A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13

can be prevailed on to swear rebellion against it "For," says Dr Heberden, "this seems to be the favourite disease of the present age in England; wished for by those who have it not, and boasted of by those who fancy they have it, though very sincerely lamented by most who in reality suffer its tyranny. For, so much respect hath been shown to this distemper, that all the other evils, except pain, which the real or supposed gouty patient ever feels, are imputed most commonly not to his having too much of this disease, but to his wanting more; and the gout, far from being blamed as the cause, is looked up to as the expected deliverer from these evils." "The dread of being cured of the gout," he further remarks, "was and is still much greater than the dread of having it; and the world seems agreed patiently to submit to this tyrant, lest a worse should come in its room." It is not difficult to account for such absurdity, though it be quite impracticable to palliate it; and what is worse, from its being founded on something more congenial to human nature than even prejudice, it is almost impossible to remove it. A single quotation more from the same author, so much in repute among his professional brethren, will at once unravel the mystery, and show how rare a thing a cure is, where the means essential to it are necessarily dependent on the self-denial of the patient. "Strong wines, and in no small quantity, have the reputation of being highly beneficial to gouty persons; which notion they have very readily and generally received, not so much perhaps from a reasonable persuasion of its truth, as from a desire that it should be true, because they love wine. Let them consider, that a free use of vinous and spirituous liquors peculiarly hurts the stomach and organs of digestion, and that the gout is bred and fostered by those who indulge themselves in drinking much wine; while the poorer part of mankind, who can get very little stronger than water to drink, have better appetites than wine-drinkers, and better digestions, and are far less subject to arthritic complaints. The most perfect cures, of which I have been a witness, have been effected by a total abstinence from spirits, and wine, and flesh, which in two or three instances hath restored the helpless and miserable patients from a state worse than death, to active and comfortable life: But I have seen too few examples of the success of this method, to be confident or satisfied of its general utility." The language of the missionary account is very similar and equally encouraging. "On the discontinuance of the practice of drinking the yava, the skin of the leprous persons soon becomes smooth and clear, and they grow fat, though few are found who deny themselves the use of it." If drugs could remove either of these calamities, it is certain there would be no difficulty in getting them to be swallowed; for most men, it seems, prefer any sorts of bitter and nauseating substances, though taken by the pound, and without intermission, to the salutary restraints on appetite and vicious propensities, which common sense as well as common experience so authoritatively enjoin. It is as unjust to censure physicians for failing to cure the gout, as it would be to censure a surgeon for the lameness or deformity of the leg of a man, who, while under treatment for a fracture, should make daily attempts to dance or ride on horseback.--E.] ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 14464
Author: Kerr, Robert
Release Date: Dec 25, 2004
Format: eBook
Language: English