Period Science

[Mission]

The book I'm currently reading, The Navy Surgeon; or Practical System of Surgery by John Atkins in 1742 has a chapter on the senses that is...well, it's really quite interesting. I would reprint the whole thing just to amaze some of you with how much they understood some things (and how far they had to go in other things). His description of human sight that really caught my attention because it contains a mix of period medicine, science and religion. To wit,

"To a perfect Sight also, it's necessary Objects should keep the same Station and Distance; for Sight being the Rays of an Object painted on one point of the Retina, they are continually altering, in Sailing or Riding, to other Points of the Retina, and so seem to move.

The Chrystalline, is the most solid Humour of the Eye, convex on both Sides, placed behind and opposite to the Pupiila, for uniting the Rays, which come from one Point of an Object on one Point of the Retina, (a Membrane at the Bottom of the Eye, made by a fine Expansion of the medullary Fibres of the optic Nerves, on the Surface of the glassy Humour.)

Light, the Medium of Sight, puzzles the abstrusest Philosophers to find out its Nature and Properties; the Sun has always been considered, till of late, as the Fountain of Light, as well as Heat; and tho' it has not sensibly lost any thing of its Magnitude, by furnishing this Light from the beginning of the World, yet it shall after a finite, tho' long Series of Years, be wholly dissipated; and therefore that the World has not, nor will not exist to Eternity. Heaven and Earth shall pass away. Matt. xxiv. 35. 2 Pet. iii. 12." (Atkins, p. 14)

[Fox]

Forgive my teaching grandmother to suck eggs, but I presume you're aware that John Atkins was surgeon of HMS Swallow, who patched up members of Roberts' crew after their last fight and was secretary of the court at their trial?

[Mission]

Actually, no. Thanks for that! It makes the reading more interesting. (I tend to disagree with a lot of what he has said in the intro which makes him harder for me to read.) Several of his stories refer to dates in late period, so I at least have that to hold onto vis-a-vis my research. Add Roberts and crew in and I really have something. Now if he'd just get to the medicinal part of the medicine...

And I want to see photos of your grandmother sucking eggs.

[Sjöröveren]

Where do you find these books, Mission? I've been trying to find this one and the Woodall book for years, yet you seem to able to pull them off your shelf anytime you want! In your jammies even! I have to befriend someone who lives in Australia, apparently, since both of these are available online via the National Library of Australia, but only to Australians. Damn them and their Vegemite and their idyllic beaches and their mastery at rugby!

[Mission]

Where do you find these books, Mission? I've been trying to find this one and the Woodall book for years, yet you seem to able to pull them off your shelf anytime you want! In your jammies even! I have to befriend someone who lives in Australia, apparently, since both of these are available online via the National Library of Australia, but only to Australians. Damn them and their Vegemite and their idyllic beaches and their mastery at rugby!

Well, I have bought several of them and gotten others through inter-library loan. But the best way is to get .pdf copies of them so you can view or print them out and read them at your leisure. (It took me six months of serious research to find Woodall and then the flood gates opened.) The databases usually have most (if not all) of the editions of the various books, so you can get access to everything you want. I explain how to get the .pdfs in this post.

Oh, and the way I find books is the references in the modern books about period medicine along with this forum. (I've pretty well plundered the forum for all the books it has to offer though...)

[Mary Diamond]

Thank you for another great quote ~ love the snippets you post...