Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-11-28
HE BEGAN AS PROTOPLASM.
But DIR. GREGORY DECLARES MAN
THE ACME OF CREATION.
Interesting and Learned Address by
q Distinguished Physician of ST.
Louis Before khnsas City
Academy of Medicine.

The feature of the meeting of the Kansas
City Academy of Medicine in the old Y. NJ.
c. a. auditorium last night was an able and
entertaining paper by DIR. L. H. Gregory, OF
ST. Louis, on THE Poetry and Philosophy
of Anatomy" DR.. Gregory is a genial,
whitehaired gentleman. and as a physician
his reputation is not confined to his own
state. Fifty-six years ago he lived IN In
dependence and the Chouteau farm occu-
pied most of the site of the central portion
of Kansas City. There was no Kansas
City in those days. DR.. Gregory referred to
his experiences and then he began his adj
dress.
Man is the embodiment of nature" said
DR.. Gregory. Materially he is the dust Of
the earth, the brother of the rocks and
seas. The atoms of which he is composed
for thousands of years fioated in the sea
Or whirled through the air. Man epito-
mixes nature. He originated in undifferen-
tiated p%rotoplasm and ali animals point to
him. the highest and last step in the or
ganic scale, Unity and simplicity charac-
teriZe all the work of the Creator. The
growth of plants has been reduced TO a
geometrical ratio, which remarkably CORE
spends to the rotation of the planets.
~ III w IlNtTltDTdlc dIll1ldlS, lutlt j.
one general type of organization, so in the
vertebrate. The philosophical anatomist,
by his study of morphology. has learned
this great lesson of unity of plan and va
riety of purpose. AS Kepler's astronomi-
cal discoveries paved the way TO Newtons
discovery of the law of gravitation, so the
the greater work of the philosophical anato-
mist The highest vertebrate differs only in
1egree from the paleozoic fish or the ptero-
1actyl. A man differs from a lion or a tur-
tie only in vertebral development. The en-
bryonic mar cannot be distinguished from
that of a snake. a mouse or other Verte-
brates. The unbranched pectoral i'm of the
fish can be traced through the wing of the
bird. the foreleg of a quadruped. up TO the
marvellous mechanism of the human hand.
The serpent has neither hands nor talons,
but IL outclimbs the monkey. ~strangles the
tiger, springs into the air after birds. The
ribs of boa constructors are but the ribs Of
the higher vertebrates.
THE skull itself is but 4 few vertebrae,
but mans cranial vertebrate are fit to con-
tain the brain Of man; The letters of the
alphabet contain the libraries of the world,
and smiling vale and towering mountain are
but sixty-three elementary substances va
riedly combined. All vertebrate genera.
from the minnow to the man. are the same.
But though man as a vertebrate ranks with
the fish and the chimpanzee. yet he is vast
Y different. He alone is the elimination OF
the Creators great plan.
Possessing a physical organism with 4
frcnt like Jove. in strength and agility he
Is inferior to many animals. He longer
is an unvoyageable abyss between him and
the highest mammal. The animal feels:
man feels that he feels. The animals sem
stations are subjective; mans reason makes
them objective. His arm unarmed is weak.
but with his reason and intellect he makes
artificial arms that make him more for
midable than tabled Briareus. He har-
nesses steam and catches tempests in his
sails. He disarms electricity. and the
lightning is his slave.
The forms hewn from shapeless marble
or glowing on the speaking canvas are but
illustrations Of his power. But his highest
mark of superiority is his moral nature.
He estimates the business and fitness of
rewarding justice and Furnishing evil.
But virtue would not be virtue IL forced.
n vice could not exist If it was neces-
sary, and, therefore. man is truly free.
The microscope that elevates the atom,
to the earth. the marvellous intelligence
behind them, make him the acme and pin
Eacle of all created things. But In his
moral nature is man truly great, and not
in mere intellect
Freedom abused is crime. and what is
more noble than the highest intellect en-
3oying the highest virtue? Alas! the COM
blnation is a rare one. St. Paul was such
ard Socrates and Plato were such: lntelli-
gence without virtue is the shining of Il
IN his toll. the virtuous patriot happy, in
his dungeon. Man was created In the i'm
age of God and for God. For him nature
was made. For him the fruits and flowers,
balmy dews. the strength of animals. the
fieecy flocks and caravan of beasts; seas
roll to watt him., and suns shine to light
him. What nature has scattered through.
out the universe is comprised in man; Let
us remember that We were created for
higher than merely worldly purposes. May
our efforts as physicians be true to the
higher mission to which We are called