Page:The Harveian oration, delivered before the Royal College of Physicians, Wednesday, June 27th, 1877 (IA b22314623).pdf/21

 which his work, published in 1628, so plainly shows.

Harvey commences the section on the heart and circulation with an etymological assertion, for which, I fear, it would be difficult to find sufficient justification : "Cor a currendo, quia semper movetur." His first anatomical statement is to this effect:* "This (the heart) is the chiefest of all parts of the body, not by any inherent quality, for its flesh is more fibrous and harder and colder than the liver, but by the quantity of blood and spirits contained in the ventricles." You see, he still clung to the view that the heart contained something besides blood. The heart, he says, cannot bear any serious lesion without death ensuing; still, he adds, showing that he had already devoted attention to pathological anatomy, "vix ullis vitium cadaveribus vidi, nec consumitur ptysi (phthisi) secundum spem Galeni." An amusing instance of a jumble of Latin and English occurs in this section: "Exempto corde frogg scipp, cel crawle, dogg ambulat;" in which the English, not one word of which would pass muster

Principalissima omnium pars, non propria rationc, carnc fibrosior enim et durior et frigidior hepate, sed copia sanguinis et spirituum in ventriculis. Harvey enlarges upon this paragraph under three heads. 1. Unde fons totius caloris; 2. Unde auricula dextra pro apostemate cernctur morte; 3. Unde piscis quasi lacuna san- guinis, et eo major quo sanguis spirituosior, calidior; puto quo dis- tentius et non concretum possibile ad vitam, unde auriculæ pulsant post emotum cor sanguinis multitudine. The italicised letters are the terminations suggested by Mr. Bond.