Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-07-04

last he comes to hang up the armor of life's
conflict on the wall, will realize state Of
mind and feeling which will gid the evening
OF life with splendor such as the glorious
sun spreads over the western sky as he sinks
to his rest There is much that is grand and
beautiful in this world, but nothing that
compares with young man in the strength
and vigor of his manhood, his brain stored
with solid learning, possessing n sound body,
pure mind and sober judgment To such an
one, inspired with honorable ambition, and
penetrated with the grace of godliness, moth
ing is impossible; success is certain in what
ever line he works; the arrows of dotraction
find no vulnerable joints, but fall harmless at
his feet, for he is mailed in something better
than steel. You should, indeed, be what
Hippocrates taught physician should be, at
least 400 years before the Christian era He
said physician should be clean in his dress,
grave in his manners, moderate in all his ac-
tons, chaste and reserved. He should noi-
Their be envious nor unjust, nor fond of dishon-
orable gain: afable, but not n great talker;
modest, sober, patient, pious without super
stition prudent diligent; not ashamed to
solicit the assistance of other physicians and
thoroughly impressed with reverence for the
Deity. Striving to fill this description of
what you ought to be, comes the question of
your relations to other members of the medi-
cal profession. You will 90 to your various
fields of labor feeling that you have enjoyed
advantages superior to many of the older
practitioners by whom you will be surround
ed You must, however, listen patiently and
courteously to the opinions of older men, and
must allow no expression of dissatisfaction to
escape you if the majority of the community
by which you are surrounded prefer their ad-
vice to yours. In consultation with senior
members of the profession, you must remem-
Der that though these gentlemen may of
some things know less than you-though they
may be in fact behind the times, "old fogies :"
and even though, in the particular case under
consideration, they may be manifestly below
your own grade of medical requirement, yet
public opinion will compel you to defer to
them; and you must do it gracefully, rather
as a matter of choice than of necessity, for
the DEGREES of public opinion, whether right
or wrong are memorable in such affairs. Re
member, it is the courser of highest mettle
and purest blood that chafes least on the
curb, and yields most willingly to the rein.
Do not, then, allow that spirit of emulation
which will exist between you and your COM
pettors, and which is in truth essential to
your mutual success, at any time to degener-
ate into a spirit of bitter rivalry, or indeed to
infuse any measures of animosity into your
personal relations The best results of such
contests can but leave even the successful
party on lower level than it found him. If
you study thoroughly the history of the med
ical profession as l have indicated you will
find that in all ages there have been members
of it whose minds were not equal to grasping
and approximately understanding the whole
science it existed in their time. They
have, therefore, caught at certain threads of
the science, and with them have woven IA
brio which they heve been pleased to call a
more perfect system of medicine. Such
were the Solidists and Fluidists such were
the doctrines of Brown and Broussais. Most
bitter and pungent was the warfare that was
carried on by these champions and their fol-
lowers However, after the lapse of cent
ury or two, when the heat and smoke of the
combat had cleared away, we find that many
of their theories had vaporized, and that the
lines which had diverged so widely were
again united and lost in one common nrofas.
sion Only half a century has passed since
the death of Hahnemann, who supposed he
had founded upon few exclusive dogmas IL
GRAND system that WIS to stand against the
attacks of all apes Yet in this brief period
although the warning has been AS fierce and
bitter as it is possible for weak men to make
| II ,vo find that his followers are praduallv
lint practically desertinp the dopmas SO dear
tn him. and through the ennoblinp and ele-
waiting effects of scientific research ore cast
inc aside the letters of exclusiyeness which
have 80 trammelled their progress. and are
adopting the broad and catholic methods and
ideas which have ALWAYS characterized the
trpe profession of medicine. Thus history
repeots itself the lines which only n short
time since diyerped so widely are now draw.
inc nearer together. and will soon be lost
aooin in n unity of the profession the trav.
oiers rnop each bearing only the GRAND in.
sic,,io of ,cieotj6c nbysician Remember
then that vour 'Alma Matap does not send
Won forth as the representative of any net
system. or the blind worshippers at the
sbr,,es of any sneciaI dogmss lint rather ms
the students of nature having Mt vour com.
mand all the resources of accumulated expe.
rienco and scientific research which the cent.
mis- have nloced Mt the dismissal of man.
Possessing this GRAND armature for yourselves.
sreol, NOT borsblv and ,bink mt nnkindIv nj
vour fellow traveller who. with clouded brain.
!, ,o.,,,;r,, his ,vov olong amid the dogmotic
No.. 81 foIso tb.ories and the piosm which
arises from incorrectly observed facts. Let
,,our s,iouti6c ligbt shine so MS IN illuminate
hi. pathway and Tins enable him the soone,
10 rI,rt his feet in the highway which lead,
% .,;ar,iec trutb Tn fact in all vour inter
course with those of YOUR profession about
Won .triva N live nm IN the Golden rule do
10 o,bors &c ,,o,, would bave them do n