MEMOIR OF SWAMMERDAM. 21 



pared the specimens he obtained with the accounts 

 of the best authors, and afterwards arranged them in 

 certain classes. When more advanced in years he 

 applied himself most diligently to anatomy and medi- 

 cine, all the while having his mind bent on the 

 attainment of some important objects. He often 

 spent both day and night in searching for and ex- 

 amining such insects as he could find, not only in 

 his native district, but also in other parts of Holland. 

 With this view he ransacked the air, the land, and 

 the water; fields, meadows, pastures, corn-lands, 

 downs, wastes, sand-hills ; rivers, ponds, wells, lakes, 

 seas, and their shores and banks ; trees, plants, ruins, 

 caves, uninhabited places, and even bog-houses, in 

 order that he might make himself acquainted with 

 the nests of insects, their food, manner of living, 

 diseases, metamorphoses, and modes of propagation. 

 And it may be affirmed, that in these particulars he 

 discovered more facts and valuable information, even 

 in his early youth, than all the known authors of 

 preceding ages. However incredible this may ap- 

 pear, it is a fact that cannot be questioned, for the 

 most competent judges have borne testimony to its 

 truth." 



He prosecuted his medical studies for a length of 

 time in his native city, but afterwards repaired to 

 Leyden, to avail himself of the advantages of its 

 lelebrated university. The surgical department 

 was then under the direction of John Van Home, 

 and Francis Silvius de la Boe was professor of 

 medicine, both of whom were men of celebrity. 



