<h2><i>ARISTOTLE.</i></h2>
<p><span class="smcap">About</span> the time that Hippocrates died, Aristotle, who
may be regarded as the founder of the science of
"Natural History," was born (<span class="smcapl">B.C.</span> 384) in Stagira, an
unimportant Hellenic colony in Thrace, near the Macedonian
frontier. His father was a distinguished physician,
and, like Hippocrates, boasted descent from the Asclepiadæ.
The importance attached by the Asclepiads to
the habit of physical observation, which has been already
referred to in the life of Hippocrates, secured for Aristotle,
from his earliest years, that familiarity with biological
studies which is so clearly evident in many of his works.</p>
<p>Both parents of Aristotle died when their son was
still a youth, and in consequence of this he went to
reside with Proxenus, a native of Atarneus, who had
settled at Stagira. Subsequently he went to Athens and
joined the school of Plato. Here he remained for
about twenty years, and applied himself to study with
such energy that he became pre-eminent even in that
distinguished band of philosophers. He is said to have<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_22" id="Page_22"></SPAN></span>
been spoken of by Plato as "the intellect" of the school,
and to have been compared by him to a spirited colt
that required the application of the rein to restrain its
ardour.</p>
<p>Aristotle probably wrote at this time some philosophical
works, the fame of which reached the ears of
Philip, King of Macedonia, and added to the reputation
which the young philosopher had already made with
that monarch; for Philip is said to have written to him
on the occasion of Alexander's birth, <span class="smcapl">B.C.</span> 356: "King
Philip of Macedonia to Aristotle, greeting. Know that
a son has been born to me. I thank the gods not so
much that they have given him to me, as that they have
permitted him to be born in the time of Aristotle.
I hope that thou wilt form him to be a king worthy to
succeed me and to rule the Macedonians."</p>
<p>After the death of Plato, which occurred in 347 <span class="smcapl">B.C.</span>,
Aristotle quitted Athens and went to Atarneus, where
he stayed with Hermias, who was then despot of that
town. Hermias was a remarkable man, who, from being
a slave, had contrived to raise himself to the supreme
power. He had been at Athens and had heard Plato's
lectures, and had there formed a friendship for Aristotle.
With this man the philosopher remained for three years,
and was then compelled suddenly to seek refuge in
Mitylene, owing to the perfidious murder of Hermias.
The latter was decoyed out of the town by the Persian<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_23" id="Page_23"></SPAN></span>
general, seized and sent prisoner to Artaxerxes, by whom
he was hanged as a rebel. On leaving Atarneus, Aristotle
took with him a niece of Hermias, named Pythias,
whom he afterwards married. She died young, leaving
an infant daughter.</p>
<p>Two or three years after this, Aristotle became tutor
to Alexander, who was then about thirteen years old.
The philosopher seems to have been a favourite with
both the king and the prince, and, in gratitude for his
services, Philip rebuilt Stagira and restored it to its
former inhabitants, who had either been dispersed or
carried into slavery. The king is said also to have
established there a school for Aristotle. The high respect
in which Alexander held his teacher is expressed in his
saying that he honoured him no less than his own father,
for while to one he owed life, to the other he owed all
that made life valuable.</p>
<p>In 336 <span class="smcapl">B.C.</span> Alexander, who was then only about
twenty years of age, became king, and Aristotle soon
afterwards quitted Macedonia and took up his residence
in Athens once more, after an absence of about twelve
years. Here he opened a school in the Lycæum, a
gymnasium on the eastern side of the city, and continued
his work there for about twelve years, during which time
Alexander was making his brilliant conquests. The
lectures were given for the most part while walking in
the garden, and in consequence, perhaps, of this, the<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_24" id="Page_24"></SPAN></span>
sect received the name of the Peripatetics. The discourses
were of two kinds—the <i>esoteric</i>, or abstruse, and
the <i>exoteric</i>, or familiar; the former being delivered to
the more advanced pupils only. During the greater part
of this time Aristotle kept up correspondence with
Alexander, who is said<SPAN name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</SPAN> to have placed at his disposal
thousands of men, who were busily employed in collecting
objects and in making observations for the completion
of the philosopher's zoological researches.
Alexander is, moreover, said to have given the philosopher
eight hundred talents for the same purpose.</p>
<p>In spite of these marks of friendship and respect,
Alexander, who was fast becoming intoxicated with
success, and corrupted by Asiatic influences, gradually
cooled in his attachment towards Aristotle. This may
have been hastened by several causes, and among others
by the freedom of speech and republican opinions of
Callisthenes, a kinsman and disciple of Aristotle, who
had been, by the latter's influence, appointed to attend
on Alexander. Callisthenes proved so unpopular, that
the king seems to have availed himself readily of the
first plausible pretext for putting him to death, and to
have threatened his former friend and teacher with a
similar punishment. The latter, for his part, probably
had a deep feeling of resentment towards the destroyer
of his kinsman.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_25" id="Page_25"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>Meanwhile the Athenians knew nothing of these
altered relations between Aristotle and Alexander, but
continued to regard the philosopher as thoroughly imbued
with kingly notions (in spite of his writings being
quite to the contrary); so that he was an object of
suspicion and dislike to the Athenian patriots. Nevertheless,
as long as Alexander was alive, Aristotle was safe
from molestation. As soon, however, as Alexander's
death became known, the anti-Macedonian feeling of
the Athenians burst forth, and found a victim in the
philosopher. A charge of impiety was brought against
him. It was alleged that he had paid divine honours
to his wife Pythias and to his friend Hermias. Now,
for the latter, a eunuch, who from the rank of a slave
had raised himself to the position of despot over a
free Grecian community, so far from coupling his name
(as Aristotle had done in his hymn) with the greatest
personages of Hellenic mythology, the Athenian public
felt that no contempt was too bitter. To escape the
storm the philosopher retired to Chalcis, in Eubœa, then
under garrison by Antipater, the Governor of Macedonia,
remarking in a letter, written afterwards, that
he did so in order that the Athenians might not have
the opportunity of sinning a second time against philosophy
(the allusion being, of course, to the fate of
Socrates).</p>
<p>He probably intended to return to Athens again so<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_26" id="Page_26"></SPAN></span>
soon as the political troubles had abated, but in September,
322 <span class="smcapl">B.C.</span>, he died at Chalcis. An overwrought
mind, coupled with indigestion and weakness of the
stomach, from which he had long suffered, was most
probably the cause of death. Some of his detractors,
however, have asserted that he took poison, and others
that he drowned himself in the Eubœan Euripus.</p>
<p>It is not easy to arrive at a just estimate of the character
of Aristotle. By some of his successors he has
been reproached with ingratitude to his teacher, Plato;
with servility to Macedonian power, and with love of
costly display. How far these two last charges are due
to personal slander it is impossible to say. The only
ground for the first charge is, that he criticised adversely
some of Plato's doctrines.</p>
<p>The manuscripts of Aristotle's works passed through
many vicissitudes. At the death of the philosopher
they were bequeathed to Theophrastus, who continued
chief of the Peripatetic school for thirty-five years.
Theophrastus left them, with his own works, to a philosophical
friend and pupil, Neleus, who conveyed them
from Athens to his residence at Scepsis, in Asia Minor.
About thirty or forty years after the death of Theophrastus,
the kings of Pergamus, to whom the city of
Scepsis belonged, began collecting books to form a
library on the Alexandrian plan. This led the heirs of
Neleus to conceal their literary treasures in a cellar, and<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_27" id="Page_27"></SPAN></span>
there the manuscripts remained for nearly a century and
a half, exposed to injury from damp and worms. At
length they were sold to Apellicon, a resident at Athens,
who was attached to the Peripatetic sect. Many of the
manuscripts were imperfect, having become worm-eaten
or illegible. These defects Apellicon attempted to
remedy; but, being a lover of books rather than a philosopher,
he performed the work somewhat unskilfully.
When Athens was taken by Sylla, 86 <span class="smcapl">B.C.</span>, the library of
Apellicon was transported to Rome. There various
literary Greeks obtained access to it; and, among others,
Tyrannion, a grammarian and friend of Cicero, did good
service in the work of correction. Andronicus of Rhodes
afterwards arranged the whole into sections, and published
the manuscripts with a tabulated list.</p>
<p>The three principal works on biology which are
extant are: "The History of Animals;" "On the Parts
of Animals;" "On the Generation of Animals." The
other biological works are: "On the Motion of Animals;"
"On Respiration;" "Parva Naturalia;"—a
series of essays which are planned to form an entire
work on sense and the sensible.</p>
<p>"The History of Animals" is the largest and most
important of Aristotle's works on biology. It contains
a vast amount of information, not very methodically
arranged, and spoiled by the occurrence here and there
of very gross errors. It consists of nine books.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_28" id="Page_28"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>The first book opens with a division of the body into
similar and dissimilar parts. Besides thus differing in
their parts, animals also differ in their mode of life, their
actions and dispositions. Thus some are aquatic, others
terrestrial; of the former, some breathe water, others air,
and some neither. Of aquatic animals, some inhabit
the sea, and others rivers, lakes, or marshes. Again,
some animals are locomotive, and others are stationary.
Some follow a leader, others act independently. Various
differences are in this way pointed out, and there is no
lack of illustration and detail, but a suspicion is excited
that the generalizations are sometimes based upon insufficient
facts. The book closes with a description of
the different parts of the human body, both internal and
external. In speaking of the ear, Aristotle seems to
have been aware of what we now call the Eustachian
tube, for he says, "There is no passage from the ear into
the brain, but there is to the roof of the mouth."<SPAN name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</SPAN></p>
<p>In the second book he passes on to describe the
organs of animals. The animals are dealt with in groups—viviparous
and oviparous quadrupeds, fish, serpents,
birds, etc. The ape, elephant, chameleon, and some
others are especially noticed.</p>
<p>The third book continues the description of the
internal organs. References which are made to a diagram
by letters, <i>a</i>, <i>b</i>, <i>c</i>, <i>d</i>, show that the work was originally<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_29" id="Page_29"></SPAN></span>
illustrated. At the close of this book Aristotle has some
remarks on milk, and mentions the occasional appearance
of milk in male animals. He speaks of a male goat at
Lemnos which yielded so much that cakes of cheese
were made from it. Similar instances of this phenomenon
have been recorded by Humboldt, Burdach, Geoffroy
St. Hilaire, and others.</p>
<p>In the first four chapters of the fourth book the
anatomy of the invertebrata is dealt with, and the accounts
given of certain mollusca and crustacea are very careful
and minute. The rest of the book is devoted to a description
of the organs of sense and voice; of sleep, and
the distinctions of sex. The accurate knowledge which
Aristotle exhibits of the anatomy and habits of marine
animals, such as the Cephalopoda and the larger Crustacea,
leaves no doubt that he derived it from actual
observation. Professor Owen says, "Respecting the living
habits of the Cephalopoda, Aristotle is more rich in detail
than any other zoological author." What is now spoken
of as the <i>hectocotylization</i> of one or more of the arms
of the male cephalopod did not escape Aristotle's eye.
And while he speaks of the teeth and that which serves
these animals for a tongue, it is plain from the context
that he means in the one case the two halves of the
parrot-like beak, and in the other the anterior end of the
odontophore.</p>
<p>Books five to seven deal with the subject of generation.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_30" id="Page_30"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>The eighth book contains a variety of details respecting
animals, their food, migrations, hibernation, and
diseases; with the influence of climate and locality upon
them.</p>
<p>The ninth book describes the habits and instincts of
animals. The details are interesting; but there is, as
usual, very little attempt at classification. Disjointed
statements and sudden digressions occur, the subjects
being treated in the order in which they presented themselves
to the author. Such curious statements as the
following are met with: "The raven is an enemy to the
bull and the ass, for it flies round them and strikes their
eyes." "If a person takes a goat by the beard, all the
rest of the herd stand by, as if infatuated, and look at
it." "Female stags are captured by the sound of the
pipe and by singing. When two persons go out to
capture them, one shows himself, and either plays upon
a pipe or sings, and the other strikes behind, when the
first gives him the signal." "Swans have the power of
song, especially when near the end of their life; for they
then fly out to sea, and some persons sailing near the
coast of Libya have met many of them in the sea singing
a mournful song, and have afterwards seen some of
them die." "Of all wild animals, the elephant is the
most tame and gentle; for many of them are capable of
instruction and intelligence, and they have been taught
<i>to worship the king</i>."<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_31" id="Page_31"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>In the work "On the Parts of Animals," the author
considers not only the phenomena of life exhibited by each
species, but also the cause or causes to which these
phenomena are attributable. After a general introduction,
he proceeds to enumerate the three degrees of
composition, viz.:—</p>
<div class="block1"><p>(1) "Composition out of what some call the elements,
such as air, earth, water, and fire," or "out of
the elementary forces, hot and cold, solid and
fluid, which form the material of all compound
substances."</p>
<p>(2) Composition out of these primary substances of
the homogeneous parts of animals, e.g. blood,
fat, marrow, brain, flesh, and bone.</p>
<p>(3) Composition into the heterogeneous parts or
organs. These parts he describes in detail,
considering those belonging to sanguineous
animals first and most fully.</p>
</div>
<p>These divisions correspond roughly to the threefold
study of structure which we nowadays recognize as
chemical, histological, and anatomical.</p>
<p>As examples of Aristotle's method of treatment, his
descriptions of blood, the brain, the heart, and the lung
may be considered.</p>
<p>Of the <i>blood</i> he says, "What are called fibres are
found in the blood of some animals, but not of all.
There are none, for instance, in the blood of deer and<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_32" id="Page_32"></SPAN></span>
of roes, and for this reason the blood of such animals
as these never coagulates.... Too great an excess of
water makes animals timorous.... Such animals, on
the other hand, as have thick and abundant fibres in their
blood are of a more choleric temperament, and liable to
bursts of passion.... Bulls and boars are choleric,
for their blood is exceedingly rich in fibres, and the bull's,
at any rate, coagulates more rapidly than that of any
other animal.... If these fibres are taken out of the
blood, the fluid that remains will no longer coagulate."</p>
<p>From these quotations it will be noted that Aristotle
attributed the coagulum to the presence of fibres, and in
this he anticipated Malpighi's discovery made in the
seventeenth century. His remarks on the proportion of
coagulum and serum in different animals, which is enlarged
upon in the "History of Animals,"<SPAN name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</SPAN> harmonize
with modern observations. In another of his works<SPAN name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</SPAN> he
remarks that the blood in certain diseased conditions will
not coagulate. This is known to be the case in cholera,
certain fevers, asphyxia, etc.; and the fact was probably
obtained from Hippocrates. Although Aristotle speaks
here of entire absence of coagulation in the blood of the
deer and the roe, in the "History of Animals" he admits
an imperfect coagulation, for he says, "so that their
blood does not coagulate like that of other animals."
The animals named are commonly hunted, and it was<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_33" id="Page_33"></SPAN></span>
probably after they had been hunted to death that he
examined them. Now, it is generally admitted that
coagulation under such circumstances is imperfect and
even uncommon. The statement as to the richness in
fibres of the blood of bulls and boars has been confirmed
by some modern investigations, which have
shown that the clot bears a proportion to the strength
and ferocity of the animal. The remarks, however, as
to the relative rapidity of coagulation would appear to
be contradicted by later observations, for Thackrah
came to the conclusion that coagulation commenced
sooner in small and weak animals than in strong.</p>
<p>Of the <i>brain</i> Aristotle makes the following among
other assertions: "Of all parts of the body there is
none so cold as the brain.... Of all the fluids of the
body it is the one that has the least blood, for, in fact, it
has no blood at all in its proper substance.... That
it has no continuity with the organs of sense is plain
from simple inspection, and still more closely shown by
the fact that when it is touched no sensation is produced....
The brain tempers the heat and seething of the
heart.... In order that it may not itself be absolutely
without heat, blood-vessels from the aorta end in the
membrane which surrounds the brain.... Of all animals
man has the largest brain in proportion to his size: and
it is larger in men than in women. This is because the
region of the heart and of the lung is hotter and richer<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_34" id="Page_34"></SPAN></span>
in blood in man than in any other animal; and in men
than in women. This again explains why man alone
of animals stands erect. For the heat, overcoming any
opposite inclination, makes growth take its own line of
direction, which is from the centre of the body upwards....
Man again has more sutures in his skull than any
other animal, and the male more than the female. The
explanation is to be found in the greater size of the
brain, which demands free ventilation proportionate to
its bulk.... There is no brain in the hinder part of
the head.... The brain in all animals that have one
is placed in the front part of the head ... because the
heart, from which sensation proceeds, is in the front part
of the body."</p>
<p>Although it would perhaps be difficult to find anywhere
as many errors in as few words, yet it should be observed
that Aristotle here shows himself to have been aware of
the existence of the membranes of the brain—the <i>pia
mater</i> and the <i>dura mater</i>; and elsewhere<SPAN name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</SPAN> he says more
explicitly, "Two membranes enclose the brain; that
about the skull is the stronger; the inner membrane is
slighter than the outer one." And further, it should be
noted that he describes the latter membrane as a vascular
one. The fact of the brain substance being insensible to
mechanical irritation was known to Aristotle, and may
have been learnt from the practice of Hippocrates.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_35" id="Page_35"></SPAN></span>
Lastly, it should be remembered that—though this may
have been but a lucky guess on Aristotle's part—the
relative weight of brain to the entire body has been
shown, with few exceptions, to be greater in man than in
any other animal.</p>
<p>In describing the <i>heart</i> Aristotle says: "The heart lies
about the centre of the body, but rather in its upper
than in its lower half, and also more in front than
behind.... In man it inclines a little towards the left,
so that it may counterbalance the chilliness of that side.
It is hollow, to serve for the reception of the blood;
while its wall is thick, that it may serve to protect the
source of heat. For here, and here alone, in all the
viscera, and in fact in all the body, there is blood without
blood-vessels, the blood elsewhere being always contained
within vessels. The heart is the first of all the parts of
the body to be formed, and no sooner is it formed than
it contains blood.... For no sooner is the embryo
formed than its heart is seen in motion like a living
creature, and this before any of the other parts. The
heart is abundantly supplied with sinews.... In no
animal does the heart contain a bone, certainly in none
of those that we ourselves have inspected, with the
exception of the horse and a certain kind of ox. In
animals of great size the heart has three cavities; in
smaller animals it has two; and in all it has at least
one."<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_36" id="Page_36"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>It will be observed that here Aristotle so correctly
describes the position of the human heart as to render it
probable that he is speaking from actual inspection;
although man is not the only animal in which the heart
is turned towards the left. In contrasting the heart with
the other viscera he appears to have overlooked the
existence of the coronary vessels, and to have imagined
that the nutrition of the heart was effected directly by
the blood in its cavities. Although the heart is not really
the first part to appear, the observation of its very early
appearance in the embryo, which he treats more fully
elsewhere,<SPAN name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</SPAN> is alone enough to establish his reputation as
an original observer. It is remarkable that Aristotle
should have overlooked the presence of the valves of the
heart, the structure and functions of which were fully
investigated within thirty years of his death by the
anatomists of the Alexandrian school. This is the more
remarkable, as he calls attention here, and in the "History
of Animals," to the sinews or tendons (<span title="neura">νεῦρα</span>) with which,
he says, the heart is supplied, and by which he probably
meant chiefly the <i>chordæ tendineæ</i>. The "bone in the
heart" of which he speaks was probably the cruciform
ossification which is normally found in the ox and the
stag below the origin of the aorta. It is found in the
horse only in advanced age, or under abnormal conditions.
The statement that the heart contains no more<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_37" id="Page_37"></SPAN></span>
than three chambers has always been considered as a
very gross blunder on the part of Aristotle. Even
Cuvier, who generally lavishes upon the philosopher
the most extravagant praise, sneers at this. Professor
Huxley,<SPAN name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</SPAN> however, has shown, by a comparison of
several passages from the "History of Animals," that
what we now call the right auricle was regarded by the
author as a venous sinus, as being a part not of the heart,
but of the great vein (<i>i.e.</i> the superior and the inferior
<i>venæ cavæ</i>).</p>
<p>Aristotle speaks of the <i>lung</i> as a single organ, sub-divided,
but having a common outlet—the trachea.
Elsewhere<SPAN name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</SPAN> he says, "Canals from the heart pass to the
lung and divide in the same fashion as the windpipe
does, closely accompanying those from the windpipe
through the whole lung." His theory of respiration, as
explained in his treatise on the subject, is that it tempers
the excessive heat produced in the heart. The lung is
compared to a pair of bellows. When the lung is expanded,
air rushes in; when it is contracted, the air is
expelled. The heat from the heart causes the lung to
expand—cold air rushes in, the heat is reduced, the lung
collapses, and the air is expelled. The cold air drawn
into the lung reaches the bronchial tubes, and as the
vessels containing hot blood run alongside these tubes,<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_38" id="Page_38"></SPAN></span>
the air cools it and carries off its superfluous heat. Some
of the air which enters the lung gets from the bronchial
tubes into the blood-vessels by transudation, for there is
no direct communication between them; and this air,
penetrating the body, rapidly cools the blood throughout
the vessels. But Aristotle did not consider the "pneuma,"
which thus reached the interior of the blood-vessels, to
be exactly the same thing as air—it was "a subtilized and
condensed air."<SPAN name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</SPAN> And this we now know to be oxygen.</p>
<p>The treatise "On the Generation of Animals" is an
extraordinary production. "No ancient and few modern
works equal it in comprehensiveness of detail and profound
speculative insight. We here find some of the
obscurest problems of biology treated with a mastery
which, when we consider the condition of science at
that day, is truly astounding. That there are many
errors, many deficiencies, and not a little carelessness in
the admission of facts, may be readily imagined; nevertheless
at times the work is frequently on a level with,
and occasionally even rises above, the speculations of
many advanced embryologists."<SPAN name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</SPAN></p>
<p>It commences with the statement that the present
work is a sequel to that "On the Parts of Animals;" and
first the masculine and feminine <i>principles</i> are defined.
The masculine principle is the origin of all motion and<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_39" id="Page_39"></SPAN></span>
generation; the feminine principle is the origin of the
material generated. Aristotle's philosophy of nature was
teleological, and the imperfect character of his anatomical
knowledge often gives him occasion to explain particular
phenomena by final causes. Thus animals producing
soft-shelled eggs (<i>e.g.</i> cartilaginous fish and vipers) are
said to do so because they have so little warmth that
the external surface of the egg cannot be dried.</p>
<p>Among insects, some (<i>e.g.</i> grasshopper, cricket, ant,
etc.) produce young in the ordinary way, by the union of
the sexes; in other cases (<i>e.g.</i> flies and fleas) this union
of the sexes results in the production of a <i>skolex</i>; while
others have no parents, nor do they have congress—such
are the ephemera, tipula, and the like. Aristotle discusses
and rejects the theory that the male reproductive
element is derived from every part of the body. He
concludes that "instead of saying that it comes <i>from</i> all
parts of the body, we should say that it goes <i>to</i> them. It
is not the nutrient fluid, but that which is <i>left over</i>, which
is secreted. Hence the larger animals have fewer young
than the smaller, for by them the consumption of nutrient
material will be larger and the secretion less. Another
point to be noticed is, that the nutrient fluid is universally
distributed through the body, but each secretion has its
separate organ.... It is thus intelligible why children
resemble their parents, since that which makes all the
parts of the body, resembles that which is left over as<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_40" id="Page_40"></SPAN></span>
secretion: thus the hand, or the face, or the whole
animal pre-exists in the sperm, though in an undifferentiated
state (<span title="adioristôs">ἀδιορίστως</span>); and what each of these is in
actuality (<span title="energeia">ἐνεργείᾳ</span>), such is the sperm in potentiality
(<span title="dynamei">δυνάμει</span>)."</p>
<p>In later times the two great rival theories put forward
to account for the development of the embryo
have been—</p>
<div class="block1"><p>(<i>a</i>) The theory of Evolution, which makes the embryo
pre-existent in the germ, and only rendered
visible by the unfolding and expansion of its
organs.</p>
<p>(<i>b</i>) The theory of Epigenesis, which makes the embryo
arise, by a series of successive differentiations,
from a simple homogeneous mass into
a complex heterogeneous organism.</p>
</div>
<p>The above quotation will show how closely Aristotle
held to the theory of Epigenesis; and in another place
he says, "Not at once is the animal a man or a horse,
for the end is last attained; and the specific form is
the end of each development."</p>
<p>Spontaneous generation is nowadays rejected by
science; but Aristotle went so far as to believe that
insects, molluscs, and even eels, were spontaneously
generated. It is, however, noteworthy, in view of modern
investigations, that he looked upon <i>putrefying</i> matter as
the source of such development.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_41" id="Page_41"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>A chapter of this work is devoted to the consideration
of the hereditary transmission of peculiarities from
parent to offspring.</p>
<p>The fifth and last book contains inquiries into the
cause of variation in the colour of the eyes and hair,
the abundance of hair, the sleep of the embryo, sight
and hearing, voice and the teeth.</p>
<p>Widely different opinions have been held from time
to time of the value of Aristotle's biological labours.
This philosopher's reputation has, perhaps, suffered most
from those who have praised him most. The praise
has often been of such an exaggerated character as to
have become unmeaning, and to have carried with it
the impression of insincerity on the part of the writer.
Such are the laudations of Cuvier. To say as he does,
"Alone, in fact, without predecessors, without having
borrowed anything from the centuries which had gone
before, since they had produced nothing enduring, the
disciple of Plato discovered and demonstrated more
truths and executed more scientific labours in a life of
sixty-two years than twenty centuries after him were
able to do," is of course to talk nonsense, for the method
which Aristotle applied was that which Hippocrates
had used so well before him; and it is evident to any
one that both his predecessors and contemporaries are
frequently laid under contribution by Aristotle, although
the authority is rarely, if ever, stated by him unless he<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_42" id="Page_42"></SPAN></span>
is about to refute the view put forward. Exaggerated
praise of any author has a tendency to excite depreciation
correspondingly unjust and untrue. It has been
so in the case of this great man. In the endeavour to
depose him from the impossible position to which his
panegyrists had exalted him, his detractors have gone to
any length. The principal charges brought against his
biological work have been inaccuracy and hasty generalization.
In support of the charge of inaccuracy, some
of the extraordinary statements which are met with in his
works are adduced. "These," Professor Huxley says,
"are not so much to be called errors as stupidities."
Some, however, of the inaccuracies alleged against
Aristotle are fancied rather than real. Thus he is charged
with having represented that the arteries contained
nothing but air; that the aorta arose from the right ventricle;
that the heart did not beat in any other animal
but man; that reptiles had no blood, etc.; although in
reality he made no one of these assertions. There
remain, nevertheless, the gross misstatements referred to
above, and which really do occur. Such, for instance,
as that there is but a single bone in the neck of the
lion; that there are more teeth in male than in female
animals; that the mouth of the dolphin is placed on
the under surface of the body; that the back of the
skull is empty, etc. Although these absurdities undoubtedly
occur in Aristotle's works, it by no means<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_43" id="Page_43"></SPAN></span>
follows that he is responsible for them. Bearing in
mind the curious history of the manuscripts of his treatises,
we shall find it far more reasonable to conclude
that such errors crept in during the process of correction
and restoration, by men apparently ignorant of biology,
than that (to take only one case) an observer who had
distinguished the cetacea from fishes and had detected
their hidden mammæ, discovered their lungs, and recognized
the distinct character of their bones, should have
been so blind as to fancy that the mouth of these
animals was on the under surface of the body.</p>
<p>That Aristotle made hasty generalizations is true;
but it was unavoidable. Biology was in so early a stage
that a theory had often of necessity to be founded on
a very slight basis of facts. Yet, notwithstanding this
drawback, so great was the sagacity of this philosopher,
that many of his generalizations, which he himself probably
looked upon as temporary, have held their ground
for twenty centuries, or, having been lost sight of, have
been discovered and put forward as original by modern
biologists. Thus "the advantage of physiological
division of labour was first set forth," says Milne-Edwards,
"by myself in 1827;" and yet Aristotle had
said<SPAN name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</SPAN> that "whenever Nature is able to provide two
separate instruments for two separate uses, without the
one hampering the other, she does so, instead of acting<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_44" id="Page_44"></SPAN></span>
like a coppersmith, who for cheapness makes a spit-and-a-candlestick
in one.<SPAN name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</SPAN> It is only when this is impossible
that she uses one organ for several functions."</p>
<p>In conclusion, we may say that the great Stagirite
expounded the true principles of science, and that when
he failed his failure was caused by lack of materials.
His desire for completeness, perhaps, tempted him at
times to fill in gaps with such makeshifts as came to
his hand; but no one knew better than he did that
"theories must be abandoned unless their teachings
tally with the indisputable results of observation."<SPAN name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</SPAN></p>
<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></SPAN> Pliny, "Natural History," viii. c. 16.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></SPAN> "History of Animals," i. 11.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></SPAN> Bk. iii. 19.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></SPAN> "Meteorology," iv. 7-11.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></SPAN> "History of Animals," i. 16.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></SPAN> "History of Animals," vi. 3.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></SPAN> "On some of the errors attributed to Aristotle."</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></SPAN> "History of Animals," i. 17.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></SPAN> See Professor Huxley's article already referred to.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></SPAN> "Aristotle," by G. H. Lewes, p. 325.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></SPAN> "De Part. Anim.," iv. 6.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></SPAN> <span title="obeliskolychnion">ὀβελισκολύχνιον</span>.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></SPAN> "De Gener.," iii. 10, quoted by Dr. Ogle.</p>
</div>
</div>
<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_47" id="Page_47"></SPAN></span></p>
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