"Galvani constantly refused to take the civil oath demanded by the decrees of the Cis-Alpine Republic. Who can blame him for having followed the voice of his conscience—that sacred, interior voice which alone prescribes the duties of man and which has preceded all human laws? Who could not praise him for having sacrificed all such exemplary resignation, all the emoluments of his professorship, rather than violate the solemn engagements made under religious sanction?"
In the same panegyric there is a very curiously interesting passage with regard to Galvani's habit of frequently closing his lectures by calling attention to the complexity yet the purposefulness of natural things, and the inevitable conclusion that they must have been created with a definite purpose by a Supreme Being possessed of intelligence. At the time that Alibert wrote his memoir, it was the fashion to consider, at least in France, that Christianity was a thing of the past, and that while theism might remain, that would be all that could be expected to survive the crumbling effect of the emancipation of man.
He says: "We have seen already what was Galvani's zeal and his love for the religion which he professed. We may add that, in his public demonstrations, he never finished his lectures without exhorting his pupils to a renewal of their faith, by leading them always back to the idea of the eternal Providence which develops, preserves and causes life to flow among so many different kinds of things. I write now," he continues, "in the age of reason, of tolerance and of light. Must I then defend Galvani in the eyes of posterity for one of the most beautiful sentiments that can spring from the nature of man? No; and they are but little initiated in the saner mechanism of philosophy who refuse to recognize the truths established on evidence so strong and so authentic. Breves haustus in philosophia ad atheismum ducunt, longiores autem reducunt ad Deum—Small draughts of philosophy lead to atheism, but longer draughts bring one back to God"—(which may be better translated, perhaps, for English readers by Pope's well known lines, "A little learning [in philosophy] is a dangerous thing; drink deep or touch not the Pierian spring").
Galvani has been honored by his fellow-citizens of Bologna as one of their greatest townsmen, and by the University as one of her worthiest sons. In 1804, a medal was struck in his honor, on the reverse of which, surrounding a figure of the genius of science, were the two legends: "Mors mihi vita," "Death is life for me," and "Spiritus intus alit," "The spirit works within," which were favorite expressions of the great scientist while living, and are lively symbols of the spirit which animated him. In 1814, a monument was erected to him in the courtyard of the University of Bologna. It is surmounted by his bust, made by the most distinguished Bolognian sculptor of the time, De Maria. On the pedestal there are two figures in bas-relief, executed by the same sculptor, which represent religion and philosophy, the inspiring genius of Galvani's life.
Before he died, he asked, as had his favorite poet Dante, whose Divina Commedia had been one of the pleasures of life and above all one of the consolations of his times of adversity, to be buried in the humble habit of a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. He is said to have valued his fellowship with the sons of the "poor little man of Assisi" more than the many honorary fellowships of various kinds which had been conferred upon him by scientific societies all over Europe. With him passed away one of the great pioneers of modern science and one of the most lovable men in all the history of science. His death took place just before the close of the eighteen century, Dec. 4, 1798, but his work was destined to be one of the harbingers of a great period of electrical development.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] Fordham University Press, 1906.
[12] Ranam dissecui, atque praeparavi ut in fig. 2 Tab. V. eamque in tabula, omnia mihi alia proponens, in qua erat mechina electrica fig. 1, collocavi ab ejus conductore penitus sejunctam, atque haud brevi intervallo dissitam; dum scalpelli cuspidem unus ex iis, qui mihi operam dabant, cruralibus hujus ranae internis nervis DD casu vel leviter admoveret, continuo omnes artuum musculi ita contrahi visi sunt, ut in vehementiores incidisse tonicas convulsiones viderentur. Eorum vero alter, qui nobis electricitatem tentantibus praesto erat, animadvertere sibi visus est, rem contingere dum ex conductere machinae scintilla extorqueretur fig. 1 B. Rei novitatem ille admiratus de eadem statim me alia omnino molientem ac mecum ipso cogitantem admonuit. His ego incredibili cum studio, et cupiditate incensus idem experiundi, et quod occultum in re esset in lucem pro ferendi admovi propterea et ipse scalpelli cuspidem uni vel alteri crurali nervo, quo tempore unus aliquis ex iis, qui aderant, scintillam eliceret. Phoenomenon eadem omnino ratione contigit; vehementes nimirum contractiones in singulos artum musculos, perinde ac si tetano praeparatum animal esset correptum, eodem ipso temporis momento inducebantur, quo scintillae extorquerentur.
[13] For the sake of those who might care to see how the great Dutch naturalist expressed these curious scientific notions in Latin, the original text seems worth while giving.
"Jucundissimum porro juxta ac utilissimum experimentum aliud institui potest, si quidam e maximis Musculis de Ranae Femore separetur, atque una cum adhaerente suo Nervo ita praeparetur, ut hic illaesus permaneat. Quodsi enim, hoc peracto, utrumque Musculi hujus Tendinem a, a manibus prehenderis. Nervumque ejus propendentem forsicula aliove quodam instrumento de in irritaveris b; pristinum, quem amiserat, motum suum mox recuperabit Musculus. Videbis hinc ilico eum contrahi, binasque manus, quae Tendines ejus adtinent, ad se mutuo veluti adducere: prout olim jam, anno 1658, Illustrissimo Duci Hetrusco, cummaxime regnanti, demonstravi; quum Is immerito sane favore ad me invisere non dedignaretur. Hoc ipsum veto experimentum eodem in Musculo tam crebro & diu reiterari potest, donec ulla Nervi pars illaesa fuerit: ut ideo toties sic ad pristinam contractionem suam lacessere Musculum valeamus, quoties nobis libuerit."