Individualism : an introductory address delivered before the Medical Society of King's College, London, on the 16th of October, 1873 / by John Curnow.

  • Curnow, John.
Date:
[1873]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Individualism : an introductory address delivered before the Medical Society of King's College, London, on the 16th of October, 1873 / by John Curnow. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    our Society. For running counter to some ideas and theories at present widely prevalent, and for rebelling against some eminent orthodox opinions, I feel justified by the fable — * The Mountain and the Squirrel Had a quarrel; Aud the former called the latter ‘ Little prig Bun replied, “ You are doubtless very big ; But all sorts of things and weather Must be taken in together, To make up a year And a sphere. And I think it no disgrace To occupy my place. If I’m not so large as you, You are not so small as I, And not half so spry. I’ll not deny you make A very pretty squirrel track; Talents differ; all is well and wisely put; If I cannot carry forests on my back, Neither can you crack a nut.” ’ This great characteristic, then, is the spirit of com- petition ; competition for material wealth, in industrial enterprise, in every profession and occupation, and for every situation of honour or emolument. Undoubtedly the same motive has always actuated the human race, but organised competition belongs especially to our own pe- riod, and it is only in the present generation that we have been asked to bow down and pay homage thereto. For- merly, for instance, scholarships and fellowships were founded to furnish men with the means of pursuing their studies mainly according to their individual bent; now, however, in a noteworthy speech delivered by the ‘ apostle of competition,’ the present Secretary of State for the