Elements of general anatomy / translated from the last French edition of P.A. Béclard, with notes and corrections by Robert Knox. [With 'Account of the life and writings of Béclard' by C.P. Olivier] M.D.F.R.S.E.

  • Pierre Augustin Béclard
Date:
1830
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Elements of general anatomy / translated from the last French edition of P.A. Béclard, with notes and corrections by Robert Knox. [With 'Account of the life and writings of Béclard' by C.P. Olivier] M.D.F.R.S.E. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    inferences calculated to flatter his favourite opinions. In this school, more useful than celebrated, he at length ac- quired the rudiments of accurate knowledge, and of that eclectic and severe spirit which at alate period rendered him so worthy of admiration. Béclard might prove by his example and success, much better than could be done by long reasoning, the utility of secondary schools of medicine, in which the small number of the pupils commonly allows them to see the facts better, and consequently to acquire at an early pe- riod an experience which, in the great schools, the crowd- ed multitude of students always acquires only with difficulty. Accordingly he was seen to leave the humble theatre of his first labours, already rich in knowledge, which, if not of great extent, was yet of the most certain kind. During the first years of his medical studies, he devot- ed himself to the study of the Latin language and philo- sophy, which were taught him by the chaplain of the hos- pital, who took pleasure in sowing in so fertile a soil in- structions which could not fail to spring up there with rapidity. Our young student at the same time cultivated botany. He obtained several prizes in natural history, and by his zeal, his ardour, and his success, gave promise of a brilliant career. Béclard’s residence at the Hospital of Angers has ieft remembrances which his successors will transmit from age to age, and which will always be to them the incentives to a noble emulation. At this period, Bichat was in the middle of his too brief career, and filled the scientific world with his glory and his name. In the conversations which the young Béclard had with his family, he frequently allowed ex- pressions to escape him which showed how happy he should be could he one day rival the founder of general anatomy. Bichat was in a manner his idol. He longed to render homage to his genius, and to attach himself to his triumphal car. Unfortunately for him, death removed