Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-04-18
Science of Medicins-opinion Of xsveudie


On assuming the Professors chair in the
College Of France, the celebrated Magendie
thus addressed the assembled students
oentlemen Medicine is great humbug
1 know II is called a sciences science indeed
Its nothing like science. Doctors are mere
empires, when they are not charlatans. We
are ignorant, as ignorant as men can be- Who
knows anything In the world about medicine,
dentlemen, you have done me the honor 10
come here TO attend my lectures, and must
tell you frankly now, in the beginning, that L
know nothing in the world about medicine
and don't know anybody who does know
anything about it. Don't think for a moment
that L haven't read the bills advertising
the course of lectures at the medical school
L know that this man teaches anatomy, that
mau teaches pathology, another man physi-
olosy, such one teaches therapeutics such
another materia medica-Eh bien, ct asprss
What known about that Why, gentlemen,
at the school of Montpelier, (God knows il was
famous enough in its day y they discarded
the study of anatomy and taught nothing but
dIspensary, and the doctors educated there
knew just as much and were quite as success
ful as any others. l repeat it, nobody knows
anything about medicine True enough. we
are gathering facts every day. We can pro-
duce typhus fever, for example, by injecting
certain substance into the veins of a dog
that's something; we can alleviate diabetes:
and, see distinctly we are fast approaching
the day when phthisis can be cured as easily
as any disease. We are collecting facts in
the right spirit, and L dare say in a century
or so the accumulation of facts may enable
our successors to form a medical science but
L repeat 1t to you, there is no sucn thing now
as medical science. Who can tell me how
10 cure the headache or the gout or disease
of the heart? Nobody. Oh you tell me
doctors cure people. grant you people are
cured. But how are they cured1 Gentlemen,
nature does good deal. Imagination does a
good deal. Doctors dO-devilish little-when
they don't do harm. Let me tell you, gem
tlemen, what did when L was the head phy-
sician at the Hotel Dieu. Some or 400 pa
tients passed through my hands every year.
L divided the patients into two classes with
one followed the dispensary, and gave them
the usual medicines without having the least
idea why or wherefore; to the others / gave
bread pills and colored water, without of
course, letting them know anything about it
and occasionally, gentlemen, would create
third division, to whom L gave nothing
whatever These last would fret good deal;
they would feel they were neglected unless
they are well drugged (Les tna5eciIesD and
they would irritate themselves until thew got
really sick; but nature invariably came to the
rescue, and all the persons in this third class
got well. There was little mortality among
those who who received but bread pills and
colOred water, and the mortality was greatest
among those who were carefully drugged ac-
cordlng to the dispensary. You ask, then, what
is the use of my lecturing. / II tell you
We have come here to study nature, not to
spin fine theories about this and that, and
anticipate brilliant cOnclusions-leave that to
the Germans, gentlemen. don't say these
aoctTlneatrsS fail TO hit occasionally upon
some brilliant truth, by the aid Of their theo-
ries-for have sometimes been astonished
by their discoveries-but for once they are
right, they are wrong a hundred times. and
by their theories they are never sure of know
ing assuredly what they do know. Now what
L know, L know. There can be no mistake
abOutit. l see it with my eyes. l touch il
with my fingers. 1 would not give that for
all the theories in the worId-give me stub
born facts That's the way, gentlemen, We
are going to study here.