Page:Quackery Unmasked.djvu/271

Rh to make a good physician. Long before he takes his degree—yes, long before he commences his professional studies, his thoughts and actions should be trained and cultivated for that end. The mind should be accustomed to patient and careful observation—to reflect, compare and nicely discriminate. And as a sine qua non, before and above everything else, he should possess undeviating integrity. If he sets out without this, he should be sent back, for he ought not to succeed.

A proper mental discipline is of the utmost importance. It is a mistake to suppose that a physician should be wise by intuition, or that he can see everything necessary at a single glance, and needs no time for thought and reflection. If he is loose and careless in his observations, he will be liable to come to wrong conclusions. If his mind is not accustomed to close and minute attention and careful consideration, he will be neither a good scholar nor a safe and successful practitioner. Every case that is worth noticing at all, deserves a thorough examination. Physicians are extremely liable to make mistakes