January 20,1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
5S1 
THE PRUSSIAN MEDICINAL EDICT OF 
SEPTEMBER 27th, 1725, AND THE RE¬ 
VISED APOTHECARIES REGULATION OF 
OCTOBER 11th, 1801. 
A new law regulating the position of the pharma¬ 
cists, their assistants and apprentices, is to take 
effect in Germany from the 1st inst., and it may, 
therefore, be not out of place to look into the ex¬ 
pired laws of Prussia, dating from 1725 and 1801 
respectively, as they give a curious insight into times 
gone by. 
O J t 
The oldest law, that of 1725, opens with a sort of 
preface, a “ whereas,” in which his Majesty King 
Frederick William makes it known to everybody 
that he has learnt with especial displeasure that, 
notwithstanding his previous salutary edicts and 
mandates in “ medicinalibus,” there still remain in 
medicine, chirurgery and pharmacy manifold ob¬ 
noxious irregularities and dangerous abuses; that 
there are people of different trades, professions and 
handicrafts, who, to the greatest danger of his sub¬ 
jects, arrogate internal and external cures, who 
even compound medicaments and sell the same to 
patients, whereby many people lose their health and 
welfare, and even their lives. 
The law then gives the constitution of the “ Colle¬ 
gium medicum;” the Court Marshal and Minister of 
War, “ He von Printzen,” who is appointed the chief 
and director, being ordered, whenever necessary, 
to assist the Council with his advice. 
The regulations themselves begin with the “ me- 
dici.” 
The medici shall, above all, live together in peace 
and harmony, fulfil their duty to the patient honestly 
and conscientiously, as they may have to answer for 
it before God and everybody, be careful in ordering 
medicines, inquire well into the patient’s condition, 
not divulge any secret diseases to anybody, not ask 
excessive remuneration, especially of poor people, 
but practise herein all possible modesty, and alto¬ 
gether take such interest in the conservation and 
restoration of their neighbour’s health, as may be 
expected from a true and honourable “ medicus.” 
The medici, in consideration of the noble creature 
intrusted to their care, shall also lead a respectable, 
honest and sober life, not envy each other’s fortune, 
much less try by underhand means to abuse each 
other, and in case two or more of them are called to 
one patient, they shall not secretly or individually 
prescribe, but confer in all modesty on the patient’s 
illness, and endeavour to cure him by reasonable 
“ concilia ” and prescriptions. 
The qualifications of the medical man, who was 
not allowed to practise surgery, are as follows:—He 
must produce his dissertatio inauguralis and other 
testimonia publica ; he must then pass his cursus 
anatomicus in six lectionibus during the winter 
months, and elaborate a casus medico-pradieus ; 
after which, if he is successful, he must swear the 
juramentum medicorum. 
He is then allowed to practise medicine; but he 
is expressly prohibited from undertaking external 
cliirurgical cases, or to dispense, so as not to interfere 
with the pharmacist. The last stringent rule has 
one amusing exception, which clearly is the begin¬ 
ning of the patent medicine mania. In case a me¬ 
dical man has discovered a certain arcanum or reme¬ 
dium specificum, which in certain diseases, expressly 
Third Series, No. 82 . 
to be named, acts superior to all known usualia 
medicamenta officinalia , he is allowed, after a fair 
trial by other trustworthy medical men and by the 
medical council, to sell the same at a moderate price 
in pharmacies, and to prescribe it for his patients; 
but one medical man is, under no circumstances, 
allowed to have more than two of these laudabilia 
medicamenta . 
The alreadv existing scale of fees for medicus, 
cliirurgeon and pharmacist remains in force, so that 
every one may know how much to ask and to charge 
for his manifold care and trouble, and that the pa¬ 
tients may have no cause for complaint; but this 
scale shall not prevent people of rank or fortune 
from acknowledging, with more discretion or libe¬ 
rality, the zeal, industry and care of the medical 
man or cliirurgeon; it is only drawn up for those of 
limited means. 
We now come to the surgeons—the chirurgi. 
The surgeon, before being admitted to practise, 
must produce a correct indenture of apprenticeship 
and other good certificates, by which he proves that 
he has served at least seven years as an apprentice, 
also his time as an army-surgeon ; he then must 
attend a cursus operationum and pass an examina¬ 
tion. 
A good illustration of the passion of Frederick the 
Great for everything French is given by a quotation 
from a previous law of 1714, according to which 
twenty German and six French cliirurgeons were 
allowed to practise in the rojml residences. 
The surgeons have to lead a sober, quiet, and 
modest life, pleasant to the Lord, so that they may 
be well qualified to serve their neighbours with their 
art and science, be it at daytime or at night; they 
shall especially endeavour to attend such patients, 
as may consult them, with inexhaustible zeal and 
care ; they shall also, in times of plague and epi¬ 
demics, which may the Lord avert, visit the hospi¬ 
tals. 
The surgeons must abstain from all internal cures 
and preparing or dispensing of medicaments. Ex¬ 
perience has too often shown that in lue venerea , or 
other diseases, gross mistakes have been made cum 
medicamentis mercurialibus internis or per inunc- 
tionem mercurialem , which the patients have to pay 
with their lives; therefore the cliirurgeons shall not 
undertake such-like cures without the assistance ot 
a medicus, as they often have done without neces¬ 
sity and for the sake of mere gain. 
The next subject is of-.more special interest to the 
readers of this journal, viz. the position of the “ apo- 
theker” 150 years ago. 
The edict states that the country’s welfare, the 
patients’ life and health, and the honour and repu¬ 
tation of the medicus depend partly upon the dili¬ 
gence, science and fidelity of the apothecaries; they 
shall, therefore, be bound by all points of the edict. 
Before being allowed to open a business, they shall 
produce their indenture of apprenticeship, and other 
papers to prove that they have served at least seven 
years as assistants, or journeymen as they were then 
called; they must publico elaborate the processus 
pharmaceutieo-ckymicus, and pass an oral examina¬ 
tion. 
The number of pharmacies at Berlin was consi¬ 
dered too high, and it was ordered to gradually 
reduce the same to twelve, namely nine German and 
three French, and not more. 
As to the duties of the aj)othecaries, they must 
