An oration, pronounced on the anniversary of the K A Society of Hippocrates, in Lexington, Kentucky / by Henry Miller, M.D. President of the Lexington Medical Society, and member of the K A Society of Hippocrates ; published by request.

  • Miller, Henry, 1800-1874.
Date:
1822
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An oration, pronounced on the anniversary of the K A Society of Hippocrates, in Lexington, Kentucky / by Henry Miller, M.D. President of the Lexington Medical Society, and member of the K A Society of Hippocrates ; published by request. 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.)

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    [5] cessary. In our profession a single individual, how- ever deserving, exemplary and intelligent, like the o- riginal or primitive particles of earth, is subject to the rude and capricious blast of every storm, which, to- gether with the unjust aspersions and calumnies of of his interested competitors, puts to hazard his re- putation, his fortune and even his bread. The tender and delicate tendrils of the vine, as if sensible of their imbecility,cling with amorous fond- ness to the lordly oak, the giant of the forest—thun- ders, hurricanes and tempests now roll innocuous round its head. So with individuals, weak and impo- tent in themselves, by uniting by elective attraction with similar individuals a crystallized fabric is rear- ed, so compact in its structure as to bid defiance to the united agency of malevolence, ignorance and superstition. In order that the particles of any body may reg- ularly arrange themselves, according to their aflnu- ties, the concurrence of several circumstances is re- quisite; one and not the least important of which is the pressure of the circumambient atmosphere. In like manner the pressure of science, friendship, virttu and honour is absolutely necessary to the sustenta- tion of our Institution. As these arc the pedestals on which our whole superstructure is erected, it may not be improper or irrelevant to submit a few re- marks on each in the order in which they have been enumerated. . . First of Science. Science is the deduction of prin- ciples from legitimate facts, accurate experiments and correct observation. Without some such pro- cess, in medicine, all would be anarchy and conf-