Page:The Harveian oration 1866.djvu/30

 tion. 'Tis true no compass has been found to guide them in the trackless ocean of the unknown, yet have they owed much to instrumental aid. It has made their observations more exact. This is a great service. We cannot too highly value any means of rendering our knowledge more accurate.

Such is the laryngoscope, first used by one recently lost to us, who, however distinguished for his inventive skill, for his practical medical knowledge, and many accomplishments, was even more beloved for his goodness of heart and generous, genial spirit (t).

Such are the ophthalmoscope and endoscope, and the use of the thermometer in practical medicine; such the endless applications of the microscope; such the methods of auscultation and percussion; such, above all, the progress of Organic Chemistry—as applied to medical practice, giving more precision to our remedies—as applied to Physiology, ever bringing us nearer and nearer to the solution of the higher problems of life.

There is no more hopeful sign for the future of Medicine than the general recognition at the present day of the necessity for exactness in all