FOREWORD 



It is interesting to speculate about the school of 

 research workers who must have contributed in 

 providing material for this and the other works on 

 natural science ascribed to Aristotle — who they were, 

 the circumstances under which they lived, and what 

 manner of facilities were available for their investiga- 

 tions — for it would seem certain that no man single- 

 handed could possibly have acquired such a vast body 

 of knowledge, hardly any of which could have been 

 derived from earlier observers. Yet the work in its 

 completed whole seems to show the mark of one 

 master hand, and its uniform character and the clear 

 line of teleological reasoning that runs through it 

 have been well brought out in Dr. Peck's translation. 

 But putting aside its philosophical implications, the 

 book consists of an attempt at a scientific record of 

 all the apparently kno\vn facts relating to animal 

 function. These are considered comparatively and 

 as far as possible are brought into relation A^ith one 

 another. And thus, as the earliest text-book on 

 animal physiology in the world's history, this treatise 

 will ever make its appeal, not only to the classical 

 philosopher, but to all who are interested in the origin 

 and growth of biological science. 



F. H. A. M. 



