Page:The Harveian oration delivered at the Royal College of Physicians June 26, 1889 (IA b22361285).pdf/7

 as a matter of necessity, that we need not regard the crowning effort with admiration and surprise. We who are in full possession of the great truth enunciated by Harvey, are totally incompetent to estimate the full amount of difficulty he had to encounter. It is true, when we read the works of his predecessors, we cannot but observe how nearly the circulation of the blood is therein described, and we might at first he inclined to believe that he deserved less credit than has been apportioned to him; but a moment’s reflection serves to show how impossible it would have been to set aside the vast mass of error which shut out the light from all ordinary capacities, save by the exercise of great originality and power. This is clearly brought before us in the difficulty which was experienced in gaining credence for the discovery of the circulation, even when backed by the most conclusive experiments.

Sir William Temple, writing many years after the discovery of Harvey had been given to the world, alludes to the doubt which still affected the minds of physiologists. This accomplished writer says: ‘Dr. Harvey gave the first credit, if not rise,