In this land there was no room for experimental jobbery. To have placed a linendraper at the head of the great hydraulic works on which depended the salubrity and prosperity of Amsterdam or Rotterdam would have roused the indignation of the country, and brought the matter to a speedy issue. But it was not until the rise of the Dutch Republic that there sprung up, as a natural result, a school of philosophy--of natural philosophy, and of the sciences of observation and application--hitherto unmatched, a parallel to which can only be found in the era immediately preceding Alexander the Great. Freedom of thought and action produced Muschenbroek and Leuwenhoek, De Ruyter and Van Tromp: then flourished the Elzevir press, and Scaliger was invited by the traders of Holland to pass his days in peace and plenty with them, that his presence amongst them might throw a lustre on their country. In this land flourished Camper and Boerhaave; Albinus and Ruisch taught anatomy; Swammerdam discovered the globules of the blood. In the meantime Tasman and Van Diemen explored the ocean, immortalizing their names and their country by the grandeur of their geographical discoveries. The views of the traders of this the most celebrated of all republics, were universal, and included mankind: with them originated sound political economy. The civilization, peculiarly human, which overcomes all natural obstacles, reached its height in this free land; security of life and property, equality before the law, a contempt for all sinister hereditary influences, a respect for the natural rights of man, and an appreciation of man’s innate worth, uninfluenced by all extrinsic circumstances, characterized in the Netherlands a period standing out in bold relief, and in striking contrast with the history of all other European nations.[18] In this forward movement Haarlem was conspicuous, proofs of which may be found in the Transactions of the society established in that city. About 1771 there was offered a prize for an essay on the Waters of Holland, as to the existence of any matters injurious to man or beast, and to describe such, if existing. An unsuccessful candidate for the prize (M. Vander Wild) advanced in his essay this remarkable principle--that the sap of plants consists of living beings, in a liquid element.[19] [18] It has been asserted on good authority, and not contradicted, that the “Natural Theology” of the celebrated Paley is a mere translation of a Dutch work. [19] This principle, so fertile in ideas, will one day, no doubt, be fully elaborated and studied to its results. These living beings may prove to be the syphons of perfume and the messengers of colour.