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AgeographerwhowasaskedtodescribethetidesofMassachusettsBay，wouldhavetorecognizethecircumstancethattheyarealimitedmanifestationofagreatoceanicmovement。Toconsiderthemapartfromthis，wouldbetolocalizeaplanetaryphenomenon，andtoprovincializealawoftheuniverse。TheartofhealinginMassachusettshassharedmoreorlessfullyandreadilythemovementwhich，withitsperiodsofebbandflow，hasbeenraisingitslevelfromagetoagethroughoutthebetterpartofChristendom。ItspractitionersbroughtwiththemmuchoftheknowledgeandmanyoftheerrorsoftheOldWorld；theyhavealwaysbeenincommunicationwithitswisdomanditsfolly；itisnotwithoutinteresttoseehowfarthenewconditionsinwhichtheyfoundthemselveshavebeenfavorableorunfavorabletothegrowthofsoundmedicalknowledgeandpractice。
Thestateofmedicineisanindexofthecivilizationofanageandcountry，——oneofthebest，perhaps，bywhichitcanbejudged。
Surgeryinvokestheaidofallthemechanicalarts。Fromtherudeviolencesoftheageofstone，——arelicofwhichwemayfindinthepracticeofZipporah，thewifeofMoses，——tothedelicateoperationsofto-dayuponpatientslulledintotemporaryinsensibility，isaprogresswhichpresupposesaskillinmetallurgyandinthelaborsoftheworkshopandthelaboratoryithastakenuncountedgenerationstoaccumulate。Beforethemorphiawhichdeadensthepainofneuralgia，orthequininewhicharreststhefitofanague，canfindtheirplaceinourpharmacies，commercemusthaveperfecteditsmachinery，andsciencemusthaverefineditsprocesses，throughperiodsonlytobecountedbythelifeofnations。Beforethemeanswhichnatureandarthaveputinthehandsofthemedicalpractitionercanbefairlybroughtintouse，theprejudicesofthevulgarmustbeovercome，theintrusionsoffalsephilosophymustbefencedout，andthepartnershipwiththepriesthooddissolved。Allthisimpliesthatfreedomandactivityofthoughtwhichbelongonlytothemostadvancedconditionsofsociety；andtheprogresstowardsthisisbygradationsassignificantofwide-spreadchanges，asarethevaryingstatesofthebarometeroffar-extendedconditionsoftheatmosphere。
Apart，then，fromitsspecialandtechnicalinterest，mysubjecthasameaningwhichgivesacertainimportance，andevendignity，todetailsinthemselvestrivialandalmostunworthyofrecord。A
medicalentryinGovernorWinthrop’sjournalmayseematfirstsightamerecuriosity；but，rightlyinterpreted，itisakeytohiswholesystemofbeliefastotheorderoftheuniverseandtherelationsbetweenmanandhisMaker。Nothingshedssuchlightonthesuperstitionsofanageastheprevailinginterpretationandtreatmentofdisease。Whenthetouchofaprofligatemonarchwasacureforoneofthemostinveterateofmaladies，whenthecommonsymptomsofhysteriawereprayedoverasmarksofdemoniacalpossession，wemightwellexpectthespiritualrealmsofthoughttobepeopledwithstillstrangerdelusions。
LetusgobeforethePilgrimsoftheMayflower，andlookattheshoresonwhichtheyweresoontoland。Awastingpestilencehadsothinnedthesavagetribesthatitwassometimespiouslyinterpretedashavingprovidentiallypreparedthewayforthefeeblebandofexiles。CottonMather，who，nexttothewitches，hatedthe“tawnies，““wildbeasts，““blood-hounds，““rattlesnakes，“
“infidels，“asindifferentplaceshecallstheunhappyAborigines，describestheconditionofthingsinhislivelyway，thus：
“TheIndiansinthesePartshadnewly，evenaboutaYearorTwobefore，beenvisitedwithsuchaprodigiousPestilence；ascarriedawaynotaTenth，butNinePartsofTen(yea’tissaidNineteenofTwenty)amongthemsothattheWoodswerealmostclearedofthoseperniciousCreaturestomakeRoomforabetterGrowth。“
Whatthispestilencewashasbeenmuchdiscussed。Itisvariouslymentionedbydifferentearlywritersas“theplague，““agreatandgrievousplague，““asoreconsumption，“asattendedwithspotswhichleftunhealedplacesonthosewhorecovered，asmakingthe“wholesurfaceyellowaswithagarment。“Perhapsnodiseaseanswersalltheseconditionssowellassmallpox。WeknowfromdifferentsourceswhatfrightfulhavocitmadeamongtheIndiansinafteryears，——in1631，forinstance，whenitsweptawaytheaboriginalinhabitantsofwholetowns，“andin1633。Wehaveseenawholetribe，theMandans，extirpatedbyit
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