12 



Louis Agassiz. 



appreciated for the first that the various authori- 

 ties upon whom he was relying for information, 

 differed in their views regarding the classification 

 of animal life. He at once saw the opportunity for 

 himself : he, too, could express an opinion as to 

 classification. The only essential was knowledge of 

 anatomy, and to obtain this he began the study of 

 medicine that, as he has written, I might see for 

 myself where the truth was." The young student 

 was aided in this by his uncle. Dr. Mathias Mayor, 

 who had long been attracted by his great promise and 

 who consulted with his parents and advised them to 

 allow him to study medicine and become a physician, 

 this profession evidently being more to his tastes. 

 They did not require much urging, and, as a result, 

 Agassiz's prospects for a business career had an 

 abrupt ending, and he entered the medical school at 

 Zurich with enthusiasm, determined to move rapidly 

 on to a high position in the field of his choice. 



