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Sorrentino's Canadian Textbook for the

Support Worker 5th Edition Mary J. Wilk


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Sorrentino's Canadian Textbook
for the Support Worker

FIFTH EDITION

Mary J. Wilk, RN, GNC(C), BA, BScN,


MN
Professor and PSW Program Coordinator, Fanshawe College, London,
Ontario

Sheila A. Sorrentino, RN, PhD


Delegation Consultant, Anthem, Arizona

Leighann N. Remmert, RN, MS


Certified Nursing Assistant Instructor, Williamsville, Illinois
Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

About the Authors

Canadian Editorial Advisory Board and Reviewers

Acknowledgements

Instructor Preface

Student Preface

Chapter 1. The Role and Responsibilities of the Support Worker

Support Work Across Canada


The Health Care Team

Being a Professional

The Goal of Support Work: Improved Quality of Life Through


Client-Centred Care

Critical Thinking, Decision Making, and Problem-Solving

Chapter 2. The Canadian Health Care System

Canada’s Current Health Care System

The Provincial or Territorial Role in Health Care

Health Care Challenges, Supplementary Services, and Trends

Chapter 3. Workplace Settings

Workplace Settings and Services Provided

Working in Community-Based Settings

Working in Facility-Based Settings

Working in a Facility

Chapter 4. Ethics

The Influence of Culture on Beliefs, Values, Morals, and Ethics

Codes of Ethics

The Principles of Health Care Ethics


Chapter 5. Legislation: The Client’s Rights and Your Rights

Understanding Rights

Basic Human Rights in Canada

Basic Rights of People Receiving Health Services

Understanding Legal Issues

Your Legal Rights

Chapter 6. Health, Wellness, Illness, and Disability

Health and Wellness

Illness and Disability

Supporting Clients with Illness and Disability

Chapter 7. Caring About Culture and Diversity

Diversity: Ethnicity and Culture

The Effect of Culture

Providing Culturally Sensitive Care and Support

Chapter 8. Managing Stress

Stress

Time Management

Decision Making
Problem Solving

Dealing with Conflict

Chapter 9. Interpersonal Communication

Factors that Influence Communication

Verbal Communication

Nonverbal Communication

Communication Methods

Professional Communication

Communication Barriers

Communicating with Angry People

Communicating Assertively

Explaining Procedures and Tasks

Communicating with Clients Living with Dementia

Chapter 10. Working With Others: Teamwork and Delegation

The Health Care Team

Working Under Supervision

Assigning and Delegating

Chapter 11. Working With Clients and Their Families


Providing Compassionate Care While Maintaining a
Professional Relationship with the Client

The Client’S Family

Chapter 12. Abuse, Bullying, and Harassment Awareness

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Types of Abuse

Abusive Relationships

Recognizing the Signs of Abuse

The Cycle of Abuse

What to do when Clients Speak of Abuse

Your Legal Responsibilities in Reporting Abuse

How to Report Abuse

Abuse of Health Care Workers

Chapter 13. Starting Your Career

Getting Organized

Setting Priorities and Goals

Preparing Your Resumé and Professional Portfolio

Finding and Following Leads

Preparing a Letter of Application


Completing a Job Application Form

The Interview

The Employment Offer

Chapter 14. Body Mechanics

Helping to Prevent Personal Injuries

Body Mechanics

Positioning the Client

Transferring the Client

Lifting a Client

Chapter 15. Exercise and Activity

Bed Rest

Ambulation

Chapter 16. Rehabilitation and Restorative Care

Rehabilitative Care Versus Restorative Care

Goals of Rehabilitative and Restorative Care

Rehabilitation Settings

The Rehabilitation Process

Assisting with Rehabilitation and Restorative Care


Overall Benefits Of Rehabilitation And Restorative Care

Chapter 17. Personal Hygiene Support worker using the electronic


display machine for transferring the older client into the bathtub.

Oral Hygiene

Bathing

The Back Massage

Perineal Care

Menstrual Care

Chapter 18. Grooming and Dressing

Hair Care

Shaving

Care of Nails and Feet

Changing Clothing, Incontinence Briefs, and Hospital Gowns

Applying Elastic Anti-Embolic Stockings and Bandages

Compassionate Care

Chapter 19. Preventing Infection

Microorganisms

The Spread Of Pathogens

Medical Asepsis
Hand Hygiene

Isolation Precautions

Surgical Asepsis

Chapter 20. Safety

Accident Risk Factors

Identifying the Client

Safety Measures at Home and in the Workplace

Preventing Poisoning

Preventing Burns

Preventing Accidents with Equipment

Preventing Fires

Preventing Suffocation

Restraints and How to Avoid Using Them

Promoting Your Personal Safety

Chapter 21. Beds and Bed Making

The Client’s Bed

Linen

Bed Making
Chapter 22. Skin Care and Prevention of Wounds

Types of Wounds

Skin Tears

Pressure Injuries

Leg And Foot Ulcers

Wound Healing

Dressings

Chapter 23. Promoting Client Comfort, Pain Management, and Sleep

Promoting Client Comfort And Well-Being

Pain And Its Impact On A Client’s Well-Being

Rest And Sleep

Chapter 24. Measuring Height, Weight, and Vital Signs Close-up of


hand of support worker checking client’s blood pressure, with cuff
placed on upper arm.

Measuring Height And Weight

Measuring And Reporting Vital Signs

Body Temperature

Pulse

Respirations

Blood Pressure
Chapter 25. Medical Terminology

Word Elements

Combining Word Elements

Abdominal Regions

Directional Terms

Abbreviations

Chapter 26. Planning, Reporting, and Recording Client Care

The Care-Planning Process in Facilities

The Care-Planning Process in Community Settings

Your Role In The Care-Planning Process

Verbal Reporting

Client Records or Charts

Chapter 27. Nutrition and Fluids

Basic Nutrition

Canada’s Dietary Guidelines

Nutrition Throughout the Life Cycle

Factors That Affect Eating and Nutrition

Food Labels

Caffeine Intake
Meal Planning and Preparation

Special Diets

Assisting Clients With Eating

Fluid Balance

Chapter 28. Enteral Nutrition and Intravenous Therapy

Enteral Nutrition

Intravenous Therapy

Subcutaneous Infusion Therapy

Chapter 29. Urinary Elimination

Normal Urination

Urinary Incontinence

Catheters

Bladder Training

Collecting Urine Specimens

Testing Urine

The Client With A Ureterostomy Or An Ileal Conduit

Compassionate Care

Chapter 30. Bowel Elimination


Normal Bowel Movements

Factors Affecting Bowel Movement

Common Challenges Affecting Bowel Movement

Bowel Training

Enemas

Rectal Tubes

The Client with an Ostomy

Stool Specimens

Chapter 31. Growth and Development

Principles

Selected Theories of Human Development

Growth and Development

Chapter 32. Body Structure and Function

Anatomical Terms

Cells, Tissues, Organs, Body Cavities, and Organ Systems

The Integumentary System

The Musculoskeletal System

The Nervous System

The Sense Organs


The Endocrine System

The Circulatory System

The Respiratory System

The Immune System

The Digestive System

The Urinary System

The Reproductive System

Chapter 33. Common Diseases and Disorders

Communicable Diseases

Cancer

Integumentary System Disorders

Musculoskeletal System Disorders

Nervous System Disorders

Endocrine System Disorders

Cardiovascular System Disorders

Respiratory System Disorders

Immune System Disorders

Digestive System Disorders

Urinary System Disorders


Reproductive System Disorders

Chapter 34. Hearing and Vision Disorders

Ear Disorders and Hearing Impairment

Eye Disorders and Vision Impairment

Service Dogs for People with Hearing or Vision Challenges

Chapter 35. Speech and Language Disorders

Aphasia

Apraxia of Speech

Dysarthria

Emotional Effects of Speech and Language Disorders

Treatment for Speech and Language Disorders

Supporting and Communicating with Clients

Chapter 36. Developmental Disorders and Disabilities

Caring for a Client Who is Living with a Developmental Disability


or Disorder

Types of Developmental Disorders and Disabilities

The Impact of Developmental Disorders and Disabilities on the


Family
Chapter 37. Mental Health Disorders Woman looking sad, while
keeping hand on forehead.

Mental Health and Mental Health Disorders

Acquired Brain Injuries

Anxiety Disorders

Bipolar and Related Disorders

Depressive Disorders

Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders

Feeding and Eating Disorders

Obsessive–Compulsive and Related Disorders

Personality Disorders

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Self-Harm Disorders

Sleep–Wake Disorders

Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders

Suicidal Behaviour Disorder

Chapter 38. Disorientation, Delirium, and Dementia

Disorientation

Delirium

Dementia
Primary Dementias

Secondary Dementias

Depression and Dementia16

Stages of Dementia

Supporting Clients who are Living with Dementia

Managing Responsive Behaviours

Caregiver Needs

Chapter 39. Promoting Oxygenation

Factors Affecting Oxygen Needs

Altered Respiratory Function

Promoting Oxygenation

Assisting with Oxygen Therapy

Assisting with Assessment and Diagnostic Testing

Artificial Airways

Suctioning an Airway

Mechanical Ventilation

Chest Tubes

Chapter 40. Heat and Cold Applications

Heat Applications
Cold Applications

Chapter 41. Caring for Infants and Their Parents

Caring for New Birth Parents

Caring for Infants

Chapter 42. Caring for the Young

Supporting the Infant, Child, or Teen

Assisting Infants and Children to Meet Nutritional Needs

Reye’s Syndrome

Discipline

Supporting the Child Who Demonstrates Challenging


Behaviours

Preventing Infections

Chapter 43. Caring for Older Persons

Caring for Older Clients

Emotional and Social Changes

Depression in Older Persons

Physical Changes

The Older Person and Sexuality


Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
M. Foucault’s Proofs of the Earth’s Motion.

It was hardly to be expected that we should discover, in our own


day, a new physical proof of the earth’s motion, yet so it has been.
The experiments of M. Foucault have enabled us to see the Rotation
of the Earth on its axis, as taking place, we may say, before our
eyes. These experiments are, in fact, a result of what has been said
in speaking of the Moon’s rotation: namely, That the mechanical
causes of motion operate with reference to absolute, not relative,
space; so that where there is no cause operating to change a
motion, it will retain its direction in absolute space; and may on that
account seem to change, if regarded relatively in a limited space.

In M. Foucault’s first experiment, the motion employed was that of


a pendulum. If a pendulum oscillate quite freely, there is no cause
acting to change the vertical plane of oscillation absolutely; for the
forces which produce the oscillation are in the vertical plane. But if
the vertical plane remain the same absolutely, at a spot on the
surface of the revolving Earth, it will change relatively to the
spectator. He will see the pendulum oscillate in a vertical plane
which gradually 526 turns away from its first position. Now this is
what really happens; and thus the revolution of the Earth in absolute
space is experimentally proved.

In subsequent experiments, M. Foucault has used the rotation of a


body to prove the same thing. For when a body rotates freely, acted
upon by no power, there is nothing to change the position of the axis
of rotation in absolute space. But if the position of the axis remain
the same in absolute space, it will, in virtue of its relative motion,
change as seen by a spectator at any spot on the rotating Earth. By
taking a heavy disk or globe and making it rotate on its axis rapidly,
the force of absolute permanence (as compared with the inevitable
casual disturbances arising from the machinery which supports the
revolving disk) becomes considerable and hence the relative motion
can, in this way also, be made visible.

Mr. De Morgan has said (Comp. to Brit. Alm. 1836, p. 18) that
astronomy does not supply any argument for the earth’s motion
which is absolutely and demonstrably conclusive, till we come to the
Aberration of Light. But we may now venture to say that the
experiments of M. Foucault prove the diurnal motion of the Earth in
the most conclusive manner, by palpable and broad effects, if we
accept the doctrines of the Science of Mechanics: while Aberration
proves the annual motion, if we suppose that we can observe the
places of the fixed stars to the accuracy of a few seconds; and if we
accept, in addition to the doctrines of Mechanics, the doctrine of the
motion of light with a certain great velocity.
CHAPTER III.

Sequel to Copernicus.

English Copernicans.

P ROFESSOR DE MORGAN has made numerous and interesting


contributions to the history of the progress and reception of the
Copernican System. These are given mainly in the Companion to the
British Almanac; especially in his papers entitled “Old Arguments
against the Motion of the Earth” (1836); “English Mathematical and
Astronomical Writers” (1837); “On the Difficulty of Correct 527
Description of Books” (1853); “The Progress of the Doctrine of the
Earth’s Motion between the Times of Copernicus and Galileo”
(1855). In these papers he insists very rightly upon the distinction
between the mathematical and the physical aspect of the doctrines
of Copernicus: a distinction corresponding very nearly with the
distinction which we have drawn between Formal and Physical
Astronomy; and in accordance with which we have given the history
of the Heliocentric Doctrine as a Formal Theory in Book v., and as a
Physical Theory in Book vii.

Another interesting part of Mr. De Morgan’s researches are the


notices which he has given of the early assertors of the heliocentric
doctrine in England. These make their appearance as soon as it was
well possible they should exist. The work of Copernicus was
published, as we have said, in 1543. In September 1556, John Field
published an Ephemeris for 1557, “juxta Copernici et Reinholdi
Canones,” in the preface to which he avows his conviction of the
truth of the Copernican hypothesis. Robert Recorde, the author of
various works on Arithmetic, published among others, “The Pathway
to Knowledge” in 1551. In this book, the author discusses the
question of the “quietnes of the earth,” and professes to leave it
undecided: but Mr. De Morgan (Comp. A. 1837, p. 33) conceives that
it appears from what is said, that he was really a Copernican, but did
not think the world ripe for any such doctrine.

Mr. Joseph Hunter also has brought to notice 29 the claims of Field,
whom he designates as the Proto-Copernican of England. He quotes
the Address to the Reader prefixed to his first Ephemeris, and dated
May 31, 1556, in which he says that, since abler men decline the
task, “I have therefore published this Ephemeris of the year 1557,
following in it as my authorities, N. Copernicus and Erasmus
Reinhold, whose writings are established and founded on true,
certain, and authentic demonstrations.” I conceive that this passage,
however, only shows that Field had adopted the Copernican scheme
as a basis for the calculation of Ephemerides; which, as Mr. De
Morgan has remarked, is a very different thing from accepting it as a
physical truth. Field, in this same address, makes mention of the
errors “illius turbæ quæ Alphonsi utitur hypothesi;” but the word
hypothesis is still indecisive.
29 Ast. Soc. Notices, vol. iii. p. 3 (1833).

As evidence that Field was regarded in his own day as a man who
528 had rendered good service to science, Mr. Hunter notices that, in
1558, the Heralds granted to him the right of using, with his arms,
the crest or additional device of a red right arm issuing from the
clouds, and presenting a golden armillary sphere.

Recorde’s claims depend upon a passage in a Dialogue between


Master and Scholar, in which the Master expounds the doctrine of
Copernicus, and the authorities against it; to which the Scholar
answers, taking the common view: “Nay, sir, in good faith I desire not
to hear such vaine phantasies, so far against common reason, and
repugnant to all the learned multitude of wryters, and therefore let it
passe for ever and a day longer.” The Master, more sagely, warns
him against a hasty judgment, and says, “Another time I will so
declare his supposition, that you shall not only wonder to hear it, but
also peradventure be as earnest then to credit it, as you now are
now to condemne it.” I conceive that this passage proves Mr. De
Morgan’s assertion, that Recorde was a Copernican, and very likely
the first in England.

In 1555, also, Leonard Digges published his “Prognostication


Everlasting;” but this is, as Mr. De Morgan says (Comp. A. 1837, p.
40) a meteorological work. It was republished in 1592 by his son
Thomas Digges with additions; and as these have been the occasion
of some confusion among those who have written on the history of
astronomy, I am glad to be able, through the kindness of Professor
Walker of Oxford, to give a distinct account of the editions of the
work.

In the Bodleian Library, besides the editions of 1555 and 1592 of


the “Prognostication Everlasting,” there is an edition of 1564. It is still
decidedly Ptolemaic, and contains a Diagram representing a number
of concentric circles, which are marked, in order, as—
“The Earth,
Moone,
Venus,
Mercury,
Sunne,
Mars,
Jupiter,
Saturne,
The Starrie Firmament,
The Crystalline Heavens,
The First Mover,
The Abode of God and the Elect. Here the Learned do approve.”
529

The third edition, of 1592, contains an Addition, by the son, of


twenty pages. He there speaks of having found, apparently among
his father’s papers, “A description or modile of the world and
situation of Spheres Cœlestiall and elementare according to the
doctrine of Ptolemie, whereunto all universities (led thereunto chiefly
by the authoritie of Aristotle) do consent.” He adds: “But in this our
age, one rare witte (seeing the continuall errors that from time to
time more and more continually have been discovered, besides the
infinite absurdities in their Theoricks, which they have been forced to
admit that would not confesse any Mobilitie in the ball of the Earth)
hath by long studye, paynfull practise, and rare invention, delivered a
new Theorick or Model of the world, shewing that the Earth resteth
not in the Center of the whole world or globe of elements, which
encircled and enclosed in the Moone’s orbe, and together with the
whole globe of mortalitye is carried yearely round about the Sunne,
which like a king in the middest of all, raygneth and giveth lawes of
motion to all the rest, sphærically dispersing his glorious beames of
light through all this sacred cœlestiall Temple. And the Earth itselfe
to be one of the Planets, having his peculiar and strange courses,
turning every 24 hours rounde upon his owne centre, whereby the
Sunne and great globe of fixed Starres seem to sway about and
turne, albeit indeed they remaine fixed—So many ways is the sense
of mortal man abused.”
This Addition is headed:
“A Perfit Description of the Cœlestiall Orbes, according to the most
ancient doctrine of the Pythagoreans: lately revived by Copernicus,
and by Geometrical Demonstrations approved.” Mr. De Morgan, not
having seen this edition, and knowing the title-page only as far as
the word “Pythagoreans,” says “their astrological doctrines we
presume, not their reputed Copernican ones.” But it now appears
that in this, as in other cases, the authority of the Pythagoreans was
claimed for the Copernican system. Antony a Wood quotes the latter
part of the title thus: “Cui subnectitur orbium Copernicarum accurata
descriptio;” which is inaccurate. Weidler, still more inaccurately, cites
it, “Cui subnectitur operum Copernici accurata descriptio.” Lalande
goes still further, attempting, it would seem, to recover the English
title-page from the Latin: we find in the Bibl. Astron. the following:
“1592 . . Leonard Digges, Accurate Description of the Copernican
System to the Astronomical perpetual Prognostication.”

Thomas Digges appears, by others also of his writings, to have


been 530 a clear and decided Copernican. In his “Alæ sive Scalæ
Mathematicæ,” 1573, he bestows high praise upon Copernicus and
upon his system: and appears to have been a believer in the real
motion of the Earth, and not merely an admirer of the system of
Copernicus as an explanatory hypothesis.

Giordano Bruno.

The complete title of the work referred to is:


“Jordani Bruni Nolani De Monade Numero et Figura liber
consequens Quinque De Minimo Magno et Mensura, item De
Innumerabilibus, Immenso et Infigurabili; seu De Universo et Mundis
libri octo. (Francofurti, 1591.)”

That the Reader may judge of the value of Bruno’s speculations, I


give the following quotations:

Lib. iv. c. 11 (Index). “Tellurem totam habitabilem esse intus et


extra, et innumerabilia animantium complecti tum nobis sensibilium
tum occultorum genera.”

C. 13. “Ut Mundorum Synodi in Universo et particulares Mundi in


Synodis ordinentur,’ &c.

He says (Lib. v. c. 1, p. 461): “Besides the stars and the great


worlds there are smaller living creatures carried through the etherial
space, in the form of a small sphere which has the aspect of a bright
fire, and is by the vulgar regarded as a fiery beam. They are below
the clouds, and I saw one which seemed to touch the roofs of the
houses. Now this sphere, or beam as they call it, was really a living
creature (animal), which I once saw moving in a straight path, and
grazing as it were the roofs of the city of Nola, as if it were going to
impinge on Mount Cicada; which however it went over.”

There are two recent editions of the works of Giordano Bruno; by


Adolf Wagner, Leipsick, 1830, in two volumes; and by Gfrörer, Berlin,
1833. Of the latter I do not know that more than one volume (vol. ii.)
has appeared.

Did Francis Bacon reject the Copernican System?

Mr. De Morgan has very properly remarked (Comp. B. A. 1855,


p. 11) that the notice of the heliocentric question in the Novum
Organon must be considered one of the most important passages in
his works upon this point, as being probably the latest written and
best 531 matured. It occurs in Lib. ii. Aphorism xxxvi., in which he is
speaking of Prerogative Instances, of which he gives twenty-seven
species. In the passage now referred to, he is speaking of a kind of
Prerogative Instances, better known to ordinary readers than most of
the kinds by name, the Instantia Crucis: though probably the
metaphor from which this name is derived is commonly wrongly
apprehended. Bacon’s meaning is Guide-Post Instances: and the
Crux which he alludes to is not a Cross, but a Guide-Post at Cross-
roads. And among the cases to which such Instances may be
applied, he mentions the diurnal motion of the heavens from east to
west, and the special motion of the particular heavenly bodies from
west to east. And he suggests what he conceives may be an
Instantia Crucis in each case. If, he says, we find any motion from
east to west in the bodies which surround the earth, slow in the
ocean, quicker in the air, quicker still in comets, gradually quicker in
planets according to their greater distance from the earth: then we
may suppose that there is a cosmical diurnal motion, and the motion
of the earth must be denied.

With regard to the special motions of the heavenly bodies, he first


remarks that each body not coming quite so far westwards as
before, after one revolution of the heavens, and going to the north or
the south, does not imply any special motion; since it may be
accounted for by a modification of the diurnal motion in each, which
produces a defect of the return, and a spiral path; and he says that if
we look at the matter as common people 30 and disregard the
devices of astronomers, the motion is really so to the senses; and
that he has made an imitation of it by means of wires. The instantia
crucis which he here suggests is, to see if we can find in any credible
history an account of any comet which did not share in the diurnal
revolution of the skies.
30 Et certissimum est si paulisper pro plebeiis nos geramus
(missis astronomorum et scholæ commentis, quibus illud in more
est, ut sensui in multis immerito vim faciant et obscuriora malint)
talem esse motum istum ad sensum qualem diximus.

On his assertion that the motion of each separate planet is, to


sense, a spiral, we may remark that it is certainly true; but that the
business of science, here, as elsewhere, consists in resolving the
complex phenomenon into simple phenomena; the complex spiral
motion into simple circular motions.

With regard to the diurnal motion of the earth, it would seem as if


Bacon himself had a leaning to believe it when he wrote this
passage; for neither is he himself, nor are any of the
Anticopernicans, 532 accustomed to assert that the immensely rapid
motion of the sphere of the Fixed Stars graduates by a slower and
slower motion of Planets, Comets, Air, and Ocean, into the
immobility of the Earth. So that the conditions are not satisfied on
which he hypothetically says, “tum abnegandus est motus terræ.”

With regard to the proper motions of the planets, this passage


seems to me to confirm what I have already said of him; that he does
not appear to have seen the full value and meaning of what had
been done, up to his time, in Formal Astronomy.

We may however fully agree with Mr. De Morgan; that the whole of
what he has said on this subject, when put together, does not justify
Hume’s assertion that he rejected the Copernican system “with the
most positive disdain.”
Mr. De Morgan, in order to balance the Copernican argument
derived from the immense velocity of the stars in their diurnal
velocity on the other supposition, has reminded us that those who
reject this great velocity as improbable, accept without scruple the
greater velocity of light. It is curious that Bacon also has made this
comparison, though using it for a different purpose; namely, to show
that the transmission of the visual impression may be instantaneous.
In Aphorism xlvi. of Book ii. of the Novum Organon he is speaking of
what he calls Instantiæ curriculi, or Instantiæ ad aquam, which we
may call Instances by the clock: and he says that the great velocity
of the diurnal sphere makes the marvellous velocity of the rays of
light more credible.

“Immensa illa velocitas in ipso corpore, quæ cernitur in motu


diurno (quæ etiam viros graves ita obstupefecit ut mallent credere
motum terræ), facit motum illum ejaculationis ab ipsis [stellis] (licet
celeritate ut diximus admirabilem) magis credibilem.” This passage
shows an inclination towards the opinion of the earth’s being at rest,
but not a very strong conviction.

Kepler persecuted.

We have seen (p. 280) that Kepler writes to Galileo in 1597—“Be


trustful and go forwards. If Italy is not a convenient place for the
publication of your views, and if you are likely to meet with any
obstacles, perhaps Germany will grant us the necessary liberty.”
Kepler however had soon afterwards occasion to learn that in
Germany also, the cultivators of science were exposed to
persecution. It is true that 533 in his case the persecution went
mainly on the broad ground of his being a Protestant, and extended
to great numbers of persons at that time. The circumstances of this
and other portions of Kepler’s life have been brought to light only
recently through an examination of public documents in the Archives
of Würtemberg and unpublished letters of Kepler. (Johann Keppler’s
Leben und Wirken, nach neuerlich aufgefundenen Manuscripten
bearbeitet von J. L. C. Freiherrn v. Breitschwart, K. Würtemberg.
Staats-Rath. Stuttgart, 1831.)

Schiller, in his History of the Thirty Years’ War, says that when
Ferdinand of Austria succeeded to the Archduchy of Stiria, and
found a great number of Protestants among his subjects, he
suppressed their public worship without cruelty and almost without
noise. But it appears now that the Protestants were treated with
great severity. Kepler held a professorship in Stiria, and had married,
in 1507, Barbara Müller, who had landed property in that province.
On the 11th of June, 1598, he writes to his friend Mæstlin that the
arrival of the Prince out of Italy is looked forwards to with terror. In
December he writes that the Protestants had irritated the Catholics
by attacks from the pulpit and by caricatures; that hereupon the
Prince, at the prayer of the Estates, had declared the Letter of
License granted by his father to be forfeited, and had ordered all the
Evangelical Teachers to leave the country on pain of death. They
went to the frontiers of Hungary and Croatia; but after a month,
Kepler was allowed to return, on condition of keeping quiet. His
discoveries appear to have operated in his favor. But the next year
he found his situation in Stiria intolerable, and longed to return to his
native country of Würtemberg, and to find some position there. This
he did not obtain. He wrote a circular letter to his Brother
Protestants, to give them consolation and courage; and this was held
to be a violation of the conditions on which his residence was
tolerated. Fortunately, at this time he was invited to join Tycho Brahe,
who had also been driven from his native country, and was living at
Prague. The two astronomers worked together under the patronage
of the Emperor Rudolph II.; and when Tycho died in 1601, Kepler
became the Imperial Mathematicus.

We are not to imagine that even among Protestants, astronomical


notions were out of the sphere of religious considerations. When
Kepler was established in Stiria, his first official business was the
calculation of the Calendar for the Evangelical Community. They
protested against the new Calendar, as manifestly calculated for the
furtherance of an impious papistry: and, say they, “We hold the Pope
for a 534 horrible roaring Lion. If we take his Calendar, we must
needs go into the church when he rings us in.” Kepler however did
not fail to see, and to say, that the Papal Reformation of the
Calendar was a vast improvement.

Kepler, as court-astronomer, was of course required to provide


such observations of the heavens as were requisite for the
calculations of the Astrologers. That he considered Astrology to be
valuable only as the nurse of Astronomy, he did not hesitate to
reveal. He wrote a work with a title of which the following is the best
translation which I can give: “Tertius interveniens, or: A Warning to
certain Theologi, Medici, Philosophi, that while they reasonably
reject star-gazing superstition, they do not throw away the kernel
with the shell. 31 1610.” In this he says, “You over-clever
Philosophers blame this Daughter of Astronomy more than is
reasonable. Do you not know that she must maintain her mother with
her charms? How many men would be able to make Astronomy their
business, if men did not cherish the hope to read the Future in the
skies?”
31 The German passage involves a curious image, borrowed, I
suppose, from some odd story: “dass sie mit billiger Verwerfung
des sternguckerischen Aberglaubens das Kind nicht mit dem
Bade ausschütten.” “That they do not throw away the child along
with the dirty water of his bath.”

Were the Papal Edicts against the Copernican System repealed?

Admiral Smyth, in his Cycle of Celestial Objects, vol. i. p. 65,


says—“At length, in 1818, the voice of truth was so prevailing that
Pius VII. repealed the edicts against the Copernican system, and
thus, in the emphatic words of Cardinal Toriozzi, ‘wiped off this
scandal from the Church.’”

A like story is referred to by Sir Francis Palgrave, in his


entertaining and instructive fiction, The Merchant and the Friar.

Having made inquiry of persons most likely to be well informed on


this subject, I have not been able to learn that there is any further
foundation for these statements than this: In 1818, on the revisal of
the Index Expurgatorius, Galileo’s writings were, after some
opposition, expunged from that Catalogue.

Monsignor Marino Marini, an eminent Roman Prelate, had


addressed to the Romana Accademia di Archeologia, certain
historico-critical Memoirs, which he published in 1850, with the title
Galileo e l’Inquisizione. In these, he confirms the conclusion which, I
think, almost 535 all persons who have studied the facts have arrived
at; 32 that Galileo trifled with authority to which he professed to
submit, and was punished for obstinate contumacy, not for heresy.
M. Marini renders full justice to Galileo’s ability, and does not at all
hesitate to regard his scientific attainments as among the glories of
Italy. He quotes, what Galileo himself quoted, an expression of
Cardinal Baronius, that “the intention of the Holy Spirit was to teach
how to go to heaven, not how heaven goes.” 33 He shows that
Galileo pleaded (p. 62) that he had not held the Copernican opinion
after it had been intimated to him (by Bellarmine in 1616), that he
was not to hold it; and that his breach of promise in this respect was
the cause of the proceedings against him.
32 M. Marini (p. 29) mentions Leibnitz, Guizot, Spittler, Eichhorn,
Raumer, Ranke, among the “storici eterodossi” who have at last
done justice to the Roman Church.

33 Come si vada al Cielo, e non come vada il Cielo.

Those who admire Galileo and regard him as a martyr because,


after escaping punishment by saying “It does not move,” he forthwith
said “And yet it does move,” will perhaps be interested to know that
the former answer was suggested to him by friends anxious for his
safety. Niccolini writes to Bali Cioli (April 9, 1633) that Galileo
continued to be so persuaded of the truth of his opinions that “he
was resolved (some moments before his sentence) to defend them
stoutly; but I (continues Niccolini) exhorted him to make an end of
this; not to mind defending them; and to submit himself to that which
he sees that they may desire him to believe or to hold about this
matter of the motion of the earth. He was extremely afflicted.” But the
Inquisition was satisfied with his answers, and required no more. 34
34 Marini, p. 61.
B O O K VI.

MECHANICS.
CHAPTER III.

Principles and Problems.

Significance of Analytical Mechanics.

I N the text, page 372, I have stated that Lagrange, near the end of
his life, expressed his sorrow that the methods of approximation
employed in Physical Astronomy rested on arbitrary processes, and
not on any insight into the results of mechanical action. From the
recent biography of Gauss, the greatest physical mathematician of
modern times, we learn that he congratulated himself on having
escaped this error. He remarked 35 that many of the most celebrated
mathematicians, Euler very often, Lagrange sometimes, had trusted
too much to the symbolical calculation of their problems, and would
not have been able to give an account of the meaning of each
successive step of their investigation. He said that he himself, on the
other hand, could assert that at every step which he took, he always
had the aim and purpose of his operations before his eyes without
ever turning aside from the way. The same, he remarked, might be
said of Newton.
35 Gauss, Zum Gedächtniss, von W. Sartorius v. Waltershausen,
p. 80.

Engineering Mechanics.

The principles of the science of Mechanics were discovered by


observations made upon bodies within the reach of men; as we have
seen in speaking of the discoveries of Stevinus, Galileo, and others,
up to the time of Newton. And when there arose the controversy
about vis viva (Chap. v. Sect. 2 of this Book);—namely, whether the
“living force” of a body is measured by the product of the weight into
the 537 velocity, or of the weight into the square of the velocity;—still
the examples taken were cases of action in machines and the like
terrestrial objects. But Newton’s discoveries identified celestial with
terrestrial mechanics; and from that time the mechanical problems of
the heavens became more important and attractive to
mathematicians than the problems about earthly machines. And thus
the generalizations of the problems, principles, and methods of the
mathematical science of Mechanics from this period are principally
those which have reference to the motions of the heavenly bodies:
such as the Problem of Three Bodies, the Principles of the
Conservation of Areas, and of the Immovable Plane, the Method of
Variation of Parameters, and the like (Chap. vi. Sect. 7 and 14). And
the same is the case in the more recent progress of that subject, in
the hands of Gauss, Bessel, Hansen, and others.

But yet the science of Mechanics as applied to terrestrial


machines—Industrial Mechanics, as it has been termed—has made
some steps which it may be worth while to notice, even in a general
history of science. For the most part, all the most general laws of
mechanical action being already finally established, in the way which
we have had to narrate, the determination of the results and
conditions of any combination of materials and movements becomes
really a mathematical deduction from known principles. But such
deductions may be made much more easy and much more luminous
by the establishment of general terms and general propositions
suited to their special conditions. Among these I may mention a new
abstract term, introduced because a general mechanical principle
can be expressed by means of it, which has lately been much

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