VALEDICTORY ADDRESS GRADUATING CLASS p0mcc0nal|tc Plebical (College, OF PENNSYLVANIA, THIRTEENTH ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT, MARCH 1ST, 1861. THOMAS MOORE, M. D., PROFESSOR OF MIDWIFEUV, AX1) DISEASES OF WOMEN AND CHI1.DRKN -miseris succurrere disco."—VlRGIL. PHILADELPHIA : KING & BAIRI), PRINTERS, 607 SANSOM STREET. 1861' M! o)P^___________.________._______^Qb V VALEDICTORY ADDRESS GRADUATING CLASS gflntteoptjrtc HJeflkal Allege, OF PENNSYLVANIA, AT THE THIRTEENTH ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT, MARCH 1ST, 1861. THOMAS MOORE, M. D., PROFESSOR OF MIDWIFERY, AND DISEASES OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN. "-------miseris succurrere disco."—Vifgil. PHILADELPHIA: KING & BAIRD, PRINTERS, 607 SANSOM STREET. 1861. ■' u J{<- -- , . /'■/.-.■■■ VALEDICTORY. Gentlemen :— In behalf of my colleagues, it becomes my pleasing duty to extend to you their cordial valedictory con- gratulations, and to bid you, in their name, an affec- tionate farewell. Farewell! How many joyous, yet sorrowful, thoughts does this little word suggest! It breathes at once a blessing and a prayer;—a blessing on your future aims and endeavours;—a prayer, that God may still watch over you, and guide your footsteps in the paths of pleasantness and peace. By that simple word, the ties, which long and pleasant association has strengthened into friendship, are now to be severed. With that little word we are now called upon to dismiss you from our charge. No longer may we watch your labor and your progress in the pursuit of knowledge. No longer may the doubts and fears that have stimulated your hopes and efforts during your pupilage, cloud the bright antici- pations now most happily realized. This day your independent professional career com- mences ; and those anxieties, regarding, perhaps, only yourselves, must now give place to apprehensions for the welfare of others, of a far more important and serious nature. The profession which you have chosen is one of fearful responsibility. To your care will be entrusted 4 the health, the happiness, the lives of your fellow- beings ; and surely the responsibility of such a charge is of no light or trifling character. We, your teachers, have not been unmindful of the heavy obligations to the community, resting upon us. We have, to the best of our abilities, endeavoured to fully prepare you for the proper discharge of the high and important duties which are now to devolve upon you. We have selected, for your benefit, knowledge from every available source. The vast store-house of medi- cal experience has not been neglected in our research. We have culled therefrom much that is true and valuable, and omitted, as unworthy of your attention, that which is false and useless. From the evidence, which you have given us, by examination, of your attainments in those several branches of medical science, which are usually taught in old school institutions, we feel warranted in assert- ing your competency to enter upon, and discharge, all the general duties of the profession. And, besides this, we have, also, from careful exami nation, ascertained that you have a clear perception of the great natural therapeutic law, expressed by the for- mula " similia similibus curantur;" and that you fully understand its sphere of applicability: we, therefore, feel justified in testifying to your general and special qualifications, and conscientiously believe you to be worthy of the honors just conferred upon you. The knowledge which you have acquired, and the scientific principles that we have striven to inculcate, are now to be practically applied by you, to the benefit of the sick and the suffering. 5 To this important work of humanity, you now publicly and most solemnly dedicate yourselves. Your ear must ever be open to the cry of distress. Your heart ever ready to extend its warmest sympa- thies to those whom affliction has made subjects of your care. Sickness and sorrow will be your constant companions. The rich and the poor will equally be- come the recipients of your skill and attention. Nor may you consult your own inclination or convenience, with regard either to time, place, or circumstances, when your assistance is required. During the day or in the night;—through storm or sunshine, on the week-day or the holy Sabbath, when all the world, except, perhaps, yourselves, may rest, the summons to the sick or dying must promptly be obeyed. In seasons of pestilence, when others may flee to places of safety, you dare not leave your post of duty ; others may hesitate, but you must stand firm. Duty must be your watchword; philanthropy the great incentive to impel its performance. It seems, at first sight, somewhat unfortunate that the physician should be obliged to thus exercise the noblest and most generous feelings of the heart as a means of living. That he, whose time is devoted to the alleviation of suffering, the restoration of health and enjoyment, administering not only to the body, but to the mind and heart; that he, whose functions are exercised in prolonging human life, under the aid of Almighty Power, should be necessitated to ask any recompense, save that of an approving conscience. Yet, depending as we all are upon each other, and living under those worldly social arrangements, which 6 are necessarily as imperfect as ourselves, perhaps no other order of things would be as well, imperfect though it be. Indeed, to this conclusion all reasonable minds must come, if they admit that the Creator has wisely or- dered all things in their best and truest relations, both in our physical and mental constitutions, in the adap- tation of the world around us. Devoting his whole time, his best talents and his greatest personal energies, to the duties of his pro- fession, the practitioner of medicine is consequently entirely dependent upon those whom he serves. But, however deserving he may be of all that he receives, and however requisite pecuniary compensation must be to his very existence, yet, it is not, nor ought it ever be, his sole object in adopting and pursuing his vocation. The great mass of the medical profession, we be- lieve, are governed by higher feelings than those which arise from the love of wealth. Gold can never recompense the physician for the great sacrifices he is constantly obliged to make, nor for the anxieties and responsibilities he must necessa- rily assume. Money cannot buy that sweet reward which is developed in his own breast, as a consequence of doing good to his fellow-creatures, nor the bless- ings which flow to his own soul, if true and faithful in the discharge of his sacred duty. If the motives which have actuated you in adopt- ing this profession are of a sordid nature, and you have entered thereon, with the hope only of amassing wealth, we greatly fear that you will fail in accom- plishing your aims. 7 Fortunes have, undoubtedly, been made and can be made again, by strict attention to the honest and le- gitimate business of the profession, but if money is solely your object, we can assure you that there are many other occupations of life, in which it can be made far more easily, more certainly, and with much less physical labor and moral responsibility, than in the profession of medicine. In a strictly business point of view, the profession of medicine is not " the best paying business in the world." Few men, in any other pursuit of life, give more for what they gain, than the physician. He that enters this profession with no higher con- siderations than those arising from the love of wealth, will almost inevitably degrade himself, and bring dis- honor upon a high and noble calling, the proper pur- suit of which is truly calculated to elevate the rela- tions existing between physician and patient, to something higher than mere business transactions. Riches are, however, by no means, to be despised, nor is the desire to acquire them unbecoming in the physician; yet, in the conscientious discharge of his duty, such should be considered entirely a matter of secondary importance to that of doing good, which must, after all, be ever the great and primary object of his life. But, Gentlemen, your duty to Humanity embraces something more than the dispensing of medicines or the use of other means for the relief of the sick and the suffering. You have a mission equally important, although having for its object the same end in view. You are believers in a special philosophy in the art of medi- 8 cine. You have received a new light upon a subject which concerns the welfare of the whole human family; and your mission, also, is to extend its benign influ- ence to all those who are still in darkness, or whose eyes are still blinded by prejudice. You are to be medical reformers, as well as medical practitioners. Your duty consists, not only in practising your pro- fession, but also in teaching its principles. The beneficial influence that Homoeopathy has already effected in public sentiment cannot, at this day, be questioned. Not only has it produced a change in public feeling, but it has, also, greatly modified the practice of the old-school profession. Although this modification of treatment is ac- knowledged by most practitioners of Allopathy, yet, they deny that the introduction of Homoeopathy has had any influence in producing it. Many of them are endeavoring to persuade them- selves " that a change has occurred in the type of dis- ease, and that man, is no longer, able to bear the for- mer active treatment." Let us suppose that such is the case, and that for this reason smaller doses and less active measures, than formerly, are now required; is it not a strange coincidence, to say the least of it, that Nature has so altered the type of disease and the constitution of man, as to demand such a modification in the treat- ment, only since the introduction of Homoeopathy? Is it not wonderful, if such be the fact, that for two thousand years, disease presented nearly the same character, but as soon as Homoeopathy became known, its whole condition changed ; and, that the old-school practitioners were consequently obliged to give smaller 9 doses, and to discontinue their bleedings, their blister- ings, and their cauterizations 1 No! Gentlemen, is it not rather the change in pub- lic opinion, through the influence of Homoeopathy, that has brought about this modification of old-school prac- tice"? A large class of the community have seen the ef- fects of Homoeopathic treatment, and are convinced of the truth of our doctrines, only by what they have ex- perienced. Accidental circumstances have, perhaps, in their first experiment, brought the subject before their notice. What they have seen, they do not doubt; what they have felt they cannot, and will not, disbelieve. They have adopted it, not because they understand it, but SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE GOVERNED BY THE EVIDENCE OF THEIR SENSES. Facts interest them more than any theories. They care but little as to the means used, so that they are agreeable, safe, and effectual; satisfied that this is the case, with Homoeopathic treatment, they willingly dispense with the nauseous doses, the horrid mixtures, the bleedings and burnings of the old-school practice. Their only reason for previously submitting to such heroic measures was, because they then knew of noth- ing better upon which they could rely, in cases of sickness. The old-school practitioners, however, are not placed in such circumstances as to experience our treatment themselves, or to observe, directly, its effects upon our patients. They ignore the evidence and repudiate the expe- rience of others, and, consequently, they cannot believe \ 10 it possible that such small doses, as we usually give, should have any effect whatever upon the human system. This is the great stumbling-block to all further in- vestigation. They have been, so long, accustomed to administer the same drugs in much larger doses with but indirect effect in curing disease, that they honestly believe it contrary to common sense and sound philosophy for medicine to have any action, whatever, in the quantity which we use. From the great change, which has occurred in the practice of Allopathic physicians, within the last twenty years, we cannot believe that they desire to still torture their patients, or force them to swallow the repulsive doses, which, by the by, they usually decline talcing themselves when sick, any farther than they consider it a matter of necessity. Some of them are so convinced of the positive injury arising from drugging, that they would become Homoeopaths, if they only understood, and could, conscientiously, believe our system. Many of them have honestly en- deavoured to investigate the subject, but the misfor- tune is, that they always commence at the wrong end. Entertaining the mistaken notion that Homoeo- pathy consists, only, in giving small doses, they un- dertake experiments upon the power of infinitesimal quantities of medicine, before they understand any- thing about the principle, by which such should be se- lected and applied. Of course, their experiments fail to prove anything, because, such doses have no curative effect whatever, 11 unless adapted to the case, in which they are used, in accordance with the principle of "similia." The size of the dose does not make a medicine homoeopathic ; the fact is, that there is no such tbing as a homoeopathic medicine, except in the adaptation of a drug to a given case of disease, in accordance with the principle of cure, "similia similibus cu- randa" The medicine then, and only under these circum- stances, becomes a homoeopathic remedy, whether the dose prescribed be either large or small. We have as yet, no law to govern the size of the dose; it is, at present, regulated entirely by obser- vation and experience, each individual practitioner having the right to use such doses as, according to his judgment, he thinks proper and best. All the efforts, therefore, of those who endeavour to ascertain the efficacy of infinitesimal doses, and the truth of Homoeopathy, are in vain, unless they first comprehend the principle and the necessary condi- tions for the operation of this principle. "There is no department of inquiry," says a popu- lar writer, " in which it is not full as easy to miss the truth, as to find it, even when the materials, from which truth is to be drawn, are actually present to the senses. A child does not catch a gold-fish in water, at first trial, however good his eyes may be, and however clear the water; knowledge and method are necessary to enable him to take what is actually before his eyes, and under his hand. So it is with all who fish in a strange element for truth, which is living and moving there; the powers of observation must be trained, 12 and habits of method, in arranging the materials, pre- sented to the eye, must be acquired, before the stu- dent possesses the requisites for understanding what he contemplates." This is just the difficulty with the members of the old-school branch of the profession; the force of educa- tion and habit, and the prejudice mingled with some pride, which their success (in the management of those cases that cannot be classified as real disease) has ex- cited, prevent them acquiring the necessary know- ledge and finding the best means for arranging the materials to catch the truth of Homoeopathy, which is actually moving before their eyes, yea, within their very grasp. The only means, by which they might ascertain the truth, they entirely neglect. They are perfectly aware that drugs when given in ordinary large doses, possess the inherent property and power of so affecting the healthy body as to produce such a disturbance of the life-force, that they actually cause medicinal disease; yet, of what advan- tage is this knowledge to them1? They take no notice of this effect of drugs, except, only, in their diagnosis in cases of poisoning. This very disease-producing power of drugs, the Almighty, undoubtedly, designed for some beneficent purpose; yet, of what benefit was it ever to the hu- man race, until Hahnemann deduced, from it, the law of cure 1 It is by observing and studying the effects of drugs upon the healthy, that we are enabled to ascertain their natural relations to the various parts of the body, If a drug, in large doses, will arouse a certain com- bination of symptoms, by its action on the healthy 13 organism; and if such a combination, corresponds to the symptoms produced in a given case of non-medi- cinal disease, is it unreasonable to believe that the same forces, tissues and organs are affected similarly, in each instance] If the drug has not a natural affinity for the same parts, as those affected by disease, it could not possibly excite similar symptoms in the healthy. The drug, then, having this natural affinity for cer- tain parts, acts thereon, both in health and in disease; and when these parts are diseased, they are, of course, more susceptible to its action; indeed this suscepti- bility is so greatly increased by disease, that it is possible, then, for the very smallest dose to produce an effect. The small dose, therefore, becomes one of the re- quisite conditions for the operation of the principle of cure. But, whether this action of drugs, by virtue of their natural relation to parts, rendered susceptible by disease, is curative or not, can only be proved by experiment; and such an experiment, made under the proper conditions, is the only test of the truth of Homoeopathy. Upon this Homoeo- pathy stands or falls! If such an experiment has been fairly made, in but a single instance, and, under these circumstances, the curative action of drugs has been clearly demonstrated, it is sufficient to establish the principle of cure: but, we venture to assert, that not only in one case, but, that in millions, this fact has been fairly proved: yea, we believe, that not a single case of dynamic disease has ever been, or ever will be, cured, with medicine, except through the operation of this principle. 14 Bodies fell to the ground before Newton discovered the principle of gravitation; yet, it was by this law that they then were, now are, and ever will be, attracted to the earth. So it is with disease, which was un- doubtedly cured with medicine, before Hahnemann discovered the principle of " Similia" yet, it was by this law, that drugs then were, now are, and ever will be, controlled in their curative action. Facts are the foundation-rocks upon which the Temple of Homoeopathy stands. Theory is but the artificial decoration, which may be destroyed without affecting the strength of the building. The facts are Nature's, the theory, under which they are arranged, is man's. " There is a wide difference," says Bacon, ''between the idols of the human mind and the ideas of the Divine mind." But, this is neither the time nor place to enter upon a discussion of Hahnemann's theory, or his opinions which are adopted by many, and adhered to, almost sacredly, by some, of the Homoeopathic school, though totally rejected, by others, equally distinguished. What we have offered, we presume, is sufficient to place in a clear light this truth, that all which is really essential to the existence of Homoeopathy is its great radical principle," similia SIMJLIBUS CURANTUR." Upon the proper application of this principle, Gen- < tlemen, and the fulfilling of the necessary conditions for its operation, depend, in a great measure, your success in your profession. Its misapplication, by those who are ignorant of its true sphere of action, must, inevitably, lead to failure, and thus retard the progress of the great reform in which we are all in- terested. 15 You should remember that it is, and can only be, applied, to the treatment of dynamic disease,—de- rangements of the organism, resulting from a disturb- ance of the vital force by some morbific influence inimical to life. This is its legitimate sphere. This is just what is claimed for it. In the management of all other cases, which do not come under the law of Homoeopathy, you have the same right as old-school practitioners, to make use of such remedial measures, as experience proves best, and to apply such other scientific principles as may be required. Remember, that Homoeopathy does not supplant anything previously established in medicine, nor does it subvert any other truth of science, but, that it supplies an imperative want, heretofore acknowledged and required in order to give medicine, as a complex system, its scientific completeness. It is therefore clearly your duty to avail yourselves of all the discoveries of science, in the treatment of those cases referred to. In so doing, you do not com- promise your position as practitioners of Homoeopathy, but simply exercise your right, as regularly educated physicians, to use your judgment and your common sense. But, Gentlemen, we must detain you no longer;— other voices are calling you away. Sounds from home are already ringing on your ears. Fond hearts are already throbbing, with joyful emotion, in anticipation of your coming; and it may be, that gentle eyes are already watching for your return. A father's cheek flushes with pleasure and with pride, and a mother's breast heaves with mingled 16 hopes and fears, while awaiting your arrival. But, is there not one, dearer than these, who may, perhaps, be listening for your coming foot-steps, with an anxiety, which none but she can feel,—which she would blush to acknowledge1? Go then to the happy meeting, and may Heaven's choicest blessings be upon you! FAREWELL! 1 MATRICULANTS OF THE COLLEGE. SESSION OF 1860-61. Baker, Elwood.................................Penna. Barnes, Geo. L., Jr...........................Rhode Island. Blakely, W. J...................,..............Penna. Bronson, M. H................................New York. Brown, John,.................................Penna, Brous, J. K...................................Penna. Bumstead, S. J................................Illinois. Bunting, T. C., M. D........................Penna. Blackwood, J. W., M. D....................New Jersey, Chambers, W. C..............................Penna. Cowley, D., M. D.............................Penna. Cropper, T. E.................................Maryland. Detweiler, Isaac C............................Penna. Dudley, Pemberton..........................Penna. Ehrman, F. H..................................Ohio. Fechtig, Geo...................................Maryland. Forvour,' C. D..............................New Jersey. Gifford, G. L...................................New York. Gilchrist, James..............................Penna. Hamilton, W. C...............................Penna. Harris, Sylvanus.............................England. Harbison, W. C, M. D.....................Penna. Hornbarger, Edwin T........................Penna. Jones, Sam'l A................................New York. Kirkpatrick, A.................................New Jersey. Kneas, N. W...................................Penna. Laidlaw, A. H.................................Penna. Lewis, Richard................................Penna Lowry, Chas...................................New York. Maury, A. P...................................Penna. 2 18 McAffee, W. D................................Illinois. McCann, Wm..................................Penna. McAdams, W..................................Penna. Mercer, R. P...................................Penna. Metzger, S. H.................................Penna. Miller, R. E...................................New York. Middleton, C. S...............................Penna. Morrell, J. T...................................Penna. Nichols, F......................................Massachusetts. Nichols, Geo...................................Massachusetts. Pratt, D. R.....................................Penna. Preston, M.....................................Penna. Pulsifer, H. B................................Maine. Rasch, W.......................................Penna. Reed, Jacob, Jr...............................Penna. Riehle, C. B.........................,...........Penna. Rowsey, Thos.................................Ohio. Sheppard, W. R..............................New Jersey. Sharp, A. M...................................Penna. Slough, F. J...................................New Jersey. Sumner, F. F..................................Massachusetts. Staufer, S. S...................................Penna. Struck, D. F...................................Havana. Taylor, R. G...................................Penna. Tipple, R.......................................Penna. Tobin, Chas....................................Connecticut. Troyer, J. Mast...............................Illinois. Wallens, M. W...............................Penna. Weeks, R. D...................................Penna. Wilson, Pusey.................................Delaware. Williamson, W. M., M. D..................Penna. Woolverton, A. A., M. D...................Canada. Wroten, G. W..................................Kentucky. Zantzinger, Alfred............................Penna. GRADUATES OF 1861. At a public Commencement, held in the Musical Fund Hall. March 1st, 1861. the Degree of the College was conferred by Hon. Anson V. Parsons, President, on the followi named gentlemen: Name. Residence. Title of Thesis. Baker, Ellwood...............Pennsylvania.................Rubeola. Blakely, Wm. James...... " .................The Necessity of a General Therapeutic Principle, as Illustrated by the Treat- ment of Asiatic Cholera. Bronson Miles H............New York......................The Comparative and Scientific Merits of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica. Brown, John..................Pennsylvania.................Angina Membranacea. Cropper, Thomas E........Maryland......................Dislocations of the Superior Extremities, and their Modes of Reduction. Detweiler, Isaac C...........Pennsylvania.................The Mouth and Teeth. Dudley, Pemberton......... " .................The Sounds of the Heart. Fechtig, George..............Maryland......................Urethritis Venerea. Hamilton, Wm. C...........Pennsylvania.................Suppuration. Harris, Sylvanus............England.....................Alcoholic Stimulants. Lewis, Richard...............L'ennsylvania.................Phenomena of Labor. Mercer, Robert P........... •' .................Biliary Calculi. Miller, Robert Emmett...Xew York......................Fecundation. Metzger, Samuel H.........Pennsylvania.................Scarlatina. McAffee, Wm. Durham...Illinois..........................The Doctor of Medicine. Nichols, Frank...............Massachusetts................Menstruation. Nichols, George.............. " ................Pathology of the Lymphatics. Pratt, Davis R................Pennsylvania.................Vaccination. Preston, Mahlon............ " .................The Blood and Sanguification. Pulsifer, Horatio B.........Maine..........................The Physiology of Digestion. Riehle, Charles B............Pennsylvania.................Renal Excretion. Sheppard, William R......New Jersey...................Diagnosis of Thoracic Diseases. Troyer, Jacob Mast.........Illinois..........................Provings of Homoeopathy compared with Allopathy. Weeks, Robert D............Pennsylvania.................Scrofulous Ophthalmia. Zantzinger, Alfred......... " .................Compression of the Brain. The Special Degree of the College was conferred on: Ehrman, H. Francis........Ohio.............................. Jones, Samuel A.............New York..................... Kirkpatrick, Alexander...New Jersey................... Laidlaw, Alexander.........Philadelphia.................. Reod, Jacob, Jr...............Philadelphia.................. Struck, D.Felix.............Havana......................... HAHNEMANNIAST MEDICAL INSTITUTE. This Institute was established in the year 1852. It is essentially a society for the benefit of the students attending the lectures of the Homoeopathic Medical College of Pennsyl- vania, and has for its object the reviewing of the Lectures delivered by the Professors of the College. Its commencement is held annually, at the close of the Lectures, on the day preceding that of the College, and the Degree of the Institute is conferred.on those of its members who have complied with the regulations of the College necessary for graduation. ITS GRADUATES OF 1861, ARE: Baker, Ellwood, Blakely, William James, Bronson, Miles H., Brown, John, Cropper, Thomas E., Fechtig, George, Hamilton, William C, Lewis, Richard, McAffee, William D., Mercer, Robert P., Metzger, Samuel H., Miller, Robert Emmett, Pratt, Davis R., Preston, Mahlon, Riehle, Charles, Troyer, Jacob Mast, Zantzinger, Alfred. HONORARY GRADUATES OF 1861 Baker, Joshua T., M. D., Brooks, Silas S., M. D., Ehrman, F. H., M. D., Gardiner, Wm. A., M. D., Jones, Samuel A., M. D., Lee, J. K., M. D., Reed, Jacob, M. D., Starkey, G. R., M. D., Sheppard, Wm. R., M. D., Troyer, Moses, M. D.