Page:The Hunterian Oration 1839.djvu/26

THE HUNTERIAN ORATION. 19 courses of lectures on anatomy and physiology with their requisite illustrations. I read in the Eloge upon Scarpa, pronounced before the Academy of Medicine in Paris, that in the year 1781, he visited London, became the pupil of Pott, of the two Hunters, of Cruikshank, and Sheldon, accompanied them in their visits, attended their lectures on anatomy and surgery, and studied with the deepest interest, the collection of the youngest of the Hunters, composed of all parts of the animal organization. Adding the name of Hewson to those just enumerated, we have before us the distinguished men of the school of William Hunter, who united with him in giving the first impulse to the study of Physiological, Pathological, and Practical Anatomy in England, which, by its continued zealous prosecution, has enabled the surgeons of our country to contribute their full share to the perfection which the science has attained in the last half century.

An epoch in the history of surgery was the establishment of the French Academy in the reign of Louis XV. Even at this distant period, interest must, in our minds, be attached to the circumstances which led to the formation of an institution so beneficial to surgery; for we cannot but admire the liberal and manly spirit, the sound principles which animated the celebrated men who united their efforts in its foundation. We find these men, in the records relating to �