440 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 



easily recollected, and applied in the best manner your judg- 

 ment may direct. 



I have thus given you my general plan for treating the prac- 

 tice of physic ; I hope you know what a dogmatic plan implies, 

 and what it supposes necessary on your part. I shall however 

 say this here, shortly. It supposes then, J^irst, That from the 

 mechanical and chemical philosophy you know the nature of all 

 the several powers that can act upon the human body ; Second, 

 That from anatomy you know minutely the structure of the 

 human body itself; Third, That from Physiology you know 

 the general laws by which the animal economy is governed, and 

 these detailed in explaining the function of each particular part ; 

 fourth, That from Pathology you know the deviations from a 

 healthy state which the body is capable of ; Fifth, That from 

 a comparison of Physiology and Pathology you know the several 

 changes that are necessary to be made for restoring the body 

 from a morbid to a healthy state, that is, the several indications 

 as they are called ; and, Lastly, That from the knowledge of 

 the powers which act upon the human body, you know the 

 means by which diseases may be avoided, or health restored 

 when it is wanting. All this, in other words, is the knowledge 

 of the Institutions of Medicine ; and the teaching of the Practice 

 is the directing the application of these general doctrines to par- 

 ticular diseases. The better you are prepared in this way you 

 will learn the more from my course ; but I am sensible that 

 from various circumstances there are many gentlemen come 

 here, not so well prepared as I could wish; but I hope to accom- 

 modate myself to such, so as that they may acquire some foun- 

 dation for the practice of physic, as good a one at least as their 

 state of knowledge will admit of, and as good a one as they 

 could acquire on any other plan. In this hope I enter now on 

 teaching the practice. The several diseases to be treated of are 

 determined by the Nosology. What I call a genus is every 

 where to afford to me a particular subject of discourse ; and 

 under each of these heads I shall treat the following subjects. 



First, I am to give what may be called the History of the 

 Disease of the genus, and perhaps of the species, when it may 

 seem necessary ; that is, an account of all *the several pheno- 

 mena which constantly attend the appearance of such a disease, 

 1 



