The celebrated naturalist, Linnæus, rose generally at four o’clock, and at six he gave lectures to his scholars, which lasted till ten. Dr. Franklin was an early riser. Dr. Bowditch, the distinguished mathematician, of whom every American youth should know something, rose with the sun in summer, and at four o’clock in winter; and he used to remark, that to these morning hours he was indebted for all his mathematics. Zimmerman always wrote several hours in the early morning. Priestly was an early riser; and it is to hours gained in this way that we are indebted for many of the volumes of Sir Walter Scott.
Buffon, the celebrated writer on natural history, used to bribe his servant to wake him every morning at a certain hour, and he says, that to the perseverance of this man, the world is indebted for his well-known work on natural history. We may add to this list of great men, who have recommended early rising by their examples, the names of Sir Matthew Hale, Dr. Parkhurst, Bishop Burnet, Bishop Horne, Bishop Jewell, and many others.
Pope Julius II.
This extraordinary man was originally a fisherman, but his uncle, Sextus IV., being pope, and seeing that he possessed great talents, caused him to enter the church, where he soon obtained distinction. His ambition was vast, and reaching from point to point, he at last became pope, in 1503.
Although he professed to be the successor of St. Peter, who preached the gospel of peace, Julius did not hesitate to raise armies and make war; and, what is remarkable, he led his armies in person, and in battle displayed all the fierce courage and bold daring of the soldier. At the siege of Mirandola, in 1511, he exposed himself, at the head of his men, at any point of danger: when a breach in the walls was effected, he entered by a scaling ladder, sword in hand, being among the very foremost of the headlong assailants!
The great mind of Julius was occupied with many vast projects. In the first place, he desired to restore the see of Rome to its former power, and he made wars, fought battles, and intrigued with kings and princes, to effect this object. He did a good deal, as he thought, to strengthen the power of the popes, and establish, not only the spiritual, but temporal dominion of the church; but while he was pleasing himself with the idea of success in one direction, we shall see that he was laying the train, in another, by which his schemes were to be finally exploded, and the church itself shaken to its foundations.
Pope Julius II.
Julius was a lover of pleasure, and many tales are told of his vices and immoralities. He was also a lover of the fine arts—painting, sculpture, and architecture. Of these he became a patron, and many great artists, particularly Raphael and Michael Angelo, flourished in his time and under his auspices.