LATIN MEDICAL STUDENT'S EDUCATION. 35 



a practicable plan by which a less expensive career 

 can be honorably passed in the attainment of a med- 

 ical education. If a classical course be not necessary 

 for the successful study and practice of our profession, 

 and at the same time not lower the standard of sound 

 scholarship, it is our duty to adopt measures looking 

 to that end. In an elementary course must be em- 

 braced a knowledge of mechanics of physics, mathe- 

 matics, chemistry, botany, biology, and the elements 

 of a sound, thorough education in general. There 

 should be no lowering of the time-honored standard 

 in educational matters; but possibly more science and 

 less classics more practical knowledge at the expense 

 of that which is regarded more or less as ornamental. 

 An argument in favor' of less Latin is in the fact that 

 the recent Pharmacopoeia gives both the Latin and 

 the English names of drugs. All directions to the 

 compounder of medicines are to be written in English. 

 With such changes there is less need of classical quali- 

 fications as a prerequisite to a medical career. Be- 

 sides, it is a growing custom with those who have 

 enjoyed a liberal education to employ less and less 

 Latin in their prescriptions to indulge less and less 

 in the pedantry of classical exhibitions. The half- 

 educated are most likely to make a display of slat- 

 ternly Latin." 



Mr. Gladstone once gave the following testimony 

 before an educational committee : " In my opinion 

 a classical education is the very best for those who 

 can afford the time and the money for the acquisition 

 of the luxury, and whose tastes lead to the accom- 

 plishment, but terrible errors have been committed in 

 attempting to force Latin and Greek down the throats 

 of every body of a certain rank, quite irrespective of 



