Address to the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Edinburgh : delivered on the occasion of taking the chair of the Society, December 17, 1856 / by James Miller.
- James Miller
- Date:
- 1857
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Address to the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Edinburgh : delivered on the occasion of taking the chair of the Society, December 17, 1856 / by James Miller. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.
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![men now. And have there not been, and are there not now among you, those who are in all respects just models for the Student ? There is one especially whom you will permit me to point out—one whose living voice we may not often hear again in this place, but whose living example and never-dying memory will remain ever present with us all. Who has been more faithful to his profession, to his country, to his God, than Alison? Who so self-denying in his daily walk of doing good ?—who so single-eyed and single- hearted in the pursuit of truth ?—who so patient and pitiful to the poor?—who so considerate and kind to his professional brethren ?— who so thoughtful for others, and thoughtless only for himself? Surely he will ever be recognised in this Society as one of its brightest ornaments, and one of its best examples; and its members will esteem it both a duty and a privilege to take a forward part in any movement towards conferring suitable honour and reference on one Who, born for the universe, [ne'er] narrow'd his mind, [Nor gave party nor self] what was meant for mankind. No doubt, gentlemen, there are many obstacles to the progress of our profession. On these, however, I will not dwell. Let me con- clude with a glance at the opposite side of the picture; for surely there is good ground for congratulating ourselves that we are here, this day, in favourable circumstances for labouring towards that progress. Of late, the basis of medical science and practice has become both more extended and more sure. The laws of health are better understood, more successfully wielded, and more generally obeyed. Disease is more under control, and Death cannot boast of so large an average as he was wont to do. The members of our profession are more united than they were ; and, if medical reform now and then set small parcels of us by the ears, we believe that the ultimate issue will be, under the pressure of a common danger feared, and a common safety longed for, to unite us all into a more compact, harmonious, and powerful body, than ever we have shown before. Moreover, with greater powers, have we not a wider field wherein to labour? No doubt, it is our special business to cure disease ; but](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21466324_0017.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
