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CHAPTER IV. 



MEDICINE. 



The profession, whose department of knovs^* 

 ledge now comes under consideration, occupy an 

 immense field of science, and, by their number, 

 constitute a large class of the learned world. In 

 addition to the incentives of philanthropy and fame, 

 which equally actuate the exertions of others, phy- 

 sicians are combined into a corps of observers and 

 practical inquirers by the nature of the employment 

 and duties they assume, and by the connection 

 which the usages of society establish between their 

 duties and emolument. In discharging their pro- 

 fessional labours, they incessantly find observations 

 and facts obtruded on their attention; and by com- 

 bining these into hypotheses, theories and systems, 

 they only indulge a favourite and almost irresistible 

 propensity of the human mind. Hence arises the 

 vast mass of writings which fill medical libraries, 

 constantly accumulating, and too numerous, ex- 

 tensive and diversified to come within the compre- 

 hension of an individual inquirer. Whoever duly 

 considers these things will perceive the necessity of 

 resting satisfied on this occasion with a transient 

 retrospect. To attempt any minuteness of detail 

 would be to travel far beyond the limits assigned to 

 this work, and to engross the pages which arc des- 

 tined to the examination of other subjects. All 

 that can be aimed at is briefly to notice some of 



