A lecture introductory to the course on materia medica and general therapeutics : in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, delivered October 13th, 1857 / by Thomas D. Mitchell.

  • Mitchell, Thomas D. (Thomas Duché), 1791-1865.
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A lecture introductory to the course on materia medica and general therapeutics : in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, delivered October 13th, 1857 / by Thomas D. Mitchell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    6/32
    of contrast, nor could we be happy in this transitory state under different circumstances. What, I ask, induces so many young gentlemen to forsake their happy homes and pleasant companions, for months, and to commingle with strangers in a far off land ? Could this sacrifice be tolerated always, and is it not now borne chiefly on ac- count of benefits anticipated as the result of the toil to be encountered ? At this very moment, ere the sentence passes from my lips, you are placing before your vision the termination of your career of pupilage, and your enjoyment of the richest rewards. You feel that you are not to be tyros in the profession always; and with fancy's telescope, some of you even now gaze on the dis- tant day that is to elevate you to the post of teacher in a school of medicine, or perch you on the summit of pro- fessional excellence in your native land; and the con- trast between now and then, as it rises and amplifies its broad dimensions and its unutterable importance, fires you with zeal and nerves you with perseverance. The object of my discourse, Gentlemen, is to sketch as faithfully as I can, in consistence with brevity, The Lights and Shadows of Professional Life. That the discouragements of the dark side of the picture may not chill your ardor, it will be my aim, so to touch the brighter scenes, as to augment your admiration of the landscape when you gaze upon it as an imperfectly finished whole. Some there are who think of the pro- fession of medicine, only, as a repetition of delights, a succession of enjoyments, but these are dreamers of the night. There are pleasures in all professional pursuits, and none more exhilarating than those that flow from the honest and successful discharge of a physician's duty. But there are vexations of spirit, and there are physical sufferings too, that not unfrequently mar the happiness, that to another's eye, may seem to be pure and peren- nial. Of the varied shadoios that give a sombre hue to the