174 
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS SECTION I. 
dominant note was that of priest and philosopher. In the object 
lesson thus afforded, what is the lesson for us to learn ? Surely that, 
though individual improvement might have been far from uncommon, 
the necessary climax was superstition and introspection, and that as 
guides for the maintenance of health and prevention of disease, these 
two authorities, seer and philosopher, have both been tried, and both 
been found wanting. 
A striking characteristic, however, of more modern times has been 
the rise and crowning of the third adviser, Science — the science that 
works through accurate observation, exact experiment, and logical 
deduction therefrom. Ancl upon an occasion like the present, when 
we are met to advance the bounds of knowledge, it can scarcely be an 
inappropriate introduction to the section devoted to matters of health 
to inquire, even though imperfectly, into the ways and means by 
which this new mentor purposes to deal with this all-important subject. 
In doing so I am, of course, representative simply of my own opinions, 
but still they are opinions which have been scientifically acquired, 
and which are also in accord with those held by many scientists of 
repute. 
In dealing with such a complex subject it is difficult to know how 
much to present and how much to omit. Perhaps my attempt willbeleast 
inefficient if I sketch the important outlines, and leave the details to be 
filled in by individual additions. At the outset we must remember that 
this new guide lias very definite limitations. Enveloped, as we are to-day, 
by its manifold achievements, and, apparently, as we hope, only at the 
beginning of its triumphs, we cannot forget its inherent imperfections. 
Its servants, the senses, are unfortunately very far from being universal 
informants, and with all the inventive assistance that our ingenuity 
can give them, they can never make us thoroughly acquainted even 
with the material universe. 
Nay, come tip higher : from this wave-washed mound 
Unto the farthest flood-brim look with me ; 
Then reach on with thy thought till it be drowned, 
Miles and miles distant though the last line be ; 
And, though thy soul sail leagues and leagues beyond 
Still leagues beyond those leagues there is more sea. 
And beyond the material, stretch out the deeper problems of life, 
mind, and moral sense, each of which baffles investigation and refuses 
solution. We must expect, therefore, to find change and incomplete- 
ness marking the teaching of science in this as in all other depart- 
ments of knowledge, though the variations should affect details and 
applications rather than principles. Per contra , our new guide will 
he reliable so far as it presents the facts, and with ever-increasing 
completeness will come ever-increasing efficiency. 
But to interfere wisely we must have some definite conception 
and knowledge of the constitution of the being whose health is con- 
cerned. Is there, then, a scientific definition of man? To the priest 
he is “the offspring of* the gods,” to the philosopher “the child of 
reason,” and to the scientist possibly both of these, but certainly “the 
heir to the ages.” And unknown as may remain his origin, to science 
development seems the road along which he has travelled, and he is 
linked to the past by many unbreakable ties. Inexplicable, also, as 
is the inter-connection, science finds in him a physical framework 
