The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-12-06
pain and misery, and in The increase Of

DGkhu Will LlippONlaACo
three hundred years ago, and he mrs
treated of medicine with anything lik
sound or rational principles. be wrot
extensively, much of which has beel
translated, and serves as foundation
for the succeeding literature OF the pro
fession. He relied chiefly on the heal
ing powers of nature, his renedles beinI
exceeding simple. He taught that tn
people ought not to load themselves will
excrements, or keep them in too long
and for this reason he prescribed meat
proper for loosening the belly" and /
these failed he directed the use of tn
oysters,
Three hundred years before Christ
Erasistratus invented and used the cath
eter, introduced the tourniquet, and pro
duced an instrument for lithotripti,
operations. CELSIUS flourished A. d. d
to 1870, as the greatest of Roman sur
geons.
Through all the centuries from the be
ginning of the Christian era down to thu
time of the discovery of the circulation
of the blood by Harvey, 1919, medicine
shed but glimmering light in the mids
of the darkness then enshrouding thu
"Oillt anu lnC klGdhCob ~ Wv
advancement of the various branches o
medical science have been made in thu
last one hundred years, and most Of
them may be placed to the credit of thu
last half century.
Psychologists no longer believe will
Parct l,us in the sixteenth century, that
the planets have direct controlling &C.
ton on the body the sun upon the heart
and the moon upon the brain; nor dc
they now believe that the vital spirits
are prepared in the brain by distillation
nor do they admit that the chyle etfer-
vesces in the heart under the influence
of salt and sulphur, which take fire to-
gether and produce the vital flame. On
the contrary modern physiology teaches
that the phenomena of the living body
are the results of physical and chem
ical changes; the temperature OF the
blood is asceTtained by the thermometer,
and the different fluids and gases of the
body are analysed by the chemist. CIV
ing to each its own properties and func
ton.
While the eighteenth century wit
messed greater advancement in the de-
partmeDt of medical science than any or
all its predecessors, the browning
achievements seem to have been reserv-
ed for the understandable present CEN
fury. Among the thousands of elements
that comprise this cenJury's advance in
medical science mention will be made
of but one, and that among the first dis
coveries, ie, the use of anesthetics,
which benumb the nerves of sensation,
and produce profound, but transient
state of insensibillty, in which the most
formidable operation may be performed
while the patient sleeps and dreams OF
home and happy hours, and the physi-
clan is left to the pleasing reflection that
he is causing no pain or suffering.
But it appears that as rapid as has
been this advance during the last hun
bred years, SO, oirespondiDgly, have
these developed new forms and phases
of disease to battle the skill of the most
eminent physicians and scientists in the
land; and while diseases, malarlous in
their character, have for time detied
the attempts to overcome them, they
have nevertheless, been subdued and
Medical skill has proven
equal to every emergency.
There is, today, known to botanists
over one hundred and forty thousand
plants, large proportion of which are
being constantly added to the already
appalling lit of new remedies. Many
of these new drugs possess Little, if any
yirture, save as their sale adds to the eX
chequer of some enterprisDg pharma-
cist A drug house in New England re-
Gently issued circular, in which they
advertised 33 syrups, AZ elixirs, 93 solid
extracts, $50 varieties of sugar-coatej
pills, 236 tinctures, PAS roots, barks,
herbs, seeds and flowers, 1929 fluid ex-
tracts, and 34S general drugs and chemi-
Gals.
The ancients were !ot so well suppl ed
with drugs. 1t was the custom among
the BabylUnians to expose the sick to
the view of passenger, IN ord r to learn
of them whether they had been aff1 cited
with like dlstemper, and by what rem
edies they had been cured. 1t was also
the custom of those days for all persons
who had been sick, and were cured, to
put up tablet in the temple OF Ejcula-
plus, wherein they gave an account oil
the remedies that had restored them to
health, Prior to the time of Hippocra-
les all medicine was in the hands OF the
priests, and were assoCi ted with
numerous superstitipns, such as sympa-
Ihetic Uintmeuts applied TO the weapon
with which the wound was made, mean
tations, charms ,amulets, the royal touch
fol the cure OF scrOiula, human or horse
flesh for the cure Of epilepsy, cUnvu,-
lions treated with human brains.
While all this credulOus superstition
Of early ages, born of ignorance, existed
% vastly large extent, it has not been
fully wiped out by the generally ad-
7anced education of the present day |
The latest appeal to the creduIity of the
masses of the people is an invention to |
,elieve the unfortunate sick, and is
Known as The Faith Cure" The per-
IONS seeking to popuIar:ze this means OF
cure are either deceived themselves, or |
ire deceiving others. Upon i1p0int
/ popular writer says: If the disease
De an incurable one, all the prayers in
he world will not cure 1t. Filth brings
ever; prayer cannot interpose.
There is probably no department of
at the present time more prom
sing Of good results than is sanitary
science. While physiology and pathol
,gy are making known to us the func |
ions of the human body, and the nature
md cause of disease, sanitary science is |
steadily teaching how the causes of dis |
ease may be removed or avoided, and |
health thereby secured.
Progress during the coming one hun
lred years, If only tqual to that Of the
past, will more than have accomplished |
great works in the advancement of sani- |
ur as,ianna,. hnt fh.. IN
his work calls NJ, t only for the .b1r Of |
he physician. but for the intelli-
gent cooperation of the peo-
Die; the physician cannot do
t alone. II anything really great is to
De done in the way of sanitary improve.
nent, and of preventing disease and
leath, it must be- done largely by the |
people themselves, This implies that
hat they must be instructed il santa y |
matters. They mutt he taught what un-
Ianitary conditions favor the origin q |
disease, how disease is spread, and the
means of its prevention. II il Is true
hat that knowledge is Of the greatest
value to us which teaches the means OF
Ielf preservation, then the important
Of widespread knowledge OF how TO
prevent disease and premature death |
cannot be overestimated.
The village Of Bennington is now
assuming the proportions of a city, and
with its constantly increasing popula-
lion, there comes an increased demand
Tor sanitary improvement. To be sure
The character of the surface of the land
is such as to afford natural drainage
system, 80 far, at least. as surface water
is concerned; but with the filthy accum-
llations Of years, gaining gradually with
it behoOves the towns au-
thorIties to look well to the matter of a
system of sewerage, at least
through the more densely populated dis
tricts; and what may be true of this