (Ant- werp, 1678) contains decrees of the pojx's and vari- ous matters of Church hi.story; in it he atfuckcd the errors of Launoy in regard to the primacy of Rome. Schclstrate was only able to issue two volumes of a second edition which he had planned on a large scale (192 and 1697). He carried on controversies with Arnauld and Louis Maimbourg concerning the author- ity of the general councils and of the popes; he op- posed the declaration of the Gallican clergy in 1682, and wrote a treatise on the origin of the Anglican Church in a controversy with Edward Stillingfleet,