GESNER. I2f 



fessorship of Greek at Lausanne, and he accepted 

 the position. He was very young, and yet learned 

 men found his friendship valuable. Going, subse- 

 quently, to Montpellier, he became acquainted 

 with a naturalist named Rondelet, and he gradu- 

 ally began to earn enough money to be inde- 

 pendent. So he returned to Basle, and in 1541, 

 being twenty-five years old, took his degree in 

 medicine. He settled in practice at Zurich, and 

 occupied his spare time in studying zoology and 

 botany, and soon became wealthy. Occasionally 

 he travelled, and during one of these trips he be- 

 came acquainted with the leading men at Venice 

 and Augsburg, and at their instance began a great 

 work, a kind of universal catalogue of Greek, 

 Hebrew, and Latin works. All this time he was 

 slowly and surely studying animals and plants, and 

 in 1 55 1 the first part of his " History of Animals " 

 appeared, to be followed by others in 1554, 1555, 

 and 1556. The volumes contained descriptions of 

 viviparous quadrupeds, that is to say, four-footed 

 beasts, whose young are born in active movement ; 

 of oviparous quadrupeds, or those which lay eggs ; 

 of birds and of fishes, and other aquatic animals. 

 He wrote also upon insects. All agree that this 

 book is a miracle of industry, having for its object 

 no less than a general history of animated nature. 

 It contains a careful criticism of the works of 

 previous authors, and, besides much valuable and 

 solid knowledge on zoology, many interesting 

 remarks on the habits and medicinal uses of 



