Co-ordination of Subjects 41 



follows such an act, so, too, many of our acts bring a definite punishment 

 of some kind with them. It is to know what acts bring punishments, 

 so as to know what acts to avoid, which is the distinct province of 

 ethics. In other words, it helps us to arrange a definite "philosophy of 

 life" for ourselves. 



And lastly, one or two modern foreign languages should be known 

 in order that we can the better obtain various angles and other points 

 of view, for there are many possible explanations that the same facts 

 may seem to prove. One has but to read through any ordinary textbook 

 of science to find quoted there an overwhelmingly large number of 

 foreign names and papers. This means that no one can deem himself 

 a master of his subject unless he knows at least many of the thousands 

 of observations which have been made by the great scientific minds 

 of other lands. Unless he knows this, he is bound to spend a large part 

 of his life in the attempt at proving or disproving many things which 

 have already been proved or disproved by others. He is wasting the 

 time which should be given to more valuable work. 



From what has been said above it will be seen that practically all 

 the sciences must be studied to throw light on the different workings 

 of the body. 



At this point it is necessary for the student to grasp the fact that 

 every living thing must be considered as a complete unity, and that 

 every organ and every part of an organ which a living thing possesses, 

 is definitely connected to, and with, every other part of the body. 



One may suffer from headaches, or eye-trouble caused by displaced 

 bones in the feet, which in an indirect way press against nerves con- 

 necting with the head ; or, one may have a backache or earache, or even 

 rheumatic difficulties, due to ulcers beneath the teeth. 



It is for reasons such as these that it is necessary for the dentist, as 

 well as the oculist, to study Biology, and to learn the unity of the living 

 being. For there is no more reason for a student of dentistry to confine 

 all his study to the teeth alone, or an oculist to the eye alone, than it 

 is for a nerve specialist to study the nerves alone. Any such one-sided 

 study leaves out of consideration the most important factors necessary 

 to a legitimate diagnosis. And, with a wrong diagnosis, the treatment 

 is bound to be wrong, or at most, mere guess-work. 



It is well also for the student to bear in mind that, though he may 

 not immediately see the relationship of some things to the general 

 course he is taking, it does not follow that such relationship does not 

 exist. One can learn to start and stop a locomotive in twenty minutes, 

 but this does not make one an engineer. It takes years to do this. It 

 is not when all things go well that the expert is called in, but when 

 things go wrong. This is just as true of the engineer as it is of the 

 physician, the dentist, the lawyer, and other professional men. And 

 it is only he who knows the relationship of all the parts, who can hope 

 to become an expert. 



