LECTURES ON SURGERY,
1833
The Lancet
128 mental powers, and their examination af-I fords a healthful employment to our fa-.! culties and senses. The facts which the science presents to our contemplation, independent of their practical utility in the anatomy and physiology of man, are calculated to awaken and engage the attention, to interest and occupy the whole mind, to recall our thoughts from selfish or visionary pursuits, and to subdue the inordinate emotions and passions of our nature. Such inquiries afford useful and varied
more »
... nstruction, they constantly excite feelings of admiration and delight, and they leave a satisfaction in the mind from their conclusions resting always on the solid basis of observation and experience. their functions form a continued circle of renovation and decay. The close connexion and the mutual dependence of all the phenomena they exhibit, lead our retiections and inquiries to follow always in a connected train. The reasoning powers are thus constantly called into action, are strengthened by useful and varied exercise, and are suitably directed to the discovery of truth. The themes of reflection and the scenes of nature laid open to us by a philosophic survey of the structure and the living phenomena of the animal kingdom, enrich the imagination with varied and interesting imagery, while they extend our knowledge and fill the mind with wonder and admiration. And while these investigations extend our acquaintance with nature and with the sources of intellectual enjoyment around us, they enlarge the boundaries of physical science, i and extend our views of that harmony which pervades the universe. They exalt our conception of the great Author of nature, by demonstrating his power, his goodness, and his infinite wisdom, in the minutest and most recondite parts of his creation; and they bring us nearer to him by removing the veil from the most mysterious of his operations in the material world.
doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)99662-5
fatcat:saf4xrfsifcvfjhfrnaf3kuovm