An introductory address delivered at St. Thomas's Hospital, on the occasion of the opening of the session of its Medical and Surgical College, October 1, 1858 / by John Syer Bristowe.

  • Bristowe, John Syer, 1827-1895.
Date:
1858
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introductory address delivered at St. Thomas's Hospital, on the occasion of the opening of the session of its Medical and Surgical College, October 1, 1858 / by John Syer Bristowe. 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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    against evil companions ; tlie subject is a trite one; there is probably not one among you who would not instinctively recoil from all direct contact with glaring vice—from all those who carry the mark of the beast in their foreheads—and, indeed, I venture to assure you from experience, you will have little opportunity within these wralls of keeping aloof, with complacent virtue, from companions with whom in truth it would be almost an heroic effort to league youselves. No, gentlemen, it is not likely you’ll fall into traps baited with carrion! The dangers I chiefly fear for you are these; either, that you may light amongst a number of thoughtless and idle companions, who, without any positively bad intentions, may undermine the not too firmly rooted principles of morality and religion with which you are commencing life, may lead you to think it manly rather than otherwise to lay aside those habits of application and industry in which you have been grounded, and may thus cause you to neglect with themselves those opportunities of acquiring knowledge which now offer themselves to you; or, that you may find yourselves among a set of fellow-students, who, with more money at their command than you have or can ^ope to have, indulge themselves in their hours of relaxation in comparatively expensive enjoyments, innocent enough in themselves and to those who can afford them, but guilty to you who have not the means to meet them, and yet with moral cowardice waste upon them the little substance entrusted to you by possibly needy parents, run into debt, incur responsi- bilities, and finally perhaps ruin your peace of mind, your prospects and your character, for the sake of maintaining a position which from begining to end your conscience tells you has been utterly, stupidly false. Hesitate then, gentlemen, before you select your companions; think before you bestow your friendship; recollect, it is not