ADVERTISEMENT. Vll 



Save iu the case of grammatical error, or some very obvious 

 omission, which has been supplied in the brackets [•'], I have rarely 

 meddled with the text : it is here and there obscure enough to test 

 the acumen of a skilled logician to decipher the sense. But it is 

 always a matter of interest to endeavour to make out the meaning 

 of a deep and original thinker ; and different minds, unbiassed by 

 any suggestion of the Editor, may be induced to give their views of 

 Hunter's meaning, and their opinions of his conclusions. It may 

 be interesting also to some, standing on the vantage ground of 

 seventy years' progress, to know what such a self-taught philosopher 

 did not know on the subjects he grappled with : and a small pro- 

 portion of the present writings of Hunter may chiefly serve to illus- 

 trate his mental peculiarities and shortcomings. 



To those who are conversant with Hunter's style, other testimony 

 of the authenticity of the present writings will be superfluous : and 

 it has seemed to the Editor that the requirements of science would 

 be best met by presenting these writings ' pure and simple/ as 

 Hunter left them. 



With the exception of the very small proportion, of which the 

 subjects are noted in the ( Table of Contents/ or in ' Appendix B/ 

 they are now for the first time published. 



That Mr. Clift had himself contemplated their publication, is 

 probable from the annotations which he had himself appended to 

 his transcripts. These are given, with his name, in the present 

 edition, which is, indeed, the fulfilment of his last wish on the 

 subject. 



Mr. Clift's original Copies of the Hunterian Manuscripts have 

 been deposited by me in the " Library of the Royal College of 

 Surgeons/' in order that my additions or alterations may be tested, 

 and involuntary omissions or errors corrected. 



Some may wish that the world had never known that Hunter 

 thought so differently on some subjects from what they believed, 

 and would have desired, him to think. But he has chosen to leave 

 a record of his thoughts, and, under the circumstances in which 

 that record has come into my hands, I have felt myself bound to 

 add it to the common intellectual property of mankind. 



