Excerpt from On Slight Ailments, and on Treating Disease There are many valuable points connected with prescribing which are of the utmost consequence, and which are to be learned from the practitioner who is well acquainted with the management of slight ailments. I have often heard the remark that our predecessors knew more about the management of ordinary diseases than we of this generation do. There is some truth in this, and I am sure that many old practitioners now living have been very successful in relieving the aches and pains of their patients, perhaps more so than some of the young ones, who possibly may, nevertheless, have a far more intimate knowledge of the diagnosis of obscure forms of disease and of the minute changes which have damaged tissues and organs, but are apt to forget that all unpleasant aches and pains are not due to structural change and Serious degeneration or disorganization. Those of you who have worked under country practitioners enjoy a great advantage in this respect, and will be aware of many things connected with the art of prescribing for symptoms, of which even men who have highly distinguished themselves in our medical classes and medical examina tions may be in ignorance. Nor do I see how this very desirable practicable information can be gained in any other way. I may try to convey to you some of the wrinkles I have learned long ago from my own masters, but shall only very imperfectly succeed. To offer remarks on the details of treatment when sick people are actually being treated in the country surgery is very advantageous, but to attempt to give in lectures or at the bedside of serious cases of disease, detailed information as to the combination of remedies in pills and mixtures, and a number of things practically of considerable importance, would be tedious, and would take so long a time that one could not expect a class to listen with attention. I shall, therefore, only venture to trouble you now and then with details as regards prescribing, but it will be well for you to take note of particular prescriptions, which I have frequently found of great value in the management of cases of deranged health - a most important class, always requiring our attention. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.