CHAPTER III. RISE OF THE MONASTERIES.

 Alchemy the parent of Chemistry.

 

Learning in Europe was greatly advanced by the foundation of the famous monastery¹ of Monte Cassino, by St. Benedict, near Naples, in the year 529. The religious houses of this order, of which Monte Cassino was the parent, were the means of sheltering in those troublous times the men who devoted² themselves to literature and secular³ learning, as well as to the severities of the religious life. In these peaceful abodes⁴ men learned how to make the desert blossom as the rose, agriculture and other civilizing⁵ occupations were studied and successfully practised, and from the sixth century to the ninth such medical knowledge as existed in Europe chiefly emanated⁶ from these abodes of piety⁷, industry, and temperance. Missionaries⁸ issued from them to convert and civilize⁹ the nations; and wherever the monks¹¹ went, they acted as the healers of the sick, as well as the spiritual advisers¹² of the sinner. Everywhere they cultivated medicinal plants, whose properties they learned to understand; by interchange of thought and comparison of opinions every monastery, with its constant going and coming of the brethren, became an exchange of knowledge: the science of Spain was carried to Italy, that of Italy to France and England, which in their turn contributed to the general stock of information such items of knowledge as they possessed¹³. “If science,” says Schlegel,721 “was then of a very limited range, it was still quite proportioned to the exigencies¹⁴ and intellectual cultivation¹⁵ of the age; for mankind cannot transcend¹⁶ all the degrees of civilization by a single bound, but must mount slowly and in succession its various grades.”

 

Alcuin (735-804), the great reviver of learning in the eighth century, was an ecclesiastic¹⁷ who instructed Charlemagne and his family in rhetoric¹⁸, logic¹⁹, mathematics, and divinity. “France,” says a great writer, “is indebted to Alcuin for all the polite learning it boasted in that and the following ages. The universities of Paris, Tours, Fulden, Soissons, and many others, owe to him their origin and increase.” By301 the benefits he obtained from Charlemagne for the Christian²⁰ schools which he founded, education began to revive in Europe, and by the Emperor’s command schools were established in every convent and cathedral throughout his vast empire, wherein not clerics alone, but the sons of the nobility who were destined²¹ for a secular life, could receive the highest education at that time attainable²². “The monasteries²³ became a kind of fortress²⁴ in which civilization sheltered itself under the banner of some saint; the culture of high intelligence was preserved there, and philosophic²⁵ truth was reborn there of religious truth. Political truth, or liberty, found an exponent²⁶ and a defender²⁷ in the monk¹⁰, who searched into everything, said everything, and feared nothing. Without the inviolability and the leisure of the cloister²⁸, the books and the languages of the ancient world would never have been transmitted to us, and the chain which connects the past with the present would have been snapped. Astronomy, arithmetic, geometry, civil law, physic and medicine, the profane²⁹ authors, grammar, and the belles³⁰ lettres, all the arts, had a succession of professors uninterrupted from the first days of Clovis down to the age when the universities, themselves religious foundations, brought science forth³¹ from the monasteries. To establish this fact it is enough to name Alcuin, Anghilbert, Eginhard, Treghan, Loup de Terrières, Eric d’Auxerre, Hincmar, Odo of Clugny, Cherbert, Abbon, Fulbert.”722

 

The Origin of Chemistry.

 

The great importance of the science of chemistry in its connection with that of medicine, compels some allusion³² to its origin. Without question alchemy was the forerunner³³ of chemistry. Beginning in the search for the means of transmuting³⁴ base metals into gold, it ultimately endowed us with a far more precious knowledge—the art of preparing many of our most valuable medicines.

 

The first authentic³⁵ account of alchemy is an edict of Diocletian about a.d. 300, in which a diligent³⁶ search is ordered to be made in Egypt for all the ancient books which treated of the art of making gold and silver, that they might be destroyed. This shows that the pursuit must have been of great antiquity³⁷. Fable³⁸ credits Solomon, Pythagoras, and Hermes amongst its adepts³⁹. We find nothing more about it till its revival⁴⁰ by the Arabians some five or six hundred years later.723

 

The word Alchemy is mentioned for the first time by the Byzantines. The art of transmuting metals under the name of Chemia, is first spoken of by Suidas, who wrote in the tenth century. The Byzantines began302 to make chemical experiments about the seventh century; all the books they quote were attributed to Hermes. What is known as the Hermetic philosophy was synonymous with alchemy, but the books were really the work of the monks of the period.724

 

The earliest works on alchemy which we possess are those of Geber of Seville, who lived probably about the eighth or ninth century. His works were entitled Of the Search of Perfection, Of the Sum of Perfection, Of the Invention of Verity⁴¹. He divided metals into the more or less perfect, gold the most perfect, silver the next, etc. His aim was to convert inferior metals into gold; that which should turn base metals into gold would be also a universal medicine, would cure or prevent diseases, prolong life, and make the body beautiful and strong. The philosopher’s stone would embrace in itself all perfections. Alchemy led to chemistry; it is even declared by some to have been the mother of chemistry. Some have thought that without the hope of making gold and other precious things, men would never have been inspired to investigate the secrets of nature and sustained in the arduous⁴² and often dangerous work of the chemist. But this is to take far too low a view of the scientific mind in all ages. The search for truth, the passion for investigating and interrogating⁴³ nature has happily never wholly depended upon mercenary motives⁴⁴, and men have devoted their lives as ardently⁴⁵ to scientific researches, by which they could never have hoped to gain a single penny, as did those alchemists of old, who bent⁴⁶ over their crucibles⁴⁷ in the vain search for the perfect magistery.725

 

Gibbon says,726 “The science of chemistry owes its origin and improvement to the industry of the Saracens. They first invented and named the alembic for the purposes of distillation⁴⁸, analysed the substances of the three kingdoms of nature, tried the distinction and affinities⁴⁹ of alkalis and acids, and converted the poisonous minerals into soft and salutary medicines.” Gibbon somewhat exaggerates. Analysis and affinity⁵⁰ were discovered at a much later period. It was Europeans in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who advanced chemical science towards its present high position.

 

Nonnus (10th century) wrote “a compendium⁵¹ of the whole art of medicine,” in 290 chapters. It is a mere⁵² compilation⁵³, and the author is only worthy⁵⁴ of remembrance in medical history as the earliest Greek medical writer who mentions distilled⁵⁵ rose-water, an article originally derived⁵⁶ from the Arabians.

1 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

4 abodes   

住所( abode的名词复数 )； 公寓； （在某地的）暂住； 逗留

参考例句：

• Now he begin to dig near the abodes front legs. 目前他开端挖马前腿附近的土了。
• They built a outstanding bulk of abodes. 她们盖了一大批房屋。

5 civilizing   

v.使文明，使开化( civilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls in a class tend to have a civilizing influence on the boys. 班上的女生往往能让男生文雅起来。
• It exerts a civilizing influence on mankind. 这产生了教化人类的影响。 来自辞典例句

6 emanated   

v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示

参考例句：

• Do you know where these rumours emanated from? 你知道谣言出自何处吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rumor emanated from Chicago. 谣言来自芝加哥。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

8 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 civilize   

vt.使文明，使开化 (=civilise)

参考例句：

• We must civilize away the boy's bad habit.我们必须教育这孩子使其改掉恶习。
• Those facilities are intended to civilize people.那些设施的目的在于教化民众。

10 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

11 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

13 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

14 exigencies   

n.急切需要

参考例句：

• Many people are forced by exigencies of circumstance to take some part in them. 许多人由于境况所逼又不得不在某种程度上参与这种活动。
• The people had to accept the harsh exigencies of war. 人们要承受战乱的严酷现实。

15 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

16 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

17 ecclesiastic   

n.教士，基督教会；adj.神职者的，牧师的，教会的

参考例句：

• The sounds of the church singing ceased and the voice of the chief ecclesiastic was heard,respectfully congratulating the sick man on his reception of the mystery.唱诗中断了，可以听见一个神职人员恭敬地祝贺病人受圣礼。
• The man and the ecclesiastic fought within him,and the victory fell to the man.人和教士在他的心里交战，结果人取得了胜利。

18 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

19 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

20 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

21 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

22 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。

23 monasteries   

修道院( monastery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In ancient China, there were lots of monasteries. 在古时候，中国有许多寺院。
• The Negev became a religious center with many monasteries and churches. 内格夫成为许多庙宇和教堂的宗教中心。

24 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

25 philosophic   

adj.哲学的，贤明的

参考例句：

• It was a most philosophic and jesuitical motorman.这是个十分善辩且狡猾的司机。
• The Irish are a philosophic as well as a practical race.爱尔兰人是既重实际又善于思想的民族。

26 exponent   

n.倡导者，拥护者；代表人物；指数，幂

参考例句：

• She is an exponent of vegetarianism.她是一个素食主义的倡导者。
• He had been the principal exponent of the Gallipoli campaign.他曾为加里波利战役的主要代表人物。

27 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

28 cloister   

n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝

参考例句：

• They went out into the stil,shadowy cloister garden.他们出了房间，走到那个寂静阴沉的修道院的园子里去。
• The ancient cloister was a structure of red brick picked out with white stone.古老的修道院是一座白石衬托着的红砖建筑物。

29 profane   

adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污

参考例句：

• He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
• His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。

30 belles   

n.美女( belle的名词复数 )；最美的美女

参考例句：

• Every girl in Atlanta was knee deep in men,even the plainest girls were carrying on like belles. 亚特兰大的女孩子个个都有许多男人追求，就连最不出色的也像美人一样被男人紧紧缠住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Even lot of belles, remand me next the United States! 还要很多美女，然后把我送回美国！ 来自互联网

31 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

32 allusion   

n.暗示，间接提示

参考例句：

• He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
• She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。

33 forerunner   

n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先

参考例句：

• She is a forerunner of the modern women's movement.她是现代妇女运动的先驱。
• Penicillin was the forerunner of modern antibiotics.青霉素是现代抗生素的先导。

34 transmuting   

v.使变形，使变质，把…变成…( transmute的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There are many recipes for transmuting items, so try many combinations. 合成物品有很多公式，所以尝试多种组合吧。 来自互联网
• Art is about creativity, transmuting the humblest subjects into the sublime. 艺术是一种创造力，能够把最卑贱的事物变得崇高庄严。 来自互联网

35 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

36 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

37 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

38 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

39 adepts   

n.专家，能手( adept的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And, of course, all the dark side adepts will choose that faction. 开发商没有提供有关强盗阵营的特色的内容，但我估计应该是猎枪(shotgun)吧。 来自互联网
• The adepts in Washington mean to give rather than to take. 华盛顿的老手意味着给予而不是索取。 来自互联网

40 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

41 verity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• Human's mission lies in exploring verity bravely.人的天职在勇于探索真理。
• How to guarantee the verity of the financial information disclosed by listed companies? 如何保证上市公司财务信息披露真实性?

42 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

43 interrogating   

n.询问技术v.询问( interrogate的现在分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• She was no longer interrogating but lecturing. 她已经不是在审问而是在教训人了。 来自辞典例句
• His face remained blank, interrogating, slightly helpless. 他的面部仍然没有表情，只带有询问的意思，还有点无可奈何。 来自辞典例句

44 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

45 ardently   

adv.热心地，热烈地

参考例句：

• The preacher is disserveing the very religion in which he ardently believe. 那传教士在损害他所热烈信奉的宗教。 来自辞典例句
• However ardently they love, however intimate their union, they are never one. 无论他们的相爱多么热烈，无论他们的关系多么亲密，他们决不可能合而为一。 来自辞典例句

46 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

47 crucibles   

n.坩埚，严酷的考验（ crucible的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Gooch crucibles or similar filters are used for such measurements. 在这样的测定中，采用Gooch坩埚或类似的过滤器。 来自辞典例句
• Have you really measured the world by scrutinies, or through alembics and crucibles? 那么，这是否因为您是从蒸馏器和坩埚上来研究人类的呢？ 来自互联网

48 distillation   

n.蒸馏，蒸馏法

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century.通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• The oil is distilled from the berries of this small tree.油是从这种小树的浆果中提炼出来的。

49 affinities   

n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 )；亲近；（生性）喜爱；类同

参考例句：

• Cubism had affinities with the new European interest in Jazz. 主体派和欧洲新近的爵士音乐热有密切关系。 来自辞典例句
• The different isozymes bind calcium ions with different affinities. 不同的同功酶以不同的亲和力与钙离子相结合。 来自辞典例句

50 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

51 compendium   

n.简要，概略

参考例句：

• The Compendium of Materia Medica has been held in high esteem since it was first published.“本草纲目”问世之后，深受人们的推重。
• The book is a compendium of their poetry,religion and philosophy.这本书是他们诗歌、宗教和哲学的概略。

52 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

53 compilation   

n.编译，编辑

参考例句：

• One of the first steps taken was the compilation of a report.首先采取的步骤之一是写一份报告。
• The compilation of such diagrams,is of lasting value for astronomy.绘制这样的图对天文学有永恒的价值。

54 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

55 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

56 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》