570 
EDITORIAL. 
tenets,  and  with  a  materia  medica,  to  a  large  extent  botanical  and  indigenous, 
within  ten  years  past,  is  certainly  a  phenomenon  in  the  medical  history  of 
the  United  States  of  no  ordinary  interest.  To  trace  out  the  history  of  this 
sect — which  calls  itself  Eclectic,  and  which  assumes  to  be  catholic  in  select- 
in)::  the  good  principles  and  agents  of  all  medical  systems — is  neither  our 
object,  nor  are  we  in  command  of  the  proper  data  to  do  it  correctly;  yet  it 
may  be  well  to  remark,  en  passant,  that  had  it  not  have  been  for  Samuel 
Thompson,  who  is  now  so  carefully  forgotten,  and  who  was  the  originator 
of  the  so-called  system  of  Thompsonianism,  which  a  few  years  since  spread 
over  this  land  like  an  epidemic,  and  gained  credence  with  hundreds  of 
thousands,  Eclecticism  would  probably  have  been  yet  unborn.  Thompson- 
ianism formed  the  material  basis,  and  gave  the  impetus  to  botanic  medicine ; 
the  zealous  energy  of  its  early,  earnest  and  bigotted  practitioners,  spread 
Thompson's  ideas,  especially  over  the  Western  States;  the  idea  that  each 
individual  head  of  a  family  should  in  medicine,  as  in  religion  and  politics, 
think  and  act  for  himself,  presented  so  inviting  an  aspect  to  the  yeomen  of 
the  land,  that  his  medical  system  was  adopted  as  a  revelation,  and  Lobelia 
and  Capsicum  were  extolled  as  the  universal  panacea  for  American  diseases. 
In  process  of  time,  the  practice  fell  into  the  hands  of  special  persons,  these 
became  gradually  more  enlightened  and  less  bigotted,  some  of  them  attended 
the  lectures  and  clinical  instruction  of  the  medical  schools,  and  returning 
among  their  associates  modified  their  practice.  The  writings  of  Beach  have 
doubtless  had  an  influence,  and  the  strong  predilection  of  Prof.  Tully,  of 
New  Haven,  for  our  indigenous  Materia  Medica,  upon  which  he  dwelt 
pointedly  in  his  lectures,  induced  some  able  men  to  turn  their  attention  to 
the  botanical  practice.  Meanwhile,  the  narrow  limits  of  the  Thompsonian 
Materia  Medica  had  widened ;  to  emetics,  stimulants  and  diaphoretics, 
cathartics,  alteratives  and  refrigerants  had  been  added ;  from  the  universal 
repudiation  of  mineral  medicines,  one  after  the  other  of  the  metallic  and 
saline  remedies  were  introduced,  until  in  modern  Eclecticism,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  mercurials,  antimonials,  arsenicals  and  some  others,  the  whole 
range  of  the  metallic  Materia  Medica,  with  an  extensive  array  of  vegetable 
medicines,  have  been  embraced,  requiring  for  their  description  and  arrange- 
ment the  massive  volume  now  under  consideration.  At  present,  some  half 
dozen  schools  teach  the  doctrines  of  Eclecticism,  and  are  gradually  raising 
the  status  of  their  graduates,  and  it  is  probable  that  in  a  few  years  they  will 
gravitate  more  and  more  towards  regular  medicine,  until  they  are  assimi- 
lated, carrying  with  them  some  valuable  views  and  agents. 
In  thus  alluding  to  the  origin  and  progress  of  Eclecticism,  it  is  with  no 
disposition  to  decry  its  merits  or  bring  it  into  disrespect;  but  rather  as  an 
explanation  of  what  may  be  esteemed  a  remarkable  episode  in  the  history 
of  American  medicine  and  pharmacy. 
Our  limits  will  not  admit  of  a  detailed  notice  of  the  "  Eclectic  Dispensa 
tory"  of  Dr.  King.    The  author  remarks  : 
"  It  may  not  be  known  to  some  of  the  readers  of  this  work,  that  a  great 
