REVIEW. 583 
communities confide in and the one they acknowledge, as holding that 
standing in society to which his qualifications justly entitle him. 
“ This, gentlemen, is of no little importance to us, when we consider, 
the higher the position in society taken by the Veterinarians, undoubtedly 
the more will their scientific services he appreciated , and the greater will be 
their gain. The notion that as a profession, because an individual treats 
medically the diseases of the lower animals, he therefore takes a lower posi- 
tion among his fellows, is ridiculous. I say with Cicero, ‘ The man makes 
the profession, not the profession the man.’ 
“ In the days of ancient Greece and Rome the most learned philosophers, 
statesmen, and warriors, did not disdain to instruct the tillers of the land 
in the cultivation of the soil, and in the management and diseases of dumb 
creatures, constituting as they do, the substantial wealth of nations. Varro, 
Cato, Vegetius, Constantine IV, and other illustrious men and princes, 
thought it not derogatory to lend their names or their pen to Veterinary 
Science. Virgil also found great favour with Csesar for curing his horses, 
and for foreseeing and announcing the qualities of the produce of a mare 
and other animals. His writings on ‘Agriculture and Management of 
Animals’ are valuable even at this day. If we look to Trance, within the 
last century, we find Bourgelat, a most learned lawyer and able writer, the 
bosom friend of D’Alembert, enjoying also the esteem of Pembroke, Voltaire, 
BufFon, Haller, forsaking the French bar and founding the first Veterinary 
School at Lyons. Thus it is clear, from the earliest times, that the Veteri- 
nary Art has been deemed worthy the care and devotion of a lifetime, by 
great men. 
“ We find that at the opening of Parliament, in 1770, the first words the 
king uttered had reference to the serious calamity that had befallen the 
nation, in the spreading from the Continent to our island of a dreadful epi- 
zootic. The Lords and Commons did not turn a deaf ear to this earnest 
appeal, and a host of learned men, of no profession, responded from differ- 
ent parts of England, and amongst them were Mortimer, Brocklesby, and 
the Archbishop of York. All Europe was then in consternation, in conse- 
quence of the bovine pest that periodically extended over it, from the 
Asiatic Steppes ; and from this grievous disaster, the prospects of great and 
lasting good arose. The Veterinary College at Lyons was founded, and 
schools elsewhere, — the first seeds of Veterinary Science were sown,— the 
pupils of Bourgelat were most successful in combating the disease, — proving 
how valuable and important veterinary knowledge is to the welfare of a 
country. 
“In the year 1791, the Veterinary College of London was established, 
The country at large fostered it as a rising plant, in proof of which the 
British Parliament annually voted a sum for its support ; and as an induce- 
ment to young men of education and respectability to become students, 
George III granted the rank of commissioned officer to such veterinary 
surgeons as might be appointed to regiments. 
“ The great advantages afforded to the country and our army by such an 
institution as the Royal Veterinary College was unmistakeable, and so 
highly esteemed that a board of general officers were appointed to take the 
utility of the institution into consideration ; and they reported, that the 
loss of horses accruing to our cavalry, which had been theretofore heavy, 
was principally owing to the total ignorance of those who, previously to 
the appointment of veterinary surgeons, educated at the said Veterinary 
College, had had the care of them. 
“ The college pupils attended lectures there, during their probation, and 
also from the Medical Examining Committee (which consisted of the 
most eminent physicians and surgeons, teachers of the various branches of 
