518  Revision  of  the  Pharmacopoeia.      { Am^usrt,  ^ %m' 
be  used  in  the  revision.  Concise,  definite  suggestions,  with  brief 
reasons  for  the  same,  are  what  are  most  desired. 
"  Pharmacists,  individually  and  collectively,  are  responsible  for 
the  shortcomings,  errors,  ambiguities  and  faults  of  the  pharma- 
copoeia, and  they  are  in  a  position  to  point  out  to  the  committee  on 
revision  how  and  why  the  corrections  are  to  be  made,  where  and 
how  the  book  itself  may  be  improved  to  make  it  readily  accessible 
as  a  knowledge  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  drugs  and  medicines  as 
they  are  generally  accepted' and  widely  used  in  the  treatment  of  dis- 
ease."— LaWall. 
The  Language  of  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
Our  first  pharmacopoeia  was  written  in  Latin  text  with  the  Eng- 
lish translation  on  the  opposite  page.  Latin  was  chosen  for  its  sup- 
posed conciseness.  As  the  language  of  science  or  culture,  Latin  has 
practically  disappeared. 
Strictures  have  been  made  against  our  pharmacopoeia  in  respect 
to  its  language,  its  spelling,  its  form,  its  diction  and  its  grammar. 
These  have  mainly  come  from  a  superficial  review  of  the  book.  The 
revisers  have,  with  care,  preserved  the  "  form  of  sound  words " 
that  have  come  down  from  the  ages.  The  pharmacopoeia  is  written 
in  good  English.  The  revisers  have  been  cautious  of  innovations ; 
they  have  made  changes  when  such  changes  would  tend  towards 
force,  lucidity,  uniformity,  simplicity  and  an  economy  of  expression. 
In  a  way  the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia  follows  no  model. 
It  is  not  an  essay,  nor  a  text-book ;  it  is  neither  a  commentary  nor  a 
dictionary.  It  is  a  pharmacopoeia — following  a  style  and  a  form 
which  it  has  created  for  itself. 
In  any  discussion  as  to  the  language  used  in  the  pharmacopoeia, 
we  must  ever  have  in  mind  what  it  is.  Professor  Remington  stated 
tersely  that  "  the  pharmacopoeia  is  for  all."  Savants,  scientists, 
physicians,  pharmacists,  clerks,  students,  nurses ;  the  government 
officials,  the  attorney,  the  judge  and  the  jury  in  the  court,  even  the 
man  in  the  street,  will  at  one  time  or  another  have  cause  to  read  the 
pharmacopoeia.  Its  language  must  be  that  which  will  always  carry 
the  same  meaning. 
The  fact  that  our  pharmacopoeia  is  written  in  the  English  lan- 
guage is  important.  We  are  in  the  beginning  of  a  new  time.  As  a 
result  of  the  world  carnage,  space  boundaries  and  racial  differences 
