Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 734

JOHN ARBUTHNOT (1667-1735) An essay concerning the effects of air on human bodies. Printed for J. Tonson 1733 xi [5] 224 pp. 20.7 cm.

Born on the coast of Scotland not far from Montrose, Arbuthnot studied at Aberdeen until 1685 and subsequently moved to London where he taught mathematics. In 1694 he entered University College at Oxford and two years later received his medical degree at St. Andrews in Scotland. Arbuthnot entered the practice of medicine in London and became a noted man of letters as well as a successful physician. He was physician in ordinary to Queen Anne from 1705 until her death in 1714 and later to Queen Caroline. Arbuthnot was responsible for writing a series of anonymous political pamphlets in which he tried to convince the public that the war with France should be ended. A master of satire, he established and popularized John Bull as the symbol of England in literature and the popular press. Arbuthnot wrote the present work at a time when he suffered a period of bad health, and he comments, in the Preface, on the frequent delays he experienced. He acknowledged promising to write on air, rest, and motion in an earlier work but he now chose to perform his "Task imperfectly, rather than break my Word" (Preface). Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson stated that this essay is "one of the most remarkable books in the literature of medicine" (Disciples of Aesculapius. London, 1900. Vol. I, p. 220).

Cited references: Cushing A217 (1751 ed.); Osler 1828; Wellcome II, p. 52

Gift of John Martin, M.D.