Confessio medici / by the writer of "The young people" [i.e. Stephen Paget].

  • Paget, Stephen, 1855-1926.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Confessio medici / by the writer of "The young people" [i.e. Stephen Paget]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    give to public libraries. Last, ‘ Contessio Amantis.’ A less careful thief would put them in a different order, would begin with ‘The Lover’s Confession,’ young A murmuring to Miss B, Dearest, I confess to you that I have been in love before, with C, D, E, and many, many other letters of the alphabet; but never with Ampazand. I swear to you, my darling, that you need not be jealous of poor Ampazand. Of that sort of Lover’s Confession, I only say that young A is happy and thrice blessed, if he has nothing to confess to his God but what he can tell to his sweetheart. But I have arranged my trilogy the right way ; for c Confessio Amantis ’ signifies not the confessions of a lover, but con- fession of love. Not all confession is of sins : and a man may confess his faith, his ignorance, or his love. Use the word as we will, it means no more than this, that he goes outside himself for answer, assurance, audience. Faith joins the company of the faithful, ignorance asks for enlightenment, and love asks for love. We do not talk of confessing Euclid, or cookery, or sport : for they are complete in themselves. To confess, is to appeal to our fellow- creatures, it may be to one, it may be to all, for sympathy and a fair hearing. But is it necessary, or wise, or quite like a gentleman, thus to run to confession, and, as it were, to seed ? Has everybody got something to