[Embryology and Obstetrics] HARVEY, William. Exercitationes de generatione animalium
Amsterdam: Louis Elzevier, 1651
£ 2,000
12mo, 568pp [4], final blank, engraved frontispiece depicting Jove releasing animal life from an egg with the motto ‘Ex ovo omnia’ [everything from an egg], woodcut printer’s Minerva device to titlepage, exlibris ink inscription ‘Joannis Luneau [Jean Luneau], 1685’, a clean copy, contemporary vellum, yapp edges, wear to top edge and spine, some chipping and spotting, ink inscription to spine.
Harvey’s fascinating treatise on the science of generation, the last of the three works published during his lifetime. While this work on embryology was overshadowed by his earlier publication on the circulation of blood De motu cordis, it encompasses extensive studies on the reproduction of animals and humans. It departs from the entirely empirical approach of his earlier works by including references to teleological and vitalistic principles. The work is organised into seventy-two chapters or exercitationes, assembled from the physician’s notes and observations assembled between 1628 and 1642.
Harvey’s interest in the science of embryology likely stems from his studies under Johann Christian Fabricius at the University of Padua. “This book demonstrates Harvey’s intimate knowledge of the existing literature on the subject. He corrected many of the errors of Fabricius. Harvey considered this to be the culminating work of his life, and more significant than De motu cordis.” (Morton’s Medical Bibliography p.88).
“After the publication of De motu cordis, Harvey turned his attention to the study of generation. Even if Harvey had not discovered the circulation of the blood, his remarkable work on embryology would have placed him in the front ranks of biological scientists. Without benefit of the compound microscope, his work was necessarily limited; nevertheless, nothing comparable had been done since Aristotle. He disbelieved the previously-held doctrine of “preformation” of the fetus, maintaining instead that it proceeds from the ovum by gradual building up of its parts. Always slow to publicize his findings, Harvey was only after some years persuaded by his friend, Sir George Ent, to put them into print. The first edition was published in London in 1651, followed by three Amsterdam editions of the same year. This Elzevir edition is believed to be the first of the three Amsterdam editions.” (Heirs of Hippocrates, 436)
The final chapters on midwifery in this book are the first written works on the subject by an English physician. The first translation of this work into English was published in London in 1653.