I cannot give you, my young friends, a better description of a
successful professional struggle, and the wear and tear of life,
than that which the commentary of Dr Johnson upon the life of
Cheyne affords. It is drawn by the graphic pen of the late editor
of the 'Medico-Chirurgical Review,' an eloquent Irishman, himself a
successful struggler. He adds--'We have followed Cheyne in his march
up-hill--we see him at its summit--we are to see him going down. Such
are the objects of human desires--sought with avidity--obtained with
difficulty--enjoyed with disappointment--and often, in themselves, the
source of irreparable evils. _Success_ in a profession now-a-days has
entailed, and entails, such labour on its possessor, that few who know
its real nature can envy it. Success means wealth and eminence bought
with the sacrifice of all healthy recreation both of body and mind. The
daily toil is relieved only by the nightly anxiety; and, worn by almost
uninterrupted exertion, the _fortunate_ man is deprived of most of the
social pleasures of life, and debarred from indulgence in its most
cherished affections. He acquires property, loses his health, and often
leaves the wealth of his industry to be squandered by children whom it
demoralises.' Besides all this, remember that it has been truly said,
in the most elevated position there is the least liberty, because that
very elevation invites observation, and excites _envy_. That merit and
that ability which would have carried a man successfully through the
crowd, will be found insufficient for him who is the object of general
scrutiny. You should recollect, gentlemen, that even the position won
by merit and ability may be lost by a want of that continued energy
and persevering struggle which overcame all the obstacles opposed to
your pioneering ascent. The champion in our profession, like in that
of Christianity, must be ever progressing. A fall from an eminence is
always perilous--in the medical sphere, _fatal_ to _fame_. The world,
in respect to our calling, may be esteemed as a school; the boy who has
obtained head place must labour assiduously to _retain_ that position
against his less fortunate competitors. Remember that sympathy is
enlisted for the swimmer to the shore, against the buffeting billows,
rather than for the individual who had encountered the same obstacles,
the same dangers, and the same difficulties, but who has now apparently
surmounted and escaped all.--_Lecture by Dr Hayden._