TRANSACTIONS.

1. Annual Address delivered before the Medical Society of the State of New York, and Members of the Legislature, in the Capitol at Albany, February 2d, 1859, by THOMAS C. BRINSMADE, M. D., President of the Society. Mr. Vice-President and Gentlemen:

I am here to-night to address you, in compliance with the requirement of a by-law of this Society.

It has been my destiny to be so placed, that I have had no means, or time, to effect anything for the advancement of medical science or art, but if I can improve the advantage which is given me by the position I have, for a brief period, the honor to occupy, to say something which will excite effort in others more favorably situated, and more fortunately endowed, the opportunity will not have been entirely without result.

As I am honored by the presence of some who are not members of the medical profession, I must ask the Society to bear with me, if I should say some things which may be familiar to them; and others will be kind enough to listen with what patience they can, to what may seem appropriate only to the faculty.

As I have long been impressed with the importance, and I may say, absolute necessity, for a more general and active concert of the members of the medical profession, to accomplish the great purposes of eliciting truth, preserving principles, and benefiting mankind, I have selected, as the topic of this address, "Medical Associations."

There is an old Greek proverb, Εις ανηρ ουδεις ανηρ, which signifies that "one man is no man." These old sayings of the "deep thinkers of antiquity," are more profound than is apparent upon the surface; and this one tersely and concisely expresses the great truth, that man is never independent of his fellow man. In every step of his progress through life, from the helplessness of infancy, to the helplessness of old age, he must look beyond and without himself for most that makes life desirable. His nature is not adapted to solitariness. The development of his physical, mental and moral capabilities, cannot be effected alone; nor can the great

purposes of life, for which he is intended, be accomplished, and the comforts and happiness, which he is constituted to enjoy, be realized, without the co-operation, and companionship of others. Humiliating as this reflection may be to man's feeling of self-sufficiency, he is compelled to acknowledge its truth, when he observes the progress of individuals, and the advancement of knowledge and civilization.

Without the care which maternal love inspires, or the sympathy which innocence excites, a new-born child could live but a few hours. Carry him through infancy to early childhood, and even then he would be wholly unable to procure the means of sustenance, and of protection from the elements with which he would find himself surrounded. Carry him to the next period of childhood, and then cast him away from the sight, and beyond the voice of man, in a climate where the earth would spontaneously furnish food to nourish him, and clothing would be unnecessary, and his body would be ill-shapen and without vigor, and his mind imbecile and inert. Without instruction, or opportunity for imitation, the child would never learn the true uses of the organs of articulation, however perfectly they may have been formed; and this most delicately and wonderfully contrived organization, would be as useless as the most ingeniously invented and perfectly finished machine, without a power to move it. The few objects with which he would come in contact, and which he could not even name, would be the entire world to him; and the range. of his ideas thus limited, his organ of thought would, for all purposes above that of animal instinct, which induces action for animal gratification, be as useless to him as the organs by which mental action is expressed. The following is an illustrative instance of the state of man, secluded from social intercourse and education: "On Whit-Monday, the 26th May, 1828, a citizen of Nuremberg, in Bavaria, was proceeding from his house, to take a walk, when happening to look around him, he perceived at a little distance, a young man, in the dress of a peasant, who was standing in a very singular posture, and like an intoxicated person, was endeavoring to move forward, without being able either to stand upright or to govern the movement of his limbs." He could utter only a few incoherent and unconnected words, accompanied by moans and tears. Some humane persons interested themselves in him, and he was carefully taught and educated. As he developed, it was discovered that his mental and physical powers were naturally fine, but by entire seclusion from all intercourse with others,

and from the sights and sounds of nature, he was reduced almost to imbecility. When he was able to give an account of his early life, he related that he had been confined in a small apartment, which he called a cage, where the light never entered, and where a sound was never heard. When released by his inhuman keepers he appeared "a monstrous being, only beginning to live in the middle of his life, and who must always remain a man, without childhood or boyhood."

Caspar Hauser, the imperfect being described, was assassinated by some unknown person, about five years after his first appearance. Peter, the wild boy who was found near a town in Germany, in 1724, and the savage of Aveyron, who was discovered in the forest of Cawne, in France, are other remarkable instances, exhibiting how degraded and miserable is the condition of a human being, when his mind has not been informed by the example of others, and no moral or intellectual training has been bestowed upon it. They were mere animals when found, but improved under instruction.

These are indeed extreme cases, but they are confirmatory of the truth of my first remark, which would indeed be apparent from a little reflection upon the nature of man, and upon the observation of the manner in which his whole being is brought to its ordinary condition in civilized life. We think no more of the manner in which the mind is built up, than we do of the way in which the assimilation of food causes the growth, and gives vigor and power to the body. As waste and repair are ever active in the body, so the mind is ever losing and receiving, and mutual communication serves to revive forgotton thoughts, as well as to excite new ones. That a well stored mind would become vacant by an entire separation from others, is shown by the melancholy effect of solitary imprisonment in producing idiocy or insanity. A partial seclusion has a deteriorating influence, in proportion to its approach to entire solitude, in producing mental torpor or eccentricities bordering on mental abberation.

The natural mental characteristics of men being as various as their faces, the comparison of diverse minds, results in their modification and improvement; and as no two persons are placed in exactly the same position, or surrounded by the same circumstances for mental observation and discipline, a reciprocative interchange of experiences and acquisitions, enlarges the capacity and enriches the understanding of all who engage in this intellectual traffic.

Intercommunication of nations speaking different languages has a tendency to produce such a blending, that it has been thought that when intercourse shall become more free, only one language will be spoken.

It was said by one who has been called the greatest female writer in any age or country, that, "L'art de la civilisation tend sans cesse à rendre tous les hommes semblables en apparence, et presque en réalité."

The effects of association for good or evil, are universally known and acknowledged. Whenever any great object affecting large portions of mankind, is to be accomplished, the combined effort of numerous individuals is deemed requisite, and in proportion to its magnitude the number to be influenced or the obstacles to be overcome must be the numbers, and the amount of talent to act in unison. A large army is required to conquer a powerful enemy. A large meeting is thought important to effect great political changes, and large numbers are needed to act together, to produce great moral or religious movements. National alliances are formed for mutual defence, and to regulate the balance of power.

Jeremy Taylor has quaintly said, "it is not a vain noise, when many nations join their voiees in the attestation or detestation of an action." In all civilized communities, where doubtful points are to be settled, or great principles are to be established, conferences, discussions, and arguments are considered indispensable; hence, conventions to form constitutions for States, and councils to establish doctrines and discipline in the church, and even the savage tribes have their councils of war and rude legislatures.

So generally has the advantage, and even necessity of association for the advancement of useful knowledge been recognized, that "learned societies," consisting of intellectual men voluntarily united for this purpose, have been formed and continued for many years, under names indicative of the particular branch of human learning they have been designed to promote. These associations have not for their object simply the acquiring of knowledge, but the more useful one of communicating it, in announcing discoveries, deducing general laws from numerous facts, correcting false theories, and rendering it accessible, useful and pleasing. If time would permit, it would be interesting and not unprofitable, to give a history of some of the most celebrated of these learned societies, and to exhibit a sketch of the vast and incalculable amount of benefit which has been effected by their labors. But this is not my present purpose.