286 PALAEONTOLOGY. 



established, too universally recognized, too brightly exemplified by the 

 glorious results of philosophical inquiry conducted in subservience to 

 them, to permit us for a moment to suppose that they can be set aside 

 without defeat and loss in the high, if not highest, exercise of the truth- 

 seeking intellect, viz. that which has the laws of the animal organization 

 for its object. 



John Hunter had not neglected the field of anatomical inquiry 

 presented by fossil organic remains. 



He lived to publish little respecting them. The scientific world 

 probably first became cognizant of the fact that he had paid any atten- 

 tion at all to them, when Hunter communicated to the Royal Society of 

 London, in 1793, his paper " On the Fossil Bones presented to that 

 Society by His Most Serene Highness the Margrave of Anspach." 



That paper was printed in the 84th volume of the ' Philosophical 

 Transactions,' in 1794, as ' by the late John Hunter, Esq., F.R.S.,' that 

 great man having in the interval been suddenly removed, at the age 

 of sixty-five, under the distressing circumstances so well known, from 

 the scene of his surprising and exemplary labours. 



Those men accustomed to think, who heard or read that paper, 

 would recognize in it the mind of the great master. It is characterized 

 by the same broad views and acute insight into the phenomena under 

 review, by the same unexpected illustrations which only a wide em- 

 brace of facts could have suggested, by the same bold excursions into 

 fields stretching away far beyond the imm ediate subject of the memoir, 

 which peculiarly mark all the papers from Hunter's pen. 



But the memoir to which I refer, would be far from impressing an 

 adequate conception of the extent to which Hunter had pushed his 

 examination and collection of fossil organic remains. A few private 

 friends might be aware of his zeal and interest in this, at that time, 

 neglected or scarce known field of anatomical inquiry ; and they might 

 have marvelled at the cause of such zeal in the acquisition of the 

 ' extraneous minerals,' or < fossils,' which seemed so little raised in 

 importance above the ' native minerals ' with which they were then 

 commonly associated. 



In those letters which, since Jenner's death, have come to light, 

 addressed to the favourite pupil by the revered teacher — both names 

 now alike immortal ! — and which letters are introduced into the life of 

 John Hunter prefixed to Palmer's edition of his works 1 , scarcely one 

 of them omits a recommendation to Jenner to secure for his corre- 

 spondent whatever fossil remains might fall in his way. 



In regard to the paper in the ' Philosophical Transactions,' if hastily 



1 [1837, 8vo, Longmans.] 



