"HUNTERIAN ORATION." 



(Addressed to the Cincinnati Natural History Society, May, 1877.) 



Biographical sketches do not confer great benefits 

 upon mankind if they are brought out for the sole 

 purpose of bestowing fulsome flattery upon favorite 

 characters in history; but when salient points in the 

 career of those who have made themselves illustrious, 

 are placed in a light calculated to inspire us with am- 

 bition to repeat good deeds, and to shuri what ought 

 not to be followed, the higher advantages of instruc- 

 tion may be secured. 



One who has attained the highest honors in scien- 

 tific pursuits, and accomplished a great work in hon- 

 orable ways, must have possessed qualities which can 

 be studied with profit. It may not be wise to attempt 

 to imitate the career of a man who has risen to emi- 

 nence in any profession, yet it is interesting and in- 

 structive to review his incentives to labor, and the 

 methods he has employed successfully. A person 

 springing from the humbler walks of life does not be- 

 come distinguished in any branch of learning without 

 bringing into play a vast amount of energy and perse- 

 verance. Even the most favored can not reach the 

 higher levels of scientific repute without toil and 

 drudgery. 



The history of scientific men furnishes few char- 

 acters which are as pronounced as that of John Hunter. 

 His early life was not attractive, nor characterized by 

 striking incidents. There is no evidence that he was 



