IN MEM ORY O F EDOUARD SEGUIN, M. D. BEING REMARKS MADE BY SOME OF HIS FRIENDS AT THE LAY FUNERAL SERVICE HELD OCTOBER 81, 1880 INTRODUCTION 3 Dr. Edouard O. Seguin died on Thursday, October 28, 1880, at his home, No. 58 West 57th Street, New York. His last illness was acute dysentery of about two weeks’ duration. There is every reason to be- lieve that he soon foresaw the fatal issue, as he prepared himself for the end with intelligence and calmness. Dr. Seguin’s last conscious hours were tranquil; no anxiety, or fear, or doubt appeared in his manner and conversation. He passed away peacefully, sur- rounded by those whom he loved. On October 31st a large number of the friends of the deceased assembled at the house of his son, Dr. Edward C. Seguin, and a lay funeral service was held. Addresses on the life and character of Dr. Seguin were made, and it is these loving tributes which are now offered to the same friends in print. The remarks of Dr. Brockett were read by Dr. J. Marion Sims, who also spoke a few words of kindness and affection. 5 6 The ceremony was opened by the following ex- planatory remarks by Dr. E. C. Seguin : My friends : To some of you it may not be known that my dear father, whose memory you honor by coming here, had been a deliberate and consistent free-thinker throughout his adult life. He was not an atheist, but he rejected all religious theories and practices. He worshipped truth and honor, and his life was steadfastly guided by moral principles and love for his fellow-men. While holding -firmly to his philo- sophic ideas of life, he was truly respectful of the faith which others were able to exercise, and he never, to my knowledge, made a deliberate attempt to destroy it in his acquaintances. At the close of such a life, it seemed to his family that to hold a religious service over his remains would be a contradiction. We therefore decided to have a lay service, in which several of my father’s old and dear friends will speak to you of his character and his work with words coming from the heart. remarks by DR. L. P. BROCKETT OF BROOKLYN, N. Y. Among the names inscribed in “ The Angel’s Book of Gold, as those who loved their fellow-men,” there is none more worthy of such record than his, upon whose features, now pale and still, we look for the last time, as we pay him the tribute of love and honor. Engaged for forty-three years in a philanthropic en- terprise of the highest importance, though, so far as he was concerned, wholly unremunerative, Dr. Seguin had held persistently to his great purpose, through evil report and good report, amid obstacles and diffi- culties which would have utterly discouraged most men ; and dedicated his last days, as he had his earliest years of professional life, to the noble work of restor- ing the arrested development of idiot children, and training them up for a life of greater intelligence. In ail this work of so many long years, there was nothing of self-seeking, no itching for notoriety, no complaining or repining at misfortunes and failures, no sourness or bitterness against the world for its want 9 of appreciation of him. He had none of the traits of the philanthropist by profession ; none of the disposi- tion which prompts so many men who imagine that they have done the world some great service, to thrust themselves prominently before the public. He was simply a modest, cultivated and refined gentleman, who never seemed conscious of having done anything remarkable. He was, moreover, one of the most be- nevolent and unselfish of men, and though he could flame out at a white heat at any great wrong or injus- tice done to others, that must have been the most in- timate of his friends who ever heard him allude to any injustice done to himself. His philosophical spirit en- abled him to bear patiently the disappointments, and they were many, which befell his most cherished plans, and to wait patiently and cheerfully for a better oppor- tunity. Edouard Seguin, M.D., was born at Clamecy, depart- ment of Nievre, France, January 20, 1812. He was of excellent family, and his ancestors for several gen- erations had been eminent as physicians, ranking at the head of their profession in the department. Edouard received a very thorough education at the college of Auxerre, and at that of St. Louis in Paris. He then commenced the study of medicine, having the cele- brated Itard for his perceptor, and being subsequently associated with Esquirol, the distinguished psycholo- gist and alienist, in his investigations. He had im- 11 bibed from his preceptor, Itard, a great fondness for psychological studies, and while reviewing Itard’s ap- parently fruitless experiments and efforts for the in- struction of the idiot youth, known as the Savage of Aveyron, his genius led him to the great discoveries which Itard had failed to make, viz. : that idiocy was not the result of deficiency or malformation of the brain or nervous system, but was simply an arrest of mental development, occurring either before, at, or after birth, induced in a variety of ways and by differ- ing causes ; that this arrested development could be overcome by appropriate treatment and the idiot re- stored to society and life, if not to the highest intelli- gence. This restoration, he believed, could be accom- plished by a careful physiological training of all the senses. It is doubtful if Itard was wholly converted to these views, which explained the reason of the fail- ures of Vincent de Paul and others who had attempted, without success, to instruct and improve idiot children ; but Esquirol was so much delighted with them, that he obtained for him the opportunity to make experiments to prove his theories, at the Hospice de Bicetre, and in his first pamphlet associated his own name, already illus- trious, with that of the young physician (1838). Dr. Seguin pursued his experiments with great zeal and persistence, but as they were wholly at his own cost, he maintained himself and his pupils by such general practice of his profession as he could command, and by 12 literary labor, being for several years art critic of one of the leading journals of Paris, and also a vigorous and earnest writer of articles on political and politico- economical subjects. He soon became associated with a coterie of the most brilliant young men who had en- gaged in the literary profession in Paris since the Revo- lution. Among them were Ledru Rollin, Pierre Leroux, Louis Blanc, Michel Chevalier, the elder Flourens, Jean Reynaud, and Victor Hugo who, though somewhat older, was a welcome member of the group. Of this band of brothers, all of whom in after years attained distinction, Edouard Seguin was the youngest, but not, in spite of his modesty, the least brilliant member. They had all accepted the teachings of Saint Simon and his successors, the Pere Enfantin and Olinde Rodrigue, in philosophy and political economy, and were strortg in their faith of the speedy ascendancy of a republic, founded on the principle of the greatest good to the greatest number. Of the whole number, we believe, only Louis Blanc and Victor Hugo now remain. The others have mingled largely in political life, and some of them have achieved a great reputation in literature ; but none have adhered, with so steady a purpose, to the object they had made the work of their lives, as the brilliant, refined and accomplished young physician who was, at that time, endeavoring to rescue from their filth and degradation the idiot children of the Hospice des In- 13 curables and the Hospice de Bicetre. After seven years of this patient work, and the publication of two or three pamphlets on the subject, a commission from the Academy of Sciences of Paris, consisting of Messrs. Serres, Flourens and Pariset in 1844, examined, criti- cally and thoroughly, his method of training and edu- cating idiot children, and reported to the Academy, giving it the highest commendation and declaring that up to the time when he commenced his labors (1837) idiots could not be educated or cured by any means previously known or practised, but that he had solved the problem. His work thus approved by the highest scientific authority, Dr. Seguin continued his philan- thropic labors in Paris for some years, his school being almost constantly visited by teachers and philanthro- pists of his own and other nations, and his methods bearing the test of experience, schools for idiots were established very soon, based upon these methods, in England and several countries of the continent. To aid in this good work he prepared and published in 1846 his great treatise, Traitement Moral, Hygiene, et Education des Idiots, et des autres Enfants arri'eres, which was crowned by the Academy, and which has continued to be the standard text-book for all inter- ested in the education of idiots to the present time. Most of his abundant literary labor during the period between 1839 and 1849 was designed directly or indirectly to benefit his helpless clients, the idiotic children. In ißso, finding that the Prince President, with whom in his humble days he had been associated in republican enterprises, which as Louis Napoleon he now found it convenient to persecute, was bitterly hostile to the friends and associates of his youth, Dr. Seguin came to the United States, visited and aided by his suggestions in the more complete organization of the School for Idiotic Children in South Boston, the Institution for Feeble-Minded Youth at Barre, Mass., and the Experimental School then just being estab- lished by Dr. Wilbur at Albany, all of which owed their existence, wholly or in part, either to his school at the Hospice des Incurables, or to his treatise, or both. In 1851 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he entered upon the general practice of his profession, for which he was eminently qualified. But his heart was too deeply interested for his helpless and unfortunate proteges to permit him to rest without constant and earnest effort for their rescue ; and from ißsq to 1857 we find him at the Syracuse Institution, aiding Dr. Wilbur in teaching and training idiotic children, assist- ing in the establishment of new institutions in Connec- ticut, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and for a time at the head of the latter institution. In ißsy he revisited France, but soon returned to this country. In iB6O he settled again in the practice of his profession at Mount Vernon, N. Y., from whence he removed to New York City in 1863, His thorough knowledge and rare skill in His profession, coupled with his pleasant and engag- ing address, would soon have won for him a large practice either in city or country, but his heart still plead so loudly for the idiot children that he could not give them up. He endeavored to improve the condition of the neglected children of the Idiot Asy- lum at Randall’s Island,and to train teachers for them, visited and noted every step of progress in the various institutions for idiots in the United States, and was constantly in correspondence with European institu- tions. Meanwhile he had been studying the wider application of his “ Physiological Method ” to the education of children in general. This was fore- shadowed in his able and valuable treatise on “ Idiocy and its Treatment by the Physiological Method,” New York, 1866, a work which all teachers would do well to study ; and in his later publications which, though sometimes on professional topics, yet show conclu- sively the bent of his intellect toward the favorite topic of education. Among his later works are ; “ Idiocy, its Diagnosis and Treatment by the Physiological Method,” read before the New York State Medical Society in 1864 ; “ New Facts and Remarks Concerning Idiocy” (1869); “ Wunderlich’s Medical Thermometry, with large addi- tions,” in 1871, followed by “ Family Thermometry, a Manual of Thermometry” in 1873, and a large and admirable treatise on “ Medical Thermometry and Human Temperature ” in 1876. In connection with this subject it should be stated that in 1871 Dr. Seguin invented a medical, or, as he called it, physiological thermometer, making his zero at the normal tempera- ture of health, which deserves to be substituted for the Fahrenheit or Centigrade in every physician’s pocket- case, and in the hands of every mother and nurse. Still later came his report as special educational com- missioner to the Vienna Exposition, mainly on creches, infant asylums, institutions for deaf-mutes, the blind, idiots and imbeciles, and homes for the aged and in- firm in all parts of Europe. This report is one of the ablest and most searching documents in regard to these institutions ever published; a new edition has been called for and published recently at Milwaukee. Its only defect is that the doctor’s English is somewhat obscured by French idioms. His French is always admirable. For four or five years past he has interested himself greatly in the universal introduction of the metric sys- tem into medical practice as a means of inducing greater uniformity of practice, more intelligible hospi- tal reports, and a greater measure of success, and has crossed the Atlantic three or four times as a delegate from the American Medical Association to the Inter- national Medical Congress, and as an officer of the latter. He had this object much at heart, as a means 17 of alleviating human suffering by a more full, careful, and uniform registry of symptoms and cases all over Christendom ; and, as in all his philanthropical enter- prises, he performed all its duties and journeyings at his own expense. He had also plead most pathetically for an extension ot the Kindergarten system to open- air schools in our parks during the favorable season. Hut the ruling principle was strong to the last. One of his latest publications, which has been widely circulated in England and France as well as in this country, was his illustrated pamphlet entitled, “ Psycho- Physiological Training of an Idiotic Hand and of an Idiotic Eye,” a report of a deeply interesting case which had been under his training for several years, and his most recent act in this connection was the es- tablishment, under the joint supervision of Mrs. Seguin and himself, of a physiological day training school in New York City for feeble-minded children and their nurses and teachers. This was just beginning to prove a success when he was called away. He was not yet sixty-nine years of age, and we had fondly hoped that there was yet a long period of usefulness before him, but it was not to be. While apparently in his usual health, a sudden cold brought on dysenteric symptoms, accompanied with extreme exhaustion, and he died after thirteen days’ illness. Dr. Seguin had been twice married; by his first mar- riage he had one son, Dr. Edward C. Seguin. His second wife survives him and will continue his work. Leaving to others, to whom it more appropriately be- longs, the sad but loyal duty of giving expression to their admiration of his work as a teacher, philanthro- pist, and philosopher, it only remains for me, who had known him most intimately in the beauty of his private and social life, and his wide intellectual culture, to speak briefly of these topics, and especially of those traits which endeared him so greatly to his friends, and bound him to them “ as with hooks of steel.” His philanthropy was genuine and pervaded his whole nature. He loved his fellow-men intensely, be- cause he saw through all their misfortunes, their weak- ness, deformities, and disabilities, the capacity for a higher and better life than they were then leading, and he desired to help them to attain to it. There was nothing morbid, nothing sour, nothing selfish, in his philanthropy, as there is in so much of what passes under that name. He was a man of indomitable patience and forbear- ance. The blunders, the follies, even the malice of those whom he sought to help, never moved or dis- couraged him. No impatient word, no complaint ever escaped his lips, at any wrong done to him. The nearest approach to it, and that very rarely, and under the strongest provocation, was that slight shrug of the shoulders, so characteristic of his nationality. He wras always and under all circumstances a gentle- man, courteous, manly, and brave; yet gentle and 19 tender as a woman. Like his countryman, the Chev- alier Bayard, he was a knight, sans peur et sans reproche. His private life was pure, and without spot or blemish. No public man of our century has main- tained a more spotless reputation. The unselfishness of the man was one of the most remarkable traits of his character. He was the most truly generous man it was ever my good fortune to know, and his generosity was not the lavish expendi- ture of the careless spendthrift, who flings away his money when he has it, and grumbles when it is gone; on the contrary, it was deliberate, calculated, and often involved serious personal sacrifice of comfort and con- venience, which he gladly suffered, if, thereby, he could make any one whom he loved, happier, or give them an additional hour of enjoyment. For himself, his per- sonal wants were few and easily satisfied ; but for his friends or his work, nothing was too liberal which might give others pleasure, and delight his own aesthet- ic taste, in their surprise and admiration. These gifts were not bestowed, as a rule, upon those who were able to return them in kind ; indeed, nothing distressed him so much as to have gifts of value sent him in return ; very often, they were bestowed upon the humble and lowly, in whose minds he desired to cultivate the love of the beautiful. No man could have been more loyal to his friends, than was he. His friendships were not lightly formed ; 20 and though sometimes he might have been deceived in regard to the fidelity and loyalty of those whom he had taken to his heart, no one who had enjoyed his friendship was ever deceived in him. His fidelity and courage in defending those whom he loved against all assaults, was an exemplification of his loyal manliness. When he was assailed or abused personally (and there were few so base as to attempt that), he bore it patiently ; but let any one assail a dear friend of his, and it aroused all the combativeness of his nature. He was always solicitous for the comfort and welfare of his friends, never careful of his own. The most appropriate and truthful inscription on his monument would be, “ He loved others better than himself.” This loyalty and devotion to those whom he loved made him a model husband and father. We may not draw aside the sacred veil which envelopes the home now so desolate, in the loss of its head and hus- band ; but I am sure that all who knew our deceased friend well, will agree with me that in the tender care and eager solicitude of his loving heart no sacrifice was too great, no labor too arduous, which might help to preserve the life and health or advance the intellec- tual culture of that son, whom we recognize to-day as well worthy to maintain the honored name so long upborne in the medical profession on both sides of the Atlantic. Often called to encounter severe and crushing disap- 21 pointments, and, perhaps oftener still, in these later years, to suffer sharp physical pain, our dear friend has often excited our admiration by , the calm philosophy with which he met the former, and the heroic fortitude with which he endured the latter. More than once have we seen his lips white with anguish, and the manifest tokens of physical suffering on face and brow, yet no moan, no word, no tell-tale gesture even, re- vealed his physical distress, and he discussed some philosophical topic as calmly as if he was perfectly at ease. Only repeated questioning brought at last the reluctant admission, that he was “ somewhat ill.” In all the relations of life, he was ever self-sacri- ficing, generous, thoughtful of the wishes, and mindful of the interests and feelings of others, eminently loyal and true to those whom he loved, and courteous and considerate even to those who endeavored to injure him. And yet these lovable and gentle traits were combined with a lofty courage and a chivalric spirit, which would not tolerate or succumb to wrong-doing, even in the highest places of power. He was not a dough-face, not in any sense a weak or easily-moulded man ; and these decided and positive traits in his character only made his gentleness the more ad- mirable. Intellectually, I think Dr. Seguin was underrated by the profession, and his casual acquaintances in literary circles. This was mainly due to his extreme modesty. 22 His mind was essentially philosophic in its character. He had, even in his earliest published writings, a marked tendency to grasp great principles, and de- velop them in all their bearings. His great discovery and unfolding, when but twenty-five years of age, of the fundamental cause of idiocy, and of its proper mode of treatment, a discovery which had escaped the most astute intellects of the preceding centuries, is a case in point. Yet this discovery lay on his mind so perfectly formulated, that the terms in which it was stated in 1837 are the terms in use to-day. His sub- sequent extension of this idea to the instruction of the young generally, by “ the physiological method,” a work to the illustration of which he has devoted some of the best years of his life, seems to me the greatest discovery in the methods of education since the time of Aristotle, and, if given to the world, as he hoped to give it, will win for its author a far higher place than that occupied by Pestalozzi or the Moravian Bishop Comenius. Time would fail to allude to many other evidences of his remarkable powers as a thinker and educator ; but these must suffice. His scholarship was extensive, and in some direc- tions profound. He was well up in the literature of most of the continental countries, as well as of that of Great Britain and the United States ; in classical liter- ature and the classics generally, he was thoroughly at home ; in all art matters he was a connoisseur ; he had 23 made the subject of philanthropic enterprises a pro- found study, as is evident in his “ Life of J. R. Pereire.” He was greatly the superior, in genius and fertility of resource, of the founders of other charities, such as Haiiy, De TEpee, Sicard, and Braidwood, and in the work to which he devoted his life, lived to see greater results than any of them. He had won distinction also, in early life, as a poet, and a writer of more ephemeral, but graceful literature. His style in French is admirable, classic, and polished ; never turgid or diffuse. Although he wrote much in English, in later life, it was almost to him, in some sense, a foreign lan- guage, and he could never quite overcome those French idioms, which marred the elegance, though they did not impair the ability of his writings. But we must close. Philosopher, scholar, philan- thropist, and, above all, loving friend and brother, as we look for the last time on that noble face, now still in death, with the blinding tears chasing each other down our cheeks, we bid thee hail and farezvell! REMARKS BY DR. H. B. WILBUR OF SYRACUSE, N. Y 25 In the year 1847, I saw, in a number of Chambers’s Journal, an account of a visit, by one of its correspon- dents, to a school for training idiots, in Paris, in charge of Edouard Seguin. It attracted attention, because, up to a very recent time, the class in question had been regarded as beyond the reach of any efforts at im- provement. But here was one who had overleaped the barriers of this out-cast class ; who had not only opened a new field of educational effort, but had been working it, for a decade, with both brain and hand, and with such success as to obtain a wide public recogni- tion of his labors. From the very start, it was an ex- periment in psychology as well as philanthropy, and was marked by the enthusiasm and persistence that such a combination would naturally beget. Not long after, as I now remember, I met in one or more numbers of a British medical journal a very glowing account of a professional visit to the same class written by an appreciative hand. It was the 27 28 work of Dr. Conolly, one of the princes of British philanthropy. These papers were my first inspiration in what has proved to be with me a life occupation. Nor did my personal indebtedness to Dr. Seguin stop here. When my purpose, thus originating, had ripened into a defi- nite plan for starting a similar institution in America, I sent abroad an order for any books treating upon the subject of the training and education of idiots. In reply to this unlimited order, I got only a single book; namely, the volume published in 1846 by my deceased friend. As showing the want this book then filled in medi- cal literature, and the completeness with which it met that want, I may mention in passing, that I remember seeing an autograph letter from the late Pope, Pius IX, thanking the author for the service he had thus rendered to mankind. And justly might this be said of a book that not only gave the assurance that idiots could be educated, but gave in all their details the admirable methods by which this had been and could be accomplished ; and this in the face of the firm traditions of the medical profession. For, the great “ Dictionnaire de Medecine," published in 1837, had described idiocy as “ an absence of mental and effective faculties, and an almost com- plete nullity of the cerebral functions and further on, in the same article, says : “ It is useless to attempt to 29 combat idiotism. In order that the intellectual exer- cise might be established, it would be necessary to change the conformation of organs which are beyond the reach of all modification.” To try to raise, above their degradation, these victims of traditional miscon- ception and neglect, and then to demand in their behalf social recognition of their capacities and their needs was an intelligent heroism sure to act recipro- cally in moulding the man into fitness for his life- work.* When I had mastered this book, with it came the desire to hold communication with its author, whose traits of character were seen in its very tone and style. I wrote to a friend in Paris to learn his address. I received only the reply “ that he had disappeared from Paris, and that his present residence was un- known.” Some three years later, he surprised me with a visit, having accidentally heard of the institution of which * That I did not unduly exalt the capacity and early services to the cause of idiots of my friend will be seen from the following passage. It is extracted from a paper by Voisin read before the Royal Academy of Medicine, in Paris, in 1843 : “ While we are speaking of the men who have occupied themselves with idiots, we should not fail to mention here, with some distinction, M. Seguin, whom M. Ferrus and myself were so very fortunate as to recommend to the esteem and favor of the council-general of hospitals, and who was therefore appointed director of our idiot asylum at Bicetre. Endowed with an energetic character, full of capacity, a good observer, and with his whole time at com- mand, he has all the qualifications for this special work, and, at the same time, rendering a service to science and humanity. “ Already in 1838, and since, he has published the results of his efforts in behalf of a certain number of pupils, whose condition he has favorably modi- fied. His studies, during a later period, are entirely unique, and I trust that their publication by him will not long be delayed, and I do not doubt that the time is not far distant, when he will be entitled by his psychological contribu- tions to take a distinguished rank among his cotemporaries.” 30 I had the charge. Then I learned the history of his movements. The revolution of 1848 found him an earnest re- publican, and intimately associated with a band of brilliant young men, who gave tone and character to the revolutionary movements. But, with prophetic instinct, our departed friend seems to have anticipated the “ Great Crime,” as it has been termed by Victor Hugo, and to have distrusted the character and pro- fessions of him who proved to be its arch perpetrator. At all events, he thought he saw no hope of future freedom of thought or action in France, and so, with his wife and young son, he sought a refuge in a land of free institutions. Arriving on our shores, and ignorant of the welcome that might have awaited him at the hands of those who knew something of his labors, and who were at- tempting kindred efforts on this side of the water, he hurried West and settled in Ohio. Some four years later, he came to Syracuse, and spent the winter with me, rendering me invaluable service by his counsel, and inspiring my assistants by his enthusiasm, The impress he left behind there was, perhaps, two- fold. While these abnormal-born, who were submitted to our care, were susceptible, to a certain degree, of classification, and so, to a measure, of class influences, class training, in a prescribed way, they were also to be individualized, and receive, each in turn, special training for special needs. Again, that as the prime cause of the abnormal con- dition of the pupils was a physiological defect or in- firmity, the remedy must be in accord with physio- logical requirements ; in other words, in what he called a physiological education. While at Syracuse, at the invitation of the late Bishop Potter, of Pennsylvania, and other members of the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania School for Idiots, he accepted the post of superintendent of that institution. There he remained but a short time, on account of circumstances which need not be men- tioned at this time. He then returned to his profes- sional work in Ohio. But an invalid wife, with the seeds of an incurable infirmity about her, and whose desire for health prompted a changing residence, including two or more voyages to Europe, prevented his return, for years, to a work with which his name will always be associated. It was only lately, in his old age, that he returned with renewed enthusiasm to the labors of his youth. From the hour of my first interview with him, now nearly thirty years ago, there grew a friendship be- tween us. It was cemented by periods when, for months at a time, we were together in the most inti- mate daily intercourse. It was kept warm and fresh till now, by frequent meetings at other times—a friend- 32 ship in which, to-day, I feel a pride, and which will prevent me from giving on this occasion, a fitting or unbiassed estimate of the many admirable qualities of my departed friend. In our first acquaintance, I learned much of his early history and surroundings. The son of a physician, or rather a line of physicians of local reputation, in Burgun- dy, and naturally of quick intellect, he grew up, not only developing early, but with that intuitive faculty and precision of observation that the hereditary bias and his early family life tended to encourage. His ulti- mate breadth of knowledge and his varied acquire- ments seemed to me to have been a natural growth from this root in an evidently judicious home-train- ing. At an early day, he was sent to Paris for his aca- demic training. Transplanted to that city, one of the great centres of modern civilization, his education pro- gressed rapidly. Amid its various activities, in an age of scientific investigation, when all traditional opinions were brought to the test of human reason, in short, with surroundings that were a constant stimulus to his restless mind, and with companions of similar instincts, he soon manifested qualities that attracted the atten- tion of some of the leading minds in our profession. This led to his selection to manage an experiment, at the Bicetre Hospital, in Paris, to test a new problem in mental science ; namely, as to what could be ac- 33 complished by the systematic training of the long neg- lected class of idiots. Itard and Esquirol, and the other scientists inter- ested, saw that the inquiry went beyond its immediate object. It had correlations that, from an educational point of view, were far-reaching. He entered upon the work with enthusiasm. There he toiled, till there grew, little by little, a system— principles and methods—which has been the guide of all later labors in the same direction, the world over. Nor were his labors unappreciated. Successive commissions, governmental and scientific, bore hearty testimony to his marvellous success. Nor was his pen idle in these years of daily toil, in the midst of the for- lorn and discouraging objects of his interest. In fact, it had never been idle. For, while yet a student, he had written criticisms in literature and art for some of the public journals ; and monographs exist that show that he had wrought in some untraversed fields of hu- man thought. But now it was employed in a nobler work. By it were sown the seeds that have yielded fruits in the establishment of institutions for idiots in al- most every civilized nation. In after years, when for a time he was constrained to abandon his early devotion to the education of idiots, his restless energy sought relief in the advocacy of other measures, of which I have not the time to 34 speak. He travelled widely in this country, and crossed the ocean frequently to press, before national and international assemblages, the claims of measures that were essential, in his judgment, to the welfare of mankind. A ruling thought with him was to bring all members of the medical profession, the world over, into one school; pursuing the same lines of investigation, using the same instruments of observation, the same nomen- clature, and the same methods and symbols of record. In short, to make any local advancement in medical science the common property of the world. Never a robust man, and for years subject to periods of depressing disease, his energy and his strength never seemed to fail when the demand came for their exercise. His wide range of reading—something quite mar- vellous—as well as his keenness of observation, not only gave him great power of illustration of the topics of which he wrote and spoke, but acted as constant incentives to new fields of labor. His manner, inter- esting before an audience from its simple earnestness, secured a willing entrance to the minds of his hearers « for any subject which he advocated. However, his influence was less marked on the platform than in the society of educated men. For, as a conversationalist, he was ready, interesting, and suggestive. He had travelled widely and observed closely. He was famil- 35 iar, too, with so many forms of national and social life ; and, with his receptive nature entering into the very spirit of them all, that he could not be otherwise. In this hasty estimate of the man, I should do in- justice to my own feelings if I failed to speak of him in his domestic and social relations. As a husband and father, as companion and friend, he was loyal beyond expression ; not only affectionate, but every way considerate. I recall a thousand in- stances, in word and deed, of these qualities in him toward me and mine, in years gone by. I know, by conduct and conversation, how his heart went out toward those associated with him in his life-work or any other field of science or philanthropy. I know how just and appreciative he was of the kindred labors of others. His very handwriting awakens the memories of kindly and affectionate messages, embalmed in an apt- ness and subtlety of expression that gave them a per- petual fragrance. Thoroughly independent in his opinion, and with a great capacity for indignation, when moved by social wrongs or political injustice, he could be tolerant of the views of others, however warmly expressed. I especially remember the great respect he uniformly showed for the deep religious convictions of some of those with whom, for a long time, he was intimately associated. 36 Standing here by the cold body that was so lately animated by the earnest and loving spirit of our de- parted friend, I recall his many rare and lovable traits of character, and, more vividly than all else, his home- life. Fond of literature and art, fond of plants and ani- mals, devoted to children, enjoying all forms of social intercourse, and yet he would break away from all allurements, when occasion called—and occasions were seldom wanting—to resume any prescribed work that pointed toward the improvement of his race. I think I see him now seated at his desk, writing and rewriting and then writing again, for he was an unsparing critic of his own literary productions, till his thought found adequate expression. Alas! he will occupy that chair no longer ; that ever over-active brain is now at rest. But he has left behind a worthy record, in original thought and investigation, in needed science to man- kind, fitly and faithfully done, and in a considerate and hearty fulfilment of every social duty. My own illness prevented me being with him in his last hours, but I come now with heartfelt sorrow to lay this humble tribute of my respect and affection beside the wreaths that other friends may offer, REMARKS BY DR. GEORGE BROWN OF BARRE, MASS. 37 After the eloquent and just tribute to the departed now made by Dr. Wilbur and Dr. Brockett, it would seem proper that I shall be excused at this time from any extended remarks, but my heart incites me to add, in this impromptu manner, my expressions of personal respect always for more than twenty-five years enter- tained toward Dr. Seguin. He was my early teacher, through his book upon the education of idiots, and he was my personal and dear friend, whose counsel it was my happiness on many occasions to follow to good issues, and as I stand here in the presence of this inanimate body, I do not feel that he has ceased to be my monitor and my influences but by his precepts and teachings I shall always, while reason is mine, have a steady and strong inspiration for my chosen work of educating the unfor- tunate class of feeble-minded youths. His friendship and I am sure his love were freely shown toward myself and mine, creating an enthusiasm in me to strive and to attain success in our Institution. 39 40 His piquant sayings shadowing the deepest phil- osophical principles ; his pleasant, polite manners show- ing his love of imparting knowledge to any and all the race ; his generosity of nature, and his love of the right always, and his detestation of the wrong ; his exquisite taste for the refinements of life in the arts, and the un- ravelling of the sciences in their abstract and obscure elements,—all these are qualities and reasons why I should say to-day and here that I loved him—shall sadly miss him hereafter. He could and did show the relation of one methodical thought and movement with another, thus leading to permanence in education. He showed that all intellectual progress is the gradual unfolding of all the powers of the mind, what- ever those powers may be, whether central or periph- eral, forming an original and perfect union. Dr. Seguin, in the strictest sense, was a gentleman of self-control, and deepest and joyful enthusiasm fed by great principles and profound meditation, even as the deepest green of the leaf and the stateliest growth of the trunk grow up from roots that shoot far down into a strong black mould of earth. And although he may now have ceased to address us more in vocal tones, his influence for the good of the unfortunate and de- pendent ones will never cease to remotest time. Dr. Brockett, of Brooklyn, the author of the bio- graphical sketch I have just heard, was the warm per- sonal friend of Dr. Seguin for nearly a third of a cen- tury, and he has here briefly and tersely set forth the life-work and character-traits of his friend. Dr. Seguin did not willingly leave his native coun- try. Politically associated with the leading radicals of his day, he would have suffered their lot of expatri- ation if he had remained till the bursting of the storm that swept so many into exile. He left his beloved France with regret, with a mental protest against the political tendencies of the time, but with the hope that he might find a field of usefulness in our country. He came at an opportune moment, for he had a mis- sion to fulfil of which he knew not. And he is not the only political foreign exile who, landing on the shores of the New World, has found a field ready for the reaper. Thus we see that seeming misfortunes are often only blessings in disguise. Dr. Brockett has shown us how he was instru- mental in establishing schools for idiots in various parts of our country, which are living, working monu- ments of his life-long labors. All of these here and all of those in the old country had their origin directly or indirectly in the labors of Dr. Seguin in teaching idiot children in the Hospice des Incurables in Paris. The founder and father of this great philanthropic move- ment lies here dead, but his works live after him. For these beneficent institutions must necessarily mul- tiply in proportion to our growth in population, and each new one will attest the value of his labors. 42 Much has been accomplished in this direction in our country in the last twenty years, and greater things will be done in the next fifty. Without Seguin this great monument could not have been. Without Seguin thousands of children would to-day be drivelling idiots, who are now, thanks to his modest labors in the Hospice des Incurables, raised in intellectual status and made happy in their institutional life. REMARKS BY DR. J. MARION SIMS OF NEW YORK I have not known Dr. Seguin as long as some of you, but I have known him long enough to learn his noble traits of character ; long enough to love him as well as any of you do, and to mourn him as sincerely. In 1876 he singled me out to aid him abroad in his work of uniformity in medicine, in the metric system, in thermometry, etc. I told him I was not the man he wanted. But he insisted that I was, and would not let me off. He was so modest, so diffident of his own powers that I came in to supplement his labors by bringing such men to his assistance as he would designate to me. I was simply his servant to do his bidding, and I was never happier than in serving him. But I could have been of no use to him if his views had not commanded the attention and convinced the judgment of those whom he wished as coadjutors. The metric system and uniformity in thermometry will some day be universally adopted by the pro- fession, and this desired result will be due to the labors of Seguin. 45 46 Dr. Seguin had the energy and the enthusiasm of youth in the study of medicine. The very day before he was struck down with his mortal illness he came to see me. Perhaps this was the last visit he ever made to a brother practitioner. He came to show me a new and ingenious device for applying the vapor of chloro- form to the cervix uteri for the temporary relief of excessive pain in dysmenorrhoea. I believe his in- vention a valuable one, and I intend to try it and report it to the profession. We find no long string of honorary titles at- tached to the name of Edouard Seguin,—and why ? Because his modesty forbade his friends to obtain them. Governments abroad do not bestow decora- tions on the most meritorious, unless friends set forth in strong terms the nature and value of labors that would justify it. Universities and colleges do not confer honorary titles on any man, till his friends move in the matter and set his claims to such distinction clearly before them. If Seguin had been desirous of such distinctions, he could have had them easily, for his work was of the highest order. There is more to live for in this world than the ac- cumulation of riches. How fortunate for humanity that Seguin was not a devotee to mammon. Money- hoarding is wholly incompatible with such labors as his. It is said that he died poor ; but he leaves a heritage to science and humanity worth more than millions in gold. That man is rich who by his labors enriches the world s charities. Judged by this stand- ard, no millionnaire who has died amongst us lately was richer than Edouard Seguin. A LIST OF DR. SEGUIN’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO MEDICAL LITERATURE. 49 1839. Resume de ce que nous avons fait pendant quatorze mois. Esquirol et Seguin, Paris. 1839. Conseils aM.O. . . . sur /’ education de son enfant idiot. Paris. 1842. The'orie et pratique de /' e'ducation des idiots. Lemons aux jeunes idiots de 1’ hospice des Incurables. Premiere partie, Paris. 1843. Idem, seconde partie. 1843. Hygiene et Education des idiots. Annales d’ hygiene et de medecine legale. Paris. 1846. Images graduees a /’ usage des enfants arrieres et idiots. Paris. 1846. Traitement moral, hygiene, et education des idiots. j. B. Bailliere, Paris, pp. 734. 1847. Jacob Rodrigue Pereire, premier instituteur des sourds et muets en France. Paris, pp. 355. 1852. Historical notice of the origin and progress of the treatment of idiots. Translated by Dr. J. S. Newberry, Cleveland, O. 1864. Idiocy : its diagnosis and treatment by the physio- logical method. Translated by Dr. L. P. Brockett, Albany, 1866. Idiocy and its treatment by the physiological method. Revised by Dr. E. C. Seguin. William Wood & Co., New York, pp. 457. 1870. New facts and remarks concerning idiocy. New York, pp. 44. 1871. Medical thermometry and human temperature. By C. A. Wunderlich and Edward Seguin. William Wood & Co., New York, pp. 280. 1873. Family thermometry : a manual of thermometry for mothers, nurses, etc. Geo. P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 1873. Case of scarlatina, showing the importance of fam- ily thermometry. In Brown-Sequard’s Archives of Scientific and Practical Medicine, No. 2, Feby., 1873, New York, 1875. Report on education. Vienna International Ex- hibition, 1873. Washington, pp. 137. 1876. Medical thermometry and human temperature. William Wood & Co., New York, pp. 446. 1879. Psycho-physiological training of an idiotic hand. Archives of Medicine, New York, vol. ii, p. 149. 1880. Psycho-physiological training of an idiotic eye. Archives of Medicine, New York, vol. iv, p. 217. 1880. Report on education. Second edition. Mil- waukee, pp. 215. 1865-77. Prescription and clinic records. Mathematical .tables of vital signs.