146 BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 



Greek! They tried to make an old woman of me!" How- 

 ever much lack of appreciation this attitude indicated, it 

 shows also the Philistine independence of his spirit. This 

 independence of mind is one of his striking characteristics. 



This is not the place to dwell upon the unfortunate con- 

 troversy that arose between these two illustrious brothers 

 regarding scientific discoveries claimed by each. The posi- 

 tion of both is secure in the historical development of medicine 

 and surgery. Although the work of John Hunter was largely 

 medical and surgical, he also made extensive studies on the 

 comparative anatomy of animals, and has a place as one of 

 the most conspicuous predecessors of Cuvier. He was very 

 energetic both in making discoveries and in adding to his 

 great museum. 



The original collections made by Hunter are still open to 

 inspection in the rooms of the Royal College of Surgeons, 

 London. It was his object to preserve specimens to illus- 

 trate the phenomena of life in all organisms, whether in 

 health or disease, and the extent of his museum may be 

 divined from the circumstance that he expended upon it 

 about three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. Al- 

 though he described and compared many types of animals, 

 it was as much in bringing this collection together and leaving 

 it to posterity that he advanced comparative anatomy as in 

 what he wrote. After his death the House of Commons 

 purchased his museum for fifteen thousand pounds, and 

 placed it under the care of the corporation of Surgeons. 

 Hunter's portrait is shown in Fig. 39. 



Vicq d'Azyr (Fig. 40), more than any other man, holds 

 the chief rank as a comparative anatomist before the advent 

 of Cuvier into the same field. He was born in 1748, the son 

 of a physician, and went to Paris at the age of seventeen to 

 study medicine, remaining in the metropolis to the time of 

 his death in 1 794. He was celebrated as a physician, became 



