File:Beza's Icones, contemporary portraits of reformers of religion and letters; being facsimile reproductions of the portraits in Beza's Icones (1580) and in Goulard's edition (1581) (1906) (14743577756).jpg

Identifier: bezasiconesconte00mccr (find matches)
Title: Beza's Icones, contemporary portraits of reformers of religion and letters; being facsimile reproductions of the portraits in Beza's Icones (1580) and in Goulard's edition (1581)
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: McCrie, Charles Greig, 1836-1910 Bèze, Théodore de, 1519-1605
Subjects: Reformation Reformers Reformers
Publisher: London Religious Tract Society
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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Text Appearing Before Image:
Conrad Gesner (Conradus Gesnerus)

TO Sebastian Miinster, as we have stated, his
countrymen gave the name of the German
Strabo; Conrad Gesner they surnamed the
German Pliny. This naturalist was born
at Zurich, March 26, 1516. His parents
were poor, and he was indebted to a maternal uncle
for his education. Studying the plants in this rela-
tives garden gave his mind a bent in the direction of
physical science, which it retained through after-life.
With the assistance of his uncle, Conrad studied
successively at Strasburg, Bourges, and Paris, and
took the degree of M.D. at Basle. On returning to
Zurich in 1535, he married. The prudence of such
a step was in this case open to question, in view of
the facts that he held no official appointment, and only
maintained himself and his wife by private teaching.
It was needful for him to occupy the entire day in

134
Text Appearing After Image:

CONRAD GESNER.


Conrad Gesner

tutoring ; but the night was his own, and so large a
portion of it was given up to study that in course of
time he became known as literarium miraculum—a
literary prodigy.
In 1537 Gesner received the appointment of
Professor of Greek at Lausanne, and four years later
he returned to his native town to take up the work of
the chair of Physics and Natural History. In neither
of these places were the emoluments large, and the
Professor was obliged to add to his labours those of
authorship. Under the strain of intense devotion to
scientific and literary pursuits his health, at no time
robust, completely broke down. When death was
imminent he desired to be carried into the museum
he had formed, that he might spend the last moments
of life among his treasures. He died of plague on
December 13, 1565. He was tenderly nursed by
his wife and expired in her arms.
Gesner was the greatest naturalist since Aristotle.
His first and favourite study was botany. He
formed a natural history museum of which his
Hortus Siccus was a main portion. In addition to
editing and translating the works of others, Gesner
wrote treatises on ancient medicine, botany, and
philology.

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