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GEOGRAPHY

solution of which was not thus attempted. The fact that the writings of Aristotle and Ptolemy, on which they founded their investigations, had already passed through the hands of Arabian scholars, who, however, probably received them at some time from Syrian priests, proved of advantage to the consequent geo- graphical discussions. The most eminent represen- tative of physical studies was Albertus Magnus; of mathematics, Roger Bacon. Their precursor, Wil- liam of Conches, had already given evidence of inde- pendent conception of the facts of nature in his "Phil- osophia Mundi". Also Alexander Neckham (1150 to about 1227), Abbot of Cirencester, whose "Liber de natura rerum" contains the earliest record of the use of the mariner's compass in navigation and a list of re- markable springs, rivers, and lakes. Blessed Albertus Magnus (1193-1280), a master with whom in the uni- versality of his knowledge only Alexander von Hum- boldt is comparable, opened up to his contempora- ries the entire field of physiography, by means of his admirable exposition of Aristotle, laid the foundations of climatology, botanical geography, and, in a certain sense, even of comparative geography. His work "De ccelo et mundo" treats of the earth as a whole; his "libri meteororum" and "De passionibus aeris" include meteorology, hydrography, and seismology. In the "De natura locorum" he enlarges upon the system of the zones and the relations between man and the earth. He furnished proofs of the sphericity of our planet that are still popularly repeated to-day; he calculated accurately the duration of the day and the seasons in the different quarters of the globe. Ebb and flow, volcanology, the formation of mountain- ranges and continents — all these subjects furnish him material for clever deductions. He carefully recorded the shifting of coastlines, which men at that time al- ready associated with the secular upheaving and sub- sidence of continents. He also ascertained the fre- quency of earthquakes in the neighbourliood of the ocean. He closely observed fossilized animals. He knew that the direction of the axes of mountain- ranges influenced the climate of Europe, and, on the authority of Arabian writers, he was the first to refute the old error that the intertropical surface of the earth must necessarily be quite parched. His fellow-friar, Vincent of Beauvais (d. 12(34), also proved himself to be a very keen observer of nature. A great mass of geographical material is stored up in his "Speculum naturale". Among other thuigs he recognized that mountain-ranges constantly lose in height, owing to the influence of climate and of rain, and that in high altitudes the temperature falls because of the decrease of atmospheric density. Finally, we must mention the original views of St. Thomas Aqumas on geog- raphy, as well as those of the laymen Ristoro of Arezzo, Brunetto Latini (1210-94), his great disciple, Dante (12G5-1321), and, la.stly the "Book of Nature" by Conrad of Megenberg, canon of Ratisbon (1.309- 1.378). For all of these Albertus Magnus had opened the door to the rich treasure-house of Greek and Ara- bian learning. Still more far-reaching in their results were the labours of the scholars who applied them- selves principally to mathematical geography. At the head of them all stands Roger Bacon, the " Doctor Mirabilis" of the Order of St. Francis (1214-94). Columbus was emboldened to carry out his great pro- ject on the strength of Bacon's assertion that India could be reached by a westerly voyage — a claim based on mathematical computation. Even before Ptol- emy's "Geography" had been rediscovered, Bacon attempted to sketch a map, determining mathemati- cally the positions of places, and using Ptolemy's Al- magest, the descriptions of Alfraganus, and the Al- phonsine Tables. Peschel pronounces this to be " the

freatest achievement of the scholastics". Cardinal 'ierre d'Ailly (1.3.50-142.5), whose "Imago Mundi" was also a favourite liook of Columbus's, founded it on

Bacon's works. It is to him and Cardinal Filiaster that Western civilization owes the first Latin transla- tion of Ptolemy's "Geography", which Jacopus Ange- lus finished and dedicated to Pope Alexander V (1409-10). The circulation of this book created a tre- mendous revolution, which was particularly beneficial to the development of cartography for centuries there- after. As early as 1427 the Dane Claudius Clavus added to Filiaster's priceless manuscript of Ptolemy's work his map of Northern Europe, the oldest map of the North which we possess. Donuius Nicolaus Ger- manus, a Benedictme (of Reichenbach?) (146G), was the first scholar who modernized Ptolemy by means of new maps and made him generally accessible. The Benedictine Andreas Walsperger (1448) made a map of the world in the medieval style. That of the Cam- aldolese Fra Mauro (1457) is the most celebrated of all monuments of medieval cartography. It was already enriched by data furnished in Ptolemy's work. "The map of Germany designed by Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa (1401-04), a pupil of Toscanelli (1387-1492), was printed in 1491. This prelate was the teacher of Peuerbach (1432-61), who in turn was the master of Regiomontanus (143G-G7), the most illustrious as- tronomer since Ptolemy. Cardinal Bessarion enabled Regiomontanus to study Greek, and Pope Si.xtus IV (1474) entrusted the reformation of the Calendar to him. We must also mention jEneas Sylvius (after- wards Pope Pius II) and the papal secretaries Poggio and Flavio Biondo, who made several valuable con- tributions to the science of geography, also Cardinal Bembo and the Carthusian Reisch (14G7-1525).

III. — In order to set forth properly the achieve- ments in discovery and research in modern times by Catholic scholars, we adopt Peschel's arrangement. He divides this period of the development of geog- raphy into two main epochs: (1) That of discovery, up to the middle of the seventeenth century; (2) That of geographical measurement, from 1G50 down to the present day. We cannot set down all the names of priests and missionaries which we find in both these periods. Their chief usefulness lay in their contribu- tions to the general knowledge of various countries and races. But they also made contributions of the greatest value to the theoretical development of our science. They were the first and foremost promoters of many studies auxiliary to geography that sprang up in the course of time, such as ethnology, meteorology, volcanology, and so forth.

(1) Even on their earliest voyages the great discov- erers took with them learned priests. These men wrote glowing accounts of the wonders they saw in the newly discovered lands to their brethren at home, so that they might spread the information broadcast. . In a short time monastic settlements sprang up in the great colonial possessions of Spain and Portugal. The Dominicans were the first missionaries to America, and Franciscans are heard of in Imiia as early as 1500, while the Augustinians accompanied Magellan to the Philippines in 1521. They were equipped with the best available aids and assistants. Among the Jesu- its especially these received a thorough and systema- tic training. The Jesuits established missions on the Congo, in 1547, in Brazil, in 1549, in Abyssinia, 1555, in South Africa, 1559, in Peru, 15G8, in Mexico, 1572, in Paraguay, 158G, and in Chile, 1591. They even penetrated into the old heathen civilizations of Japan (1549) and China (15G3).

Soon after the discovery of the West Indies, the Hieronymite Fray Roman wrote a valuable study of the mythology of their inhabitants, which Ferdinanil (!olumbus incorporated in his "Vida del Almirande". It became the corner-stone of American ethnology. The Dominican Bias de Castillo explored the crater of Masaya in Nicaragua, in 1538, which Oviedo also visited and descrilied later. The much-admired work " De rebus oceanicis ct novo orbe" was written by