An address to the graduates of the Medical Department of the Columbian College / by Thomas Miller.

  • Miller, Thomas, 1806-1873.
Date:
1842
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An address to the graduates of the Medical Department of the Columbian College / by Thomas Miller. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    ADDRESS. Gentlemen: Few professions require a greater and more extensive knowledge of science than that of Medicine. It is not the simple and easily attained profession it is thought to be by those who are ignorant of it: and this idea of its easy access, I fear, obtains even among many who have adopted it. Few, I conceive, estimate the amount of labor, the priva- tions, and the sacrifices which are to be endured in the attainment of their profession; and even when the con- sciousness of these exists, they are not apt to consider the great responsibility which rests on the professor of Medi- cine. Let us for a moment view the young beginner in the science, taking his first lesson in Osteology: does he seem aware of the extent of the labor he is to encounter ? No: nor is he conscious of this till advanced in the study. He then, for the first time, entertains a more rational concep- tion of the nature of the task he has undertaken. He sees how much time and close attention he has to devote to his studies, before he can reach any thing like proficiency. He perceives that the mastery of these difficulties is not to be effected but by great labor, intense thought, and the most devoted and exclusive application of his whole time and talents. At this time, his aim and object is a diploma; and he assures you of his willingness to undergo all, pro- vided this hope is held out to him. At the commencement of his studies, he views the period when he will be enabled to graduate as very remote; but he feels assured that when he has reached it, there will be a reprieve—a rest from his