Title: The triumphs of superstition
First published: 1790
Description: This elegy was an expression of its author's abhorrence of a superstitious practice in which the bodies of those who had died of hectic fever were dug up from their burial sites and removed from their coffins. The bodies were then burned, and the resulting ashes were administered as a remedy to others of the same family also suffering from a hectic fever. This was believed to be a means of curing the illness.
Subjects: Early works to 1800, Poetry, Superstition, Hectic fever, Medical misconceptions, History, Harvard College (1780- ). Class of 1787
LC classification: PS767.H3 T7