Throughout the early Christian era and the medieval period, medicine and religion had had a close relationship. The New Testament had numerous references to the healing of the sick by spiritual means, and a casual relationship between sin and physical affliction had been assumed by many persons for centuries before the seventeenth. The hand of God was still seen by many in physical phenomena, whether disease or the flight of a comet. Not only was there a supernatural relationship seen between the God of the church and disease, but also a natural one between medicine and the church clergy, for they had staffed the medical schools for centuries. It is not surprising, then, that the parson-physician was no stranger to the Virginia colony. As early as 1619, Robert Pawlett, known to be a preacher, surgeon, and physician, came to Virginia. He was followed by other parson-physicians in Virginia and in other colonies. As late as the end of the eighteenth century, the wife of George Washington called on the Reverend Greene, M.D., for medical advice. Among the most interesting in this long tradition of ministers who practiced medicine is the Reverend John Clayton whose activities have been noted. Other persons residing in Virginia and combining the role of clergyman with a considerable interest in medicine were Nathaniel Eaton, who had a degree in medicine, and John Banister who was an active naturalist. As a naturalist, he made an important study of the plants of Virginia (_Catalogue of Virginia Plants_) which added to the literature available for the dispenser of medicinal drugs. One of the founders of Presbyterianism in America, the Reverend Francis Makemie, who came to America in 1681 and died in Accomack County, Virginia, was described as a preacher, a doctor of medicine, a merchant, an attorney--and a disturber of government by the governor of New York. LAW AND MEDICINE Although the Crown did not follow the lead of the Company in providing care for the sick and unsheltered, the authorities after 1624 did have the state take an interest in medicine to the extent of passing laws dealing with medical problems and situations. These laws were primarily concerned with the collection and charging of fees, but also provided for the censure of the physician or surgeon neglecting his patient. On four occasions during the century the Assembly attempted to regulate the excessive and immoderate rates of physicians and surgeons. The chief example used to convey the injustice of fees for visits and drugs was that many colonists preferred to allow their servants to hazard a recovery than to call a medical man. Although an inhumane attitude, the colonists reasoned that the physician or surgeon would charge more than the purchase price of the servant.