Mems. maxims, and memoirs / by William Wadd.

Date:
1827
    record ; and it might even be disputed whether the the cow-pox is not coeval with Adam. That there is nothing new under the Sun, we learn from the wisest of mortals ; and the Sabine bard has told us of old, that— ** Multa renascentur, quae jam cecidere: cadentque Quae nunc sunt in honore ; " and it was in the genuine spirit of heart-felt vexa- tion, at finding many of his best observations forestalled, by earlier critical scholars, that the impetuous Scaliger, indignantly broke forth, in the memorable words, ** Pereant, qui ante nos nostra direre! " and with equal force, might some of our moderns exclaim, " Pereant, qui ante nos nostra fecire / " So conscious was the late Dr. Monro of this objection, that he used to say no one ought to rest satisfied, with the assurance of the honour of having made a discovery, until he had satisfied himself that it was unnoticed by the ancients, par- ticularly Galen, the extent and universality of whose knowledge he held in the highest estima- tion. Nay, Freind in his History of Physic, tells us we are not to be satisfied even with Galen in matters of surgery, for that ^tius and Paulus, have forestalled him; and Morand, a French sur- geon of talent, when offering any novelty, would with singular modesty observe, " Mais, il n'est pas
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    In medical works nothing sounds more grand than the mystery and importance of a new method; no bait is found so effectual as pretensions to a *' New Method.'" This creates productions that are dazzling, rather than solid, and leads authors to attempt what is uncommon, rather than what is useful and sound; and although it may seem the invidious purpose of laborious dulness, to seek out such coincidences, as tend to reduce genius of the higher order, to the usual standard of hu- manity, and thus bring an author nearer the level of his critic, yet a greater service cannot be ren- dered to society, than exploding the errors intro- duced by the admirers of novelty. There are many curious circumstances connected with this subject, of a more recent date, but they must rest untouched, as they are too near home —too near neighbours, to be neighbourly.