It may be added that the Atomic Doctrine of Leucippus and Democritus was opposed to the Homoiomeria of Anaxagoras of Clazomenæ—the last great philosopher of the Ionian School.
References.—Ueberweg (Fr.), “History of Philosophy,” trans. of G. S. Morris, New York, 1885, Vol. I. pp. 67–71; Larousse (Pierre), “Dict. Univ. du XIXe siècle,” Paris, 1870, Tome VI. pp. 409–410; “La Grande Encyclopédie,” Paris, Tome XIV. pp. 66–69; “Nouvelle Biographie Générale” (Hœfer), Paris, 1855, Vol. XIII. pp. 566–574; Franck (Ad.), “Fragments qui subsistent de Démocrite,” in the “Mém. de la Société Royale de Nancy,” 1836; Beazley (C. Raymond), “The Dawn of Modem Geography,” Oxford, 1906, Vol. I. p. 254 (the use by Democritus of magnetic stones, mentioned by Solinus); Snyder (Carl), “The World Machine,” 1907, p. 133 (work on the magnet); Zeller (Eduard), “Philosophie der Griechen”; Ritter and Preller, “Historia Philosophiæ Græcæ” (7th ed., Gotha, 1888); Mulloch (F. G. A.), “Democriti Abderitæ operum fragmenta,” Berlin, 1843.
Erasmus, Reinholdus (1511–1553), a German savant, who taught astronomy and mathematics at Wittemberg, has left us “Commentarius Theoricæ Novæ Planetarum,” 1542, 1558, a work which, Delambre says, supplies the omissions of Purbacchius and must have cleared many of the passages of Ptolemy’s syntax. He also wrote “Almageste,” 1549;[63] made up the Prutenic (Prussian) astronomical tables (“Prutenicæ tabulæ cœlestium motuum,” 1551), from the observations of Copernicus, Hipparchus and Ptolemy, and he is believed to be the author of the anonymous work entitled “Hypotyposes orbium cœlestium ...” which appeared during the year 1568.
Gilbert’s reference to Erasmus has already been given in connection with Dominicus.
References.—Vossius (G.), “De Scientiis Mathem.,” Chap. XXXVI. p. 14; Delambre (J. B. J.), “Hist. de l’astronomie moderne,” Vol. I. pp. 142, 146, 164; Zedler (Johann Hch.); Mädler—Mædler (Johann Henrich von), Vol. I. p. 168; Bailly (Jean Sylvain), “Histoire de l’astronomie moderne ...” Vol. I. p. 366 and Vol. II. p. 71; Jöcher (Johann Friedrich), “Bibliogr. Astronom.”; Weidler (Christian Gottlieb), p. 353; “Biogr. Générale,” Vol. XLI. pp. 928–929.
Erastus, Thomas—Thomas Lieber—(1524–1583) was a native of Switzerland, notable in medicine and famous in ecclesiastical polemics, who furiously combated the medical views of Paracelsus, notably in his “Disputationum de Medicina,” Basileæ, 1572–1573. Gilbert mentions him (De Magnete, Book I. chaps. i. and vii.), merely saying that, knowing naught of the nature of the loadstone, Erastus draws from it weak arguments against Paracelsus.
His numerous works are detailed in the “Biographisches Lexikon,” Vienna und Leipzig, 1885, Vol. II. pp. 292, etc., and a very complete account thereof is to be found at pp. 561–564 of “De Scriptis Medicis,” by Joannes Antonides Van Der Linden, Amstel., 1651.
References.—Pluquet (François André Adrien), “Diction. des Hérésies”; Moreri (Louis), “Le Grand Dictionnaire Historique”; Wordsworth (Christopher), “Ecclesiastical Biography”; “New Int. Encycl.,” New York, 1903, Vol. VI. p. 828; “Biog. Gén.,” Vol. XXXI. pp. 174–175; “La Grande Encyclopédie,” Vol. XVI. p. 163; Larousse, “Dict. Univ.,” Vol. VII. p. 788; Adam (Melchior), “Vitæ Germanorum Medicorum,” pp. 107–109; Bolton, H. C., “Ch. Hist. of Chem.,” p. 981.
Evax—Euace—a Latin naturalist who lived in the time of Tiberius and said to have been King of the Arabs, is the supposed author of “De nominibus et virtutis lapidum qui in artem medicinæ recipiuntur,” treating of gems, of which the MS.—now in the Oxford Library—was used by Marbodeus to make up his own work on precious stones.
Salmasius delivers it as his opinion that, by an error of transcribers, from Cratevas, who in some copies is also named Cratevas, this Evax has arisen. (“Gen. Biog. Dict.” of Alex. Chalmers, London, 1814, Vol. XIII. p. 411.)