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       A DISCOURSE
DELIVERED
AT THE  OPENING OF THE
MEDICAL   INSTITUTION
GENEVA COLLEGE, STATE OF NEW-YORK,
FEBRUARY 10, 1835.
" Indoeti discant, ament meminisse periti."
Let the unskilful learn, and the learned improve their recollection.
                 /
BY EDWARD CUTBUSH, M. D.    X>*r£<?
      PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY..
         GENEVA:
PRINTED BY JOHN GREVES & Co.
           1835. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE.
                                            Geneva Medical College, February 13,1835.
  Dear Sir:  In behalf of the Students of the Medical Department of Geneva College, we take
this opportunity to express the high estimation in which we hold your very excellent  Address
delivered introductory to the course of Medical Lectures in this Institution.  AVe are fully con-
vinced that its publication would be productive of the most beneficial results to the Institution
which has the honor of numbering among its faculty so venerable and highly talented a professor.
  With sentiments of the utmost respect and esteem, we request a copy for publication; believing
that, coming before the public in this manner, it would still further subserve the cause for which
it was so admirably adapted.
  Please to accept our sincere wishes for the improvement and continuance of your health during
the exercise of your arduous duties,
                          While we remain, with affection and esteem,
                                                 Your obedient servants,
                                                             A. S. BALDWIN,
                                                             O. P. GEER,
                                  Committee in behalf of the Students of the Medical  College.
    To EDWARD CUTBUSH, M. D.
                                                           Geneva, February 20,1835.
To A. S. Baldwin and O. P. Geer, Committee, &c.
    Gentlemen : I had the honor to receive yours of the 13th inst., in behalf of the Students of
the Medical Department of Geneva College, with your highly flattering opinion of my address,
delivered at the opening of the medical school; and your request that a copy may be furnished for
publication.  I feel sensibly this mark of your friendship, and consent to the publication, if you
think that it will benefit the medical school.
                                               Very respectfully,
                                                       I remain your servant,
                                                                    E. CUTBUSH. 
 
DISCOURSE.
    I rise, gentlemen, to address you on this  important occasion.
 We have assembled under a deep responsibility to the public and to
 yourselves.   The  establishment  of  a new medical institution, is a
 subject particularly interesting to the friends of medical science, not
 only in this section of our country, but in the United States ; as it is
 probable that many, who may  receive their medical education in this
 institution, may be called to exercise their profession in distant pla-
 ces, or to fill important stations in the navy or army of our country.
 Regarding the rising generation as the growing hopes of our country,
 I am  sure that you will ardently wish success to  our undertaking.
 To educate  young men,  that they may become eminently qualified
 to fill the vacancies which may occur in the different districts of our
 country,  ornaments to society and a blessing  to their fellow-crea-
 tures, I trust will meet with your approbation and  cordial support.
 As the population  of  this section of country has advanced with so
 much rapidity, a necessity appears to have been created of extend-
 ing the benefits of  education, not only in the various branches of lite-
 rature, but in that science which teaches  to administer the balm of
 comfort to those who labor under the infirmities of age, or subject
 to the diseases incident to human nature.
   It  is generally admitted that the time has arrived when it  is no
 longer necessary for young men of this section of our country, who
 have chosen  the medical profession for their  future  usefulness  in
 society, to travel to distant places to  acquire instruction.   With the
 progress of population, two medical institutions have been establish-
 ed in this state, and the time is  not  far distant when similar institu-
 tions may become  necessary in many other places ;  and why should
 they not be established wherever they may be required and compe-
 tent instruction afforded 2  No institution  has the prescriptive  right
 to retard the progress of  science.*
    " Medicina respublica est, non autcm monarchia, multo minus tyrannus."—Baglivi.
   Within my own  recollection, there  was but one medical institution
 of established reputation in the  United States, which commenced
under the fostering care of Dr. William Shippen, a pupil of the
celebrated anatomist,  Hunter ; he laid  the  foundation of that
           * Great opposition being made to prevent this establishment. 
6
 school with only nine pupils, and when I attended  it, in 1790, the
 number did not exceed eighty, which now annually enumerates with-
 in its walls, from four to five hundred students.  With the advance-
 ment of the  population of the  United States and the seeds which
 were sown by my medical alma mater, the number of regular institu-
 tions have been increased to seventeen or eighteen ; and, notwith-
 standing  this number,  it has  been justly  remarked  that,  " until
 medical schools are more extensively established through the coun-
 try, many who enter on the profession must  necessarily be deprived
 of the privileges of a regular education;" and  I am sorry  to add,
 notwithstanding the facilities of late afforded, that there are many
 practitioners of medicine, who have never heard a public lecture or
 seen a demonstration in anatomy.  There is  no  country, probably,
 except the United States, where public opinion tolerates the exercise
 of a profession without a competent education.
   Should  the institution flourish, which we open this day, how grati-
 fying may be the thought that young men,  educated within these
 walls,  may, probably, at some  future period, erect the standard of
 science in those distant  parts of  our country which  are now enve-
 loped in intellectual darkness,  and  carry  with them the means of
 arresting the  progress of disease.  To prepare you,  gentlemen, for
 this  important duty of taking charge of the health and lives of our
 fellow-men, a course of regular, systematic study must be adopted;
 and  to facilitate your instruction, the courses  of lectures which have
 been decided on in this institution, though  open to future improve-
 ment, will include
   Anatomy and Physiology,
   The Principles and Practice of Surgery,
   Materia Medica and Botany,
   Obstetrics,
   Medical Jurisprudence or Forensic Medicine,
   Chemistry, and the
   Institutes and Practice of Medicine.
   On these branches of education permit me to make a few general
 remarks, in which we may view the boundaries of medicine.  Boun-
 daries, did I say ?   I retract it;—it is not confined to bounds :  the
 woods, the waters, and the bowels of the earth, if carefully explored,
 may yet furnish remedies for those diseases which have been ranked
 as incurable, or we may still improve in the application of those
which we  already possess, by keeping pace with the advances which
 are daily making in the various branches of medical science.   " Be-
fore  the man  of genius, the  field of discovery  enlarges ;"  but to 
7
apply remedies with success, you must become acquainted with the
parts  of the human system on which they will efficiently operate.
This knowledge presupposes an acquaintance with anatomy, physi-
ology, and pathology, and, of course,  the various textures of the
body.   You must know what constitutes health ; what  are the dis-
eases to which the  body is  exposed—the seat, the cause, and the
symptoms ;  the difference between organic and functional derange-
ment ;  and  learn to apply, with skill,  judgment and firmness, the
remedies best adapted to restore the lost balance of the  general sys-
tem.   To  enable  you to do  this,  is founded the division of your
studies.
                          ANATOMY
   May be considered the pedestal on which the sublime superstruc-
ture  of medical science and surgery is to be raised.  He who is
deficient in the minutiae of structure, and the functions which a part
is destined  to  perform, cannot be considered  a  good surgeon: he
may be a bold, mechanical operator, and sometimes a successful one,
but unless he be  intimately  acquainted with the parts in a healthy
and diseased state ;  unless, indeed, he knows how, when, where, and
to what extent, to apply his knife, he is not entitled to the name of
a surgeon in  its modem  acceptation.   It has been truly remarked,
by one well acquainted with the minutiae of anatomy, that " the sur-
geon's  knife may give health or death within the space of a hair's
breadth."
   I cannot do better, on the present occasion, than to quote a para-
graph from an introductory lecture delivered sixty-nine years  since,
on the  establishment of the  medical school in Philadelphia, which
embraces my ideas of the importance of anatomy.  " It is anatomy
that guides the doubtful step of the young votary of medicine through
an obscure labyrinth, where a variety of minute objects present
themselves  in such a group as, at first, to perplex his  imagination.
It is  anatomy which unravels the first  difficulties in his pursuit; it
lays open to his view the diversity of parts ; their combination, dis-
position, subordination and movements.  These, however intricate
they may appear, all concur to establish the most perfect harmony
in the human frame, which the attentive inquirer finds from anatomy
to be created with the most geometrical exactness, according to laws
prescribed by unerring wisdom."   If anatomy,  at that period, was
considered of so much importance to the student, what shall we say
at the present day, in which the progress of science has unfolded the
various textures or  tissues of which  the human system  is made up, 
8
 and their distinctive characters.  Bischat may be said to have unra-
 velled the animal economy, and enlightened every branch of medical
 science.  By means of minute anatomical demonstrations, the vari-
 ous parts of the animal body are philosophically traced; the animal
 econqmy is unfolded, the causes of life and death are examined, and
 alj the organs, their actions or functions, and. their mutual depend-
 ence, each upon the other, investigated ; in short, he taught his dis-
 ciples the organized elements of man.  This examination of the mi-
 nute structure of bodies, has likewise been extended to comparative
 anatomy.   Many individuals  have been  engaged in exploring the
 animal system, with a degree of talent, industry, and success, before
 unknown.  Those who take a deep interest in this branch of science,
 would dq well to consult Cuvieb ; his works present numerous ob-
 servations on the structure of the different classes of animals.  In
 the course of your studies, you will be led to admire the brilliancy of
 illustration which has of late been shed upon the elementary princi-
 ples of the animal machine, the laws of combination and the various
 changes  connected Avith the functions of vitality.   In the study of
 physiology and pathology, exists the.foundation of all medical doc-
 trines ; from these arise the theory, or, if I may so term it, the phi-
 losophy of the art.   Without a proper knowledge of these branches
 of science, it is impossible to draw a safe conclusion of the origin pf
 the symptoms of disease, or apply the proper  remedies.  It is  by
 the. light of physiology and pathology that we  discover the  pheno-
 mena of health and  disease ; by.these, the physician analyzes, if I
 may be allowed the expression, the pause and symptoms of diseases,
 and  by this  knowledge  he is known from the empiric, who, it must
 be acknowledged, often acquires reputation and even wealth: this,
however, must be ascribed to the credulity of mankind; hence it has
been said that " Quacks  are the greatest liars  in the  world, except
their patients,  who exaggerate the cures."  Be this as it may, the
more you know, gentlemen, of the minutiae of anatomy, physiology,
and pathology, by so much the more will you acqujre a pre-eminence
 in your profession, and be enabled to apply the remedies which the
 materia medica affords you, with,effect: and as surgeons to  operate
 with success.  To become conversant with  disease, in all its Protean
 forms, you must study the various functions of all parts of the animal
system, that you may know what constitutes health; and disease,
 being the result of some  change produced by one or more causes,
 acting on the organs or tissues externally or internally, by which the
 natural order qf the functions is deranged, requires close investigation, 
9
to enable you to apply the remedies suited to the indications: " eve-
ry curative method  should have for its object the restoration of the
altered vital properties to their natural type."

                        OBSTETRICS.
   This is another highly important branch of a medical education.
Delicacy has thrown a veil around this  subject which  precludes all
remarks before this  audience.   It may not, however, be improper to
state, that Dr. William Shippen,  of the Philadelphia school, by his
suavity of manners  and correct deportment, was the first to remove
those prejudices, which had long existed in this country, in opposi-
tion  to male accoucheurs; and I trust that his  pupils, and those
whom they have instructed, have  never violated  the laws  of strict
propriety in their professional intercourse.

MEDICAL  JURISPRUDENCE OR FORENSIC MEDICINE.
   This branch of the course will be of intrinsic value to you, should
you be called upon to give your testimony in courts of justice.  It is
only within a few years that it has formed a part of a medical educa-
tion, though it was a subject which called forth the talents of Fidelis
and Zacchias in  the  seventeenth  century.  To enable you to per-
form this important duty, you must  not only be acquainted with every
branch of medical science, but with the anatomy of the mind.  The
operations of the mind  on the body, and  the body  on the mind, form
a highly interesting subject for your particular investigation, both in
health and disease.  The play of the passions on  the functions, and
even on the  structure of the brain, which might lead to crime,  has
not been duly appreciated by medical men.  You must  remember
that, by your testimony, some unfortunate fellow-being may be incar-
cerated for years, his reputation be blasted, or be deprived of his life.
On you may likeAvise rest important decisions on the transfer of estates
by will or by deed; surely, this also is highly important: widows
and orphans may be involved in difficulties,  nay, in ruin, by your
testimony :  and many curious questions,  and subjects of a highly de-
licate nature may be presented for your  decision,  affecting the con-
jugal state.  It is not my intention, however, to enter on the consi-
deration of those cases which  may be submitted to your judgment;
all these will, no doubt, be ably discussed by the professor of medi-
cal jurisprudence; but when the life of an individual is in jeopardy
from death, supposed to have been produced by the administration
of poison, be cautious, I pray you,  how you decide,  from the use of
                                2 
10
chemical tests, that life may not depend on "the shadow of a shade:"*
and  banish that definition  of insanity, which  would make us all fit
candidates  for  a  lunatic asylum.   The  learned  Dr. Gregory re-
marks :  " Nullus  tamen existit limes accuratus inter sanam mentem
et vesaniam.   Omnis praeter solitum hilaritas ad  insaniam vergit, et
moestus  et meticulosus animus ad melancholiam appropinquat;" and
it has been added, that every extravagance in human affairs and pur-
suits borders on insanity.   If this be a true definition, gentlemen, we
are all non compos mentis, subject to different states of insanity.

           MATERIA  MEDICA AND  BOTANY.
   By materia medica we are to understand that it is a science which
treats of the natural history and virtues of all those bodies which are
" capable of procuring certain changes in the condition of the living
system,  whereby its morbid actions may be entirely removed or ad-
vantageously  controlled."   In  this definition  I would  include the
operation of the gases and  all  the  necessary restraints and specific
remedies for the diseases of the moral faculty.
   It is doubtless of great importance to the physician and surgeon,
to become acquainted with  the remedial articles  which  the animal,
vegetable and mineral kingdoms afford; and united to botany, it may
be termed  the natural history of medicine.  No  branch of medical
science  has undergone  so  many changes  as  the materia medica.
Many remedies which time had  sanctioned, and which had received
the unqualified support of the best  and wisest men of former times,
and, indeed, of our own time, have  been abandoned, and nothing but
blind superstition  or  ignorance will now tolerate their use : such, for
example, as the bones and  hoofs of animals, pulverized  dead men's
skulls, Egyptian mummies, album Gracum, sperma renarum, sterco-
ra vacca, pavonis, porcinum et  anseris in cerevisia, cum multis aliis,
over which delicacy must throw a  veil.   One  article, however, the
tela arenarium, has, in this enlightened era, found favor in the eyes
of a grave  professor, and its use has been almost  as fashionable, un-
der his  auspices,  from the learned  judge to  the court beadle,  as
Swaim's Panacea and other wonder-working remedies.  And last,
though not  the least, is the touch of a royal hand or that of a seventh
son, for  the cure struma.   Most of these, with the  superstition of for-
mer times,  which contributed to the  strut of mystery, have in great
measure passed away, though we still have those who predict a male
or female embryo, by inspecting the excretion of the  kidneys.   I
forbear  enumerating more  of these absurdities ;  the  introduction of
* I allude particularly to the various opinions on the tests for arsenic. 
11
such a list of contemptible articles into the materia medica, almost
induces me to disown my English ancestry.   How fortunate it is,
gentlemen, that you have been born in the nineteenth century, when
the light of science has banished this farrago of feculence from our
books of medicine, and dispelled the slavish ignorance which would
submit to their use.  New remedies have been introduced, more conge-
nial with sober reason and sound common sense.   This depends upon
the change which has taken place in our views of diseases and their
treatment.   The educated physician  of the present day, has abo-
lished the farrago of incongruous articles which formerly entered into
pharmaceutical preparations.  The rational  and scientific physician
selects a few choice remedies, with the operation of which he makes
himself well acquainted, that he may apply them with judgment and
effect.   To extend the number of these, permit me to direct your
attention to the  indigenous productions of our country : they are nu-
merous, and among  them,  no doubt, there are many which would
supersede the necessity of importing articles of foreign origin.  Many
of the  late European  publications treat of remedies which have been
within our reach since the first settlement of the  country,  and which,
except in a few instances, have been  disregarded.  Why should we
be thus tributary to Europe for information on our indigenous produc-
tions ?  To those  of  you who wish to become  acquainted with the
various changes  which the materia medica has undergone, depending
on fashion, superstition, credulity, scepticism, false theories, or blind
devotion to authority, I  refer you to Paris' Pharmacologia.  To
enable you to examine  the  indigenous productions  of our country,
Botany is indispensably requisite; by it you will be enabled to ar-
range them into classes, orders, genera, and varieties: it will, like-
wise, lessen the labor of investigating their virtues ;  as all plants of
the same natural order have more or less a common virtue.  It is not
my wish, however, by this remark, to restrain your ardor for expe-
rimental inquiry: on the  contrary, I would have  you  apply your
knowledge of organic chemistry, to obtain the active  principles of all
the vegetable productions of our country.  Permit me to  caution you
against the unnecessary introduction of new names for plants which
are already known, though not their medicinal virtues ; mere caprice
of individuals has introduced a great number without any correspond-
ent advantages.   This rage for the coining  of new  names,  both  in
botany and mineralogy, has had a tendency to impede the cultivation
of these sciences, by  rendering  them mysterious and unintelligible.
The next branch of  a medical education, and not  the least, in my
humble opinion, is 
12
                        CHEMISTRY.
  It is divided by some authors into philosophical and medical che-
mistry ; a division which cannot, with propriety, be adopted by me,
as the general bearing each upon the other, involves many important
subjects which will claim our attention.  This interesting branch of
science is cultivated by all who desire to become acquainted with the
sublime truths which  it  unfolds in the various operations of nature,
which have elevated it to that distinguished rank in the scale of sci-
ences which it now holds, and to which it is so justly entitled. Many
persons, who know nothing more of chemistry than the  name,  con-
sider it simply as an art  practised by chemists and apothecaries,
who are supposed to be employed in the preparation of articles for
the  physician; but were they to enter the temple of this  alluring
science, they would  be  convinced of its  intimate connexion  with
almost every branch of human knowledge, and that the arts, agricul-
ture and manufactures, so eminently conducive  to the prosperity of
nations, could not have arrived at the present jieriod of comparative
perfection, without the aid of the philosophical chemist.   Chemistry
is the anatomy of matter;  its object  is to discover the  component
parts of bodies, to show their mutual  and intimate  action on each
other, and, if necessary, to form new compounds or reduce them to
their ultimate principles.   It has contributed, in various ways, to en-
large the boundaries of knowledge ;  it has  been made subservient to
medical science, by demonstrating the  various changes which occur
in the  component parts of the human body, under the different  con-
ditions of health and disease ; and, consequently, it has thrown much
light on the secret operations of the animal economy.   To chemistry
we  are indebted for our knowledge of the active medicinal properties
of many articles  of  the materia medica.   The active principle  of
many vegetable  productions has been separated, by adopting a re-
fined method of experimental inquiry, which has furnished the prac-
titioner of medicine with many valuable remedial articles.   To the
French chemists, we are particularly indebted  for many of the  most
active vegetable productions.   Our modern pharmacopoeias include
a list of important remedies which chemistry has supplied; and per-
mit me to add, that it is unpardonable in a practitioner of medicine,
to be ignorant of its first laws.   While those who have the misfortune
to fall under his care conceive that they are taking  the health-inspi-
ring draught, his  ignorance of chemical affinity may have furnished
an inert or deleterious compound.  As most of you will, probably,
exercise your profession in the  country, a knowledge of chemistry
and its application to pharmacy is  indispensably necessary, to pre- 
13
vent you from prescribing incompatible substances ; or, if you should
establish yourselves in a city, how mortifying it would be to have the
errors in your prescriptions pointed out by an apothecary's appren-
tice.  A great revolution is taking place in most of our cities, which
I trust will extend to all parts ot the country ; Philadelphia has taken
the lead ; there a school of pharmacy has been established, to  enable
young men to acquire a competent knowledge of the materia medi-
ca, pharmacy and chemistry ; regular lectures are delivered  during
the winter season, on these subjects, and a cabinet of the best speci-
mens in the materia medica  has been procured for examination and
comparison.   " A diploma is annually conferred on those young men
who have attained the  age of twenty-one years, and have served an
apprenticeship of at  least four years, {mark it, gentlemen, four years,
to the business of an apothecary,) and have attended two full courses
in the institution,  and have passed with credit through an examina-
tion conducted by the  professors, in conjunction with a committee
appointed by the trustees of the college.   No law of the state makes
it obligatory on young men to attend these lectures ;  but public opi-
nion, in an  enlightened community, will support such  only as have
submitted their qualifications  to  this test.   On the  continent  of
Europe, the regulations are very strict:  it is not every one  who can
open an apothecary's shop at pleasure : he must submit to an exami-
nation before a number of physicians and pharmaceutists, to obtain a
license  ;  and even then,  the door  of his  shop may be closed by  a
proto medico, if  he  is  known to  keep or  vend adulterated articles.
" In London, such  is  the credit of some establishments,  that one
thousand guineas have been offered to the proprietors as a fee with
an apprentice."   And  why should the lives  of  our citizens  be the
sport of every man  who  can buy a few ounces of drugs?  The me-
dical profession  is  restricted, in  this state, except satisfactory evi-
dence  be produced  of the qualification of a candidate to exercise his
profession :  why then should not some evidence be required of those
who are engaged in  compounding and vending medicines ? A journal
of pharmacy is published  in Philadelphia  under the direction of the
college  of pharmacy ;* from the general knowledge which I possess
of the leading characters of the gentlemen who  compose that esta-
blishment, I would recommend the journal to your particular patron-
age, by which you would become acquainted with  the pharmaceutic
knowledge of Europe and America.

  * Since the delivery of this lecture I have ascertained that the College of Pharmacy was char-
tered in 1822, and the school established soon after. 
14
   There is no branch of science more rich in topics worthy of your
 attention, than chemical philosopby;  and none, I am sure, more inti-
 mately connected with the progress of the arts of life.   It would be
 almost  an endless task to  point out to you the  benefits which have
 been derived, by the cultivation of chemistry,  to the arts, sciences,
 and manufactures.   There was a period when the application  of this
 science was viewed as connected with witchcraft; and  Giles Gob-
 lin, of France, was  supposed to be possessed of the devil, when he
 succeeded in fixing a  scarlet dye on wool; but I  assure you, that
 you will not be accused of having any dealings with " Old Nick,"
 should you discover the mode of fixing  the coloring matter of the
 Phytolacca  decandria, or any other vegetable red on cotton.  I will
 dwell no  longer on the importance of chemistry;  it is  a branch of
 science which devolved on me, in this institution, in consequence of
 my connexion with the college.   Delicacy prevents me from saying
 or promising much,  as  to the manner in which this subject will be
 treated.   I have now given you an outline of what may be considered
 the alphabet of our profession.  I have reserved the consideration of
 the practice of medicine to this period of my discourse, though of the
 highest importance, to give me an opportunity of closing with  a few
general remarks connected with a medical education.

             THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE
 May be considered a system of doctrines and rules for the preserva-
 tion of health and the cure or alleviation of disease.   It consequently
 teaches the application of those precepts derived from  the study of
 the various other branches of medical science which I have  enume-
rated, and to which  I would add, physical  geography,  medical  to-
 pography, natural history, and a general  knowledge of hydraulics,
hydrostatics, pneumatics, optics and mechanics,  as essential to  the
well-educated physician and  surgeon.  Drawing would likewise be
an accomplishment of great utility, to enable you to delineate morbid
structure  and botanical  specimens.   Indeed, I do not  think that a
young gentleman engaged in the study of medicine and surgery, could
employ a leisure hour to more advantage than in practising the  art of
drawing and coloring, by which  he may  make himself acquainted
with the relative position of the  parts which have  been dissected,
and on which he may be called to operate.   The  delineation  of all
morbid structure, whether of the bones or soft parts, would be highly
useful to  him, inasmuch as the outlines would indelibly fix  in his
 mind the .relative situatipn. and connexion of,the sound and diseased
 parts. 
15
  If he pursues the study of botany, and that he Ought there can be
no doubt, it will enable him, in his summer excursions,  to preserve
the form and color of the plants which he may collect;  which, with
his  hortus siccus, will not only enable him to cultivate this branch of
science with advantage to himself,  but he  may become an efficient
instructor of others.   Medical botany has not received that attention
in our country which its importance demands.
  There is no short road, gentlemen, to acquire a medical education;
the avenues which lead to it are numerous and intricate;  the study
of the various branches which I have enumerated, requires more time
than is usually allotted in our country.  You must banish from  your
minds the idea of becoming competent  to discharge the duties of a
physician or surgeon, in less time than three years of instruction, and,
I will  add, of close application.
  If I possessed the power, no man should be permitted to enter on the
exercise of the profession, who has not been engaged in studying the
various branches at least five years ; and, even after that period, the
life of a conscientious practitioner should be a life of study, research,
and reflection.   It is true that, in a few months, a  student may  learn
to bleed and to apply cups, without any knowledge of the rationale
or  the necessity of the operation; the  untutored  negroes of Africa
do  this with a gourd ; he may carry jalap in one pocket and calomel
in another; and, perchance, tartar emetic  and some few articles in
a snuff-box, without any knowledge of their general operation on the
system; and he might answer, as  Moliere's medical candidate,  if he
could  understand the  question, " Cur opium  facit dormire ?   Quia
habet  vim dormitivam," and his ratio medendi  would be equally lim-
ited.   I call upon those who have entered  on  the  study of the pro-
fession, which has been considered one of the most honorable, to
retrieve its falling character in this country.  This must be effected
by a close application to your studies and a sincere desire to become
distinguished in your professional career;  it is not to be effected by
artful  cheating,  under  the mask of wisdom, the cloak of gravity or
sanctity, the pensive look or the supercilious air.   Even in Europe,
wigs and  spectacles, a peculiar garb  and  a small sword, no longer
shield men from the penetrating eye of the public.  I have seen a
court  physician,  with all these paraphernalia, ignorant of the  dose
and operation of digitalis purpurea.
  To  those of you who aspire to  a seat  in the  temple of fame, I
would recommend an attention to ancient and modern  medical lite-
rature.  Paris is, at present, the site where physicians and surgeons
are contending for reputation and eminence.  The state of the popu- 
16
 lation in France, fills the public hospitals with diseased paupers, who
 afford an opportunity for that experimental inquiry with which the
 press has of late years teemed, and from which a succession of prac-
 tical works have issued.   There is a host of laborers now in the vine-
 yard of medical science, whose influence ought to be no less animating
 by example, than the intrinsic value of their contributions to our stock
 of knowledge.  To enable you to consult the publications in which
 morbid phenomena are portrayed and the  remedies applied, I would
 advise you  to become  acquainted with the French  language.   An
 opportunity is offered in  this place, of making yourselves masters of
 this  language by allotting an hour daily with professor Ducoudray
 Holstein, of this college; you need  not pursue the routine of a
 school-boy,  to acquire  information, but commence  under him, by
 reading and translating  Pinel,  Bischat, Brouissais, Thenard, or any
 other French medical work of reputation; whilst he corrects your
 translation, you will be enabled to compare the opinions of the French,
 English and American schools of medicine :  probably some new idea
 may be elicited by the  study of the French authorities.  In fact,
 could you accomplish it, you would be well rewarded by acquiring
 from him a  knowledge of the German language, to enable you to
 read the  productions of Mekel, Hufeland and  others; and, being
 acquainted with the  Latin,  you would very  soon  understand the
Italian works, Tomassini, Lezioni  crittiche di  Fisioliga e  Patalogia,
 Brera sopra i Vermi, &c.   I am sensible, as I have  already stated,
that  the time usually allotted for a medical education in this country,
is  by far too  short to become an educated physician ; but you must
remember that you are now only laying the foundation on  which yoi.
are to erect the future superstructure :  there is not a medical or sur
gical work in any language, from which you may not cull important
facts or receive some useful hint; and although you may  have been
advanced in  life when you commenced the study of medicine, without
having acquired a regular collegiate education; with a knowledge of the
Latin, you may, by industry, perseverence, and a proper  division of
your time, acquire most of the modern  languages, to enable you to
comprehend their meaning.  I do not recommend to  you  to become
linguists;  the study of medicine does not positively require that you
should  have had a  liberal  education, in the usual acceptation; but
this I do contend for, the more you know of every branch  of science,
by so much the more will  you be held in estimation among the learn-
ed of the  profession and of the world ;  and I assure ycu that, by a
persevering industry, much may be overcome; which will enable you
to  think for yourselves and to abandon the routine of practice.   Your 
17
 views must be extended beyond " text-books and oral communica-
 tions."   Cast your eyes over the old " worm-eaten authorities," and
 you will often be astonished to find many modern opinions in an old-
 fashioned dress.   Were  it proper, on the present occasion, I could
 trace many opinions which are called new, in the various branches
 of our profession, and, indeed, of other professions, to those autho-
 rities : but I must pause :  " Sterne long since remarked, that authors
 made books as apothecaries make mixtures, by decanting from one
 bottle to another."   It is true that much " rubbish" has been cleared
 away, but in  performing that herculean tasl-, may not some particles
 of precious metal, some small specimens of crystallized carbon, have
 been included 1   By reading a few of those old authors, you will be
 enabled to form a correct opinion of the real progress which has been
 made in our profession.   I was present when a discussion took place
 between a  physician of the old school and one whose knowledge did
 not extend beyond the " text books" of the day ; the former gravely
 asked him if  he had ever read Hippocrates in the original, or Are-
 taeus or Celsus ?  Being answered in the  negative; then, sir, it  is
 useless for me to  continue the discussion with you, as you do not ap-
 pear to  have had a regular medical  education.  This was a severe
 rebuke.  It is true that many can neither  read the Greek nor Latin
 authorities : this ought not  to be an excuse; when ignorant of these
 languages, a student should refer to the best  translations, to enable
 him to trace the progress of science and compare it with the era in
 which he  lives ;  he will then  learn whether we have in  reality be-
 come more wise or learned in every branch of our profession, or more
 successful in practice.
   Doctor Rush used to name twelve  authorities, whom he called the
 twelve apostles in medicine. I do not recollect whether he included
 Celsus, Riverics, Lancisi, Diemerbroeck, Botallus and Mauri-
 ceau ; but in these, you will find many valuable hints.   Celsus lived
 at Rome, during the reign of Augustus and Tiberius.  His system of
 medicine and  surgery rivalled  the first of antiquity, and  it is stated
 that his genius prompted him, likewise, to write poetry, rhetoric, and
 on tactics and agriculture.   Be this as it may, you will discover in
 his works that he  was not unacquainted with physical geography and
 medical topography:  pages  might be filled with  the minutiae of his
 valuable observations: suffice it to say, that in his works you will
 find  many remedies and practical  remarks, which are extolled even
 at the present day.  In cholera, he applied cups to the region of the
 stomach, and  sometimes sinapisms ; his surgery contains all the im-
provements  from  Hippocrates  to his  own  time;  such was the esti-
                                 3 
18
mation in which  it was  held, that  a modern surgeon exhorts every
man of the profession, " to keep Celsus in his hands by day and by
night."  He was a close observer of the morbid and salutary effects
of the seasons, and of the diseases which predominate in the different
stages of life.
   In Riverius you will find some important hints on the treatment of
cholera and fevers.   In an epidemic which prevailed at Montpelier,
in 1623, he states that an old and experienced surgeon, emboldened by
his presence, took three ounces of blood from a patient and the pulse
rose—he conceiving that the great weakness of the pulse was rather
from oppression; and to ease nature of the load with which she  was
oppressed,  a vein was opened.   He likewise directs  balls of ivory,
marble or of metal  to  be held in the hands, and cold applications to
be made to conduct off the  heat of febrile patients;  he  likewise di-
rects the pavement of the chamber to be sprinkled with various arti-
cles which,  by evaporation, will render the air cool and agreeable.
(There were no Brussels' carpets used in chambers  in  those days.)
Mercurius dulcis, gamboge and scammony were freely used;  " see-
ing,"  as he says, " that they doth  potently evacuate, they do often
pluck these kind of fevers away by  the roots;" and he  makes a dis-
tinction between cholera depending on the ingesta, which is less dan-
gerous, than when  from, or adjoined with,  malignant  fever, which
brings on sudden death.   He likewise recommends blood-letting in
difficult parturition, which,  however, he  takes from  Hippocrates.
In gout, he frequently recommends infusions  containing bermodacty-
lus, a remedy now in high repute under the  name of colchicum  au-
tumnale.
   In that part of Diemerbroeck which refers to practice, (his anato-
my I have not looked over with attention,) you will find that he bled
freely  in malignant fevers,* and he  prescribed mercurius dulcis, in
twenty grain doses, to children of six years of age ;+ he likewise di-
rected blisters to discuss buboes f and in the treatment of anthrax.§
In a lecture by Dr. Smith,  in 1757, blisters to erysipelas are  recom-
mended.||
   In Lancisi, you  will find much on the subject of the cause of  pes-
tilential fevers, especially " de noxiis paludum effluvii," which I must
pass over:  and in Botallus^ a great deal on the subject of blood-
letting.  I  believe him to have  been one of the most sanguinary phy-
sicians of his day.
  •Page 24. t Page 118.  J Page 250. § Page 186.  Edition 1685. Opera omnia, &c. Isbrandi
I'icmcrebroeck.
del Sn7'th * Lecture8,  Th" has beec a"r'buted to a German practitioner, Dr. Pfeiffer of  Phila-
  1, Botalli Leonardi opera omnia, medica et chirurgica, Lugduni Batavorum, 1660. 
19
   In Mauriceau  you will meet with many highly interesting cases
 in obstetrics;  his one hundred and eighty-first aphorism you would
 do well to remember.  " La Saignee du bras faite a la femme qui a
 un labourieux  travail, luy est tres-utile pour la faire accoucher plus
 pomptement  et plus  heureusement, et pour  la preserver de  trop
 grande perte de sang ou de convulsion."  This work was  published
 in 1721.  I forbear trespassing further on your patience :  all that I
 have quoted has been claimed, as original,  by some of our country-
 men.   It was  long since remarked by Dr. Rush, in one of  his lec-
 tures, that few physicians read  after they enter into business, and
 still fewer  profit by their observations.  It is from the neglect  of
 these two sources of medical  knowledge, that we consider so many
 cases as new, that have existed a hundred times before, and with
 which our medical journals are filled.  Therefore, those who do read,
 evidently have the advantage  over those who do not.  I wish to im-
 press on your  minds, that we  are indebted  either to hints in  ancient
 works  or  accident, for many brilliant  discoveries  in  the  various
 branches of science, which are deemed of great importance to man-
 kind.   " However long facts  may appear to lie in a confused and
 solitary state, they will, sooner or later,  unite in that order and rela-
 tion to each other which was established at the creation of the world.''
 And as our celebrated professor  Rush,  long since  justly remarked,
 " that from the union of pre-related truths, will arise, at some future
 period, a complete system of principles  in medicine."
               " We are but of yesterday, and know nothing,
               Because our days on earth are but a shadow."—Job.
   I might multiply examples of discoveries and improvements, but
 I trust that I have  said sufficient to induce you to attend to the hints
 which you may receive from worm-eaten pages and  accidental  dis-
 coveries, whicli may in one age be considered as trivial, but of im-
 mense  importance to  that which follows:  perhaps  potassium  and
 sodium, at present objects of curiosity, may, at some future period, be
 considered of as much consequence as the metals to this generation;
 therefore, you ought not to reject hints because they are connected
 with what has been called " learned rubbish," or found in worm-eaten
 authorities.   Remember that, as late as 1762, Sultzer amused  him-
 self  with the junction of two metals above  and under his tongue;
 and  the effect,  though  announced,  did  not attract attention  until
 Galvani and Valli instituted  a series of experiments on the  human
body, which were  attended with  many  curious results,  and which
probably gave  to Volta the first idea of his pile, and subsequently
to the improvements which were made in Europe.  The substances 
20
 which we call  earths, are all probably metallic oxides; this was an
 old German idea, and Tondi and Ruprecht, in some measure, con-
 firmed it, by obtaining " metallic reguli" from chalk and some other
 earths; and  if my memory be correct, the alkalies were supposed
 metallic, in the time  of Bacon  and  Boyle ;  I  have  not, however,
 their works for immediate reference ; but proper instruments of re-
 search, on which the  proof depended, were not in existence until the
 time  of Sir Humphrey  Davy.   Our countryman, professor Hare,
 of the University of  Pennsylvania,  whose  genius  improves almost
 every apparatus of  research, has  presented to the  scientific  in-
 quirer a modification  of  the instrument used  by Sir H. Davy, whose
 power is far  superior, and which will enable  the analytical  chemist
 to pursue these researches still farther.   With this instrument, it may
 be truly said  that our experiments blind us by the excess  of light
 which emanates from them.   Thus,  that which afforded amusement
 to Sultzer, has not only been applied to discover the  base of potash,
 soda, lime, magnesia, and to confer magnetic influence, but with suc-
 cess  in resuscitating  those who were apparently  asleep  in the arms
 of death.*   Again, we are indebted to accident  for our knowledge
 of electricity.   Who  would have supposed, on seeing a person amuse
 himself with the effect of excited amber on light bodies,! that  it would
 become the first link  of a science which would teach man to disarm
 the clouds of their electricity,  divest the storm  of its terrors, and
 become a powerful remedy in disease 1   Man had been accustomed
 to view with horror the portentous cloud and  the vivid flash, by which
 palaces, castles, temples and humble dwellings were prostrated ;  but
 our  countryman, Dr. Franklin, disarmed the thunder-cloud of its
 terrors, and conducted to his feet,  the vivid lightning, in harmless
 corruscations.  Again, when Mr.  Cavendish  published  the  account
 of the production and  properties of  hydrogen gas, no one  had  the
 most distant thought  that men  would employ it to  journey into  the
 ethereal regions, on  parties of pleasure and  discovery, or to recon-
 noitre the strength and manoeuvres of an army ; yet Guy ton de Mor-
 veau  ascended with  General Jourdan, during the battle of Fleures,
 which materially influenced the success of the French arms.  And
 let it be remembered that the magnet was known nearly two thousand
years before it was applied to any purposes of practical utility: guided

  This effect may be exfimplified in an amusing manner before a class, by immersing a mouse
in a jar of carbonic acid gas ; when life appears extinct, place him on a table, apply volatile alkali
to Ins nose and at the same lime bring the negative and positive wires of a small galvanic trough
to act between the region of his heart and head: he will revive, and by continuing the application,
 he will rise and spin round on  his posteriors like atop, when by a sudden action of his muscles he
Will spring from the table and run off.
  t This has been attributed to Thales of Miletus, who flourished six hundred years before the
 Christian era. 
                                21

by the mysterious power of magnetic  polarity, Vasco do Gama and
Columbus became the pioneers to this western world, which has risen
to such  unexampled  eminence amongst the nations of  the earth.
May not  the hints given by Boetius de Boot, seventy  years before
the  appearance of Newton's Optics,  have suggested the combusti-
bility of  the diamond?*  Most of the fabulous history of the planets
is based  on reality, though communicated  to  us by old authors  in
hieroglyphic mystery, from the time of the Chaldean shepherds to the
discoveries of Herschel.   And who would have supposed that the
accidental fusion of sand with  an alkali, recorded to have happened on
the  shores of the Belus, would have furpished a transparent substance
that would finally enable us to discover myriads of insects banqueting
on the leg of a  flea; and, as Doctor Johnson  has justly remarked,
that  in such a shapeless  lump should  lay concealed so many conve-
niences of life, as would in time constitute a great part of the happi-r
ness of the world ?  By this fortuitous discovery, the philosopher has
been enabled to extend his sight to  new ranges of existence, supply
the  decays of  nature, and succour old age  with subsidiary  sight.
Time admonishes  me to bring this  discourse  to a close ; numerous
examples might be adduced, to prove that we have been benefitted
by the record of accidental discoveries and hypothetical suggestions,
made by  old authors, in the arts, sciences and manufactures, to which
we should never be inattentive, although presented to us in the home-
ly garb  of past  centuries.  Even the experimental inquiry of the
Marquis  of Worcester, in 1663, on the power of steam, was consid-
eFed visionary, and his " Century of Inventions" ridiculed ;  and yet,
through a succession of time and  improvements, it is to that power
we now owe the facility of navigating our most rapid streams; and
the  man  who first conceived the idea of  propelling boats  by this
power, was, in my time,  deemed a fit  subject  for  a lunatic  asylum;
though partially successful, he  reduced himself to poverty and died in
obscurity, whilst the more fortunate Fulton established a name which
will  be transmitted, with  gratitude, to  posterity.  Such  is often the
fate of those who lay the foundation of important discoveries: they
pine in penury, whilst thousands amass fortunes by the application of
  * " Si 1'on  fait chauffer le mastic et le diamant, et qu'on les applique l'un contre 1'autre, ils con-
tracted une parfaite union, qui n'a lieu avec aucune autre gemme; mais pourquoi le  diamant
est-il  Ic scul  qui ait cette propriete ?  Je pense, dit-il, que cette conjonction intime et mutuelle,
vieut de la ressemblance de leur matiere et de leurs proprietes, e'est u-dire do la nature entiere
de 1'uu et de 1'autre.  Ainsi done, qunnd le mastic, qui est d'une nature ignee, s'unit si facilement
an dimnant, e'est a cause de l'ideutite de leur substance, et parce que la matiere du diamant est
elle-meme ignee et sulfureusej  et que l'humide radical et generateur, qui a opere sa coagulation,
etoit parfaitement huileuse et ignee, tandis que celui des autrcs gemmes est nqueux; il n'est done
pas surpreuant que la substance grasse, huileuse et ignee du mastic, puisse lui etre appliquee aussi
iutimement, et non aux autres gerames."  [Boetiui de Boot Gemmarum et Lapidum Hist. Lugd.
Bat. 1636, in-8. Lib. II, Cap. I.] 
22
 their ingenious suggestions.   Such was the fate of Fitch,  whose
 family, if living, should be rewarded with  something more tangible
 than a nation's gratitude.
   Finally, gentlemen, in the profession which you have chosen, much
 is expected  from you.   Should you be inattentive to the branches of
 science which compose a medical education, you will feel, poignantly
feel, hesitation, anxiety, and much apprehension, when you are about
 to assume the responsibility of a practitioner of medicine  and surgery;
 you will then probably look back to  the  golden  days which have
 been spent in apathy or in trivial pursuits.   I hope that this will not
 be the case  with any of you ;  if it should, I trust that your teachers
 will have the firmness  to  withhold the honors of this institution: a
 diploma is not worth possessing, if obtained by special  favor, either
 in the arts or sciences.   I have a higher  opinion  of  the value of a
 diploma, than to bestow it where merit cannot claim it.   The true
 dignity  of the medical  profession  must be maintained by superior
 learning and abilities, by liberality of conduct, by openness and can-
 dor, without condescending to mean artifices, which are  too often
 adopted to obtain business or a false reputation.   You must encircle
 yourselves with the  cardinal virtues,  and bid defiance  to  all  secret
 machinations of illiberal minds ; shielded by a liberal medical edu-
 cation,  and  by a conscientious discharge of those duties acquired  by
 a life of study and correct deportment, you may bid defiance  to the
malevolent shafts of ignorance.
   I congratulate you, gentlemen, that it is not necessary, as  formerly,
to cross the  Atlantic to seek the temple of Apollo; there is scarcely
a state in  this Union, where such a temple  is not now erected; and
the time, probably, is not far distant, should nothing impede the march
of our enterprizing citizens, when some of you may be called  to lay
the foundation of another, beyond the Rocky mountains.  In this
country, genius, though in poverty, is not excluded from these tem-
ples ; encouragement is given, and the door of emulation is open to
all who  may soar above empiricism.  It is, therefore, unpardonable
for any  man  to assume  the responsibility of a physician,  who is igno-
rant of  the first principles of a medical education, when they can  be
obtained with so much  facility and at  so small an expense.
   Permit  me to advise you, gentlemen, to form a medical associa-
tion  in Geneva, for mutual improvement, and endeavor to emulate the
literary  character of her namesake in  Switzerland;  sparks of truth
may be  kindled by the collision of genius.   Such an  association will
promote a spirit of inquiry.   In your discussions, you may not only
examine and controvert the opinions of each other, but those of your 
23
teachers; which will remove the  impression  that " colleges are the
dull repositories of exploded opinions."
   Although no tablets will be suspended on our walls, to record dis-
eases, wonder-working remedies and miraculous  cures, for the com-
parison of those who seek relief; yet, I trust that the general infor-
mation which you will acquire on all the branches of medical science,
will  lay the foundation of your future usefulness as  physicians and
surgeons, and that the success of your practice will entitle you to the
compliment which Cicero paid to those who imparted health to their
fellow-beings : " Homines ad Deos nulla re proprius accedunt, quam
salutem hominibus dando."   To  participate in this honor, you must
frequently reflect on the importance of the profession which you have
chosen; and I would have you remember, before you  enter on the
exercise of it, that no pecuniar}' compensation can be an equivalent
for the solicitude  and mental excitement which  you must frequently
suffer in the exercise of your duty ; which will lead you to the abodes
of penury and  riches, where disease makes no distinction.  Poor, in-
deed, is the rich  man, when deprived of health ; the ambitious are
prostrated  and the tyrant is tamed; even the courage of a Caesar is
annihilated by disease.
               " He bad a fever when he was in Spain ;
               And when the fit was on him, I did mark
               How he did shake.
               His coward lips did from their color fly;
               Aye, and that tongue of his, that bade the Romans
               Mark him, and write his speeches in their books,
               Alas ! it cried, give me some drink, Titinius,
               As a sick girl."
 And fortunately  for him, he had a Titinius to  administer a cooling
draught.  It may be your lot to witness, in the  abodes of wretched-
 ness, many deprived of every comfort, destitute of the kind aid of a
friend, pining away under disease, poverty and distress, to whom a
cup of water would indeed  be a luxury.   Such cases you may not
meet with  in this section of country, where there should be no poor ;
but in the bye-ways, alleys and cellars of large cities,  such scenes
 become familiar to practitioners of medicine.
   To conclude :  I trust that the addition which has been made to
 Geneva College, will acquire the confidence of the community.  As
to the characters of the individuals who have been appointed as pio-
neers in this new department, it does not become me to notice ; it is
sufficient to say that, having undertaken the important duties allotted
to them, they  will conscientiously perform the trust with fidelity.
   Unaided by those rich endowments which are common in Euro-
pean schools, they commence this course of lectures on their private 
24
resources, resting1 their future support on a friendly and enlightened
community.  Rivalry has had no share in the determination to form
this institution; public good, and a laudable emulation to advance
the cause of science, by disseminating those truths which have been
acquired by reading,.reflection, and many years of practical expern
ence, have  been their primary objects.  Being convinced that  the
importance of a medical education is duly appreciated by every libe-
ral rnind, they enter on their respective duties with a confidence that
they will be sustained  by a discerning and enlightened population,
not only of western New-York, but of the adjoining states; and in
the Words of the late professor Rush, " I bid you, gentlemen, wel-
come to our school of medicine;  the door you have  entered and the
room which you occupy, are devoted to science and humanity." 
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