IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I IIIM IIIIM IIIM i^ m mil 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 U 6" ► o/:-- /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 £: 03 > i O'^0^ ^ TRODUCTORY LECTURE, DELIVEBEU AT THK OPKNING OF THE SEOOXf) SESSION OF TUB MEDICAL FACULTY iln 0! mi October 2nd, 1872. BY FRANCIS \¥AYLANDCAMPBKLL, A.M., rf.D., l.u.0.p.,Lond., "^ PR»:)lI'KS.=iOROFl'HY8IOLO(iY IN BISUOP'S UNIVERSITY— PIIYSICI AN TO TUK MONTREAL OISI-KNSAUY— MBMBEU OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND HUROEONS OF LOWER CANADA — MEMBER ff^ OIP THK KOYAL MEDICAL SOCIETY OF EDINnURGH— CORRE8- I'ONDISQ MEMBER OF THE DUBLIN MICROSCOPIC CLUB, &C. &C.. &C. V Oi* ■:o: (Reprinted from the Canada Medical Record.) :o: MONTREAL : PrMNTKD MY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS SfllEET 1872. •■frir"miiiiiiii»r J- li INTRODUCTORY LECTURE, DELIVERED AT THH OPENl^Ti OF THE SECOND SESSION OF THB MEDICAL FACULTY Off THE October 2nd, 1872, BT FRANCIS WAYLAND CAMPBELL, A.M., M.D., I.. K.c.r.,LoND., PROFESSOR OP PHY8IOLOC4y TN UISHOP'S UNI VKR8ITV— I'KYSICIAN TO THE MONTREAL DISPENSARY— MEM liER OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OP LOWER CANADA— MEMBER OF THB ROYAL MEDICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH— CORRES- PONDING MEMBER OF THE DUBLIN MICROSCOPIC CLUB, &C. &0., &0. * • • • • ... * • • ■' tt • • • • * * » • « ,». • • .. « •.c:- tcl) (Re!:irin^ed,f,rom,^he Cai^acja [^edif.^! JRecotci. MONTREAL : PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET J872. dMMMlMiiHlil mmm^^tiiuiiiMiimtM T'.*! P -ii-j'^'*^'"*' ""H«p«" i^u| 1 1 I I] D • • • •, . • ,• ...•,•* S B. Q. R, -■^^*»*»***-'*'».»-"'««'*'-^>'****«WM*»***^*** - INTRODUCTORY LECTURE TO THE SECOND SES- SION OF THE MEDICAL FACULTY OP THE UNIVERSITY OF BISHOPS COLLEGE, DELIVERED ON THE 2ND OCTOBER, 1872, BY FrANCIS WaYLAND Campbell, A.M., M.D., L.R.C.P., London, Professor of Physiology. Mr. Principal, Dean, and Gentlemen, — Deputed, as I have been, by my colleagues to deliver the opening lecture of the Second Session of the Medical Faculty of the University of Bishop's College, allow me on their behalf to wish yoU; one and all, a cordial welcome. To those who return to us, after a comparative rest of six months, we extend our greetings, as to old and well tried friends. We feel that to you we owe much of the position which we occupy -to-day. At a time, when many had much to say against the establishment of a new Medical School in this the Metropolitan City of the Dominion, you rallied around our standard, and enabled us to carry to completion, the most successful first session of any Medical Faculty ever established in Canada. When I pause and look back upon the well nigh two years which have elapsed since the nucleus of this School was formed, I am free to admit that the success which has attended us, has been far beyond even what we felt sure would follow our efforts to establish in this fair and flourishing city, a new School of Medicine. It would be idle, gentlemen, to Bay that we did not feel anxious, for I can assure you that, among those who took part in the early work of organizing this Facalty, there was much 52961 I i^ anxious coiiHidonition, many hours of perplexing consultation. It was not all smooth sailing. Diffi- culties, many of which we never dreamed of, were constantly rising in our path, and I do not think that I make an admission of cowardness or of weak- ness, when I say that more than once it seemed as if all our weeks and months of toil were going to be for nought. We, however, felt that it was for the inte- rest of the general Medical Profession of this city, as well as your interest, gentlemen, that we should persevere, and open our school. Had it not been that we felt this most strongly, I fear we should have abandoned the idea* But having once put our hands to the plough, we determined to look steadily forward, and with faith in our cause, abide the issue. That we were right in doing so, has, we think, been most satisfactorily attested by the twenty-five gentle- men, who, last year, enrolled themselves upon our matriculation register,as medical students of Bishop's College. With the exception of those who last spring took our diploma, I believe every member of the class of 1871-72 return to continue their studies with us. I need hardly say that to us this is an extremely gratifying fact, as it proves that the exertions which were n)ade upon their behalf have been appreciated. I trust that the months which have intervened since the close of last session have not altogether been devoted to pleasure; that the warm and oppressive months of summer did not curdle the youthful blood within your veins, but that some little time was devoted to work, and that now you return to us, laden with the knowledge that you have acquired. To those who come to us for the first time, who .ti to-day enn ; likewise c\ outset of y' say one w ■ I feel sur> / my duty an ■ one of yo! ■; important have, and affirmative though nr much aboi indeed, g< and anxic often look of the groi mark in } your work, you should studies, yo perplex au men, but ] is no Roiji having, is Dv. Willi: young and knowledge ^1 enlarging ^ that it rer ij But is tl I acquiring ■S gratificatic ^1 cate beaut -m Is there r perplexing ling. Diffi- 10(1 of, were ) not think 5 or of weak- it seemed as going to be for the inte- )f this city, it we should it not been we should nee put our ook steadily de the issue, think, been -five gentle- s upon our of Bishop's ) last spring ' of the class ies with us. extremely 3 exertions have been which have •n have not ,t the warm not curdle t that some it now you J that you time, who * 5 to-day enrol themselves as students of medicine, wa likewise extend our hearty welcome. At the very outset of your student's career, I would not wish to say one word which will dampen the ardor which I feci sure pervades each breast. Yet I feel that my duty would not be performed did I not ask each one of you if you have well considered the very important step which you are now taking. If you have, and it seems to uie that your answer is in the affirmative, I welcome you to the work which, though arduous and entailing constant toil, has much about it which is pleasant and agreeable. Indeed, gentlemen, in after years, when the cares and anxieties of practice surround you, you will often look back upon your student's life as being one of the green spots, an ever-to-be-remembered land- mark in your existence. To-day you enter upon your work, full of energy and of hope, and it is well you should do so, for on the very thre.shhold of your studies, you will meet with not a little which will perplex and worry you. Be not dismayed, gentle- men, but persevere; remember the proverbs" There is no Royal road to harjiing,'^ and " What is loorth having, is worth fighting for.'" In the words of J)r. Williams, " I almost envy the pleasure, in young and ardent minds, of rising step by step, in knowledge, and delighting in the wonders of the enlarging view. I admit that the ascent is arduous, that it requires hard labor, and no little self-denial. But is there no compensation in the delight of acquiring knowledge and intellectual power? No gratification in learning and contemplating the intri- cate beauties of the most perfect part of the creation ? Is there no moral and religious good to our own ■•*'^.^; N. minds in tracing out and unveiling its friiiltics, weakness, decay and death ? No satisfaction in learning of means which a gracious Providence, supplies for preventing and removing the ills which flesh is heir to; for relief of pain, suffering, and weakness, and the restoration of health and strength ? And if from present studies, you carry your antici- pations onward to their final object in practice — under heaven, yourselves to ease suffering humanity, and to invigorate and prolong life — is the pursuit less noble, or less worthy of your highest thought? Need I say more, for the moral and intellectual greatness of our art. ** Is a study noble in proportion to the breadth and depth, and diversity of the knowledge on which it is founded ? Then think of medicine ! how she levies her contributions from every branch of knowledge. The human body exhibits a machinery so perfect, that the most skilful mechanical philoso- pher may take lessons from studying it. It contains a laboratory so diversified, and chemical processes so subtle, that therein the ability of the most expert chlate the body aid the three kingdoms of nature, and almost every art and every Bcience, for agents and means to counteract and control that which disturbs its well-being. But if you would see the moral influence of mcdecine de- picted in its liveliest hues, I would ask you to con- template a domestic scene, a family whose hearts are wrung with a dreadful anxiety for one vibrating between life and death. What a ministering angel does the physician seem I How they watch his every look ! with what breathless earnestness do they hang on his words ; and those words how they wing them- selves to the souls of the hearers for sorrow or for joy. Yet such scenes are passing daily, yes, hourly, in every class of society, in the mansion and in the cottage ; they open the hearts of all ; for the moral influence of medicine is bound up with the treasures of life and health, and with all those endearing ties that make these treasures doubly precious." Such, gentlemen, is a very brief description of the profession whose study you this day enter upon. I trust it has given you a clearer conception of the grandeur of our mission, and has increased your determination to be no laggard in acquiring that information, which it is necessary you should obtain, before this University can confer upon you the degree of Master in Surgery, and Doctor of Medicine. Every day of your student's life will have its duties, which if neglected and post- poned will accumulate so rapidly upon you that it will soon be out of your power to overtake them. Let me therefore impress upon you, with all the force I can command, not to procrastinate, but to arrange in a methodical manner, your daily routine of work, and, having so arranged it, let no trivial ciicumstance cause you to deviate from it. This 8 plan of methodicity is one which is invaluable at aL periods of our lives, and I know of no better time to adopt its practice than when commencing the study of medicine. It is really surprising what an amount of work can be gone through with, when this course is followed ; but, as an additional inducement, I would say that men who are methodical in their habits are generally of a practical turn of mind, and that practical men are usually not only those who deserve success, but who have it. Let not the allure- ments, the temptations of a great city, its gilt and glitter,dazzle your eyes, and draw away your attention from that, which for the next six months should be uppermost in your mind. Fix your eyes steadily at the point towards which you are aiming; turn your head neither to the right hand, nor to the left hand, press steadily forward, and, when the session closes next spring, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your time has been well and profitably passed, and that you have stored up not a little in- formation, which will enable you next year to proceed to the more practical part of your studies. This session, to a very extent, your attention will be di- rected to those elementary branches which constitute the ground work of our profession. It is very essen- tial that you should pay the closest possible attention to Anatomy, Chemistry, Materia Medica, and Physiology. Under the head of Anatomy, I in- clude not only the regular course given by the professor of that branch, but the continuance of its study, upon the dead body in the dissecting room. The importance of this portion of your studies cannot be over estimated, enabling you, as it does, to examine in situ those parts with which surgeons should b( secute th| of great comparat| position however, with thisl Herophil| Christ, human mass oft It is so nothing nccessit} adoption tention An atom upon til occupan 'S priated inanima once tCi the imai I speak Anaton not atl branch* elemen Anator cular a genera and tl mostr made. II ^valuable at al. better time to 3iug the study hat an amount len this course inducement, I )dical in their of mind, and )nly those who not the allure- r, its gilt and your attention ths should be ^es steadily at aiming; turn 10 r to the left en the session satisfaction of and profitably ot a little in- 3a r to proceed ■udies. This ti will be di- ich constitute is very essen- ible attention -ledica, and tomy, I in- ven by the luance of its icting room, our studies IS it does, to ih surgeons 9 should be perfectly familiar. In being abla to pro- secute this study openly, you are placed in a position of great privilege, compared with those who, even a comparatively few years ago, occupied the same position that you do to-day. To the public mind, however, there is still the same horror connected with this use of the dead subject as there was when Herophilus, a Greek physician, 570 years before Christ, first used for the purposes of dissection the human body. Nor is it likely that with the great mass of the public this feeling will ever be overcome. It is so thoroughly engrafted in human nature, that nothing but a thorough realization of its absolute necessity can, I believe, ever reconcile any one to its adoption. While, therefore, I recommend close at- tention in the room which is devoted to Practical Anatomy, I also ask you to look with reverence upon tliose poor relics of humanity, which are its occupants, and which the law of the land has appro- priated for your use. Remember that the cold inanimate form which will then lie before you was once tCiianted by an immortal soul, and walked erect, the image of its Maker. But, gentlemen, although I speak thus strongly about the attention due to Anatomy, do not for one moment imagine that I do not attach the utmost importance to the other branches which constitute the remainder of your elementary medical education. I have first brought Anatomy before your notice, and urged your parti- cular attention to it, because among students it is generally considered somewhat dry and uninteresting, and the sVibject which, above all others, they can most readily neglect. A greater mistake was never made. Its importance cannot be too strongly f 10 brought before you, while I assure you the interest- ing character of the study will certainly be appre- ciated by those who honestly and conscientiously set themselves to work to study the wonderful mechanism which the Almighty has created. Chemistry, another elementary branch, will com- mand a portion of your time, and is sure to rivet your attention from the interesting character of the study itself. Its importance, in connection with the science of Medicine, is every year becoming more evident. The gigantic strides which it has made within a comparatively few years has enabled much that was before of a somewhat dubius character in other departments of Medicine, to be settled defin- itely. Materia Medica, or that branch of the Science of Medicine which treats of the nature and properties of all the substances that are employed for the cure of disease, is also an elementary or primary branch, and should be one of the lectures taken by all first year students. Its study is deeply interesting, and when we consider the vast numb'^r of drugs and herbs which now comprise the Materia Medica, and the very important purposes to which they admin- ister, it is an absolute necessity that it should be completely mastered. I need hardly say one word, how necessary it is that every medical man should be able to know the general properties of the great majority of these drugs, for it is self-evident, and requires no amplification. Physiology, which I have the honor to teach in this University, is the last on the list of primary branches, and, of f>\\ the subjects comprised in the elementary course, it is the one which, in my opini interestin In anciei tronomy, ducted 01 having ai ancient ] mysteries the intu' away. 1 lection oi ing, or, a1 we find c of the d( we now < — we str future. light gli workers day are 1 stands will grn ]^hysiol( this dep lopinent vnluabk the bod; scope h: debtedn to still ii im porta logy. meiitioT of the f 11 the in teres fc- ly be appre- ientiously set ul mechanism ch, will corn- sure to rivet meter of the ion with the joming more it has made nabled much character in lettled defin- le Science of d properties for the cure nary branch, n by all first cresting, and r drugs and Medica, and they admin- it should be y one word, man should )f the great ivident, and to teach in of primary •mprised in which, in my opinion, has most to commend it, as a purely interesting study to the student of Medicine. In ancient times, Physiology formed part of As- tronomy, Alchemy and Physics, and was oon- ducted or formed by speculative reasoning, without having any basis of established facts. The ideas of ancient philosophers, who attempted to unravel the mysteries of nature by what is generally known as the intuitive method, have gradually been swept away. To-d:iy, after ages of observation and the col- lection of facts by intellects capable of understand- ing, or, at all events, to some extent unravelling them, -we find ourselves as it were still but on the threshold of the door. But as we stand there — knowing as we now do, that all nature works by immutable laws — wc strain our eyes and look hopcfull}^ towards the future. Here and there, we see in the distance, light glimmering, and as those true and faithful workers in the field of Physiological science, who to- day are laboring so nobly — in the front rank of which stands Brown-Sequard — add new facts, this light will grow brighter, until theory is banished from Physiological domain. During the early history of this department of medicine, the progress and deve- lopment of Anatoni}^ did much to advance it, giving valuable information concerning various functions of the body. Within the last fifteen years, the micro- scope has laid physiological workers under great in- debtedness, and it is destined in the future to lead to still grenter discoveries. Chemistry also, has a most important bearing on the advancement of Physio- logy. As a most striking exan)ple of this, I would mention the discovery of the properties of the gases of the atmosphere, and the relations which they have 12 *•<" the blood. To Lavoisier, we are indebted for this discovery, which was the first definite idea ever enun- ciated to account for the phenomena of Respiration. Modern Physiological Chemistry has given us the l;.nowledge of many of the essential phenomena of life, and erelong it will explain many questions concerning nutrition which at the present moment are shrouded in ob&curity. In a word, you trace the works of nature through every gradation of their develop- ment ; you define the limits between the organic and inorganic kingdoms, the connexion between the animal and vegetable kingdom, and trace out the latter from the mere germinating corpuscle, to that wonderful and complex machine — the human body. You will learn the functions of the brain and of the nerves. You will by it be taught h )W the body is fed, how the food is converted in^o material with which to nourish the body; the modifications which this material undergoes, and how Ji circulates through every part of the body. In \ word, you will have brought in review before yo':., the functions of every part and of every organ of the human body, and the relation which each bears towards the other. I have thus briefly glanced at the four subjects, which are known generally under the name of primary branches, and which will form the ground work of your me- dical education. I trust that you are convinced of their importance, and of the very intimate rela- tions they bear to each other, and how essential it is that you should be masters of them before entering upon the study of the practical part of your pro- fession. How, for instance, could you undertake a difficult and delicate operation in Surgery, or even the comparatively easy one of amputating a large ex- ( tremity, w Anatomy to cut. I diseasf^d c( hension of human bo dare venti state, if y which its men, itw( in any on constant versity, t( elemental has been final brai that wou or two b( to study, detail t( properly may, up( which I I oair without one porl ance. I the few versity, has bee been as here to Hospit answer U 4^.. ibted for this a ever onun- Respirafcion. :iven us the mena of life, s oonoerning re shrouded be works of eir develop- organic and )etween tlie ace out the scle, to that uman body. 1 and of the the body is laterial with ations which ates tlirough )u will have ons of every )dy, and the her. I have ij which are ry branches, f your me- convinced imate rela- sential ii is re enterinsr your pro- ndertake a J, or even a large ex- u tremity, without having a perfect knowledge of the Anatomy of the parts upon which you were about to cut. ITou could you understand pathological or diseas^^d conditions, if destitute of a good compre- hension of those Physiological laws which govern the human body in a state of health. How could you dare venture to interfere with an organ in a diseased state, if you were unacquainted with the manner in which its healthy function was performed. Gentle- men, it would not only be wrong, it would be madness in any one to attempt it. It will, therefore, be the constant aim of the Medical Faculty of this Uni- versity, to thoroughly prepare their students in the elementary portion of their profession. When this has been done, the acquisition of the remaining or final branches will not be attended by half the toil that would have been required, had your first year or two been allowed to pass without close devotion to study. It is not my intention to allude at all in detail to the final branches, that task will more properly become the duty of some final professor, who may, upon some future occasicn, occupy the position which I do to-day. I cannot however allow this opportunity to pass withoiit expref?sing my very strong conviction upon one portion of final study — I mean Hospital attend- ance. I am the more anxious to do so because within the few weeks preceding the first session of this Uni- versity, and during the past few weeks, the question has been very prominently brought before me. I have been asked by students, some of whom are present here to— day, whether I would advise attendance upon Hospital practice during the first year of study. My answer to this enquiry has invariably been in the I ! I 14 affimative, and my reasons for doing so may be very briefly stated. In passing from bed to bed, and from ward to ward, the eye of a first-year student is being gradually, though almost unconsicously educated to the appearances presented by the different forms of disease ; he becomes familiar with the methods adopted to eluc'date symptoms in something like re- gular order ; he is soon able to distinguish a hard, a soft, a small, or a wiry pulse ; his ear is gradually being educated to the use of the stethoscope, and long before he fully comprehends the causes which give rise to " mjtcus rah "or a '* Fine crepitus," he is aptly able to distinguish the one from the other ; technical words, some of them difficult of pronunciation, get familiar to him, — in fine his fa- culty of observation is being educated, and I know of no faculty more worthy of being taught, or more necessary to the physician. If properly cultivated during your student's career, it will render the diagnosis of cases comparatively easy to you, when thrown entirely upon your own responsibility. By closely following the Hospital wards from the com- mencement of your pupilage, this faculty will be constantly brought into play ; it will thus expand, and, to the keen observer, with one half the trouble, signs and symptoms, which may have escaped the at- tention of those in whom observation is dormant, will be brought to the surface, and receive due attention. Hospital attendance is every year assuming more importance in the eyes of those best qualified to judge, and I hope the day is not far distant, when the amount of it which is at present required by the law of Canada, viz., one year will at least be doubled. Two years practical illustration of the doctrines in- W 16 ^y be very |d, and from nt is beinir iducated to pt forms of e methods ing like re- ih a liard, a |s gradually •scope, and uses which crepitus,'' ■ from the ifficult of ine his fa- nd I know t, or more cultivated 3nder the ^ou, when ility. By the oom- y will be 3 expand, 3 trouble, sd the at- lant, will ttention, ing more lified to it, when J by the loubled. fines in- culcated in the lecture room is not more than enough, and in after life will be well appreciated by all who take it. In fact, gentlemen, when I look about nie, and see the course of tho?e who attended lectures with mc, I am struoL: with the fact, that those who have been most successful are those who upon every possible opportunity were at the bedside, examining, W.Ttching and recording cases. If I could urge no higher motive than that pecuniary and professional success was the sure reward of the close hospital student, I would still press you to it. But there is a nobler motive still, and when I mention it I am sure it will find a response in every breast. You accept a high and noly trust, when the parchment, which certifies your qualification to practice the healing art, is placed in your possession. For the proper fulfilment of that trust you will one day have to give an account. It is therefore your duty to ;your fellow men to prepare in every possible way, so that when called to practice your profession, you may be able to bring to your aid every possible element of success. I know of none more likely to come to your assistance, when you first commence practice, and lack that which will alone give you confidence — ex- perience — than the hours and days you have passed in Hospital attendance. At the very commencement then of your student's career I would advise your commencing '' to walk " the Hospital. Not in the too literal application of some students, who walk the wards without ever making an attempt to listen to the clinical remarks, passing their time in frivo- lous amusement, but with an honest determine. ion to avail yourself of every opportunity to increase your store of practical knowledge. If you do this, Id gentlemen, T have no fear of the result, when yoii commence practice, and are thrown upon your own responsibility. No matter how sudden or how great the emergency, which may call for instant action, you will be found prepared, and will never cease to be thankful for the long and close attention you gave to the Hospital wards. I cannot leave this subject of Hospital jittondance, without a word or two with regard to a complaint, which was becoming common, even while I was a student. I allude to the com- paratively small number of clinical teachers, when compared to the number of students, at the Hospital attended principally by the English speaking stu- dents. Only two Physicians attend at one time, and as the number of students is seldom much under one hundred, even if equally divided, it would give about fifty each. I need hardly express my opinion that this number is a half more than any one man can do justice to, and that when students complain that from the numbers crowding around the bed they are deprived of much information, which they might otherwise obtain, there is reason in their murmuring. I have good reasons to know that this fact is well known and appreciated by a number of the influential governors of that institution, and I much mistake the spirit of those men, and of the age in which we live, if the system, which has so long prevailed in that institution, and which has prevented a fair re- presentation of the general outside profession upon its staff, and a thorough utilization of its material for the purposes of Clinical teaching, is not fast drawing to a close. ^ Having said so much with reference to the pro- fession of Medicine as it concerns ourselves, I desire, Wore Closing |(roper functl pnt, which b Vansition, an the keenest » but seldom i (rion, asawht whether it lo'' total amount fobnst and times this qi of the wisesi elusion, whi( tisfactory. state was to BQunity sho charge wha them to pel for them. 1 or to prolon theconstitu tence and t< would be i way to m; maintained the gods, f( / were natur; their habits complaint, charge of t diseased a the existei timself or attempt t( 17 It, whtn you in your own •r how great itant action, er cease to lion you gave this subject or two with ling common, to the com- ichers, when the Hospital peaicing stu- ne time, and ih under one d give about lopinion that one man can omplain that bed they are they might murmuring;, fact is well le influential ich mistake in which we prevailed in ed a fair re- cession upon its material is not fast to the pro- es, I desire, Itefore Closing, to say a few words with regard to its Jjrroper function in soci'^ty. At a time like the pre- ifent, which by all is acknowlec^ged to be one of rapid transition, and when everything is investigated with ♦he keenest scrutiny, the question is often asked, and but seldom answered, whether the medical profes- sion, as a whole, really does perform what it professes ; whether it lowers the rate of mortality, diminishes the total amount of sickness, and favors the growth o^ a tobust and healthy population. Even in ancient times this question occupied the attention of some of the wisest men of that period, who came to a con- clusion, which I think we will hardly admit was sa- tisfactory. They asserted that one office of the State was to ensure that all inembors of the com- munity should be well trained and fitted to dis- charge what ever duty their station in life called them to perform. Health was absolutely requisite for them. They, therefore, saw that to rear the sickly or to prolong the career of the intemperate, to enable the constitutionally diseased to protract a useless exis- tence and to beget children, which in all probability, would be as unhealthy as themselves, was not the way to make a people healthy. They therefore maintained " that the healing art was revealed by _^the gods, for the benefit of those whose constitutions ^^ere naturally sound, and had not been impaired by their habits of life, but who, attacked by some specific complaint, might be speedily restored to the dis- charge of their duties. But for the constitutionally diseased and the intemperate, they looked upon the existence of such a man as no gain either to himself or to others, therefore they thought that to attempt to cure such a one was wrong." 18 ^, Such was the opinion of very wise ancient philo- sophers, and it certainly will be admitted that such a system, if properly carried out, would attain the desired end. By weeding out those who were sickly, and only bringing up the children of healthy parents, there is little doubt but that many of the ills by which we are affliected might be eradicated. Indeed, at the present day, this is precisely the plan adopted to rear a pjirticularly fine race among the lower animals. But, thank God, we have learned a higlier morality than was- taught at the time of Socrates, and, holding deeper views of the sanc- tity which attaches to each individual life, would shrink with horror from any proposal of that kind. What then is the alternative ? Are we to continue to exhaust all the resources of our art, all the improved means which the advance of science has placed at our disposal, in rearing the scrofulous, training the idiotic, enabling the phthisical to marry, to do, in fact, all in our power to counteract that law of nature which provides that in the struggle for existence, the strongest and the healthiest shall survive and carry on the race ? At the present time, we have a clearer knowledge of the powers of the remedies we employ, and the objects to be aimed at in their administration. We now know that many of the effects which in former times were attributed to our remedies, are really due to the natural course of the disease. A better knowledge of Pathology, and an improved means of diagnosis, have taught us that many manifestations of disease which, in former times, would have been looked upon as group of symp- toms amenable to treatment, are really due to dis- organization of vital organs. Though many disease^ f^e quite ^ssl'ul tre IJhcre is s\ whose com lician was inn its con may adopt curing disc be liniitod know thai indefinite pbjections that, by ( broed, we unhealthy Recogn aickness—J epidemic ] caused b; power, or constituti to child, all these, governed in our ( removing lopmenti of the 1 what we far loo 1 race of ' that, so deserve Our li ^,i^x •>. ancient philo- tted that such Id attain the 10 were sickly, ealthy parents, Df the ills by 3ated. Indeed, iely the plan ce among the have learned the time of of the sane- life, iFould osal of that Are we to of our art, all ce of science le scrofulous, phthisical to to counteract 1 the struggle te healthiest t the present he powers of I to be aimed w that many re attributed iral course of thology, and ught us that , in former >up of symp- due to dis- any diseases 19 0e quite under our control, and our means of suc- Usslul treatment are being constantly increased, lliere is sure ever to remain a large class of cases, whose condition was hopeless, long before the phy- •ician was called in, and in whom the disease will run its course, unafFectcd by any treatment which we may adopt. But while we admit that our power of curing disease, will in all human probability, always be liuiited, it is a grand, a glorious satisfaction to know that our power of preventing it admits of indefinite extension. This is the true answer to the objections against the utility of our art, on the ground that, by enabling the feeble and sickly to live and breed, we are really promoting the growth of an unhealthy population. Recognising, as we now do, that all forms of sickness — whether it be those awful visitations of epidemic pestilence which our ancestors regarded as •caused by the direct interposition of supernatural power, or those fur more mysterious and inexplicable constitutional taints which, handed down, from parent to child, are the fruitful cause of so much disease — 'all these, I say, are really due to material causes, and governed by natural laws, which are to a great extent in our control. If, therefore, we can succeed in removing these causes, and so cut off any fresh deve- lopments, we may expect the gradual extinction even of the most distinctly hereditary diseases — for, do what we will, the tainted part of the community is flir too heavily weighted to prevail ultimately in the race of life. Such, then, being our objects, I think that, so far from being excluded from the state, we deserve a place among its guardians. Our knowledge, indeed, of the causes of diseases, 20 i\\ and of the means of prcvontinp them, rudimentary as they are, arc yot fur in advance of our actusil practice. For this we arc not roaponsiblo ; it is due to ignorance and conse(|uent apathy or prejudice on the part of tlie iijrcat body of the people, who, it seems, to me will never comprehend that thousands and thousands of lives are annully lost, sacrified to icinorance, often to prejudice. To sec this illustrated in all its horror we have not to go far from home, for during the past year in our own good city of Montreal, close upon 1000 lives were sacrificed to that terrible scourge. Small Pox, nearly every one of which might have been saved had vaccination and re-vaccination been performed. We meet to day, gentlemen, in this beautiful build- ing, and in this spacious lecture room for the first time. The Faculty of Medicine feeling the inconve- niences to which the students were placed last session, not having proper accommodation, determined to provide a building specially devoted to the purpose of Medical instruction. It was a bold undertaking, for a school only one year old, to put up such a building as we occupy to-day, but the promises of support wore so general, that we felt justified in assuming the responsibility which its erection entails. It is not more than seventeen weeks since the first stone of the building was laid and its erection has taken place with woderful rapidity. Although not yet out of the hands of the contractors, it is so far advanced, that the college work can go on without interruption. When completed it will be excelled by only one Medical School in the Dominion of Canada. Gentleman, I must close. Use the opportunities which will [soon be presented to you, so that, when your Hod of traini tab^gin the gij may be well With moral industry and from prejudicj Boientific and I ties disciplintf you will show >J or of that pro and to no cou evils common Do not, gci llipo glowing c( this day cute cannot ovcr-r;i is required, J reminding yo tiion which the ness of the ol A late writ profession, to If it be poor oalling or of healing in its too often uns dignity, hu^ which it oug it may be I long as its good of mm l\Ioi}tTCal >>* Q G II o C 21 n, I'lKliinentarj of our actual fiiblo; it is due "•• pi-f'judico 01) •<'"ple, who, it til at thousanii.s ^t, sacrifiod to lis illustrated »' ft'om honu", good city of i sacrifieod tu ••ly every one 1 vaccination fi'itiful build- ' for the first the inconve- d last session, 3termined to the purpose undertakin''' t up such a promises of justified in 5tion entails, ice tlie first erection has tliougli not it is so far on without excelled by of Canada, ities which vhen your Hpriod of training is over, and you leave these walls bn^iu the j^reat buttle with disease and death, you y be well aruied and equipped for the contest- With moral principles strengthened by habits of industry and perseverance, with )'our intellect free fitpvn prejudice, clear seeing, well furnished with |<|^entifio and practical knowledge; with your fucul- ties disciplined for the work you have to perform, you vvillshowyour.self not unworthy of this University or of that profession which is confined to no people and to no country, but whose object is the relief of eyils common to the whole human family. Do not, gentlemen, think that I have painted in too glowing colors the profession whose study you this day enter upon. Morally and intellectually I cannot over-rate it ; and now, when toil and exertion is required, I would cheer and encourage you, by reminding you of the very great intrinsic gratifica- tion which these studies may afford, and of the noble- ness of the objects for which they prepare you. A late writer says " it is the fashion to decry our profession, to call it a poor, a degraded profession. If it be poor and degraded, is that the fault of the oalliiig or of those who practice it? Is the art of healing in itself less noble, because its practitioners, too often unsustained by a consciousness of their own dignity, have not raised it to the place in society which it ought to hold ? Poor it may be ! Slighted it may be ! but degraded it cannot, shall not be, so long as its foundation is science, and its end the good of mankind." Montreal ^nd October, 1872. 'i"" • ,ti>i.o 'con CO U tf u & ft a e O d ti C « *