Page:The Harveian oration, 1875 (IA b22314611).pdf/42

markable for as much as the composition of the “fuliginous vapour” discharged from the lungs was then unknown, and the chemical necessity of a pulmonary circulation unexplained; and the magnifying-glass through which Harvey had seen the movements of the heart in the transparent shrimp taken from the Thames, had yet to be developed into the powerful compound microscope through which we now see the unbroken capillary circulation in the frog’s foot.

The circulation of the blood then, was not a discovery merely, but a demonstration; and this demonstration was in part a refutation of ancient and prevalent errors, but also a revelation of new truths wrought out by as felicitous a combination of original talent, acquired learning, and unwearied industry as ever met in one man.

Fresh as I am from the study of Harvey’s works, I confess myself at a loss which most to admire, his rare endowments, or the use he made of them. If his natural gifts were great, they were not greater than the resources his industry created. The objects of his study at one time shine in the clear pure light of an unclouded intellect, at another they glow with all the rich tints of a