The Army Surgeon.
By General Baron Ambert.
"There is not here below a more noble task. Those who fulfil
it often purchase at the expense of their lives the modest glory
which a world greedy of dazzling triumphs ignores. One might
say of the military surgeon in the field what General Toy said of
the captains of infantry: 'Strangers to the gratification of applause
which the general officer enjoys, exempt from the passionate intox-
ication of the soldier, these martyrs to duty consume themselves
in resignation.' Napoleon I. fully comprehended the importance
of military surgery. He honored with an unlimited confidence the
man in whom that profession was personified, the wise and devoted
Larrey; he decreed to him a title of nobility. But beyond all this,
on the rock of Saint Helena, he placed the name of Larrey in his
last testament, with these words, which outvalue all titles, and sur-
pass all eulogiums: 'C'est l'homme le plus vertueux que j'aie
connu.'"


{'source': 'PubMedDataset'}