During his stay at this latter city, he was appointed pro fessor of philosophy, anatomy, and surgery, at Franeker, which obliged him to hasten his return to Holland. On his journey home, however, he staid a few days at some of the principal cities of SS% itZtrland and Germany. At Basle, he visited 11(11)(11611i ; and in the library of that city, examined the writings of Erasmus, and the paint ings of I lolbein.
A severe malady with which he was seized at Leyden, during the winter of 1759, prevented him from entering upon the duties of his new office until the following au tumn, when he began his prclections with a discourse De filundo Optimo.• Not content, however, with the knowledge of his profession which he had already acquir ed, or the connections which he had formed in foreign countries, he revisited London during the vacation of 1752, and a second time attended the lectures of some of its ablest physicians.
At Franeker, Camper continued to teach with in creasing celebrity, and was always attended by a nu merous audience, until 1755, when he was appointed professor of anatomy and surgery at the Athenaeum of Amsterdam. I fere he remained nearly six years ; and it was during his residence in that city that he published the first volume of his Demonstrationes Anatomieo-Patho logics% But the bustle of the capital, and the wish of Mrs Camper to return to Friesland, determined him to resign his situation in the Athenaeum; and, in 1761, he retired to his country-house near Franeker, still retaining, however, the title of honorary professor in that academy. His whole time was now devoted to the sciences ; and he published the second volume of his Dentonstratians in 1762.
After remaining two years in his retirement, he was nominated to the professorship of medicine, surgery, ana tomy, and botany, in the university of Groningen. The vicinity of this city to his present habitation—the natural activity of his mind—and his love of fame—determined him to accept the situation. During the ten years which he continued a member of this university, his reputation daily increased. Besides many valuable papers on medi cal subjects, which he presented to the different societies of Europe, he made several important discoveries in na tural history ; and during the last years of his residence in Groningen, he gave a course of lectures on medical jurisprudence, which many of his colleagues, the magis trates of the city, and the lawyers, honoured with their presence and approbation. Ile quitted Groningen with regret ; and received, on his departure, the most une quivocal testimonies of affection and esteem from many of the principal inhabitants. Ile often declared, that the
years which he spent in that city were the happiest of his life ; and that probably he never would have quitted a society where he was treated with such kindness and respect, had not the desire of Mrs Calliper, and his reso lution to superintend the education of his children, obliged him to make the sacrifice.
Camper now fixed his residence at Franeker for the education of his children ; and, being freed from the la bours of public teaching, he devoted himself entirely to his favourite pursuits. His studies, however, were for a time interrupted by the death of Mrs Camper, to whom he was most tenderly attached, and whose estimable qualities, during an union of twenty years, had constituted the chief comfort of his life. Une juste douleur, says his son, detouna pendant long-tems son esprit de toute applica tion aux sciences. To relieve his mind from the pressure of affliction, he made a tour through the county of Ben theim, the duchy of Cleves, and Brabant. The paintings of Rubens, Vandyke, and the other great masters of the Flemish school, which he found at Antwerp and Brussels, fixed his attention for a while in these cities, and afforded him some mothents of relaxation ; and, in the following summer, he went to Paris, where he was delighted with the society of Franklin, Alarmontel, Diderot, &c. He af terwards visited some of the principal cities in Germany, and associated with the most celebrated authors of that country. At Potsdam he was presented to Frederic the Great, who received him with great affability and respect ; and, on his return, he had the honour of spending two days with his brother, Prince Henry of Prussia, at Rhyns berg. The researches of Camper were now chiefly di rected to natural history ; and every year added to his fame as an author and a philosopher. His studies, how ever, important and multiplied as they were, did not pre vent him from taking a part in the public affairs of his country. He was twice elected a representative in the assembly of the province of Friesland ; and, in 1782, he was appionted counsellor of the city of \Vorkum, which entitled him to a seat in the college of the admiralty of Friesland. In 1787, he was nominated one of the coun cil of the state, which obliged him to remove his place of residence to the Hague, and where he continued till his death, which was occasioned by a violent pleurisy, on the 7th of April 1789. His body was deposited in the tomb of his ancestors, in the church of St. Peter, at Leyden.