William Henry Welch : a brief tribute on his eightieth birthday.

  • Arthur William Meyer
Date:
[1930]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: William Henry Welch : a brief tribute on his eightieth birthday. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    suasion, and practical good sense. His perspective is true, removed as far as possible from all narrowness of view. The name of Dr. Welch will always hold a place of honor in our profession. I desire to express the large indebtedness which we owe to the life and work of this man of large achievement, of high char¬ acter, of enduring, beneficial influence upon this country. The enthusiastic and inspiring celebration of his eightieth birth¬ day affords opportunity for an estimation by many competent hands of the significance and value of Welch’s manifold activities. The warm tributes so gladly paid by the scientific and medical world are still fresh in our minds, and we can but rejoice that their recipient lived to accept an homage which no conqueror in war ever merited as did our hero of science, leader, as he is, in the contest for the preserva¬ tion and not for the destruction of human life.We rejoice in the rich and abundant fruits of his long and well-rounded life. His is a great name and a great influence in the world of medicine. Dr. Welch has the happy gift of youth. He refuses to grow old. Perhaps the secret of this is found in the follow¬ ing quotation taken from his remarks upon the presentation of a medallion to him in 1910, at the time of his sixtieth birthday. What are the attractions of a career in life? They lie, do they not, in the opportunities the career offers for service to mankind, in the con¬ geniality of the work and in its rewards? The profession of medicine surpasses all others in its opportunities for service to our fellowmen. Besides this there are manifold fields of activity, appealing to the most varied personal inclinations and aptitudes, be these practical or scientific. The rewards of success in medicine, even of the highest success, lie not in money; they lie in the intellectual pleasure which one gets from his work as a physician, in the consciousness of service in the relief of suffering, and in the cure and prevention of disease. Or it may be that one may attain to the highest satisfaction of all— some contribution to useful knowledge that may be for the healing of the nation. The reward to be most truly prized is the expression of the esteem and of the confidence of one’s contemporaries in the profession. So many of the greatest geniuses of our profession have « lacked this recognition. This most highly prized reward has come to me through your kind recognition, even though it be all too generous. It has come to me tonight in the very fullest measure, and in a form both inspiring and never to be forgotten. It has touched my heart with the most pro¬ found sentiments of gratitude, which I trust will animate me with a
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