Can  such  philosophy  based  on  such  luminous  self-evidency,
as  arises  from  scientifically  recognizing  the  operations  of  the
nervous  organization  of  man,  offer  any  inducements  to  the
skeptic  or  sophist,  for  stigmatizing  the  science  of  medicine  as
a  conjectural  art,  or  ignominious  species  of  handicraft?

The  science  of  medicine  based  on  such  self-evident  foun-
dations as  we  have  assigned  to  it,  or  as  it  has  been,  and  is
still,  practised  by  our  ablest  physicians,  is  the  noblest,  as
well  as  most  useful,  of  all  the  avocations  of  man. The
practice  of  medicine  therefore,  is  or  should  be,  exclusively
the  practice  of  its  philosophy;— which  is  comprehensively
comprised  in  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  causes  of  dis-
eases,— the  pathological  phenomena  manifested  in  the  orga-
nization by  the  operation  of  these  causes,  and  the  recupera-
tive excitations  raised  by  the  conservative  powers  for  their
expulsion. The  causes  in  many  cases,  may  be  investigated
from, — but  the  pathological  and  recuperative  phenomena  ex-
clusively, at  the  bed-side  of  the  afflicted,— where  their  sepa-
ration from  each  other,  should  be  thoroughly  understood;  —
because,  without  recognizing  such  separation  we  shall  be


211

irroping  about  in  darkness,  and  practising  in  a  routine,  em-
pirical, tentative  manner. As  our  remedies  are  to  be  ex-
clusively exhibited,  and  applied,  for  the  purpose  of  control-
ling and  regulating  the  efforts  of  nature  to  resolve  and  elimi-
nate the  pathological  phenomena,  or  to  raise  such  efforts
when  nature  is  too  much  depressed  to  raise  them,  the  neces-
sity of  making  such  separation,  is  obvious. 