Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 770

RICHARD MEAD (1673-1754) Medica sacra; sive, De morbis insignioribus, qui in Bibliis memorantur, commentarius. Apud Joannem Brindley 1749 xix, 108 pp. 20.6 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 766

In eighteenth century England there was a profound change in the forms of medical practice and in the lot of the medical practitioner. Eminent physicians were no longer necessarily attached to royal courts or other noble households but were free to practice their profession independently, often with great honor and financial gain. (Mead is said to have made as much as £7,000 in a year.) The tendency toward literary and philosophical studies was accentuated and Mead was one of a number of physicians who also acquired a reputation in literature. Mead's purpose in this work was to account on natural grounds for the diseases mentioned in the Bible. He explains Job's complaint as elephantiasis, Saul's as melancholia, Jehoram's as dysentery, Hezekiah's as an abscess, and so forth. He also discusses leprosy, palsy, and demoniacal possession.

Cited references: Cushing M245; Osler 82; Waller 14234

Gift of John Martin, M.D.