402  The  Physician  and  Pharmaceutist.    {^ft,  ww"' 
scribing  physician,  and  not  substitute  his  own  prescription  for  that  of 
the  physician. 
If,  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  proper  regulations  existed  regarding 
the  practice  of  medicine  and  the  keeping  of  drug-stores — or,  rather, 
if  the  rules  and  regulations  existing  were  in  practical  operation — the 
resolution  would  not  have  been  necessary;  but  while  as  it  is,  all  sorts 
of  persons,  not  only  regular  pharmacists,  but  physicians  and  others 
who  have  no  pharmaceutical  education,  keep  drug-stores,  all  kinds  of 
irregularities  may  happen. 
In  ancient  times,  the  savant  was  priest  and  physician — gathered 
roots  and  herbs,  and  prepared  his  draughts  himself,  as  is  yet  the  case 
with  savages.  Since  the  science  progressed  to  its  present  point,  it  is 
impossible  for  a  man  to  be  perfect  in  all  its  branches.  Medicine  and 
pharmacy  had  long  ago  to  be  divided  into  separate  departments,  and 
medicine  itself  seems  to  be  already  undergoing  the  same  process  of 
division.  Pharmacy — especially  chemistry,  as  a  part  of  it — has 
acquired  such  large  dimensions,  that  a  man  has  to  be  an  industrious 
student  to  arrive  at  a  tolerable  degree  of  perfection.  If  a  man  tries 
his  hand  in  more  than  one  of  these  departments,  he  is  apt  to  become 
a  jack-of-all-trades,  and  master-of-none  ;  what  we  properly  style  a 
quack. 
The  regular  pharmacist  knows  his  place ;  he  does  not  wish  to  tran- 
scend his  bound ;  he  wishes  only  to  prepare  the  physician's  prescrip- 
tions, and  does  not  care  for  prescribing  himself.  But  he  finds  his 
satisfaction  in  preparing  the  medicines  in  the  best  manner  and  of  the 
best  material.  To  this  end,  he  has  to  study  botany,  chemistry,  mate- 
ria medica,  but  not  auatomy,  pathology,  and  therapy ;  and  therefore 
cannot,  and  does  not  want  to,  apply  those  sciences,  and  cannot  take 
the  responsibility  even  in  a  case  of  emergency.  To  interfere  with  the 
orders  or  the  duties  of  a  physician,  would  be  assumption  on  his  part. 
The  physician,  however,  who  keeps  a  drug-store,  might  easily  be 
induced  to  consult  his  own  view  of  a  case  in  question,  and  might  act 
consequently ;  and  if  many  drug-stores  are  kept  by  physicians,  as  is 
the  case  in  Georgia,  the  medical  associations  are  right  to  adopt  reso- 
lutions against  the  irregularities  in  question.  The  pharmacist,  how- 
ever, calls  it,  properly,  quackery  if  any  one  keeps  a  drug-store  who 
is  not  entitled  to  it  by  his  pharmaceutical  education,  and  is  not  at  all 
astonished  to  see  such  a  druggist-physician  violate  the  laws  of  his  own 
profession.    The  best  guard,  therefore,  for  both  the  physician  and  the 
