第50章

Iwouldextendthehospitalityoftheseshelvestoaclassofworkswhichweareinthehabitofconsideringasbeingoutsideofthepaleofmedicalscience，properlysocalled，andsometimesofcouplingwithadisrespectfulname。Suchhasalwaysbeenmyownpractice。I

havewelcomedCulpeperandSalmontomybookcaseaswillinglyasDioscoridesorQuincy，orParisorWoodandBache。IhavefoundaplaceforSt。JohnLong，andreadthestoryofhistrialformanslaughterwithasmuchinterestasthelaurel-watercaseinwhichJohnHunterfiguredasawitness。IwouldgiveSamuelHahnemannaplacebythesideofSamuelThomson。AmInotafraidthatsomestudentofimaginativeturnandnotprovidedwiththeneedfulcerebralstrainerswithoutwhichalltherefuseofgimcrackintelligencesgetsintothementaldrainsandchokesthemup，——amI

notafraidthatsomesuchstudentwillgetholdofthe“Organon“orthe“MaladiesChroniques“andbewonoverbytheirdelusions，andsobelosttothosethatlovehimasamanofcommonsenseandabrotherintheirhighcalling？Notintheleast。IfheshowedanysymptomsofinfectionIwouldforoncehaverecoursetotheprincipleofsimiliasimilibus。TocurehimofHahnemannIwouldprescribemyfavoritehomoeopathicantidote，Okie’sBonninghausen。Ifthatfailed，IwouldorderGrauvoglasaheroicremedy，andifhesurvivedthatuncured，Iwouldgivehimmyblessing，ifIthoughthimhonest，andbidhimdepartinpeace。Formeheisnolongeranindividual。

HebelongstoaclassofmindswhichweareboundtobepatientwithiftheirMakerseesfittoindulgethemwithexistence。Wemustaccepttheconjuringultra-ritualist，thedreamysecondadventist，theerraticspiritualist，thefantastichomoeopathist，asnotunworthyofphilosophicstudy；notmoreunworthyofitthanthesquarersofthecircleandtheinventorsofperpetualmotion，andtheotherwhimsicalvisionariestowhomDeMorganhasdevotedhismostinstructiveandentertaining“BudgetofParadoxes。“Ihope，therefore，thatourlibrarywilladmittheworksoftheso-calledEclectics，oftheThomsonians，ifanyareinexistence，oftheClairvoyants，iftheyhavealiterature，andespeciallyoftheHomoeopathists。Thiscountryseemstobetheplaceforsuchacollection，whichwillbyandbybecuriousandofmorevaluethanatpresent，forHomoeopathyseemstobefollowingthepathologicallawoferysipelas，fadingoutwhereitoriginatedasitspreadstonewregions。AtleastIjudgesobythefollowingtranslatedextractfromacriticismofanAmericanworkinthe“HomoeopatischeRundschau“ofLeipzigforOctober，1878，whichIfindinthe“HomoeopathicBulletin“forthemonthofNovemberjustpassed：

“WhilewefeelproudofthespreadandriseofHomoeopathyacrosstheocean，andwhiletheHomoeopathicworksreachingusfromthere，andpublishedinastylesuchasisunknowninGermany，beareloquenttestimonytotheeminentactivityofourtransatlanticcolleagues，weareovercomebysorrowfulregretsatthepositionHomoeopathyoccupiesinGermany。Suchawork[astheAmericanonereferredto]

withuswouldbeimpossible；itwouldlackthenecessarysupport。“

ByallmeansletourlibrarysecureagoodrepresentationoftheliteratureofHomoeopathybeforeitleavesusits“sorrowfulregrets“

andmigrateswithitssugarofmilkpellets，whichhavetakentheplaceoftheoldpilulaemicaepanis，toAlaska，to“NovaZembla，ortheLordknowswhere。“

WhatshallIsayinthispresenceofthedutiesofaLibrarian？

Wherehavetheyeverbeenbetterperformedthaninourownpubliccitylibrary，wherethelateMr。JewettandthelivingMr。Winsorhaveshownuswhatalibrarianoughttobe，——theorganizinghead，thevigilantguardian，theseeker’sindex，thescholar’scounsellor？Hisworkisnotmerelythatofadministration，manifoldandlaboriousasitsdutiesare。Hemusthaveaquickintelligenceandaretentivememory。Heisapubliccarrierofknowledgeinitsgerms。Hisofficeislikethatwhichnaturalistsattributetothebumble-bee，——

helaysuplittlehoneyforhimself，butheconveysthefertilizingpollenfromflowertoflower。

Ourundertaking，justcompleted，——andjustbegun——hascomeattherighttime，notadaytoosoon。Ourpractitionersneedalibrarylikethis，forwithalltheirskillanddevotionthereistoolittlegenuineerudition，suchasaliberalprofessionoughttobeabletoclaimformanyofitsmembers。InreadingtherecentobituarynoticesofthelateDr。GeddingsofSouthCarolina，IrecalledwhatourlamentedfriendDr。Coaleusedtotellmeofhislearningandaccomplishments，andIcouldnothelpreflectinghowfewsuchmedicalscholarswehadtoshowinBostonorNewEngland。Wemustclearupthisunillumina

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