in its Relations to Physiology. 419 



with every new analysis my presentiment realised that they are all 

 identical in constitution with the blood. All these facts spoke to me 

 in a language which I believe I rightly understood, for I had taken the 

 greatest pains fully to comprehend the exact meaning and signification 

 of the words : ought I, then, to be ceusured for venturing upon the at- 

 tempt to render their meaning as clear and intelligible to others, — to 

 communicate to others the ideas these words seemed to convey to me ? 



The most difficult part of my task unquestionably was, that I had to 

 address a public unskilled and inexperienced in the language of the 

 phenomena ; the physiologists and pathologists to whose pursuits my 

 labours appertained did not understand the method of interpretation 

 familiar to chemists, nor did they even know the meaning of the indi- 

 vidual words. Thus, the Englishman who is but imperfectly acquaint- 

 ed with German, reproaches even our best translations of Shakspeare, 

 with weakness, want of life and vigour, as compared with the original; 

 thus, too, the German who reads for the first time a French translation 

 of one of Schiller's poems, finds the version feeble and unmeaning ; 

 now, the real reason of this is, that those who judge thus, are ignorant 

 of the real meaning and import of the words used in the foreign version, 

 ignorant of what constitutes exactly equivalent expressions in both lan- 

 guages. A good French version of Schiller produes the same effect 

 upon the mind of a Frenchman as the original does upon that of a 

 German. To be able to judge what difference from the original may 

 really be laid to the charge of the translator, a very correct and perfect 

 knowledge of both languages is indispensable. " 



This is the relation in which many physiologists stand to the chemist, 

 with regard to the consideration and solution of physiological questions. 

 Everything which the chemist considers as unquestionable premises 

 whence he may safely deduce conclusions appears weak and doubtful 

 to the physiologist. 



Their own inability to understand and appreciate the value of the 

 reasons advanced, makes them believe that these reasons constitute a 

 defective proof. Chemistry cannot be of any use to such persons in 

 their inquiries, — from a fear of being unscientific they sacrifice the true 

 logic of science, — the highest scientific theories become to them the gross- 

 est nonsense. 



It is far easier to come to an understanding with the strictest mathe- 

 matician than with such physiologists. The mathematician is kind 

 enough to permit us to infer from two known quantities a third, or 

 from three known quantities a fourth unknown one ; the physiologist 

 can permit nothing of the sort 



