THE ORGANICAL SCIENCES, 419 



others, so in this, each step has implied those which 

 had been previously made, and cannot be undei> 

 stood aright except we understand them. More- 

 over, the steps of this advance have been very many 

 and diverse ; the cultivators of anatomy have in all 

 ages been numerous and laborious; the subject is 

 one of vast extent and complexity ; almost every 

 generation has added something to the current 

 knowledge of its details ; and the general specula- 

 tions of physiologists have been subtle, bold, and 

 learned. It must, therefore, be difficult or impos- 

 sible for a person who has not studied the science 

 with professional diligence and professional advan- 

 tages, to form just judgments of the value of the 

 discoveries of various ages and persons, and to 

 arrange them in their due relation to each other. 

 To this we may add, that though all the discoveries 

 which have been made with respect to particular 

 functions or organizations are understood to be 

 subordinate to one general science, the Philosophy 

 of Life, yet the principles and doctrines of this 

 science nowhere exist in a shape generally received 

 and assented to among physiologists; and thus we 

 have not, in this science, the advantage which in 

 some others we have possessed ; of discerning the 

 true direction of its first movements, by knowing 

 the point to which they ultimately tend ; of run- 

 ning on beyond the earlier discoveries, and thus 

 looking them in the face, and reading their true 

 features. With these disadvantages, all that we 



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