A most excellent antidote: Thomas Willis, the 'Diatribae duae' and the physician's duty.

摘要

For the devout anglican and royalist physician Thomas Willis (F.R.S., F.R.C.P., 1621-75), the events of the Civil Wars and the Interregnum signaled the triumph of chaos over the true religion and government of England. He presented a solution to these problems in the Diatribae duae Medico-philosophica. For Willis, a learned physician had many duties; he was to heal his patients' bodies, their souls and the body politic. Medical reform, therefore, was a potentially dangerous endeavour especially when undertaken by unlearned quacks and empirics who had little regard for tradition and order. Willis provided an alternative to their radical reforms by integrating present experiences with traditional beliefs and practices. Willis' restoration of learned medicine entailed the reconciliation of chemical philosophy with traditional and proven galenic cures and practices. He hoped his physic could heal both his patients and the body politic.