66 CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD 



blood, life, sensation, motion, before either the brain or 

 the liver were in being, or had appeared distinctly, or, at 

 all events, before they could perform any function. The 

 heart, ready furnished with its proper organs of motion, 

 like a kind of internal creature, is of a date anterior to the 

 body : first formed, nature willed that it should after- 

 wards fashion, nourish, preserve, complete the entire 

 animal, as its work and dwelling-place : the heart, like the 

 prince in a kingdom, in whose hands lie the chief and 

 highest authority, rules over all ; it is the original and 

 foundation from which all power is derived, on which all 

 power depends in the animal body." 



Human beings are queer and incomprehensible 

 mixtures, and great scientific discoverers no less so 

 than other men ! Often accounts of great scientists 

 are written as though they had no faults or failings. 

 A wiser way is to remember that these exist, but to con- 

 centrate rather on the really important events in their 

 lives, the thoughts and influences and teaching that led up 

 to their great discoveries. This we have tried to do with 

 Harvey and the Circulation of the Blood. 



How slight a thing determines a discovery ! An 

 accident, a suggestion, an analogy, a phrase, a word, even 

 a word misunderstood ! Many have tried to set forth a 

 complete method of research. One there was in England 

 in Harvey's time who devoted a vast amount of energy 

 and ability to the task. Francis Bacon, Lord Chan- 

 cellor of England, made such an attempt. Harvey 

 esteemed him and his method little. Of him he is 

 reported to have said, ' He writes philosophy like a 

 Lord Chancellor." Bacon, who himself showed little 

 skill in experiment and no aptness for discovery, yet 

 drew up a complete scheme for the investigation of 

 Nature ! It is a scheme that has never been acted on. 



Such formulae for the conduct of scientific research 



