./^ #9 VALEDICTORY". *13DRESS '. V, • ••* . .O HA JJ UATT^S . * < OF 4r\\V. ' ' W ^j m M*> > E L I \' E RED, MARCH 6 t ii , 1 S 5 7 '* • S^j By C II A R L E S FRIC K . M . D . WITH A LIST OF THE GRADUATES. 'curt .fe PUBLISHED BY THE TRUSTEES OF TI1B COL BALTIMORE: JOHN W . WOODS, PRINTER 1 S 5 7 . .-- *Sr-^ 9 . I ' ''>. ' . • • • . < VALEDICTORY ADDRESS •! ; GRADUATES OF THE DELIVERED, MARCH 6th, 1*57, By CHARLES FRICK, M. D WITH A LIST OF THE GRADUATES. PUBLISHED BY THE TRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE BALTIMORE: JOHN W. WOODS, PRINTER 1857. Baltimore. Manh 13f//, 1S57. Prof. Charles Frick, Dear Sir : At a late meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Maryland College of Pharmacy, the Secre- tary was directed, by a unanimous vote, to request you to furnish for publication, a copy of your Valedictory Address, delivered on 6th inst. Hoping you may comply with the wishes of the Board, I remain. with respect, Yours, truly, \V S. THOMPSON. Secretary. [JALTI MORE,jAMuj'fc£ l£l£l*57 Mr. Wm. S. Thompson, See y, &c. \ My Dear Sir: In conformity with the request contained in your note of the 13th, I enclose you a copy of the Vale- dictory Address delivered on the 6th inst. Be pleased to accept for yourself, and those in conjunction with you, my most affectionate re- gards, and convey to them my thanks for their kind consideration towards me, not only upon this, but on all previous occasions. Very respectfully, Your ob't serv't, CHARLES FRICK. LIST OF GRADUATES. LOUIS DOHME, of Maryland. THESIS—VALERIANIC ACID. E. WALTON RUSSELL, New Hampshire THESIS—DISPLACEMENT. JOSEPH C. O'BRIEN, Maryland. THESIS—SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS. J. EMORY WEATHERBY, New Jersey. THESIS—PHARMACY. ADDRESS. Gentlemen Graduates: As a part of the ceremonial of this even- ing, it falls to my lot to address you, on behalf of my colleagues, a few words of congratulation and parting advice, now that the time has arrived for severing those more intimate ties which for some months past have bound us together in the relation of instructors and pupils. It affords a fair theme for congratulation, that you have thus far arrived safely and creditably in the pur- suit you have undertaken. You have each of you re- cently passed satisfactorily through the ordeal of a strict examination on the various elementary branches con- nected with the study of Pharmacy. You have each of you submitted a thesis, evidencing in many respects careful study and sound thought; and your alma mater, though but a youthful mother as yet, has just con- ferred upon you her highest honors; and in so doing recommends you to the confidence of your employers, and the public. All this. I say, affords to us, just grounds for hearty congratulation. For the present. vour labors as well as ours, are terminated. After a short interval they will be resumed, but in different fields ; ours, in preparing instructions for your succes- sors—yours, in the daily and hourly struggle for ad- vancement and success in the occupation you have chosen as the business of your lives. May I be per- 6 mitted to hope that the instruction you have derived from us will lighten in some measure your coming toil, and cause you to recur with pleasurable recollection to the lessons you have received at our hands. To preparing you for this labor, and, as I also trust, this success, the ministry of my colleagues and myself is a limited one. The title we confer, brings no honors with it. Our office is an humble one; our ambition craves neither a sounding name, nor a conspicuous position; and we regard our highest reward to be your improvement. "We come to fill that long interval be- tween the close of autumn and the opening of spring, during which the mind is best fitted to profit by in- struction ; to renew your acquaintance with the sub- jects of previous study, and to present them under new aspects, through the media of other minds; and thus while deepening impressions already formed, show you that the facts of science remain unchanged, al- though year by year, and day by day new material is culled and garnered in, to add to the already towering edifice. But, gentlemen, viewed conscientiously, your occu- pation is not a mere trade, and your duties to the com- munity are highly responsible. If unlike your co- laborer, the physician, you have some respite, from your daily toil, some hours you can call your own, yet like him, life and death are oftentimes in your hands and let me say, where human life is at stake, ignorance is a crime. The mere possession of a diploma cannot confer upon you all that is needed for this, and if any here have regarded it in this light, any who have toiled to obtain it, only that henceforth they might be re- leased from the labors of study, better would it be for 7 them and the community, had they never entered the doors of a school of Pharmacy. The true value of a diploma consists in this : It is a guarantee to the public, that its possessor has credita- bly passed through the studies and examinations, which the members of this College have supposed ne- cessary to fit one to commence the practice of dispens- ing medicines, but it by no means implies that he has attained all that is to be acquired with regard to the knowledge of drugs, their combinations, and their uses. It is simply intended as a certificate, that your minds have been imbued with sound principles of chemical and pharmaceutical science, that you have shown aptitude for study, that you are prepared to profit by every opportunity for observation—and that you are well grounded in the elements of your pro- fession. But that eminent skill in chemical and phar- maceutical manipulation, that almost intuitive percep- tion of the exact qualities of the various articles of the materia mcdica, which can alone make you perfect in your profession, are the slow results evolved by habits of continuous study, minute observation and enlarged experience. To gain this elevated stand, you should cultivate them every day throughout your professional career. Obedient then to the calls of duty, you cannot stop where you are; you owe it to yourselves, to the community, and to science, to go onwards, and a por- tion of each day of your future lives should be devoted to the study as well as the practice of Chemistry and Pharmacy. Our school, gentlemen, as yet, is but in its infancy. It requires time to effect any change in the constituted order of things; and this change is hard to accomplish 8 unless through the medium of self-interest. The apoth- ecaries as a body have failed to see this as they should, until of late years ; and the reason for it, is principally to be found in the want of a proper idea of the dignity and responsibility of their calling, as a branch of the medical profession. Heretofore by far the larger num- ber of those who dealt in drugs and medicines did it with no other aim than to make money; their object was to sell, and their vocation was to sell, and the as- sistant was of value to his employer not so much from his knowledge of the articles he sold, as his ability to sell them. What then was the necessary consequence of this ? Why scientific knowledge as well as practical pharmacy, being a secondary consideration, many drug- gists were in the habit of buying most of their prepara- tions ready made and at the lowest price, and to use the language of the American Pharmaceutical Association. "the business, thus shorn of its most interesting de- partment, the application of chemistry to the conver- sion of crude drugs into medicines, becomes a mere store keeping, where the drug clerk is kept putting up, and selling parcels and bottles of medicines, the preparation of which, and the beautiful reactions often concerned in their manufacture, he is as complete a stranger to, as though they did not exist." But now happily, both for apothecaries and their assistants, the real nature of the case, is beginning to be better understood. And the want of some place, where gen- eral information can be obtained, to fit the student for a better understanding of the details of his daily busi- ness is fully appreciated. To Philadelphia is due the honor of having originated the first successful scheme of this character in the United States, and aided as 9 they have been by the labors of Jackson and Wood, and Carson, and Bridges, and Thomas, and Proctor, the school has heretofore, and still enjoys an enviable reputation. And to it, and it solely, may be ascribed the high standing, and general proficiency of the profes- sion in our sister city. We, though later in acknowledg- ing the necessity, and accepting the trust, have still as good material to work upon as they, and there is no reason if we use proper energy and due diligence, why success should not attend our efforts. And succeed we will. "The most sanguine believers in progress do not expect a sudden reformation; but there are now so many in our midst, who look with a strong faith and great interest to the silent influence of a better education in effecting a gradual change among the in- dividuals of the profession,"* that we look with per- fect trust to the success of the undertaking, whose first effort you are here to night to witness and take part in. If the number that have availed themselves of the college instruction during the past winter is less than we had hoped, it is still more than might have been expected, more particularly when we recollect that the Philadelphia school, to which we have already alluded, commenced with considerably less than our- selves ; and if we have failed to perform our duties to you as satisfactorily as we had desired, you must re- member that a first effort necessarily entails many de- ficiencies in the requisites for instruction, which time alone can remedy. The history of the beginning and early progress of all schools for scientific instruction, admonishes us that o 'Report of Am. Fhar. Association. we ov have much labor to endure; and many obstacles to „ rercome; and relying as wesdo on Our own resources, and aided only by the friendly countenance of an en- lightened community, we are deeply sensible that we have great personal sacrifices to make, and many dif- ficulties to encounter. Yet, I trust that our object is too elevated, and our purpose too fixed, to suffer such considerations to have any other effect, than that of stimulating us to more active and -vigorous exertion. If on the one hand, these difficulties present them- selves, on the other a more cheering prospect opens before us. The period of the commencement of our undertaking seems peculiarly favorable to its success. We have not to encounter the prejudices of those days when Pharmacy, as a profession, was considered of doubtful utility, and the science degraded to the rank of a trade. The present is an era in the history of the world, when all institutions for the promotion of sci- ence, and for bettering the condition of our fellow men, are regarded with public favor, and sustained by a liberality of feeling, known to no other age ; a period when the utility of every thing that bears upon or as- sists medical science is universally admitted, and the importance of all that tends toward education for this purpose duly appreciated. At this day, no thinking man doubts the necessity of schools of pharmacy, and of public lectures to form young men for the proper practice of their profession, nor is there any one, as I have already said, who calls in question the benefits they confer upon the community. I think it not inappropriate to the occasion which has drawn us together to-night, that I should, in my present remarks, take a rapid survey of the state of 11 . 4 ^ • * * pharmacy in England, and some of the European states* and contrast it with the same calling in our own coun- try. On the continent for instance, the very pivot upon which rests the superiority of French pharmac}' >v is the great fact, that where "Pharmacie" is inscribed .. outside a drug establishment, the occupant is what his name implies, a "Pharmacien." And it is a comforta- ble reflection for a stranger, in want of assistance, that in such an establishment, he will find a man of educa- tion and intelligence, varying of course in degree, but in all cases sufficient to inspire confidence, and to as- sure him that he is not likely to be carelessly poisoned. Here, on the contrary, the words Druggist and Apothe- cary which he sees over the door, with various colored bottles in the window, and an ample supply of drugs within, convey merely the fact, that medicines are to be procured. Such symbols may lead the stranger, and often will lead him, to the care of an educated and in- telligent man. But there is no guarantee that it may not be the wife, or the servant, or the uneducated as- sistant, who conies forward to dispense mercury and arsenic alike, and who, like a child playing with fire, converts it into a matter of chance, whether himself or the applicant be most injured. And -why is this difference? Because legislative enactment in France requires that a license in pharmacy should be granted to those only who have passed a prescribed examina- tion. The nature and extent of the qualification re- quired, being under the immediate regulation of the pharmaciens themselves, who alone are capable of ex- ercising a correct judgment on the subject, and whose proceedings are sanctioned and ratified by the legis- lature. In the details of their management, we find 12 that in order to provide for the requirements of the large cities, such as Paris, Lyons, &c, and also for the wants of the small villages, or thinly populated dis- tricts, two classes of pharmaciens are licensed ; the rank of each corresponding with the qualification, and those of the second class being licensed for certain localities only. Those of the first class must be good practical chemists ; they are obliged to undergo a prescribed course of stud}*, to prepare some chemical and pharmaceutical products, and present a thesis, be- fore receiving a diploma. Among such men, there- fore, although there must be doubtless a difference between individuals, yet the minimum qualification, without which none can pass, is a guarantee to the public, that the possessor of the diploma is a man of education. And yet even with these requirements, the members themselves are not satisfied, but desire further improvement, which they are endeavoring to attain by means of association and correspondence with one another: The English on the other hand are less thoughtful about what they take in the shape of medicine, and how it is prepared. And the legislature, very much as with us, allows these things to be regulated by chance, leaving to competition alone, the supply of the wants of the public. Various attempts have been made from time to time, to effect further improve- ment, more particularly when the community is aroused by an ephemeral panic, produced by fatal accident from poison, and lately still more by certain revelations be- fore the parliamentary committee on adulterations. which demonstrate the necessity for a general improve- ment in the education of those who sell and dispense medicines. But as yet little has been effected. 13 If we look now to the mode of regulating the busi- ness of pharmacy in some other parts of Europe, for instance in Prussia, Sweden and Austria, we find that the principle of protection to the community is there carried much farther even than in France, and that there is a more direct interference on the part of the government, with the regulations under which phar- maceutical establishments are opened and conducted. In Austria, the constituted authorities exercise a direct control and supervision over the whole medical pro- fession, including pharmacy. Physicians and surgeons are strictly prohibited from selling medicines, and on the other hand, apothecaries are forbidden to practice it. Farther than this, the regulations go. The num- ber of apothecaries in each town or place is limited, according to the ascertained or supposed wants of the population. This limitation I have seen stated to be, one apothecary to 6,000 inhabitants. With us here, the proportion is about one in 1,200, or live times as many. But the peculiar regulation existing in these states, and the one to which I desire to call particular attention, is, that any one desiring to go into business as an apothecary, must wait until he can meet with an establishment for sale; then the license of the general government must be obtained; and this is granted to those only, who possess a degree, obtained at some L'niversity recognized by the state, in which the party is about to embark in business. But with all these aids, the profession of pharmacy does not seem to have o-ained the high position in these countries that at first glance, would seem the necessary consequence of such protection. And the reason for this, on a little reflec- tion is obvious. The apothecaries as a class, take but 14 little interest, and have no ambition in their profes- sion. They themselves cannot change the existing state of things, neither can outside influence affect them. Their course is measured and laid down, and they have nothing to do, but follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, as their successors will follow in theirs, when they have passed away. And thus the govern- ment by creating a monopoly, tends to enervate a par- ticular class of individuals, by removing from them the legitimate and most wholesome stimulus to exertion. And by the exercise of an arbitary control, prevents individual talent, industry and ambition, from having its fullest scope for proper energy and usefulness. With absolute protection on the one hand, and free trade on the other, as with us, the contrast is most marked. But I am free to admit, that the latter is the preferable. It is difficult to alter the proportions of an edifice already constructed, but with ample build- ing materials, a firm foundation, a good site, and a matured plan, we may construct what we will. And our building, erected by strong hands and willing hearts. will stand in the end, as it should stand, supported by no aid from legislative enactments, but sustained by the good sense and calm judgment of individual and associated enterprise. Still, with -us, there is much to be accomplished. The circumstances which regulate the profession of Pharmacy in the United States, though somewhat sim- ilar to those of England, exhibit a striking contrast to the laws we have just detailed. With us. the volun- tary principle is carried to its greatest extent. "The disposition of the American people, as well as the large extent of our country, are alike incompatible 15 with the strict supervision and interference with the liberty of the subject, which constitutes the policy of despotic governments." Thus we find, on the princi- ple of granting the largest liberty to every citizen, any one so inclined, may at any time lay in a stock of drugs, inscribe druggist and apothecary over his door, and though he know not the difference between oxalic acid and epsom salts, proceed to business and dispense medicines. There are many reasons why this is to be regreted ; but the same thing obtiiins in the calling of the physician, and indeed I do not see how legislation can ever effect much. Public opinion however can and does do it. In the latter profession, the diploma of a medical college, confers no particular privileges. It is as with us merely a certificate. But, nevertheless, the community as a whole, attach importance to it, and look with distrust upon the irregular practitioner. If the title conferred by a College of Pharmacy, was more generally sought for, and obtained ; and if the upright and educated would endeavor to widen the dif- ference between themselves and those who are mere pretenders, by raising the standard of instruction and intelligence, I for one have no fear for the result. So- ciety will in time, learn to discriminate between the true and the false—will appreciate the difference be- tween the intelligent and educated apothecary on the one side, and the quack vender of pretended specifics on the other; and although I am not so wild as to imag- ine that at any time hereafter there will be either few- er fools or knaves than there are now, yet I do believe that honest and upright men will make a broader line between themselves and the dishonest, by elevating their own position, than by any or all the laws the Legislature can possibly enact. 16 Far be it from me, in these remarks, to limit the standard of excellence to those only who have been, or may be, connected with a College of Pharmacy. Many able men have succeeded, and attained high position, in spite of the disadvantages by which they were sur- rounded, and a want of systematic instruction. The profession of Pharmacy abounds with such. But this I do say, that association for self interest and self pro- tection, which in everything is felt to be the necessity of the day, applies equally to us, and to our occupation. That the influence of such combinations has had its ef- fect in elevating the position of the mass of the profes- sion, in these places where they exist, and that already its influence for good is making itself known and felt in our own community, no one can entertain a reason- able doubt. The English journals, for the past few years, both medical and pharmaceutical, teem with instances of sad and fatal mistakes, and where human life has fallen a victim, not so often to want of care, as downright ignorance. But a few months past, another" such re- sult occurred in Philadelphia, and shall I recall the in- stance, later still, so fresh in all our minds, in our own city. Xecd we be astonished if the community takes the alarm and encourages a distrust of all whose busi. ness it is to compound and dispense medicines ? And yet as I have said, in nearly every instance, the blame is to be ascribed to ignorance and want of capacity. In one case, we find the accident attributable to a woman to whom black draught and black drop were synono- mous terms; and in another, which unfortunately re- sulted fatally to the dispenser, to such gross ignorance as could not discriminate between the properties of 17 two such salts, as the chlorate of potassa, and the cya- nuret of potassium. Would a systematic education in these instances, have prevented such lamentable oc- currences ? I think there can be but one reply, and the members of the profession owe it to themselves, and the community, to stand forward and show as far as may be, their qualifications to the confidence of the public. And how better can this be effected, than by credentials of competency obtained from those best able to judge, namely, their own associates and mem- bers of a common calling. But I must not lose sight of the immediate aim of this address, which was not merely to congratulate you, gentlemen, on the present occasion ; but also to warn you against impending dangers, and to guard you against some of the difficulties which you must be prepared to encounter in your progress through life. And I feel, that I would scarcely fulfil my duty to you, if I did not advert to a topic, which, though neces- sarily a hackneyed one, is still, in my opinion, of the greatest importance to you and your profession. I mean the relative position of apothecaries and physi- cians to each other, and to the community. To chem- istry, and almost to chemistry alone, and to the rapid strides it has made within the past few years, is owing the present high position, and honorable calling of the apothecary. And it is this science mainly that has elevated the occupation of pharmacy, from a mere trade into a scientific profession. Chemistry, which has so beautifully explained most of the varied and re- condite phenomena of nature, which surround us on all sides, has been, in a peculiar sense, the handmaid of medicine, and all that relates to it. Xot only in the 3 18 internal changes, which moment by moment, are passing in our own bodies, but in all that «an influence and affect these changes, does it play a most important part. In that department which relates to the prop- erties of substances capable of producing a beneficial influence upon the human economy, namely, medicines, its assistance is particularly valuable. Formerly the apothecary's calling was a limited one, and the idea entertained of him by the public was a man seedy and old, a culler of simples and plants, and a dealer some- what in magic and charms. Even at a later period, he advanced but little claim to scientific position, and his knowledge consisted mainly in the appearance and other physical properties of the limited supply of drugs, called for in the physician's practice. Thus far, the same individual might readily have combined within himself the functions of physician and apothecary. And in a majority of instances he did so. Now, how- ever, a different condition of things obtains. The ar- ticles of the materia medica have increased so much in number, are derived from so many various sources, and differ to such a degree in activity and usefulness, that their selection, and preparation, is sufficient occu- pation for any single individual. Indeed of late years, science, whose aid the chemist invokes to detect adul- terations in those articles whose purity is relied upon in combating disease, has been brought to bear in the manufacture of the fraud. And this is now so exten- sively practiced, that many able and talented minds have thrown the chief force of their energy to the de- tection and exposure of these various impostures. If such be the case, how few physicians are there, whose duties to the community, or whose more legitimate 19 studies, can command sufficient time to prosecute this, so important a branch of their profession. The inevit- able necessity, therefore, must be, that a class of indi- viduals is called into activity, whose special duty it is to see that the remedial agents directed by the physi- cian, are not only accurately compounded, but of proper purity, and free from fraudulent admixture. Xor to effect this, do we find that the occupation of an apoth- ecary is rendered merely a mechanical one. A vast vista of natural science opens to his view, and invites his inquiry. A certain knowledge of botany is almost indispensable to him; while geology, entomology, min- eralogy and zoology, afford him a constant resource for the enlargement of his mind, and improvement in his professional acquirements. Again, it should be his constant aim to be thoroughly versed in the knowledge of such drugs as are poisonous, and capable of produc- ing injurious or fatal effects. Without such knowledge, he is not fulfilling his calling. As a conscientious and honest man, he has no right to shield himself from res- ponsibility, when an accident occurs, because the phy- sician has committed an error, or the poison was dis- pensed in the quantity directed, or applied for. His duty to humanity requires more than this. He is there to act as an aid, and assistant to the physician in alleviat- ing the ills of his fellow man, not to double his blun- ders ; and still more not to assist the ignorant or vici- ous, accidentally or intentionally, in converting some of God's greatest blessings to mankind, into an evil and a curse. Society raises its voice in indignant horror, when it hears of the dram dealer selling to his victim draught after draught of the fiery and intoxicating liquid, which, 20 in the end, is to consume the very vitals of the poor wretch, who thus lights his own funereal pile. Here the sacrifice, if involuntary, is not made unknowingly. But what shall we say of him, who because no legisla- tive enactment starts up as a barrier and restraint, bar- ters for greedy gain the subtlest poisons, to the intelli- gent and uneducated alike—not caring whether the re- sult be suicide or murder, provided he be not held res- ponsible ? But is he not responsible ? Are human laws the only enactments necessary for our guidance? And in such a case will his conscience acquit him of all blame ? Xo, gentlemen, your course here, is a plain and open one. Better lose your custom, than run any risk to human life. Your knowledge of the poisonous properties of drugs, should enable you at a glance to detect whether an injurious quantity is directed—and your duty is plain before you. Be satisfied of its cor- rectness before you dispense it. Or again, when poi- sons, or such substances as are capable of producing injurious effects, are applied for by an irresponsible, or ignorant person, decline to sell, or at any rate caution the applicant of the possible results that may ensue. I am aware that a large majority of druggists are in the habit of thus acting, and the United States Con- vention have directed their attention strongly to the subject. But if all would recognize the obligation in the way I have suggested, accidents would be of rarer occurrence, and the profession have more confidence reposed in it by the public. It was the advice of a celebrated physician to his pupils, that the first thing for them to learn, was to do no harm, the next how to do good. And so I say to you, and it is for this reason that I have occupied so 21 much of your time in speaking to you of poisons. Mankind from the earliest ages have always been more or less impressed with a dread of this kind, and on re- ferring to the period of the Borgias and Brinvilliers, we read the most fabulous accounts of their wonderful ef- fects. In their time to take heed against poison, was one of the waking ideas common to all; then it was thought, deadly poison might be administered either by word or look, as well as by deed, and a whole life was made uneasy by the constant rising of a horri- ble mistrust. It was even thought then that the seats of chairs, gloves, letters, handkerchiefs, salves and per- fumes, might be impregnated with death. "Such fears, at this time, survive only as pleasant fables, but they once had a terrible significance. When lust and wrath were little bridled; and to hate a man, meant actu- ally to wish him dead; when lawlessness was strong. and law was weak ; when to give poison was easy, and to prove that it had been administered, was in most cases, beyond the skill of chemist or physician; then it was, that the dread of foul play, rose incessantly to bear off man from man, and brother from brother. For centuries this terror was an element of social life in Europe, and if it was greater than the danger, yet the danger was not small. A man's life was of less account than we now make it, and the means of posi- tive detection so utterly inadequate, that a remote possibility of punishment, when weighed against the certainty of gain, pressed but little on the mind of any criminal.r* Such things, however, are now all changed. The botanist and zoologist, the microscopist and chemist * Household Words. June, 1856. 22 have, by parallel advances, given great precision to our knowledge of the action of all kinds of food, and all drugs, known as poison or medicine. And by their labors, the body of man after death is becoming more surely a revealer of the secrets that concerned his life. "The vestiges of past disease, and more particularly of that last disease, against which the breath of life could not maintain its own, are written in the body of the dead. Much of this writing has not yet been de- cyphered ; but among the most readable, the most completely read, is that which records death by poison. To the man of science now, blood terribly testifies against the secret poisoner ; wounds are dumb mouths no more, but can give utterance to truths full of sig- nificance. And science, which saves life, also brings conclusive proof against the man by whom it is de- stroyed."* And shall we be deficient in fulfilling our part of the compact ? Criminal acts are committed in proportion to the facility of obtaining the means to ef- fect them. And let it not be said, that from want of legislation alone, the apothecary lends his assistance to the murderer to obtain his object, or to the igno- rant to carry accidental death and destruction into the bosom of his family. If the duties and responsibilities of the profession are as onerous as I have stated, and the information about disease, and those agents that control it, so necessary for your success—will not the apothecary, it may be said, learn in time to encroach upon the province of the physician? To this I answer, most emphatically, no. The more knowledge a man acquires, the more * Household Words. Juno, 1836. 23 he sees its illimitable extent, and the more he learns to distrust his own powers. In truth, it is only when a man feels that he knows little, that he has begun to know much. And a well informed druggist is much less likely to encroach upon his neighbor's province, than he who is illiterate and illy prepared. If the re- quirements of society, have made the existence of a distinct occupation necessary—thatof the apothecary— it is incumbent upon him for many reasons, to confine himself strictly within the limits of his calling. It seems an easy thing to prescribe, and most persons argue, that what cures a fever, or a headache, or a cough in one person, will have also the same effect upon a similar case. The deduction herein is all fair, but unfortunately the premises are incorrect. The great mistake, that persons not conversant with medi- cal science labor under, is this, they imagine that dis- eases of a similar name are similar in all other respects. That the pleurisy of one man, is similar to that of another, and so on throughout. But in reality no two cases of disease are alike, or ever can be. Individuals differ in age, sex, temperament, habits, position, «tc, and the same diseases differ in all degrees of severity, season, and climate. Xow how is it possible, with all "these various combinations, that any two can be alike. Nor are they, and the intelligent physician, after re- cognizing the disease, takes all these various conditions into consideration, before deciding what particular remedy, or remedies, is likely to fulfil the desired indi- cation ; and if this be difficult to one, whose life is passed in endeavoring to see through and explain these various discrepancies, how much more must it be to him, whose opportunities for observation are limited, 24 and who has never made it his calling, to search out and reconcile the various apparent enigmas, with which medical science abounds. In truth it is the part of a child to seek for and find out resemblances; but it re- quires the capacity of an educated man, to see differ- ences where casual observation can discover none. You thus see that the two occupations are and ought to be entirely distinct; and where combinations occur, they should be discouraged by both apothecary and physician; if for no other reason, that it lays the first open to the temptation of selling his own drugs, through the gratis medium of advice; and the latter, of advising a prescription for which he is paid, when none may be necessary. And, now, in conclusion, gentlemen, let me repeat what I have already said, that your education as phar- maceutists is not completed here. But while I represent to you the importance of the profession you have adopted, and thus earnestly admonish you to use your best endeavors for advancement in it; do not suppose I would counsel you to be ever engaged in the multi- tudinous details of chemical science, or eternally occu- pied with pharmaceutical studies. You should always bear in mind, that you are members of an intelligent and civilized society, and that as such you are bound to use all your abilities to multiply and diffuse the heaven-born blessings which tend to adorn and dignify the social relation of man, and that constitute the greatest source of human happiness. Remember that the tendency of every pursuit, is to give a certain nar- rowness to each individual's mind, whereby he accords too great importance to his own occupation, and under- rates all others. In your leisure moments, therefore, 25 endeavor, in a knowledge of the useful and elegant arts, and in the charms of polite literature, to enlarge those acquirement, which are common to all educated men. And your minds relaxed from daily toil, by oc- casional glimpses into the bright and boundless regions of fancy and taste—will, by the indulgence, return with new zest to the sterner details of your ordinary oc- cupation. Nevertheless, you must still keep in view that there is no royal road to success, and that the portals of science, are not to be attained by short and easy marches. Standing, as you do, upon the threshold of your profession, and acting as assistants to your fellow laborer, the physician, remember that as you advance, you will, "like the adventurer, in the Arabian tale, find new veils obstructing your progress; and which, if drawn aside, by the magic of science, will disclose to you brighter and brighter glories. But if you will not obtain for yourselves, and endeavor to gain for others, a deep insight into the wonders of knowledge, you will never advance beyond the vestibule of the temple— but will stand there as strangers, who have not come to worship, but who have only sought a momentary shelter from the storm without."* Aim high in your profession, manfully determine to fulfill all your duties, and let your future lives be passed in the service of God, of science, and your fellow man. • Stille'a Address. 4 r ^ • *•* • . :%■ p i \ > . /. ' rj