his scientific attainments.

At this time Morgagni was looked upon by all the medical world as
probably the greatest of living medical scientists. Visitors who came
to Italy who were at all interested in science, always considered that
their journey had not been quite complete unless they had had an
opportunity of meeting Morgagni. He had more personal friends among
the scientists of all the countries of Europe than any other man of
his time. The fact that this leader in science should be at the same
time a great personal friend of the Popes of his time is the best
possible evidence of the more than amicable relations which existed
between the Church and medicine during this century. Morgagni's life
of nearly ninety years indeed, covers most of the eighteenth century,
and is of itself, without more ado, an absolute proof that there was
not only no friction between religion and medicine, but shows on the
contrary that medical science encountered patronage and encouragement
as far as ecclesiastics were concerned, while success in it brought
honor and emolument. {220} Morgagni's personal relations to the Church
are best brought out by the fact that, of his fifteen children, ten of
whom lived to adult life, eight daughters became members of religious
orders and one of his two surviving sons became a Jesuit. The great
physician was very proud and very glad that his children should have
chosen what he did not hesitate to call the better part.

After Morgagni's time, the days of the French Revolution bring a cloud
over the Papacy. There were political disturbances in Italy and the
Popes were shorn of their temporal power. As a consequence their
medical school loses in prestige and finally disappears. The Papal
Physicians after this, while distinguished among their fellow members
of the Roman medical profession, were no longer the world-known
discoverers in medicine that had so often been the case before. So
long as the Popes had the power and possessed the means, they used
both to encourage medicine in every way, as the list of Papal
Physicians shows better than anything else, and a study of this
chapter of their history will undo all the false assertions with
regard to the supposed opposition between the Church and science.

We have already said, and it seems to deserve repetition here, that
during most of these centuries in which the Papal Physicians were
among the most distinguished discoverers in medicine, the term
med