CONTRIBUTIONS OF PHYSICIANS TO ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE. "But the knowledge of nature is only half the task of a poet; he must be acquainted likewise with all the modes of life. His character requires that he estimate the happiness and misery of every condition; observe the power of all the passions in all their combinations, and trace the changes of the human mind as they are modified by various institutions and accidental influences of climate or custom, from the sprightliness of infancy to the despondence of decrepitude. His labor is not yet at an end; he must know many languages and many sciences."-Samuel Johnson. * * * The writer of prose or poetry who would produce works which contain thoughts and inferences which will go down to posterity must of necessity be acquainted with the passions of men in all grades of society. Mere scholarship can never make up this want, and the monk, versed in all the erudition of the ages, would come far short of producing poems which would touch the heart of a nation as do those of Robert Burns. Shakespeare was acquainted with the hopes and fears of all classes. He was really a man of all the people, and had mingled in their loves and hates and known the slavery of poverty and the liberty of wealth, and he was the greatest interpreter of the human heart and mind that has ever given the resources of his study to the world. Blair properly defined poetry to be "the language of passion." Without an acquaintance with the doings of the low, the great, the wise, and the simple, it is not easy to imagine how a poet, a man of genius, can breathe into his productions the breath of passion. Of course, being learned, he could imitate, but the imitation. would be transparent and altogether lack the coloring of nature, which is obtained by contact with the world, and which makes the idealistic creature of the true poet a real personage. Those authors, then, who have left behind works which will always be read and cherished, have been children of nature and citizens of the actual world, have known how hardships affect the heart, and been participants in the struggle with opposition and disappointment for place and recognition in the world. When one reads the "Traveller," he feels with Goldsmith that love of country which beams throughout the poem, and he enters with delight into those splendid meditations upon the countries through which he roamed as a wandering musician. Goldsmith knew the common ambitions, passions, and aims of the people in all these countries, and easily turned this treasured knowledge into immortal verse. Now the physician, more than any other man in society, occupies the position to observe the ways and passions of all. He is called when death is about to remove the loved one from the family circle, and is almost daily called to witness the most vivid depictures of the passions. He goes to the palace of the rich, and to the poor man's hovel, and to the den of wickedness, where he often has to remain long, and of course is compelled to learn more or less of their actions, superstitions, and modes of life. To him the matron and the maid, the saint and the sinner, open their hearts, and nothing is withheld. He is then eminently in the place to observe all those qualities of heart and mind which form such a large part of the poet's essential knowledge. I shall not go back much beyond the Elizabethan period. Beyond that time the medical sciences had not begun the great strides which characterize their march after Harvey's discovery. This brilliant period of intellectual vigor, like every subsequent one, has witnessed a number of physicians who have found rest and recreation in their contributions to literature. I shall consider as the starting point of this essay, then, the time which may be looked upon as the period when the discovery of the circulation of the blood may be said to have gained common recognition. It is well known to all students of medical literature that many refused to believe in Harvey's discovery. A poet, whose fame is imperishable and whose heart was filled with poetic sympathies, was Henry Vaughan (1621-1695). He was always poor, and the history of his life is the record of many sad and rigorous experiences. Yet his poems show that the fire of true genius lit up his way. It has been said that his poems are harsh, and Campbell is not disposed to give the poet great credit. I believe those who read his poems with an honest desire to discern his excellences will not fail to find them beset with some of the most radiant gems that scintillate in the coronet of the truly inspired bard. He was a devoted Christian, and his works are largely of a religious character. The following specimens of his poetry will give the reader an idea of his powers and the tenor of his thoughts: EARLY RISING AND PRAYER. When first thy eyes unveil, give thy soul leave To do the like; our bodies but forerun The spirit's duty: true hearts spread and heave Yet never sleep the sun up; prayer should Dawn with the day: there are set awful hours |