Nor was any criticism ever made upon him, from any quarter, other than upon his extraordinary freedom from personal ambition, and his aversion to public notice or display.
Wyman's anatomical work was absolutely free from zoological bias, and his statements were always received as gospel by both parties to a controversy. He might not tell the whole truth, for he might not see it at the time; but what he did tell was "nothing but the truth" so far as it went. The hottest partisan felt that a figure or description of Wyman's was, so far as it went, as trustworthy as Nature herself.
Without brilliancy, Dr. Wyman combined qualities rarely found in the same individual. No man of our time has surpassed him in the love of Nature for its own sake, free from the hope of position, power, or profit; in keenness of vision, both physical and mental; in absolute integrity, with the least as well as the greatest things; in industry and perseverance; and in method, whether for the arrangement of collections, or the presentation of an idea. And if to these had been adjoined a tithe of the ambition displayed by smaller men, and had his health and strength been at all equal to his mental powers, no one can doubt that his attainments, his productions, and his reputation, would have been surpassed by none of his contemporaries.
However much we may, for our own sakes, regret that such was not the case, we know that into his mind never entered the shadow of bitterness. His recognition of others' labors was full and generous; his mind was upon the facts and principles of Nature, and regarded not the medium through which they were obtained; and if he ever prayed for health and strength, it was surely not for his own advancement, but because he felt within himself the desire and the ability to learn and to teach the truth.
Dr. Wyman's reputation was less wide than that of some others; but it was deeply rooted. As the years roll on, and as the final estimate is made of the value of what has been done in this century, we may be sure that the name of Jeffries Wyman will stand high among those who have joined rare ability and unwearied industry with a pure and noble life. To use his own words upon a like occasion, "Let us cherish his memory and profit by his example."
