Agricola, Georgius, De re metallica, 1912/1950

List of thumbnails

< >
11
11 		12
12
13
13 		14
14
15
15 		16
16
17
17 		18
18
19
19 		20
20
< >
page |< < of 679 > >|
    <archimedes>
      <text>
        <body>
          <chap>
            <p type="main">
              <s>
                <pb pagenum="xi"/>
              until the fourth day was he borne away to Zeitz and interred in the Cathedral.
                <lb/>
              . . . . I have always admired the genius of this man, so distinguished
                <lb/>
              in our sciences and in the whole realm of Philosophy—yet I wonder at his
                <lb/>
              religious views, which were compatible with reason, it is true, and were
                <lb/>
              dazzling, but were by no means compatible with truth. . . . He
                <lb/>
              would not tolerate with patience that anyone should discuss ecclesiastical
                <lb/>
              matters with him.” This action of the authorities in denying burial to one
                <lb/>
              of their most honored citizens, who had been ever assiduous in furthering
                <lb/>
              the welfare of the community, seems strangely out of joint. </s>
              <s>Further, the
                <lb/>
              Elector Augustus, although a Protestant Prince, was Agricola's warm friend,
                <lb/>
              as evidenced by his letter of but a few months before (see p. </s>
              <s>xv). However,
                <lb/>
              Catholics were then few in number at Chemnitz, and the feeling ran high at the
                <lb/>
              time, so possibly the Prince was afraid of public disturbances. </s>
              <s>Hofmann
                <emph type="sup"/>
              14
                <emph.end type="sup"/>
                <lb/>
              explains this occurrence in the following words:—“The feelings of Chemnitz
                <lb/>
              citizens, who were almost exclusively Protestant, must certainly be taken
                <lb/>
              into account. </s>
              <s>They may have raised objections to the solemn interment of
                <lb/>
              a Catholic in the Protestant Cathedral Church of St. </s>
              <s>Jacob, which had,
                <lb/>
              perhaps, been demanded by his relatives, and to which, according to the
                <lb/>
              custom of the time, he would have been entitled as Burgomaster. </s>
              <s>The
                <lb/>
              refusal to sanction the interment aroused, more especially in the Catholic
                <lb/>
              world, a painful sensation.”</s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>A brass memorial plate hung in the Cathedral at Zeitz had already
                <lb/>
              disappeared in 1686, nor have the cities of his birth or residence ever shown
                <lb/>
              any appreciation of this man, whose work more deserves their gratitude
                <lb/>
              than does that of the multitude of soldiers whose monuments decorate every
                <lb/>
              village and city square. </s>
              <s>It is true that in 1822 a marble tablet was
                <lb/>
              placed behind the altar in the Church of St. </s>
              <s>Jacob in Chemnitz, but even
                <lb/>
              this was removed to the Historical Museum later on.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>He left a modest estate, which was the subject of considerable litigation by
                <lb/>
              his descendants, due to the mismanagement of the guardian. </s>
              <s>Hofmann has
                <lb/>
              succeeded in tracing the descendants for two generations, down to 1609, but
                <lb/>
              the line is finally lost among the multitude of other Agricolas.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>To deduce Georgius Agricola's character we need not search beyond the
                <lb/>
              discovery of his steadfast adherence to the religion of his fathers amid the
                <lb/>
              bitter storm of Protestantism around him, and need but to remember at the
                <lb/>
              same time that for twenty-five years he was entrusted with elective positions
                <lb/>
              of an increasingly important character in this same community. </s>
              <s>No man
                <lb/>
              could have thus held the respect of his countrymen unless he were devoid of
                <lb/>
              bigotry and possessed of the highest sense of integrity, justice, humanity,
                <lb/>
              and patriotism.</s>
            </p>
          </chap>
        </body>
      </text>
    </archimedes>
Impressum