A valedictory address delivered before the medical class of the University of Vermont, May 31st, 1865 / by John Ordronaux.
- John Ordronaux
- Date:
- 1865
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A valedictory address delivered before the medical class of the University of Vermont, May 31st, 1865 / by John Ordronaux. 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.
16/32 page 16
![t.lie i-cBponsibilities resting upon yon, to preserve aiid liei-petuate iiitaet tlie pure fame of this nol)le ]>rofessi()n, wliicli lias rcfpiired centuries to perfect itself in a masterly comprehension ui those laws of nature on M'liicli alone it consents to build its temjile. Consider how essentially catholic; is its character, and how potent to unite men in a brotherhood'which ignores all distinc- tions of tribe, naticmalitj, or religion, and whose banner l)ears the truly Samaritan motto: Opifer per orhem ! Turning now to our own land, our young country, this last of Time's noble offspring, behold what a wealth of conti-ibution she has already made to the cause of progress and science. Compelled to restrict myself on this occasion to what more especially belongs to the history of medicine, I pass over, not ii'reverently, nor without a quickening of the pulse, the undying names of Franklin, Fulton, and Morse. Theirs is a glory which belongs not to one age, but to all time; and so long jis mankind shall avail themselves of the physical forces of the univeree to aid them in conquering time, space, or gra^ntation, will theii* fame and their praise be recited by a grateful world. Yet let me speak more particularly at present, and in obedience to tlie more legitnnate behests of this occasion, of those whom I would hold iq3 to you as professional exenqilars, and models worthy of your imitation. They were giants in their day, high-priests of science, and have left foot-prints on the sands of time Avhich nothing can obliterate. As philosophers their memory should be dear to you. As Americans, it should be enshrined in a framework of pardonable national pride, because tending to show that our young Republic by some Divine endowment of precocity has, from the very start, stood in the van of progress and civilization. It required centuries for England to produce a Hale, a ITardwicke, or a Mansfield; a Harvey, a Hunter, or aJenner; while in less than eighty years we have ju-oduced a Marshall, a Jay, a Parsons, a Story, and a Kent to adorn our juris])rudence, and a Rush, a Nathan Smith, a Mitchell, a Warren, a M(jtt, a Francis, a Jackson, and a Morton to place American medicine upon a high and eiuluring pedestal. Foremost among those brilliant names, in point of time, is that of Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22304137_0018.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
