Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1847-08-19

address TO the medical Graduates oil Pennsylvunia
College, for IsA6-7: SO aHI NE
Before concluding. gentlemen, permit me also
TO observe, that the exercise of gar calling should
be made the sole purpose Of your Gves. 1t is in me-
dicine as in every other pursuit When more en-
gage attention none Of them is likely TO be well
conducted, or some must fall sacrifice to Others
Besides, f well qualified for your profession deyo-
ton TO it will ultimately enable you to succeed; al
though, as general rule, long time is required
before profitable practice can be established
This is often matter Of complaint, well as OF
despair, TO a young and worthy man, particularly
when he observes the bold pretender and the igno-
rant empirc hourishing in the same community
IL tries his patience. and doubt frequently drives
him out Of the legitimate walks Of his vocation in
TO ungenial paths Of speculation, or into occupa-
tons for which his education, habits, aud taste
Fl him. That, which he should esteem as the an.
Choir OF his hopes, is cast away, and the vessel,
tossed 10 and fro with the tempesps strength, is
wrecked upon the rocks and shoals Of unknown
seas. This is the natural and almost universal re-
suits Of such course. You must be content to
abide your time. You must set out in life with
determined stability of purpose-wth no object in
view save devotion 10 your profession. steady,
straightforward, long. continued course is essential
to success. And why should this not be soi We
cannot blame people for being unwilling to entrust
so precious boon as health and life in uniried or
strange hands, unless through absolute necessity,
or as dernier resource. Such necessity and occa.
sons will arise, aud afford TO you opportunities Of
showing your professional qualifications TO the pub
lie, and thus gradually introduce you into their
confidence and support. Besides, other aud older
associations must be broken up This is no easy
matter. Between faithful and long tried physi-
clan and his families no ordinary attachment exists
He has claims upon them which neither gold nor
time can efface. Your progress. therefore, must
be slow. But If once established these very cir
cumstances will insure your permanent support
So that the patience aud time bestowed in your
early years will be amply repaid in later life, and
with this in view, let your profession be your only
pursuit Should impotence impe you TO a differ
ent course, it may be at the very moment when you
are about to reap tie certain reward Of your calling
"a feeling allied TO this, sometimes leads mem.
bers Of our profession into another evil that of for
sakng the true principles Of medicine for nopei and
shOrt-iiVed systems. They look around aud see
emprcsm Furnishing. They see it banquetng on
microscopical particles Of sugar of milk saturated
with the tincture of nothing rendered potent by in
finite dilutions. They see il aving its unclean
body in the crystal fountains of Grefenberg and
congenerous streams elsewhere. They see il ex.
haing its fetid breath among the rich odors Of
Fora's creation They see it luxuriating in the
thousand forms Of its own depravity in the errors
of misguided and injured humanity. They see il
Substituting the press with gold wrung from conid.
ing ignorance; laying its unholy hands on the sa-
cred messengers Of God, dragging them down from
the pulpit to participate in the sacriege dealing
out its proered and corrupt charity to The poor as
bonus for songs of praise gorging itself from the
well-hlled Golfers Of the afiuent; controlling the
vor Popui in the legislative halls; erecting lis
palaces in high places, its monuments to the un.
known god They see il among high aud low,
rich and poor, great and small, old and young with
the bosom of destruction in its right hand scourg-
ing its victims, in the grasp Of the left the gilded
boon of its exploits. Thus this modern Janus
stalks through the land. The honest physician
shrinks, horror-slricken, at the sight, and mourns
over the willing creduty of the world in submit.
ting its back to the rod while the mercenary
spirit IN our ranks, becoming restless and impatient
for success, is enchanted with the gttering key,
and. charmed with the tempting potage which il
unlocks, sells his birthright forever. Gentlemen,
let me warn you against yielding TO such propen-
sy. II cannot he denied tina, empricsm has
PToselyes from our own profession, and il is this
that affords it its great support. Some may be hon
est in their intentions, and real converts error
But most, fear, are iured into the coils Of the
tempter by the apple Of gold, eat thereof and are
thus commissioned TO do evil as well as good-But
these things have always been. History knows 10
hiatus in quackery. From the days of Hippocrates
these mnshroomgrowths have been springing up
and decaying and yet amidst this mass OF error
and Of evil there may have been occasional sprink-
liags of good. Aud il is worthy of note, that the
good which may be mingled with many Of these
systems has been derived fro II regular medicine,
but has become so metamorphosed by the hands of
quackery as scarcely TO be recognised: and then,
forsooth, after having erected its supersiruc,ure up
on such ioundation il turns round arrogany and
supports its empircism by reference to standard
sciencel How like Satan quoting scripture! Ii
cannot however, be denied that some Of these sys-
tens may contain useful novelties, but the beauty
oil our tlme-honored and enduring profession is
this, that il carefully selects from these excrescen
ces all that is valuable, and adds il 10 the common
stock OF knowledge to be perpeiusted--w while the
rest 10 LEFT TO its own natural operations OF decay
The true principles OF medicine are therefore
based upon the embodied truths of ages. and out
live all these bubbles, because truth is eternal
Pure medicine knows no limits but truth Ii ab
stracts good from every kingdom, and from every
where good can be .jound Does the vegetable
world TEEN with remedies! II seizes them With the
asidiiy Of The herbis,. Does the animal kingdom
bring in its offerings to suffering humanity ltl
opens Its portals 10 receive them Does the earth
unclose ITS mines and gems of medicinal wealth TO
arrest the progress Of mortal disease! II gladly
collects them, Do the waters of heaven and oil
earth How with recuperatiye power! II EMPLOYS
tnem as part OF great system, not choosing TO dig.
MY their virtues by the narrow name of hydropa.
my. And does nature, at times cure disease by
the unlnhuenced operations of her own laws? Ii /
willingly permits her. shining, perhaps, in this en-
lghlened age, by refusing TO defame her with the
ttlc OF homeopathy Thus true medicine is sup |