Reruimies or Navku History—By_ Bilan Tunstall, Lecturer In History, Royal Naval "College, Greenwich. Aiicn & Unwin, London. adele ego 2 mee soci, fas Sdherence to technical dotals and a chare aes ity which it carries and by those of 1518, spent four years in Indi fand then Was designated to establl the frst mission in Ching, where he followed the prinetples ald - down years before by St, Francis Xavier the two Mahan priests, Fathers Vatignano and Rugglert, The apostolate of Father Ricct has been described by Father Bernard In book "Mfuslonatres" (dhe author Proposes to write a fuller account of this phase of the great man's work 14 soon), In the present book he por trays' Riccl, the scientist; training, relations with Chinese science (a chapter is devoted to the problem of Chinese astronomy), and the posthumous influence Rice! exercised, through is disciples, in the observation of the solar eclipse of December 15, 1010, In connection with the eclipse the Emperor's offcial_ustro~ Romers were deeply disgraced when their calculations proved erroneous and the phenomenon took place long after it had been expected, the end of it, fixed for 5 o'clock, taking lace after the sun had already set and therefore not being observable, Ricol was a pupil of a German Jesuit, Christopher Clavius, who was one of the promoters of the. groat aclentife movement which started in the sixteenth century, Clavius was mathematician and astronomer at the Roman College and was a tire-Jess champion pf calendar reform, Today, in the remarkable collection of sclentife works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries which formed the Ubrary of the early Jesuits In China, may e found the writings of Clavitis, These books - are © now in Peiping and among them Is a volume of Clavius Inseribed from the author to, his celebrated pupil, That was cockney boy's reaction to the Inscription on the London County Council plaque axed to Wolfe's house overlooking Greenwich Park. With that episode in his mind Mr. Tunstall rightly observes that the Influence of patriotic mysticism requires correction in order that na-
Father Bernard's story of Rice!'s influence on the solentine life of China {s told in language understand= able by the layman, and the rom ance of science shines through the pages, It is a work which should Interest learned and lay alike, Historically Ricel stands out as the frst man of modern times to establish sound mutual commerce of. Ideas between the Orient and the Occident,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.