A lecture delivered at the opening of the Medical Department of the Columbian College, introductory to a course on the theory and practice of medicine / by Thomas Henderson.

  • Henderson, Thomas, 1789-1854.
Date:
[1826]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A lecture delivered at the opening of the Medical Department of the Columbian College, introductory to a course on the theory and practice of medicine / by Thomas Henderson. 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.)

    1/10
    /D The proprietor of the Medical Recorder, believing that the Lecture of Dr Henderson, will be interesting to his patrons, particularly so, as it was delivered at the opening of a Medical College at the capital of the Union, therefore presents it as an extra to No. 34, Medical Recorder. tf&2-0> A Lecture delivered at the opening- of the Medical Depart- ment of the Columbian College, introductory to a course on the Theory and Practice of Medicine, by Thomas Henderson, M.D. Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine in the Columbian College. Gen-tlemex—In viewing the condition, moral and physical, of man in a state of health, we are prone to indulge in reflections, which that aspect does not justify. Our moral character is so constituted as to require of those causes which afford us happiness, that their operations should be liable neither to interruption nor cessation. Apply this principle, this test, to man in health; reflect on the frail tenure by which this state is preserved; con- sider the evils to which he is momentarily exposed, and v/e shall find ever prevalent causes for humiliation. Did these considerations apply only to the physical conformation of our frame, we might still find a refuge, and a source of exultation, in the exemp- tion of the noble faculties, distinguishing us from the surrounding animal creation, from the operation of those causes which derange and disorder the bodily organs. Here, too, is the pride of man abased. The mind—in the exercise of the faculties, by which we are assimilated with, and by which we aspire to a knowledge of supreme perfection; by the powers of which we are related to the intellectual and moral world around us;— these sources of exultation become the no less fertile origin of calamity, distressing to the moral, as disease is afflicting to the physical man. Previous to entering on the immediate duties of the Chair to which we belong, the liberty is taken to refer to the general habits and collateral pur- suits, attached to the study of Medicine. For indulging in the following reflections, an apology is found in the interesting relation which we bear to you as your teacher; the deep anxiety desired to be manifested in that capacity; the great importance of the subject; while we recognize some obligations to consider the following views at the opening of this depart- ment of the Medical Institution. Medicine derives its consequence, as a science, from an individual consi- deration, namely, its connection with disease. It is neither the offspring of abstract intellectual inquiry, nor its legitimate object; it is derived from the necessities of our nature, and is perpetuated on the sacred principle of be- nevolence. The most impressive incident in its whole history, may be con- sidered the effort of uneducated, unscientific humanity, bending towards the relief of the first subject of disease or injury. Here the foundation of the healing art is laid; built on a corner stone which sustains it invulnerable against the shafts of ignorance, the malevolence of misanthropic, or the effu- sions of satirical reproach. We maintain that the spirit of this origin per- vades our science; and while obnoxious to imperfection, the characteristic of all human pursuits, it is recommended to the consideration, and impor- tant to the interests of society, in a degree unrivalled. f ft is strikingly observable of human agency, that the exercise of its powers ■