Identifier: funnysideofphysi01unse (find matches)
Title: The funny side of physic : or, The mysteries of medicine, presenting the humorous and serious sides of medical practice. An exposé of medical humbugs, quacks, and charlatans in all ages and all countries
Year: 1874 (1870s)
Authors: Crabtre, A. D.(Addison Darre)
Subjects: Medicine Medicine Quacks and quackery Quackery
Publisher: Hartford, The J. B. Burr publishing co.
Contributing Library: Yale University, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Open Knowledge Commons and Yale University, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library

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then, turning to hiscompanion, he remarked, — Bill, it dont take much of a man to be a engineer — doit? The reader will perceive the distinction which we makebetween humbugs, quacks, and charlatans, though one indi-vidual may comprehend the whole. Quacks comprehend not only those who enact the absurdimpositions of ignorant pretenders, but also of unbecomingacts of professional men themselves.—Thomas Medical Die-tionary. This is the view we propose to take of it in this chapter,in connection with the derivation of the word. The word quack is derived from the German quacksalber, or mercury, which metal wras introduced into theMateria Medica by Philippics Aureolus Theophrastus Para-census Bombast ab Hohenliein ! So extensively was quicksilver used by Paracelsus andhis followers that they received the stigma of quacks.—See Parrs Medical Dictionary. There is some controversy respecting the date of birth ofParacelsus, but probably it was in the year 1493. He wasborn in Switzerland.
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THE FATHER OF QUACKS. 161 Professor Waterhouse (1835) says, He was learned inGreek, Latin, and several other languages. That he intro-duced quicksilver, etc., and was a vain, arrogant profli-gate, and died a continued sot. Paracelsus was a man of most dissolute habits and un-principled character, and his works are tilled with the highestflights of unintelligible bombastic jargon, unworthy ofperusal, but such as might be expected from one who unitedin his person the qualities of a fanatic and a drunkard. —i?. I). T. Mercury was known to the early Greek and Roman ph)r-sicians, who regarded it as a dangerous poison. They, how-ever, used it externally in curing the itch, and John de Vigoemployed it to cure the plague. Paracelsus used it internallyfirst for lues venerea, which appeared in Naples the year ofhis birth, though doubtless that disease reached far back,even into the camp of Israel. The heroic doses of Paracelsuseither destroyed the disease at once, or the patient. Para-celsus

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