On the philosophy of medicine : on quackery, &c., being the last of a course of lectures delivered in the School of Medicine, Newcastle-upon-Tyne / by R. M. Glover.

  • Glover, Robert Mortimer, 1816-1859.
Date:
1851
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the philosophy of medicine : on quackery, &c., being the last of a course of lectures delivered in the School of Medicine, Newcastle-upon-Tyne / by R. M. Glover. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    tainly a matter of surprise. Perhaps it arises, in great measure, from the ignorance of some of the sciences auxiliary to medi- cine which prevails. A moralist has remarked, that men are content to carry their minds like their watches, without any attempt to investigate the mechanism by which the work is carried on. But this moralist himself was probably content to live on in a body, of whose structure and functions he was ignorant. Man, said D'Alembert, is fire for falsehood, and ice for truth; and the readiness with which, in every age, mankind have believed in one gross delusion after another certainly countenances the assertion, especially if we contrast this credulity with the reluctance with which great truths, like those taught by Copernicus, Galileo, or Harvey, have been received. There is an anecdote of Mead, which I shall quote, as it is contained in a classical work.* A man of good education had become a quack, and had a booth in one of the most frequented streets of London. He calculated on the weakness and credulity of mankind, and made a most fortunate speculation. Mead, regretting that an intelligent man, capable of advancing truth, should degrade himself to such a trade, advised him to abandon it. * How many men a day,' said the quack, * do you think pass through this street f ' Perhaps 20,000,' said the doctor. ' And how many of these do you suppose possess the right use of their senses, and a sound judgment V- ' Five hundred.' * The pro- portion is too great,' said the quack. 'A hundred, then.' * Still too much.' At last they agreed to reckon them at ten. 'Let me alone, then,'said the quack; 'let me levy on these 19,990 fools the tribute which they owe me, and I have no ob- jection to the ten having in you that confidence which most assuredly you well deserve.' Many sarcasms have been uttered against the medical pro- fession; and as often, jocularly, by medical men themselves * Richerand. Erreurs Populaires Relatives a la M^decine.