164 
THE HUNTERIAN ORATION. 
the world. To a love of Nature he added a still stronger love of 
truth. It is impossible to read of him without believing that to 
the ardour and enthusiasm which incited him to toil over the great 
field of Nature he added an undeviating adherence to truth. A 
spirit of arrogance, and a disposition to depreciate the works of a 
rival, is the characteristic of the pretender to science, while they 
expose the motives which carry him forward in its pursuit. And 
the cause is plain ; for, if animated by a true love of science, any 
contribution to his favourite study is hailed with gladness; where- 
as, it would be received by the empiric with coldness, and, per- 
haps, disapprobation How often does the desire of distinction 
dictate our efforts and produce envy. In the great temple of know- 
ledge there should be no contentions for place ; a spirit of frater- 
nity should prevail. Every degrading thought and passion should 
be thrown aside as derogatory and injurious. Between two stu- 
dents of Nature there are no motives for rivalship or ill-will. They 
are directed by one common and high motive, and have no time to 
step out of the direct path of inquiry to indulge angry passions or 
to question motives. Their eyes are fixed on one object, and, to 
reach this goal, they pursue their course in a straightforward direc- 
tion. The excellence of Hunter is to be looked for in his untiring 
efforts to advance the cause of physiological science — his untiring 
industry — his indifference to the acquisition of riches, and in the 
benevolence of his nature, which ever identified itself with suffer- 
ing, and which inspired feelings of love in the breasts of all his 
friends. [Mr. Skey here quoted an autograph letter of Mr. Hunter’s, 
written in 1726, to the master, wardens, and court of assistants of 
the Corporation of Surgeons, giving evidence of his desire to extend 
the advantages of medical literature to all]. The Orator then pro- 
ceeded to notice several of the celebrated links which connected 
Hunter with the medical profession, and first noticed the name of 
William Clift, whose name, he said, next to its great founder, was 
more fully identified with the Hunterian Museum than that of any 
other man living or dead. 
Mr. Charles Aston Key was next referred to as a name identified 
with the highest class of scientific surgery. 
Mr. Skey, after giving brief biographical notices of the late 
Messrs. Andrews, Morton, and Pennington, proceeded: — -From the 
earliest period of the world, the science of medicine has been 
esteemed one of the noblest occupations; and it would be difficult 
to find one more adapted to inspire the mind with ardour, or to 
kindle the energies of thought. The study of physiology, whether 
applied to the structure of the body or to the attempt to explore 
the mysterious agent of life, — the study of those phenomena which 
characterise the local or general defects in the body, — the study of 
