9£8\ *QA9AK ADDRESS TO THE MEDICAL GRADUATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, DELIVERED MARCH 26, 1836. BY GEORGE B. WOOD, M. D., PROFESSOR OF MATERIA MEDICA AND PHARMACY IN THE UNIVERSITY. PUBLISHED BY DIRECTION OF THE MEDICAL FACULTY. PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED BY L. R. BAILEY, 26 NORTH FIFTH STREET. 1836. w W87ia \k3o c ■ 7. ADDRESS. Gentlemen— It is by the appointment of the Medical Faculty of the Uni- versity, that I now have the honour of addressing you. I should be proud, on any occasion, of acting as their representative; I am peculiarly so on the present, when the object is to welcome your entrance into the ranks of our profession. Allow me, gen- tlemen, on behalf of my colleagues, as well as for myself, to express a cordial sympathy with you in this most important era of your lives. We participate in the proud satisfaction of your retrospective view; in the delight of your present relaxa- tion from toil and anxiety; in the buoyant gladness of your new independence; in the lofty aspiration, the hope, the confidence, the joy of your eager glance into the future. We have the whole picture of your emotions indelibly traced upon our me- mory. In our sympathy with you, we live over again one of the happiest and most exciting moments of our own existence. Our congratulations, therefore, are not the mere expressions of cold formality; they are the overflowings of a real participation in your feelings, and of a sincere interest in your welfare. It is true that the relations which we have hitherto borne towards each other are dissolved. You have grown in know- ledge beyond the need of our assistance, and are about to take your flight into the world of action, each trusting to his own wings, and selecting his own course in the broad expanse before him. But, though we can aid you no longer, our earnest wishes for your true good will follow you always. One parting word of counsel, dictated by these wishes, will be received in the same B ( 4 ) spirit of kindness in which it is given. Let it enter deeply into your convictions, that your success in life will depend mainly on yourselves. Trust nothing to fortune, or to the fancied advan- tages of your position. Labour diligently, in your intervals of leisure, to render yourselves more competent to the performance of your professional duties; guard your sentiments and conduct so as to command the respect of honourable men; and endeavour to cultivate such an.exterior deportment as may render your pre- sence not unacceptable to those into whose society you may be thrown. Thus accomplished, if you watch diligently the cur- rent of affairs, neither imprudently rushing into the midst of ad- verse events, nor allowing any favourable opportunity for hon- ourable action to pass unimproved, you will as certainly pros- per in the world, as the seed, sown in a good soil, and nurtured with due care, will spring up and ripen into harvest. The mo- ral world is governed by laws not less uniform in their opera- tion than those which regulate the physical. Much less is justly ascribable to accident than men are usually disposed to imagine. The successful often feel a pleasure in considering themselves the favourites of fortune, while the unsuccessful are always wil- ling to shift off from their own folly or carelessness the responsi- bility of their failure. But there are few men so purely fortu- nate as to be unable to point to some prudent forethought, or wise decision, or prompt action, as the real origin of their suc- cess ; while perhaps not one wretched man exists, who cannot recall numerous instances, in his experience, of time misspent and opportunities neglected. With this maxim always before you—that you must rely upon yourselves—and with the stern resolution to leave no honourable means untried of promoting your advancement, you cannot fail to attain, if not the pinnacle of your ambition, at least a respectable station in life, with a competent provision against all ordinary mischances. But, gentlemen, your attention will not be occupied exclusive- ly with your own worldly prospects. You will not compress the whole current of your soul within the narrow and turbid channel of selfishness. By a wise ordinance of providence, the exercise of an expanded benevolence is not incompatible with ( 5 ) our true interests. If it turns away the thoughts for a moment from schemes of profit or ambition, it more than repays the loss by its cheering effect upon the heart and its ennobling influence on the character. The overflow of kindly feeling, at the same time that it enriches the soil upon which it spreads, clarifies and sweetens the stream from which it proceeds, and to which it returns again. If actuated, therefore, by no higher motive than a regard for our own happiness, we should cultivate good will for others, multiply friendly relations with objects around us, and throw out in all directions the cords of endearing asso- ciation, by which we may reciprocally draw and impart re- freshing sympathy and useful support. Among the moral associations which are least tinctured with selfishness, and therefore tend most to elevate and refine our nature, are those which continue to connect the pupil with his preceptors, after the immediate tie between them has been severed, and he has been borne by the current of time and events far away into some new scene of action. I cannot doubt that you feel at this moment, in some measure, the force of such associations. You will probably feel it more, when the trivial pains and anxieties which have intermingled with your recent labours shall have faded from your memory, leaving only the recollection of benefits received, strengthened by daily increas- ing experience of their value. Often, hereafter, you will throw back your thoughts from the turmoil of business into the quiet scenes of your professional study. The familiar counte- nances of your preceptors will then rise, with renewed fresh- ness, before your memory. You will dwell with feelings ap- proaching to those of filial affection upon their efforts to interest and instruct you; at once to inspire you with a taste for know- ledge, and to furnish the means of its gratification; to prepare you, in fine, so far as in them lay, for the high duties to which you are destined, and the noble reward to which the perform- ance of these duties will entitle you. The school in which you were instructed will share in these feelings of affection. In the warmth of your imaginations you will inspire its corporate existence with the attributes of real life, ( 6 ) will interweave into its character your conjoined estimate of all its teachers, and will love it as the centre of numerous pleasing recollections, the witness of your earnest labours and ultimate triumph. In order, gentlemen, that you may know it more tho- roughly, may appreciate its real deserts, and may thus be en- abled to render it an enlightened support in the struggle of com- petition in which it is engaged, I propose to lay before you, on this occasion, a brief account of its origin, progress, and present condition. I can, perhaps, do this with greater propriety than my older colleagues; as, from the shortness of the period during which I have been officially connected with it, I cannot be sup- posed to appropriate to myself personally any of the credit which may be found to belong to the school. The first conception of a plan for establishing a medical school in this country appears to have been formed by Dr. William Shippen and Dr. John Morgan—both native Americans—while prosecuting their studies in Europe. If it be desirable to live in the memory of those who may come after us, the names of these gentlemen occupy a most enviable position. Placed at the source of a stream which must continue to flow on through ages, they will be a point of search for future inquirers while civilization lasts. Hundreds of men of brilliant endowments, after filling the ears of their contemporaries with their renown, and by the impetus of their great minds forcing themselves far into the memory of posterity, will, in the course of time, drop one by one into oblivion until all are forgotten. But the future historian, though, in threading his way through the past, he may sweep multitudes of once great names as rubbish from his path, must at least preserve those which stand at the commencement of any great course of action. The fame of Shippen and Mor- gan will, therefore, continue to be cherished in this country, so long as its inhabitants shall be subject to physical infirmities, and the healing art be deemed worthy of cultivation. So early as the year 1762, Dr. Shippen, in the Introductory to a private course of lectures on Anatomy, announced his be- lief in the expediency and practicability of founding a Medical School in Philadelphia. In 1765, Dr. Morgan, upon his return ( v ) from Europe, laid before the Trustees of the College of Phila- delphia, which had then been in existence as a collegiate estab- lishment about ten years, a plan for the institution of medical professorships in connexion with the seminary under their direc- tion. The plan, which came strongly recommended by several influential friends of the College in England, was adopted by the Trustees, who immediately appointed Dr. Morgan to the chair of the Theory and Practice of Physic. In the same year, Dr. Shippen was chosen Professor of Anatomy and Surgery. For a short time, lectures were delivered by these two profes- sors on the various branches of science then deemed essential in a course of medical instruction. In 1767 a system of rules was adopted for the organization of the new school; in 1768 Dr. Adam Kuhn was appointed Professor of Materia Medica and Botany, and Dr. Thomas Bond of Clinical Medicine; and on the 21st of June 1768, a Medical Commencement was held for the first time in America, at which the degree of Bachelor of Me- dicine was conferred upon ten individuals. The chair of Che- mistry was added in 1769, and was filled by the appointment of Dr. Benjamin Rush. Such, gentlemen, was the germ of that school which has been so long scattering its fruit over every part of our vast country, and under whose broad shade we are now assembled, more than seventy years from its origin, to celebrate the return of its annual season of productiveness. Not less than three gene- rations have partaken of its benefits; for, in the catalogue of its first graduates, is the name of the grandfather of a young gentleman who now most worthily receives its honours, and whose immediate parent was also a graduate of the school. It is beginning to be venerable in the eyes of men; for it is asso- ciated with the gray hairs of their fathers. But age, which has given it dignity, has taken nothing from its strength; and it still stands erect and prominent among the numerous offspring which have risen up around it. Its growth at first was not ra- pid. Humble in its original organization, it gradually expand- ed with the increasing wants and resources of the country, and thus acquired a solidity and permanence which it would have ( 8 ) failed to attain, if forced by injudicious management into a pre- cocious increase. In the year 1769, when the Medical Faculty was fully form- ed, it consisted, strictly speaking, of only four professors; for the chair of Clinical Medicine appears to have been little more than nominal, and was abolished after the death of Dr. Bond. You will easily understand how imperfect must have been the courses of instruction, when the three branches of Anatomy, Surgery, and Obstetrics, were taught by one professor. With this deficient organization the school continued till 1782, when Botany was separated from Materia Medica, and erected into a distinct professorship. In the mean time, however, a great change had taken place in the government of the College. In the violence of political excitement, its charter had been abrogated by the state legisla- ture, and all its rights and property transferred to a new insti- tution, which was dignified with the title of University of Penn- sylvania. But this event, which took place in the year 1779, does not appear to have affected the Medical Faculty, which continued, in the new school, to be constituted in the same manner as in the old. In 1789, ten years after the act of abro- gation, the legislature, admitting its injustice and illegality, re- stored to the College, by a new act, all its former privileges and possessions; so that two institutions now existed, distin- guished by the titles of the College and the University. The Medical Faculty was thus, for a time, thrown into disorder, one portion attaching itself to the old school, and another to the new; and some modifications were made in the arrange- ments of the professorships, which, however, as they were of short duration, do not appear to merit particular notice. Hap- pily, the two institutions were soon afterwards reunited by a voluntary agreement, which received the sanction of law; and an opportunity was thus afforded, in the year 1791, for a new organization of the medical school. Six professorships were now recognised, under the titles re- spectively of 1. Anatomy, Surgery, and Midwifery, 2. Theo- ry and Practice of Medicine, 3. Institutes and Clinical Medi- ( 9 ) cine, 4. Chemistry, 5. Materia Medica, and 6. Botany and Na- tural History. But this arrangement was dictated by the ne- cessity of combining two Faculties, and supplying places for the members of both, rather than by a sense of its general pro- priety. Hence, the chair of the Institutes and Clinical Medicine was afterwards united to that of the Theory and Practice; and the chair of Botany and Natural History ceased to be consid- ered essential, when the opportunity was offered of transfer- ring its occupant to that of Materia Medica. In the year 1805, a great improvement was made by the establishment of a chair of Surgery, and another scarcely less important, in 1807, by the separation of Obstetrics from Ana- tomy, and its elevation to the dignity of a distinct professor- ship. From the latter period no material change took place in the organization of the school, until, by a recent regulation, the Institutes were again separated from the Practice, and placed upon an equal footing with the other important branches. From this hasty sketch you may perceive that the school has been gradually expanding from the time of its foundation; and that at no former period has it presented an organization so nearly in accordance with the just demands of medical sci- ence, as at this very moment. It would be a pleasing task to go up with you again to its origin, to introduce you to a more intimate acquaintance with its founders, and then descending along the course of its histo- ry, to make you familiar with each of the great names succes- sively that have illustrated its various departments. But the attempt would be vain to compress so many merits within a space so short as we could now allot to them. Perhaps, more- over, the task would be useless. What name is there among the worthies who elevated and sustained this medical school, that is not in the memories and the mouths of all who have any pride of profession ? What medical man, who has at heart the honour of his country, is ignorant of the fame of Rush, and Barton, and Wistar, and Physick, not to mention others, both dead and living, who have been associated with these great men in their labours and their renown 1 With two only of those ( io J I have mentioned has it been my good fortune to have any personal intercourse. One of these is now beyond the reach of human applause or censure; and the other stands so high in personal dignity, fortune, and the respect of men, and is so far removed from the business and agitations of ordinary life, that sentiments of admiration may be allowed ample scope in their expression, without affording ground for dishonourable imputa- tions. 1 ou will excuse me if I yield for a moment to the im- pulse of my feelings, and throw in my mite of tribute to their high deserts. The name of Wistar must have called up a train of affec- tionate and touching remembrances in the minds of many who are now present. They can recall the affable and courteous manner, the heart full of kindness, the tear for distress, the cordial smile of sympathy or welcome, the open hand, the generous, noble spirit that shone in every feature and spoke in every act. They can picture him in their imagination, as he formerly stood in his lecture room, full of his subject, inspiring into all the interest which he felt himself, unravelling intricacies and lighting up obscurities by an almost magic touch, with a countenance beaming with intelligence and affection—himself the centre of a love and respect which amounted almost to reverence. I might speak of his general knowledge, his scien- tific attainments, his professional skill, the large space which he filled in the society and business of the city, the esteem in which he was held in all parts of the Union. I might dwell also on that sensitive delicacy of conscience which he exhibited on all occasions, whether as a teacher considering himself answerable for the ignorance of his pupils, as a judge deciding* upon their claims to a recognition of their capacity to practise or as a physician lavish of his time, attention, and labour, upon the sick, without reference to their ability to afford him pecu mary compensation, and perhaps without a thought upon the subject. But even an outline, of the qualities of his heart, mind and conduct, would extend beyond the limits which I could here devote to them; nor do I feel myself adequate to theiriust representaUo, The sketch I have attempted, is buf^S ( 11 ) copy of the vivid impression which must be stamped on the memory of all who knew him. It is far from doing justice to my own recollections of his rich and beautiful character. Not less impossible do I find it to embody in words the sen- timents of admiration and respect, which are entertained by myself, in common, I am sure, with the whole of this audience, towards another illustrious supporter of the school, the last sur- viver of those upon whom its fame was built, and now looked up to as the acknowledged patriarch and head of the medical profession in this country. I need not mention the name of Physick. There is but one man in the Union to whom all would concede this preeminence. Who is there in this assem- bly, in this city, I might say, what intelligent man in the coun- try, who is not familiar with his admirable skill in operative surgery, and with the numerous improvements which the art owes to his genius 1 What medical man, who has had the oppor- tunity of professional intercourse with him, is unacquainted with those high qualities which have placed him at the head of American practitioners—his keen insight into disease united with the spirit of minute and patient inquiry, his inexhaustible copi- ousness of expedient, his undaunted resolution, which never wavered under a sense of personal accountability, his perseve- ring adhesiveness to an approved plan, alike against the remon- strances of the patient, the discouragement of medical associates, and the weariness of his own disappointed expectations. Hun- dreds are now living who owe life or limb to the exercise of these rare qualities, under circumstances which would have apparently justified despair. Consider him as a man, without reference to his professional merits. What dignity of charac- ter and deportment! what scrupulous regard for the just claims of others ! what perfect self command!—qualities which have placed their possessor upon an unassailable eminence, and have precluded the least show of disrespect unless from audacity itself. But it was, perhaps, in the lecture room that Dr. Physick appeared to most advantage. Those of us who have listened to his instructions in surgery can well remember, how impres- sive was the dignity and earnestness of his manner, how clear c ( 12 ) and forcible his flow of fact and illustration. We can recall the absorbed attention, the profound respect approaching almost to awe, which sat habitually upon the countenance of the class;— we can recall too the delightful emotion, the almost electrical thrill of pleasure which flashed through every breast, when his features relaxed, during the relation of some pleasing inci- dent, from their usual earnest sobriety into the bright cheer- fulness of a smile. With the title of Emeritus Professor of Sur- gery and Anatomy, Dr. Physick still lends to the school the in- fluence of his great name, though prevented by feeble health from an active participation in its affairs. Long may the even- mg of his days continue to shed its mild radiance upon our walls! Long may he live to fill a place in the profession, in which he can have no successor! The school has in general been fortunate in enjoying, through a long series of years, the services of those among its teachers who were best able to advance its interests. One striking exception, however, is afforded in the instance of the highly gift- ed Dorsey, whose meteor course was suddenly quenched in death at the moment of its greatest splendour. He lived, how- ever,, long enough to add one flower at least to the wreath of fame which encircles the history of the Institution, and to prove, that, had life been spared to him, he would have earned for himself a place in the memory of men, not less elevated, per- haps, than any now filled by his predecessors. Dewees also had a professorial career too short for the good of the school, though sufficient to connect his name indissolubly with its history, and to entitle it to claim his ample honours as among its own brightest ornaments. It is no mean boast of the Institution to have ranked among its officers the man to whom all agree in assigning the highest place among American Obstetricians, whether in relation to practical skill, to merits as an author, or to diffused reputation both at home and abroad. Of his kind and amiable nature, his unaffected simplicity of cha racter, his cultivated taste for the fine arts, even of his abiliUes as a teacher 1 do not intend to speak. They are too well known to you all to require any comment from me. The affecting ( 13 ) testimony of friendship and esteem spontaneously offered him by the class, on the eve of his departure for a foreign land, must be still fresh in your memory. What a noble scene was your last meeting with your venerable preceptor! I can still see him seated in the midst of the assembled throng, in the very scene of his former labours, enfeebled alike by disease and by the crowd of emotions which pressed upon him—come to receive your parting token of affection, and to bid farewell alike to you and to the place in which he had so often before met you in the full vigour of his powers. Every breast was filled with sympathy, every eye was moist with compassion—a deep silence evinced the absorbing interest of the scene—and when the last thanks and the last blessings, which his feeble lips were unable to pronounce, were read by a mutual friend, one com- mon feeling of sadness and solemnity overshadowed the whole assembly, and one common prayer went up from the deepest recesses of the heart, that the remaining path of his life might be smooth, and the evening of his days unclouded and serene. In these brief sketches, I have not pretended to offer a his- tory of the Medical Faculty from its first institution. In such a history, it would be unpardonable to pass over names which, on the present occasion, have not been mentioned, or to give a subordinate place to others which have been merely alluded to. My object has been, in the utter impossibility of presenting a complete picture, to touch off simply some points which were prominent in my own experience or recollection, and to which, therefore, however imperfectly executed in other respects, I have at least been able to give the character of truth. Before the present audience, it would be superfluous to speak of the general prosperity of the school. It may be interesting, however, to trace its gradually increasing success, as indicated by the number of those who received its honours, at different periods, from its foundation to the present time. I have already stated that the number of graduates at the first public commencement in 1768 amounted to ten. This was exceeded only on three occasions during the remainder of the century, on one of which, in the year 1797, the class consisted ( 14 ) of fifteen. The average annual number from the origin of the school to the year 1800 was only seven. From this period it appears to have rapidly increased. In 1S10, the list of graduates had swollen to sixty-five, in 1819 to one hundred and two, and in 1831, when it attained its maximum, to one hundred and fifty-one. Dividing the present century up to 1830 into periods of ten years, we find that the average annual number in the first period was about thirty-three, in the second seventy-one, and in the third one hundred and seven; and since 1830, it has been one hundred and thirty-two. But the number of graduates is not an exact criterion of the relative prosperity of the school at different periods; for, from a combination of various circum- stances, it has happened that the proportion of those who have annually received the honours of the institution to those who have merely attended upon its courses of instruction, has been gradually augmented during the latter years of its existence; so that its early success was in fact greater than might be infer- red from the statement just made. Originally, two degrees in Medicine were conferred, corre- sponding with those in the Arts. The prerequisites to the lower degree, or that of Bachelor of Medicine, were the possession of a competent knowledge of the Latin language, mathematics, and natural Philosophy, the serving of a sufficient apprentice- ship with some respectable practitioner of Medicine, a general knowledge of Pharmacy, and an attendance upon at least one complete course of lectures, and upon the practice of the Hos- pital for one year. The higher degree, or that of Doctor of Medicine, was conferred on the Bachelor at the expiration of three years, upon the conditions that he should have attained the age of twenty-four, that he should write a thesis, and should publicly defend this thesis in the College. This system was found inconvenient in practice, and, as it was productive of no coun- terbalancing advantage, was abandoned for that now in ope- ration, upon the union of the schools in 1791. The regulation formerly existed that the theses of the successful candidates should be published; but this too has been very properly aban- doned, as an unnecessary impediment in the way of graduation ( 15 ) We have thus, gentlemen, taken a rapid glance at the past history of the medical school whose honours you now receive. May I ask your further indulgence, for a few minutes, while I attempt to represent to you the advantages of its present posi- tion, and the claims which it advances to a continuance of the support which it has hitherto both merited and received'? I am sure, gentlemen, you know me too well to suppose, that, in thus assuming the office of its advocate, I am actuated by any sor- did views of personal profit. I wish you also to understand, that, in the remarks which follow, the Faculty of the University have not the least disposition to undervalue the merits of the numerous sister institutions throughout the country. A race is before us; a noble prize is to be won; we hail every honoura- ble competitor with a friendly spirit. The very excitement of a fair and open contest is equivalent almost to the pleasure of victory. Let each school present its advantages in the strongest light, and exert its own strength to the utmost—leaving to its neighbour the same privilege unmolested—and whichever may maintain precedence in the struggle, no just or honourable spirit will repine. Not the least among the advantages of this school are those connected with its locality. The city of Philadelphia, centrally situated in regard to latitude, far enough from the Ocean for perfect security, yet not so distant as to be of inconvenient ac- cess from abroad, sufficiently populous to insure ample oppor- tunities for anatomical and clinical illustration, well supplied with libraries and cabinets of specimens, salubrious as a place of residence, and richly furnished with all the necessities and comforts of life, is peculiarly adapted to become the resort of medical students, and the focus of medical instruction for the whole Union. Another advantage of the University, and one peculiarly its own, is its relative antiquity, and the number of great names con- nected with it in the capacity of teachers or of pupils The principle of association by which we appropriate to ourselves a portion of the credit or censure attached to any cause, or set of ( Itf ) men, or institution with which we are connected—a principle roofed in the very foundations of our nature, and the source of some of the noblest feelings with which it is adorned, extends in its influence not less to the past than the present. Who does not experience a glow of satisfaction at the mention of the virtues or praiseworthy deeds of his forefathers? Who does not glory in the former honours of his country? Is there one of you, gen- tlemen, who does not value his degree the higher as proceeding from the oldest medical school of this continent, as connecting him with the illustrious names of those who raised it into fame, as ranking him in that band of three thousand graduates which embraces so large a portion of the medical reputation of our coun- try for the last seventy years ? Is it not something to have fre- quented the same halls in which your fathers were initiated into the profession, to go out to the contest under the same flag under which they triumphed? Ccntlemen, these are not fugitive or barren associations. They will attend you through life;—they will intermingle in your whole course of medical duty;—they will elevate your tone of professional feeling, and serve as a light and guard to your path when beset with doubts and temp- tations. Your cyan will be constantly directed to the bright ex- amples of those into whose fellowship you have been admitted; and while spurred on by an honourable emulation to imitate their course, you will feel an additional obligation to avoid any disgraceful act, lest it may in some measure sully the purity of their fame. There is, therefore, something more than the mere gratification of feeling—there is positive benefit in a connexion with the age and reputation of the University; and few, I will venture to say, have ever repented the choice which led them to this connexion. Bui do not imagine, gentlemen, that I reeur to the past from any consciousness of present weakness. The University has not yet armed at the period when it will be compelled to resort to ,ts hoarded cap.tal of reputation. If success be accepted as a cntenon of mem ,t can still boast, amidst the powerful efforts of numerous nvals, a degree of support, not inferior, upon the ( n ) average of a few years, to that which it enjoyed when it stood comparatively alone. It cannot be denied, that the new institu- tions which have struck their roots deeply into the soil once ex- clusively its own, have drawn off much nutriment that would otherwise have contributed to its further expansion; but though thus checked in its growth, it has lost none of its ample propor- tions, and still throws out its undiminished limbs, the pride and boast of this continent. If it be judged by the character of its fruit, it has still less of which to be ashamed. Search for the rising professional merit of this country—the budding of future professional reputation;—where will you find it if not among the pupils of this school 1 When did classes ever proceed from its walls more rife with the seeds of honour and usefulness to their country than those of the last few years ?—and I am authorized, gentlemen, by my colleagues to declare, that a more distinguished class has never before come under their notice than that which I have the honour to address. Consider now the organization of the school. Has it not been advancing with the general march of improvement, and is it not at this moment more perfect than at any former period 1 You are all aware of the addition of a new and most important professorship—that of the Institutes—made before the com- mencement of the late session. What school in the Union can boast at present of so extensive a course of instruction ? Little more is wanting to render its organization entirely equal to the present advanced state of medical science, so far, at least, as accords with the institutions and habits of our country. But it has been deemed safest to proceed cautiously with changes;— to allow the new work to become consolidated by time, before venturing upon further additions. In the meanwhile, the atten- tion of the Faculty has been directed towards the improvement of the several courses which enter into its present plan; and as one of the means of such improvement, they have now under consideration the propriety of extending the winter session to five months, thereby relieving the pupil, and at the same time affording scope for more ample instruction. ( 18 ) The resources in possession of the school for the illustration of the various demonstrative lectures, have accumulated beyond all example in this country. The chemical apparatus is proba- bly inferior in variety, splendour, and costliness to none in the world. The anatomical museum, commenced by Dr. Wistar, has been augmented by the indefatigable industry of the present professor to an extent which leaves scarcely any thing to be de- sired. You can all bear witness to its richness in every variety of specimen, drawing, and model which can serve to illustrate the obscurities of anatomical structure; and it would be impos- sible any where out of Europe to find an equal collection of pathological specimens. Surgery also is illustrated in every mode of which the subject is susceptible; and the magnified drawings connected with this branch, independently of their merit as pictorial representations, are worthy of notice as speci- mens of art. The same spirit of improvement has been carried into the obstetrical chair; and you have been presented, during the last winter, with illustrations in this department such as have never before been witnessed in our school. It does not become me to speak upon the subject of Materia Medica. I may, how- ever, be permitted to say, that my object has been to place this among the demonstrative branches; and that, if I have failed to render the subject interesting and impressive, it has been from deficient abdity, not from the want of assiduity in providing the requisite means. v s e .ediea, mstructio, ^££Z2^2£f » the opportumty afforded by its open precinets for free venfl £T£ healZ'hTr "™«*« "Moo. influent The system of clinical instruction, which in it. ™>„ , r owes its origin t0 the Professors o 2 schoo£ T ™' ned to a perfection before unknown n he Un led S,^" T * ample arrangements of the tw0 l^JSW ( 19 ) that attached to the Philadelphia Alms House—it has been found possible to afford the advantages of practical illustration in medicine and surgery to the largest classes; and you must all be sensible, from your experience during the past winter, of the benefits which flow from this mode of instruction. To complete a view of the present condition of the school, it would be requisite to portray the qualifications of the several professors; but upon this subject I am not permitted to speak. Were I to express all that I think in relation to my colleagues, I should incur the suspicion of being influenced by the partial- ity of interest or of friendship. This much, however, may be said, that one common feeling animates all the Faculty—a dis- position to promote, so far as lies in their power, the usefulness of the school, and a determination to exert, to the utmost, what- ever abilities they possess, to render their courses instructive and interesting to the pupil, and honourable to the Institution. I have addressed you, gentlemen, on the subject of the school, without reserve. By the possession of its honours, you have become, in some measure, partners in its fame. Sympathizing with those who have its prosperity at heart, and disposed to participate cordially in the furtherance of their honourable views, you have a right to all the information which it is in our power to communicate. The Faculty rely on your good-will. They leave their cause confidently in your hands; and I am much mistaken in the nature of those feelings which serve as the bond between you and them, if they will ever have occa- sion to repent the trust. Gentlemen, you are now about to leave us, in order to enter upon the active business of life. I see a varied scene before you; but hope at present sheds her bright sunshine over all. I would not damp by one word the ardour of your young wishes, or the warm energy of your resolves. I would not repress, if I could, that eagle gaze into the future, which pierces through cloud and storm, to fix upon the bright sun beyond. The loftier your aim, the more vigorous and sustained will be your flight, and the. higher your ascent into the fortunes and honours ( 20 ) of this world. But there is one point of the utmost importance to your happiness, wherever your course may lie, whether high or low, in light or obscurity, among abundance or want;—a strict observance of the rules of honour and morality. Without this, your greatest success will be nothing more than a splendid failure. A secret consciousness will poison every pleasure, mingle a sense of disgrace in every triumph, and darken the whole soul, even amidst the sunniest fortunes. With it, on the contrary, scarcely any condition can be absolutely desperate. The storms of adversity will never find you without a cloak to protect, nor the fiercest assaults of grief without a solace to comfort you. But while such are the advantages of an upright life in the lowest extreme of fortune, it very seldom happens that they who adhere to it have occasion to invoke its consola- tions under such unhappy circumstances. The scriptural de- claration, " never have I seen the righteous forsaken," is but the expression of a general law of nature. The exercise of a conscientious guard over our propensities to evil, will be found an almost certain road to respect and confidence; and, united to a spirit of enterprise and the habit of industry, will prove a powerful instrument of elevation to the highest stations attaina- ble in well regulated communities. In your pursuit, therefore, of fame and fortune, never lose sight of this polar star. Turn not to the right or the left at the bright but delusive promise of the meteor lights which will entice you. In the path of your ambition, if duty or honour place but a straw in your way, pass not regardless by, but remove it before venturing to proceed. Gentlemen, we feel a deep interest in your honour and suc- cess ; we point to the path in which you may almost surely prosper; and if, in this parting moment, our wishes and admo- nitions assume a character of solemnity, it is perhaps in accord- ance with the occasion—the last of our meeting together after a long and satisfactory intercourse. Yes, gentlemen, it is a solemn occasion. In thus parting forever, we stand, as it were, upon the brink of eternity; and our thoughts irresistibly rise ( 21 ) up to that power which rules the vast obscure into which we are about to enter. If, weak and faulty as we are, we may venture to approach the pure majesty of his presence, we would earnestly ask for those who are about to embark upon the un- tried ocean of active life, a long course of virtuous prosperity— a career full of happiness to themselves, and of blessings to their fellow-men. Gentlemen, farewell APPENDIX. i. Chronological statement of the establishment of the different professorships, and the appointment of the professors, from the foundation of the school to the present time. 1765. The Chair of the Theory and Practice of Medicine was established in May, and was immediately afterwards filled by the appointment of Dr. John Morgan. The Chair of Anatomy, Surgery, and Midwifery was established in Sep- tember of the-same year, and Dr. William Shippen was appointed Pro- fessor. 1768. The Chair of Materia Medica and Botany was established in January, and filled by the appointment of Dr. Adam Kuhn. The Chair of Clinical Medicine was instituted in May of the same year, and Dr. Thomas Bond was appointed Professor. 1769. The Chair of Chemistry was instituted in August, and Dr. Benjamin Rush appointed Professor. 1779. The Clinical Chair, having become vacant by the death of Dr. Bond, was abolished. 1782. Botany was separated from Materia Medica, and William Bartram ap- pointed Professor. 1789. In this year two Faculties were established, one in connexion with the College of Philadelphia, the other with the University of Pennsylvania. In the College the professorships were those of 1. Anatomy, Surgery, and Midwifery, occupied by Dr. Shippen; 2. Theory and Practice of Medicine, by Dr. Rush j 3. Materia Medica, by Dr. Samuel P. Griflitts; 4. Chemistry, by Dr. Caspar Wistar Jr.; and 5. Botany and Natural History, by Dr. Benjamin S. Barton. In the University, there were only three professorships; viz. those of 1. Anatomy, Surgery, and Midwifery, held by Dr. Shippen; 2. Theory and Practice of Medicine, by Dr. Kuhn; and 3. Materia Medica and Chemistry, by Dr. James Hutchinson. Dr. Morgan died about the period of the separation of the schools ; and his name is, therefore, not found in the Faculty of either. Dr. Shippen was the only professor who retained a place in both, ( 5" ) 1791. The two schools were united under the name of the University of Penn- sylvania; and the two Medical Faculties were consequently consolidated. The Chairs were arranged in the following manner: 1. Anatomy, Surgery, and Midwifery, held by Dr. Shippen, assisted by Dr. Wist.ir as adjunct; 2. Theory and Practice of Medicine, by Dr. Kuhn ; 3. Institutes and Clinical Medicine, by Dr. Rush; 4. Chemistry, by Dr. Hutchinson; 5. Materia Medica, by Dr. Griffitts; and 6. Botany and Natural History, by Dr. Barton. 1794. The Chair of Chemistry became vacant by the death of Dr. Hutchinson. 1795. After two appointments which wore ineffectual, one in consequence of the death, the other from the resignation of the person appointed, the Chair of Chemistry was this year filled by the election of Dr. James Wood house. 1796. Dr. Griffitts resigned the Chair of Materia Medica, and was succeeded by Dr. Barton, whose former Professorship of Botany and Natural History was now abolished. 1805. Dr. Kuhn resigned the Chair of the Theory and Practice, and was suc- ceeded by Dr. Rush, who retained also his former office of Professor of the Institutes and Clinical Medicine; so that these two Chairs were in effect united. In the same year, Surgery was separated from the Anatomical Chair, and made the subject of a distinct Professorship. It was as the occupant of this ( liair that Dr. Philip S. Physick was introduced into the Institution. 1807. Midwifery was separated from Anatomy and made the subject of a new Professorship, though attendance upon the lectures was not essential to the obtaining of a degree. Dr. Thomas C. James and Dr. Nathaniel Chapman were appointed to this Chair. In the same year, Dr. John Syng Dorsey was appointed adjunct Professor of Surgery. 1808. The Chair of Anatomy became vacant by the death of Dr. Shippen. 1809. Dr. Wistar was appointed Professor of Anatomy in the place of Dr. Ship- pen. In the same year, the Chair of Chemistry became vacant by the death of Dr. Woodhouse, and was filled by the appointment of Dr. John Redman Coxe. 1813. The Chair of Theory and Practice became vacant by the death of Dr. Rush, and was filled by the election of Dr. Barton, who resigned the Materia Medica. Dr. Chapman, previously Associate Professor of Midwifery, was elected to the Chair of Materia Medica. The Professorship of Midwifery, now in the exclusive possession of Dr, James, was placed upon the same footing as the other Professorships, m relation to the necessity of attendance by the pupils in order to the attainment of a degree. ( 25 ) 1816. Dr. Barton died this year; and Dr. Chapman was appointed his successor in the Chair of Theory and Practice. Dr. Dorsey was elected to the Chair of Materia Medica, vacated by the resignation of Dr. Chapman. 1818. Dr. Wistar died, and was succeeded in the Chair of Anatomy by Dr. Dor- sey, who also died in the same year. The Chair of Materia Medica, vacated by the resignation of Dr. Dorsey, was given to Dr. Coxe, who, on that occasion, resigned the Professor- ship of Chemistry. Dr. Robert Hare succeeded Dr. Coxe as Professor of Chemistry. 1819. Dr. Physick resigned the Chair of Surgery, in order to take that of Ana- tomy, rendered vacant by the death of Dr. Dorsey. Dr. William Gibson was, in the same year, elected successor to Dr. Phy- sick in the Surgical Chair. 1820. Dr. William E. Horner was appointed Adjunct Professor of Anatomy. 1825. Dr. William P. Dewees was appointed Adjunct Professor of Midwifery. 1827. Dr. Samuel Jackson entered the University as Assistant to the Professor of the Theory and Practice. 1831. Dr. Physick resigned the Chair of Anatomy, and was succeeded by Dr. Horner. On retiring from the active duties of the school, Dr. Physick was appointed Emeritus Professor of Anatomy and Surgery. 1834. Dr. James resigned the Professorship of Midwifery, and was succeeded by Dr. Dewees. 1835. The Professorship of Materia Medica was vacated; and an additional Professorship was established, under the title of the Institutes of Medi- cine. Dr. Jackson, before Assistant to the Professor of the Theory and Practice, was appointed Professor of the Institutes. Dr. George B. Wood was elected to the Chair of Materia Medica. In the same year, Dr. Dewees resigned the Professorship of Midwifery, and was succeeded by Dr. Hugh L. Hodge. ( ™ ) II. The following Table exhibits the number of Students who attended the Lcc - tures, together with the number of Graduates, in each year, from the winter of 1810-11 to that of 1835-36, inclusive. A.D. Matriculants. Graduates. A. D. Matriculnntt. G radii 1810-11. 106 65 1823-2-1. ■121 96 1811-12. 3S7 70 1824-25. 487 111 1812-13. 349 61 1825-26. 440 114 1813-14. 345 62 1S26-27. 441 131 1814-15. 319 41 1827-28. 409 133 1815-16. 388 70 1828-29. 362 109 1816-17. 436 74 1829-30. 421 127 1817-18. 465 87 1830-31. 410 151 1818-19. 422 102 1831-32. 386 134 1819-20. 330 78 1832-33. 367 117 1820-21. 325 66 1833-34. 432 145 1821-22. 357 77 1834-35. 390 135 1822-23. 455 101 1835-36. 398 132 From an examination of the above Table, it will be seen, that the prosperity of the School, so far as relates to the number of Pupils attending upon the Lectures, has not, on the whole, materially varied since the year 1810. The average an- nual number of matriculants since that period is 398, which, by a singular coin- cidence, is precisely the number of the last class. The statement, therefore, made in the address, that the school has not declined in prosperity, is borne out by tacts. It may also be perceived, that the number of graduates bears no certain pro- portion to that of the matriculants. The great increase of the former since the year 1810 is ascribable chiefly to two causes •—1. The establishment of other schools, the pupils of which may become candidates for the degree of the Uni- versity after attending one full course of lectures, instead of two courses, which are required in ordinary cases; and 2. The greater diffusion of knowledge through' the community, which renders a degree desirable as an evidence of qualification. to practise, where formerly it was deemed of little consequence. ( 27 ) III. Present Organization and Condition of the Medical Depart- ment of the University. This is under the immediate government of the Faculty of Medicine, subject to the rules established by the Board of Trustees. The Faculty consists of seven Professors, independently of Dr. Physick, who holds the station of Emeritus Professor of Surgery and Anatomy, but does not officiate. They are, at present, NATHANIEL CHAPMAN, M. D., Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine; ROBERT HARE, M. D., Professor of Chemistry; WILLIAM GIBSON, M. D., Professor of Surgery; WILLIAM E. HORNER, M. D., Professor of Anatomy; SAMUEL JACKSON, M. D., Professor of the Institutes of Medicine; GEORGE B. WOOD, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica and Pharmacy; HUGH L. HODGE, M. D., Professor of Midwifery, and of the Diseases of Women and Children. William E. Horner, M. D., is the Dean of the Faculty. Courses of Lectures are delivered by each of the Professors Upon the branches of Medicine respectively attached to their chairs. These courses have hitherto occupied only four months; but in consequence of the number of lectures which the shortness of the session renders it necessary to crowd into each day, the stu- dent is subjected to more fatigue than is compatible either with his comfort or the most profitable exercise of his faculties. By the addition of a month to the session, this disadvantage would be entirely removed; and opportunity would also be