THAT this Country has, ever since its Discovery and Settlement, laboured under the greatest Disadvantages, from the imperfect Manner, in which Students have been instructed in the Principles of Medicine; and from the Consequent prevailing Ignorance of but too many of its Professors; is a Truth which cannot be contested; and of which many unhappy Families have severely felt the fatal Effects.

[Page 2] The present Occasion therefore must give the most real Pleasure to every considerate Man, or Lover of his Country; and surely there is no Friend of Learning, but must rejoice to see these Gentlemen, who have given the most public and ample Testimony of their Abilities, now soliciting the Honors of this University, in a Profession hitherto (at least in a regular Man­ner) uncultivated amongst us.

I am therefore particularly happy in having this Opportunity of congratulating every public spirited Friend and Patron of this College, and especially those of the medical Institution, up­on the present Instance of its Success, which affords so pleasing a Prospect of its rising Re­putation and future Utility.

But it is to you, Gentlemen, who are Can­didates for medical Degrees, that I mean in a more particular Manner to address my pre­sent Discourse; receive then my Thanks for the Honors you have already reflected upon us, and as both for your Sakes and our own, I cannot but be anxious for your future Repu­tation; [Page 3] let me once more, before we part, re­quest your Attention for a few Moments, whilst I endeavour to explain to you the weighty duties of your Profession—A Pro­fession, in the Practice of which, Integrity and Abilities, will place you among the most use­ful; and Ignorance and Dishonesty, among the most pernicious Members of Society.

And be not alarmed, if I set out with tell­ing you, that your Labours must have no End. No less than Life, and its greatest Blessing Health, are to be the Objects of your At­tention; and would you acquit yourselves to your own Consciences, you must spend your Days in assiduous Enquiries, after the Means of rendering those of others long and happy.

Do not therefore imagine, that from this Time your Studies are to cease; so far from it, you are to be considered as but just entering upon them; and unless your whole Lives, are one continued Series of Application and Im­provement, you will fall short of your Duty. For, if in the Eye of the Law, the Man who does not afford, to all immediately under his [Page 4] Care and Protection, as far as in him lies, the necessary Means of preserving Life, is consi­dered as accessary to Murder, how will that Physician excuse himself to his own Consci­ence, or what Palliation of his Guilt, will he plead at the awful Bar of eternal Justice, who instead of embracing and industriously cultiva­ting every Opportunity of Improvement, shall (conscious of his own Inability) rashly tamper with the Lives of his Fellow Creatures; and, at the risk of their Safety, defraud them of their Property? Would not any one consider the Lawyer an Impostor, not to use a harsher Phrase, who, conscious of his own Ignorance, should give Advice, which might endanger the Estate of another? And is not the Physician who imposes Ignorance upon me for Know­ledge, and puts my Life to the hazard of an uncertain die; so much the greater Impostor, in as much as my Life, is of greater Estima­tion than my Estate. In a Profession then, like that you have embraced, where the Ob­ject is of so great Importance as the Life of a Man; you are accountable even for the Errors of Ignorance, unless you have embraced every Opportunity of obtaining Knowledge.

[Page 5] And to a Man, who has any Conscience at all, it will be but a slight Alleviation of his Remorse, to say, after some fatal Blunder, I knew no better! Unless he can likewise add, that it is to be attributed to the Frailty of his Nature, and not to the Negligence of his Dis­position, that he was not better informed. Nor will a weeping Parent receive much Consola­tion from this Reflection, that by the fatal Ig­norance of his Physician, and not by the ma­lignancy of the Disease, he has been robbed of the Staff and Support of his Life, the Joy and Comfort of his declining Age.

Did I know a Wretch among the Practiti­oners of Medicine, whose insensible Soul nei­ther feels for the Distresses he may Occasion, nor partakes in the Joys he may give rise to; I say, did I know a Man so void of every Sen­timent of Tenderness, and Humanity; I would advise him, from Motives of Interest and Gain, to endeavour at the Attainment of Skill in his Profession. But to you, Gentlemen, I will point out the Gratification inseparable from the Acquisition of Knowledge, that ever to be [Page 6] wished for Praise, which falls from the Lips of the Wise and the Virtuous, the Applause of an approving Conscience, and the unspeakable Pleasure of doing good, as the Reward of all your Toil, and as the strongest Spur to your future Industry.

As to those who have neither Emulation nor Honesty, who neither have Abilities, nor will give themselves the Trouble of acquiring them; I would recommend it to such, seriously to consider the Sixth Commandment,

'THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER.'

In the Prosecution of your Studies, let such Authors as have transmitted to us Observations founded upon Nature, claim your particular At­tention. Of these, HIPPOCRATES shines the foremost; his unwearied Diligence in observing and collecting the Symptoms of Diseases, his Fidelity and Accuracy in relating them, his happy Facility in discovering their Causes, his almost prophetic Knowledge of their Events, and his successful Treatment of them, can ne­ver be sufficiently admired, and will hand down his Name, with Honor and Applause to the latest Posterity.

[Page 7] A few others among the Ancients, who have followed the Steps of Hippocrates, are well worth your Perusal; but whilst you ac­knowledge their Merit▪ do not affect the Pe­dantry of despising the Moderns; and carefully avoid that Rock, upon which most of the fond Admirers of Antiquity have split, a blind and slavish Attachment to its Opinions; the Bar where Truth has been so often Shipwrecked, and which more than the want of Ingenuity or Capacity, stopped the Progress of Learning for above twelve hundred Years.

Why should we give more to those Times, than they attributed to themselves? Read the Writings of the wisest among the Ancients, and they are filled with Modesty and Diffi­dence, why then should we ascribe to them, Infallibility and Omniscience? They doubted the Assertions, and controverted the Opinions of the Times which preceded them; why should not we doubt and controvert theirs; and leave to Posterity the Liberty of controverting ours? Let us then examine their Writings with Candour, but with Freedom, and embrace or [Page 8] reject their Opinions; as they shall be found consistent, or inconsistent with later Expe­rience.

Without therefore depreciating the Merit of the Ancients, let us do Justice to their Pos­terity, and do not from an over Zeal for Anti­quity, sacrifice Sydenham and Boerhaave, to the Manes of Hippocrates and Galen.—I see no Reason why Time only should lessen our Abilities, and surely Experience must increase our Knowledge: and although I think some of the Ancients may be read with great Ad­vantage; yet it is the most celebrated Moderns (who with equal Abilities enjoy the additional Advantage of near 2000 Years of Experience) whom I would recommend to your most at­tentive Perusal; particularly those great Orna­ments of their Profession, SYDENHAM, BOER­HAAVE, HUXHAM, PRINGLE, and WHYTT; and some others of our latest English and Scotch Physicians, "Horum Scripta nocturna versate manu, versate diurna."

In your Intercourse with your Fellow Prac­titioners, let Integrity, Candour, and Delicacy [Page 9] be your Guides. There is a particular Sensi­bility of Disposition, which seems essential to delicate Honor, and which I believe is the best Counterpoise to Self-Interest. This I would by all Means advise you to cultivate, as you will meet with many Occasions where it only can direct your Conduct.

Never affect to despise a Man for the want of a regular Education, and treat even harm­less Ignorance, with Delicacy and Compassion, but when you meet with it joined with fool­hardiness and Presumption, you must give it no quarter.

On no Pretence whatever, practice those little Arts of Cunning and Dissimulation, which to the Scandal of the Profession, have been but too frequent amongst us. Nor ever attempt to raise your Fame on the Ruins of another's Reputation; and remember that you ought not only to be cautious of your Words, a Shrug or a Whisper, the stare of Surprise, or a piteous Exclamation of Sorrow, more effec­tually wound another's Reputation, and more clearly betray the Baseness of a Man's own Heart, than the loudest Expressions.

[Page 10] Do not pretend to Secrets, Panacea's, and Nostrums, they are illiberal, dishonest, and in­consistent with your Characters, as Gentlemen and Physicians, and with your Duty as Men—For if you are possessed of any valuable Re­medy, it is undoubtedly your Duty to divulge it, that as many as possible may reap the Be­nefit of it; and if not, (which is generally the Case) you are propagating a Falsehood, and imposing upon Mankind.

In your Behaviour to the Sick, remember always that your Patient is the Object of the tenderest Affection, to some one, or perhaps to many about him; it is therefore your Duty, not only to endeavour to preserve his Life, but to avoid wounding the Sensibility of a tender Parent, a distressed Wife, or an affectionate Child. Let your Carriage be humane and at­tentive, be interested in his Welfare, and shew your Apprehension of his Danger, rather by your Assiduity to relieve, than by any harsh or brutal Expressions of it. On the other hand, never buoy up a dying Man with groundless Expectations of Recovery, this is at best a good natured and humane Deception, but too often [Page 11] it arises from the baser Motives of Lucre and Avarice: besides, it is really cruel, as the stroke of Death is always most severely felt, when unexpected; and the grim Tyrant may in general be disarmed of his Terrors, and ren­dered familiar to the most timid, and appre­hensive; either by frequent Meditation, by the Arguments of Philosophy, or by the Hopes and Promises of Religion. But even overlook­ing the important Concerns of Futurity; the Business of this Life may render such a Con­duct highly dangerous and criminal; as those to whom the thoughts of Death are painful, are too apt when flattered with the Prospect of Recovery, to neglect the necessary Provi­sion against a Disappointment, and by that Means involve their Families in Confusion and Distress.

Above all Things, avoid any ridiculous Ex­pressions of Humour, at the bed-side of a sick Man; you cannot chuse a more unseasonable Opportunity for your Mirth; nor will you find a Person of a generous and benevolent Disposi­tion, who can smile even at the Repetition of a [Page 12] Witticism, which carries with it the Appear­ance of so much Inhumanity.

Let your Prescriptions be simple, and as neat and agreeable as the Nature of the Remedy will permit—Nothing can be more absurd than the Farrago of some, nothing more disgustful than the Slovenliness of others; for it is impossible to learn the true Virtues of Medicines, from com­pound Prescriptions; and Inelegance frequent­ly disappoints us of their Effects.—And as it is probable, from the Mode of Practice in this Country, that you will not only be the Prescri­bers, but likewise the Dispensers of your Me­dicines, let your Integrity be proof against the Temptation of unnecessarily multiplying Pre­scriptions, and trust rather to the Liberality of your Patient, than to the Quantity of your Physic, for your Reward. For altho' perhaps by this Method you may sometimes think your Services undervalued, yet you will always en­joy the superior Satisfaction of conscious Rec­titude, which, by an honest Man, will ever be preferred to a trifling Emolument.—

[Page 13] In the Infancy of this Country, the present Mode of practising Medicine was necessarily introduced, from the Scarcity, both of Inha­bitants and Physicians. But in so populous a City as this, it is beyond a Doubt, that the Regulations it is now under, are both injurious to the Inhabitants, and dishonorable to the Profession: yet I confess it is not very easy to point out a Remedy to the Inconveniences at­tendant on it. There is but one, and that per­haps at present would not be thought expe­dient; but until it is, those who are in good Circumstances must rely wholly upon the In­tegrity of their Physicians; and for the Poor who are the greatest sufferers, we must en­deavour to find out some other Source of Relief.

Whenever you shall be so unhappy as to fail, in your Endeavours to relieve; let it be your constant Aim to convert, particular Mis­fortunes into general Blessings, by carefully inspecting the Bodies of the Dead, inquiring into the Causes of their Diseases, and thence [Page 14] improving your own Knowledge, and making further and useful Discoveries in the healing Art.

Nor can I help regretting the many Ob­stacles you will meet with in prosecuting this so necessary an Enquiry; from the Prejudices of the People in general, and a false Tender­ness and mistaken Delicacy in Relations. Time and Perseverance however must overcome po­pular Prejudices, and will I hope before long, remove these Difficulties, and open this Door to Medical Improvement.

Let those who are at once the unhappy Vic­tims, both of Poverty and Disease, claim your particular Attention; I cannot represent to my­self a more real Object of Charity, than a poor Man with perhaps a helpless Family, labouring under the complicated Miseries of Sickness and Penury. Paint to yourselves the agonizing feelings of a Parent, whilst labour­ing under some painful Disease, he beholds a helpless Offspring around his Bed, in want of the necessaries of Nature; imagine the De­spair of an affectionate Wife, and a tender [Page 15] Mother, who can neither relieve the Pain and Anxiety of her Husband, nor supply the im­portunate cravings of her Children; and then deny them your Assistance if you can—but the Supposition is injurious to Humanity, and you in particular, I know want no such Incite­ments to Duty and Benevolence. I cannot however help regretting, the very frequent Opportunities you will meet with, particularly in this Place, of exercising your Humanity upon such Occasions; owing to the want of a proper Asylum, for such unhappy and real Objects of Charity, it is truly a reproach, that a City like this, should want a public Hospi­tal, one of the most useful and necessary chari­table Institutions that can possibly be imagined.

The labouring Poor are allowed to be the support of the Community; their Industry enables the Rich to live in Ease and Affluence, and it is from the Hands of the Manufacturer we derive, not only the Necessaries, but the Superfluities of Life; whilst the poor Pittance he earns will barely supply the Necessities of Nature, and it is literally by the sweat of his Brow, that he gains his daily Subsistance; how [Page 16] heavy a Calamity must Sickness be to such a Man, which putting it out of his Power to work, immediately deprives him and perhaps a helpless Family of Bread!

Nor would the good Effects of an Hospital be wholly confined to the Poor, they would extend to every Rank, and greatly contribute to the Safety and Welfare of the whole Com­munity. Every Country has its particular Diseases; the Varieties of Climate, Exposure, Soil, Situation, Trades, Arts, Manufactures, and even the Character of a People, all pave the Way to new Complaints, and vary the Ap­pearance of those, with which we are already acquainted; Hence AEgypt is subject to the Plague; Holland to Intermittents; the West-Indies to Putrid; and the Northern Countries to inflammatory Diseases; and Spain and England to Hypochondriocal Complaints; which reigning Diseases of a Country, not only have Peculiarities of their own, but often vary the Characters of such as are com­mon to that Country with others, and these Peculiarities with their Antidotes can properly [Page 17] be learned only in public Hospitals, where ha­ving a number of Sick at one Time, not only affords an Opportunity of the better comparing and remarking their Symptoms, but they be­ing under a certain Discipline and Regulation, the Faces of their diseases are not changed, either by the indulgence of friends or the offi­ciousness of Nurses; which is too often the case in private practice. Another argument, (and that by no means the least,) for an Insti­tution of this Nature, is, that it affords the best and only means of properly instructing Pupils in the Practice of Medicine; as far therefore, as the breeding good and able Physicians, which in all Countries and at all Times has been thought an object of the highest Impor­tance, deserves the Consideration of the Pub­lic, this Institution must likewise claim its Pro­tection and Encouragement.

Nor is the Scheme of a Public Hospital I be­lieve so impracticable, nor the Execution of it, I hope at so great a distance, as at first sight it may appear to be. There are Numbers in this Place I am sure (was a Subscription once set on foot, [Page 18] upon an extensive and generous Plan) whose Fortunes enable them, and whose Benevolence would prompt them, liberally to contribute to so useful an Institution; it wants but a Prime Mover, whose Authority would give Weight to the Undertaking, and whose Zeal and In­dustry, would promote it. Such a one I hope e'er long to see rise up amongst us, and may the Blessing of the Poor, and the Applause of the Good and Humane, be the Reward of his Assiduity and Labour.