petent Estate, to answer the great Expence of Education and
Expectation; for he must be brought up directly in it from the Beginning
of his Studies in the University; he must lay out all his Time and Talents
upon Reading, Advising, Observing, Experimenting, Reasoning, Remembering,
with an unwearied Labour of Body and Application of Mind; he must run
through Courses of Anatomy, Botany, Chymistry and _Galenick_ Pharmacy: And
when he hath done all this, cannot handsomely compleat himself, except he
see good Variety of others practise, which (by the by) it's probable he
will have more Time for than he could wish, before he can get any of his
own.'

Now each of those singly will require a great deal of Pains, Expence and
Time to be attained; and yet all these and much more that can be in short
summed up, ought to be done and in some measure accomplished, before a Man
can be rightly and duly qualified even to begin Practice.

And as to Matter of Fact, few (very few, God knows) there have been, or
now are, who tho' they spared not for Education or Diligence, ever work
themselves up to a tolerable Sufficiency: Nay, _Hippocrates_ himself,
that great Genius, is not ashamed to confess, in an Epistle to
_Democritus_, That though he was now got to Old Age and to the End of
Life, yet he was not got to the End of Physick; no, nor was _AEsculapius_
neither, the Inventor of it.

By all which, it's undeniably evident, that the Science and Practice of
Physick is one of the largest Studies, and most difficult Undertakings in
the World; and consequently, not any the best Collection of Prescripts
that ever was, will, or can be writ or printed, can alone make a compleat
Physician, any more than good Colours and Pencils alone can make a fine
Painter. And yet every illiterate Fellow and paltry Gossip that can make
shift to patch up a Parcel of pitiful Receipts, have the Impudence and
Villainy to venture at it; and in hopes of a good Pig, Goose or Basket of
Chickens, shall boldly stake their Skill (forsooth) against Mens Lives,
and lose them; and at the same Time scandalize and keep out true
Physicians, that might probably save them.

And this leads me to the third Consideration, The great Danger and Damage
occasioned by the rash tampering of such as are not educated rightly and
qualified for it.

You that enter not by the Door into the Profession, but climb up some
other Way, ought to take it into your most serious Thoughts, that Mistakes