13 
Coming now to the main part of my paper—the uses, oars, some 
would say, the uselessness, of pain—I find that my difficulties in- 
crease, for opinions are conflicting when few authors take the same 
road, and yet perhaps in many cases these difficulties are more 
apparent than real. But let us now for a few moments look into 
some of these. 
Mr. Hinton, who has written a well-known pamphlet, entitled 
the “ Mystery of Pain,” takes up the spiritual or moral side, and 
thinks little of the use of pain unless bearing upon this. 
Dr. Yeo wrote an article in the Contemporary Review for July, 
1879, taking what be called the material side, and stating that 
pain in itself is of very little, if of any value. Having read both 
these papers, and some others, also having given the subject some 
little thought, I believe the truth concerning the use of pain to 
touch both the above extreme views, but the bulk of it to rest prin- 
cipally between the two. It is not becoming to speak much here 
concerning the moral side; a few sentences will suffice. Most 
people will admit that pain watched increases our sympathy and 
gives us larger hearts; the pain and discomfort of many animals 
draw us to them, and teach us to care for them. Hinton goes as 
far as to say that ‘‘ A life from which everything that has in it the 
element of pain banished becomes a life not worth having; or 
worse, of intolerable tedium and disgust ; ” but the nature of the 
individual will determine very much the value that will be put upon 
this moral side of the subject. Let us turn to the other side. 
The existence of pain anywhere seems to be an abnormal thing, 
and wherever it exists a cause for it must be present, although in 
many cases we are unable to discover it. 
Many examples of the use, and also, as far as we can judge of 
the uselessness of it, might be given, but as this paper is not a 
medical essay, my examples will be few. Pain in some diseases 
acts as a warning and attracts attention indicating that rest or 
some other remedy is required, and often when this indicator has 
been neglected serious troubles have followed; but on the other 
hand pain does not take the van in a large number of diseases, and 
many diseases have progressed considerably before that pain has 
called attention to them. : 
In these last diseases, pain is not to be blamed—as she has 
been—for failing to act the part of a sentinel in the on-coming 
disease, for other symptoms or signs have already existed telling 
the nature of the complaint without the unwelcome addition of the 
pain. Again, the severity of pain is no gauge for the severity of 
’ the disease. Many of our most fatal diseases run through their 
course with little : and vice versa, many painful complaints interfere 
_ little with length of life. 
