health, in sickness, and in the article of death; he is frequently made acquainted with their hopes and their fears, their successes and their disappointments, as these have often a relation to their diseases; and, possessing their confidence, they also frequently unbosom themselves to him on matters not connected with the state of their healths. The physician, therefore, is put in possession of more facts with respect to the condition of the people than any other person; and it is only from the collection of such facts that we can arrive at the knowledge of the causes of them—for the investigation of which, his education peculiarly fits him.
For all these reasons, it seems a physician is the most proper person to treat on the subject of the following discourse.
Tavistock, April 30, 1805.
