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Ernst Mach

tion."' In thc folio w i ng ycar, 1824, he cntcrcd thc old and rćnowncd Charlcs-Fcrdinand Univcrsiiy in Praguc. Unfommatcly, that vcry ycar thc govcrnmcnt of Princc Mcttcrnich had passcd a law rcducing thc philosophy or liberał arts program to a merę two ycar preparatory stage for entering thc law, theology, or mcdical faculty; that is, it was no longcr possiblc to rcccivc a doctor’s dcgrec in a nonpractical or non-applied field.*

Johann Mach studied in thc philosophy faculty thc allowcd maxi-mum of two ycars. Again he rcccivcd thc gradc of “cxccllent” in all thc courscs for which we hnvc rccords. Indeed, he was so proficicnt that he was awardcd an acadcmic scholarship and was cxcused from pay-ing fces. The varicty of subject matter to which he was exposcd is revealcd by thc titlcs of his elasses: Greek, Educational Science, Purc Mathcmatics. Universal History, Latin, Theorctical Philosophy, Rc-ligion, Greek Literaturę, Physics, Practical Philosophy, Latin Literaturę, and Applied Mathcmatics.⁷

Johann Mach’s mother had hoped that he would join the Piarist tcaching order. On leaving the university he entered his novitiatc and began tcaching in a Piarist school.

The next ten years of his lifc wcrc rather obscure; nonctheless, a few storics have survivcd. Our first tale conccrncd his futurę wifc. One of his students invited him to spend Christmas Evc (1826) with his family. On sccing the student's sister for thc first timc Johann Mach was supposcd to have said: “If I cvcr marry, I havc today seen my futurę bride." And ten ycars latcr he married her.^K

A sccond story was about his long and mysterious Wanderjahre. He had journeyed to Vicnna with 40 gulden in his pocket to study medi-cine. On the first evcning of his arrival while returning to his lodging he was accostcd by a beggar who so movcd him that he allcgcdly gavc away all his money. The ncxt morning, pennilcss in his room, he heard a knock at the door. He had becn invitcd to lunch by a Baron Brethon. The nobleman proposed during lunch that Johann Mach undertake to educate the baron’s two sons. Mach’s father agreed and continucd to tcach them umil both entered the Univcrsity of Olmutz several years latcr.^w

Johann Mach married Josephinc Lanhaus in thc village of Turas ncar Briinn on Octobcr 18, 1836. Her father was Rentmeister for thc archbishop of Chirlitz. Her rcccnt anccstors had bcen professional pcople. To support his bride Johann Mach began to look for a tcaching

post, but bis old cmploycr and fricnd Baron Brcthon wantcd to rctain him, so hc staycd on, though whcthcr still in thc position of tutor is not elear. This situation, ho\vcvcr, crcatcd a problem, for Baron Brcthon livcd in Zlin, somc 60 miles to thc cast, whilc Joscphinc staycd with her parents in thc archbishop’s pałace in Chirlitz, a fcw miles south of Bruna, thc Capital of Moravia; hcncc thc rcccntly married pair wcrc separated for long periods.

Joscphinc Mach had an interest in musie, painting, and poctry. Her son remembered her as chccrful and gcntlc. Her youngest daughter, on thc other band, thought her ncrvous and weak.¹⁰

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Ernst Waldfried Joseph Wcnzcl Mach was bom in housc number i in Chirlitz, that is, in the archbishop’s pałace, on February t8, 1838, and was christcncd in thc neighboring village of Turas on thc same day.¹¹ He was the first of three children and thc only małe child, but dcath long threatened thc infant.

Einst Machs own story was that his stcp-grandmothcr thought hc was not being fed cnough and insisted on stuifing him bctwccn mcals when no one was looking. As a rcsult, hc became so sick that his lifc was despaired of. Mach’s father, howcver, who was a tenacious bclicvcr in what was called thc “Priessnitzian water curc.” refused to give up. The “curc” was to wrap Mach in wet shects that wcrc as cold as possiblc. Somehow, hc survivcd both thc "discasc” and the “cure."

Ernst Mach’s first mcmory was of fur-coated men standing in a waiting room. Hc later determined that hc must havc becn two ycars old and that thc scenę took place in thc Lundenburg station whilc thc family was moving front Chirlitz to an isolaied farm in Untersieben-brunn east of Vicnna in 1840.¹³ Hc next remembered two farm ex-pcricnces: the sun disappearing ovcr a hill and his chasing it up and down from one high mcadow to the next until it vanishcd altogethcr; and how frigbtcned hc was when the elaslic sccd capsulc of a garden balsam plant opened on being pressed and pinched his finger. It had sccmcd alivc, like an animal.¹⁴

At thc age of three Ernst Mach was plagucd by pcrception problcms. He had trouble grasping both pcrspcctivc and shading. Hc could not understand why tables in piciures had one end wider than thc other, when in rcal lifc, oppositc ends of tables werc the same length. Ap-

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