Oration delivered before the members of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, at the celebration of their centenary, February 17, 1837 / by William B. Carpenter.

  • Carpenter, William Benjamin, 1813-1885.
Date:
1837
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Oration delivered before the members of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, at the celebration of their centenary, February 17, 1837 / by William B. Carpenter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    tution has been built up by the talents and labours of our predecessors ; its future honour and prosperity must come from you. Let me therefore earnestly solicit your united endeavours in transmitting its reputation unsullied to our successors. Do not say that your object in entering here was to acquire rather than to communicate knowledge ; for it is not only our duty to collect information, but it be- comes us, as we value liberality of sentiment, to diffuse it for the good of others. If a proper sense of the advan- tages conferred by the founders of this institution have ever excited in you feelings of gratitude—if, among the number of illustrious names to be found in our list of members, there be any entitled to admiration ; let the enthusiasm displayed by them for the benefit of the so- city stimulate you to like exertions—let their busts and portraits which adorn this ball witness struggles on your part emulative of deeds performed by the originals—let their influence extend even from the tomb, so that cen- turies hence the transactions of this session may be point- ed out as among the memorable eras in the Society’s an- nals. I need not, however, dwell only on the merits and abi- lities of those who have preceded us. I am surrounded, this evening, by members who combine among them a mass of learning, talent, and intelligence, which, if ani- mated by the enthusiasm shewn by their predecessors, and brought to hear on our discussions, would render this year equal, if not superior to any of the past. I see many who have returned from various countries, laden with the experience and knowledge of foreign science. Many of