000 
LETTERS TO A STUDENT. 
I wish, however, it were possible to invent a pathometer to 
ascertain the degrees of his suffering; but, alas! that wish is a 
vain one. Still let us anticipate its amount, and be merciful 
to him. “ It is excellent,” says an elegant writer, “ to have a 
giant’s strength, but tyrannous to use it like a giant;” and this 
may be applied to the state of a horse in the power of a man 
with a red iron in his hand. 
[To be continued.] 
LETTERS TO A STUDENT.— No. III. 
By A. B. 
ERRORS OF INQUIRY (CONTINUED). 
We are rarely satisfied with an account of any disease unless 
it shews the cause ; and very often we reject or oppose a remedy, 
because there is no explanation of the mode in which it operates, 
or because the explanation does not please us. Instead of 
putting the matter to experiment, we put it to argument. Hypo- 
theses are arrayed against theories, and theories against hypo- 
theses ; and the debate ends when the parties get tired, oftener 
than when the subject is settled. 
Much of all long discussions maybe attributed to debility and 
to ignorance, and to the speaking-evil , a malady which makes 
men talk, though they have nothing to say. Some, like Pro- 
fessor Wilson, &c., of the Edinburgh Veterinary College, argue 
without knowing what they want to prove. They seem to think 
it their duty to be talking. They must be “ frankly confess- 
ing,” or “ freely admitting,” which, when there is any meaning, 
generally signifies, basely denying or meanly concealing. Give 
yourself no trouble with these fellows. Their writings are not 
worth reading, their arguments not worth hearing. You may as 
well speak to the wind. They have no sense : the only way to 
convince them is to thrash them ; but they are seldom worth a 
thrashing. 
Some inquirers deal greatly in causes. Among these you will 
find debility and ignorance in abundance. They form a nu- 
merous class. To some, nothing is clear till the cause be disco- 
vered ; some will deny the existence of a disease, unless you tell 
them what produced it; and some will deny that a remedy has 
any power, if you cannot explain how it operates. When the 
truth is irresistibly evident, they encumber it with a theory. 
They will find the cause, and tell you its mode of action. I am 
