MEMOIR OF GESNER. 23 



After many vicissitudes, the most important of 

 which have already been alluded to, he obtained his 

 degree of doctor of medicine at Basle in 1540, being 

 then in his twenty-fourth year. * He shortly after- 

 wards settled as a medical practitioner in Zurich, 

 and his success was such that he was enabled to 

 devote a portion both of his time and money to the 

 prosecution of the studies which he had so much at 

 heart. He even had it in his power to make excur- 

 sions, at intervals, through various parts of Switzer- 

 land, Savoy, &c. in search of plants and other natural 

 objects; and, in 1545, he paid a visit to Venice, 

 where he became acquainted with many individuals 

 who were in a condition to promote his views, and 

 where he had an opportunity of consulting many 

 rare books and manuscripts, whence he derived 

 valuable materials for his numerous works both on 

 literature and natural history. While there, he de- 

 voted much of his time to the examination of the 

 fishes of the Mediterranean, writing descriptions of 

 them, and getting drawings made by the best artists 

 he could obtain. 



From this period the life of Gesner w^as of a 

 pretty uniform tenor, and afibrds not very many 

 incidents of sufficient interest to be deserving of 

 minute record. Every moment of his time was 



* It is worth while to mention the subject of Gesner's 

 Thesis, as an example of the questions then discussed on such 

 occasions : — I. An cerebrum sit principium sensus et motus, 

 an CD! ? II. An qui crescunt, plurimum habeant calidi in- 

 nati ? III. An qualitates formse sint elementorum ? 



