The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-04-11

mentality and skill, Providence restores
to loving hearts the objects ofafectior
almost wrested from them BY the Uni
versal Conqueror, the good physician'i
heart 'throbs with . bliss as exquisite a.
is ever vouchsafed to mortals.
There are, my friends, rewards beyond
the reach and measure cf the fee bill
triumphs nobler and purer than those Of
the battle field and the forim, and these
it may be granted to you to enjoy. :,
rank as not least among the rewards
and pleasures of the physician, the trust
and confidence so universally accorded
to him by those with whom his duties
throw him into such close relations
Nothing should be more ennobIng than
this trust, should mora elevate the stand
ards and stimulate the efforts of your
lives.
But from this very trust And confidence
arises one of tho dangers to which l
think your profession is peculiarly e1-
posed, and against the tendency'to which
/ would caution you--the temptation to
quackery ard fcharlatanism. (.
I do not 'allnde, so much to.the low and
mean forms in which it assails you, but
to the temptation to pretend to be what
You are not, to profess to do what yon
know you cannot.
Your art is one about which, the ma
iority of the world can know nothing,
and which, therefore, they are apt To- re-
gard with superstitous reverence OD'''e
ignot,Rs pro niir5fco."
The most ignorant and uninformed
among you must necessarily know much
more than the vast majority of, even his
intelligent and educated patients; and
the implicit trust in the physician, which
grows out of the instincts ,os our nature,
and ndissonourished;bylhahit almost ire
sistibly induces the assumption on his
part of oracular wisdom and the self
comrlacert appropriation Of credit TO
which he is not entitled. He is 30 often
credited with results not due to his lsbors
or skill, that he does not realize, 5or for
gets, how little frequently, is due to him,
how much to Nature. Old C6aucer ut.
tered profound truth when he said Of
the doctors art:
'.tIf Nature will not wurch-
Farewell, phyaician, bear the man to
church 7 fs 4 -
The incense of adulation is too sweet
to be readily rejected by these who habit
-ually inhale it. Men ever will be de.
ceiyed, often desire to be deceived, and
sometimes, perhaps, should be deceived
and phen the deception is 30 easy, IS it
is, with you, and briggs, as its immediate
reward, reputation and gain, the tempta-
ton to practice it is often irresistible.
= I. do not mean to say; chat your pro-
.fession enjoys q monopoly of quackery,
and that chsrlatans are not 20 be found
in all professions and calGngs. I'haye
heard even of lawyers who pretended to
befHhatthey were not, and who reaped
thereby both pence and praise "But ]
think you have much the advantage of
us in your opportunities for quackcry."
The practice Of our profession is carried
on for the most part in public, and under
the keen scrutiny of antagonists, whose
interest and duty, and often pleasure, it
is to detect and expose our fallscies and
mistakes, and strip, us of our false pre-.
tensions; while in,your profession, Ito its
,hoHcr,be it said, tits but rare that one
is found who will ,betray or expose the
mistakes or blunders or want of skill OF
any of the fraternity. We are, therefore,
more readily weighed and measured than
You are. The. mistakes Of lawyers are
exposed aud proclaimed in the Court
House and recorded in the reports, while,
according to the old adage, s"the mis-.
takes of doctors are--buTted ~ y s.
a distinguished lawyer of another
State, in an address to, q medical class,
10 which I am indebted for VALUABLE.
suggestions,) says, with keen, but good
natpred wit, "In Spain, where the physi.
clan still carries the gold-headed cane,
which used to be the wand of your Office,
he never attends the funerals of his pa
Stients. There is q sort of popular super
stition, TINT he would be reversing Scrip.
ture, and following his works. The mis-
deeds of our, profession, on the, contrary,
rest mainly on the earth's surface, and
an autopsy Is commonly % matter aof
course. We are confronted in the dis.
charge of our most important duties by
astute and Jealous rivals, weighed by i'm
partial Judges and observant juries, under
the challenge of public scrutiny. What
we do most privately is open always to
the suspicious and questionings of ad-
verse interests. Nobody thinks of going
to the apothecary's to criticise your pre-.
scriptions, after your patient has set Eoui
on the itsr, tcnebricos,sm,' but there is 0
lively soicitude, generally, concerning
the last will and testament which we
have prepared for him. The mournerE
often 90 about the streets which lead to
the probate Offices, when they would
hardly ys
- - "sVisit at new graves
In tender pilgrimage,'
as poor Hood sighs."
The implicit and universal trust and
confidence reposed in the physician exact
from him the incest and most sensitive
honor. he is brought in contact with
his patients when sickness and painIhave
broken down the barriers of reserve, ant
he il cognizant of all their Weaknesses
their faults and frailties, their errors o.
their crimes. From him no secrets ar.
hid.
He is sure to discover the proyerbia
skeleton which is hid in every man,
closet, which is, perhaps, but the natura
consequence of his professional educa
ton. He is called upon to minister Il
the mind diseased; he is familiar with
"The losses, the crosses,
That active man engage;
The fears all, the tears all, So
OF dim, declining age.n -
To him are confded the most delicat,
and painful secrets of the family. Thes,
condolences should be as sacred as thos,
of the confessional. 81
But the Honor which should be you
standard should do more than elevat,
you above the baseness of betraying con
fdence; it should lift you higher, ant
prevent you from abusing the confidence
reposed iu you, BY pretending to be wha
you are not. You will be trusted ant
believed in; do not betray, but deserv
this confidence, by having the highes