Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1858-06-30

purely spiritual, of more importance to the
human family than this-the perfection of
physical character-yet am sorry to say
there mas been none more neglected. True,
we have had men ever since the race was
subject to disease, who have made the heal
ing art their study, and who deserve ever
lasting commemoration for the develop
ment Of the medical sciences-Chemistry,
Operative Surgery, etc.,-to what they are
they deserve place in our estimations
as benefactors of the race-yet, so far as
the prevention and cure of disease is con-
cerned, no benefit has been realized. The
o5medical menin this branch
.offhe profession have chiefly been for soneI
medicine, vegetable, animal, or mineral
invariably poison of some sort-to cure
the ills flesh is heir to, rather than for
knowledge to prevent them; and the effect
produced is, that instead of being blessing
to the human family, it has been curse
to every age and nation in the exact ratio
that it has been scientifically cultivated and
practiced, as its most ardent and consci-
entious exponents do acknowledge. That
could its practitioners even cure all disea-
ses for which they contend, yet the system
is frequently left in condition worse, and
less to be desired in many instances than
death itself-a miserable wreck of blasted
humanity for all time to come.
That the practice of physic has been but
bundle of ever-changing theories, hypoth-
esis, whims notions, and superstitions, is |
evident from the fact that the standard au-
thors Of the drug schools themselves con-
denim and pronounce it as false ridiculous,
inconsistent, absurd, and murderous quack-
cry.
DR.. Gregory of London said GAIL the
vagaries of medical theory, like the absur
dities once advanced to explain the nature
of gravitation, from Hypocrates to Brous
; sais, have been believed to be sufficient to
explain the phenomena of disease, yet they
have proved unsatisfactory"
i DR.. Jacob Bigelow of Howard Universe
ty SAID; "The premature deaths of medical
men brings with it the humiliating conclu-
: sion that, while the other sciences have been
: carried forward within our own time, and
9 almost under our own eyes, to degree of
/ unprecedented advancement, medicine, in
regard to its professed and important OBJ
i ect (the cure of disease,) is still an inef-
; fectual speculation
II u DR.. Brown, pupil of the famous VIM.
u Cullin, said "The author of this work has
: spent more than twenty years in learning,
scrutinizing, and teaching every part q
= medicine;" yet, he was ''in the situation o.
y traveller in an unknown country, who
~ after loosing every trace of his way, wan,
ders in the shades of night"
r DIR. L. NJ. Whiting of Pittsfeld Mass
u =, said "The very principle upon which mos
IL of what are called theories involving med
II !. ical questions, have been based, were neve
Vi established 4 If this is
@ ss true statement of the case if that enor
m ~ nous mass of matter which has been tim
1u = out of mind accommodating, and which ha
oe been christened medical science, is, in fac
nothing but hypothesis piled upon hypotE
III esis, who is there among us that would nc
q a. exult in seeing it swept away by the besor
:, ~ of destruction p
ny Dr. Rush in his Lectures in the Univel
y, VI sity of Penn, page 70, said : 81 am inser
,ho he sibly led to make an apology for the inst;
'"o bility of the theories and practices of PHI
-" sic. Those physicians generally becom
."I .'To the most eminent who soonest emancip
.on M ted themselves from the tyrany of tt
Va as schools of physic. Our want of success
in in owing to the following causes list, OF
Ivy ignorance of disease. End, our ignorant
icy of suitable remedy"
l vi DR.. Rush again said 'Dissections dai
- convince us of our ignorance of the sea
rs Il, 10 ~ -,
prescriptions. What mischief have v
s lH done under the belief of false facts and fall
loi W theories We have assisted in multipl
me- ing diseases; we have done more-we ha
VI increased their mortality"
lau i4 DIR. Abercrombie in his Intellectual po'
ers, page 299, says: "When in the pra
~ " tice of physic we apply to new cases t
w n knowledge acquired from others which '
ieSa a believed to have been of the same natu
ioV the difficulties arc so great that it is doul
o'ns on ful whether in any case we can be said
30 act from experience as we do in other {
partments of science"
= , oi Sir Astly Cooper said "the science
'i'o medicine is founded on fact, and improv
;,.., by murder"
l,oq S DR.. Ramage said ''in most cases, the S
anu anu, ferer would be safer without a physici
wv io'G than with one"
','nI I The eminent DR.. Bailey declared:
'"s have no faith whatever in medicine"
onS Professor Evans declared "Our s. st
."ll "nu has neither philosophy nor common Sc
'ol.l' to commend it to confidence"
se"- DR.. Adam Smith said "The cause of
49, quackery out of the profession is the ,
!" ''.I .In quackery in the profession"
.,o ~ DIR. James Jackson of Boston said
o.a1 .ne drug system was ga poor pathology
etel % worse therapeutics"
.no DIR. Jameson of Edinburg affirmed
!, We "Nine times out of ten, our miscatted +
- . 1 pe edies are injurious to our patients"
sne DR.. Magendie of France declared, "tl
;. VIZ IL is scarcely sound physiological primo
~ "" among us"
!, aGu Professor Gregory said, "Ninety-nine
n'lho ! ~ of every hundred medical facts are meC
sue lies"
! uii- DIR. John Mason Good declared
'Sua.e 'S "The science of medicine is barbarous
o gon, and the effects of our medicines oil
- human system is in the highest degrees
ov &c certain, except, indeed, that they hay
stroyed more lives than every pesti
L..