The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-09-24
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION By ONE WHO
KNEW IT.

hNn w AAs |
Tho American Medical Gazette of June,
gives remarkably interesting letter from
M American medical student in Paris
The writer says that he orce heard Magen-
die, the celebrated French physician and
Psychologist, open lecture somewhat in
the following manner:
Gentlemen: Medicine is great hum
bug. know it is called a science science,
indeed! 1t is nothingelike science. Doc
tors are mere empires, when they are not
cl,arlatans. We are as ignorant as men
can be. Who Knows anything about
incidence Gentlemen, you have done me
the honor to come here to attend my lee
lures, and must tell you frankly now, in
the beginning, that know nothing in the
world about medicine, and 1 don't know
anybody that does know anything about it.
Don't think Cor moment that haven't
read the bills advertising the course Of lee
lures mt the medical school; know that
this man teaches anatomy, that man teaches
pathology, another man physiology, such
one therapeutics, such another materia
medica-EA Jien ct oprcs? What's known
about all that? Why gentlemen, at the
school Of Montpelier, God knows it was fa-
nous enough in its day. they discarded
the study Of anatomy, and taught nothing
but the dispcnsary; and doctors educated
there knew as much, and were quite as suc-
ccssful as any others. I Irepcat it, nobody
knows anything about medicine. True
enough, we are gathering facts every day
We can produce typhus fever, for example
by injecting certain substances into the
veins Of a..dog- that's something. We CAL
alleviate diabetes, and sec distinctly, We
arc fast approaching the day when phthisi,
can be cured as easily as any descase.
We are collecting facts in the right spir
it, and dare say in century or SO the nc
emulation Of facts may enable our success
sors to form medical science ; but re
| peat it TO you, there is no such mcdica
, science now. Who can tell how to cur
the headache? or the gout? or disease G
0 the heart? Nobody. Oh? you tell me doc
t tors cure people. l grant you people ar
y cured. But how are they cured? Gentle
q men, nature does Il great deal. Doctors
: but littlc-when they don't do harm.-
if Let me tell you, generally what did whe
/ l was the head physician at Hotel Dieu.-
D Some three or four thousand patients passe
S through my hands every year. divide
It the patients into two classes witt! one 70
= lowed the dispensary, and gave them IL
= usual medicines without having the len
Il idea why or wherefore; TO the other gay
, bread pills and colorcd water, without,
If course. letting them know anything abo'
d it-and occasionally, gentlemen / won
= create third division, to whom 1 GA,
if nothing whatever. These last would fr
o good deal, they would feel they were ne
ii lected. (sick people always feel they Il
il neglected unless they are well drugged-
10 les imJeciles , and they would irrita
to themselves until they got really sick, b
y nature invariably came 10 the rescue, al
TX all the persons in the third class got We
Of There was little mortality among tho
ul who received but bread pills and color
mt water, and the mortality WAS grea.'
a amongst those who were carefully drugg
,e- according to the dyspcnsary.