EDITOR'S PREFACE 



G-ENERAL history, says Gibbon , " is little more 

 than the register of the crimes, follies, and mis- 

 fortunes of mankind '." In some respects this is true 

 also as regards the history of medicine, in which 

 a knowledge of the past may therefore conduce 

 both to breadth of mind and to avoidance of 

 mistakes. In these days of high specialisation, a 

 study which exercises so broadening an effect is 

 eminently desirable for medical practitioners. 



On the other hand, it cannot be denied that in the 

 healing art the achievements of certain individuals, 

 and the development of periods here and there, have 

 added immeasurably to the general virtue, wisdom, 

 and happiness of the community ; so that of late 

 years there has been a great increase of public 

 interest in tracing the steps by which these benefits 

 have been secured. 



For the most part, noteworthy improvements in 



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