BOERHAAVE. 



629 



Boerhaave. hope, be acceptable to our readers, not only as a speci- 

 * " V""""' men of the manner of this great master of the medical 

 art, but as a histor.. al account of the disease which de- 

 prived the world of such a valuable man, and as a proof 

 of his admirable piety a^id resignation. " JEtas, la- 

 bor, corporisque opinio, pinguctudo, r.ffecerant ante 

 annum, ut inerlibus refertum, grave, liebes, plenitu- 

 dine turgens corpus, anhelum ad mntus minimos, cam 

 sensu suffbcationis, pulsu mirifice anomalo, ineptum 

 evaderet ad ullum niotum. Urgebat prcecipue sub- 

 sistens prorsus et interrupta respiratiu ad prima som- 

 ni initia ; unde somnus prorsus prohibebatur, cum 

 jbrmidabili strangulationis molestid. Hinc hydropo 

 pedum, crurum, Jemorum, scroti, prtepulii, et abdo- 

 minis ; quce tamen omnia sublata. Sed dolor manet 

 in abdomine, cum anxietate- summd, anhelitu suffo- 

 cant e et debilitate incredibili ; somno pauco, eoque 

 vago, per somnia turbalissimo ; animo vero rebus 

 agendm impar. Cum his luctor fessus, nee emergo ; 

 patienter cxpectans Dei jussa quibus resigno data, 

 quce sola amo et honoro unice." 



About three weeks before his death he was visit- 

 ed by his intimate friend, the Rev. Mr Schultens, to 

 whom he said, that, during his long and painful ill- 

 ness, he had had a kind of experimental proof of the 

 justness of the opinion he had always entertained con- 

 cerning the distinct natures of soul and body, of the 

 thinking and corporeal principles ; for though the 

 pains he endured had been long and exquisite, yet 

 they had never been able to oppress him, or prevent 

 the soul from being always master of itself, and re- 

 signed to the will of its Maker. 



As death approached, he appeared less sensible of 

 pain, and became more cheerful. He expired on the 

 23d of September 1 738, betwixt four and five in the 

 morning, in the 70th year of his age, greatly honour- 

 ed and lamented. 



His conversation towards his last moments was ex- 

 tremely affecting and edifying. He often expressed 

 to the bystanders, how great were now the consola- 

 tions of divine mercy as offered in the gospel, and 

 particularly recommended to them the observation 

 of that heavenly precept, of love to God and man, so 

 strongly insisted on by the apostle John in his first 

 epistle. 



Thus died a man of extraordinary talents and worth, 

 whose fame as a physician and a teacher knew no 

 bounds but those of civilized society ; whose genius 

 fixed an era in the history of the healing art ; and 

 whose character commanded the veneration of all who 

 knew it. The celebrated Haller, who was his pupil 

 for two years, speaks of him with enthusiasm. " Per- 

 mit me," says he, " to speak a little more at large of 

 my beloved preceptor, whose erudition some, though 

 few, will equal ; but whose divine temper, kind to all, 

 beneficent to foes and adversaries, detracting from no 

 man's merit, and binding by favours even those who 

 were daily objecting to his doctrines and discoveries, 

 will scarcely be paralleled. I attended him," conti- 

 nues he, - from 1725 to 1727, and it is impossible 

 to conceive a more eloquent, easy, and happy m 

 ner of expression than he employed." Indeed, the 

 eloquence of Boerhaave was such, that his auditors 

 were alway9 sorry when his discourses were at an 

 end. Original and important views, perspicuously 



and elegantly expressed, never failed to seize and fix Uoerhaave. 

 the attention. His method of teaching was most i 



luminous and satisfactory. Pupils flocked to him in 

 crowds from all parts of Europe, and were not more 

 delighted with his knowledge.and eloquence, than won 

 by his affability and attention. He not only guided 

 them in their studies, but consoled them in their dis- 

 tresses, and relieved their wants. When Peter the 

 Great of Russia visited Holland in 1715, he did not 

 neglect to converse with Boerhaave. His fame is 

 said to have extended itself even to the distant re- 

 gions of China, from whence he received a letter, 

 written to him by a mandarine, and addressed, " To 

 the illustrious Boerhaave, physician in Europe." 



Of his astonishing sagacity and penetration in de- 

 tecting, at the first sight of a patient, such symptoms 

 of disease as no ordinary observer could perceive, in- 

 stances are related which would be incredible on any 

 other than the most unquestionable testimony : Yet 

 he was bo far from presumption, or an overweening 

 conceit of his own powers, that he was remarkably 

 particular in his inquiries concerning his patients ; well 

 convinced, that to acquiesce in conjecture where it 

 may be possible to obtain certainty, is either vanity 

 or negligence, and that the man is inexcusable who 

 slights any possible source of information, when the 

 health, or perhaps the life, of his fellow creature is 

 at stake. Haller says he was a successful practition- 

 er, and cured the severest diseases by seemingly simple 

 methods. Though he commenced practice, as we 

 have seen, in very narrow circumstance, he died pos- 

 sessed of a fortune exceeding 300,000. Some have 

 censured h,im as too parsimonious, but unjustly ; for 

 if he indulged not in luxury and expense, it did not 

 arise from parsimoniousness, but from want of time. 

 His avocations allowed him little leisure for the gaie- 

 ties of life ; but he was always liberal when fit op. 

 portunities presented themselves. 



His habits of life were particularly simple. He 

 rose early, usually at four in summer, and at five in 

 winter, and could not be distinguished by his dress 

 from the plainest citizens. Haller says of him, 

 " Tmlia vilce tentudine consolabatur. Vita ei sim- 

 plex, calcei in horto lignei, in toto victu exilis, vesti- 

 tuque civis minoris et opifwis alicujus similem se ge- 

 reoat." His favourite exercise, till towards the 

 latter part of his life, when he became corpulent, 

 was riding on horseback ; and when this could no 

 longer be conveniently enjoyed, he spent much of 

 his time in his garden. In personal stature he was 

 above the middle size, robust and athletic in his 

 make, and of great muscular strength. In his air 

 and manner there was something so plain, that it 

 might be almost accounted rough ; yet there was, 

 at the same time, something so majestic and great, 

 accompanied by so much good nature, innocent face- 

 tiousness, and benevolence, that no man could look 

 upon him without a mixed sentiment of love and ve- 

 neration. Though grave and serious, he was fond of 

 pleasantry, and both in his private conversation and 

 public discourses used occasionally to indulge in a 

 strain of delicate, good-humoured raillery, in so much, 

 that his manner has been compared to that of Socra- 

 tes, whose bust he is also said to have resembled in 

 features. He was modest, but not timorous, and al- 



