August 19, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



237 



stimulation, but too often the entire med- 

 ical storehouse needs refitting. Something, 

 best known to the physician himself, we 

 trust, is lacking in the one who treats an 

 obscure ease for a day, six days, six weeks, 

 and then does not want an autopsy. If 

 true to himself, true to the demands of his 

 profession, courage will not fail him. In 

 our mental and physical round-up, we must 

 see to it that courage is given a new back- 

 bone from time to time. 



But, fellow members of the association, 

 not alone as members of this organization 

 may we indulge in self-congratulation, but 

 as members of a profession whose limitation 

 knows no bounds, we may join in felicita- 

 tion. Neither language, nor creed, nor 

 country fetters our profession's munificent 

 sway. The thoughts of Ehrlich in Frank- 

 furt, of our own Welch or Councilman, of 

 Kitasato in Japan, are correlated. The 

 knife of Mayo in America, of Robson in 

 London, of Kocher in Berne contributes to 

 the relief of suffering in far Cathay. The 

 founts of Lister's genius and Pasteur's 

 divine inspiration bring countless blessings 

 to England, to India, to France and to 

 Africa. What a stimulus it is to realize 

 that, howsoever small the contribution of 

 the hiimblest of us may be, its impulse will 

 be felt in climes near and far and ages 

 present and remote ! What awe can not but 

 overtake us when we consider each heart 

 throb we study entwines us to Harvey of 

 two centuries ago; with every percussion 

 tone reverberates the sound of Laennee's 

 voice of a century ; with each vaccine inocu- 

 lation, the simple observation and reason- 

 ing of Jenner to stimulate our question 

 and deductions ! 



We rejoice together and cherish our his- 

 tory, by the warp and woof of which we are 

 woven to the past. What heritage for us 

 and our children ! Dead must be the soul 

 that wearies of communion with the spirits 

 of the past; deep must be its slumber on 



which falls the thought of centuries; leth- 

 argic its activities that are aroused not by 

 the deeds of heroic men ! ' ' Honor and for- 

 tune exist to him who always recognizes 

 the neighborhood of the great, always feels 

 himself in the presence of high causes." 

 We worship together our science, devotion 

 to which brings forth character, smothers 

 egotism, levels pretension, drives out soli- 

 tude, develops such loftiness of thought 

 which can see that 'against all appearances 

 the nature of things works for truth and 

 right forever.' Of our art, let us see to it 

 that when the final summons comes it can 

 be said of us, "Greater love hath no man 

 than this, that a man lay down his life for 

 his friends." 



John H. Musser. 

 Philadelphia, Pa. 



NATHAN SMITH DAVIS. 



It is the sad duty of this academy to 

 chronicle the death of its oldest member, 

 one of its founders, who during the more 

 active years of his life was one of its ardent 

 workers. Dr. Nathan Smith Davis left this 

 life on June 16, 1904. In his last illness 

 he fully realized the coming change, which 

 he foretold beautifully in one short sen- 

 tence, 'I am going home.' 



Dr. Davis lived a long, active and useful 

 life. He was a man of supreme earnest- 

 ness and seriousness ; of great force of mind 

 and strength of character; of high ideals 

 and simple tastes. 



His intense and lifelong sustained mo- 

 tive — or inspiration — to accomplish thor- 

 oughly the many useful ends to which he 

 devoted his wonderful activity, left scarcely 

 time for recreation. It left no time or 

 thought for indulgence. His life was too 

 full of purpose to lend much of its strength 

 to self-gratification, nor was there much 

 temptation in his well-ordered course. His 

 chief pleasure was the satisfaction of use- 

 ful accomplishment, and he found his 



