43 Eyeglasses

How long ago were eyeglasses first used? Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to pose for his official portrait in glasses. Benjamin Franklin wrote in the 1600s, the famous philosopher Spinoza made intricate lenses for telescopes. It was at the beginning of that century that the astronomer Galileo used ground glass, in the form of a telescope, to aid his vision in exploring the details of the universe.

Eyeglasses, in fact, were invented as long ago as the 1300s. Eyeglasses may seem out of place on a figure painted in the Middle Ages, but at that time of respect, in 1400 the Italian painter Domenico (Ghirlandaio) painted a portrait of someone worthy of St. Jerome. Such a detail is remarkable, in which he included spectacles hanging from the saint’s dark.

Although St. Jerome had died over a thousand years earlier, the artist could possibly have worn glasses, the artist appended them as a symbol of special dignity. Special today are made of both metal and plastic. They may be tinted, antireflective, or cut into facial shapes and are often now sold in disposable varieties. All of these vision improvers are a far cry from the crude, heavy eyeglasses of the 14th century.

43 眼镜

眼镜最早是在多久以前开始使用的？西奥多·罗斯福是第一位戴着眼镜拍摄官方肖像的总统。17世纪时，著名哲学家斯宾诺莎为望远镜制作了复杂的镜片；而在那个世纪初，天文学家伽利略使用望远镜形式的磨制玻璃，辅助自己观测宇宙的细节。

事实上，眼镜早在14世纪就被发明出来了。在中世纪的画作中出现眼镜似乎有些违和，但在1400年，意大利画家多梅尼科（吉兰达约）绘制了一幅圣杰罗姆的肖像，其中就包含了挂在这位圣人衣襟上的眼镜，这一细节十分引人注目。

尽管圣杰罗姆已去世一千多年，但这位艺术家可能当时已经佩戴眼镜，他将眼镜作为特殊尊严的象征添加在画中。如今的眼镜由金属或塑料制成，可能带有染色、抗反射功能，或是被切割成贴合面部的形状，还常常以一次性款式出售。这些视力辅助工具，与14世纪粗糙笨重的眼镜相去甚远。

### 44 The Charge of O’Higgins’s Brigade.txt 44 The Charge of O’Higgins’s Brigade

The South American nation of Chile can credit its independence to the military expertise of a herd of sheep, cows, mules, and dogs—and to the brilliant plan of Bernardo O’Higgins, the country’s first ruler.

In 1814, Bernardo O’Higgins was the leader of a small group of Chileans who were rebelling against their Spanish rulers; O’Higgins was surrounded by the Spanish army. By October 1814 the patriots were slowly but surely driven into retreat. When O’Higgins was wounded in battle, morale dropped drastically, and he felt that only a miracle could have saved the surrounded band. So O’Higgins arranged for one.

O’Higgins had his soldiers round up all the farm animals in the area, then arranged his troops directly behind the confused ranks of the animal army. When he suddenly gave the order to charge, the noise, the shouting and the firing of weapons panicked the animals, and they stampeded wildly toward the Spanish lines. The battle-hardened Spanish army was not easily frightened, but the sight of hundreds of stampeding beasts was too much for them. The Spanish lines broke in wild confusion.

O’Higgins and his men charged through the gap in the enemy lines and were safely in the hills before the Spanish recovered from the shock. Their escape provided the patriots with the chance to regroup. Bernardo O’Higgins returned to battle and defeated the Spanish in 1818.