Page:The Harveian oration, 1893.djvu/53

29 its successful treatment, and in the scarcely less important demonstration of the falsehoods by which the name of electricity is misused for purposes of gain.

It is true that Bernard’s discoveries of the diabetic puncture and of the digestive function of the pancreas have not yet received their practical application. He was right when he said, “Nous venons les mains vides, mais la bouclie pleine d’ esperances legitimes,” but he should have spoken for himself alone.

The experiments on blood-pressure begun by Hales, and carried to a successful issue in our own time by Ludwig, have led to knowledge which we use every day by the bed-side, and which only needs the discovery of a better method of measuring blood-pressure during life, to become one of our foremost and most practical aids in treatment.