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DANGERS AND MEANS OF SAFETY;
A. riSCOTJSSB
PREACHED IN CHRIST CHURCH, CINCINNATI,




        JANUARY 9, 1831. [
BY THE REV. B. P. AYDELOTT, M. D.
  CINCINNATI:



3. WHETSTONE, JR. PRINTER.
1831. 
                      Cincinnati, January 11 th, 1831.
To the Rev. Dr. Aydelott:
  Dear Sir,—In behalf of the  Medical Class, we return you
their most sincere thanks for the very able and interesting dis-
course you honored them with on last Sabbath; and, with great
respect, they request that you will favor  us with a copy for
publication.
  Your compliance will not only be highly gratifying, but like-
wise a means well calculated for the promotion of much good.
        Respectfully, Yours, &-c.
                     Alexander Guy, "^
                     Harvey Lewis,    J- Committee.
                     Franklin White, J
                      Cincinnati, January llth, 1831.
To Messrs. Alexander Guy, Harvey Lewis and Franklin
                 White, Committee, &c.
  Gentlemen,—As the discourse delivered by me at the request
of the Class of the Medical College of Ohio, was intended for
their benefit, so if they suppose that the reading of it will be of
further benefit to them, they are at liberty to commit it to the
press.
  Accept my best wishes for yourselves individually, and for
the class whom you represent.
         Your Friend and Servant,
                                   B. P.  Aydelott. 
                ,4  HSISOQUlBBIBi
Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way?   By taking
  heed thereto according to  thy word.—Ps. cxix. 9.
  The hope of a country is its youth.   The aged have almost
accomplished their work,—their interest in the world is weak-
ening, and their influence fast declining.  Those  who are at
present  actively engaged on the stage of life are doing what
may be  for good or for evil; but it depends chiefly on those
who are coming forward, whether this  good shall  be consum-
mated, or this evil counteracted.
  The inheritance which each generation receives from that
which  goes before, consists to  a great extent of  unfinished
plans, of views  beginning  to  be realized  and principles not
thoroughly acted out.   Hence it is impossible for any one gen-
eration to ruin their country, unless the  next tread  in their
steps.   How important then that the youth of a country, those
who are speedily to put their hands to  the business of life,
should be wiser and better than their fathers are, that they may
obviate as far as possible the mischiefs entailed upon them, and
carry onward every salutary design.
  The. foregoing remarks are impressively  exemplified in the
career of David, the  inspired penman of our text.  He grew
up  in  an  eventful period.  The government of his country
was changed; its affairs were sadly mismanaged;  and by the
disastrous  overthrow at Gilboa, the  nation seemed on the
brink of ruin.  Its concerns at this crisis passed into his hands,
and by retracing the steps of his predecessor, he not only re-
gained what had been lost, but added much to the true glory of
his  country, and laid a strong foundation for its future prosperity.
Surety, the experience of such a man—one who through toils
and perils at every step, bad risen from a sheep-fold to a throne,
and all  whose path was marked by wisdom  and industry, an
unbending integrity and a generous devotedness to the public
g od—the experience of such  a man must be invaluable to
those who  are disposed to make a proper use of it.   That por-
tion of his experience which particularly concerns us at present,
he records  in the words of our text—•' Wherewith."  he asks, 
                            4
k< shall a young man cleanse his way?" and then answers this
important question, thus: " By taking heed thereto according
to thy word."—i. e. the wdrd of God, or divine truth.
   Though this portion of Holy Writ was undoubtedly penned by
the Royal Psalmist when considerably advanced in years, yet the
character of his early life, of which we have so full an account,
makes it manifest that he had uniformly directed his own  way
by the principle here laid down; and consequently he could testi-
fy from a thorough experience, to its truth and its preciousness-.
  It  is implied in the first  clause of the text, that there are
dangers besetting the path of youth, and we are taught in the
last, the  means of avoiding them.   To some of the sources of
these dangers,—especially as they relate to the student of med-
icine, I now purpose to call your attention, and then the means
by which, under the divine blessing, you may safely  pass
tij! rj;r!i these dangers, will  be pointed out.
   I. Of your Dangers.
   The 1st source  of  danger to the young man which  I shall
notice, is the natural bias of the heart to evil.
   If there is any one truth which may be emphatically termed
a pervading truth of the word of God, it is that of the natural
bias of the heart to evil.   It is not only asserted in the holy
volume in places innumerable and in much stronger language
than that 1 have employed; but it is seen in  every scripture
narrative, and it is implied in every warning and  exhortation,
and  in almost every doctrine which there meets the eye.
   1  need not attempt to prove the fact of man's  inherent ten-
dency to evil by an appeal to history; for  history,  ancient and
modern, has been one part of your studies, and you could not
have given it the  most moderate attention without being  sen-
sible of the fact, that were  every action which proceeded from
the selfishness, the cruelty and the  unhallowed ambition of the
human heart,—every event that  spread  tears and blood  over
the  records of our race—to be stricken out, this most volumin-
ous  of all studies  would be reduced to a very narrow compass
indeed.
   Neither need I point  you to the actual  state of society in
the present day for proofs of this corruption;—your own obser-
vation, however small, must have satisfied you on this point.—
What do those laws of good breeding which not even the  most 
                            5
reckless dare altogether overlook,—what  do most legislative
enactments,—what do courts of  justice, and judges, and  pris-
ons, and chains, and gibbets,—nay, what do  the rearing of
christian churches, and the preaching of the gospel, and the ad-
ministration of its sacred ordinances,—what do these teach us?
Do they not as with one voice, proclaim that man is a  fallen
and depraved creature, that the restraints  of decorum, of law,
and of religion are all necessary  to his social existence?
   Now this natural bias  of the  heart to  evil,  is peculiarly a
source of danger to the young;  because in them  it is accom-
panied with an ardour of feeling, an inexperience, and an un-
suspecting temper, which can ordinarily be remedied  only  by
more mature years and  a  larger  acquaintance with the world.
   2. The nature of your  studies is a source of danger to you.
   There are two reasons why your peculiar studies may be a
snare  to you,—the first is,  their interesling character.   Mere
human learning never presents a more attractive field than that
which is spread before you.  Who that has the least  taste,  >r
the least intellectual excitability can contemplate the  wonders
of Anatomy and Physiology, the brilliant  discoveries  of  mod-
ern Chimislry,  and the variety and beauty of the natural sci-
ences, without danger of being completely absorbed by  them?
In the pursuit of these is  not the student  too apt to lose sight
of those interests in comparison with which all  worldly objects
are inexpressibly little and low?
   Another source of danger to you in your studies, is the mark-
ed absence of moral and religious reflections  in most of the
books put in your hands.
   I am not disposed to encourage the charge so  often preferred
 against medical men of being sceptical.   Such sweeping cen-
sures are almost always unjust.   And I doubt not but, in point
of morals and piety, Physicians will bear honorable comparison
with the members of any other worldly  profession.   Still it
must be allowed that when  the favorable opportunities which
writers in medicine and its collateral  branches possess of occa-
sionally introducing most important moral and religious  reflec-
tions,—when, I say,  these  opportunities  are considered, it  is
amazing that they are so seldom made use of.  It is recorded
that the bare sight of a skeleton converted  Galen from Atheism
to the belief of a God.  And how is it possible to contemplate
the mechanism and functions of the human system, to investi- 
                            6
gate the structure and changes of the globe on which we trexdj
to study  those laws that govern all animate nature, nnd (if I
may so express myself,) to look into the uew world which chim-
istry unfolds,—and not be struck with the power, the wisdom,
and the beneficence of Deity, and not discover arguments and
illustrations without number for the great truths of ethics and
Christianity ?   Now if reflections of this  character, which might
be so opportunely introduced, are altogether neglected, must it
not have an unhappy influence over the student?  Will it not
accustom him to fix his mind on the  works of creation to the
exclusion of their author and the great truths of his word ?  And
surely what tends to such a result cannot but endanger the
moral and religious principles.
  3.  Another source of danger is absence from your home and
friends.
  Home is the centre of our best affections, the inexhaustible
fountain  of moral influence, the scene of purest earthly happi-
ness.  Without the division of mankind into families, and the
constant operation of the endearing ties of husband  and wife,
parent and  child, sister and brother, civilization would be ut-
terly impossible.   To discern the salutary influence of domes-
tic associations, let the men of some twelve or fifteen hundred
households be drafted and marched from their homes and en-
camped under martial law; and at the end of a month or six
weeks, go  among them and mingle  in their intercourse, and
evijn in this short interval, the process  of  moral deterioration
will have gone so far as to shock and disgust you.
   I know, my young Friends, that the circumstances of those I
have just described are not exactly parallel with yours.  There
are many things in your situation which tend to counteract the
evil effects of absence from  home and friends; still there is
great room for fear.   The youth who comes here to  enjoy the
advantages which its medical  school affords, finds himself at
once in a circle equally inexperienced and  unrestrained with
himself,  and exposed to all the corruptions of a large town.__
 Home, home, that refuge from the enemy, that fortress of wood
morals—he has no home to go to, with its restraining, softening
 and purifying influences.  Beset with temptations, and far away
from a father's counsels and a mother's tears, is it  wonderful
that so  many students of our medical  colleges should be led
astray, and some of them irretrievably ruined! 
                             7
  Having  now dwelt upon your dangers, permit me
  11.  To point you to some of those means by which, under
the divine  blessing, you  may safely pass through these
DANGERS.
  1.  The first and most important of these is Prayer.
  Surely if there be any casein which  assistance and direction
from on high are peculiarly  needed, it  is your's.  It is only in
dependence on God you  will find  that  wisdom  and strength
which will carry you safely  through the perils that surround
your path.   What hope can there be for one  so exposed, and
yet so unused to the wiles of the enemy but in the arm of
heaven.   The prayerless  young man does not take heed to his
way according to God's word.
   There is another reason  beside the  immediate advantage
of prayer which makes it  important  to you. It  is only in
the  exercise  of that sincere trust in the power and  mercy
of God which naturally seeks to breathe itself out  at a throne
of  grace,  that  you  can expect to  be benefitted by  those
other  means  of  safety  to  which  your prudence may lead
you to have  recourse.   You may plan, you may lay  down
good rules for yourselves, you may form  excellent resolu-
tions, you may labor hard,—but what real good  will all these
do you without the blessing of heaven?  And where has God
ever promised that he will  give his blessing,  but in answer to
prayer?
   2. Let me advise you, my young friends,  to appropriate  a
portion of each day to  the reading of the Holy Scriptures and
other good books.
   " The  gospel,"  says  that  distinguished   Philosopher, Dr.
 Locke,  "has God for its  Author, Salvation for its end, and
 Truth without any mixture of error, for its matter."*  And this
 testimony, be it remembered, was given at the close of a life of
profound study and long experience.
    I need not  multiply scripture quotations, to shew the impor-
 tance of moral and religious knowledge to  one who is prepar-
 ing for the duties  of an arduous and highly responsible calling.

  * The reputation of Dr.  Locke as a Philosopher of the human mind, has
 been so great as to cause the fact of his having been a Physician to  be very
 generally overlooked.  He practised medicine for some time at Oxford; and
 it was his skill as a physician manifested in curing the Earl of Shaftesbury,
 of a dangerous abscess in the  breast that first introduced him into political
Hfe.  See his Biography, prefixed to the Boston Edition of his " Essay con-
cerning Human Understanding." 1813. 
                            8
Let our text  suffice,—" Wherewith shall a young man cleansfe
his way?  By taking heed thereto according to thy word.'1   A
chapter of the  Bible read  when  you rise in the morning, or
just  before retiring to rest at night, cannot, with  the divine
blessing, but have a happy effect  in guarding you against the
many snares  to which you are now exposed, and  giving you
that  elevation and  purity of character which constilue the
brightest presage of future professional usefulness.
   In this most  favored age  there  are  so many books distin"
guished for the ability aud  the interest with which they con-
vey moral  and religious knowledge, that it is difficult,  in  at-
tempting to  select some for recommendation, to  confine my-
self to  the necessarily brief limits which this occasion demands.
   Read Dr.  Payley's Evidences of Christianity.   This writer
is remarkable for his unrivalled candor, clearness of method,
and precision of language.
   Study Butler's Analogy;—I say, study,—for in  the particu-
lar department to which it belongs, there is not another work
of such profound  views and  close argument.  It is adopted as
a text book in many of the most respectable Universities.   Few
books  are so well calculated to call forth and strengthen the
Iii,crher powers of  the mind.
   That eminent  Statesman  and Philanthropist, William Wil-
berforce, has written a work well worthy of your attention.   It
is entitled " A  Practical View of the Prevailing Religious
System,  &c."
   Let me call your attention also to the life of Dr. John Ma-
son Good, which  has been recently republished on this side of
the Atlantic*  Dr. Good was perhaps the most learned  Physi-
cian that ever lived.  There was scarcely a branch of science
of which he was  not perfect  master.  His aptitude for the at-
tainment of  languages and  the extent of his acquirements  in
them are almost incredible.  Had he written nothing but  his
Lucretius, he would have been remembered by future genera-
tions as one of the first classical scholars of the 5ge.  Had  he
published nothing beside his translation of the book of Job
he would have ranked as a great  oriental scholar, and an ad-
mirable biblical critic. And had he left nothing but his "Study

  * I he Life of Dr. Good,and mogt of the other works recommended in this
Discourse, may be obtained at Mr. Bradford* Book btore.on Main, ne&r
Second street. 
                             9
of Medicine,"—"his name," to use the language of a distin-
guished Physician," would have gone down to posterity, asso-
ciated with the science of medicine itself, as one of its most
skilful practitioners and one of its most learned promoters."  In
addition to these  immense  attainments, the personal piety of
Dr. Good gave an  inexpressible dignity and charm to his char-
acter.
   Only one other  work will  our time permit us to mention, and
that is, Dr. Gregory's Letters on  the Evidences, the Doctrines,
and the Duties of  Christianity.  I know not where  you could
put your hand on another book upon these subjects containing
in so small a compass the same amount of valuable information,
and that conveyed in a style peculiarly lucid and felicitous.
   3. I would  counsel you to attend  regularly upon public
worship.
   This is a means of grace  which may be enjoyed without at
all  interfering  with your studies.   The Lord's  day must be
spent  in idleness,  or worse than idleness, or in religious im-
provement.  And  as the neglect of public worship is sure evi-
dence of a downward  course, so there is  strong ground  for
hope, of that young man who is found  regularly sitting under
a preached gospel.  He must first completely withdraw him-
self from  the  influences of  the sanctuary before he can be
wholly ruined.  And again, I will venture to assert  that, as a
general rule, the student who is conscientious in the duties of
the Sabbath, will maintain the most respectable standing in his
class:—because, (to mention no other reason,) the holy repose
of the  Lord's day is peculiarly calculated to invigorate the mind
for the employments of the coming 9ix.
   There is another advantage which you  may derive  from aa
attendance at church—you will there be in the way of forming
those associations  that  will really benefit you now, and in your
future professional life.   The day is  past  when a family can
habitually neglect  public worship, and  yet be respected in  the
community.   Intimacy with such  families would be  sure to
injure you as students, and would form no recommendation of
you when, after having received  your degree of Doctor of
Medicine, you come forward as candidates for public patronage.
   4.  Let  me  advise  you to  be careful in your choice of a
place of boarding. 
                            10
   Every judicious  parent feels the  importance of  this point;
 hence, when he sends his son at a distance 'o pursue his studies,
 he is anxious to learn in what sort of family he  is situated.—
 He knows that the welfare of a young man depends very much
 upon the character of the household of which he is  an inmate.
   The best rule  I  can give you on this subject, is to  select
 such a place as is most like home,—1 mean like home in its
 moral influences.   Endeavor therefore, first of all,  to get into
 a private family.  Here you will  have  the advantage of do-
 mestic regulations as well as domestic comforts.
   If the privilege  of a private family is not attainable by you,
 seek out a place where only a few, select boarders  are taken;
 and by all means, give the preference to that house, the heads
 of which are serious  people.   But never, unless as a last resort,
 take up your residence in a  public house.   I do not envy that
 young man his feelings who when  he finds himself under such
 a necessity, does not oftentimes sigh for the sweet charities of
 home.  To  me there is  something chilling in the very atmos-
phere of a tavern.    It is the region of almost pure selfishness.
Every one finds himself there a stranger,—an isolated being;—
 no one cares for him.   In  a  public  house there  are absent
 nearly all those moral influences which are  vitally important in
 the formation of the character of youth, and there  are present
 nearly all those evil influences which tend to ensure  its ruin.
  5. I can present on this  occasion only one other means of
 escaping the dangers to whidi you are exposed:—and that is,
cherish a deep respect for those of your fellow-students whose
spirit and walk are deoidedly christian, and, if possible, culti-
 vate an intimacy with them.
  " A companion  of fools,"  says the wise man,  " shall be de-
stroyed;"—and  we may add  that in the fellowship of the good
 there is safety.
  I once stood, my  young  Friends, on the ground that  you
now occupy; and  I  well  recollect what my thoughts  were when
 I looked around and marked some about me, who widely dif-
fered from the multitude of  us.   I saw that they were consis-
 tent with their principles, and I felt that these principles were
 better than my own.   These  reflections, 1 am persuaded, had a
 happy influence over me in restraining me  from  evil, and lead-
ing my mind towards better ihin^.?. 
                            11
   The presence of even three or four  pious  young men is a
great blessing toany college;  and let each individual consider
that how far their exemplary conduct will benefit himself de-
pends greatly upon the feelings he entertains towards them.—
To cherish a respect for the good is a likely means of becoming
such ourselves; but to despise them is  the surest way of hard-
ening our own hearts.
   I  have now pointed out the principal sources of danger to
you, with the best means of avoiding them.  In the perform-
ance of this duty I have been necessarily obliged to refrain from
going into  many particulars.  I have said nothing specially, on
the subject of intemperance, of gaming,  or of the theatre.—
Time would not permit this.   Indeed 1 felt there was the less
necessity for remark on these things, because such is happily
the improved and improving character of the present age, that
he who wishes to sustain even a fair moral standing in the com-
munity must carefully avoid these fountains of pollution;  and
because the young man who will acknowledge the propriety of
any of the counsels I  have just given, must be sensible  of the
evil of these things.  The student of medicine who is sincere-
ly looking upward  for direction and support;—who takes the
word of God as a lamp to his feel and a light to his path;;—who
fixes an eye of laudable ambition on such a model as that ex-
hibited in  the life of Dr.  Good;—who is conscientious in the
duties of  the Lord's day;—whose heart delights in the moral
influences of home;—and who esteems the religious for their
religion's sake,—such an  one  would shrink with abhorrence
from the intoxicating bowl, the inticements of the gaming table
and the contaminations of the theatre.
   My young Friends, you are looking forward to an honorable
profession—a profession of solemn responsibility, and one that
demands high moral as well as intellectual attainments, proper-
ly to discharge its many  and  arduous duties.   Bring, there-
fore, your whole mind and  heart to the work of preparation.—
Let no excellence be wanting on your part that will commend
you to the wise and the good.  And while you are seeking those
attainments that will enable you to go to the  bed side of the
sick, properly qualified to give them the benefits of the healing
art in its highest state  of improvement;  be careful also to cul-
tivate that seriousness of character, and that tenderness of feel-
ing which will cause you to be v elcomed as an angel of mercy 
                            12
in the chamber of affliction.  Not  merely the lives, but the
reputation of individuals and the peace of families must fre-
quently be committed to the Physician.  Let every anticipation
of such a trust stimulate you  to deserve it.
  But, my young  Friends, I should be utterly wanting in my
duty on this sacred occasion, were I to close without remind-
ing you that you may never reach the high mark towards which
you are striving.   Death may cut you off from  the object be-
fore you.   Scarcely a session passes round in  a Medical Col-
lege, respectable for its numbers, without removing some of
them into eternity.  It is oftentimes with me a subject of mel-
ancholy reflection to look back on the days when I was  engag-
ed as you are, and call to mind the number of promising young
men  who started in the career of study with as ardent hopes
and bright prospects as myself, but who sunk  into  the grave
before their hands were permitted to touch the honors of the
Doctorate!
  And as all  experience "makes it certain that  such  must be
the case with  some of you, and  as it is equally uncertain who
may be of this number, so I can most leasonably ask each one
of you to  suppose himself the individual, who before the close
of his studies shall be summoned  to appear before the Judge
of quick and  dead.  Ah, my young Friends, are you prepared
for such an  event as this?  Have you yet given it the thought
it desei ves ?   Do you ever consider the import of these declara-
tions—declarations as  rational as they  are scriptural?—"ex-
cept a man  be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,"
—"Without  holiness  no man shall  see  the  Lord."  Go,  1
would affectionately beseech  you, when  you retire from thig
house of  prayer; go,  to the secret recesses of  your closet and
take the gospel of" God out  Saviour" in your hands, and when
you have  read his own faithful warnings,  " Except ye  repent
ye shall all  likewise perish,"—" lie  that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life;  and he  that believeth not the Son  shall
not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him,"—then let
the solemn  question  be put—" O  my  God, am I prepared to
appear before thee?"   Amen! 
 
 
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