Banquet and presentation in honor of John S. Billings, M.D., Ll.D.

Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Banquet and presentation in honor of John S. Billings, M.D., Ll.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    advance in clearness of the professional consciousness, and to a feeling most worthy of congratulation. By it all there comes to light the fact that the heroism thus cele- brated and rewarded is, as we have intimated, of a unique variety, and that this is its first clear recognition. The medical literary hero has never before been known, or at least not pointed out. But in very truth is there in all the world more genuine heroism than that in which one thus toils for many years with daily persistence and against ever-recurring difficulties to lessen the labors of thou- sands born and unborn, and to place medical hterature and medical science on a vantage-ground whence we may all better carry on the long warfare against ignorance and disease? There is just as much genius, there is often more, required and expended in collating, classi- fying, and fittingly presenting the work of others, than in original research or in other work called, or miscalled, original. Assuredly our gratitude to such lonely and tireless workers should be unstinted, and on this occasion it was so. One enjoyed the delightful gener- osity with which Dr. Billings honored his assistants as equally worthy with himself, and that with which the principal of these assistants, Dr. Fletcher, gave back all the honor to the friend and chief. Above all was the glad and affectionate pride the goodly company had in the new hero, and the common enjoyment of the noble emotion of unselfishness and delight in professional pro- gress. Dr. Fletcher's explicit concession to Dr. Billings of the entire honor of the conception of the Index-Catalog effectually disposes of any claim of the kind by another. In view of the large number of contributors to the testimonial, rendering it difficult to make proper ac- knowledgment to each without much delay. Dr. Bilhngs has asked us to assure each and all of his friends of his profound appreciation of the fact that this is the highest honor that could be given him, and to return his heartfelt thanks.-[£^. Comment, Medical News, December 7, 1895.]