BOOK III. CHAP. VI. ^()^ 



'iflandj, but in the fuperlor fkill of the phyficians refiding In it ; for, it 

 has been in nofmall degree owing to the praditioners of Barbadocs [i], 

 that wi liave any tolerably fcientific account of difeafes incident to the 

 Well: Indie?, their treatment, and method of cure. We nnift not ex- 

 peft, perhaps, to fee a tolerable performance on this fubjedl, compofed 

 by a Jamaica phyfician, iiniil the legiflature, in commiferation of the 

 fufferings, and lofs of inhabitant?, fhall take vigorous and cffeilual 

 meafures, for excluding all thofe from commencing phyficians, who do 

 not bring with them authentic and fufficient credentials, certifying 

 their qualification for fo arducnis a bufinefs. 



It is true, a diploma from Glafgow does not always confer fenfe, 

 neither fliould the want of that •ve?ial honour deprive any man of the 

 erteem and deference due to real merit. If a furgeon or apothecary 

 has got the education and knowledge required in a phyfician, he is a 

 phyfician to all intents and purpofes, and ought to be refpcdlcd accord- 

 ingly [^] ; but fome line fhould be drawn, in order to refcue the praftice 

 out of the hands of low ar.d illiterate perfons, who are a fcandal to the 

 profeffion. The difeafes of the human body are fo intimately com- 

 bined, that it is impofl[ible to underfland fome of them perfetlly, and 

 be entirely ignorant of the reft; and equally impofl^ble to underfland 

 any of them without a proper knowledge of anatomy, and the animal 

 ^economy, both in its found and morbid fiate. To excel in this pro- 

 feffion, requires a greater compafs of knowledge than is necelfary in 

 any other art. A knowledge of the mathematics, at leaft of the ele- 

 mentary parts of them, of natural hifl:ory, and natural philofophy, are 

 effentially connefted with it; as well as the fciences of anatomy, bo- 

 tany, and chemiftry, which are deemed its immediate branches. There 

 are likewife fome pieces of knowledge, which though not abfolutelj 

 neceflary to the fuccefsful pradice of medicine, are yet fuch ornamental 

 acquifitions, as no phyfician, who has had a regular education, is found 

 without; fuch is, an acquaintance witli the Latin, Greek, and French 

 languages ; to whi.h may be added, fome knowledge of the world, of 

 men, and manners [/]. All thefe qualifications we look for in a re- 

 gular-bred phyfician ; but when the three branches, of the prcfcriber 

 or phyfician, the furgeon, and the apothecary, all mix in one man, 



[i] Viz. To'.vne, Warren, Bruce, Hillary, and others. 

 [■■] Gregory's Lectures. 



Vol. II. 4 G which 



