Page:Advice to Medical Students (1857) William Henry Fuller.djvu/26

26 one pursuit which you have selected as the business of your life.

And when you quit this scene of your early labours to assume the responsibility of medical practitioners, take heed lest you allow the anxieties of life to lead you astray from the path you have chosen. Call to mind the good advice you have received within these walls, and act on it steadily and consistently. Remember that your success depends greatly upon your character, and not merely on attaining a particular grade in the profession. The public care little for medical titles, or for those artificial distinctions which, for the more convenient subdivision of labour, we have established amongst ourselves; they look for men who will prove useful to them in time of need—men in whom they can place confidence, whom they may admit without fear into the bosom of their families, whose feelings and behaviour are those of gentlemen, who are skilled to relieve their bodily sufferings, and to whom they may open the secrets of their hearts and turn for sympathy and advice in seasons of affliction. Show yourselves possessed of these qualifications, devoted to your profession, and willing to make the sacrifices it entails, and you are certain of success, whether you be physicians, surgeons, or general practitioners. Without these qualities your career will be uncertain, and will be marked by constant vexation and disappointment. Your dearest friends will be unable to assist you, and the public will not give you their confidence.

In conclusion, gentlemen, let me once more beg you to be earnest and zealous in your studies. Tread in the footsteps of those great men whose names adorn the bead-roll of our profession, and emulate their virtues, their industry, and attainments. If you cannot rival their glorious achievements, at least let it be obvious that you are doing your very best, that you are conscious of your privileges, and mindful of your responsibilities. There is much here around you to cheer you