IntToductory iiootures to a oourse 
 
 of Anatomy 
 
 Wm. K. Horner M.D. 
 
 1331 
 
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE 
 
 TO A 
 
 COURSE OF ANATOMY 
 
 IN THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 BY WILLIAM E. HORNER, M. D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF ASATOMT. 
 
 DELIVERED, NOVEMBER-7th, 1831, 
 
 Asm 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE MEDICAL CLASS, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY J. G. AUNER, 
 FOR THE CLASS. 
 
 1831. 
 
Dear Sib, 
 
 At a meeting of the Medical Class of the University of Pennsylvania, 
 held this afternoon, we were appointed a Committee to solicit of you a 
 copy of your Introductory Lecture for the purpose of publication. 
 
 We feel assured, that by complying with our request, you will gratify 
 not only the present numerous class of your pupils, but all who have at 
 any time been connected with the University of Pennsylvania, and feel an 
 interest in the prosperity ofthat highly respectable and flourishing institu- 
 tion — all who can appreciate the exalted merits of your distinguished pre- 
 decessors in the Chair of Anatomy, or would know the value of the names 
 of Shippen, Wistar, Dorsey, and Physick, to the fame of our country. 
 
 With great respect. 
 
 Your obedient servants, 
 
 JOHN A. LOCKWOOD, 
 RANDELL CROFT, 
 
 JOHN C. SPAYD, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 William E. Horner, M. D. 
 
 Philadelphia, November IQth, 1831. 
 
 University of Pennsylvania, Nov. V2th, 1831. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 In reply to your communication of the 10th inst. in behalf of the Me- 
 dical Class, I have to state that a compliance with the wishes of the latter, 
 to publish my Introductory Lecture to the course of Anatomy, affords me 
 entire satisfaction. Desirous on all occasions of doing justice to the cha- 
 racters of my illustrious predecessors in the branch of instruction now 
 committed to me, I am highly gratified in finding that the lecture alluded 
 to, may contribute in some degree to this end. 
 
 I am very sincerely and respectfully. 
 
 Your obedient servant. 
 
 To Messrs. John A. Lockwood, 
 Randell Croft, and 
 John C. Spatd, 
 
 i 
 
 WILLIAM E. HORNER, 
 
 Professor of Anatomy. 
 
 Committee, £^c. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 
 https://archive.org/details/introductorylect01 horn 
 
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Called unexpectedly to the entire performance of the du- 
 ties of a most important department of medical education in 
 this school, and so immediately on the footsteps of an illus- 
 trious predecessor, whose course has been marked by a well- 
 earned, singular, and unrivalled public approbation, and 
 whose reputation has added lustre to the annals of his coun- 
 try, I am sensible of the difficulties and responsibilities of 
 my position, and consequently of the necessity of a diligent 
 and anxious application to its engagements. Though fami- 
 liarized to them by fifteen years or more of labour, yet when 
 my mind reverts to the names of Shippen, Wistar, Dorsey, 
 Physick, professors of the same branch, and men whose un- 
 derstandings and talents have had extraordinary natural en- 
 dowments; the recollection, however well it may be suited 
 to excite my emulation, becomes also a cause of no small so- 
 licitude. Highly gifted as they all have been, and felicitous 
 in the application of their knowledge to public instruction, 
 they have left examples which all may honourably endea- 
 vour to imitate, but only a few can hope to rival. 
 
 In reflecting on the train of events which has brought 
 me to this responsible station, and in comparing the humble 
 beginning of the chair of anatomy with its present noble ac- 
 commodations, and abundant resources of preparations and 
 of subjects, it has occurred to me that it would be entertain- 
 ing and instructive to us all, to inquire into the steps by 
 which it has reached its actual eminence. To commemo- 
 rate the labours of those who have laid the foundation of, 
 and preceded us in an useful and successful enterprise, is 
 
6 
 
 both a debt of gratitude to them, and a valuable lesson to 
 others, and is perhaps at no time more salutary than when 
 on the eve of a similar career ourselves, we desire to be re- 
 gulated by those principles and motives of action, which 
 have been so fruitful in good results. Almost every incident 
 connected with them has an historical interest under such 
 considerations — we are pleased to learn the manner of their 
 education; — the degree of aptitude which in early life they 
 may have exhibited for the subject of their subsequent re- 
 nown; the actual phase or condition of society at the time, 
 whether it was ripe for the reception of an improved state 
 of things; and the moral and physical difficulties of the enter- 
 prise. A judgment upon events, modified by these circum- 
 stances, is the philosophy of history, the scale by which we 
 may appreciate justly great men, and great enterprises, and 
 attribute an exact degree of credit to each. From the inces- 
 santly progressive state of human knowledge, and the gene- 
 ral improvement which is evidently occurring in the condi- 
 tion of society by the enlargement of the human mind, jus- 
 tice requires that the merit of each age should be estimated 
 by its opportunities. The ball of Eolus of the ancients, and 
 Papin’s digester, are each deserving of our recollection, from 
 being the early links in the series of experiments which 
 finally led Watt to the construction of the steam-engine, 
 and Fulton to the application of the latter to navigation; con- 
 ceptions which have had such prodigious and unexpected re- 
 sults already, that no one pretends now to foretel their 
 limits. With these preliminaries I proceed to the proposed 
 discussion. 
 
 The foundation of the chair of anatomy in this school, 
 was laid in the year 1762, by Dr. William Shippen, who 
 then delivered a private course on anatomy to a class of 
 twelve or fifteen students. These lectures were continued 
 for three years, when, in 1765, Dr. John Morgan, having 
 laid before the Trustees of the College of Philadelphia a 
 plan for a medical school, was appointed forthwith Professor 
 
7 
 
 of the Theory and Practice of Medicine. Dr. Shippen got 
 an appointment almost immediately afterwards as Professor 
 of Anatomy, Surgery, and Midwifery, and then lectured re- 
 gularly every year, till his duties were interrupted in 1775 
 by the troubles of our revolutionary war. At this time his 
 class was from thirty to forty. In 1778 he resumed his lec- 
 tures, since which the course on anatomy has been annually 
 delivered. 
 
 To appreciate the merit of this incipient enterprise of Dr. 
 Shippen, and of its success, we must remember how scanty 
 and scattered was the population of the British provinces of 
 North America, how little intercourse the latter had with 
 each other, and how few alliances with the province of Penn- 
 sylvania. We are also to remember the filial and hereditary 
 veneration with which all looked to Great Britain, and the 
 supposed impossibility of so elevated a science as medicine 
 being taught here, in a rude and infant condition of society, 
 with any degree of justness and efficiency. To these diffi- 
 culties may be added the inveterate hostility with which all 
 unimproved communities view the cultivation of anatomy 
 by dissection. It is not our business at present to inquire 
 whether this sentiment has a rational or a superstitious 
 foundation, the fact equally remains in history, that man- 
 kind in all ages have felt it a sacrilege to violate in this way 
 the bodies of the dead, and in their penal enactments have 
 frequently placed it on a footing with the most atrocious 
 crimes. Such then was the situation of Dr. Shippen in 1762, 
 with the prejudices of the people strongly against his voca- 
 tion, and laws equally discouraging, which, by their severe 
 application, might at any time compromit his liberty and 
 property. The persons of the present day can only form a 
 very inadequate conception of the difficulties which sur- 
 rounded him, but happily the man was suited to a task, than 
 which few things, in the language of his biographer. Dr. 
 Wistar, “require more knowledge of human nature, and 
 greater powers of accommodation to the feelings of the heart.” 
 
8 
 
 Dr. Shippen seems to have been intended by nature to 
 lay the corner-stone of the immense edifice of medicine, 
 which has since been erected in this country. Aged twenty- 
 six, at the period alluded to, uncommonly perfect in his 
 form, and engaging in his aspect; his manners were those of 
 a finished gentleman; his enunciation was fine; his temper 
 invariably sprightly and good, could neither be excited by 
 rancour, nor rendered sullen and morose by opposition. Dr. 
 Wistar’s account of him, states, that ‘‘in his intercourse 
 with men he was perfectly at ease with the most stately — 
 he could converse with the most ignorant so as to make 
 them easy, but without affecting ignorance himself — and he 
 could mix with the lowest orders in society without impos- 
 ing a painful restraint upon them, while he preserved the 
 manners of a well-bred gentleman. He was also particularly 
 agreeable to young people. Besides these personal ac- 
 complishments, Dr. Shippen had a hereditary claim on the 
 acquaintance and good will of the inhabitants of this city. 
 His great-grandfather, Edward Shippen, in consequence of 
 a very pressing invitation from the first governor, Penn, had 
 left Boston, the original place of his abode after sailing from 
 England, and had associated his fortunes with the infant co- 
 lony of Pennsylvania. His services had been most conspi- 
 cuous and useful, for he had filled successively almost all the 
 important offices of government, and had contributed greatly 
 to the improvement of the city. Dr. Shippen’s father had 
 also been favourably known to the inhabitants as a practi- 
 tioner of medicine. 
 
 To the personal advantages stated, and those of extensive 
 hereditary friendship and family alliance. Dr. Shippen added 
 foreign study; at that day all important in public estimation, 
 from the want of opportunities of instruction here. While 
 in London, he lived in the family of Mr. John Hunter, the 
 celebrated surgeon, and followed the lectures of Dr. William 
 
 Eulogium on William Shippen, 
 
9 
 
 Hunter on anatomy and midwifery. He enjoyed the advsin- 
 tages of great intimacy with Sir John Pringle and Dr. 
 Fothergill. To the incentive of such illustrious associations 
 we may attribute much of the energy and determination, 
 which marked his subsequent career. 
 
 Dr. Shippen arrived in Philadelphia from Europe in the 
 spring of 1762, having completed his studies, and gained 
 from his preceptors the reputation of great natural talents. 
 Secure in such points as depended on himself, he gave in the 
 autumn of the same year a public introductory to his first 
 course of lectures. This was delivered in the State House in 
 the presence of many of the most respectable citizens. He 
 subsequently conducted his dissections in a small house on 
 the back of the lot where the Bank of Pennsylvania now 
 stands, and twelve students attended his course. Such, gen- 
 tlemen, was the commencement, seventy years ago, of what 
 we now see in a numerous assemblage of students from all 
 parts of this country, and in accommodations for medical in- 
 struction of the most complete and extensive kind. 
 
 On Dr. Shippen’s departure from London, Dr, Fothergill, 
 the great physician of that metropolis, who had a strong at- 
 tachment to the infant institutions of Philadelphia, manifested 
 his regard in a substantial way, by presenting to the Penn- 
 sylvania Hospital two hundred guineas, and also a large col- 
 lection of crayon drawings on anatomy and midwifery, sup- 
 posed to have cost one hundred and fifty guineas more. These 
 drawings were executed by Rimsdyke, a distinguished artist 
 of London, from dissections made by Jentry, an anatomist, 
 and were occasionally superintended by Dr. William Hunter, 
 in their progress. They now, through the liberality of the 
 Managers of the Hospital, make a part of our Anatomical 
 Museum. Dr. Shippen was the bearer of the letter announc- 
 ing this donation to the Hospital, and in it his proficiency 
 and promise as an anatomist were delicately alluded to, with 
 the view of expressing the inclination of the donor, that they 
 should be used by him in the lectures on anatomy, which Dr. 
 
10 
 
 Shipper! meditated. With this stock on hand, assisted by 
 such partial dissections, as the watchful jealousy of the peo- 
 ple permitted him to perform, he conducted the first course. 
 
 Having thus started, it is not to be understood, that the 
 lectures proceeded without occasional interruptions from po- 
 pular indignation; for the city being small, almost every one 
 knew what was going on in it. The house was frequently 
 stoned, and the windows broken; and on one occasion Dr. 
 Shippen’s life was put into imminent danger. While engaged 
 within, the populace assembled tumultuously around the 
 house. His carriage fortunately was at the door, and the peo- 
 ple supposing that he was in it, made their first attack there. 
 The windows of the carriage being up, they were speedily 
 demolished with stones, and a musket ball was shot through 
 the body of the carriage; the coachman applied the whip to 
 his horses, and only saved himself and his vehicle by a rapid 
 retreat under a shower of missiles. The Doctor hearing the 
 uproar, ascertained its cause, and extricated himself through 
 a private alley. 
 
 As a public lecturer Dr. Shippen was unrivalled in this 
 country, in the days of his strength. At the age of eighteen 
 at a Public Commencement in Princeton, his natural talents 
 in elocution produced so strong an impression on the cele- 
 brated preacher Whitfield, that he complimented him pub- 
 licly, in declaring that he had never heard better speaking; 
 and subsequently Whitfield urged it on him to devote him- 
 self to the pulpit. When this talent became disciplined and 
 matured by age and experience, the testimony of his pupils 
 who went abroad, concurred in assigning to him an equal 
 rank with the most distinguished lecturers in Europe, and in 
 affirming that there were very few who deserved a compa- 
 rison with him. From information communicated, (for I 
 never saw him,) his manner of lecturing was a mixture of 
 strong and elevated powers of oratory, with pleasantries 
 always exhilarating and never offensive. He abounded in deli- 
 cate irony, which was so blended with good humour, that it 
 
11 
 
 obtained unlimited power over his class, whereby he was able 
 to censure pointedly and stigmatize an irregularity, without 
 wounding the feelings of the author of it. Many anecdotes 
 are still current of his happy tact in this way. 
 
 In regard to the course of instruction, it may be said that 
 the opportunities for dissection at this period were too li- 
 mited to permit either professor or pupil to penetrate into 
 the minutise of anatomy: and the concentration of three 
 branches in the same individual,'to wit, anatomy, surgery, and 
 midwifery, as stated, was unfavourable to the full exercise of 
 talents for either. Also the public mind continually in an 
 inflammable state, created doubt whether the teaching of ana- 
 tomy could be continued; hence the actual accommodations 
 for demonstrating and dissecting were very insufficient, and 
 the students themselves had to perform the part of resurrec- 
 tionists. Under these circumstances we are not to be sur- 
 prised if no memorial of the anatomy of these days, in the 
 form of preparations be in existence, and if no foundation 
 were laid of the Anatomical Museum as it now stands. 
 
 In the year 1792, Dr. Wistar became the associate of Dr. 
 Shippen, after the latter had stood alone for thirty years, in 
 his eflbrts to create a permanent anatomical interest. This 
 union grew out of the existence from 17S9 to 1792 of two 
 medical schools; the most recent of which had its origin from 
 feelings generated by the revolutionary war. One of these 
 schools and the oldest belonged to the college of Philadelphia, 
 and the other to the university of the State of Pennsylvania. 
 Dr. Shippen was professor of anatomy in both. In the year 
 1789 Dr. Wistar had been appointed professor of chemistry 
 in the college; but before accepting he hesitated much, lest 
 by his acquiescence, the consolidation of the two institutions, 
 which he had much at heart, should be delayed or prevented. 
 During his deliberations it occured to him, that he could be 
 much more efficient as a professor in procuring this union, 
 than as a private individual: he therefore accepted the place 
 of chemist, and in three years afterwards, had the satisfaction 
 of seeing his wishes realized, and of reflecting that he himself 
 
12 
 
 had' contributed largely, by his moderation and good manage- 
 ment, to an arrangement which has since been so successful 
 in developing the character and usefulness of the present 
 institution. 
 
 Dr. Wistar, when quite a boy, had his prepossessions in 
 favour of medicine awakened by the battle of Germantown. 
 Restrained by his religious principles* fromjoining his coun- 
 trymen in the sanguinary defence of their rights, every fibre 
 in his body then as in the whole subsequent course of his 
 life, vibrated to the calls of patriotism. He repaired to the 
 scene of action, and in contributing his inexperienced atten- 
 tions to the wounded soldier, was so much struck with the 
 happy effects of the healing art, that from this moment he 
 determined to study medicine. -As a student he was distin- 
 guished by his zeal, his assiduity, and the promptitude and 
 extent of his information. He graduated as Bachelor of 
 Medicine in 1782 , in the College of Philadelphia, and on 
 his examination was subjected to a test of some difficulty. 
 At that time the rival doctrines of spasm and of lentor, pro- 
 mulgated by the celebrated Cullen and Boerhaave, were set in 
 array against each other by the members of the same faculty. 
 As they each required explanations according to their own 
 conceptions of what was right, our candidate had to vary in 
 his answers, so as to suit the theory of the interrogator. This 
 delicate task he executed with so much address and good 
 sense, as to excite the strongest admiration on the part of the 
 spectators. For in those days, gentlemen, the examinations 
 were in public. From his own country, Dr. Wistar repaired 
 to Great Britain. In Edinburgh, then the chief resort of 
 Americans, he became highly distinguished for the same 
 qualities which he had manifested at home. The associate 
 of Sir James McIntosh, who has since become one of the 
 leading members of the British senate — of Mr. Emmet, since 
 then one of the most powerful and eminent members of the 
 New York bar — of Dr. Jefiray, now Professor of Anatomy 
 
 He was born and educated in the Society of Friends. 
 
13 
 
 in theUniversity of Glasgow, Dr. Wistar vyielded with great 
 power the gauntlet of debate, and obtained for himself the 
 high honour among such competitors, of being made, for two 
 successive years. President of the Royal Medical Society of 
 Edinburgh. During his residence in Scotland, he seems to 
 have attracted the marked attention of Dr. Cullen, for having 
 presented certain written queries to Di\ C. on some medical 
 subject connected with his theory, Dr. C. wrote a very 
 polite note answering them, but stating at the same time, that 
 it was not his habit to do such things, for if he should adopt 
 it as a practice, it would subject him to endless trouble and 
 inconvenience in answering the letters of persons who cared 
 but little for his opinions, but in the case of Mr. Wistar, it 
 would always give him pleasure to solve his doubts and to 
 add to his information. 
 
 Dr. Wistar graduated as Doctor of Medicine in Edinburgh, 
 in 1786, having written a Thesis entitled, De Animo Deniisso. 
 The chief objects of his studies were anatomy, surgery, and 
 chemistry. As a student there, he left a name which was 
 most affectionately and respectfully remembered for a long 
 time afterwards, according to the testimony of the Americans 
 who succeeded him. 
 
 Nature had not granted to Dr. W. that graceful and com- 
 manding exterior which she lavished on Dr. Shippen. His 
 countenance, though not handsome, was benignant in the 
 extreme; even strangers were struck with this. Many of his 
 students remember the courteous and sprightly smile, with 
 which he entered and departed from his lecture room. Ex- 
 treme suavity of deportment on every occasion of life, was 
 his predominant mode of conduct. As a teacher, he allured 
 by his gentleness and affability, his students to flock around 
 him on every occasion, and to ask him such questions as 
 their want of information or misapprehension suggested. He 
 was always on the alert to serve them in sickness, and to 
 procure for them such places of profit and trust as his personal 
 influence could controul, but invariably, I believe, on such 
 
14 
 
 occasions, with a conscientious regard to his knowledge of 
 their characters and to their qualifications. This principle 
 of impartial, but merciful justice, always guided him in his 
 decisions on the claims of candidates for medical degrees. 
 Willing to attribute every deficiency to embarrassment, he 
 only became convinced that it was ignorance, when every 
 proper mode of inquiry repeatedly and leisurely tried, proved 
 the incapacity of the candidate. In such cases his decisions 
 were inflexible; as a conscientious man having a public trust 
 of first rate importance, he never consented for any one to 
 take a recognised appointment intheprofession,with a smaller 
 share of knowledge than what he conceived necessary to the 
 practice of medicine. From the goodness of his heart, I have 
 no doubt that on many such occasions, he felt more for the 
 candidate than the candidate felt for himself. His justice 
 was evidently so impartial, and his goodness so conspicuous, 
 that I have never heard the slightest breath of censure cast 
 upon his proceeding, either by the fortunate or the unfortu- 
 nate ; on the contrary, their admiration of him had received 
 a new’ impulse. In his social intercourse he possessed un- 
 usual tact in communicating pleasure. Though gifted with 
 unusual strength and cultivation of intellect, and possessing 
 varied and immense resources of conversation, he, on every 
 occasion, seemed more desirous to hear than to be heard. 
 From this turn of mind, his conversation abounded in a re- 
 markable degree, in questions; he culled information in that 
 way from every source, and where he found a deficiency, he 
 imparted abundantly of his own stock. Many young men, 
 on first obtaining the pleasure of his acquaintance, were struck 
 with this peculiarity — he inquired concerning the mountains, 
 the rivers, the natural productions, the manners of the section 
 of country to which they belonged, and listened with patient 
 and obvious satisfaction to their answers. These interroga- 
 tions not being expected, the person to whom they were ad- 
 dressed was not alw’ays prepared to answer them ■ correctly. 
 But if, through a desire of displaying more information than 
 
15 
 
 he actually possessed, the unfortunate individual answered 
 like one who was well acquainted with the subject, another 
 well-timed and pertinent question, hinted to him that it Avas 
 better for him to confess ignorance than to speak erroneously, 
 for he was talking to one already acquainted with the subject 
 of conversation. All this was done with so much delicacy, 
 that pleasure instead of pain was excited, and I am sure, from 
 my own feelings on returning home from such a discipline, 
 that many persons must have resolved forthwith to make 
 themselves well acquainted with objects so readily learned, 
 and which, till then, it had never occurred to them, could 
 become such interesting subjects of inquiry and of conversa- 
 tion. This happy tact made Dr. Wistar the charm of every 
 circle. Unbounded in his hospitality, and fascinating in his 
 manners, his house was the weekly resort of literary men of 
 every description, both citizens and strangers: his company 
 was courted equally by the young and the old, the gay and 
 the sedate. It was very justly said of him, “ if he addressed 
 a promiscuous circle, he spoke like a man of the world, care- 
 fully avoiding every thing professional, technical, or in any 
 way insulated; if an individual, he so suited his remarks to 
 his taste and capacities, as to entice him into discourse, and 
 draw from him his knowledge of the subject discussed.”* 
 
 So deeply had his philanthropy atfected his general de- 
 portment, that persons but just acquainted with him, were 
 as fully persuaded of his disposition as those who had known 
 him for years. In the sick room he was the ministering an- 
 gel, compassionate, unwearied, prompt, and deeply-skilled; 
 in bad cases never abandoning his patients, or ceasing to ap- 
 ply the resources of the art till life was extinct. In those 
 terrible and unexpected accidents which sometimes come 
 with overwhelming suddenness upon the practitioner of sur- 
 gery, when even the stoutest and most collected hearts are 
 •paralyzed. Dr. Wistar, though on common occasions the 
 
 Eulogium on Caspar Wistar, by Charles Caldwell, M. D. 
 
16 
 
 most sensitive of mankind, found here all his faculties at 
 their post. Whatever ingenuity could devise, and skill com- 
 bine, was rapidly executed. He was not one who in witness- 
 ing the immensity of a calamity, forgot the means by which 
 it could be repaired or averted. In extending the benefits of 
 his skill, the pecuniary recompense for it was the last of his 
 thoughts. He practised therefore on the most disinterested 
 principles, and being possessed of a good fortune with a lu- 
 crative professorship, his charges were proverbially mode- 
 rate, and such as they were, very difficult to obtain. In this, 
 however, he did a disservice to the profession, which I am 
 sure he never intended. Inconsiderable charges from a man 
 of his reputation and extent of business, in forming a sort of 
 rule in the profession, of course affected deeply such as were 
 only beginning, and such as had not the other resources 
 which he wielded. Indeed, society itself is scarcely benefit- 
 ed by such a proceeding, for it is generally admitted, that 
 the most able members of the profession, have, for the most 
 part, received the first impulse from the stimulus of neces- 
 sity, encouraged with the hope of reward ; but if the value of 
 the latter be diminished much, it turns the minds of enter- 
 prising men from the pursuit, and renders those who are 
 already in it, lukewarm ; under which circumstances me- 
 dicine loses much of its skill and respectability. No man 
 however, entertained higher notions of the value of profes- 
 sional services than Dr. Wistar, and it was this very lofty 
 conception of them which prevented him from estimating 
 their worth in pounds, shillings, and pence. 
 
 Scrupulous and conscientious to an extreme in doing every 
 thing for a patient which he thought could be of service, 
 it is admitted that no other physician in the city encounter- 
 ed the same proportionate labour that he did. His efforts 
 went much beyond those of a simple medical attendant. He 
 felt the deepest personal interest for his patient, and not un- 
 frequently afterwards his mind was filled with the strongest 
 sentiments of friendship, founded principally on the benefits 
 
17 
 
 which it had been his happiness to extend. In difficult chro- 
 nic cases he made numerous and protracted visits, and en- 
 tered into the most minute and comprehensive investigation 
 of them. It was on such occasions that the solace and sym- 
 pathy of friendship were superadded to the balm of the heal- 
 ing art, and that impressions of devoted affection to him are 
 to be found among numbers of individuals yet alive in Phila- 
 delphia, who upon any one touching this string even gently, 
 find it vibrate to the inmost recesses of their hearts, and in 
 the crowd of recollections which the association excites, in- 
 capable of utterance, give vent to them in a flood of tears. 
 To call this man good, is only tu show the insufficiency of 
 human language. 
 
 In a point of vast importance to the harmony of society 
 and to the efficacy of Christian convictions, I consider him to 
 have been a perfect model. The rule “Forgive us our tres- 
 passes as we forgive those who trespass against us,” was most 
 indelibly and productively imprinted on his mind. Endow- 
 ed by nature with a sensibility to be compared only with 
 that of a delicate, youthful, and highly-refined female, it is 
 not to be expected but that in our profession he received some 
 rude shocks, enough so indeed to stagger a mind more coarsely 
 organized than his own. Incapable of injustice and of rancour 
 himself, when the first burst of indignation was over, which 
 he owed to human nature, then came the sunshine of a calm 
 and undisturbed conscience. Judging other men by himself, 
 he trusted that there was some mistake, that it had not been 
 intended, that the person had been betrayed into extremi- 
 ties by a vehement and uncontrollable disposition. If, how- 
 ever, a perseverance in injury proved that it was a deliberate 
 and unrepented act of malice, no harsh retort came from his 
 lips; they were closed forever upon the personal demerits of 
 the individual, while he did ample justice to the merits, pro- 
 fessional, or otherwise, which the person may have possess- 
 ed. From this Christian charity, even many of his most in- 
 timate friends declare that they never heard him depart, 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 nor utter an unkind word against such as had flagrantly in- 
 jured him. The sense of the injustice if retained in his me- 
 mory, to the eyes of society was buried in oblivion. But if 
 in his own justification it became necessary to expose the 
 transaction, he did it in the least ofiensive terms, and in such 
 a manner as to express regret rather than resentment. Re- 
 peatedly have I witnessed this trait in his character. 
 
 Dr. Wistar commenced the discharge of his duties as ad- 
 junct professor of anatomy in the little building in Fifth 
 street, opposite the State-House Yard. It is now called the 
 Health Office. The increasing celebrity of the school, pro- 
 ducing a corresponding concourse of students, that house was 
 insufficientto contain them. Accordingly, abouttheyear 1807, 
 a building was erected on the site of that in which we are now 
 assembled. In the winter of 1806 the class met in it. Dr. 
 Shippen, whose domestic misfortunes and bodily infirmities 
 had borne heavily upon him for some years, had retired from 
 the active duties of the chair. But on this occasion he deliver- 
 ed the introductory lecture, which was rendered more than 
 usually interesting to him by his recollections of almost half 
 a century, when but twelve students had assembled to fol- 
 low his course, in an obscure room in the city. Now he 
 had spacious and comparatively elegant accommodations, and 
 an immense concourse of students from all parts of the union. 
 In a few weeks after this effort of strength, in which he de- 
 scribed in glowing terms his emotions, he was gathered to 
 his fathers. This circumstance left Dr. Wistar sole professor 
 of anatomy. 
 
 The talents which had borne him up to this period of life, 
 were now applied with renewed vigour. Determined on dis- 
 charging his duties to the best of his power, no pains, no ex- 
 pense, were spared. Well experienced in the best mode of 
 instruction, in what was most useful to be learned, he sustain- 
 ed in the maturity of his reputation, the high opinion that had 
 been formed of him. As a teacher of anatomy, differing in 
 many respects from his illustrious predecessor, his elocution 
 
19 
 
 was equally popular. Able, zealous, accomplished, with a great 
 fund of solid information, with manners universally popular, 
 his students who travelled abroad said of him, as had been said 
 of Dr. Shippen, that no man they had met with was his supe- 
 rior, and very few his equals. His style of speaking was of 
 that earnest and fluent kind, which, abounding in important 
 truths, without restricting itself to the formal rules of ora- 
 tory, commanded irresistibly the attention. It was not so 
 much the speaker that spoke as the subject which he was dis- 
 cussing; the absorbing interest was in the latter. 
 
 I have said that probably owing to the uncertainty of con- 
 ducting the course of anatomy in the early years of the 
 school, no arrangements had been made for an anatomical 
 museum. Dr. Wistar soon became sensible of this deficiency, 
 and to the day of his death continued to supply it. Many 
 years ago, he had made a very fine and numerous collection 
 of dried preparations of the arterial and venous systems. The 
 largest in our cabinet belong to that time. A considerable 
 number of corroded preparations in wax were executed 
 about the same period. About the year 1812 , a friend of his 
 travelling in Italy, enabled him to add to his cabinet, from 
 the school of Mascagni, the best preparations of the super- 
 ficial lymphatics which I have any where met with, not ex- 
 cepting the most approved in any part of Great Britain, 
 Holland, or France, and I am assured by gentlemen who 
 have travelled lately in Italy, that they saw none there su- 
 perior, if so good. About the time of their arrival, an im- 
 pulse was given to the cultivation of that branch of practical 
 anatomy within our own walls among the students of the 
 school, and from it has resulted a number of very creditable 
 preparations. The most signal efibrt, however, of Dr. Wis- 
 tar in this, line was having a number of very large models in 
 wood executed by Rush, with the view of giving every 
 member of his class an equal opportunity of learning. They 
 consist in representations of the temporal bone — the labyrinth 
 — the superior maxillary bone, the sphenoid bone, the brain. 
 
20 
 
 and some other structures. A very large model of the wrist 
 which he had ordered to be executed was suspended by his 
 death, but since then it has been finished at the expense of 
 Dr. Physick, and deposited in the museum. A very valuable 
 collection of diseased bones was also made by Dr. Wistar. 
 
 The last year of Dr. Wistar’s mortal career was marked 
 by an unusual concourse of students, and by a series of lec- 
 tures, in which he even exceeded his former reputation. In. 
 his fifty-eighth year, animated by a new and improved lec- 
 ture room, but in an impaired state of health, his excessive 
 fondness for the duties of the chair, still stimulated him to 
 advance in the noble career. In this zenith of popularity, 
 and of public confidence, in January, 1818 , he was assailed 
 with the malady destined by Providence to close his la- 
 bours. So long as reason maintained her seat, an eye wit- 
 ness of his anguish, I heard him say, “ Well, to-morrow I 
 shall certainly be able to meet my class,” and even when 
 dark delirium threw her mantle over his faculties, his inco- 
 herent ravings were addressed to the same subject, and it 
 was only by coercion that he was prevented one day, long 
 after the usual hour of his lecture had expired, from repair- 
 ing to the University. His death spread consternation and 
 sorrow throughout this populous city. 
 
 The remaining part of this course went on heavily; the 
 death of Dr. Wistar was not to be readily forgotten, or his 
 place to be easily supplied. The distinguished talents of Dr. 
 Dorsey, his years, the labour he was able to undergo, point- 
 ed him out as a fit person for this important trust. Possessed 
 of talents of unusual versatility and strength, he was quali- 
 fied by nature for the ingenious labours of the mechanician 
 — for the sprightliness and wit of mixed society — for the 
 acuteness and oratory of polemic discussions — for the re- 
 search of the medical profession — and for the depth of phi- 
 losophical inquiry. In the subsequent spring he was accord- 
 ingly appointed professor of anatomy. Amiable, engaging, 
 and accomplished, the good destinies of our country seemed 
 
21 
 
 to have reserved him as a compensation for the loss of Wis- 
 tar. At the opening of the course the next November, he 
 gave an introductory, which, in the judgment and brilliancy 
 of its composition, and in the effect of its delivery, realized 
 fully the most sanguine expectations of the school, and of 
 his friends. Scarcely, however, had he delivered it, when 
 the hand of death fixed its unrelenting grasp upon him, and 
 hurried him out of existence. Most appropriately may we 
 say of him in the lines of the inspired bard — 
 
 Sed nox atra caput tristi circumvolat umbra. 
 
 • * * * Si qua fata aspera rumpas 
 Tu Marcellus eris. Manlbus date lilia plenis 
 Purpureos spargam flores, animamque nepotis 
 His saltern accumulem donis, et fungar inani 
 Munere.* 
 
 In this succession of disaster after disaster, the only means 
 of avoiding the evils which now began to hover around the 
 chair of anatomy, and to threaten its existence as a distin- 
 guished and efficient department in our school, was the ap- 
 pointment of Dr. Physick to fill up the gap, and to respond 
 to the public hopes. Already advanced in life, and elevated 
 to the pinnacle of reputation, possessing amply the means of 
 resting quietly under the shade of his own laurels, it was 
 only after much hesitation that he consented to surrender 
 his own convenience to the good of the institution, with 
 which he was connected. 
 
 His early studies had been such as to qualify him emi- 
 nently for the task. A favourite pupil of the celebrated John 
 Hunter, having naturally very much the same character of 
 mind, his predilection for anatomy and surgery had been 
 fastened on him, and ripened into enthusiasm, by living un- 
 der the same roof with that great man, and observing his 
 
 Virgil. .®neid. Lib. ' 7 — 882. 
 
22 
 
 most trifling aotions. Mr. Hunter was so struck with the 
 talents and devotion of Dr. Physick, that when the period of 
 his study was coming to a close, he knew not how to part 
 with him, and made offers, which, if they had been accept- 
 ed by Dr. Physick, would have given to London its first 
 surgeon, and deprived our country forever of the just pride 
 she has in calling him her own son, and in having fostered 
 his talents. That Dr. Physick was no ordinary student in 
 Mr. Hunter’s room, I am satisfied; when I was in London, 
 in 1821 , Sir Everard Home spoke to me in the most exalted 
 terms of his merit; Sir Astley Cooper well recollected his 
 appearance and deportment while they were fellow students; 
 the Hunterian Museum still retained the specimens of his 
 success and neatness as a practical anatomist; the conservator 
 of the collection, Mr. Clift, bore testimony to the magnitude 
 of reputation which he had acquired. These, gentlemen, 
 were the recollections of thirty years. But the present value 
 of his name I felt most advantageously, in the facility with 
 which it opened to me, the most distinguished professional 
 circles of the British metropolis. 
 
 As characteristic of the manner in which Dr. P. pursued 
 his studies, I may mention an anecdote. He entered as a 
 student in this city with thelateDr.Kuhn, who, devoted to the 
 doctrine of Cullen, from having been educated atEdinburgh, 
 believed that the First Lines of Cullen contained all the essen- 
 tial principles of the healing art. This opinion Dr. Kuhn 
 inculcated on his students. Dr. P. taking for granted that it 
 was correct, thought that as a medical student he could not 
 do better than commit these First Lines to memory. He im- 
 mediately set to work and fully accomplished the task, so that 
 he could submit to an examination from any part of the book 
 and repeat pages of it by heart. Mr. John Hunter as a sur- 
 geon and a very close investigator into morbid anatomy, 
 held many of Dr. Cullen’s opinions very cheaply, so that when 
 Dr. P. got to London, he had to unlearn many things which 
 
23 
 
 it had given him so much trouble to learn in this country; 
 but even now physicians who consult with him in difficult 
 and obscure cases of sickness, find his memory teeming with 
 definitions, from this ancient recollection of Cullen. 
 
 At the death of Dr. Wistar, his widow by a noble act 
 of munificence, at her own expense gave the anatomical col- 
 lection of her husband to the University. With this foundation 
 laid, and incentive to exertion, it has been my unceasing care 
 to extend and to improve it, and this desire has been only 
 strengthened and rendered still more active, by the fine ac- 
 commodations of this building erected two years ago. A new 
 and numerous class of wet preparations forming now the body 
 of the Museum, has been made, and include a very large 
 number of interesting specimens of morbid anatomy, and of 
 minute structure. The variety of preparations illustrating 
 almost every topic of a course of anatomy, is in fact so ex- 
 tensive, that it would be extremely difficult to introduce them 
 all by demonstration; and it is confidently believed that in 
 value and utility the Museum collectively yields to none of 
 the same size in any part of the world, and that it is much 
 superior in extent to any in this country. 
 
 I have now finished the subject, on which I proposed to 
 address you; if it has failed to interest, and to reward you 
 for the time consumed in its discussion, I trust that you 
 will consider it the fault of the speaker; under more able 
 management it could not fail to be rich in the best lessons of 
 instruction for young men, who are about to engage in the 
 profession of medicine. In whatever manner this topic may 
 have been treated, the reflections on it have afforded me no 
 small pleasure. Connected by strong ties of friendship and 
 esteem to two of the gentlemen, who are now departed, con- 
 nected by still stronger to him who is left, and who, I sin- 
 cerely hope, may long continue to enjoy the fruits of a distin- 
 guished and useful life; I have traced their progress and their 
 full blown character, as well for my own instruction as for 
 
24 
 
 yours. In this sketch has been exhibited the mirror of pro- 
 fessional history, by which every spectator may be taught 
 what he ought to attempt. By it, every one within the 
 sound of my voice, may be assured that the practice of the 
 same virtues, will procure for him a suitable reward; and that 
 the desponding cry of there being already too many persons 
 in the profession, should be uttered only by him who has not 
 the resolution to ascend its acclivities. The position is sure, 
 that industry as a student, zeal, fidelity, upright and honoura- 
 ble conduct as a practitioner, will bring to every man of you, 
 as he advances in life, a recompense much beyond what he 
 now ventures to anticipate. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 The following proceedings have occurred in connexion with the resig- 
 nation of the Professorship of Anatomy by Dr. Phtsick. 
 
 At a meeting of the Medical Faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, 
 held October 17th, 1831, the following resolutions were adopted; — 
 
 Resolved, That the Medical Faculty have heard with the deepest re- 
 gret of the resignation of Professor Physick, and the more so on account 
 of the cause assigned for it — the increased infirmities of health. 
 
 Resolved, That having the highest sense of the value of his illustrious 
 name to the interests of the Medical School, he be requested so far to re- 
 tain a connexion with it, as to accept of the title of Emeritus Professor of 
 Anatomy, and of .the Presidency of the Faculty, with the privilege of 
 voting on all questions coming before it — also of signing the Diplomas, 
 and of Lecturing on Anatomy when he may be inclined. 
 
 Resolved, That a Committee of the Faculty be appointed to wait on 
 Professor Physick with the above resolutions, and if he assent to the 
 propositions contained in one of them, that an application be made to the 
 Trustees at their next meeting, to confer on him the honorary distinc- 
 tions suggested, as an inestimable favour to the Faculty. 
 
 Resolved, That in any event these resolutions be recorded in the 
 Minutes of the Faculty, to transmit to future times an expression of the 
 sentiments and feelings of the colleagues of Professor Physick, as well of 
 affectionate attachment for him, as of the profound conviction which they 
 entertain of the importance of his reputation to the school. 
 
 University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 At an adjourned meeting of the Trustees, held October 21st, 1831, the 
 following report was made, and the resolution attached thereto adopted, 
 with instructions to the Secretary to communicate a copy of the same to 
 Professor Physick, and to the Medical Faculty, to wit: — 
 
 University of Pennsylvania, Oct. 21st, 1831. 
 
 The Committee to whom was referred on the 4th instant the resolu- 
 tions of the Medical Faculty respecting the resignation of Professor 
 Physick, fully coinciding with the views and feelings expressed by the 
 Faculty, beg leave to recommend to the Board of Trustees the adoption 
 of the following resolution: — 
 
 Resolved, That in consideration of the important services rendered to 
 the Medical Department of the University by Professor Philip Syng 
 Physick in the Chair of Surgery, as well as of Anatomy, during a period 
 of twenty-six years, and for the purpose of continuing his connexion 
 with the school, to the fame and usefulness of which he has so largely 
 contributed, there be confeiTed on the said Philip Syng Physick the 
 Honorary appointment of Emeritus Professor of Surgery and Anatomy in 
 this University. 
 
 From the Minutes. 
 
 To the Medical Faculty. 
 
 JAMES C. BIDDLE, 
 Secretary of the Trustees. 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 At a meeting’ of tlie Medical Class of the University of Pennsylvania, 
 held November 10th, 1831, Mr. Thomas F. Betton being called to the 
 chair, the following resolutions, offered by Mr. Spayd, were unanimously 
 adopted: — 
 
 Resolved, That we, duly appreciating the valued services of Professor 
 Philip Syng Physick in the Chair of Anatomy in this University, sincere- 
 ly regret the resignation by that distinguished individual of the active du- 
 ties of his station. 
 
 Resolved, That a Committee of six be appointed to wait upon Dr. 
 Physick to express to him these our feelings, and to transmit him a copy 
 of these proceedings. 
 
 Resolved, That these resolutions be published in three of the daily pa- 
 pers of this city. 
 
 THOMAS F. BETTON, Chairman. 
 
 Paot. B. Goddaud, Secretary. 
 
 A copy of the above resolutions, enclosed in the subjoined letter, was 
 accordingly handed to Dr. Physick by the Committee appointed. 
 
 University of Pennsylvania, Nov. IMh, 1831. 
 
 To PnoFESSon Philip Sxng Physick. 
 
 Respected Sir — The undersigned Committee beg leave to present to 
 you the feelings of regret which the Class entertain at the circumstances 
 which have made it necessary for you to absolve the ties which have so 
 long subsisted between yourself and this institution. 
 
 It is with feelings of pride and gratification that we recur to the pre- 
 sent flourishing condition of the University: a state of prosperity induced 
 in a great degree by the untiring zeal and industry with which you have 
 discharged the arduous duties of your professorship, as well as by the 
 brilliancy and success which have marked your professional career. 
 
 The reputation and usefulness of our profession necessarily depend 
 upon the character of its members: in contemplating yours, we can never 
 want an incentive to emulation, and an example of the distinction and 
 eminence which are ever the rewards of perseverance, industry, and ap- 
 plication. 
 
 Whilst we deeply lament that increasing years should have admonished 
 you of the necessity of retiring from the active duties of your station, we 
 cannot but congratulate ourselves on the elevation of one, who, being edu- 
 cated under your auspices, is eminently qualified to sustain the exalted 
 reputation which the school has acquired. 
 
 The enclosed resolutions are presented by the Class as a feeble tribute 
 of respect to the genius which has conceived, and the talents which have 
 executed so many improvements in our art. 
 
 That the same health so often distributed to others may be long en- 
 joyed by yourself; that your earthly sun may long continue to shed its 
 lustre on the medical horizon, till its departing rays give evidence that 
 your spirit is wafted to that celestial home where the weary are at rest, is 
 the fervent prayer of 
 
 Your affectionate pupils, 
 
 THOMAS F. BETTON, of Philadelphia. 
 
 MINTUEN POST, of New York. 
 
 GEOKGE N. KENNON, of Virginia. 
 
 JOHN C. SPAYD, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 STEPHEN D. M‘NEIL, of Louisiana. 
 
 FRANCIS E. WEBB, of Alabama. 
 
27 
 
 To which Dr. Physick returned the following' answer: — 
 
 Messrs. Thomas F. Bettom, Mintukn Post, Geohge N. Kemmon, Johm 
 C. Spaxd, Stephen D. M'Neie, and Fkancis E. Webb. 
 
 Gentlemen — My separation from the active duties of the Professorship 
 of Anatomy having been rendered necessary by infirm health, the affec- 
 tionate address you have favoured me with is particularly gratifying. 
 
 I beg you to express to the Medical Class my most sincere thanks for 
 it, and at the same time have the goodness to offer my warmest and best 
 wishes for the prosperity and happiness of its members individually. 
 
 Most respectfully, I remain. Gentlemen, 
 
 Your affectionate friend and servant, 
 
 PHILIP S. PHYSICK. 
 
 Philadd. Nov. 16th, 1831 . 
 
 Medical Institute, Philadelphia, November 3d, 1831 . 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Having just heard of your promotion to the anatomical chair in the 
 University of Pennsylvania, we have been appointed by the class to tender 
 you their sincere congratulations. As to your qualifications, we deem it 
 superfluous to speak, as they have long since been decided on by 
 wiser and more competent judges. We have merely to say, that the rank 
 which you hold, both in this country and Europe, as an anatomist, together 
 ■with your unanimous election to so responsible and honourable an office, 
 speaks language louder and stronger than any we can use. 
 
 The faithful and able manner in which you have hertofore discharged 
 the duties of the office, while in the capacity of adjunct, confidently as- 
 sures us, that you will continue to give universal satisfaction. That you 
 may continue to give this satisfaction through a long series of years, and 
 when you shall deem it necessary to retire, either from infirmity or old 
 age, that you may, like your venerable and illustrious predecessor, with- 
 draw, crowned with the honours which have been so profusely and justly 
 lavished upon him, is the sincere wish of your very humble servants. 
 
 GEO. N. KENNON, 
 
 JAMES E. NOTT, 
 
 JAMES H. BRANDER, 
 BAYNHAM BAYLOR. 
 
 Committee. 
 
 To Dr. Wieeiam E. Horner, Professor of Anatomy 
 in the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 University of Pennsylvania, Nov. 3d, 1831 . 
 
 Genteemen, 
 
 I have received, with the liveliest pleasure, the congratulations and 
 expression of sentiment of this date, on the part of your fellow students, 
 which you were instructed to communicate. To have found myself, by an 
 unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees inducted into the Professorship of 
 Anatomy, and this measure sustained in the responsive feelings of the 
 body, which will come most within its influence, is indeed, to realize beyond 
 my expectation, desires of the nearest and dearest kind. I have always been 
 convinced, that a public teacher ceases to be useful from the moment that 
 
28 
 
 he ceases to enjoy the confidence of his class; witliout therefore expecting 
 by any means, so large a share of the latter, as partialities perhaps under 
 sonae excitation have induced you to express, I may be permitted to say, 
 that I have invariably been directed by an ardent and anxious desire to 
 discharge my duties according to the best of my abilities, and in acting 
 upon this principle, I had no doubt, that a fair degree of credit would be 
 attributed to it. 
 
 It is now, gentlemen, just twenty years since I entered, for the first 
 time, both as a student and as a stranger from another state, the precincts 
 of this venerable Institution; after the ordinary probation, I obtained its 
 degree, and was, for a short period, in a military capacity, estranged from 
 its walls. I subsequently returned to it, and under various circumstances 
 of encouragement, have continued in it ever since. The honours and 
 responsibilities which it has, within a few days confided to me, ’are addi- 
 tional proofs of the liberality of its policy, and that in erecting a School of 
 Medicine for the whole United States, it has discarded every idea of the field 
 of science being intersected by geographical boundaries and barriers. I 
 mention tliese circumstances as incentives to yourselves and your asso- 
 ciates; for though the line of promotion of so many cannot, from the con- 
 stitution of things, be precisely the same with mine, yet the latter encou- 
 rages me to believe, that patient and persevering attention to your duties 
 will ultimately afford you severally, a recompense greater than you would 
 probably pretend to claim. 
 
 Accept, gentlemen, my best wishes for the health and prosperity of 
 yourselves and of your constituents. 
 
 I am very sincerely, 
 
 and affectionately yours, 
 
 W. E. HORNER. 
 
 To Messrs. Kennost, Nott, Bkandeb, 
 
 and BAXLon, Committee, &c. 
 
 THE END.