下载辰思小说免费APP
Thecooper’scrazywife——crazyinthebeliefthatshehascommittedtheunpardonablesin——triestodrownherchild，tosaveitfrommisery；andthepoorlunatic，whowouldbetenderlycaredforto-dayinaquietasylum，isjudgedtobeactingundertheinstigationofSatanhimself。“Yet，afterall，whatcanwesay，whoputBunyan’s“Pilgrim’sProgress，“fullofnightmaredreamsofhorror，intoallourchildren’shands；astoryinwhichtheawfulimageofthemaninthecagemightwellturnthenurserywhereitisreadintoamadhouse？
Themiserabledelusionofwitchcraftillustrates，inastillmoreimpressiveway，thefalseideaswhichgovernedthesupposedrelationofmenwiththespiritualworld。Ihavenodoubtmanyphysicianssharedinthesesuperstitions。Mr。Uphamsaysthey——thatis，someofthem——wereinthehabitofattributingtheirwantofsuccesstothefact，thatan“evilhand“wasontheirpatient。Thetemptationwasstrong，nodoubt，whenmagistratesandministersandallthatfollowedtheirleadwerecontentedwithsuchanexplanation。ButhowwasitinSalem，accordingtoMr。Upham’sownstatement？Dr。JohnSwinnertonwas，hesays，formanyyearstheprincipalphysicianofSalem。Andhesays，also，“TheSwinnertonfamilywereallalongopposedtoMr。Parris，andkeptremarkablyclearfromthewitchcraftdelusion。“Dr。JohnSwinnerton——thesame，bytheway，whosememoryisilluminatedbyarayfromthegeniusofHawthorne——diedtheveryyearbeforethegreatwitchcraftexplosiontookplace。Butwhocandoubtthatitwasfromhimthatthefamilyhadlearnedtodespiseandtoresistthebasesuperstition；orthatBridgetBishop，whosehouseherented，asMr。Uphamtellsme，thefirstpersonhangedinthetimeofthedelusion，wouldhavefoundanefficientprotectorinhertenant，hadhebeenliving，toheadtheoppositionofhisfamilytothemisguidedclergymenandmagistrates？
IcannotdoubtthatourearlyphysiciansbroughtwiththemmanyOld-
Worldmedicalsuperstitions，andIhavenoquestionthattheyweremoreorlessinvolvedintheprevailingerrorsofthecommunityinwhichtheylived。But，onthewhole，theirrecordisacleanone，sofaraswecangetatit；andwhereitisquestionablewemustrememberthattheremusthavebeenmanylittle-educatedpersonsamongthem；andthatallmusthavefelt，tosomeextent，theinfluenceofthosesincereanddevotedbutunsafemen，thephysic-practisingclergymen，whooftenusedspiritualmeansasasubstitutefortemporalones，wholookeduponahystericpatientaspossessedbythedevil，andtreatedafracturedskullbyprayersandplasters，followingtheadviceofarulingelderinoppositiontotheunanimousopinionofsevensurgeons。“
Towhatresultstheunionofthetwoprofessionswasliabletolead，maybeseenbytheexampleofalearnedandfamousperson，whohasleftonrecordtheproductofhislaborsinthedoublecapacityofclergymanandphysician。
IhavehadtheprivilegeofexaminingamanuscriptofCottonMather’srelatingtomedicine，bythekindnessofthelibrarianoftheAmericanAntiquarianSociety，towhichsocietyitbelongs。Abriefnoticeofthiscuriousdocumentmayprovenotuninteresting。
Itisentitled“TheAngelofBethesda：anEssayupontheCommonMaladiesofMankind，offering，first，thesentimentsofPiety，“etc。，etc。，and“acollectionofplainbutpotentandApprovedREMEDIESfortheMaladies。“Therearesixty-six“Capsula’s，“ashecallsthem，orchapters，inhistableofcontents；ofwhich，five——fromthefifteenthtothenineteenth，inclusive——aremissing。Thisisamostunfortunateloss，astheeighteenthcapsulatreatedofagues，andwecouldhavelearnedfromitsomethingoftheirdegreeoffrequencyinthispartofNewEngland。Thereisnodatetothemanuscript；which，however，referstoacaseobservedNov。14，1724。
Thedivinetakesprecedenceofthephysicianinthisextraordinaryproduction。Hebeginsbypreachingasermonathisunfortunatepatient。Havingthrownhimintoacoldsweatbyhisspiritualsudorific，heattackshimwithhismaterialremedies，whichareoftenquiteasunpalatable。ThesimpleandcleanlypracticeofSydenham，withwhoseworkshewasacquainted，seemstohavebeenthrownawayuponhim。Everythinghecouldfindmentionedintheseventyoreightyauthorshecites，allthattheoldwomenofbothsexeshadevertoldhimof，getsintohistext，orsqueezesitselfintohismargin。
Evolvingdiseaseoutofsin，hehatesit，onewouldsay，ashehatesitscause，andwoulddriveitoutofthebodywithallnoisomeappliances。“SicknessisinFactFlagellumDeipropeccatismundi。“
Sosaying，heencouragestheyoungmotherwhosebabeiswastingawayuponherbreastwiththesereflections：
“Think；ohthegrievousEffectsofSin！ThiswretchedInfanthasnotarriveduntoyearsofsenseenough，tosinafterthesimilitudeofthetransgressioncommittedbyAdam。NeverthelesstheTransgressionofAdam，whohadallmankindFoederally，yea，Naturally，inhim，hasinvolvedthisInfantintheguiltofit。Andthepoisonoftheoldserpent，whichinfectedAdamwhenhefellintohisTransgression，byhearkeningtotheTempter，hascorruptedallmankind，andisaseeduntosuchdiseasesasthisInfantisnowlaboringunder。Lord，whatarewe，andwhatareourchildren，butaGenerationofVipers？“
Manyofhisremediesareatleastharml
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