86 EXAMINATION OF 



figure upon matter. He treats his fubje6t more 

 like a phyfician than a philofopher; but Ariftotle 

 explains the phaenomena of generation more as 

 a meiaphyfician than a naturalift. It is for this 

 reafon that the errors of Hippocrates are parti- 

 cular and lefs apparent, and that ihofe of Arif- 

 totle are general and evident. 



Thefe two great men have each had their fol- 

 lowers. Almoft all the philofophers of the 

 fchools adopted Ariftotle's theory of generation, 

 while moft phyficians adhered to the theory of 

 Hippocrates; and, in this manner, 17 or 18 cen- 

 turies palled without the appearance of any thing 

 new upon this myfterious fubjed;. 



At laft, upon the revival of literature, fome a- 

 natomifts began to inveftigate the nature of gene- 

 ration ; and Fabricius ab Aquapendente was the 

 firft who thought of making a courfe of experi- 

 ments upon the impregnation and expanfion of 

 the eggs of fowls, the fubftance of which we 

 fliall lay before the reader. 



He diflinguifhes the matrix of a hen into 

 two parts, the one fuperlor, and the other infe- 

 rior. The fuperior part, which he calls the 

 ovarium, is an alTemblage of a great number of 

 fmall yellow eggs, of a round figure, the fizes 

 of which vary from that of a muftard feed to 

 that of a walnut. Thefe eggs are attached to 

 one another by foot-ftalks, and the whole fome- 

 what refembles a bunch of grapes. The fmalleft i 



eggs I 



