Living in an age when physicians frequently experimented on themselves, he was the subject of an often-repeated legend claiming that he had inoculated himself with gonorrhea, using a needle that was unknowingly contaminated with syphilis.
Hidup di zaman ketika dokter sering bereksperimen pada diri mereka sendiri, ia adalah subyek yang sering diulang-ulang legenda mengklaim bahwa ia telah diinokulasi dirinya dengan gonore, menggunakan jarum yang tidak sadar terkontaminasi sifilis.