Oliver Wendell Holmes, father of a supreme court justice, was first a poet, then a medicine man and later a writer of prose. With impeccable credentials from the best schools and having traveled widely, he possessed great knowledge.
PUERPERAL FEVER
Holmes early on recognized that child-birth fever that laid waste to so many women was a contagion brought about by the unsanitary practices of doctors and those who attended the women. The disease was quick to strike and within a couple of days the new mother was dead! It was well that he took it upon himself to draw attention to the "typhoid-Marys" within the profession. In his writing, he traced the path of death by the hands of the practitioner and his nurses through the beds of his patients. For this he should be remembered, more so than for his other writings.
TERRIBLE TRACTORATION
Oliver Wendell Holmes took careful aim at those who practiced bogus medicine in the name of homeopathy or the like. Again his charges were well founded. However, here he made a serious mistake, in taking issue with the use of the laying on of a medical device that was suppose to rid man of many hurts and ills, he attacked rightly the "Tractoration", a pair of electrodes of brass and iron that were promoted widely in the early days in the practice of medicine. No question but "Tractoration" was at best shear trumpery and worse - fraud. But the public sought remedies for their ills and as the medical profession offered none that worked, there appeared a place for the medical messiahs of the day to rise before the public with promises of a cure for what ails. But where Holmes was in error was in attacking the American who through satire did more to destroy Tractoration, than did any learned discussions.
Holmes perhaps felt the need to defend the medical profession against those who by satire attacked his fellows who were incompetent. He attacked Thomas Green Fessenden in his book, Medical Essays. He accused Fessenden of while appearing to attack the Tractoration device, of actually being an advocate. In 1805, Fessenden assumed the learned title of Christopher Caustic, M.D., LL.D., A.S.S., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Aberdeen, and Honorary Member of no less than nineteen very learned Societies, for the poem which he wrote termed "Terrible Tractoration". In his poem, Dr. Caustic attacked not only the purveyors of the devices, but also the medical profession as well. Fessenden used the approach taken by Samuel Butler in creating a Hudibrastic poem that lampooned the knowing ones. While Holmes often quoted Fessenden, he never once mentioned his name and referred to him as Perkin's poet. Here follows a sample of the quotes by Holmes from Fessenden's great work.
"Ye worthy, honored, philanthropic few,
The muse shall weave her brightest wreaths for you,
Who in Humanity's bland cause unite,
Nor heed the shaft by interest aimed or spite;
Like the great Pattern of Benevolence,
Hygeia's blessings to the boor dispense;
And though opposed by folly's servile brood,
ENJOY THE LUXURY OF DOING GOOD."
This was penned by Fessenden to address the medical professional who refused to treat the poor.
In incorrectly identifying Fessenden as advocating the use of the Tractor devices, Holmes proved to be lacking in understanding of sarcasm, satire and the tweaking of the nose of believers and the medical profession(?):
"See, pointed metals, blest with power t' appease
The ruthless rage of merciless disease,
O'er the frail part a subtle fluid pour,
Drenched with invisible Galvanic shower,
Till the arthritic staff and crutch forego,
And leap exulting like the bounding roe!"
Here Fessenden is at his best, like Butler, knowledgeable in the science and expert in capturing the essence of the moment. However, he was not advocating the use of the Tractor, he was instead using the high art of sarcasm!
Lifting out of context, Holmes continued, quoting from Dr. Caustic:
"What though the CAUSES may not be explained,
Since these EFFECTS are duly ascertained,
Let not self-interest, prejudice, or pride,
Induce mankind to set the means aside;
Means, which, though simple, are by Heaven designed
T' alleviate the woes of human kind."
Before the understanding of the placebo effect came into being, it was known by those who practiced medicine that some recovered from their illnesses regardless of whether they had been treated or not and with whatever. Here Dr. Caustic (Fessenden) is arguing that if a good result is obtained, and yet it is not know why, then so be it. This is hardly defense for a useless bit of electronic equipment. And having given the poem the title, "Terrible Tractoration" he drew attention to the device and it quickly fell out of use.
Thomas Green Fessenden was held in high regard by those in England who enjoyed his poetry, and later in his home country, America.
Holmes, further scorns Fessenden, referring to him as "originally a lawyer, he was in succession a mechanician, a poet, and an editor, meeting with far less success in each of these departments than usually attends men of less varied gifts, but of more tranquil and phlegmatic composition." Thomas Green Fessenden should be well remembered (in addition to his poetry) as being one of the first published agriculturalist in America, bringing information on crops and animals to the people in his journals.
It should be remembered that Dr. Holmes never experienced the medical profession of Fessenden's day as he attacked Fessenden and the Tractor long after both had been silenced (Fessenden by his death and the Tractor by disuse). The saying "he has his shorts hiked up too tight" is appropriate in dealing with Oliver Wendell Holmes in his defense of the medical profession.
For more on the life of Thomas Green Fessenden; the obituary written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in the May issue of the Atlantic Monthly in 1838.
***
Metallic Tractor - a device made of two dissimilar metals, one brass and the other iron, about three inches long. One end blunt, the other pointed. The concept was based on galvanic action, a newly discovered principle of chemistry by Dr. Galvani. When applied to the skin, it was suppose to relieve pains due to rheumatism and injuries and was even promoted to cure tumors. Those of current day who wear copper bracelets can reflect upon this.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Medical Essays, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, New York, 1888. (Homeopathy and Its Kindred Delusions.)
****
Joe Wortham's Home Page , About Joe Wortham , Directory
Questions? Comments? [email protected]