The seventeenth century in England saw a notable advance
in science. At this time Harvey revealed the circulation of the blood.
Napier, a Scotchman, invented logarithms, which lie at the basis of the higher
mathematics. Boyle, an Irishman, has been called the "father of modern
chemistry," so many were his researches in that field of knowledge. Far
greater than any of these men was Sir Isaac Newton, who discovered the law of
gravitation and the differential calculus. During the Civil War a group of
students interested in the natural world began to hold meetings in London and
Oxford, and shortly after the Restoration they obtained a charter under the
name of the Royal Society. It still exists and enrolls among its members the
most distinguished scientists of England. The Royal Observatory at Greenwich
also dates from the period of the Restoration. Altogether much was being done
to uncover the secrets of nature.
PROGRESS OF ART
Seventeenth century England produced no very eminent
painters or sculptors, though foreign artists, such as Rubens and Van Dyck,
were welcomed there. Among architects the most famous was Sir Christopher Wren,
who did much to popularize the Renaissance style of building. A great fire
which destroyed most of old London during the reign of Charles II gave Wren an
opportunity to rebuild about fifty parish churches, as well as St. Paul's
Cathedral. His tomb in the crypt of the cathedral bears the famous inscription:
Si monumentum requieris, circumspice: "If you seek his monument,
look around you."
