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

to loving hearts the object seSeGtion
almost wrested from ther .he TJni.
versal Conquercr, the Eoou paysicjan'a
heart throbs with q blisS as exouisite IA
Is ever vouchBafed to MORALS.
There are, my friends, rewsrds beyond
the reach and measure Of the fee bill.
triumphe nobler aud purer than thoee OF
the battle field and The forum, sud these
1t may DO granted TO you TO enjoy.
rank as not least among the rewards
ana pleasures Of the physician. the trust
ana contidsnce SO universally accorded
70 him by thoJo with whom his duties
throw him into such cloae relations.
Nothing should he more ennobling than
this fruat, should moro elevate the etand-
ards and stimulate the efforts of your
lives.
But from this very trust and confidence
arises one of tho dangers to which I
think your profession is peculiarly ex-
posed, and against the tendency towliich
L would caution yeu-the temptation to
quackefy and ndfcharfatAnism. ~ ca
do notellude 90 much TO the low and
mean forms in which it aasails YOU. bit
to the temptation to pretend to ,ba. what
youAare not. to profess aos do what yon
know you cannot.
Your art is ono about which. the me-
Jority of the world can know nothing.
and which, therefore, they arc apt to re. 70.
gard with EuperstitiouB reverence, "a Omne
| ignottizl pro nsiTyfco."
Ihe most ignorant aud uninformed
among. you must necessarily know much
more than the vast majority of oven his
Intelligent and educated patients; and
the implicit trust in the physician, which
grows out of the instincts of our nature,
and 10 so nourished by habit, almost ire.
slstibly induces the assumption on hia
part of oracular wisdom and tho aof.
complacent appropriation Of credit TO
Which no is not entitled. he is 30 often,
credited with results not due to his labors
or skill, that he does not realizo, ,orT for
gets, how little frequently, is due to him,
| how much to Nature. Old Uhaucer ut.
tered profound truth when he said Of
the doctors art:
IF Nature will not wurch-
Farewell, physician, X bear tho man to
The incense Of adulation is too sweet
to be readily rejected by those 1Tho habit
uaily inhale it. Men ever will be de-
ceived, often desire to be deceived, and
sometimes, perhaps, should be deceived |:
and when the deception is 80 easy, ss it
Is, with you, and brings, as its immediate
reward, reputation an6 gain, the tempta-
ton to practice it is often irresistible.
l.. GO not mean 70 Gay that your pro-
feasion enjoys O m6nopoly5of quackery,
and that charlatans are not to be found
in all professions and callings. I have
heard oven OF lawyers Who pretended to
DO what they were not, and who reaped
thereby both pence and praise. tBut I
think you have much the advantage of
us in your opportunities for quackery."
The practice of nnr nrnEasssa. :; zz:1i,
on for the most part ii, public, aui under
the keen scrutiny Of antagonists, whose
interest and duty, and often pleasure. it
10 TO detect and expose our fsilacies and
mistakes, aud strip US of our false pre-.
tensions; while 10, your profession, Ito it's
honor bo il said, J tis but rare that one
is found WGo will ,betray or expose the
mistakes or blunder9 or want of ekill of
any ofthel fraternity We are, therefore,
more readily weighed and measured than
you are. The mistakes Of lawyers arc
exposed aud proclaimed in tho Court
House and recorded in the reports, while,
according to tho old adsge, s'the mis-.
takes of doctsEEs are--bllTied ~ r. sts
a distinguished lawyer OF another
State, in an addresa 20, Q medical class,
Ito which am :ndsbted for valuable
suggestions,; says, with keen, but good
natured wit, "In Spain. where the nhyai-
cisn still csvries the goid-headed car.,.
which used to be the wand of your Office.
he never attends the funerals of his pa.
tients. There is sort of popular SUPER
stition, that he would be reveraing Scrip.
ture, and following his works. The mis-.
| deeds Of ylr profession, on, the contrary,
reet mainly on the earth's surface and
an autopsy fs commonly a matter Sof
course. We are confronted in the dis
charge of cur most important duties by
! astute anu Jealous rivals, weighed by i'm
partial ijudges and obsergant jqrieB, Under
Inc chsiinnge uf Pnbiio sorutlny. What
we do most privately is open al.ays to
! the suspicious and auestionings Of ad-
verse interests. Nobody thinks of going
to the apothecary's to criticise your PIE.
scriptions, after your patient has set sout
on the 'iter tenebricosun,,' but there is Q
| lively solicitude, generally, concerning
| the last will and festAcaenk (which v6
have prepared for him The noifners
often go about the street which le4a to
| the probate Offices, when they Would
l Violk IT ilcW graves
,.4-......e..., In tender pilgrimage,
as poor Hood aighs."
Theimplicit and nhiY6faal trust and
confidence reposed in the phyaician exact
from him the incest and most sensitive
hennr He is brought in contact S7;tA
his patients when sicknsss painhAve
broken down the barrier - reserve s..,sA
he is cognizant Of all tleir weaknesses,
their faults and frailties, their erroYs} OK
their crimes. From him no secrets are
hid.
He is .rure TO .diacovers the pEoyerhial
skeleton which is hid in every man's
closet which Is, perhaps, Sut the natural
consequence Of his professional edGca-
tion., He Is called, upon to minister to
the mind diseased he is familiar with
.'The Losses, tho crosses, Sk
Thnt active man engage;
e The eFeata all, the seasa MI, 4 q sE$E
EOfdfn, declining ege, RA
| 20 him ara confided tho most delicate
| and painful secrets Of the family. These
condolences should be as sacred az those
! of the cHnfeszinphlss q
j 6uv tao Gonor waioh 5i.oufd DC your
| standard should do moro than elevate
you, above the bqsepegs Of betTayipg con-
'ddenc5i it Should lifk lyon higher and
pre-. ant you from abusing the confidence
reposed in yen, b pretending to be what
you are not. > You will be trusted and
believed In; do not betray, but deserve
this confidence, by having the highest
standards, and striving 20 live up "a
| them. sass t.