Q 



T71X, 



ADDRESS. 



GENTLEMEN : 



Standing in this place this evening, to fulfill the same 

 pleasant duty which twice before has fallen to my lot, the feel- 

 ing of embarrassment which I might otherwise experience is 

 lessened by the recollection that of those now gathered here 

 scarce any wre present on the former occasions. What there- 

 fore seems to me like repetition, the place, the occasion, and 

 some things that I must necessarily say being the same, will 

 have for most of you a certain novelty at least, and this thought 

 reassures and reconciles me to the position in which I am 

 placed. And aside from this sole consideration, the duty as- 

 signed me is a very pleasant one. To welcome back our old stu- 

 dents ; cordially to greet those who for the first time are as- 

 sembled here, and to address to you some words of counsel, 

 and some general considerations concerning the work in which 

 we are all, in one way or another, engaged, is indeed a grateful 

 task, and free from any elements but the pleasantest. Most 

 gladly, therefore, do I, as a representative of the faculty, wel- 

 come you to the Albany College of Pharmacy. You are here 

 with a common purpose, and as workers in the same field have 

 the same end in view. Your object, if I understand it aright, is 

 to supplement the knowledge you have acquired in your calling 

 pursued as an art, by a course of study in which general princi- 

 ples occupy the first and most important place. You desire to 

 broaden your knowledge by basing it upon a firmer foundation. 

 The scientific or theoretical side of pharmacy as distinguished 

 from its practice is mainly to engage your attention. Facts 

 are to be acquired, but principles are to occupy an important 

 place henceforth in your work. 



Every natural change which takes place has an antecedent 

 cause, and the scientific worker seeks to distinguish these causes, 

 and from them to develope general principles and laws. With- 

 out a knowledge of these laws and an understanding of the 



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