CHAPTER XIV 



THE HISTORY OF ZOOLOGY 



There was little exact knowledge in any branch of natural 

 history before the beginning of the eighteenth century, and it did 

 not really rank as a science before the nineteenth ; the majority 

 of the earlier writers on biological subjects were philosophers, 

 whose speculations have in some cases turned out to be correct, 

 but as a rule flew wide of the mark, as theories not founded on facts 

 are apt to do. When we consider the vast amount of supersti- 

 tion and fable prevalent in every century of the past, we may 

 well be surprised that so much of truth concerning the organic 

 world was discovered and recorded ; even to-day the advance of 

 our knowledge in the field of biology is slow, and the search 

 after truth laborious, while the extent of general misconception 

 concerning even the simpler processes of life, which should be 

 matters of common information, is painfully great. On the other 

 hand, never have the various branches of natural history been 

 studied with such zeal and self-sacrificing devotion as at present; 

 and in their application to the directly practical sciences of 

 medicine, hygiene, sanitation, and agriculture are doing more 

 than ever before for the betterment of the human race. 



The Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), has been 

 called the father of natural history, for his writings are the 

 earliest known to us that have any scientific interest. We have 

 portions of three of his works on zoology, entitled " The History 

 of Animals," "The Parts of Animals," and "The Generation of 

 Animals." He considered animals in their broadest aspects, sys- 

 tematically, structurally, physiologically, embryologically, and in 

 their relations to their surroundings. He was well fitted for his 

 work ; descended from a line of physicians, living near the sea 

 with its infinite variety of life, with leisure and wealth and a li- 



494 



