452 OTOLOGY AND LARYNGOLOGY 



decade, namely, to confine research and discussion in special sub- 

 jects to special societies and special journals, has materially in- 

 creased that danger, the reality of which was foreseen nearly twenty 

 years ago by my great teacher Virchow when in the address he gave 

 at the jubilee meeting of the Berlin Medical Society on October 28, 

 1885, he spoke the memorable words, to which I have more than 

 once referred, and which in verbatim translation are as follows: 



" Amongst us has arisen the large army of specialists, and it would 

 be useless, or at any rate fruitless, to oppose this development ; but I 

 think I ought to say here, and I hope to be sure of the consent of you 

 all when I say it, that no specialty can flourish which separates itself 

 completely from the general body of science; that no specialty can 

 develop usefully and beneficially if it does not ever and ever again 

 drink from the general fount, and if it does not remain in relationship 

 with other specialties, so that we all help one another, and thereby 

 preserve for science, at any rate, even if it should not be necessary 

 for practice, that unity on which our position rests intrinsically, and, 

 I may well say also, with regard to the outer world." 



Under these circumstances it was certainly a happy thought to 

 remind us again of the unity of Sciences and Arts, and to try thereby 

 to overcome the lack of harmony and connection between the scat- 

 tered special sciences of our day. 



And I look upon it as a particularly characteristic sign of the times, 

 and as a hopeful augury for the future, that the reminder should have 

 come from the scientists of a country so eminently progressive as the 

 United States of North America. If they, who are untrammeled by 

 many of the traditions, formalities, and prejudices which so severely 

 handicap us on the other side of the Atlantic, have found that it is 

 high time to raise a warning word against the ever-increasing dis- 

 ruption of the unity of Science, surely this ought to make those 

 pause, w r ho with a light heart consider every further step on the road 

 to so-called "independence" as a practical gain to specialism. If 

 to-day by placing before you in rapid succession the intimate links 

 which connect us with other arts and sciences I should succeed in 

 convincing some of the more ardent protagonists of such independ- 

 ence, that laryngology, rhinology, and otology can only flourish 

 and healthily progress by never for a moment losing sight of their 

 close relationship with other often enough apparently remote branches 

 of human thought, I conceive that I shall have contributed my mite 

 towards the excellent object of this great Congress. 



It is not a mere figure of speech when I say that the more I ad- 

 vanced in the preparation of this address, the more did I become 

 impressed with the magnitude of my task and with the intimacy of 

 unexpected or hardly-thought-of connections between laryngology, 

 otology, and rhinology and other sciences and arts. These special- 



