352 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[October 28, 1571. 
the whole world kin,” seek it where it is to he found in 
the country. 
The microscope is now within the reach of all, and it 
opens the gates of a new world; with its aid minute 
heauty and order may he seen in everything. Nothing 
teaches better the greatness of little things, and the har¬ 
mony of nature. A speck of mould is a magnificent forest, 
a drop of water is a sea of life, a grain of dust is full of 
wonders. No student can read the researches of Deane 
and Brady without longing for a microscope. 
At the risk of being considered tedious, I would in 
conclusion address a few words to the young men. It 
is for you that the Pharmaceutical Society has been 
established ; you will reap the benefits of it. The foun¬ 
ders have left you the legacy of a good name ; they de¬ 
pend upon you to make it better; they expect you to 
raise the standard of excellence, of intelligence until the 
very name of pharmaceutical chemist shall be widely 
and generally known as synonymous with pharmaceutical 
perfection. It is a noble aim, and you have plenty to 
do to reach it. Let me give you a few hints. You will 
all some day pass your examinations. The first mistake 
you will make will be that of cramming up the neces¬ 
sary information, I will not oblige you by calling it know¬ 
ledge ; this is a rock that many split on; let me urge you 
to avoid it. If I were an examiner (which, thank Hea¬ 
ven, I am not), I would pluck without mercy a student 
•who knew the whole Pharmacopoeia, if he knew it only 
by rote ; we do not want medical parrots. But if I ex¬ 
amined a young patient student who knew a little, but 
knew it well, and who evinced a desire to learn for 
learning’s sake, I would be very lenient with him. In 
making this selection, I should act in the interests of the 
Society, because the first man, like an ill-stuffed turkey, 
would disgorge his badly digested information immedi¬ 
ately after the examination, and never digest any more ; 
he woi'ked for the purpose of passing, and that end being 
attained, he might as well order his funeral at once, and 
for any further use his knowledge would be to society at 
large, they might “ see that the body was ready.” 
"Whereas the patient student would be a student all his 
life, and no man can be that, without acquiring know¬ 
ledge always useful to his fellow-men. 
The first mistake is too common, and I cannot too 
earnestly impress on you that examinations are merely 
intended as tests of knowledge. You ought to study, 
not for the examination, but for yourselves; knowledge 
is power, is money, is happiness, and in the highest of 
all senses, is everything. Better be plucked if the result 
be to get more knowledge, than to smuggle through an 
easy examination ; and live and die—a blank. 
Another mistake is to suppose that yon have not the 
talent, that you cannot compete with others that have. 
Abolish the foolish notion; at the risk of being thought 
a dreadful sceptic, I state here at once that I do not be¬ 
lieve in talent; but I do believe in industry ; and if the 
two are placed in competition, the latter will always 
win. 
Another mistake that you may fall into is, the idea 
that you have not opportunities; why, your daily life 
abounds in opportunities: not a drug you handle, not a 
poison you dispense but has its history. You ought 
to know it! Remember the philosopher is the observer 
of minute differences, he notices just those little things 
that are beneath the notice of other mexr, and it is upon 
these that he builds his theories. Many men saw the 
apple fall, but Newton alone observed it; and that petty 
observation has enabled his followers to weigh and mea¬ 
sure the solar system. Kettles had been long in use 
before Watt’s time, but in that master-mind a trivial 
circumstance led to the introduction of a mighty power 
that does most of the world’s work in the present day. 
Mental blindness is the commonest characteristic of 
mankind; the habit of daily seeing and never observing 
the little things that make up our daily life must be 
.shunned. At the risk of offending the Circumlocution 
Office, be always one of those disagreeable fellows “ who 
wants to know, you know.” Make nature tell you the 
reason why. You will find her wonderfully communica¬ 
tive ; and you will find also that, unlike most communica¬ 
tive people, she has plenty of wisdom to impart. 
A few words on the economy of time and the dignity of 
labour. Wellington, Nelson, and all our great men 
have been rigid economists of time ; it is painful to reflect 
on the fearful waste of time which is so common amongst 
ordinary men. The older a sensible man grows the 
more he is compelled to reflect on the rapid advance of 
time, but it is often only when bis powers begin to fail 
that he looks back on the days he has lost, never to be 
regained. Employ the fleetmg hours, husband your 
time as you would a limited purse; whatever you do, 
do it with all your might, for if a thing is worth doing 
at all, it is always worth doing well; and this brings me 
to the dignity of labour. Whoever set about that com¬ 
mon notion which couples labour with indignity was no 
friend to the human race. If there be any inheritance 
which is more than any other the birthright of every 
healthy man, it is the power of work. It is a proud 
legacy directly bequeathed to man by the Great Worker 
who built the universe. I cannot conceive a higher 
privilege or a greater pleasure than the capacity for 
doing work of a high order, and doing it well. An 
active mind in a healthy body is God’s best gift The 
dignity of labour is nature’s nobility, she admits no 
idlers among her peers. Remember that the highest 
animals do the most work; and v?e as the highest have 
to keep up the labours and knowledge of 6000 years of 
human experience. Do .not be afraid of work, do not be 
a human vegetable. Over-work may have killed a few, 
but idleness has dug the graves of millions. Besides 
the few are remembered for the work they have done, 
the millions have rolled away unheeded and forgotten. 
And remember, we are promised that for all labour there 
is a reward. It is difficult with some to appreciate this 
in all cases. One of you, for instance, may be called on 
at considerable inconvenience to dispense a difficult pre¬ 
scription, perhaps late at night. The paltry couple of 
shillings you charge is a contemptuous remuneration to 
you for that labour, But could you see the effect of the 
potion your hand has mixed; could you stand by the 
bedside of the poor patient, some loved one of a family, 
and see the sorrowing relatives ; could you note the 
light coming back to the eyes and the colour to the 
cheeks, and know that the crisis had passed, and you had 
been the means of snatching from the jaws of death an¬ 
other victim,—you would then realize the true value of 
your labour, a value inexpressible in words or money. 
So we all work, or ought to work, for the common good. 
“ Work, therefore, while it is called to-day, for the night 
cometh when no man can work.” 
At the conclusion of the address, the Chairman pro¬ 
posed a cordial vote of thanks to Mr. Stanford, which 
was heartily responded to. 
Mr. Kinninmoht then moved that a vote of thanks be 
awarded the Edinburgh representatives for their kind¬ 
ness in being present on the occasion, which was also 
agreed to,—Messrs. Baildon and Mackay briefly ac¬ 
knowledging the compliment. 
It was then announced that arrangements had been 
completed with Dr. R. Carter Moffatt with regard to the 
special chemistry class, and that it would be commenced 
on Tuesday evening, November 7th. Fee to non-mem¬ 
bers of the Association one guinea, and to members 15s., 
the Association undertaking to make up the balance. 
Text-book, Attfield’s ‘ Chemistry.’ 
Mr. Black proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Davison 
for presiding, which being cordially responded to, the 
proceedings terminated. 
