HISTORY OF ZOOLOGY 



37 



and traditional superstitions are woven together. His work was 

 limited to compilations, and because of the indiscriminate mixing 

 of fact and fancy it is not scientifically valuable. It does reflect 

 the tendency of the time in that scientific observation had given 

 way to speculation. 



Galen (a.d. 131-201), coming in the midst of the "dark ages" as 

 he does, should be particularly credited for the contributions he 

 made. He was of Greek ancestry but moved to Rome early and 

 became a successful physician. His anatomical studies were made 

 principally from direct observations on elephants, Barbary apes, and 



Fig-. 7. — Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), father of naturalists. From a bas-relief 

 found In tlie collection of Fulvius Ursinus. (Visconti, Iconographic grecque.) 

 (From Locy, Growth of Biology, published by Henry Holt and Company, Inc.) 



swine. During his time it was strictly against the law to make 

 dissections of the human body so he was not allowed this privilege. 

 Unfortunately, Galeai did not take advantage of the work of certain 

 of his predecessors who had been privileged to study human bodies. 

 His conviction in the matter of direct observation as a basis of study 

 handicapped him in this respect. His textbook on anatomy became 

 the authority for the next eleven or twelve centuries. 



Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564). — The return of interest in zoology 

 came about through the medical schools. Vesalius was aji active 



