Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1851-05-19
WHOLE NUMBER 81.
Female Nj. D's.

livered at the Massachusetts Medical Col.
J lege, Nov. 6, 1850, by JOHN WARE, nj,
/; D." and from which, by request, we coy
J the following extract: - g..-.5 80 =
!, Iheso considerations suggest, and they
. afford an occasion for, q few remarks upoa
the position which becomes us towards
those OF The other sex who are candidates
for practice in cur profession. 1t is we'll
known that 1t is now seriously proposef,
, not only 10 introduce them more fully inlo
that branch, which has always remained
more or less in their hands, but also TO arre--r
pare them, by complete medical educa-
lion, 10 engage in the general practice Of
the art.
trust we should be among the last ts
oppose the entrance ofwoman into any de-
partsnent of active life, in which she can
secure to herself q useful and hepSnabls .
position, and q full reward for her talents
and services. None know so we'll, Ga
those OF our profession, how heavy n.share
of the burdens, the trials, the responsibili-
ties OF life fall TO her lot, or wonder more,
at thai mysterious arrangement by which y
the author Of our being has assigned SO un-
equal destiny to The fairest and ncst tens
der OF his creatures But so we know it
to be, and we should he the first TO promote
her introduction to any occupation which
will afford her fair portion Of The pleas
ures, duties, rewards and honors Of society,
aye, to welcome her to our own, if it Gun
prove for her advantage or happiness.
But " whatever Day be thought Of her
adaptation 10 the one particular department
| 10 NH If.h | oil Ind L..
ling to admit that considerations of soma
weight may be urged-I cannot withheld
my conviction that the general practice of
medicine would be found unsuited TO her
physical, iAtellectual, and raeral corrs,itu-
tlon-that she could not go thoroughIy
through with :he preparation necessary for
it without innpairing many Of those higher
characteristics for which we honor and
love her. have spoken Of some of the
uniavorable influences Of professional par
suits on our own minds; such inHusnces
woula be douby hurtful in their results up
on the mind OF woman. 1t is difficult To
'conceive that she should go through all
shat welhave TO encounter in the vnrious
departments Of The study of medicine, with.
out somewhat turnislsng that delicate sur
face of the female mind, which can hardly
be imagined even to reflect what is gross
without st NEW hat Of defiloneEt.
Tie C. mmon Creator of man and VIC M
an, with view to their relative uses in
the great economy Of human ex ;sence, hns
seen fit to give them constitutions widely
d fferent. While to man he hrs given
s.rt ngih, 10 woman be has given beauty;
: while man has been endowed with ,capac.
: ity for tie investigation of truth by ihe
t laboriaus process OF reasoning. woman has
, been enabled to arrive al results, perhaps
] as little liable TO error, by mere net Of
perception; what he does by labor, she does
, by intuition; he is carried forward in the
a active business of life by couroge an6 en-
: terprise which lead him 10 encounter ana
e almost to court dangers and obstacles; she,
9 whilst she shribks at perils and difficulties
when they are distont, meets them, wheR
tthey ossail her, with foNitude which
{ amounts almost to heroism. =
4 The office Of the physician and surgeon
: calls for those qualities which are charac>
.eristic Of man. Ii is attended by many
e hardships cf body and trinls Of mind, which,
:, though not greater than those which wo-
b men undergo, are yet different from them.
c He must be exposed by night and by day,
j. to the wind and the storm, to cold and to
u heat; he needs bodily strength, endurance,
g aid ac,iviiy. So, too, he must beunmoved
), by suffering; he must be firm amidst dan.
n gers; he must havo presence Of mind in
l. doubt and difficulty; he mus. not shr ink
from inleting pain; he must forget THAI
It 10 is Going so; he NEST not be carried q way
by his strong svmpathies, he must often
e act as though he had them not. Is the
,e nature of woman competent to this? Should
j. we love her as we'll if it werea Would she
not be less woman? We have each cur
e office at the bedside of the sick-but it is a
it ditferert one. We cannot perform hers,
e and she cannot perform ours.
n But, however strong our conviction may
re be, that the burden which we often find it
l. so heavy 20 bear-lhe responsibilities which
d we sometimes shudder 10 ossume-the tolls
W which are found 10 wear out the irarnes
, and shorten the lives Of medical men--are
|. unsuitcd to the more tender constitution of
n the other sex, lei this conviction be never
N expressed but in the earnest and respectful
v language which becomes the subject. Let
rs be sure that we are governed BY sin,
J. cere regard for truth and usefulness, and
e not by mean jealousy of encrouchmen, on
/" profitable field of labor. We may be
d wrong in our views; but, fright, the right
!. will be best asserted by that calm and un.
mpussioned expression of j, which becomes
:; at once the trath and cur relation to Tho
/. other sex. Above all things, let opposi-
d ton never assume the attitude Of hostility
;. or defiance. This is no subject for ridi-
d cule; and no man Of honor or right feeling
q can ever make the respectable female prac.
!, tioner the object of a heart less jest or
Nil cold -blooded sarcasm" 10 ,essf3
e / If a man reap whatsoever he s0wetA,
l. Whit harvest of conts and 'breeches The
ell taiors will have one of these days! -s
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