12^ On the State of Medicine in 



parative apathy ; in consequence of which, suicide and madness 

 are almost unknown in Turkey. Suicide is most frequent in 

 highly civilized nations, where murder is rare ; while in coun- 

 tries where ignorance prevails, murders are very frequent and 

 suicides rare. France is an example of the former, Ireland of 

 the latter. It is excessively rare to hear of a suicide in Ireland : 

 an Irishman indeed scarcely ever thinks of kilhng himself, but 

 he frequently kills his neighbour. 



The only examples of persons committing suicide Dr Oppen- 

 heim met with in Turkey, were three, two of whom were Chris- 

 tians, and one a renegade. Of the degraded state of Christianity 

 in the East, no one can form a notion who has not witnessed 

 the ignorance and superstition of the priests of the Greek church : 

 Tournefort's Travels in the Levant, elucidate this assertion most 

 amply. Among these Christians too, insanity is much more fre- 

 quent than among the Turks ; a fact which clearly proves, that 

 the fatalism inculcated by the Koran exercises a decided influ- 

 ence over the mental constitution of the Moslems. Religious 

 madness is unknown among them, for their religion consists, not 

 of spiritual doctrine, but of blind obedience to a code of laws, 

 which embraces, not motives, but mere actions, and which pro- 

 mises the enjoyments of Paradise to all those who believe in 

 God and his prophet Mahommed. A non-observance of these 

 laws, and occasional criminality, may retard, but cannot finally 

 prevent their entrance into Paradise. They pass their lives in 

 the fancied security of ultimate happiness, and, consequently, 

 they consider the misfortunes of this life, as transient and un- 

 worthy of exciting deep or lasting exertions. Still the feelings 

 of nature cannot be wholly exiled from the human breast, and 

 the Turk, who regards the near approach of personal misfor- 

 tunes, or even death, with calmness and apathy, often exhibits 

 symptoms of most intense feeling, when a beloved child or wife 

 is attacked with an acute and dangerous disease. Then he calls 

 in the assistance of every physician he can procure, and to re- 

 munerate them he is willing to make the greatest sacrifices: 

 should the disease continue, however, for many days, his religi- 

 ous tenets resume their wonted sway, the physicians arje dis- 

 missed^ and the patient is resigned into the hands of destiny. 

 Some new medical man comes into the neighbourhood, when 



