646 REVIEW — THE ECONOMY OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
brought him in view of the elemental kingdom, the fluids of which 
are * the grand forces of nature.’ ” 
“ As Swedenborg pursued the sciences for so high an end, or 
for the attainment of moral and rational philosophy, so in his 
hands they were means of a new order, and disclosed truths of 
corresponding elevation. Above all, the anatomy of the human 
body proved to be a mine of unexpected treasures. But, in order 
to comprehend the value of the present works, it will be necessary 
to dwell for a short time upon some considerations relating to 
anatomy.” 
“ The science of anatomy has been held now for several centuries 
as an appanage of medicine, and to surgery, at all events, great 
gain has accrued from its cultivation. But the domains of surgery 
hardly extend to the interiors of the body, or beyond the locomo- 
tive and voluntary system, and a few well-marked regions of the 
surface ; and certain gross but verified anatomical observations are 
sufficient for the practice of that important art. Medical anatomy 
is also limited ; consisting rather of the common facts and regions 
of the science than of its more particular experience and deduc- 
tions. We are here speaking of things as they are, or of the 
portion of anatomy required by the physician in the cure of dis- 
eases, and which actually ministers to that end. It is generally 
supposed that the diagnosis of disease and the art of healing in- 
volve an intimate, not to say indefinite, knowledge of the structure 
and functions of the body. The watchmaker, they tell us, who 
comprehends the works, can adjust the watch; and the physician 
who is acquainted with the anatomy of the body can cure its dis- 
eases. If this were the condition of healing, it would be too hard 
for man. But it is here as in all human dealings with nature and 
her organic mechanism. We have only to observe, dispose, and 
change the outward, to operate upon the general form ; but the 
inward, the singular, the essence, lies beyond our faculty : ne- 
vertheless, the law is, that it shall be modified according to the 
efforts we make in that extreme sphere when our will is deter- 
mined. And so it is in medicine. The human skin, with the 
complex phenomena and effects that reside in it, or result to it 
from the internal organs, is the field of knowledge indispensable 
for salutary practice. A perception of the ever-changing physi- 
ognomy of the whole frathe constitutes the power of diagnosis. A 
certain regional anatomy, of course, is requisite, but of the broadest 
and most elementary description. We are not now considering 
what anatomy may contribute to the education of the physician’s 
mind, but its direct ministrations to medical practice. And that 
the above statement is warranted, may be plain from the fact, that 
the best anatomists are frequently not the best practitioners, while, 
