Motives in medicine / by John H. Musser.

  • Musser, John Herr, 1856-1912.
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Motives in medicine / by John H. Musser. 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.

    10/16 (page 8)
    in a thousand embarrassments, and, what are more important, Herculean cheerfulness and courage. So it is that he brings air and cheer into the sick room, and often enough, though not so often as he wishes, brings healing.” Alas, for not a few the ideal is shattered, the enthusiasm smothered. Let no iconoclastic words of mine throw down your images. You should know, however, that unless the ideal is supported by that which I shall name the lodestar of your career, the third impelling motive, you are endan- gered. What worse can happen a man than the blasting of hopes, the destruction of faith, the veil- ing of charity ! Charlatanism, specious theories, fantastic doctrines, now beckon ; and, lo, the man becomes a quack ! Motive Three. The pursuit of medicine enables you to seek truth. The profession of medicine gives you an opportunity for intellectual achieve- ment of the highest order. It requires upon your part the constant employment of the highest faculty of the mind—reasoning. Essential to the exer- cise of this faculty are observation and experi- ment. Hence you aspire to be a constant seeker of truth. To acquire facts, to analyze their value and relations, and draw inferences will be your daily work. This fascinating exercise enables you to acquire a scientific habit of mind. It is our privilege to drill you in physics and chemistry and biology, in order that you may learn how to observe, that you may learn the value of facts and the steps required to draw conclusions from these facts. Your present studies are time-saving. If you were to go over the whole field of biology in