THOS. M. LOGAN, M. D PROFESSOR OF HYGIENE; i) h C O M M ENC E M E X T E X E R 0.1 S E S m / *\ <_ LVy Metliral WcpartiiK I UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA; •EF HELD IN PACIFIC HALL, SAN FRANCISCO, flcfo&er 2!Mi, 187Jf. THOS. M. LOGAN, M. D PSOFESSOS OF HYGIENE; COMMENCEMENT EXEECISES iW |||eilical OTeparlnim UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA; ■^ \ HELD IN PACIFIC HALL, SAN FRANCISCO, October 20th, 187 Jf. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT mbtteitw of jSalifontia. H. H. TOLAND, M. D., Professor of Clinical Surgery. R. BEVERLY COLE, M. D., Professor of Obstetrics and Clinical Dis- eases of Women. A. A. O'NEIL, A. M., M. D., Professor of Anatomy. C. T. DEANE, M. D., Professor of Diseases of Women and Children and Clinical Obstetrics. 0 M. BATES, M. D., Professor of Clinical Medicine. M. W. FISH, M. D., Professor of Physiology. A. B. STOUT, M. D., Professor of Surgery. DANIEL ('. OILMAN, M. A., President. W. T. BRADBURY, M. D.. Professor of Therapeutics. F. W. HATCH, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica. CHAS. B. BRIGHAM, A. M.. M. D., Professor of Military and Orthopedic Surgery. Professor W. B, RISING, Ph. D., Lecturer on Chemistry. N. J. MARTINACHE, M. D., Lecturer on Ophthalmology and Otology. G. A. SHURTLEFF, M. D., Professor of Mental Diseases. THOS. M. LOGAN, M. D., Professor of Hygiene. E. D. MARTINEAUT, Demonstrator of Anatomy. GRADUATES, 1874: JAMES W. BLAKE, """ FREDERICK P. BIGGS, FRANCIS DELMONT, YOUNG E. HICKS, ~T WM. P. McDERMOTT, R. A. McLEAN, CHARLES F. MILLER, GEORGE E. NOTTAGE, JAMES W. WATERS. l^klei'litf 0111 \ iMrtnn IN BEHALF OF THE FACULTY OF THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. By THOS. M. LOGAN, M.D., Professor of Hygiene. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: At the instance of my colleagues, and in accordance with a time-honored scholastic custom, the "melancholy-pleasing" task has de- volved upon me of uttering some parting words on this inter- esting occasion. Gentlemen of the Graduating Glass: You have arrived at one of those turning points which mark the progress of hu- manity in the various stages of life. Patiently and unremit- tingly you have delved and worked your way, step by step, through all the obstructions that laid between the superficies and the, profound depths of that knowledge you have long sought to reach. You have diligently perused, as, strata by strata, you have advanced, the tabulated records of former ages, therein indelibly inscribed, and now, with your tunnels and adits completed—your appliances all-ready at hand, and refining furnaces in full blast, you have struck the basal rock, pierced the matrix of the vein, and already the priceless ore, the well-merited reward of all your noble efforts, is within your grasp. It is meet and right, at such a time, that we, your Di- rectors, who have engineered your course, and with hand and 4 VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. heart assisted and encouraged you through three long years of anxious toil, should feel a just pride in recognizing your abilities, and, while proclaiming you as our compeers before the world, indicate the drifts that will lead you on aright. The .Diploma, which we have awarded you, places you on the same plane with ourselves. It is endorsed by the high- est literary and scientific authority in the State, and con- ferred, by legislative enactment, through the representatives of the sovereign people. That you will not prove unworthy of this fellowship, nor unfaithful to the sacredness of this trust, nor yet unmindful of your duties to the State, your past career affords an am- ple guarantee. Into your hands we confidently commit the honor, integrity and usefulness of our rising University, which, though as yet but in an inchoate state, is destined, I fondly trust, to become not only the realization of the de- mands of the progressive age we live in, but also to create, develop and satisfy new and unheard of aspirations. In pronouncing this valediction, it seems to me that I can- not better improve the time than by inviting your attention, and that of you, ladies and gentlemen, who have kindly lent your countenance to these ceremonies, to some thoughts de- rived from an enlarged view of the moral responsibilities and relations of the profession to the public. The present is a remarkable era in the history of medicine in this State. I must not disguise from you the fact, that the import of the title of Doctor Medicinae, which you have so laudably struggled to obtain, has lost much of its original prestige, through the empiricism, which is everywhere rife, and which was never more arrogant. To such a degree has that restless, agitating, agrarian spirit, that would always be leveling down, been carried, that the prejudices of the com- munity have been excited against, and their confidence in the regular profession greatly impaired. Even now, the people themselves, through the daily press, are questioning the validity of our respective claims, and requiring the authen- tication of our own insignia of collegiate attainments. To this, as in duty bound, we make no unnecessary objection, VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 5 being ready to conform to the vox populi, which is our supreme law. Without stopping to discuss the diverse views that differ- ent minds may entertain as to the question of the present status of the profession in California, or attempting to elimi- nate from the problem the various conditions that complicate its solution, I frankly avow my belief that the average lack- of polytechnic knowledge and of general culture in the pro- fession—especially of moral culture, is the great and funda- mental cause of most of the evils that have overtaken us. Whence, let me ask, has arisen this wide-spread skepticism on the part of the public, if it be not from the observation, too apparent to escape attention, of the generally inferior grade of medical attainments? Do the people perceive that broad distinction in the acquirements, and I must say in the character of the regularly educated physician and the em- pirical pretender, which should always distinguish them? Can it be denied, but that in too many instances the only line of demarkation between the regular and empirical practice is found in a blind routinism of merely varying modes of apply- ing the same remedies, and not always to the disadvantage of the empirical method ? In arithmetical estimate I appre- hend the calculation of chances by either plan may appear equal, but then the difference in cost will decide the preference. Gentlemen, there is but one mode of rescuing our pro- fession from so degrading a rivalry; and that is by raising the morale medicate of our State to a level with the philo- sophic character belonging to our science. Mark, I am only speaking in generalities; and, while I am proud to tell you that there are many practitioners in our State, eminent for talents, illustrious for learning, and distin- guished for the highest qualities of head and heart; yet, I am constrained to confess to you, that too many are num- bered among our ranks, who, by a reckless abuse of their high prerogatives, are curtailing our influence and bringing discredit upon the whole profession. Alas! how many are there in this proud metropolis of the Pacific, who have no 6 VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. higher ideas of the dignity of their vocation, than that it is a mere trade—a scuffle to gain popularity, and to pocket the dollars and cents ? Look for one moment at the duties and responsibilities in- volved, and I am sure you will readily agree with me, that in no other station in life, save in that of medical practition- ers, is such an amount of power and influence given into the hands of human beings—none other, in which the obligations to society are of so delicate and honorable a nature. They are the curators of the public, as well as private health—the sentinels on the watch-tower of disease. By their opinions are determined the most important interests of government— the regulation of trade, the introduction of commerce, and the admission of strangers. To them do the public look for the true history of localities in health and disease—for information of the increase and decrease of particular mala- dies—their period of appearance, duration and termination, as well as their fatality, and the modes of providing against their attacks. In their hands are the issues of life and death, and by their timely decision in questions of a toxicological, infanticidal, or lunatic involution is the innocent victim of the relentless statue law, often snatched from an unmerited and cruel punishment, while the unsuspected criminal is de- livered over to his just deserts. They usher the unseen foetus into the world, and direct the fostering care, which is to rear him up unto the perfect man. They are brought into the most intimate and delicate relations with that fairest of cre- ation, " whose dower is all of love and suffering from her birth," and whose natural frailty, made still more frail by the customs of refined life, renders her peculiarly the object of their unceasing and most sacred care. On their integrity and faithfulness depend the honor, the peace, and the happiness of the confiding husband, the anxious parent, the devoted child. They are intrusted with all the weaknesses, physical defects, and moral delinquencies of fallen, erring humanity; and when arrested in their course of pleasure or of profligacy by the poisonous touch of disease, or the bitter fruits of sin, to them, as to their guardian angels, do men turn to be VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 7 shielded from the shafts of scandal, infamy and death. They are expected to range over the wide circuit of human knowl- edge—to cull from the illimitable field of nature a theriaca for every ail, and to hold themselves ever in readiness to apply with unerring sagacity, whatever the emergency may demand. They are required to solve the most intricate problems of mental and bodily disease—to detect the lurking cause of sorrow, which, "like a worm in the bud," preys upon the vital spirits of the soul, and to restore dethroned reason to her seat. Finally, it is their Samaritan office to pour the balm of Gilead into the broken heart, bind up with words of com- fort the wounds they cannot heal, and smooth the passage to the grave ! If such, then, be the high and beneficient prerogatives of our profession—such the moral power wielded by the physi- cian, in every sphere of life, and among all classes and con- ditions of society—if medicine includes or touches upon all sciences, and if man, who in his innumerable relations, is the object of our study and the subject of our labors, be con- nected with all God's universe—how incumbent it is then on us all, we your Preceptors, and you our Alumni, to pause here, in the presence of these our Regents, and of this intel- ligent audience, and, pondering the nature of those deep responsibilities, ask what has been, and may be done, to sus- tain our lofty character and office, and to contribute to the cause we are engaged in. That the diffusive light of a more systematic and com- pleter education—of clear and inductive thinking, has, in this age of general enlightenment, done much to advance our science toward that exalted station among its kindred sci- ences, to which it is so justly entitled—that medicine is fast ap- proaching that " ultima thule " in its history, when the stigma of uncertain shall be wiped away from its deductions, and it shall take its rank among the exact sciences, are postulates that none will contradict. But while I admit the fact with professional pride, of the progress of medicine, from a scien- tific point of view, still it must be acknowledged by every ingenuous mind, (in truth, the humiliating position in which 8 VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. we are now placed attests,) that it has not advanced of late in its career of usefulness, as expansively as might have been expected, but lags far in the rear of that more glorious and ineffable condition to which it must attain, when the empire of Christian morality shall reign supreme in the heart of man, and the good and the beautiful, pure iEons of Divinity shall deliver him from the dominion of his passion, vices and self- ishness. Then, when the wise physician shall give the strongest proof of his wisdom by endeavoring always to pro- mote the public good rather than his own private ends— when every scheme for the promotion of sanitation, educa- tion, temperance and morality shall receive his earnest co- operation ; and humanity, in all its phases, in all the varieties of its vivid experiences shall appeal to the best sympathies of his heart, and these be rightly responded to—then, aud then only, will the eyes of mankind become opened to a knowl- edge of their true interests and to a due appreciation of our devotion to their welfare. But here it may be asked, if our science is progressing, as it undoubtedly is, along with the collateral sciences; if un- der the medical protection of our own age, six out of seven— nay, eleven out of twelve acute cases, as numerical obser- vations show, do recover, when but one out of two may recover, if left to the unassisted, efforts of Nature; if, by pointing out the sources of endemics and epidemics, we have diminished both their violence and frequency; if, by investi- gating the nature of the several contagions, we have distin- guished them from non-contagious affections ; if, further than this, our researches are bringing us nearer and nearer that " vital constant,"* which binds together the chemical, the physical, and the physiological, to enable.us the better, through the correlation of the underlying gravitation, mo- lecular motion, and chemism, to understand the action of the factors that ceaselessly tend to degrade and to obliterate the life-forces; and so, by an intelligent system of scientific prophylaxy, and hygienic policy, has reduced the mortality *Address of Prof. J. S. Wright, to the Class of L. I. College Hospital. VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 9 and lengthened life; if asked, in the face of all this, what more can be effected by moral influence—what the utilitaria of this transcendental philosophy—what the practical ten- dency of this sublime psychology? I reply, (waiving all that has been already advanced) that the attainment of the per- fection of nature—the recta ratio of Cicero, is the purport of all philosophical education, and requires the harmonious development of all the powers of the soul ; that intellectual and moral advancement and human happiness are the chief aims and ends of all the sciences ; and therefore that the sub- lime philosophy, whose object is the filling of the whole mind with light, and the whole heart with the softening and subduing graces of an universal philanthropy, must be the alpha and omega of all our studies. Its teaching exposes to man, as in a mirror, his own ignorance and folly—it disposes him to think little of himself, and what he has alreadv gained, and creates in him not only a devout sense of his solemn ob- ligations to improve every talent committed to his trust, but also an abiding conviction, that he is not as well qualified to discharge his duties as he should be. In vain may the cry of " reform, reform," be rung with its many changes round the circle of our schools, from .Maine to California, if this enlight- ening and regulating principle, whose primary object is " the greatest happiness of the greatest number,"* be not'applied to our own consciences and conduct. This only can con- vince us that the reform must commence with ourselves. We must look into our own hearts, analyze the peculiarities, mo- tives and propensities of our own nature and learning to ap- ply to each its proper corrective, counteragent, and antidote, press onwards in an undeviating path of rectitude. Such self- auscultation wi.ll rouse up our professors and practitioners to the consciousness of what they are, and they will soon become what they ought to be ; for only let that moral stethoscope, to be found deep down in Christianity, " Do unto others as you would they should do unto you," be applied to their con- sciences, and their ears must become open to the ringing cry *Jeremy Bentham's Tenet. 10 VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. of reform, which is now sounding in vain; and an inward sense of the injustice they are practising towards their pu- pils—of the discredit they are bringing upon their profession and the evils they are entailing upon mankind, wTill produce a speedy and thorough amendment. Thus would we all be taught so to regulate our conduct, that it shall itself be proof that we are pursuing our profes- sion as the result of a liberal and enlightened philanthropy— that we are actuated in* all our efforts by an earnest desire for the amelioration of human suffering—that we are devoted to our science for its own sake, as well as for its objective results; in fine, that we are cultivating our science, as a branch of that universal biologic science, whose attainment is, or ought to be, the ultimate aim of all professional knowl- edge. And so would we draw a bright line of demarkation between the physician and empiric, and demonstrate by our actions the difference between a profession and a trade ; for, as in the latter, says an eminent writer,* " the art is rightfully considered an exclusive means of gain, so the former must inevitably be degraded into a trade, whenever mercenary and sordid motives superesede the scientific aim." In this manner we would raise up an ideal of professional character, which every one would be all the better for striv- ing to attain, and so elevate the status of our professional attainments, as to create, instinctively, in the minds of the people, an appreciation of the superior claims of the regular medical man to their entire confidence. Thus would the pro- fession become a law for its own protection, stronger and more enduring than any legislative statute. To you, gentlemen, who are just entering on the duties of life, and in whom I have endeavored to excite such aspira- tions for a higher culture, as would afford you a clearer vision of those ingots of mental and moral gold, already seen to be within your reach ; to you, whose sensibilities have not been stifled by the choke-damps of the world, which are now fes- tering in the vitals of the body politic, and threatening the * Jos. Henry Green, F. R. S., London, author of the Touchstone of Medical Reform. VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 11 life of the nation ; to you, we look, and the State looks, for your share of the work in the refining furnace of morality. Trust no materialistic croakers, who may tell you that my utterances, which are the outcome of two-score years' expe- rience in the profession, and which are the last you may ever hear from my lips, are those of the enthusiast or the bigot. But, judging rightly for yourselves, rise at once to the loftiest considerations, and resolve to model all your future efforts after the standard I have essayed to hold up before you as a life-task, and to work up with the inspiration of the artist, to the nearest approximation you may have conceived of it in your own minds. By so doing, while your intellect will find abundant opportunities for its best efforts, the nobler attri- butes of your moral nature will have an ample field for their full development. In my preceding remarks, I have pressed upon your atten- tion the vast importance of our profession, resulting from the connection which subsists between medical and moral science, in the broadest signification of the terms. I have made no distinction between the truths of the latter and the truths of religion, because all truth is one and inseparable. I have maintained that a clear knowledge of the principles of moral science confers upon the physician a power and in- fluence, short only, perhaps, of that of the ecclesiastical functionary. I have endeavored to prove that the means of rescuing the profession from its present low estate are in the hands of its own members. I have not only pointed out those means, but have also shown how they are to be ap- plied to the removal of the beam from our own eyes, before we can be enabled to pluck the mote out of our neighbors. I now go farther and declare my conviction, that without an inward sense of his moral and religious obligations to his Creator, to his profession, and to his fellow-man, the physi- cian is not only insensible of the full extent of his power, but his capacities for usefulness and happiness remain in a measure latent and dormant. It has long been my confirmed opinion, that nearly all the. evils of life proceed from ignorance, intemperance and profli- 12 VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. gacy; and I am confident the profession will bear me out in the assertion that most diseases result either directly or indi- rectly from infringements of the laws of nature. A necessary corollary from this deduction is that if mankind knew and obeyed these laws, they would be free from pain, disease and untimely death. While occupying, during the term just closed, the Chair of Hygiene, which was, through the wisdom of the Regents, and in accordance with my suggestions to the American Medical Association in 1S71, constituted a requisite part of the curriculum preliminary to the Diploma now awarded you—while occupying this chair, it has been my special province to explain the application of the laws of physiology and general pathology to the maintenance and improvement of the health and life of individuals and communities, under all the increasingly complex conditions of human existence. Let it now be a duty, on your part, to popularize the knowledge of which you are possessed. You must impress upon the minds of the people, that society, that is, we and our ancestors, are responsible for the weakly and diseased, whether infant or adult in our midst. Instead of sanction- ing, by our neglect or indifference, the old Spartan barbarism of stamping these out, as has been suggested by the new sci- ence-teachings of the survival only of the fittest, you must encourage every scheme to foster and sustain the feeble ones during life, and, if you can, heal, strengthen and develop them to the utmost, and make the best of that which he- redity and our own delinquencies have entailed upon us. In other words, you must, by every means in your power, by example, as well as by precept, strive to raise your fellow- men in the scale of humanizing, intelligent beings. You must labor to produce a general conviction, that Providence forbids that course of irregular action, and those improper social habits, which obstruct the path of moral and intellectual im- provement, and lead to mental and corporeal suffering not only in the present, but in the future generations. And by a simultaneous movement, you must further induce them to apply an effectual remedy in a wiser and better distribution VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 13 of their time, so as to allow a reasonable share for aesthetic as well as physical cultivation and exercise. The professional man, the merchant, the artizan and the lab- orer—in short, all realize every day how little they know com- paratively, and how much they still have to acquire, if they would extend their relations with those who surround them, and enjoy life by the enlargement of the sphere of useful oc- cupation. Be it your study, to set a worthy example in this direction^ by showing that there are other important duties incumbent upon men, besides those pertaining to the accumu- lation of riches. This doctrine may not be very palatable to the idolators of Mammon, so numerous and influential in the present state of society; but if each one of you, acting in his separate sphere, testifies by his conduct that necessary business may be compressed within many hours fewer, than are now dedicated to that object, and reasonable time be thus secured for some other pursuit—some outside endeavor, containing its own reward, from the constantly recurring sources of gratification it will afford, most wholesome results would ensue. For, as the bow must not always be bent, so Providence never designed that the intellect and heart of man should be invariably attuned to the saddening monotone of a selfish routine business. I should fail of doing justice to the arguments of Mr. Combe, that I have just brought to the aid of my sub- ject, were I to omit that deductive summary which shows the intimate relation subsisting between the med- ical and clerical functions to which I have already al- luded. "The Scriptures," says he, "in prescribing sobri- ety and temperance, moderation and activity, clearly coincide with the natural law on this subject; but we ought not to study the former to the exclusion of the latter; for, by learn- ing the structure, functions and relations of the human body, we are rendered more fully aware of the excellence of the Scripture precepts, and obtain new motives to observe them in the perception of the punishments by which, even in this world, the breach of them is visited. Why the exposition of the will of God, when strikingly written in the book of Na- 14 VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. ture, should be neglected by Divines, is explicable only by the fact, that when the present standards of theology were framed, that book was sealed and its contents were unknown." For the same reason, it was, in those days, when religion was indentified with a blind superstition, and when the mere dis- sent of the student of nature from the dogmatic dicta of sec- tarianism was branded as atheism, that the old libel upon our profession, " ubi tres Medici, duo Athei," could receive any credence. Not only the falsity of this adage, but the charge that the study and practice of medicine leads to infidelity, is strikingly controverted by the lives and writings of some of the most illustrious of our art in ancient and modern times. Hippocrates concealed nothing in his works, but set the glo- rious example of giving up the secrets of his art for the good of mankind. Galen, in his physiology,* says, " True religion consists not in immolating hecatombs to the Deity, nor in burning a thousand delicious perfumes to his honor ; but in the humble acknowledgment and lofty proclamation of his wisdom, his omnipotence, his love and his bounty." Sydemham, in a letter to his friend, Dr. Brady, writes : " I have always thought it a greater happiness to discover a certain method of curing the slightest disease, than to accu- mulate the largest fortune; and whoever compasses the for- mer I esteem not only happier, but also better and wiser. For can a man give a stronger proof of his benevolence and wisdom, than by endeavoring always to promote the public good, rather than his private interests, as he makes so small and inconsiderable a part of the whole." Boerhave used to say that the poor were his best patients, because God was their paymaster. In his Sermo Academicus, while he deduces the power and wisdom of the Creator, from the wonderful fabric of the human body, he, at the same time, confutes all those sophists, who pretend to explain the formation of parts or the animal operations. Nothing is more boasted by some chemists, than that they can, by artificial heat and digestion, imitate some of the pro- *De usu partium. Lib. iii. VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 15 ductions of nature. Hear how the great German physician silences them : " Let all those heroes of science meet to- gether—let them take bread and wine, the food that forms the blood of man, and by assimilation contributes to the growth of the body; let them try by all their arts, they shall not be able from these materials to produce a single drop of blood. So much is the most common act of nature beyond the utmost efforts of the most extended science." Our own Rush, too, than whom religion never had a stronger advocate, from our ranks, declares that he would rather have the opinions of Confucius or Mahomet inculcated upon our youth, than see them grow up wholly devoid of any system of religious principles. I am glad that I can bring forward such weighty authority as his concerning the relative bearings of the clerical and medical offices. After mention- ing all the remedies for derangements of the passions and sex- ual appetite, he concludes: " While I admit the necessity of their being aided by religious influence, in order to render them successful, I maintain that religious influence is seldom effectual for that purpose, unless it be combined with physi- cal remedies. This opinion is amply supported by numerous precepts in the Old and New Testament, and it is only by in- culcating those physical precepts with such as are of a reli- gious and moral nature, that the latter can produce their full effects upon the body and mind."* I might go on until I wearied you, adducing evidences of this tendency of our science to lead directly to the percep- ■ tion and acknowledgment of the Almighty Creator; but this is unnecessary. The manifestations of consummate skill, unfathomable wisdom and wonderful selection of the best means for accomplishing beneficent designs, meet us at the very outset of our course—at the vestibule of the temple, to whose innermost shrine we must penetrate, before we can minister on our sacred duties. That temple is the body of man! Nothing is holier than that high form, and, says the devout Novalis, "We touch Heaven when we lay our hand *" Medical Inquiries and Observations upon Diseases of the Mind." By Ben- jamin Rush, M. D., Ac. Phil. 1812, p. 356. 16 VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. upon it." " Man is the true Shekinah ! " proclaims the sainted Chrysostom. " The miracle of miracles," breaks forth the rapt Carlyle—" the great inscrutable mystery of God. We cannot understand it; we know not how to speak of it." For, whether we reflect upon the immense number, variety, or complicateness of the parts of the system with which it is our peculiar province to be familiar, from the little cell, with all its mystic power, enveloping a nucleus, and a nucleolus ; or, more correctly, a living speck of protoplasm— our fons et origo—so minute, as scarcely to be seen through the object glass of the highest powers of the microscope, to the full-orbed man, with all his developed life-forces : the heart, with its thousands of veins and arteries, giving 96,000 strokes every twenty-four hours; the lungs, expanding and contracting 20,000 times daily, and through their infinity of cells or vesicles, diffusing heat and life throughout the system ; the stomach and intestines, a chemical laboratory, wherein the most wonderful changes, dissolutions and com- binations are continually going on; the eye—"the soul reflecting eye," a most complete camera obscura; the ear, with its tympanum and labyrinthian pipes, a wonderful harmonic gamut; the tongue, and organs of the human voice divine—" the glory of the frame ;" and, above all, when we reflect upon the incomprehensible mechanism of the brain and nervous system—the organs of mind and sensation— through which all the parts of our frame are vivified and excited, and endowed with their peculiar powers, and by which the functions of all the separate organs we have already named are intimately and indissolubly connected with each other, as well as with other organs and functions, many of which are yet unknown:—when we thus see that each and all are related parts of a great plan, we are equally amazed and confounded at the unsearchable wisdom and power therein displayed. It is then, indeed, we feel that we are standing on the confines of the unknown and unknow- able ; in the very presence of that August Character, so faintly reflected in our moral nature, reminding us, with " a still small voice," of our comparative ignorance and nothing- VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 17 ness; and leading us to the practical .application of those fundamental principles of Christianity: "Do justice,, love mercy, and walk humbly with God;" and if we walk with the Infinite and Eternal at all, it must be humbly. May you then, gentlemen, as you advance in knowledge, and press onwards in the attainment of all truth, apply the principles we have just been discussing, to the regulation of your future conduct and usefulness. May you—unlike too many of our profession, who have dared, with irreverent thoughts to travel from their anatomical and physiological investigations, into dim and speculative regions far beyond their finite reach ; and, with their Pythian ravings of the potency of matter in every form and quality of life, to prescribe laws and draw inferences as to its origin, cognate with the Creative power alone—" presume not God to scan," but go forth, in every sense, the heralds of glad tidings to mankind. And may each and all you, with the same motives, which led the benevolent Howard " down many a winding step to dungeons dark," go up and down this earth, " leaving unsearched no nook," but driving before you sin, disease and death, with the strong spirit of the subtle Zephon, and the celestial temper of Ithuriel's spear.* Then will the hearts of your teachers be made to rejoice, that the blessings of Heaven have descended upon their efforts; and this, your alma mater, shall prove an oasis in the desert—a revivifying Hygeian fount, gushing over with waters of truth and virtue in a distempered and immoral laud.— Vale! "Milton, " Paradise Lost," book iv.—Zephon, in Hebrew, searcher of secrets ; Lthuriel. the discovery of God. — Hume.