SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR'S LIFE. 



vii 



Medical Reviews pronounce " beyond all comparison the best of the kind 

 in the English language," and its author " one who could devour whole 

 libraries." 



Such were the perpetual occupations of this eminent man, literary and 

 professional, and such the splendid acquirements which he gained by his 

 genius and industry, even amid a larger share of perplexities and disap- 

 pointments than have served to damp the energies of many who might other- 

 wise have shone as stars of the first magnitude. Thus illustrating his 

 claims to true merit, which, according to Oliver Goldsmith, " consists, not 

 in a man's never falling, but in rising as often as he falls." 



So great a variety of occupations would have thrown most men into 

 confusion ; but such was the energy of Dr. Good's mind, such his habits 

 of order and activity, that he carried them all forward simultaneously, and 

 suffered none to be neglected, or inadequately executed. Indeed, his prac- 

 tical maxim was akin to that of another eminent individual of indefatigable 

 application, the late Dr. E. D. Clarke, who said, " I have lived to know the 

 great secret of human happiness is this, — never suffer your energies to 

 stagnate. The old adage of ' too many irons in the fire' conveys an abo- 

 minable lie. You cannot have too many ; poker, tongs, and all — keep 

 them all going." 



Hence we find him at one and the same time engaged in acquiring 

 several distinct languages ; translating largely from others ; editing and 

 sustaining Reviews ; contributing to other periodicals on various and dis- 

 tinct branches of polite literature ; preparing for the press original works ; 

 enriching his commonplace book with " elegant extracts," the result of his 

 immense reading, besides daily performing the arduous duties of a general 

 practitioner, to an extent of which many would have complained, 

 though they had no other occupations ; and which thousands make a suffi- 

 cient apology for neglecting to read even the professional improvements of 

 their own time. The great secret of his distinguished career was, in having 

 adopted early in life Mr. Mason's " Rules for Students," as commended 

 by the example of his father ; that, for eminence and success in literary 

 pursuits, " five things are necessary ; viz. a proper distribution and ma- 

 nagement of his time ; a right method of reading to advantage ; the order 

 and regulation of his studies ; the proper way of collecting and preserving 

 useful sentiments from books and conversation ; and the improvement of his 

 thoughts when alone." 



In these five particulars it will be perceived that Dr. Good greatly ex- 

 celled ; and his eminence as a scholar, philosopher, linguist, and physician 

 was, no doubt, the result of his perseverance in practising them, rather 

 than of any extraordinary originality of genius, or splendid endowments 

 of nature. 



Among the rare excellences of the character of Dr. Good, and by no 

 means the least interesting traits of his history, may be mentioned his 

 extraordinary temperance, fortitude, humility, and devotion. Amid all the 

 occupations of his professional life, and all his application to literary pur- 

 suits as a student and an author, he still found time and inclination to in- 

 vestigate the claims of Christianity ; and, having become convinced of its 

 truth and importance, practised upon its precepts with rigid scrupulous- 



