The south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1879-1883, 1880-11-16
A Little Latin.

An effort IS being made 10 induce
doctors 10 stop writing their preecrip-
tions in Latin and use United States
language. So many inoifensive sick
people have been silled BY adruggist
putting mp iobelid and o;her danger
Gus drugs in place OF some mild and
gentle purgativc, which the system
requires at this lime of year. on the
Lltin prescription of q physician,
that society nj the East threatened
TO take the law into their own hahds
aud put n stop to 1t. AS usual
thing the physician who graduates
| with nigh honors al some high toned
morgue, does not know any more
about The common English branches
than is good for him, and his hand
writing Is the mcrest goose track, a
SORT of delirium tremens on paper.
Now, when you come to pull such
writing as that into Latin, to be read
by a sleepy prescription clerk who
has been routed out of bed ut mid
night in his shirt sleeves, there can
only be one result. The patient will
be worse the next day. A sleepy
drug clerk is only human, aud when
he strikes one OF those ingredients in
the prescription where il tells him 10
put up the saw teeth OF Podophyllam
and the word looks more like penny
royal than i: does like podophyliam,
and more like peppermint than like
either one OF them, he Is liable 10
trust good deal to luck and put in
that which is least Injurious. No
drug clerk cares TO loose good po-
siiion by not being able 10 read
stroke OF lightning, and the result is
he puts up something and then
caarges enough more to make up for
what he doesn't know. There are
ioriy-nine millions Of people in this
country, whose live TO greater or
less extent rest on prescription clerks,
and the eastern society who have
flung their banner TO the brt exc aud
sounded the death of the dead Ian
guage will be embalned in the hearts
of u grateful posterity. They are
doing a noble work. Dead Ian.
guagcs are all well enough for dead
people, but they are eminently out OF
place in this age Of animated things.
OF course the looping of of the cx-
cresccnce will bring doctors down TO
a level with ordinary mortals. and
they will have to take their chances.
Il may be claimed by the doctors that
they will be unable TO command the
respect and confidence OF the COM
muniiy. Iflheir remedies and things
are not locked up in Latin. We viii
suppose that man inns euten hear
ty meal OF arsenic, and he begins TO
feel distress at the stomach. A
doctor is sent for aud he comes aud
prescribes. A few minutes later
another doctor comes (whcn a man
has boen poisoned every doctor with
IN len miles is sent for). The las,
doctor asks the first one what he has
given the man, and the first doctor
answers that he has prescribed
"hyerotel sesqui oride ferram."
The second studies a moment, with
his finger 10 his forehead, aud says lie
approves OF The remedy, and the
friends of the patients feel that he
wonid be fool ifhe didn't, as the
name Is nearly two inches long.
Well, the hyorated sesqdi Oxide oil
Forum is nothing but iron rust, such
as can be scraped off old nails, but il
the doctor had told his brother pro-
fessional that he was giving the pm
tient iron rust, and tho other physi-
clan had approved of it, the proba-
bility Is that the patients friends
would have bounced both doctors
aud sent for one that knew something.
Doctors have every thing to contend
against, not only the ignorace of their
patients aud the patients friends but
their own as we'll. II is estimated
that two thirds of college course is
devoted TO learning the Latin names
and applying them. and the other
third TO the study of how TO cure PEG.
pie. The percentage is too great. but
physician must understand all the
technical terms, ms he is liable TO be
called as witness in a court some !
time and If he should use any term
that the jury could understand there
is no telling what the consequences
might Dc.-Peck's Hilraukee Sun.
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