Book Description
Excerpt from An Improved System of Botanic Medicine, Vol. 1: Founded Upon Correct Physiological Principles; Embracing a Concise View of Anatomy and Physiology; Together With an Illustration of the New Theory of Medicine In presenting to the public a new work, upon the very face of which is stamped the impress of novelty and innovations, I have assumed it as granted, that a concise history of the circumstances and motives which led to its publication, would be not only interesting but useful to the reader. From exposure in early youth, my health became much impaired, and my constitution weakened by sickness; insomuch that from the age of thirteen to twenty-one, I was a constant prey to disease, and all its concomitant ills - its pain and anxiety - its gloomy forbodings, and the repulsive prospect of a slow decay. During this period I not only applied for medical aid to the best physicians of my native state, (North Carolina) but I devoted a portion of my time to the study of medicine, in the hope not only of finding something to mitigate my sufferings, but also of acquiring the knowledge of a useful and honorable avocation for life. Stimulated by these earnest hopes and sentiments, I prosecuted my book studies, aided by the best physicians of my acquaintance, until I had acquired a competent knowledge of the practice of medicine. - But alas! my fondest anticipations were but idle dreams: neither my books, nor my physicians, brought that relief - that grateful solace to my sick-worn frame, which I so ardently desired, and so anxiously sought from their aid! By these means, however, I became acquainted with the members of the medical faculty, by which was laid the foundation of a most familiar intercourse with the profession, in almost all places where I have since resided. Moreover, I became acquainted with the appalling fact, that with all the knowledge which I, or the best medical practitioner possessed, and with the use of such remedies as were generally relied upon in the treatment of disease, it would be a matter of uncertainty whether I should cure or kill! With these sentiments indelibly impressed upon my mind, I abandoned the idea of following a practice, which could only be pursued at the hazard of destroying life; and which could not, therefore, be termed, as Asclepiades styled the patient observation of Hippocrates, "a meditation on death," I but was absolutely an acceleration of its fatal progress. My health was finally restored by a peculiar kind of regimen which will be particularly described in my medical work. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.