12 HUNTERIAN ORATION. 



mation of opinions deduced from the facts 

 belonging to the subject under consider- 

 ation. The body of the monkey so much 

 resembles that of man, that a moderately 

 good idea of the latter may be obtained by 

 the examination of the former ; the desire 

 to understand function would also lead to 

 experimental enquiry ; and consequently 

 we find Galen, whom they say had passed 

 several years at the Alexandrian school, 

 making various experiments on animals, to 

 determine the office of different parts of the 

 body. 



Medicine was, doubtless, much promoted 

 by the opportunities of information which 

 the Alexandrian school afforded; and it 

 seems to have proceeded as prosperously as 

 could be expected, in the still very deficient 

 state of elementary knowledge, for several 

 centuries ; when a revolution happened, by 

 which all the sciences of southern Europe 

 were in common overthrown, and their 

 lights extinguished, so that a great district 

 of the world was involved in darkness and 

 ignorance for many ages. As the account 

 which I am giving of the causes that pro- 



