Demoine courier., 1854-09-21
For the Demoine Courier.

of science in which the intellectual mind
can enter more ffaugh. with importance
and interest to suffering humanity than
tina, Of medicine; ethan devising the bes.
means Of preserving health with all its
attendant blessings, and removing disea.e
with all its countless suTerings."
But fine spun theories of refined and
vivid imsgina;ions, reveling in hypothet.
ical prescriptions, drawn from no def
mite misunderstanding TO no explislt
Iule-are inehicien. to correct tile de-
ranged morbidiiy Of the physical consii.
,dtion. arising from whatever cause it
may; or 10 produce a basis on which to
establish a ,heorem that will neither
wan nor vascilla.e with every Brown
and i'roussais, with every llelmont and
De Siahl, and thousands Of others estab
fishing new therapeutic iheories Of epbe.
miral duration as regards life, but Of e,er.
nal prolonga,ion from the calamilies in
dneed.
Stree the days of llyprocaics to the
present time various rev - stsms has
been fabricated. embraced, def nded, act.
ed upon. %rePudia,ed and denounced -
uumorsl Pathology ascribed most com
plants to a morbid state of the liquids
butihis system was overthrow, and The
same morbid condition was exclusively
predica,ed of The solids. and as per.ina
ciously adhered to. Remedial agents
fur certain diseases have been brought.
from time to time to the notice of The
profession, received their highest appro
nation, were extensively used in 2ruc.
lice, but again abandoned Lived, died,
forgotten, revived, again became deluncl
and buried in oblivion. i, is to be hoped.
forever, and all Of this because of their
inertness and inadequacy TO control dis.
ease. and the profound ignorance of their
medicinal virtue.
Not only has The various schools diff
fered in theory and in practice. bul the
verv professors in the same section, hav.
Recommended and prescribed quite con
trary courses Of treatment. for The same
identical disease, aud because Of the
.yagreness and uncertainty Of The pre-
vail'pg systems notwo physiciins can or
. will treat the same ailment alike. There
is a curious fact on record, that Of four
hundred and seventy seven physicians
consulted By n individual no Two ever
agreed respecting his Gaze, and three hun.
dred and thirteen differed importantly
from each other. The highest asplra-
ton of q physicians confidence is onl,
a csrjec,ure that probably his prescrip.
SION may ,lo some good, The course OF
'reatmeh, pursued to-day, receiving the
highest encomiums. lauded to lhs skies;
may to morrow fall into rtitr con,emp.
and aversion, re membered only as anoih-
lr proof Of mans weakness and vanity.
The grea. PLY siolngisf, John Hunter.
speaking of medical agents aud their use
says: 'Of their virtues we know no,h
ing. nor Of their power in restoring or al.
'ering diseased action. Il reduces The
practice Of medicine to experiments; moi
built upon q well determined data" He
also says, THAT diseases of the same
specific nature not only vary in their
visible symptoms, or action. but in many
OF those iha. are invisible arising from
D peculiarity of constitution. and causes
Which will make effect Of application,
vary probably in tho same proportion;
and as those sari,ies may mo-. be known
50 % to adopt the specific medicine j.
will then be given only on o general
principle. which may, Of course, not, cor
respond TO the peculiarities. Even in
well marked specific cases where there
Isl specific remedy, we find tina, there
are Other pecoliarities which countsrsct
Inc simple specific medicine" What
profound and learned nonsense to carry
10 The side Of . sick bed, where medical
lntormation and experimental knowledge
should DO nj command, TO secure conf.
dencs in the physician and assurance to
the sufferer. G. w. BENSON.
TO BE Continued
Agency City, Iowa.