644 PROGRESS OF MEDICINE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 



all ett'ectiv(» inoji.sures in public hyj^ienc — interfere with the trade side 

 of niediial practice; but upon the whole the public jit large l)enefit(S 

 by all these things. In one sense the}"^ seem opposed to the general 

 law of evolution in that they prolong the life of the unfit; but in a 

 ])roader sense they work in accordance with this law by increasing the 

 power of the strong to protect and care for the weak. 



All told, the most important feature in the progress of medicine 

 during the centur}- has been the discover}' of new methods of scien- 

 tific investigation, more especially in the fields of bacteriology and 

 pathology. These methods have l)een as yet only partially applied, 

 and great results are to be hoped from their extension in the near 

 future. The}' will not lead to the discovery of an elixir of life, and 

 the increasing feebleness of old age will continue to be the certain 

 result of living a long time, for the tissues and organs of each man 

 have a definitely limited term of duration peculiar to himself; but 

 many of the disorders which make life a burden in advancing years 

 can now be palliated or so dealt with as to secure comparative comfort 

 to the patient, so that '"if by reason of strength" life can be prolonged 

 })ey()nd three-score years and ten, it no longer necessarily involves 

 labor and sorrow. 



