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 
meciical 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 muscum. 
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 1794. He was celebrated as a physician, became 
