the evolution of modern medicine-第32章

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That　wandering　genius；　Sir　Kenelm　Digby；　did　much　to　popularize　this　method　of　treatment　by　his　lecture　on　the　〃Powder　of　Sympathy。〃＇17＇　His　powder　was　composed　of　copperas　alone　or　mixed　with　gum　tragacanth。　He　regarded　the　cure　as　effected　through　the　subtle　influence　of　the　sympathetic　spirits　or；　as　Highmore　says；　by　〃atomicall　energy　wrought　at　a　distance；〃　and　the　remedy　could　be　applied　to　the　wound　itself；　or　to　a　cloth　soaked　in　the　blood　or　secretions；　or　to　the　weapon　that　caused　the　wound。　　One　factor　leading　to　success　may　have　been　that　in　the　directions　which　Digby　gave　for　treating　the　wound　（in　the　celebrated　case　of　James　Howell；　for　instance）；　it　was　to　be　let　alone　and　kept　clean。　The　practice　is　alluded　to　very　frequently　by　the　poets。　In　the　〃Lay　of　the　Last　Minstrel〃　we　find　the　following：

＇17　French　edition；　1668；　English　translation；　same　year。　For　a　discussion　on　the　author　of　the　weapon　salve　see　Van　Helmont；　who　gives　the　various　formulas。　　Highmore　（1651）　says　the　〃powder　is　a　Zaphyrian　salt　calcined　by　a　celestial　fire　operating　in　Leo　and　Cancer　into　a　Lunar　complexion。〃

　But　she　has　ta'en　the　broken　lance；　　And　wash'd　it　from　the　clotted　gore；　　And　salved　the　splinter　o'er　and　o'er。　　William　of　Deloraine；　in　trance；　　Whene'er　she　turn'd　it　round　and　round；　　Twisted；　as　if　she　gall'd　his　wound；　　Then　to　her　maidens　she　did　say；　　That　he　should　be　whole　man　and　sound；

（Canto　iii；　xxiii。）


and　in　Dryden's　〃Tempest〃　（V；　1）　Ariel　says：

　Anoint　the　Sword　which　pierc'd　him　with　the　Weapon…Salve；　　And　wrap　it　close　from　Air　till　I　have　time　　To　visit　him　again。


From　Van　Helmont　comes　the　famous　story　of　the　new　nose　that　dropped　off　in　sympathy　with　the　dead　arm　from　which　it　was　taken；　and　the　source　of　the　famous　lines　of　Hudibras。　　As　I　have　not　seen　the　original　story　quoted　of　late　years　it　may　be　worth　while　to　give　it：　〃A　certain　inhabitant　of　Bruxels；　in　a　combat　had　his　nose　mowed　off；　addressed　himself　to　Tagliacozzus；　a　famous　Chirurgein；　living　at　Bononia；　that　he　might　procure　a　new　one；　and　when　he　feared　the　incision　of　his　own　arm；　he　hired　a　Porter　to　admit　it；　out　of　whose　arm；　having　first　given　the　reward　agreed　upon；　at　length　he　dig'd　a　new　nose。　About　thirteen　moneths　after　his　return　to　his　own　Countrey；　on　a　sudden　the　ingrafted　nose　grew　cold；　putrified；　and　within　few　days　drops　off。　To　those　of　his　friends　that　were　curious　in　the　exploration　of　the　cause　of　this　unexpected　misfortune；　it　was　discovered；　that　the　Porter　expired；　neer　about　the　same　punctilio　of　time；　wherein　the　nose　grew　frigid　and　cadaverous。　There　are　at　Bruxels　yet　surviving；some　of　good　repute；　that　were　eye…witnesses　of　these　occurrences。〃＇18＇

＇18＇　Charleton：　　Of　the　Magnetic　Cure　of　Wounds；　London；　1650；　p。　13。


Equally　in　the　history　of　science　and　of　medicine；　1542　is　a　starred　year；　marked　by　a　revolution　in　our　knowledge　alike　of　Macrocosm　and　Microcosm。　　In　Frauenburg；　the　town　physician　and　a　canon；　now　nearing　the　Psalmist　limit　and　his　end；　had　sent　to　the　press　the　studies　of　a　lifetime〃De　revolutionibus　orbium　coelestium。〃　It　was　no　new　thought；　no　new　demonstration　that　Copernicus　thus　gave　to　his　generation。　　Centuries　before；　men　of　the　keenest　scientific　minds　from　Pythagoras　on　had　worked　out　a　heliocentric　theory；　fully　promulgated　by　Aristarchus；　and　very　generally　accepted　by　the　brilliant　investigators　of　the　Alexandrian　school；　but　in　the　long　interval；　lapped　in　Oriental　lethargy；　man　had　been　content　to　acknowledge　that　the　heavens　declare　the　glory　of　God　and　that　the　firmament　sheweth　his　handiwork。　　There　had　been　great　astronomers　before　Copernicus。　In　the　fifteenth　century　Nicholas　of　Cusa　and　Regiomontanus　had　hinted　at　the　heliocentric　theory；　but　1512　marks　an　epoch　in　the　history　of　science；　since　for　all　time　Copernicus　put　the　problem　in　a　way　that　compelled　acquiescence。

Nor　did　Copernicus　announce　a　truth　perfect　and　complete；　not　to　be　modified；　but　there　were　many　contradictions　and　lacunae　which　the　work　of　subsequent　observers　had　to　reconcile　and　fill　up。　For　long　years　Copernicus　had　brooded　over　the　great　thoughts　which　his　careful　observation　had　compelled。　　We　can　imagine　the　touching　scene　in　the　little　town　when　his　friend　Osiander　brought　the　first　copy　of　the　precious　volume　hot　from　the　press；　a　well　enough　printed　book。　　Already　on　his　deathbed；　stricken　with　a　long　illness；　the　old　man　must　have　had　doubts　how　his　work　would　be　received；　though　years　before　Pope　Clement　VII　had　sent　him　encouraging　words。　　Fortunately　death　saved　him　from　the　〃rending〃　which　is　the　portion　of　so　many　innovators　and　discoverers。　His　great　contemporary　reformer；　Luther；　expressed　the　view　of　the　day　when　he　said　the　fool　will　turn　topsy…turvy　the　whole　art　of　astronomy；　but　the　Bible　says　that　Joshua　commanded　the　Sun　to　stand　still；　not　the　Earth。　　The　scholarly　Melanchthon；　himself　an　astronomer；　thought　the　book　so　godless　that　he　recommended　its　suppression　（Dannemann；　Grundriss）。　The　church　was　too　much　involved　in　the　Ptolemaic　system　to　accept　any　change　and　it　was　not　until　1822　that　the　works　of　Copernicus　were　removed　from　the　Index。


VESALIUS

THE　same　year；　1542；　saw　a　very　different　picture　in　the　far…famed　city　of　Padua；　〃nursery　of　the　arts。〃　The　central　figure　was　a　man　not　yet　in　the　prime　of　life；　and　justly　full　of　its　pride；　as　you　may　see　from　his　portrait。　Like　Aristotle　and　Hippocrates　cradled　and　nurtured　in　an　AEsculapian　family；　Vesalius　was　from　his　childhood　a　student　of　nature；　and　was　now　a　wandering　scholar；　far　from　his　Belgian　home。　But　in　Italy　he　had　found　what　neither　Louvain　nor　Paris　could　give；　freedom　in　his　studies　and　golden　opportunities　for　research　in　anatomy。　What　an　impression　he　must　have　made　on　the　student　body　at　Padua　may　be　judged　from　the　fact　that　shortly　after　his　graduation　in　December；　1537；　at　the　age　of　twenty…four；　he　was　elected　to　the　chair　of　anatomy　and　surgery。　Two　things　favored　himan　insatiate　desire　to　see　and　handle　for　himself　the　parts　of　the　human　frame；　and　an　opportunity；　such　as　had　never　before　been　offered　to　the　teacher；　to　obtain　material　for　the　study　of　human　anatomy。　Learned　with　all　the　learning　of　the　Grecians　and　of　the　Arabians；　Vesalius　grasped；　as　no　modern　before　him　had　done；　the　cardinal　fact　that　to　know　the　human　machine　and　its　working；　it　is　necessary　first　to　know　its　partsits　fabric。

To　appreciate　the　work　of　this　great　man　we　must　go　back　in　a　brief　review　of　the　growth　of　the　study　of　anatomy。

Among　the　Greeks　only　the　Alexandrians　knew　human　anatomy。　What　their　knowledge　was　we　know　at　second　hand；　but　the　evidence　is　plain　that　they　knew　a　great　deal。　　Galen's　anatomy　was　first…class　and　was　based　on　the　Alexandrians　and　on　his　studies　of　the　ape　and　the　pig。　We　have　already　noted　how　much　superior　was　his　osteology　to　that　of　Mundinus。　　Between　the　Alexandrians　and　the　early　days　of　the　School　of　Salernum　we　have　no　record　of　systematic　dissections　of　the　human　body。　It　is　even　doubtful　if　these　were　permitted　at　Salernum。　　Neuburger　states　that　the　instructions　of　Frederick　II　as　to　dissections　were　merely　nominal。

How　atrocious　was　the　anatomy　of　the　early　Middle　Ages　may　be　gathered　from　the　cuts　in　the　works　of　Henri　de　Mondeville。　　In　the　Bodleian　Library　is　a　remarkable　Latin　anatomical　treatise　of　the　late　thirteenth　century；　of　English　provenance；　one　illustration　from　which　will　suffice　to　show　the　ignorance　of　the　author。　Mundinus　of　Bologna；　one　of　the　first　men　in　the　Middle　Ages　to　study　anatomy　from　the　subject；　was　under　the　strong　domination　of　the　Arabians；　from　whom　he　appears　to　have　received　a　very　imperfect　Galenic　anatomy。　　From　this　date　we　meet　with　occasional　dissections　at　various　schools；　but　we　have　seen　that　in　the　elaborate　curriculum　of　the　University　of　Padua　in　the　middle　of　the　fifteenth　century　there　was　no　provision　for　the　study　of　the　subject。　Even　well　into　the　sixteenth　century　dissections　were　not　common；　and　the　old　practice　was　followed　of　holding　a　professorial　discourse；　while　the　butcher；　or　barber　surgeon；　opened　the　cavities　of　the　body。　A　member　of　a　famous　Basel　family　of　physici