Medical common sense : applied to the causes, prevention and cure of chronic diseases, and unhappiness in marriage / by Edward B. Foote.

  • Foote, Edward B. (Edward Bliss), 1829-1906.
Date:
1858
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Medical common sense : applied to the causes, prevention and cure of chronic diseases, and unhappiness in marriage / by Edward B. Foote. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    will come round, and follow in thy steps. Thou askcst riches to move the world. Foolish young man, as thou art, begin now. Reform thy little self, and thou hast begun to reform the world. Tear not, thy work shall never die. Thegeneral tendency of wealth is not Benevolence, but prodigalitj', selfishness, idleness, and gluttony. There is more true benevolence exliiliited by the poorest than the wealthiest classes. Hon. Geo. S. Ililliard has beautifully remarked—I confess that increasing years briTig with them an increasing respect for men who do not succeed in life, as those words arecommonly used. Heaven is said to be a place for tliose who have not succeeded on earth; and it is surely true that celestial graces do not best thrive and bloom in the hot blaze of worldly prosperity. Ill success sometimes arises from a superabun- dance of qualities in themselves good—from a conscience too sensitive, a taste too fastidious, a self-forgetfulness too romantic, a modesty too retiring. I will not go so far as to soy, with a living poet, that the ' world knows notliing of its greatest men,' but there are forms of greatne.ss, or at least excellence, which ' die and make no sign ;' there are martyrs that miss the palm, but not the stake; there are heroes without the laurel, and conquerors without the triumph. The view I take of the physical effects of riches is sustained by Dr. Channing. He gives it as his opinion that the difference between the rich and the poor in regard to physical suffering is not as great as has been imagined, in support of which he says: That some of the indigent among us die of scanty food is undoubtedly true; but vastly more die from eating too much than from eating too little; vastly more from excess than from starvation. So as to clothing, many shiver from want of defence against the cold; but there is vastly more suffering among the rich f;om absurd and criminal modes of dress which fashion has sanctioned, than among the poor from defi- ciency of raiment. Our daughters are oftener brought to the grave by their rich attire, than our beggars by their nakedness. So the jioor are often over worked; but they suffer le.ss than many among the rich who have no work to do nor interesting object to fill up life; to satisfy the infinite cravings of man for action. According to our present modes of education, how many of our daugliters are victims of ennui, a misery unknown to the poor, and more intolerable than the weariness of excessive toil. 6