184 BRITISH PHYSICIANS." qualify himself for the profession of an apothecary. He used to take notes of the heads of each lec- ture, and on returning to his lodging, translated into Latin those which had been given in English ; he then carefully consulted and compared the opinions, both of the ancients and the moderns, on the subject of the lecture, to which he added such remarks upon each as his reading and reflection suggested. In his clinical studies he followed a similar plan ; when any case occurred to fix his attention, he examined the various authorities which bore upon the point, and formed a compa- rative result from their evidence and opinions. Many years afterwards he recommended this me- thod to Dr. Lettsom, in a letter which concludes by enforcing " the careful perusal of Hippocrates, and also of Aretceus and Celsus : one can never be too well acquainted with the knowledge con- tained in the first, nor with the elegant expres- sions of the last." These modes of study are not peculiar to Fothergill, but they are important to remark in tracing the steps by which an obscure man attained independence and distinction, and strengthen the evidence of the efiicacy of earnest reading in a profession which is by many sup- posed to depend for success on natural abilities, or worldly industry, or mere personal observation — whereas none more requires all the assistance that can be derived from the experience of others. Monro, in the fourth edition of his Osteology, which appeared in 1746, acknowledges the aid which he had obtained from his young pupil. In addition to his other occupations, Fothergill pre- served a diary of his actions and occurrences, in
