Osler's Bookplate

To the Editor: The quotation from Sir William Osler, pictured on a bookplate in the July 17 issue of the Journal , indicates his strong feelings about the importance of books in medicine. However, the quotation on the plate is incomplete. When the entire statement is considered, the reader gains a more accurate perspective on Osier's thoughts: To study the phenomena of disease without books is to sail an uncharted sea, while to study books without patients is not to go to sea at all.* No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.