Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Proverbs IV : 25 and 26.
The story of medicine from its beginnings to the present state of knowledge is a romance of great incidents, an unfolding plot of surprise and wonderment. From out of this vast subject it is not without profit to choose a single chapter : the paths of progress of modern ophthalmology.
It is my purpose to follow in the steps of the pathfinders from their early discoveries in unknown regions, which have led to that splendid and beneficent attainment of knowledge and practice which ophthalmologists are privileged to study, to serve, to extend and to enjoy.
I shall begin the journey at the end of the Middle Ages. It is known that the state of medicine then was one of