PREFACE.

tri/le a long time with medicines before they learn their proper use.Many peasants at present know better how to use some of the mostimportant articles in the Materia Medica, than physiciaus did acentury ago ; and doubtless the same observation will hold withregard to others for some time hence. Wherever I was convincedthat medicine might be used with safety, or where the cure de-pended chiefly upon it, I have taken care to recommend it ; butwhere it was either highly dangerous, or not very necessary, it isomitted.

I have not troubled the reader with a useless parade of quota-tions from different authors, but have generally adopted their ob-servations where my own were either defective or totally wanting.Those to whom I am most obliged are, Ramazina, Arbuthnot, andTissot ; the last of which, in his Avis au Peuple, comes the near-est to my views of any author which I have seen. Had the Doc-tor's plan been as complete as the execution is masterly, we shouldhave had no occasion for any new treatise of this kind soon ; butby confining himself to the acute diseases, he has in my opinionomitted the most useful part of the subject. People in acutediseases may sometimes be their own physicians ; but in chroniccases, the cure must ever depend chiefly upon the patient's own en-deavours. The Doctor has also passed over the Prophylaxis, or pre-ventive part of medicine, very slightly, though it is certain.)/- of thegreatest importance in such a work. H«Aaifno doubt his reasonsfor so doing, and I am •» &■' irom finding fault with him, that Ithink his performance does great honour both to his head and tohis heart.

Several other foreign physicians of eminence have written onnearly the same plan with Tissot, as the Baron Van Swieten, physi-cian to Their Imperial Majesties ; M. Rosen, first physician of thekingdom of Sweden, <fcc. ; but these gentlemen's productions havenever come to my hand. I cannot help wishing, however, thatsome of our distinguished countrymen would follow their example.There still remains much to be done on this subject, and it doesnot appear to me how any man could better employ his time or tal-ents, than in eradicating hurtful prejudices, and diffusing usefulknowledge among the people.

I know some of the Faculty disapprove of every attempt ofthis nature, imagining that it must totally destroy their influence.But this notion appears to me to be as absurd as it is illiberal.People in distress will always apply for relief to men of superiorabilities, when they have it in their power ; and they will do thiswith greater confidence and readiness when they believe that Med-icine is a rational science, than when they take it to be only a mat-ter of mere conjecture.

Though 1 have endeavoured to render this Treatise plain and use-ful, yet I fovind it impossible to avoid some terms of art ; but thoseare in general either explained, or are such as most people un-derstand. In short, I have endeavoured to conform my style tothe capacities of mankind in general ; and, if my readers do notflatter either themselves or me, with some degree of success. Ona medical subject, this is not so easy a matter as some may ima-gine. To make a show of learning, is easier than to write plainA2

I