Page images
PDF
EPUB

governed by particular laws, the study of no other object in nature is capable of disclosing, at least directly, those laws; and that the application of the doctrines which have been most firmly established in other branches of science, to that which has in view the knowledge and slow regulation of the animal economy, necessarily becomes the source of the most pernicious errors." We cannot enter into the merits or defects of the Stahlian system, which has been treated of in Dr. Bostock's work. Cabanis says that Stahl accomplished in medicine, at least in some respects, what Bacon had merely pointed out, and that the reforms which have been already effected, and those which may hereafter be accomplished, in the same spirit, must be ascribed in a great measure to this extraordinary man.' With the name of Stahl should be associated that of Van Helmont, a man of very inferior talents, but who was gifted by nature with a glowing imagination, and who rushed into the seductive pursuits of alchemy, bringing from the furnace and the crucible a mind inflamed with the loftiest and wildest projects, and most visionary hopes. Yet flashes of true light are seen breaking through the fumes of his superstitious labours; as it is said of him, that, in pursuing the path of error, he made fortunate discoveries, and that in the language of quackery, he announced the sublimest truths. The fame of Hofman chiefly rests on the distinct manner in which he refers to the nervous system, and the influence of its operations on the phenomena of life. He advanced our knowledge of the laws of animal economy, and his physiological speculations are looked to with respect; his system of solidism, more or less modified, may be said to have given birth to the principles taught in Edinburgh and Montpelier. The humoral pathology was attacked by Baglivi, who placed the chief cause of disease in the altered condition of the solids, and, by drawing attention to the muscular and nervous system, corrected errors which had lasted from the days of Hippocrates. We are now fast descending to modern times, and must be brief. When Sydenham appeared as a physician, the art was still confined to its scholastic forms, and still subservient to erroneous systems and crude theories. Sydenham brought it back to the path of experience and observation. The friend of Locke, for such he was, followed the footsteps of Nature, and interpreted her voice by the principles of philosophy, which he had learned from his illustrious master. His Treatise on the Gout is regarded as a masterpiece of description; and his ideas on the treatment of epidemic diseases, in which he followed the sketch of Hippocrates, showed one who investigated with sagacity, and guided his researches with method and judgment. In its leading and primary purpose-its practical application, Sydenham may be called the restorer of medical science. The next great discovery was one, gleams of which were seen above the horizon from time to time by a few keen-sighted and thoughtful observers, but which had never been decidedly acknowledged.* The circulation of the blood, which has immortalized the name of Harvey, had been obscurely hinted at by Servetus, more clearly guessed by Varolius and Columbus, and described with accuracy, and detailed in its important parts by Casalpinus, but the complete demonstration of which was reserved for our countryman. This splendid discovery of Harvey gave a new impulse to the medical world; and as philosophy was still in its infancy, very wild

*The discovery of the absorbent system, by Apelli and Bartholine, should also be mentioned. See Bostock, p. 155.

and untenable theories were constantly issuing from the brains of its professors. Some thought the fluids of the human body were acids and alkalies; others explained the functions of the organs on mathematical theories; others on hydraulic principles; and other speculations on life were formed on the mechanical laws of motion. Fortunately for the advance of science, at this time appeared the learned, profound, and illustrious Boerhaave, a man destined to effect a real revolution in it. The youth of Boerhaave had been employed in the cultivation of the mathematical and physical sciences, by which his mind had gained strength and comprehensiveness, and he had acquired a habit of rigorous discussion and patient research. Then it was, that, to earn a livelihood, he commenced his medical career. He had perused the writers of all sects, and of all ages; he had analysed, illustrated, and commented on their works; all their opinions were familiar to him, and he had modified, arranged, and combined them in that luminous order for which he was distinguished. He then gave to the world his Institutions of Medicine, and his Aphorisms; two of the most concise, and at the same time comprehensive works which science has produced, and which for variety of matter and extent of views have been compared to those of the illustrious Bacon. His defects seem to consistin a want of acute and practical discernment of disease, arising perhaps from the late period of life in which he commenced the study of medicine, and from a reliance on his chemical knowledge, which in common with others was so imperfect and erroneous. It is said that in the late period of his life he attached less importance to systems, and approached nearer to the opinions of Hippocrates. The defect of Boerhaave's system appears to consist in his regarding the solids too much as mechanical agents, without taking into account the properties which separate them from inanimate bodies; but he was a learned writer, a sagacious observer, a wise and correct practitioner; and his illustrious pupils, Gaubius and Van Swieten, at once formed their own, and sustained their master's reputation by the talents they displayed, and the high honours they acquired. Of the great Haller we are obliged to speak with a conciseness ill suited to a survey of his splendid talents, and almost boundless erudition. His patient research and acute investigation were rewarded with the establishment of the theory of irritation and sensibility, as properties attached to the nervous and muscular system. His principles were derived from experiment, and his Elements of Philosophy are considered to have introduced a new æra in medical science. For a minute account of this illustrious philosopher, we refer with pleasure to Dr. Bostock's work.* The service which Haller rendered to Physiology was performed by Cullen to the practice of Medicine, through his extensive research and patient observation. His great merit is shown in the sagacity and diligence with which he described and distinguished the phenomena of disease; he was equally cautious in theory, as decisive in practice. His general principles are deduced from materials collected by his own observations, and not on the eclectic system of Boerhaave, of connecting the different theories into one consistent whole. It is said that his Physiology and Chemistry are not correct, and that he did not distinguish between the powers of the muscles and nerves, so well described by Haller; but his pathology is respected, and the foundation of his system, formed on the Vis

[blocks in formation]

'Medicatrix Naturæ, or the regulating powers of life, is philosophical and just. While the fame of Cullen was still in its bloom, and his school possessed some of the most illustrious and intelligent followers, there arose one among them who had 'sate at the feet of Gamaliel,' but who, from some accidental pique or caprice, turned against the doctrines of his master; and though originally bred as an ecclesiastic, astonished the world of science by the daring boldness of the theory he advanced, that was at once to supersede all others, and form as it were a safe and brilliant beacon to guide the practitioner in the cure of all disease. This person was the well known founder of the Brunonian system, which acquired at first, from the plausibility of its doctrines, a most astonishing popularity. The general principles (says Dr. Bostock) of the theory are few and simple. Broun assumed that the living body possesses a specific power or property called excitability; that every thing which affects the body, acts upon this power as an excitement or stimulant; that the effect of this excitement in its natural state, is to produce the healthy condition of the functions, when excessive it causes exhaustion, termed direct debility; when defective, it produces an accumulation of excitement termed indirect debility. All morbid action is conceived to depend on one or other of these states, and diseases are accordingly arranged in two great corresponding classes, of sthenic or asthenic; while the treatment is solely directed to the general means for increasing or diminishing the excitement, without any regard to specific symptoms, or any consideration but that of degree, or any measure but that of quantity. Dr. Bostock very judiciously observes, that, however plausible and alluring such doctrines as these may be (for the ice-palaces of theories are far more brilliant and imposing than the plain and solid masonry of practice), they could not be for a moment entertained by any one who had studied the phænomena of disease, or was acquainted with the intricate and complicated relations of the functions and actions of the living system; it shared the lot therefore of all systems built on so unstable a basis, While the 'Elementa Medicine' were still in repute, another medical theorist, of different talents and acquirements indeed, but of no inferior reputation, drew the attention of the world to his ingenious discussion on the Laws of Life. The Zoonomia, for such is the work to which we allude, of Darwin, came before the world in all the brilliancy of scientific splendour, and with all the imposing grandeur of a finished and elaborate system. It showed a mind furnished with a great variety of acquirement, endued if not with powerful, yet with talents of a superior class; inventive, ingenious, and fruitful in its resources; curious in experimental research, familiar with medical practice, and more than usually conversant with elegant and refinedliterature. Darwin was enabled,' says Dr. Bostock, to give to his system an imposing aspect of induction and generalization. His speculations, though highly refined, profess to be founded upon facts; and his arrangement and classification, although complicated, seems consistent in all its parts. No theory which had been offered to the public, was more highly elaborated, and appeared to be more firmly supported by experience and observation, while every adventitious aid was given to it, from the cultivated taste and extensive information of the writer. Yet the Zoonomia made little im

The Vis Medicatrix of Cullen, differs from the Archæus of Van Helmont, and the Anima of Stahl, as it is supposed not to be a thing added to the body, but one power necessary to its constitution.

GENT. MAG. VOL. IV.

pression on public opinion; its leading doctrines rested rather on metaphysical than on physical considerations; its fundamental positions were found to be gratuitous; and many of the illustrations, although ingenious, were conceived to be inapplicable and inconclusive. It is now seldom referred to, except as a splendid monument of fruitless labour and misapplied learning. With the name of Darwin, we must close our considera tion of the very interesting subject before us. Dr. Bostock has given us an account of the state of medicine subsequent to that time, in France and other nations of Europe, to which we refer our readers. Much improvement has taken place in the method of practice, in the skilfulness of ope. rations, and in the materials of pharmacy. Many diseases of an epidemic nature, as Cholera or Influenza, that have assumed an alarming form, and swept with frightful devastation over every part of the globe, have been examined with an anxious care that has not always been crowned with proportional success. Journals have been established for the purpose of recording and more widely circulating the interesting events of individual prac ticé. Medical education has been supplied by the establishment of King's College and the London University, with a course of instruction complete in all its parts. Many most ingenious inventions have been formed for allaying the torments of disease, and lessening the evils which accompany a long confinement. The present treatment of the gout, compared with that which existed even thirty or forty years since, may be called the triumph of modern skill. That terrific disease the stone has lost much of its former power. The small-pox will soon be known only as one of those scourges of nature that has passed away; and with the improved cure of disease, the important subject of the preservation of health is far better understood; and not only does the authority of the medical world, but the undeniable proof of the tables of the annuity offices makes evident, that the result of the improvement of medical knowledge has been crowned with the great object which it sought to attain-the more frequent alleviation of disease, and the increased duration of human life. But there is one essential requisite, Dr. Bostock concludes his work by saying, without which the best means of improvement can be of no avail-a mind disposed to the re ception of truth, determined to follow it, wherever it may lead the inquirer, united to a high sense of moral obligation which may induce the medical practitioner to bear in mind that his profession is a deposit placed in his hands for the benefit of mankind, and that he incurs an awful degree of moral responsibility who abuses this sacred trust, or diverts it to a base or selfish purpose."

ARCHITECTURAL ANTIQUITIES OF NORMANDY.

MR. URBAN,

IN continuation of my former papers on the Antiquities of Normandy, I shall in this give some account of the Churches of St. Gervais at Rouen, and St. Vandrille near Caudebec; for the purpose, principally, of corroborating the opinion now so generally and, I think, truly entertained, that the distinguishing features of SaxoNorman architecture may certainly be traced to Roman prototypes.

The church of St. Gervais is situated on a gentle eminence, in the north

western suburb of Rouen, and is, with the exception of its nave, the oldest structure still existing, and one of the earliest religious foundations of which the ancient capital of the Velocassian Gauls can boast. The crypt and apsis, or east end, are its most interesting portions. The former is figured and described in Cotman's splendid work; but the editor, without assigning to it any positive date, merely states that it was built before the eleventh cen

Vol. i. p. 56.

tury. There is no reason, however, why we should not boldly advocate, for this reverend remain, a higher date, and deem it really the holy workman. ship of St. Victrix, Archbishop of Rouen, A.D. 386, who, having received from St. Ambrose some reliques of the martyred St. Gervais, then founded and personally assisted (as he himself informs us, in his discourse "de laude Sanctorum") in carrying the stones for its construction on his own proper shoulders, a method of mortifying the flesh to which he submitted, with a view, no doubt, of add. ing, at the same time, to the sanctity of this his favourite endowment. Mr. Rickman says this crypt was constructed A.D. 350.

The only part, however, of the present church of St. Gervais that is attributable to the piety of St. Victrix, and probably the whole then intended to be built, is the above-named subterraneous chapel; the Christian converts of that day and country not daring to erect more lofty edifices. But by whom, and when the superstructure was raised, is not precisely known. It was granted by Duke Ri chard H. A. D. 1020, to Fecamp Abbey, and was afterwards attached to St. Peter's at Chartres; but in the thirteenth century it again passed to the Abbots of Fecamp, who continued to be the Priors of St. Gervais, until it eventually became itself an independent abbey.

Even in the grave was this ambitious prince exposed to ignominy; for in 1562, when Caen was sacked by the Protestant troops of Chastillon, the tomb of William was violated, and his bones so widely scattered, that some of them were again brought to the theatre of his grand oppression, England.

But we must now proceed with the architectural description of our subject, from which its interesting history has, perhaps, too long detained us. Its largest portion is quite modern, in bad taste, or rather without any taste at all, being as plain and as insipid as slates and whitewash can render it. The semicircular wall of the east end is, however, nearly in its pristine state, and highly instructive as a specimen of the first transition from the Roman to the Gothic style of architecture. This wall was formerly embellished with engaged columns, which time has partly worn away, but of which the capitals remain in sufficiently intelligible preservation, and are of almost pure Roman Doric and Ionic forms. Some have the common volutes at their angles; one has, in place of these, two erected eagles with displayed wings; and another has an upright foliaged capital, somewhat in Corinthian, and somewhat in the Gothic taste. These capitals, no doubt, originally had an horizontal architrave or cornice, as the eaves of the roof are three or four feet higher than their This church, or one of its apart- abaci; and the intervening masonry, ments, was the death-place of the though much abraded, has every apmighty Conqueror of England, in the pearance of being coeval with the 61st year of his age, on the 9th Sept. shafts and capitals; but it affords no A.D. 1087. Having been dangerously traces of the arched forms which at a injured by the pommel of his saddle later period sprung directly from the at the burning of Mantes, when on capitals, when a more complete decahis. way to Paris with an intention ofdence from pure Roman had ensued revenging an insult expressed toward than the subject now before us demonhim by Philip King of France, he strates. caused himself to be conveyed to the Church of St. Gervais, " ad ecclesiam Sancti Gervasii ;" and there in domo non sua," in the house of another, Ordericus Vitalis states, and not, as by some said, in a palace at the Mont aux Malades, but in presence of the sacred relics of Saint Gervais, did this most potent hero breathe his last,

"Deserted in his utmost need

By those his former bounty fed."

The crypt, though less illustrative of Gothic architecture than the wall just described, may be considered an example of a primitive Christian church, and we shall therefore notice it with the particularity it merits. It is immediately beneath the eastern portion of the chancel, from which it is entered through a trap-door and down a narrow flight of eight-andtwenty steps of stone. In length it is 35 ft. by 14 in breadth, and 15 in

« PreviousContinue »