THE HISTORY OF VETERINARY MEDICIXE. 233 



tercst that Leontius asserts in tlie Latin edition (the phice is want- 

 in^j^ in the Greek) that in the apparent peat-like ipizooties, horses 

 which icere healthy were carefulbj separated from those which were 

 diseased^ and their protection was sought hij bringing them iipon 

 good pastures. Xo such regulation is to be found in any work of 

 antiij[uity against the frequent pest outbreaks of disease among hu- 

 man beings. 



We have now, in a very cursory numner, traced the history of 

 veterinary medicine, or better, empiricism, to the tenth century, 

 whicli may be said to begin the '" Stalihneisters," or master of the 

 horse period. This period continued to the opening of the schools, 

 and in all truth may be said to be still with us ; for every one well 

 knows the taste among men occupying such positions to write ])rae- 

 tical books '" on the care and treatment of the horse." While I 

 would not deny more or less practical and empirical ability to men 

 occupying these positions, I must em]iliatically enter an earnest pro- 

 test against an American absurdity which leads otherwise intelligent 

 citizens to assume that such persons know anything of disease, and 

 which results in calling in to attend sick animals the first conven- 

 ient stable-keeper, blacksmith, or cow-herd ; that because such men 

 have gained a certain sort of practical knowledge with regard to 

 the care of our domestic animals in health, it is justifiable to assume 

 that they know anything of them in disease. Xo greater error ex- 

 ists than this, and it has unfortunately extended itself into human 

 practice, much to the cost of a suffering humanity. Experience is 

 indeed valuable, but experience alone has proved a ledge upon 

 which many a man has been wrecked. Times come when your 

 practical man, your man of boasted experience, can do nothing but 

 stand with fcjlded hands and wait. Such times come only too fre- 

 quently to the man of still greater experience, and that backed up 

 by a most elaborate education and reflective ability. AVithout edu- 

 cation, without that systematic drilling and practice which can only 

 be obtained in well-regulated schools and hospitals, experience is 

 worse than nothing ; it results in nothing more than the most absurd 

 guess-work. What idea can a man have of inflammatory processes 

 in the lungs, kidneys, brain, or liver, M-ho scarcely knows the seat of 

 those organs, much less anything of their anatomical construction ? 

 In all truth, it is the most abject form of cruelty to give over a suf- 

 fering dumb animal (alas I it is too often the case with human beings 

 also) to the tortures or futile endeavors of one of these " experi- 

 enced " quacks. Fortunate would it be for humanity, fortunate for 

 our dumb animals as well, were disease and its treatment the simple 



