comfort of thofe who have taken a last farewel of every fublunary pleasure and connection. If motives of humanity, and a regard to the peace and happinefs of fociety, cannot retrain a phyfician from expreing fentiments deftructive of religion or morals, it is vain to plead the obligations of politenefs, and the decency of his profeffion. The most favourable conftruction we can put on fuch conduct, is to fuppofe, that it proceeds from an uncontroulable levity of mind, or an unbounded vanity, that forgets all the ties of morals, decency, and good manners.

I fhall make no apology for feeming to go out of my way in treating of fo ferious a fubject; because I think I ftand in no need of one. In an enquiry into the office and duties of a physician, I thought it neceffary to wipe off a reflection, which appeared to me derogatory to our profeffion; and, at the fame time, to caution you againit that thoughtless levity, or ridiculous vanity, in converfation, which may give ground to imputations of a diffoluteness of principle, equally dangerous to fociety, and to your own trueft intereft and honour.'

In the fecond lecture, our Author lays down certain general principles, which require our attention in the investigation of nature, and applies them more particularly to the fcience of medecine; he likewife endeavours to explain fome of the principal caufes that have obftructed the progrefs of fcience in general, and, where it is necffary, applies his obfervations particularly to phyfic. Part of what he fays in regard to the obftacles which have prevented the eftablishment of genuine philofophy upon its true foundation is as follows:

There is a certain intoxication, fays he, that ufually attends the fuppofed difcovery of general principles in fcience, or ufeful inventions in arts, which renders men of warm and lively imaginations altogether blind to every difficulty that lies in their way, and often makes them artfully fupprefs them. The fuppreffion of facts, that appear to contradict a favourite hypothefis, is not always owing to want of candour in the author. Sometimes he does not fee them, fometimes he defpifes them, and fometimes he conceals them, from the fear of giving people an unreafonable prejudice against what he thinks an important difcovery. Every true philofopher, however, will be particularly jealous of himfelf in this respect; and whenever he gets a view of a theory, will immediately fet his invention at work, to contrive every poffible experiment and mean of proof, that can bring a direct and conclufive evidence, either of its truth or falfehood; and till fuch time as he can find fuch evidence, he confiders his theory in no higher point of view than a probable conjecture.

This philofophical diffidence is fo far from difcouraging the inveftigation of caufes and general laws, that, on the contrary, it greatly promotes it. A ftate of fufpenfe is always a difagreeable one, and the uneafinefs it gives, becomes a powerful incitement to fuch further enquiries as may remove it. A zealous attachment to theories, may not only lead into very dangerous mistakes, but by betraying men into a falfe fecurity, cuts off every motive to farther enquiry; reprefenting it as an unneceffary piece of trouble. It is not philofophical fcepticifm, nor a humble opinion of our prefent knowledge, which checks

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the fpirit of enquiry into the laws of nature; it is a mean opinion of the human powers, which effectually chills the ardor of genius, and blasts all grand and extenfive views of improvement. In works addreffed to the heart, that coldness and fevere precifion, fo neceffary in the investigation of truth, have no place; fancy there is in her proper element, and the loofeft and wildeft analogies may often be properly admitted. A philofopher may read a fairy tale with great delight, without the leaft reflection upon his taste or understanding; but it reflects feverely upon both, if he reads with the fame pleasure a philofophical investigation, not founded in obfervations and experiments, but in the vagaries of a lively imagination, unless he is fenfible of its being a romance, and only allows himfelf to be charmed with the fpirit or elegance of the compofition.

There is a fpecies of felf-deceit upon this fubject, which deferves particular notice. We often find those people inveighing bitterly against theories and hypothefes in philofophy, who are most notoriously addicted to them, though not confcious of it themselves. This is moft remarkably the cafe with medical writers, who commonly. abufe all reasoning and principles in phyfic which differ from their own equally idle theory; and frequently declaim against theory in fo vague a manner, as would feem to condemn all reafoning and inveftigation of caufes and principles, as ufelefs, and even pernicious. But it fhould be confidered, that we cannot advance a ftep in the purfuit of knowledge, without reafoning. In every ufeful experiment, and especially in conducting a train of experiments, we must employ our reafon; there must be fome point in view, fome anticipation of a principle to be eftablished or rejected, and reafon must determine all the circumftances to be attended to in making every obfervation, or experiment, with a view to afcertain this. Without reafoning, or without trufting to certain principles, either fully establifhed, or rendered highly probable, we could never be benefited by experience, because we could never transfer it from the case we have seen, to the cafe immediately before us. For inftance, I have a patient in an intermitting fever, which I propofe to cure by the Peruvian bark, I fhall fuppofe 1 have cured five hundred patients by this medicine formerly; but yet I know I never cured one whofe circumftances, in refpect of age, temperament, and every other particular, exactly correfponded to the one before me. If therefore I give the bark, I must reafon, by tacitly adopting this principle, that the bark will univerfally cure agues, notwithstanding they differ in fome circumstances. But this is a principle of which I have no direct and conclufive experience, but a principle which I have adopted, by a probable reafoning from analogy: and, indeed, it is not univerfally true, though phyficians muft proceed upon it in their practice, till fuch time as future obfervation fhall afcertain the exceptions to it. Boerhaave, Hoffman, Stahl, and every fyftematic writer exclaim against theories, meaning one anothers theories; for each of them explain, though in different, and often oppofite, manners, the proximate caufe of every disease they give an account of, and the mode of operation of every remedy they preferibe, upon priuciples entirely hypothetical. Even Sydenham, though reckoned a purely practical writer, is full of hypothetical reafoning, which, however, had not the ufual effect of

making him lefs attentive to obfervation; and, indeed, his hypo thefes feem to have fat fo loosely about him, that they either did not influence his practice at all, or he could very readily abandon them, and adopt new ones, whenever they would not bend to his experience.'

Our Author concludes his lecture with taking notice of some peculiar disadvantages under which medicine has laboured, and which have greatly retarded its progrefs. Thefe difadvantages, he fays, have arisen from the manner in which it has been ufually taught, and from its having been confined to a set of men who lived by it as a profeffion.

In the firft place, fays he, the general method of conducting education, in univerfities where medicine is taught, does not feem fo well calculated to advance fcience, as to diffufe it; not fo well fitted to promote particular arts, as to communicate general principles. Those who teach the fcience often lay various nets for the underftandings of their ftudents. Sometimes with the laudable view of engaging and fixing their attention; fometimes with a defire to ftamp a dignity on their own characters; by pretenfions to difcoveries, by the triumph of confutation, the oftentation of learning, or the mafk of obfcurity. For the conveniency of teaching medicine, it has been afual, in most univerfities, to lay down general doctrines and principles, relating to entire claffes of diseases and remedies, and to mention particular facts, fo far only as they ferve to illuftrate thefe principles, or as they are clearly deducible from them. But the natural and genuine method of advancing a fcience is the reverse of the former, where we proceed from particular facts to establish general principles. Though, on a fuperficial view, it does not feem a matter of great confequence, in what particular way the knowledge of medičine is acquired; yet it will appear, on a nearer view, to have often an important influence on a phyfician's future character and studies. Medicine, as ufually taught in colleges, inftead of being reprefented as an art, imperfect in its moft material parts; inflead of having its deficiencies pointed out, with a view to their being fupplied, is digefted into a regular and perfect fyftem. In this view it is beheld by the young ftudent, who embraces theories, with the fame facility and unfufpecting confidence as he would do facts; he thinks he underftands the causes of all diseases, and the manner of operation of all remedies; his mind is at eafe, in having always fure and fixt priaciples to reft on. In the mean time, the art has little chance to acquire any improvement from him, as he fcarcely fuppofes it ftands in need of any. When a patient dies, he is quite fatislied every thing was done for him that art could do. It is difficult and painful for men to give up favourite opinions, the children of their youth; to fink from a state of fecurity and confidence, into one of fuipence and fcepticifm. Accordingly, few phyficians change either the principles or practice they firft fet out with. We have fome ftriking examples of men of genius in phyfic, writing fyftems of practice, early in life, who have arrived at a very old age, greatly admired for their capacity, and poffefied of the most extenfive practice; and though in the courfe of their lives, their fyftems had gone through many editions,

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yet there has been no material alteration of the last from the firft: which affords a ftrong proof of the faithful attachment they retained to their firft ideas and principles. Yet any perfon unacquainted with the hiftory of phyfic, would naturally fuppofe that a physician, of accurate obfervation and extenfive practice, fhould, in the courfe of a long life, have made fuch an addition to his flock of knowledge, as muft neceffarily have rendered his laft performances of infinitely more value than his firft; as must have confirmed him in fome opinions, of which he was formerly doubtful; but difcovered to him the folly or uncertainty of many more, whofe truth, in his younger days, he had thought perfectly eftablished. If we now enquire into the effects produced on the mind, by acquiring knowledge, in the flow method of induction, from obfervations and experiments, we shall find them very different. The mind here gains a habit of close attention to facts, having nothing else to trust to; flow in forming principles from thefe facts, and diffident of them when formed, inftead of being affuming and dogmatical, becomes modest and sceptical. A phyfician, whofe knowledge has been formed in this manner, never lofes a patient but he fecretly laments his own ignorance of the proper means of having faved him, which he is always more ready to blame, than the incurableness of the disease itself. There are many difeafes, which no phyfician yet has been able to cure; but it does not follow from this, that all these diseases are abfolutely incurable. There are fo very few difcafes that can be pronounced, in their own nature, incurable, that I would wish you to annex no other idea to the phrafe, incurable disease, but the idea of a disease which you do not know how to cure. How many patients have been dimiffed from different hof- f pitals, as incurables, who yet have recovered perfect health, fometimes by the efforts of unaffifted nature, fometimes by very fimple and fafe remedies, and fometimes by the random and defperate prefcriptions of ignorant and impudent quacks? To pronounce difeafes incurable, is to establish indolence and careleffnefs, as it were by a law, and to fcreen ignorance from reproach. This diffidence of our own know, ledge naturally ftimulates us to improve it, not only from a love of fcience, but from a principle of confcience and humanity. We own, that this philofophical fpirit, if it is not united with great strength of mind, may be very detrimental to a phyfician, by making him timid and fluctuating in his practice: but though true philofophy leads to diffidence and caution, in forming principles, yet, when there is occafion to act, it fhews how neceffary it is to have a quickness in perceiving where the greatest probability of truth lies, to be decifive in forming a refolution, and steady in putting it in execution. As every profeffor, of an enlarged mind, muft be fenfible of the inconveniencies that attend the ufual method of teaching, he will guard against it by every method in his power, particularly by pointing out all the deficiencies in his fyftem, and by promoting a fpirit of free enquiry among his students, and an abfolute contempt of the authority of aft great names, in every thing but matters of fact. In thefe their authority must be fubmitted to, unless there be reason to doubt their integrity, or faspect their credulity. I throw out thefe obfervations with great freedom from this place, where I am fure I cannot be mifunderstood. in fome univerfities in Europe, a little more caution

might have been expected; but I am well acquainted with the liberat fpirit that breathes in this univerfity, in every department of science, and in none more than in all the branches of medicine. But there are none of my obligations to it, which I remember with more gratitude, than the acquifition of that freedom of enquiry, which then diftinguished it, and which fo eminently diftinguishes it at this time. Let me take this opportunity of doing justice to the merit of several gentlemen, who have, within these few years, done honour to this medical college by their inaugural differtations. In thefe, feveral important investigations have been carried on, by a set of accurate and well-conducted experiments, under the direction of fome of my learned and ingenious colleagues, particularly Dr. Cullen and Dr. Monro, which really tend to the advancement of the fcience. This method of giving a fpecimen of a young phyfician's genius, is attended with fo many advantages, fo creditable to himself, and fo useful to the public, that I fhould be extremely forry to fee it fall again into difuetude.'

Through the whole of this lecture, the philofophical Reader will find that our Author has adopted many fentiments of Lord Bacon, which he has illuftrated in a very agreeable and inftruc-' tive manner-But we must now take our leave of him, though we do it with reluctance. It is but feldom, very feldom, indeed, that we meet with fo agreeable a companion, in our periodical journey through the land of literature.

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New Obfervations on Italy, &c. concluded. See our laft.

N our last month's account of this work, we left the Author at the famous city of Venice.

We rather wonder, that fo careful an obferver, among the curiofities and antiquities which he mentions, takes no notice of an ancient manufcript of St. Mark's gofpel, on which the Venetians are faid to value themselves, but which, we are told, by other writers, is preferved in the fame negligent manner with many of their fine paintings.

From Venice we are conducted to Padua, Loretto, Foligni, and other places in the way to Rome. Our Author travelled in these parts, he tells us, during the heighth of the Intemperie, that is, of that feason, when the Romans both in town and country neglect no precaution against the dog-days. Thefe precautions, he says, are to make choice of a fettled dwelling either in town or country; lying always in the fame room, and in the fame bed, and without fo much as changing its pofition; keeping within doors, and well covered both at the rifing and fetting of the fun; avoiding bodily fatigues, and no less free from all intensenefs and vexation of mind; and using a moist diet: they who happen to be coming to Rome in this dangerous feafon, are not to fleep on the road, nor expofe themfelves to the