Ira Remsen

“ Then, too, though the explanations sought for may not be found, the correct study of any fact or phenomenon of nature is of assistance to science as a whole. It strengthens her forces, it supplies her with ammunition. An enormous amount of camp-work must be done, or results of value can not be attained. Let the work upon the insignificant problems cease, and the world would sink into darkness. To fully understand the laws of the universe as a whole, we must first learn all we can in regard to the smallest subdivisions of the universe—the atoms. ”

“ In Germany the true scientific spirit is so deeply imbedded in the educated mind, that a subject which has a practical side is apt to be looked upon in a disrespectful manner; and so it happens that those who ought to know better are inclined to speak contemptuously of chemistry, simply because they accept the popular idea of the science as the true one, not stopping to ask whether there is anything higher in the subject than that which the public recognizes. ”

“ There are those who sigh at its death; who consider that the sacrilegious step of Science which annihilated it has, in some way, tended to lessen the mystery of life, and to embolden the votaries of science to look for, work for, further disclosures which may threaten some favorite view—it may be one of more importance than that which we have considered. But others, supporting themselves on the basis that truth can never be dangerous to the right, see no cause for alarm in such advances. ”

“ The great generalizations of science are ennobling, and, in the exercise which they afford the intellect, are productive of happiness of a very high order. Whatever good we may recognize, as having been effected by the practical application of electricity, heat, and other natural agents, to the satisfaction of the wants of man—and the good is undoubtedly great—an infinitely greater good springs from the dissemination of the immortal truths of physics. But the latter good is quietly effected; it consists in a growth of the ideas of the world, and thus contributes to the growth of manhood. ”

“ If we turn again to chemistry, we shall see that while its importance is almost universally recognized; while the number of those who devote themselves to its study is increasing every year; while immense sums of money are yearly spent for the building and support of palatial laboratories; while the press, recognizing the popular appreciation of the science, furnishes, in its own peculiar way, brief records of its advance—still we can point to very little connected with chemistry which, for its elevating influence upon mankind, can be compared with the great physical truths above referred to. ”

“ But, while it requires no arguments to prove that a chemical training is desirable for the physician, it is not sufficient simply to acknowledge the truth of the statement. If it is true, then it is the sacred duty of every one, who has any influence with those who have a medical career in view, to put them upon the right track, to see that the best kind of preliminary training is furnished them. ”

“ A science is a collection of principles, well established, applying to a certain class of phenomena. The science, of chemistry is that particular science which treats of the action of bodies upon each other, in so far as this action causes a change in the composition of the bodies. All the so-called natural laws which govern this kind of action belong legitimately to the field of chemistry. The science is, strictly speaking, a part of that broader science which treats of the action of matter upon matter, viz., physics ”

“ It is absolutely necessary, then, that purely scientific and abstruse problems should engage the attention of chemists, if the science is to grow; and it is further necessary that the science should grow, in order that new methods for the discovery of new substances may be introduced. It is the chemist proper who furnishes the new method; it may be that the chemist proper also discovers the valuable remedy, though one who simply applies the truths of chemistry may make the discovery. ”

“ Every one who has any conception whatever of chemistry recognizes it to a greater or less extent. But, owing to this close connection, the unscientific world has grown into the habit of considering the practical problems as the problems par excellence of chemistry, and, having once recognized some object of the science, they inquire no further, and hence they fail to recognize its most important and only legitimate object. ”

“ In this respect chemistry as well as physics is unfortunate; though at the present day physics has an advantage over chemistry. Time was when the world looked upon physics also as mainly a practical science; but, of late, by the efforts of gentlemen of high standing, the attention of the people has been drawn to some of the higher problems of the science, and these have been rendered intensely interesting to every thinking being. Some of the grander results of physical investigation have also become familiar to the world, and have served to increase the respect for the science. ”

“ It is plain, however, that a thousand dyes might be discovered; that a thousand murderers might be brought to justice through the aid of the chemist; that varieties innumerable of milk for babes might be concocted; or that mines upon mines of gold might be unearthed without the slightest ennobling or elevating influence being exerted upon the mass of mankind. All of these things would be valuable—undoubtedly—but their value would be of a very material kind. It is certain that this material value is that which is most easily recognized, which appeals most directly to the public ”

“ The reputations of chemists, too, depend upon the greater or less extent to which they devote themselves to practical questions. He who is frequently on the stand to testify in regard to cases of poisoning; he who succeeds in presenting to the world some new compound which can be used practically; he who detects impurities in our food or tells us of poisons where their presence must be of importance to us—this man is, to the public, the chemist. ”

“ An excellent gentleman, on being informed that a certain scientific man was engaged in work upon frogs, replied, "Why spend his time in such trivial work, when there is the human soul to investigate?" ”

“ The dogmas of this old school contained a healthy nucleus of truth, to be sure, as do the dogmas of most schools of medicine existing at the present day, but the physician proper now recognizes that remedies act in very many ways, and that the science of medicine must take into consideration every way in which remedies can act. He does not commit the error of being satisfied with one idea, as, for instance, that substances do act chemically upon the body, that cold water is a valuable remedy, that electricity properly applied is at times beneficial. A single idea is not sufficient for him. ”

“ It is to the science of Chemistry that Pharmacy must look for future advancement, and even the most obscure and most unintelligible of the many chemical investigations which are being carried on at present may eventually prove to be important steps in some line of reasoning which will have the enriching of pharmacy as its result. Nothing in science is too insignificant for notice. ”

“ These generalizations we admire, but we sometimes forget that they never could have been made had not a myriad of workers from day to day furnished the material; themselves often unconscious of the importance of the real work they were doing, but believing that every fact established, however insignificant in itself, every error of previous observers, however slight, corrected, would at some time serve a purpose in the growth of the science. ”

“ We can not at the present day, like our predecessors, regard medicine as a branch of chemistry. There are many kinds of action, not chemical, which must be studied and understood by the physician. Still, undoubtedly many of the physiological processes are essentially of a chemical nature, and there are many pathological phenomena which are also chemical. The complex organism which is the physician's field of work employs a variety of forces, prominent among which is the chemical force. ”

“ Many an arctic sea of chemistry, with its fascinating north pole, awaits the first expedition. An eminent mathematician once said that a new problem in mathematics might easily be furnished for every man, woman, and child in this vast country, and there would then be plenty left for foreigners. A similar remark might be made concerning chemistry. As I have, then, attempted to show that you must look to science for the advance of your calling, I desire above all to leave upon your minds the impression that each of you, if you will, can do something for the common cause. ”

“ There are hosts of minor questions to be answered, and these must be answered before the fundamental questions of nature can be. Through the insignificant lie the roads of advancement. A fallen leaf, a bit of stone, a tiny flower, a microscopic animal, may contain within themselves the answers to the most important questions. ”

“ Is life less of a mystery? Has the question concerning the nature of life been even approached in these researches? We think not. That chemical substances of peculiar structure are found in the living organism is true. That these substances are formed by the action of the force called chemical affinity is just as surely a truth. Do these two truths mutually detract from the importance of each other? When the active agent in the formation of the so-called organic bodies became known, a thousand questions could be proposed to one that could be proposed previously. ”

“ For, as the tendency of the present generation of physicians is, I think, to rely less and less upon the action of drugs and chemicals, and to pay more and more attention to the circumstances surrounding the patient, so the discovery of purely remedial agents is becoming day by day of less importance, and the accurate study of those substances which we all necessarily make use of—air, water, food in its various forms—is becoming the great problem in medicine. ”

“ The special value of a training in chemistry for a physician does not necessarily depend upon the fact that he learns a host of useful things, that he learns how to analyze substances, etc. To be sure, these acquisitions are valuable to him. But, if chemistry is to do for him what it can do, he must work so long and so conscientiously in its field as to enable him to acquire the "chemical sense." He must learn to think in the language of chemistry. ”

“ The object of the chemist can only be accomplished by employing every method peculiar to the science of chemistry, and by striving to know everything about a substance or class of substances which it is possible to discern. ”

“ The alleviation of human suffering is a high object to strive for, and for this purpose the physician and pharmacist join hand to hand, and they had been working together for long ages before chemistry and chemists were ever heard of. While gaining experience which proved of direct value to them in their professions, they were also, though unconsciously, doing something toward laying the foundations of a science which has since been developed. ”

“ An extended examination of the subject would show us that pharmacy played a very important part in the founding, particularly of that field of chemistry which is usually designated by the name "organic chemistry"—a field in which many of the brilliant modern victories of chemists have been achieved. Without the fundamental work of pharmacists in extracting from plants their valuable constituents, organic chemistry would to-day be in its infancy, instead of being what it is—a giant of mighty strength, exerting a controlling influence upon a number of important occupations, including pharmacy. ”

“ There is another direct cause for the popular conception of chemistry, growing out of the more general and indirect cause already considered. This consists in bad attempts to present the truths of the science to the people. The popular lectures on chemistry which are usually delivered are not scientific lectures; they are frequently utterly lacking in everything that characterizes scientific method; and they leave no further impression on the minds of the hearers than that chemistry is a subject which enables men with the requisite degree of skill to become successful showmen. ”

“ It appears probable, however, that chemistry will gradually develop into a true mathematical science, and that, having reached this state, chemists will determine the orbits of atoms, their rates of motion, their perturbations by methods similar to those so long employed in studying the problems of astronomy. Although we are far from the perfect state of the science, still every advance made in it is a step toward the end. From time to time material enough is collected to enable some one to make a comprehensive generalization. ”

“ But, beginning as a partial offspring of pharmacy, chemistry has attained to a position of great importance in the world, and has become gradually the foundation of more than one occupation. To-day not only pharmacists, but those of many other professions, have to look to chemistry for that knowledge of substances and of kinds of action which is necessary for their success. ”

“ Every month we receive reports of rapid advances, and it looks, indeed, as though we should not have long to wait before we hear it announced that quinine and morphine, and perhaps a host of other valuable alkaloids, have been made from the offensive oil which is given off when bones are heated. In view of many past achievements I do not think that this is too much to expect. Look at the unpromising coal-tar, at one time the bugbear of gas-manufacturers! It has become the source of many of the most valuable and interesting chemical substances. ”

“ As a matter of fact, it can be shown that it is to the purely scientific chemist, working with the main object of building up the science, that we owe the discovery of most valuable remedies, at least of those which are strictly speaking chemical compounds. I select for this purpose two substances which have but comparatively recently found their places in the materia medica—viz., chloral and salicylic acid. How and by whom were these substances discovered and introduced into medicine? ”

“ For a long time the only chemical laboratories known were the pharmacies, and of course all chemical work was then done by the pharmacists. If any one desired a knowledge of chemistry, his only way to acquire it was to enter a pharmacy, and this whether he desired to practice the art or not. It was not until between the twentieth and thirtieth year of the present century that there existed any laboratory in which a student could acquire a special knowledge of chemistry. ”