The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-12-08
John Wesley and the Found
er OF the Methodist
Episcopal Church.

Mr.. Editor: The name of John
Wesley stands high on the list of
great and noble men, Zpiny, the
founder of the Methodist Episcopal
church, his followers as well as
others will ever love and cherish his
memory. suppose comparatively
few, even OF his followers, are aware
that he was doctor. Notwith-
standing his numerous religious
duties as minister, travelling to
and fro warning sinners to flee from
the wrath to come, yet, like his
Savior, he would turn aside to
minister to the wants of sick and
suffering. We have no account of
his attending n medical college and,
may have been termed a quack, but
being blessed with large store of
common sense he was enabled to
learn the value of simple vegetable
and hygienic remedies. He wrote
a medical work, "Trinitive Physicn
or An Easy and Natural Method
of Curing Most Diseases" This
took passed through thirty-four
editions. The first was published
in .1747. How much his success
in the ministry and religious work
was due to his skill in relieving the
suffering in body and mind eternity
alone can reveal. Might not all
ministers increase their usefulness
by following the examples not only
of Wesley but of the Savior and His
disciples. wish to make some
extracts from the introduction to
Mr.. Wesley's book. He says:
AS theories increased, simple
remedies were more and more dis
regarded and disused, till in the
course of years the greater part of
them were forgotten, at least in the
potter nations. In the room of
those abundance of new ones were
introduced by reasoning, sprcula-
tive men, and those more and more
difficult to be applied, us being
more remote from common obscr-
vation. Hence rules for the appli-
cation of these, and medical books,
were immensely multiplied, till at
length physic became an abstruse
science, quite out Of the reach of
ordinary men. Physicians now be-
gan to be held in admiration, as
persons who were something more
than human. And profit attended
their employ, as well as honor, 80
that they had now two weighty
reasons for keeping the bulk of
mankind at a distance that they
might not pry into the mysteries of
the profession. To this end they
increased those difficulties by de-
sign which began by accident. They
filled their writings with an ahund-
ance of technical terms, utterly un-
ineligible to plain men. They
affected to deliver their rules and
to reason upon them in an abstruse
and philosophic manner. They
introduced into practice abundance
of compound medicines, consisting
of SO many ingredients that it was
scarce posi- le for common people
to know wl..ch it was that wrought
the cure; abundance exotics, neither
the names nor nature of which
their own countrymen understood;
of chemicals, such as they neither
had skill, nor time, nor fortune to
prepare; yea. and of dangerous
ones. such as they could not use
without haarding life, but by the
advice of a physician, and thus both
their honor and g,in were secured,
vast majority of mankind being
utterly cut off from either helping
themselves or their neighbors, or
once daring to attemptit. Is it not
needful in the highest degree to
rescue men from the jaws of de-
struction? From wasting their
fortunes (on drugs) as thousands
have done and continue to do daily?
From pining away in sickness and
pain, either through the ignorance
or dishonesty of physicians2 Yea,
and many times throwing away
their lives, after their health, time
and substance. Is it inquired, are
there not books enough already on
every part Of the art Of medicine?
Yes, too many, ten times over,
considering how little to the purpose
the far greater part of them speak.
But besides this this, they are too
dear for poor men to buy, and too
hard for plain men to understand.