Medicina Flagellata; Or, The Doctor Scarify'dAnonymous
Science
Medicina Flagellata; Or, The Doctor Scarify'd
Anonymous
Hygiene; Medicine -- Practice -- Early works to 1800; Plague -- Early works to 1800; Quacks and quackery
Now without any further Preamble, I must tell you the Humour many a sick
Woman delights to be coaks'd in by the Ordinary Physician, _viz._ She
loves to be told she is very melancholy, tho' of never so merry a
Composure, and in that Part of the Litany, Mr. Doctor is a perfect Reader;
for a Woman making Complaint she is troubled with Drowsiness, want of
Stomach, Cough, or any other Distemper; he answers her, she is in an ill
State, and troubled with great and dangerous Diseases, and all engender'd
by Melancholy; and then tells her over again, she is very melancholy, and,
saith he, probably occasion'd by coarse Treats at Home, or some Unkindness
of Friends, which makes the poor Heart put Fingers in her Eye, and force a
deep Sigh or two; and all this possibly for being deny'd the extravagant
Charge of a Tea-Equipage, or a new Gown on a _May_-Day; which being
refresh'd in her Memory, doth certainly assure her, the Impression of that
Melancholy to be the Original of her Trouble, tho' some Months or Years
past, especially since her Physician discovers to her so much: And for so
doing, admires him no less, intending withal to give him an ample
Testimony to the World of the Doctor's great Skill: But this is not all,
he pursues his Business, looks into her Eyes, where 'spying a small
Wrinkle or two in the inward or lesser Angle, he tells her, she has had a
Child or two, namely, a Boy, or a Girl, according to the Place of the
aforesaid Wrinkle in the right or left inward Angle; thence perswades her,
that at her last lying in, her Midwife did not perform her Office
skilfully, or did not lay her well, whereby she receiv'd a great deal of
Prejudice, as Cold, Wrenching, displacing of the _Matrix_, &c. Which
Instance squaring with the premeditated Sense and Opinion of his
She-Patient, (most Women, though never so well accommodated in their
Labour, being prone to call the Behaviour of their Midwife in Question)
he hath now produced a far greater Confidence than before: And last of
all, to compleat his Work now at the going off of his gull'd Patient, of
rendring her Thoughts, Opinion, and Confidence, Vassals to his Service,
Fame, and Advantage, makes one Overture more, of a great Cause of some of
her Symptoms, declaring to her, she is much subject to Fits of the Mother,
occasioning a Choaking in her Throat, and herein they also jump in their
Sentiments; scarce one Woman in an hundred but one time or other is
assaulted by those Uterin Steams, especially upon a Tempest of any of the
Passions of Fright, Fret, Anger, Love, _&c._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account