Am.  Jour.  Ph?,rm. 
June,  1919. 
Dr.  Lyman  Spalding. 
377 
you?  It  has  compelled  you  to  pay  close  attention  to  your  profession,  to  pass 
the  whole  of  Cullen's  "Nosology"  in  review,  before  you  annually,  and 
thereby  qualifying  you  for  the  practice  of  your  profession  more  than  any 
other  way  in  which  you  could  have  spent  your  time.  It  is  the  high  road  to 
fame,  and  usefulness.  I  know  that  my  sacrifices  have  been  great.  I  know 
that  yours  must  be.  But,  show  me  the  man  who  has  risen  to  be  a  Prince  of 
Physicians,  while  slumbering  on  the  couch  of  idleness. 
Soon  after  I  came  to  Portsmouth,  I  resigned  my  office  of  Professor  of 
Chemistry  in  Dartmouth,  no  doubt  from  the  same  motives  that  now  influence 
you,  with  this  addition,  that  my  lectures  there  had  to  continue  three  months. 
I  soon  found  myself  slumbering  on  my  oars  and  relaxing  my  pursuits.  In 
fact,  so  far  from  improving,  I  hardly  kept  pace  with  the  others.  A  kind  of 
indifference  for  science  pervaded  me:  Indignant  I  aroused,  I  went  to 
Hanover  to  see  Ramsay,  I  went  to  Philadelphia,  and  I  planned  a  voyage  to 
Europe.  This  change,  Sir,  I  consider  the  most  happy  circumstance  in  my 
whole  Professional  career. 
Admit  that  you  resign  your  office.  Man  is  an  indolent  animal.  What 
inducement  have  you  then,  to  labor  incessantly?  None!  Your  reputation 
is  as  high  as  that  of  your  contemporaries.  Then,  wrapped  in  the  lap  of 
affluence  and  ease,  you  will  slumber  and  sleep  till  old  age  creeps  upon  you, 
when  you  will  find  yourself  outstripped  in  the  race  of  usefulness  and  fame, 
your  opinions  so  antiquated  as  to  be  regarded  not,  and  yourself  a  mere  old 
Granny ! 
Look  at  the  Princes,  or  rather,  Fathers  of  Physic.  Who  have  they  been 
or  who  are  they  now?  So  far  as  my  memory  serves  me;  Teachers  of 
Physic.  Boerhaave,  Cullen,  Desault.  Look  at  Rush,  Warren  and  Smith. 
What  has  put  them  at  the  head  of  the  profession?  Nothing  but  their  being 
compelled  to  labor,  and  annually  to  review  their  profession,  and  incorporate 
with  their  old  stock  all  the  new  improvements.  Show  me  a  man  in  private 
practice  who  does  this,  annually.  He  is  not  to  be  found.  But,  your  friends 
say  that  you  can  do  this,'  yet  stay  at  home.  I  acknowledge  this,  but  tell  me 
honorably,  Will  you  do  it?  No,  Sir,  you  have  no  inducement.  For  a  man 
to  be  pre-eminently  great,  there  must  be  a  great  occasion.  What  made 
Washington  Great?  Opportunity.  You  are  now  on  the  same  high  road  to 
reputation  that  every  Prince  of  Physicians  has  travelled.  If  you  turn  aside, 
you  are  lost  forever.  These  in  conjunction  with  those  in  my  last  letter  are 
the  reasons  which  ought  to  influence  you.  You  can  have  no  doubt  of  my 
wishes  on  the  subject.  The  time  for  the  commencement  of  the  lectures  is  so 
near  at  hand,  that  no  successor  can  be'  appointed  in  season  for  the  next 
course.  I  therefore  beseech  you,  on  my  account,  if  neither  honor  nor  fame 
will  move  you,  to  deliver  This  One  Course  and  I  will  consent  to  any  arrange- 
ment that  you  may  then  choose  to  make.  If  nothing  farther,  as  a  mere 
matter  of  policy  I  wish  you  to  withhold  your  resignation  till  the  meeting  . of 
the  Trustees  of  the  New  Medical  College  and  let  us  see  what  they  will  do 
for  us. 
Dr.  Mann  I  knew  had  been  appointed  a  Hospital  Surgeon  but  I  did  not 
know  that  he  had  been  made  Surgeon  General.    He  must  be  with  the  Army 
