The Press.
London, England, 1858-11-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS, NOVEMBER 13, 1858.

1112

which seems to us worthy of citation—" If it be
" true, as we have ventured to affirm, that to
" every man his God is his best, you can by no
" means give to his faith a higher God till you
" have given to his heart a better best." We
have also an essay on " Mediatorial Religion,"
the character of which may be imagined. He is,
of course, very hard upon the doctrine of substi-
tution and satisfaction, but the conclusion at
which he ultimately arrives is curious. He de-
cides that St. Paul's doctrine of atonement is in-
timately connected with a Realistic philosophy,
and that it will be impossible to maintain that
doctrine unless Realism can be revived. Then
we have an essay on " Hippolytus and his Age,"
which contains a hesitating and not very forcible
defence of the Tiibingen theory against M. Bun-
sen. Mr. Martineau's account of that theory,
however, is well written. We extract it as a
specimen of his manner, as well as on account of
the importance of the theory itself:—
This theory runs as follows. The opposition which St.
Paul's teaching excited, and of which his letters preserve
so many traces, was neither so insignificant nor so short-
lived as is commonly supposed, but was encouraged and
led by the other Apostles, especially James and John and
Peter, who never heartily recognized the volunteer Apostle,
and was so completely successful that he died without
having made any considerable impression on the Judaic
Christianity sanctioned from Jerusalem. Accordingly, the
earliest Christian literature was Ebionitish; and no pro-
duction was in higher esteem than the " Gospel of the
Hebrews," which, after being long current, with several
variations of form, at last settled down into our Gospel
of Matthew. In almost all the writings known to us, even
in Roman circles of the second century—the Shepherd of
Hermas, the Memorials of Hegesippns, the works of Justin
—some character or other of Ebionitism is present—mil-
lenarian doctrine, admiration of celibacy and of abstinence
from meat and wine, denunciation of riches, emphatic
assertion of the Messiahship of Jesus, and treatment of
the miraculous conception as at least an open question.
The labours of Paul, however, had left a seed which had
been buried but not killed ; and, from the first, a small party
had cherished his freer principles and sought to win ac-
ceptance for them ; and as the progress of time increased
the proportion of provincial and Gentile converts, and the
Jewish wars of Titus and Hadrian destroyed the possi-
bility of Mosaic obedience and the reasonableness of
Hebrew hopes, the Pauline element rose in magnitude and
importance. Thus the two courses of opposite develop-
ment ran parallel with each other, and gradually found
their interest in mutual recognition and concession. Hence,
a series of writings proceeded from either side, first of
conciliatory approximation only, next of complete neu-
trality and equipoise, in which sometimes the figures of
Peter and Paul themselves are presented with studiously-
balanced honour, at others their characteristic ideas are
adjusted by compromise. The Clementine Homilies, the
Apostolic Constitutions, the Epistle of James, the Second
Epistle of Clement, the Gospel of Mark, the Recognitions,
the Second Epistle of Peter, constitute the series proceed-
ing from the Ebionitish side ; while from the Pauline
came the First Epistle of Peter, the Preaching of Peter,
the writings of Luke, the First Epistle of Clement, the
Epistle to the Philippians, the Pastoral Epistles, Polycarp's,
and the Ignatians. These productions, however, springing
from the practical instinct of the West, deal with the eccle•
siastizal more than with the doctrinal phase of antagonism
between the two directions, and end with establishing in
Rome a Catholic Church, founded on the united sepulchres
of Peter and Paul, and combining the sacerdotalism of
the Old Testament with the universality of the New Gentile
Gospel. Meanwhile a similar course, with local modifi-
cations, was run by the Church of Asia Minor. Rome,
with its political aptitude, having taken in hand the ques-
ti one of discipline and organization, the speculative genius
of the Asiatic Greek addressed itself simultaneously to the
development and determination of doctrine. Here the
Epistle to the Galatians marks, as a starting-point, the
same original struggle between the contrasted' elements
which the Epistle to the Romans betrays in Italy; while
the Gospel of John closes the dogmatic strife of develop-
ment with an accepted Trinity for faith, just as the Igna-
tian Epistles wind up the contests of the West with a
recognized hierarchy for government. And between these
extremes the East presents to us, first, the intensely
Judaical Apocalypse ; next, with increasing reaction in
the Pauline direction, the rudiments of the Logos idea in
the Epistles to the Hebrews, Colossians, and Ephesians;
and as Montaniem, in the midst of which these arose, had
already made familiar the conception of the Paraclete,
all the conditions were present for combination into the
Johannine doctrine of the Trinity ; and then it was, in the
second quarter of the second century, that the fourth
Gospel appeared. The speculative theology thus native to
Lesser Asia was adopted for shelter and growth by the
kindred Hellenism of Egypt, and gave rise to the school
of Alexandria.

This same Tubingen notion of a radical oppo-
sition in doctrine and personal enmity between
St. Paul and the other Apostles Mr. Martineau
again brings forward in an article on " St. Paul
and his Modem Students." lie supports it., in our
opinion, with singularly weak arguments. For
example, he refers to Rev. xxi. 14, as a proof that
the author of the Apocalypse did not acknowledge
St. Paul to be an Apostle. In that passage we
are told that on the twelve foundations of the
wall of the New Jerusalem are the names of the

twelve Apostles of the Lamb. We imagine there
is little doubt that in the appointment of the
twelve Apostles, Christ had reference to the
number of the tribes of the children of Israel. At
any rate St. John had these in his mind, as is
proved by v. I`2. The plain reason, then, for not
including St. Paul is, that to include him would
have been to break the symmetry of the picture
and to introduce a number hallowed by no asso-
ciation. We acknowledge that the passage is
consistent with Mr. Martineau's theory ; that it
can be adduced in proof of it we deny. There
is also an essay on " The Ethics of Christendom,"
interesting as throwing light on the present
position of the party, ifnot very excellent in itself.
Its object is to show that the Ethics of the
Apostles are of a purely temporary character ;
that, anticipating the consummation of all things
in a few years, they merely gave such directions
to their followers as might keep them in order
till the crisis came ; and accordingly that it is as
absurd for Christians at the present day to take
example in morals by the Apostles as it would be
for them to imitate in ordinary life the movements
of soldiers drawn up in expectation of a signal to
march. This false expectation of the early
Christians is a capital pomt with Mr. Martineau ;
and it is, in fact, a characteristic of his book
throughout, as no doubt considering his position
it must have been, that he is far more often at
one with the enemies of the Faith than with its
defenders.

Health and Disease : their Laws ; with Plain
Practical Prescriptions for the People. By

Benjamin Ridge, M.D., &c. London : Chap-

man and Hall.
Tun writer of this book appears to have had two
objects in view : in the first place, to contribute
an addition to the library of Popular Science ;
in the second, to throw out a sort of challenge
to his profession, by the attack he makes on
several doctrines they generally receive, and on
certain points in medical practice which he con-
siders erroneous. It is thus a sort of provocatio

ad populttm, inviting, as it does, the general
public to form their own judgment as to the
reasonableness of many metiods of procedure in
which they have hitherto been accustomed un-
hesitatingly to acquiesce ; and setting before them
in a clear light the anomalies which the author
conceives to exist in medical science, as usually
understood.

Into the question as between Dr. Ridge and
the rest of the doctors it is not, of course, our
province to enter ; such disagreements being
proverbially difficult for laymen to decide ; and
we leave him, not without pity, to the tender
mercies of the medical journals, upon whose well-
developed faculty of virulent abuse this flag of
defiance may be expected to have much the same
effect as a red rag upon the retina of a bull. We
are for our own parts rather disposed to welcome
the book on its own obvious merits, as adding
one more to the list of " handy books" (though
this is rather a stout specimen of the class), on
whose general excellence at the present day as
compared with former times we have had occa-
sion to remark in noticing similar works upon
other topics of information.
Every man, it has been said, is a fool or a phy-
sician at forty : that is to say, he by that time
knows what his constitution will do for him, and
what liberties he may take with it ; whether he
can drink cold water in a violent perspiration
with impunity; whether he can eat white soup
made with almonds without feeling symptoms of
irritant poison ; how many dozen " mute in-
glorious Miltons" he can swallow ; whether his
swimming is to be measured by miles or yards ;
whether be can listen to Mr. A—n's speeches
and Mr. C—l's sermons without drowsiness,
and read the metaphysics or drink the ale of
Edinburgh without headache. Much of all this
is no doubt the effect of what is vaguely termed
" idiosyncrasy," and that is why an individual is
often so good a judge in his own case, and why
one man's meat is another man's poison.' Dr.
Ridge, however, has attempted to lay down
some general rules, by attending to which we may,
at all events, be induced to refrain from improper
remedies, and be able to estimate the propriety of
relying on his instructions for our cure, or of having
at once recourse to a medical man. Books of
domestic medicine do not enjoy It very good repu-

give direc-
tions sure to
tation. among sensible people—the reason probably
being, that they attempt, like works
casuistry,. to prescribe for all cases, anhd
tons as to the details of disease, Whic
,sttrhoneigr
aspretshcreiyptoingonhs
tartoe übesuall'y addeda a
be misapplied. by inexperienced persons •
ttLwehiasch
latter. point Dr. Ridge does not seem to.soe-Ince11;
edmimesplaere, anmdtehhisdeedxpltahnathioanveof the effect
his descriptions. of the symptoms of disorders"' and
]isf i! l
remedies
that we do not imagine any serious mistake
likely to oceur from making use of his phar.
macopceia. All this, however, comes at the end
o f his book. He commences by an investigation the chief chemical constituents of the
into body,
which he classifies under the heads of Acid, Alkaline, and Neutral. Ile conceive, himself to have
established the fact " that a certain predominance
" of the acid principle is requisite to sustain a
" normal standard of health ;" so that the due pro-
portion of this principle may be regarded as the
" tormal cause" of health. Any excess of it
produces acid or congestive disorders, while a
deficiency produces those of an alkaline cha-
racter. Of the neutral principles, the most
important seems to be the bitter, the due propor-
tion of which is incompatible with fever or
inflammation. When either of the two former
elements is in excess, it requires correction by
the administration of its opposite, in order to
restore the balance of the system; a superfluity
of acid is to be corrected by the administration
of alkali, and vice versa. Thus, in diet, a long
persistence in the use of boiled meat, which is
acid, produces disturbance, while too much salt
meat, as is well known, produces scurvy, the
cure for which, as both philosophy and empiri-
cism teach, is some form of acid, such as lime or
lemon juice. Such is Dr. Ridge's philosophy of
the causes of disease. In judging of the symp-
toms, he teaches us that the tongue is to be
regarded as the clearest index. This, of course,
is not very new; you put out your tongue
when a doctor comes near you just as
naturally as you offer your ticket when a railway-
guard appears at the window of your carriage.
Dr. Ridge however affirms, as the result of long
and close observation, and to which he has
devoted a separate work, that the tongue is
capable of being mapped out into compartments,
each of which by its appearance shows the state
of the organ or portion of the body to which it
is specially referable. For the illustrations of
this novel and ingenious discovery we must refer
to the book itself. With regard to the treatment
of disorders, Dr. Ridge's advice is to begin with
the primary organs of digestion, and to use no
violent remedies until the simple and innocuous
ones have failed of effect. He constantly insists
on the harm done to our constitution by the pre-
valent belief that the greater part of our internal
ailments arise from " liver," and by the perni-
cious practice of an immediate resort to some
form of mercury to act upon that organ. As in
the case of the tongue, so with regard to head-
aches, he maps out the head, and teaches that
the part affected is a guide to the portion of the
internal economy which is disturbed. Thus a
headache at the back of the head indicates some-
thing wrong in the first processes of digestion;
if at the sides, it denotes that the evil belongs
to the " chylopoietic viscera" (the second stage);.
if in the anterior part, the larger viscera require_
imagine that 111
attention. Thus, it is wrong to
headaches proceed from the brain ; this is on y
the case when the pain is seated in the temples.
There are, however, more headaches than these :

Convivial men Die proceeds] know too well that we are
occasionally the subjects of headaches extending over the
whole cranium—back, front, sides, temples and all. The
exciting causes are various; but I shall not be wrong in
attributing such headaches in the majority of instances to
convivial excess and over-indulgence at the table: As a
people we are, beyond all other civilized nations, given.to
social gormandizing, and as a consequence are familiarwith the penalties it entails. The bon vivant site dowitto
table to enjoy himself. He overloads his stomach with
rich and luxurious viands, and therefore, to hasten their
passage through it. he stimulates it with alcoholic beve-
rages. The food is thus propelled prematurely into the
small intestines, which, goaded by the pressure from
above, hays not time to perform their functions coni-
pletely, but pass on the semi-digested mass into tke large
intestines, until the whole of the alimentary canal ov.er-
loaded and distended. Then comes the after-dinner wine:
communicating an abnormal stimulus to the blood•vevael,
and the orgies are consummated by the advent of a he
nut,
ad;
ache, which throbs, and thumps, and rages, threatei
to burst the very skull asunder.

, another part of the book it may be useful
extract some " remedial measures "
pretty well known and understood in fashionable or
.to-do life, why the glass of soda•water is taken so early
is morning. The practice is absurd, however; for if
system is able to indulge in the luxuries of the table,
annot be in an inflammatory condition, but rather in
opposite or congestive stage. Instead, therefore, of
free carbonic acid gas (that gas being already in
in the system ), a few grains of carbonate of soda
few drops of sal volatile in half a tumbler of water
disengage a proportionate quantity of carbonic acid
the stomach and lungs, and the effect would be
neutral salt, which would beneficially influence

.. alimentary canal.
Among the chapters well worthy of attention
mentioned the two on Poisons, which Mr.
classifies as direct and indirect. Under the
`lead come the bites of venemous animals,
actual administration of deleterious sub-
, whether mineral, alkaline, or vegetable ;
the latter are reckoned such influences as
tagion of disease, and the self-generated
secretions of the body. A full list is
all the poisons referable to the former
such as arsenic, oxalic acid, strychnia, &c. ;
a description of the symptoms they occasion,
plain and intelligible directions for their treat-
We extract the paragraph relating to
acid ; the test subjoined cannot be too
ly known :
,TMENT the stomach with thick cold gruel,
an emetic quickly. That prescribed for arsenic
but a full dose of ipecacuanha—say fifty or sixty
dissolved in water—will prove more beneficial. As
•9miting has taken place, large doses of chalk or
should be administered. if not at hand, some

plaster of the apartment should be resorted to, which
.eel be stirred in water and drunk. These very simple
substances neutralise the corrosive power of the poison
render it insoluble, thus preventing it from entering
A. Death supervenes so quickly on the taking of
. acid, that there is seldom time to do anything more
relieve the sufferings of the patient; and death often
• this, before the physician can arrive.
i.lt.—Oxalic acid, to the uninitiated eye, resembles
Epsom salts, for which it has been frequently
t is necessary to know a simple fact; which is,
?hen boiling water is poured upon oxalic acid, it
or makes a crackling noise, and gives out a pun-
while salts do not, and do not crackle when
poured on them.
'nder the head of metallic poisons is con-
' the curious subject of inorganic substances,
coins or other articles swallowed by
or design, and the way in which such
are to be dealt with. Dr. Ridge states that
)wn practice many such cases have occurred.
, halfpence, and small pieces of lead, and
instance a small two-drachm glass bottle
ith powdered hartshorn and corked, he
%wn to be passed through the alimentary
_ without the slightest injury. A sailor who
witnessed a juggler's tricks, instead of pretending
swallow the objects actually did swallow them,
clasp-knives and other articles which he
of in this way may still be seen in the
of Guy's Hospital. A case in point—not
forgotten, we trust, by our readers—is the
'gale story related to Mr. Pickwick by Mr.
A Sawyer, respecting a child who produced
:fling sound as he played about the room, and
on being shaken to make him leave off,
' still more; when it became evident that
use was "in the child," and that it pro-
. from his sister's necklace, which he had
itially consumed, a bead at a time. We don't
-hat was the treatment adopted in this re-
markable case by the able surgeons employed, but
Ridges directions seem extremely sensible :
it is necessary to mention the vulgar error often
in such cases, evidently without thought, by
or those having the care of children, when any
has been swallowed ; and this is the plan of flying
to the use of castor oil, or other aperients, with
ition of thereby quickly expelling the said article
system. Now, nothing is so injurious ;—it is, in
I have had occasion to mention elsewhere, one of
Popular acts and prejudices so prevalent, that lead
as to do the very, opposite of what they ought to have
When the accident occurs, give the child a piece of
and butter, and be cautious, moreover, so long as
article continues in the body, to give the patient very
drink.
reason is simply this,—that the article thus gets
be ridded in the substance so produced, and is disposed
due course, and without injury to the patient.
the bowels were purged, nothing would be left to'
article, which might then stick in one of the
les convolutions of the intestines, and inflict the
cries which it was the parents' wish to prevent,—
!li may thus be caused by their sheer want of
at.
Ridge writes with strong disapproval of
may be called specialized' surg&y, The

From am
to extract
It is yet
Ireg.tu-do 1:
in the man
the system
it cannot 1
the opposil
taking free
excess in Id
with a few
would diset
gas from tl
to form a r
the whole a
Among
may be m
Ridge cla
former he
or the act
stances, "I
under tht
the contal
morbific
given of a
class, sucl
with a dee
and plain
men!. 1
oxalic act
generally
TREATME
and give an
will do ; bu
grains din(
soon as TOO
MIMEOS al
of the pleat
should be
substances
and render
the blood.
oxalic acid,
than relievt
does this, 1
common t
mistaken.
tint when
crackles or
gent fame ;
water is poi
Under
sidered th
such as
accident
cases are
in his owr
Buttons,
in one int
filled wit
has know
canal wit]
witnessed
to sway
and the
disposed
museum
forgotten
raemorab
Robert S
n rattling
who, on
rattled at
the Hoist
ceeded fr
graduall3
know wh
inarkahl(
Dr. Ridg
Now, it
Pursued ii
parents or
article has
at once to
the intenti
from the 81
ttet, 88111
thole papa
persons to
done. WI
bread and
the article
little to dri
The us
imbedded
of in due
Now, if th
bed the al
numerous
very injur
lint *bid
judgment.
Dr. Rii
what nu