Valedictory address to the class of medical graduates of the University of Pennsylvania : delivered at the public commencement, March 27th, 1858 / by Joseph Leidy.

  • Leidy, Joseph, 1823-1891.
Date:
1858
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Valedictory address to the class of medical graduates of the University of Pennsylvania : delivered at the public commencement, March 27th, 1858 / by Joseph Leidy. 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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    existence % Was your resolution the offspring of a de- sire to obtain the esteem of men for devoted attention to the preservation of their health, or to earn respect, distinction, and honors, by promoting the interests of the profession ] Were you guided by the idea of rising through its means to a position of influence and afflu- ence ; or were you controlled by the mere necessity of choosing some profession, calling, or occupation'? Have you considered that, beside all of these con- scious motives, there is in every community a force, which, being proximate to the will of each individual, by insensible impulses inclines him in one direction rather than another; fixes his attention for the time upon special objects, and renders his choice more the result of temporary inducements, than the product of his judgment exercised upon an enlarged estimate of his character, and of the probabilities legitimately con- nected with his position. This is what we call the force of circumstances. Perhaps it would be impossi- ble for any one of us accurately to know the weight which the causes that I have mentioned have had re- spectively in the determination of his mind towards the medical profession; yet within certain limits it is not difficult for us to discover what are our dominant mo- tives, perhaps the comparative rank of these in respect to their influence upon our resolutions and acts; and to this extent then, I rely upon your voluntary self- inspection to sustain me in my endeavor briefly to show the practical connection of these motives with your future professional conduct.