1819.] Royal Danish Society. 59 



The author illustrated all these monstrosities by drawings, and 

 endeavoured, by adding an historical view of similar monsters, 

 and by pointing out the different circumstances necessary for 

 the life of the foetus and the new-born child, to show how impor- 

 tant it is to the physiologist, the pathologist, the physician, and 

 particularly to the forensic physician, to have a complete know- 

 ledge of the monsters in the animal economy. 



As a continuation of this inquiry, the author delivered to the 

 Society observations on the causes of organic monsters in 

 general. He first observed, that the hypothesis of demoniacal 

 and sodomitical foetus was formerly generally admitted to be true, 

 but that all naturalists now look upon it as a dream from ancient 

 times. He then showed that the doctrine of monsters from 

 fantastical origin, as of the formation of the embryo, different 

 from the general laws in consequence of the imagination of the 

 mother, is as groundless as those ancient opinions, and has, ia 

 consequence, lost most part of its adherents, lie himself looks 

 upon the hypothesis, that it is possible for a woman big with 

 child, by being frightened, or by mislooking herself, or by being 

 desirous of some objector other, to be able to cause her embryo 

 to be misshapen, by means of her imagination, as no less false 

 and dangerous; though among the less enlightened part of man- 

 kind, it is generally embraced. He exhorts medical men to be 

 zealous in checking the progress of this hypothesis, and with 

 Mickel, Lawrence, and others, to study and explain those laws 

 of nature that under different conditions determine the different 

 forms of the embryos and all organic bodies. 



Prof. CErsted, Knight, presented to the Society two treatises, 



the one being the beginning of a series of treatises on the method 



after which a system in natural philosophy ought to be composed; 



the other containing an inquiry into the compressibility of water. 



Every one knows what a number of systematical books under the 



names of systems, compendiums, elements, courses, See. in natural 



philosophy, have been published in different countries of Europe 



in a series of years. Although these, and even such as belong 



to one and the same age, contain many diversities of opinion 



respecting the causes of things, yet the diversities in the methods 



seem to be still greater. They have not even agreed with respect 



to the extent of the science. While some would debar from it 



as well what may be considered the application of mathematics 



to chemistry, others did not only want all this to belong to 



chemistry, but even added the doctrine of the condition of the 



terrestrial globe, and a view of the laws for the motion of the 



other planets. With respect to the division and the order 



of matters, there was no -less disagreement, but in particular 



a great doubt seemed to prevail respecting the method after 



which those laws of nature, that were apt to be expressed 



mathematically, ought to be represented and proved in natural 



philosophy. All these objects produced a great many questions, 



to which the author will endeavour to reply in a series of trea- 



