Certain clinical features of cardiac disease / by G. A. Gibson.

  • Gibson George Alexander, 1854-1913.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Certain clinical features of cardiac disease / by G. A. Gibson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

    11/16 (page 9)
    Will you allow me, Mr. President, to express to you, as rep- 1364] resenting on this occasion the university, my great satisfac- tion in being permitted to witness the wonderful strides which you have made. Coming amongst you for the first time, the noble words which Huxley uttered at the opening of this great institution two decades ago naturally occur to my memory: “Truly America has a great future before her; great in toil, in care, and in responsibility; great in true glory if she he guided in wisdom and righteousness; great in shame if she fail. I cannot understand why other nations should envy you, or be blind to the fact that it is for the highest interest of mankind that you should succeed; but the one condition of success, your sole safeguard, is the moral worth and intellectual clearness of the individual citi- zen. Education cannot give these, but it may cherish them and bring them to the front in whatever station of society they are to be found; and the universities ought to he, and may he, the fortresses of the higher life of the nation. May the university which commences its practical activity to- morrow abundantly fulfil its high purpose; may its renown as a seat of true learning, a center of free inquiry, a focus of intel- lectual light, increase year by year, until men wander hither from all parts of the earth, as of old they sought Bologna, or Paris, or Oxford.” How abundantly those responsible for the administration of the university have fulfilled their trust, and how loyally those who have worked under their auspices have performed their duties, can be read by all in the important series of ob- servations which have enriched modern scientific literature; but this is not all, for the free spirit of inquiry which you have shown has been wafted to all lands, and has awakened everywhere a sympathetic response. The hopes which Huxley so generously expressed have been far more than realized, and seekers after truth from many countries have directed their footsteps hitherwards. Amongst these have been some of my own particular friends, for your kindness to whom you will perhaps allow me to tender my warm acknowledgments. That the university may continue to foster the higher education and to increase its usefulness is the fervent hope of all your friends, amongst the warmest of whom, you will allow me to enroll myself.