ON THK STUDY OF LATINS. -IflT 



lastly, when thus prepared, that he may, provided he has a turn for 

 it, proceed to Latin and Greek. This would, in my opinion, be a 

 sensible mode of going to work. One reason assigned why Latin is 

 necessary for the Physician — that the consultations of Physicians are 

 held in that language, is scarcely worth noticing. Moliere has suf. 

 ficiently ridiculed this practice, which is now, I believe, luckily for 

 the poor patient, seldom or never adhered to. I will only remark 

 that the consultations are held in another room from that in which 

 the patient lies, and may, therefore, be in any language. 



Having thus refuted each argument in particular which has been 

 brought in favor of the study of the classics, I will proceed to offer 

 a few general remarks on this ^^ most important branch of know- 

 ledger 



It has lately been proposed, by an able Physician, that there 

 should be two classes or grades of Physicians — those of the one class, 

 who are the medical attendants of the higher ranks, are to have a 

 *' sound classical education," besides the knowledge of medicine 

 and the collateral sciences ; those of the other class, who are in- 

 tended only for the poor, are to be excludefd from the bene€ts of a 

 knowledge of the ancient languages, and are to be conversant only 

 with Medicine J Surgery, Anatomy, and Chemistry ; and the modern 

 languages and Botany, where an opportunity occurs. Only Medi- 

 cine, Surgery, Anatomy, and Chemistry ! If I were called upon to 

 decide which class of practitioners I thought would be likely to succeed 

 best in their profession — supposing them to be acquainted with French 

 and German, or, at least, the former, which almost any one may ac- 

 quire — I should, without hesitation, decide in favor of the latter ; as 

 they would be able to give undivided attention to their own science, 

 and to those collateral sciences which it is perfectly indispensable for 

 them to be acquainted with. To suppose that there is something in 

 the nature of Latin which renders it essentially necessary to the 

 student of medicine, is perfectly ridiculous — us well might you place 

 briers and thorns in the path of the weary traveller making his way 

 through a forest, and tell him that you were smoothing his road, as 

 force the student of medicine to learn the dead languages in order to 

 facilitate the acquirement of medicine. As long as this prejudice 



October, 1835. — vol. hi. no. xhi. b. 



