The complete physician : an address pronounced before the graduates of the Albany Medical College, in the Assembly Chamber, Dec. 24, 1860 / by Rev. William Rudder.
- Rudder, William, 1820-
- Date:
- 1861
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The complete physician : an address pronounced before the graduates of the Albany Medical College, in the Assembly Chamber, Dec. 24, 1860 / by Rev. William Rudder. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
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![strange to say, there are those, even in our own times, who place Observation in opposition to Learning,—as if, indeed, there were any real an- tagonism between the two,—and who, while main- taining the importance of the former, endeavor to throw discredit upon the latter. The Empirical School of Medicine, claiming to be governed by the principles of the Baconian Philosophy, has always had disciples, and it has them now. Un- doubtedly in the seventeenth century it might very well be said, that as Ex BiSXiov xvfcpvyjra [i. e. statesman from the book], is grown into a proverb; so no less ridiculous are they who think out of book to become Physicians;—for in that age the books were comparatively few and poor, and there is a sense, of course, in which we may say so still. But this judgment will hardly stand at the present time. The truth is, I suppose, that in the Medical Profession, as in all others, reading and observation are both necessary in order to a thorough efficiency, and should therefore alternate with each other. The man of books only will be very apt to become a mere Theorist; the man confining himself to observation or experiment alone, will be in great danger of becoming a mere Quack. Besides, it must be remembered that, in](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21151416_0021.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
