Page:Hunterian oration, delivered in the theatre of the Royal College of Surgeons in London on February 14th 1829 (electronic resource) (IA b2148305x).pdf/30

26 ever broke in upon the mind of man. It is the formal mode of bringing all things, by means of ideas, to the analytical powers of the mind. He who does not understand comparison, and analogy, vainly presumes to be a philosopher. Hunter, by continually exercising this faculty, has verified the position, that he possessed this endowment in an eminent degree.

In the investigation of a proposition, it is necessary to state all the elements that enter into it accurately; for this purpose all the terms required, and all the conditions under which they are to be taken, must be carefully noted. The error in the investigations for advancing the sciences of Physiology, and Pathology, is, that there is too great a readiness to be satisfied with terms, which do not comprehend all the elements that ought to enter into the consideration of the proposition, as well as of admitting conditions not properly defined. Hunter has shewn his