The Story of a Great Delusion in a Series of Matter-of-Fact ChaptersWhite, William
History
The Story of a Great Delusion in a Series of Matter-of-Fact Chapters
White, William
Vaccination
Considering the injustice to which Pearson had been subjected,
and the provocation he had received, it is impossible to refrain
from admiration of the serene and impartial temper in which he
composed his _Examination_. Had he sat as judge between Jenner and
himself, he could not have stated the case with greater accuracy
and absence of bias. He fell into no exaggeration; he indulged in
no sarcasm; he descended to no abuse. He set forth the incidents
of the New Inoculation with the imperial simplicity and dignity
of truth. Where others had gone crazed, he preserved some degree
of sanity. He held it to be premature to proclaim the extinction
of Smallpox, or to say with Jenner that reports of failure and
injury from inoculated Cowpox were beneath contempt. It was only
time and experience that could warrant such absolute assertion and
prediction.
It is said that in hurricanes of panic or enthusiasm, wise men go
home and keep quiet until the sky clears, resistance being folly.
For immediate effect resistance may be folly, but the protest of
truth is sometimes imperative, whatever the disposition of the mob.
Pearson took little at the time by his _Examination_: it entered
into far too many details for general apprehension; and it was
convenient to account for his opposition as due to jealousy and
envy. Jenner attempted no reply, and assumed profound disdain. His
silence was judicious, but it was not from disdain.
* * * * *
At this day it is easy to see that Pearson as against Jenner
played his part badly, failing to recognise his proper advantage.
Jenner’s prescription in the _Inquiry_ of 1798 was not Cowpox. It
was Horsegrease Cowpox. It was a disease of the horse inoculated on
the cow. Cowpox _per se_ he expressly rejected as useless, having
no specific effect on the human constitution. Pearson and Woodville
entertained Jenner’s prescription in good faith. They tried to
generate pox on the cow with grease from the horse, but did not
succeed. Reluctantly they abandoned Jenner’s prescription, and
resorted to Cowpox.
Whilst Pearson and Woodville were without prejudice against
Horsegrease Cowpox, it was otherwise with the public. The origin of
Cowpox in Horsegrease was voted detestable, and had the origin been
maintained, it is not improbable that the New Inoculation would
have proved abortive.
This difficulty Pearson and Woodville, the chief promoters of
the New Inoculation, cleared away. They had tried Horsegrease;
they considered they had disproved Jenner’s assertion concerning
it; and they were able to assure the public that they inoculated
with Cowpox, and nothing but Cowpox, and had no connection with
Horsegrease whatever. The public were satisfied; and Inoculation
with Cowpox became the rage, fashionable and philanthropic.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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