Accounts of his life show that he was modest, quiet, and of a pacific disposition, notwithstanding the fact that he lived in an atmosphere of acrimonious criticism, of jealousy and controversy. A family dispute in reference to the boundary-lines between his father's property and the adjoining land of the Sbaraglia family gave rise to a feud, in which representatives of the latter family followed him all his life with efforts to injure both his scientific reputation and his good name. Under all this he suffered acutely, and his removal from Bologna to Messina was partly to escape the harshness of his critics. Some of his best qualities showed under these persecutions; he was dignified under abuse and considerate in his reply. In reference to the attacks upon his scientific standing, there were published after his death replies to his critics that were written while he was smarting under their injustice and severity, but these replies are free from bitterness and are written in a spirit of great moderation. The following picture, taken from Ray's correspondence, shows the fine control of his spirit. Under the date of April, 1684, Dr. Tancred Robinson writes: "Just as I left Bononia I had a lamentable spectacle of Malpighi's house all in flames, occasioned by the negligence of his old wife. All his pictures, furniture, books, and manuscripts were burnt. I saw him in the very heat of the calamity, and methought I never beheld so much Christian patience and philosophy in any man before; for he comforted his wife and condoled nothing but the loss of his papers." [Illustration: Fig. 13.--Malpighi, 1628-1694.] Education.--Malpighi was born at Crevalcuore, near Bologna, in 1628. His parents were landed peasants, or farmers, enjoying an independence in financial matters. As their resources permitted it, they designed to give Marcellus, their eldest child, the advantage of masters and schools. He began a life of study; and, before long, he showed a taste for belles-lettres and for philosophy, which he studied under Natali. Through the death of both parents, in 1649, Malpighi found himself orphaned at the age of twenty-one, and as he was the eldest of eight children, the management of domestic affairs devolved upon him. He had as yet made no choice of a profession; but, through the advice of Natali, he resolved, in 1651, to study medicine. This advice followed, in 1653, at the age of twenty-five, he received from the University of Bologna the degree of Doctor of Medicine.