818 COMMENCEMENT OF THE SESSION 1839-40 
extended his valuable pathological lectures to them ; and I, uncon- 
nected with the College, ventured to attempt a course of lectures 
on their anatomy, and to explain the physiological inferences to 
be drawn therefrom. 
“ The path, then, which we are now to pursue may be said to 
have been hitherto almost untrodden; and when I reflect that I 
now appear before you, for the first time i" this Institution, as the 
appointed teacher of the anatomy an^/iysiology of all domesti- 
cated animals, I feel assured that yojPkill pardon me for saying 
that I have considerable misgivings, lest I should not be able to 
accomplish the task which I have undertaken with that benefit to 
my pupils which they have a right to expect from me as the 
director of so important a branch of their studies, or to the satis- 
faction of my professional brethren and the public ; yet, from the 
kind support which I have ever experienced from the members of 
the profession, and the marked attention and respect with which I 
have at all times been honoured by my class, I am inspired with 
a hope that, by industry and perseverance — my heart being in the 
cause — I may eventually be enabled to accomplish your wishes, and 
be an humble instrument in contributing to link more firmly the 
chain of union by which all the members of a liberal profession 
should be bound together. 
“To the pupil who is about to enter upon the studies of his pro- 
fession it is of the utmost importance that he should be fully aware 
of the nature of the labours in which he is called upon to engage, 
and to possess a clear and distinct idea of the manner in which he 
shall proceed in their acquisition. Among the first of his studies 
as prescribed by universal consent, and on a thorough acquaint- 
ance with which his future success in practice will mainly depend, 
stands the science, or sister sciences, of ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY. 
“ These terms, as applied to the lower animals, are designated 
‘ comparative .’ Thus ‘ COMPARATIVE ANATOMY’ is a science 
which treats of the structure and general arrangement of the con- 
stituents of the bodies of animals ; and ‘ COMPARATIVE PHYSIO- 
LOGY’ teaches us the uses or functions of these parts. As anato- 
mists, we view the animal frame, in whatever type it is presented to 
us, as a machine of beautiful workmanship, perfect in itself, which 
