Domestic medicine; or, A treatise on the prevention and cure of diseases by regimen and simple medicines ; With an appendix containing a dispensatory. For the use of private practitioners / by William Buchan.

  • Buchan, William, 1729-1805.
Date:
1774
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Domestic medicine; or, A treatise on the prevention and cure of diseases by regimen and simple medicines ; With an appendix containing a dispensatory. For the use of private practitioners / by William Buchan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    27/792
    Men, in the different ftates of fociety, have very different views of the fame object. Some time ago it was the practice of this country for every perfcn to fay his prayers in Latin, whether he knew any thing of that language or not. This coridudt, though facred in the eyes of our anceftors, appears ridicu¬ lous enough to us *, and doubtlefs fome parts of ours will feem as ftrange to pofterity. Among thefe we may reckon the prefent mode of medical prefcription; and may venture to affirm, that fome time hence, it will appear to have been completely ridiculous, and a very high burlefque upon the common fenfe of mankind. t j But this practice is not only ridiculous, it is like- wile dangerous. However capable phyficians may be of writing Latin, I am certain apothecaries are not always in a condition to read it, and that dan¬ gerous miftakes, in confequence of this, often hap¬ pen. But fuppofe the apothecary ever fo capable to read the phylician’s prefcription, he is generally otherwife employed, and the bulinefs of making up prefcriptions is left entirely to the apprentice. By this means the greatdl man in the kingdom, even when he employs a firft-rate phyfician, in reality trulls his life in the hands of an idle boy, who has not only the chance of being very ignorant, but likewife giddy and carelefs. Miftakes will fometimes happen in fpite of the greateft care; but, where human lives are concerned, all poffible methods ought certainly to be taken to prevent them. For this reafon the prefcriptions of phyficians, inftead of being couched in myftical characters and a foreign language, ought* A ■ a 4 in