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of animal and vegable life; and finally, to the discovery of a property possessed by certain physical agents, of suspending unimpaired, the powers of sensation and consciousness.
These are indeed discoveries worthy of any age, or any science, discoveries of universal application, benefitting every class of society, from the peasant to the king.
If we could persuade ourselves occasionally to turn aside from the daily path of practical observation, to retrace the chain of thought on which our principles are based, and to recall to our recollection the names of Harvey and of Hunter, of Desault, of Cuvier, of Jenner, of Bichat, of Abernethy, of Cooper, and of Laennec, as the link that connects their great works with the occupations of our daily life, our souls would expand with the real greatness of our pursuit, and we might be induced to combine in one united effort to elevate our honoured profession to a higher rank, than it now occupies in the esteem of the world !
In considering the subject of the remunerations of our profession at the present day, so palpably below the level of our responsibilities, I do not lose sight of the fact, and a painful fact it is, that the necessities of society increase in proportion to its inability to afford us compensation,—that poverty is the very nursery and focus of disease, and that whether under the form of Hospital, Dispensary, or Union practice, a large portion of our time is devoted to the relief of human suffermg. Doubtless the motives that dictate these high services rendered to the world, are composite in their nature. If to motives of philanthropy, a love of professional knowledge, an honourable ambition of distinction, and a not unworthy desire of future independence, meet in combination,
