Stillanotherdevelopmentofthetheologicalspirit,mixedwithprofessionalexclusivenessandmobprejudice,wroughtuntoldinjury。Eventothosewhohadbecomesofaremancipatedfromallegiancetofetichcuresastoconsultphysicians,itwasforbiddentoconsultthosewho,asarule,werethebest。FromaveryearlyperiodofEuropeanhistorytheJewshadtakentheleadinmedicine;theirshareinfoundingthegreatschoolsofSalernoandMontpellierwehavealreadynoted,andinallpartsofEuropewefindthemacknowledgedleadersinthehealingart。
  TheChurchauthorities,enforcingthespiritofthetime,wereespeciallysevereagainstthesebenefactors:thatmenwhoopenlyrejectedthemeansofsalvation,andwhosesoulswereundeniablylost,shouldhealtheelectseemedaninsulttoProvidence;
  preachingfriarsdenouncedthemfromthepulpit,andtherulersinstateandchurch,whilefrequentlysecretlyconsultingthem,openlyproscribedthem。
  GregoryofTourstellsusofanarchdeaconwho,havingbeenpartiallycuredofdiseaseoftheeyesbySt。Martin,soughtfurtheraidfromaJewishphysician,withtheresultthatneitherthesaintnortheJewcouldhelphimafterward。PopesEugeneIV,NicholasV,andCalixtusIIIespeciallyforbadeChristianstoemploythem。TheTrullaneanCouncilintheeighthcentury,theCouncilsofBeziersandAlbyinthethirteenth,theCouncilsofAvignonandSalamancainthefourteenth,theSynodofBambergandtheBishopofPassauinthefifteenth,theCouncilofAvignoninthesixteenth,withmanyothers,expresslyforbadethefaithfultocallJewishphysiciansorsurgeons;suchgreatpreachersasJohnGeilerandJohnHeroltthunderedfromthepulpitagainstthemandallwhoconsultedthem。Aslateasthemiddleoftheseventeenthcentury,whentheCityCouncilofHall,inWurtemberg,gavesomeprivilegestoaJewishphysician“onaccountofhisadmirableexperienceandskill。”theclergyofthecityjoinedinaprotest,declaringthat“itwerebettertodiewithChristthantobecuredbyaJewdoctoraidedbythedevil。”
  Still,intheirextremity,bishops,cardinals,kings,andevenpopes,insistedoncallinginphysiciansofthehatedrace。[316]
  [316]Forthegeneralsubjectoftheinfluenceoftheologicalideauponmedicine,seeFort,HistoryofMedicalEconomyduringtheMiddleAges,NewYork,1883,chaps。xiiiandxviii;alsoColindePlancy,DictionnairedesReliques,passim;alsoRambaud,HistoiredelaCivilisationfrancaise,Paris,1885,vol。i,chap。
  xviii;alsoSprengel,vol。ii,p。345,andelsewhere;alsoBaasandothers。ForproofsthattheSchoolofSalernowasnotfoundedbythemonks,Benedictineorother,butbylaymen,wholeftoutafacultyoftheologyfromtheirorganization,seeHaeser,LehrbuchderGeschichtederMedicin,vol。i,p。646;alsoBaas。Foraverystrongstatementthatmarriedprofessors,women,andJewswereadmittedtoprofessionalchairs,seeBaas,pp。208etseq。;alsosummarybyDr。Payne,articleintheEncyc。
  Brit。Sprengel’soldtheorythattheschoolwasfoundedbyBenedictinesseemsnowentirelygivenup;seeHaeserandBassonthesubject;alsoDaremberg,LaMedecine,p。133。ForthecitationfromGregoryofTours,seehisHist。Francorum,lib。vi。
  FortheeminenceofJewishphysiciansandproscriptionofthem,seeBeugnot,LesJuifsd’Occident,Paris,1824,pp。76-94;alsoBedarride,LesJuifsenFrance,enItalie,etenEspagne,chaps。
  v,viii,x,andxiii;alsoRenouard,HistoiredelaMedecine,Paris,1846,tomei,p。439;alsoespeciallyLammert,Volksmedizin,etc。,inBayern,p。6,note。ForChurchdecreesagainstthem,seetheActaConciliorum,ed。Hardouin,vol。x,pp。
  1634,1700,1870,1873,etc。FordenunciationsofthembyGeilerandothers,seeKotelmann,GesundheitspflegeimMittelalter,pp。
  194,195。ForalistofkingsandpopeswhopersistedinhavingJewishphysiciansandforothercuriousinformationofthesort,seeProf。LeviofVercelli,CristianiedEbreinelMedioEvo,pp。
  200-207;andforaveryvaluablesummary,seeLecky,HistoryofRationalisminEurope,vol。ii,pp。265-271。
  VIII。FETICHCURESUNDERPROTESTANTISM——THEROYALTOUCH。
  TheReformationmadenosuddenchangeinthesacredtheoryofmedicine。Luther,asiswellknown,againandagainascribedhisowndiseasesto“devils’spells。”declaringthat“Satanproducesallthemaladieswhichafflictmankind,forheistheprinceofdeath。”andthat“hepoisonstheair“;butthat“nomaladycomesfromGod。”FromthatdaydowntothefaithcuresofBoston,OldOrchard,andamongthesectof“PeculiarPeople“inourowntime,weseetheresultsamongProtestantsofseekingthecauseofdiseaseinSatanicinfluenceanditscureinfetichism。
  YetLuther,withhissturdycommonsense,brokeawayfromonebeliefwhichhasinterferedwiththeevolutionofmedicinefromthedawnofChristianityuntilnow。Whenthattroublesomedeclaimer,Carlstadt,declaredthat“whosofallssickshallusenophysic,butcommithiscasetoGod,prayingthatHiswillbedone。”Lutherasked,“Doyoueatwhenyouarehungry?”andtheanswerbeingintheaffirmative,hecontinued,“Evensoyoumayusephysic,whichisGod’sgiftjustasmeatanddrinkis,orwhateverelseweuseforthepreservationoflife。”Henceitwas,doubtless,thattheProtestantcitiesofGermanyweremorereadythanotherstoadmitanatomicalinvestigationbyproperdissections。[317]
  [317]ForLuther’sbeliefandhisanswertoCarlstadt,seehisTableTalk,especiallyinHazlitt’sedition,pp。250-257;alsohisletterspassim。Forrecent“faithcures。”seeDr。Buckley’sarticlesonFaithHealingandKindredPhenomena,inTheCentury,1886。ForthegreaterreadinessofProtestantcitiestofacilitatedissections,seeToth,AndreasVesalius,p。33。
  Perhapsthebest-knowndevelopmentofatheologicalviewintheProtestantChurchwasthatmainlyevolvedinEnglandoutofaFrenchgermoftheologicalthought——abeliefintheefficacyoftheroyaltouchinsundrydiseases,especiallyepilepsyandscrofula,thelatterbeingconsequentlyknownastheking’sevil。
  Thismodeofcurebegan,sofarashistorythrowslightuponit,withEdwardtheConfessorintheeleventhcentury,andcamedownfromreigntoreign,passingfromtheCatholicsainttoProtestantdebaucheesupontheEnglishthrone,withever-increasingmiraculousefficacy。
  Testimonytotherealityofthesecuresisoverwhelming。Asasimplematteroffact,therearenomiraclesofhealinginthehistoryofthehumanracemorethoroughlyattestedthanthosewroughtbythetouchofHenryVIII,Elizabeth,theStuarts,andespeciallyofthatchosenvessel,CharlesII。ThoughElizabethcouldnotbringherselffullytobelieveintherealityofthesecures,Dr。Tooker,theQueen’schaplain,afterwardDeanofLichfield,testifiesfullyofhisownknowledgetothecureswroughtbyher,asalsodoesWilliamClowes,theQueen’ssurgeon。
  Fuller,inhisChurchHistory,givesanaccountofaRomanCatholicwhowasthuscuredbytheQueen’stouchandconvertedtoProtestantism。SimilartestimonyexistsastocureswroughtbyJamesI。CharlesIalsoenjoyedthesamepower,inspiteofthepublicdeclarationagainstitsrealitybyParliament。InonecasetheKingsawapatientinthecrowd,toofarofftobetouched,andsimplysaid,“Godblesstheeandgranttheethydesire“;whereupon,itisasserted,theblotchesandhumoursdisappearedfromthepatient’sbodyandappearedinthebottleofmedicinewhichheheldinhishand;atleastsosaysDr。JohnNicholas,WardenofWinchesterCollege,whodeclaresthisofhisownknowledgetobeeverywordofittrue。
  ButthemostincontrovertibleevidenceofthismiraculousgiftisfoundinthecaseofCharlesII,themostthoroughlycynicaldebaucheewhoeversatontheEnglishthronebeforetheadventofGeorgeIV。Hetouchednearlyonehundredthousandpersons,andtheoutlayforgoldmedalsissuedtotheafflictedontheseoccasionsroseinsomeyearsashighastenthousandpounds。
  JohnBrown,surgeoninordinarytohisMajestyandtoSt。
  Thomas’sHospital,andauthorofmanylearnedworksonsurgeryandanatomy,publishedaccountsofsixtycuresduetothetouchofthismonarch;andSergeant-SurgeonWisemandevotesanentirebooktoprovingtherealityofthesecures,saying,“ImyselfhavebeenfrequentwitnesstomanyhundredsofcuresperformedbyhisMajesty’stouchalonewithoutanyassistanceofchirurgery,andthesemanyofthemhadtyredouttheendeavoursofablechirurgeonsbeforetheycamethither。”Yetitisespeciallyinstructivetonotethat,whileinnootherreignweresomanypeopletouchedforscrofula,andinnoneweresomanycuresvouchedfor,innootherreigndidsomanypeopledieofthatdisease:thebillsofmortalityshowthisclearly,andthereasondoubtlessisthegeneralsubstitutionofsupernaturalforscientificmeansofcure。Thisisbutoneoutofmanyexamplesshowingthehavocwhichascientifictestalwaysmakesamongmiraclesifmenallowittobeapplied。
  ToJamesIIthesamepowercontinued;andifitbesaid,inthewordsofLordBacon,that“imaginationisnextofkintomiracle——aworkingfaith。”somethingelseseemsrequiredtoaccountforthetestimonyofDr。Heylintocureswroughtbytheroyaltouchuponbabesintheirmothers’arms。Myth-makingandmarvel-mongeringwereevidentlyatworkhereasinsomanyotherplaces,andsogreatwasthefameofthesecuresthatwefind,intheyearbeforeJameswasdethroned,apauperatPortsmouth,NewHampshire,petitioningtheGeneralAssemblytoenablehimtomakethevoyagetoEnglandinorderthathemaybehealedbytheroyaltouch。
  Thechangeintheroyalsuccessiondoesnotseemtohaveinterferedwiththemiracle;for,thoughWilliamIIIevidentlyregardedthewholethingasasuperstition,andononeoccasionissaidtohavetouchedapatient,sayingtohim,“Godgiveyoubetterhealthandmoresense。”Whistonassuresusthatthispersonwashealed,notwithstandingWilliam’sincredulity。
  AstoQueenAnne,Dr。DanielTurner,inhisArtofSurgery,relatesthatseveralcasesofscrofulawhichhadbeenunsuccessfullytreatedbyhimselfandDr。CharlesBernard,sergeant-surgeontoherMajesty,yieldedafterwardtotheefficacyoftheQueen’stouch。NaturallydoesCollier,inhisEcclesiasticalHistory,sayregardingthesecasesthattodisputethem“istocometotheextremeofscepticism,todenyoursensesandbeincredulouseventoridiculousness。”Testimonytotherealityofthesecuresisindeedoverwhelming,andamultitudeofmostsoberscholars,divines,anddoctorsofmedicinedeclaredtheevidenceabsolutelyconvincing。ThattheChurchofEnglandacceptedthedoctrineoftheroyaltouchiswitnessedbythespecialserviceprovidedinthePrayer-BookofthatperiodforoccasionswhentheKingexercisedthisgift。Theceremonywasconductedwithgreatsolemnityandpomp:duringthereadingoftheserviceandthelayingonoftheKing’shands,theattendantbishoporpriestrecitedthewords,“Theyshalllaytheirhandsonthesick,andtheyshallrecover“;afterwardcamespecialprayers,theEpistleandGospel,withtheblessing,andfinallyhisMajestywashedhisroyalhandsingoldenvesselswhichhighnoblemenheldforhim。
  InFrance,too,theroyaltouchcontinued,withsimilartestimonytoitsefficacy。OnacertainEasterSunday,thatpiousking,LouisXIV,touchedaboutsixteenhundredpersonsatVersailles。
  Thiscurativepowerwas,then,acknowledgedfarandwide,byCatholicsandProtestantsalike,upontheContinent,inGreatBritain,andinAmerica;anditdescendednotonlyinspiteofthetransitionoftheEnglishkingsfromCatholicismtoProtestantism,butinspiteofthetransitionfromthelegitimatesovereigntyoftheStuartstotheillegitimatesuccessionoftheHouseofOrange。Andyet,withinafewyearsafterthewholeworldheldthisbelief,itwasdead;ithadshrivelledawayinthegrowingscientificlightatthedawnoftheeighteenthcentury。[318]
  [318]Fortheroyaltouch,seeBecket,FreeandImpartialInquiryintotheAntiquityandEfficacyofTouchingfortheKing’sEvil,1772,citedinPettigrew,p。128,andelsewhere;alsoScoffern,ScienceandFolkLore,London,1870,pp。413andfollowing;alsoAdams,TheHealingArt,London,1887,vol。i,pp。53-60;andespeciallyLecky,HistoryofEuropeanMorals,vol。i,chapteronTheConversionofRome;alsohisHistoryofEnglandintheEighteenthCentury,vol。i,chap。i。Forcuriousdetailsregardingthemodeofconductingtheceremony,seeEvelyn’sDiary;alsoLecky,asabove。FortheroyaltouchinFrance,andforaclaimtoitspossessioninfeudaltimesbycertainnoblefamilies,seeRambaud,Hist。delaCiv。francaise,p。375。