1. Among the various avocations of men, that of the physician deserves
to be placed in the foremost rank. The profession is founded in the
multiplicity of diseases to which humanity is liable, and in the
medical qualities of certain substances, which have been found to
supply a remedy.
2. It is implied, though not expressly declared, in the Scriptures,
that the diseases and other calamities pertaining to our earthly
condition, originated in the fall of man from his pristine innocence;
and the Grecian fable of Pandora's box appears to have originated in a
similar tradition. It seems that Jupiter, being angry at Prometheus,
ordered Vulcan to make a woman endowed with every possible perfection.
This workman having finished his task, and presented the workmanship
of his hands to the gods, they loaded her with presents, and sent her
to Prometheus.
3. This prince, however, suspecting a trick, would have nothing to do
with her; but Epimetheus was so captivated with her charms, that he
took her to be his wife. The curiosity of Epimetheus led him to look
into a box, given to her by Jupiter, which he had no sooner opened,
than there issued from it the complicated miseries and diseases, which
have since afflicted the family of man. He instantly shut the box; but
all had flown, save Hope, which had not time to escape; and this is
consequently the only blessing that permanently remains with wretched
mortals.
4. Since the introduction of moral evil into the world, it cannot be
supposed that man has ever enjoyed the blessing of uninterrupted
health; and, as it is an instinct of our nature to seek for means of
relieving pain, we may safely infer that medicinal remedies were
applied in the earliest ages of the human race.
5. Among some of the ancient nations, the origin of diseases was
attributed to the malignant influence of supernatural agents. This
notion produced a corresponding absurdity, in the means of obtaining
relief. Accordingly, idolatrous priests, astrologers, and magicians,
were resorted to, who employed religious ceremonies, astrological
calculations, and cabalistic incantations.
6. The healing art was cultivated at a very early period in Egypt; but
it was crippled in its infancy by ordinances, enjoining, without
discrimination, the remedies for every disease, and the precise time
and mode of their application. The practice was confined to the
priests, who connected with it the grossest superstitions.
7. We are informed by the most ancient historians, that the Chaldeans
and Babylonians exposed their sick in places of public resort, and on
the highways; and that strangers and others were required by law to
give some advice in each case of disease. Amid the variety of
suggestions which must necessarily have been given under such
circumstances, it was expected that some would prove efficacious. This
custom was well calculated to enlarge the boundaries of medical
knowledge.
8. The first records of medicine were kept in the temples dedicated by
the Greeks to Esculapius, who, on account of his skill in medicine,
was honored as the god of health. The name or description of the
disease, and the method of cure, were engraved on durable tablets,
which were suspended, where they could be readily seen by visitors.
9. But medicine did not assume the dignity of a distinct science,
until the days of Hippocrates, who reckons himself the seventeenth
from Esculapius in a lineal descent. This great man, who flourished
about 400 years before the Christian era, is universally esteemed the
"Father of Medicine." After his death, the science was cultivated by
the philosophers of Greece, to whom, however, it owes but few
improvements.
10. After the dismemberment of the Macedonian empire, learning
retreated from contending factions to Egypt, where it was liberally
fostered by the Ptolemies. Under their patronage, a medical school at
Alexandria became eminent, and the healing art flourished beyond all
former example. To the disciples of this school, is the world indebted
for the first correct description of the human structure. Their
knowledge on this subject was obtained from the dissection of the
bodies of criminals, which had been assigned to them by the
government.
11. The acquisitions of the Greeks in medical science at length became
the inheritance of the Romans; but Rome had existed 535 years before
a professional physician was known in the city. This inattention to
the subject of medicine arose, chiefly, from an opinion, common to the
semi-barbarous nations of those times, that maladies were to be cured
by the interposition of superior beings. The sick, therefore, applied
to their idolatrous priests, who offered sacrifices to the gods in
their behalf, and practised over the body of the patient a variety of
magical ceremonies.
12. Sacrifices were especially offered to the gods in cases of
pestilence; and, on one occasion of this kind, a temple was erected to
Apollo, who was regarded as the god of physic; and, on another,
Esculapius, under the form of a serpent, was conducted from Epidaurus,
in Greece, and introduced, with great pomp, upon an islet in the
Tiber, which was thenceforth devoted to his particular service.
13. Archagathus, a Greek, was the first who practised physic, as an
art, at Rome; and he was soon followed by many more of his
professional brethren. These pioneers of medicine, however, were
violently opposed by Cato the Censor, who publicly charged them with a
conspiracy to poison the citizens. But the patients under their care
generally recovering, he began to regard them as impious sorcerers,
who counteracted the course of nature, and restored men to life by
means of unholy charms.
14. Cato having succeeded in producing a general conviction, that the
practice of these physicians was calculated to enervate the
constitutions, and corrupt the manners of the people, restrictions
were laid upon the profession, and practitioners were even forbidden
to settle at Rome. But after the people had become more vicious and
luxurious, diseases became more frequent and obstinate, and physicians
more necessary. The restrictions were, therefore, at length removed.
15. Among the Roman writers on medicine, Celsus was the first who is
worthy of consideration. He has been denominated the Roman
Hippocrates, because he imitated the close observation and practice of
that physician. His work, as well as that of his great prototype, is
read with advantage, even at the present day. He flourished at or near
the time of our Saviour.
16. In the second century of the Christian era, Galen, a Greek
physician from Pergamus, and a disciple of the Alexandrian school,
settled in Rome. He was learned in all branches of medicine, and wrote
more copiously on the subject generally, than any other person amongst
the ancients. For 1300 years, his opinions were received as oracular,
wherever medicine was cultivated.
17. After the destruction of the Western empire by the barbarous
nations, the science of medicine was cultivated only in the Greek
empire, and chiefly at Alexandria, until it began to arrest the
attention of the Arabians, in the seventh century. The works of
several Greek philosophers and physicians were translated into Arabic,
under the patronage of the caliphs, several of whom were zealous
promoters of learning.
18. In the eighth century, the Caliph Almansur established, at Bagdad,
a hospital for the sick, and an academy, in which, among other
branches of knowledge, was taught the medical art. But it was in
Spain, that Arabian learning rose to the highest point, and produced
the most successful results. The University of Cordova became the most
celebrated in the world, and continued to maintain its reputation for
a long series of years. Arabian medicine reached its greatest
eminence, in the eleventh century, under Avicenna.
19. In the tenth century, this science began to be taught in the
schools of other parts of Europe; but its professors derived their
knowledge of the subject from the Arabian school, or from Arabic
translations of the ancient authors; and this continued to be the
case, until the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, in 1453. At
this time, many erudite Greeks fled into Italy, and carried with them
the ancient writings.
20. Before the general revival of this science in Europe, the cure of
diseases was chiefly confided, in the western nations, to the priests
and monks, who, however, generally relied more upon religious
ceremonies, and the influence of sacred relics, than upon the
application of medical remedies. The superstitions of those barbarous
times, respecting the means of curing diseases, have not yet entirely
disappeared, even from the most enlightened nations of Christendom.
21. The science of chemistry began to attract much attention about the
beginning of the sixteenth century; and the many powerful medical
agents which it supplied, at length produced a great change in the
theory and practice of medicine. Many valuable medicines of the
vegetable kind, were also obtained from America. The discovery of the
circulation of the blood by William Harvey, in 1620, imparted a new
impulse to medicine; but, like chemistry, it gave rise to many absurd
and hurtful theories.
22. Researches in different branches of medicine were continued with
ardor in the seventeenth century, in various parts of Europe; and
numerous discoveries of importance were made, especially in anatomy.
Many theories regarding the origin of diseases, and their treatment,
were proposed, advocated, and controverted; but all these were
overthrown by Stahl, Boerhaave, and Hoffman, three eminent theorists,
in the early part of the eighteenth century.
23. These distinguished men were followed by others of equal
celebrity, in the same century, who, in part at least, exploded the
doctrines of their predecessors. The present century, above all other
periods, is remarkable for men eminent in this profession; and,
although all do not exactly agree in opinion, yet, guided in their
conclusions by a careful observation of facts, they are less under the
influence of visionary theories than physicians of former times.
Besides, many of the subjects of former controversy having been
satisfactorily settled, there are now fewer causes of division and
excitement among the medical profession.
24. Medical science comprises several branches, of which the following
are the principal; viz., Anatomy, Surgery, Materia Medica, Chemistry,
the Theory and Practice of Physic. On these subjects, lectures are
given in several colleges and universities in Europe, and in the
United States. In this country, an attendance on two regular courses
of lectures entitles the student to the degree of Doctor of Medicine,
provided he can sustain with sufficient ability, an examination before
the professors, or, as they are usually termed, the medical faculty.
25. The degree of M. D. conferred by a college or university, is a
passport to practice, in every state of the Union; and, in some
states, none are permitted to attend the sick, professionally, without
having first obtained a diploma conferring such degree. In other
states, however, no legal restrictions are imposed on the
practitioners of the healing art; or, they are licensed by a board of
physicians, constituted by law for the purpose.
26. The practice of this profession is generally attended with great
labor, and, in many cases, with much perplexity. Diseases are often
stubborn or incurable, and effectually baffle the most skilful
practitioner. In most cases, however, diseases are under the control
of medical skill; and the high satisfaction which a benevolent
physician feels, in relieving the sufferings of his fellow-creatures,
may serve as a recompense for the many adverse circumstances which
attend the profession.
[Illustration: The CHEMIST.]