[25] Cabot, Richard C

[25] Cabot, Richard C.: _Studies of the Action of Alcohol in Disease,
Especially upon the Circulation_, Med. News, LXXXIII, 1903, pp. 145-153.
Read before the Association of American Physicians, May 13, 1903.

CHIEF SURGEON"S OFFICE,

HDQRS
CHIEF SURGEON"S OFFICE,
HDQRS. DEPT. HAVANA AND PINAR DEL RIO,
QUEMADOS, CUBA, July 21, 1900

According to MacVail, in the pre-vaccination period smallpox

was nine times as fatal as measles and seven and one half times
as fatal as whooping cough
According to MacVail, in the pre-vaccination period smallpox
was nine times as fatal as measles and seven and one half times
as fatal as whooping cough. To-day in the vaccinated community
its fatality is negligable, in the unvaccinated it is as high
as it was in the Middle Ages. In the city of Berlin, where
vaccination is absolutely compulsory, there is no smallpox
hospital at all; the cases of smallpox in that city being only
a few unvaccinated foreigners. In 1912 the deaths in New York
City were as follow: 671 from measles, 614 from scarlatina, 500
from typhoid fever, 187 from whooping cough and 2 from
smallpox.

In November, 1789, Dr

In November, 1789, Dr. Jenner inoculated his eldest child
Edward, aged 18 months, with some swinepox virus, and as
nothing untoward happened, he inoculated him again with
swinepox on April 7, 1791. The child had a slight illness, very
like vaccinia, from which he rapidly recovered. The moment for
the crucial experiment was not yet; it came in due time, but
Jenner had to wait five years for it, and five years are a long
time to a man who is yearning to perform his crucial
experiment. Happily for suffering humanity, in the early summer
of 1796 the opportunity came; the hour and the man were there
together.

1

1. The place of imagination in mental economy: Practical nature of
imagination--Imagination in the interpretation of history, literature,
and art--Imagination and science--Everyday uses of imagination--The
building of ideals and plans--Imagination and conduct--Imagination and
thinking. 2. The material used by imagination: Images the stuff of
imagination--The two factors in imagination--Imagination limited by
stock of images--Limited also by our constructive ability--The need of a
purpose. 3. Types of imagination: Reproductive imagination--Creative
imagination. 4. Training the imagination: Gathering of material for
imagination--We must not fail to build--We should carry our ideals into
action. 5. Problems for observation and introspection . . . . . . . . 127

We have thus seen that in regard to the doctrine called in modern times

the Freedom of the Will (_i
We have thus seen that in regard to the doctrine called in modern times
the Freedom of the Will (_i.e._, that volitions are self-originating
and unpredictable), the Stoic theorists not only denied it, but framed
all their Ethics upon the assumption of the contrary. This same
assumption of the contrary, indeed, was made also by Sokrates, Plato,
Aristotle, and Epicurus: in short, by all the ethical teachers of
antiquity. All of them believed that volitions depended on causes: that
under the ordinary conditions of men"s minds, the causes that volitions
generally depended upon are often misleading and sometimes ruinous: but
that by proper stimulation from without and meditation within, the
rational causes of volition might be made to overrule the impulsive.
Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, not less than the Stoics, wished to create
new fixed habits and a new type of character. They differed, indeed, on
the question what the proper type of character was: but each of them
aimed at the same general end--a new type of character, regulating the
grades of susceptibility to different motives. And the purpose of all
and each of these moralists precludes the theory of free-will--_i.e._,
the theory that our volitions are self-originating and unpredictable.

In a chapter (VII

In a chapter (VII.) entitled "certain principles co-operating with our
moral powers," he discusses (1) a regard to character, (2) Sympathy,
(3) the Sense of the Ridiculous, (4) Taste. The important topic is the
second, Sympathy; which, psychologically, he would appear to regard as
determined by the pleasure that it gives. Under this head he introduces
a criticism of the Ethical theory of Adam Smith; and, adverting to the
inadequacy of the theory to distinguish the _right_ from the _actual_
judgments of mankind, he remarks on Smith"s ingenious fiction "of _an
abstract man_ within the breast;" and states that Smith laid much
greater stress on this fiction in the last edition of the Moral
Sentiments published before his death. It is not without reason that
Stewart warns against grounding theories on metaphorical expressions,
such as this of Smith, or the Platonic Commonwealth of the Soul.

Epicurus adopted the atomistic scheme of Democritus, but with some

important variations
Epicurus adopted the atomistic scheme of Democritus, but with some
important variations. He conceived that the atoms all moved with equal
velocity in the downward direction of gravity. But it occurred to him
that upon this hypothesis there could never occur any collisions or
combinations of the atoms--nothing but continued and unchangeable
parallel lines. Accordingly, he modified it by saying that the line of
descent was not exactly rectilinear, but that each atom deflected a
little from the straight line, and each in its own direction and
degree; so that it became possible to assume collisions, resiliences,
adhesions, combinations, among them, as it had been possible under the
variety of original movements ascribed to them by Democritus. The
opponents of Epicurus derided this auxiliary hypothesis; they affirmed
that he invented the individual deflection of each atom, without
assigning any cause, and only because he was perplexed by the mystery
of man"s _free-will_. But Epicurus was not more open to attack on this
ground than other physical philosophers. Most of them (except perhaps
the most consistent of the Stoic fatalists) believed that some among
the phenomena of the universe occurred in regular and predictable
sequence, while others were essentially irregular and unpredictable;
each philosopher devised his hypothesis, and recognized some
fundamental principle, to explain the first class of phenomena as well
as the second. Plato admitted an invincible Erratic necessity;
Aristotle introduced Chance and Spontaneity; Democritus multiplied
indefinitely the varieties of atomic movements. The hypothetical
deflexion alleged by Epicurus was his way, not more unwarranted than
the others, of providing a fundamental principle for the unpredictable
phenomena of the universe. Among these are the mental (including the
volitional) manifestations of men and animals; but there are many
others besides; and there is no ground for believing that the mystery
of free-will was peculiarly present to his mind. The movements of a man
or animal are not exclusively subject to gravitation and other general
laws; they are partly governed by mental impulses and by forces of the
organism, intrinsic and peculiar to himself, unseen and unfelt by
others. For these, in common with many other untraceable phenomena in
the material world, Epicurus provides a principle in the supplementary
hypothesis of deflexion. He rejected the fatalism contained in the
theories of some of the Stoics, and admitted a limited range of empire
to chance, or irregularity. But he maintained that the will, far from
being among the phenomena essentially irregular, is under the influence
of motives; for no man can insist more strenuously than he does (see
the Letter to Menoecens) on the complete power of philosophy,--if the
student could be made to feel its necessity and desire the attainment
of it, so as to meditate and engrain within himself sound views about
the gods, death, and human life generally,--to mould our volitions and
character in a manner conformable to the exigencies of virtue and
happiness.

The recorded history of Rome begins with small and vigorous

tribes inhabiting the flanks of the Apennines and the valleys
down to the sea, and blending together to form the Roman
republic
The recorded history of Rome begins with small and vigorous
tribes inhabiting the flanks of the Apennines and the valleys
down to the sea, and blending together to form the Roman
republic. They were men of courage and men of action, virile,
austere, severe and dominant.[1] They were men who 'looked on
none as their superior and none as their inferior.' For this
reason, Rome was long a republic. Free-born men control their
own destinies. 'The fault,' says Cassius, 'is not in our stars,
but in ourselves that we are underlings.' Thus in freedom, when
Rome was small without glory, without riches, without colonies
and without slaves, she laid the foundations of greatness.

THE TWO FACTORS IN IMAGINATION

THE TWO FACTORS IN IMAGINATION.--From the simple facts which we have
just been considering, the conclusion is plain that our power of
imagination depends on two factors; namely, (1) _the materials available
in the form of usable images capable of recall_, and (2) _our
constructive ability_, or the power to group these images into new
_wholes, the process being guided by some purpose or end_. Without this
last provision, the products of our imagination are daydreams with their
'castles in Spain,' which may be pleasing and proper enough on
occasions, but which as an habitual mode of thought are extremely
dangerous.

A friend in London had inherited through his German wife a

large aniline dye plant on the Rhine
A friend in London had inherited through his German wife a
large aniline dye plant on the Rhine. He told me recently that
he had not heard one word from it for six months. What will be
its value when he hears from it? And what certainty has he as
to its ownership?

The principal organs of elimination, common to both sexes, are the

bowels, kidneys, lungs, and skin
The principal organs of elimination, common to both sexes, are the
bowels, kidneys, lungs, and skin. A neglect of their functions is
punished in each alike. To woman is intrusted the exclusive management
of another process of elimination, viz., the catamenial function.
This, using the blood for its channel of operation, performs, like the
blood, double duty. It is necessary to ovulation, and to the integrity
of every part of the reproductive apparatus; it also serves as a means
of elimination for the blood itself. A careless management of this
function, at any period of life during its existence, is apt to be
followed by consequences that may be serious; but a neglect of it
during the epoch of development, that is, from the age of fourteen to
eighteen or twenty, not only produces great evil at the time of the
neglect, but leaves a large legacy of evil to the future. The system
is then peculiarly susceptible; and disturbances of the delicate
mechanism we are considering, induced during the catamenial weeks of
that critical age by constrained positions, muscular effort, brain
work, and all forms of mental and physical excitement, germinate a
host of ills. Sometimes these causes, which pervade more or less the
methods of instruction in our public and private schools, which our
social customs ignore, and to which operatives of all sorts pay little
heed, produce an excessive performance of the catamenial function; and
this is equivalent to a periodical hemorrhage. Sometimes they produce
an insufficient performance of it; and this, by closing an avenue of
elimination, poisons the blood, and depraves the organization. The
host of ills thus induced are known to physicians and to the sufferers
as amenorrhoea, menorrhagia, dysmenorrhoea, hysteria, anemia, chorea,
and the like. Some of these fasten themselves on their victim for a
lifetime, and some are shaken off. Now and then they lead to an
abortion of the function, and consequent sterility. Fortunate is the
girls" school or college that does not furnish abundant examples of
these sad cases. The more completely any such school or college
succeeds, while adopting every detail and method of a boy"s school,
in ignoring and neglecting the physiological conditions of sexual
development, the larger will be the number of these pathological cases
among its graduates. Clinical illustrations of these statements will
be given in another place.

In the ancient world, purely disinterested conduct was abundantly

manifested in practice, although not made prominent in Ethical Theory
In the ancient world, purely disinterested conduct was abundantly
manifested in practice, although not made prominent in Ethical Theory.
The enumeration of the Cardinal Virtues does not expressly contain
Benevolence; but under Courage, Self-sacrifice was implied. Patriotic
Self-devotion, Love, and Friendship were virtues highly cultivated. In
Cicero, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius, there is a recognition of general
Benevolence.

THE END-ORGANS AND THEIR RESPONSE TO STIMULI

THE END-ORGANS AND THEIR RESPONSE TO STIMULI.--Thus the radiations of
ether from the sun, our chief source of light, are so rapid that
billions of them enter the eye in a second of time, and the retina is of
such a nature that its nerve cells are thrown into activity by these
waves; the impulse is carried over the optic nerve to the occipital lobe
of the cortex, and the sensation of sight is the result. The different
colors also, from the red of the spectrum to the violet, are the result
of different vibration rates in the waves of ether which strike the
retina; and in order to perceive color, the retina must be able to
respond to the particular vibration rate which represents each color.
Likewise in the sense of touch the end-organs are fitted to respond to
very rapid vibrations, and it is possible that the different qualities
of touch are produced by different vibration rates in the atoms of the
object we are touching. When we reach the ear, we have the organ which
responds to the lowest vibration rate of all, for we can detect a sound
made by an object which is vibrating from twenty to thirty times a
second. The highest vibration rate which will affect the ear is some
forty thousand per second.

But little by little the spirit of freedom gave way to that of

domination
But little by little the spirit of freedom gave way to that of
domination. Conscious of power, men sought to exercise it, not
on themselves but on one another. Little by little this meant
aggression, suppression, plunder, struggle, glory and all that
goes with the pomp and circumstance of war. So the
individuality in the mass was lost in the aggrandizement of the
few. Independence was swallowed up in ambition and patriotism
came to have a new meaning, being transferred from hearth and
home to the camp and the army.

THE INFLUENCE OF FATIGUE

THE INFLUENCE OF FATIGUE.--Histologists find that the nuclei of nerve
cells are shrunk as much as fifty per cent by extreme fatigue.
Reasonable fatigue followed by proper recuperation is not harmful, but
even necessary if the best development is to be attained; but fatigue
without proper nourishment and rest is fatal to all mental operations,
and indeed finally to the nervous system itself, leaving it permanently
in a condition of low tone, and incapable of rallying to strong effort.
For rapid and complete recuperation the cells must have not only the
best of nourishment but opportunity for rest as well.

In specifying the ethical excellences, or excellences of disposition,

we explained that each of them aimed to realize a mean--and that this
mean was to be determined by Right Reason
In specifying the ethical excellences, or excellences of disposition,
we explained that each of them aimed to realize a mean--and that this
mean was to be determined by Right Reason. To find the mean, is thus an
operation of the Intellect; and we have now to explain what the right
performance of it is,--or to enter upon the Excellences of the
Intellect. The soul having been divided into Irrational and Rational,
the Rational must farther be divided into two parts,--the Scientific
(dealing with necessary matter), the Calculative, or Deliberative
(dealing with contingent matter). We must touch, upon the excellence or
best condition of both of them (I). There are three principal functions
of the soul--Sensation, Reason, and Appetite or Desire. Now, Sensation
(which beasts have as well as men) is not a principle of moral action.
The Reason regards truth and falsehood only; it does not move to
action, it is not an end in itself. Appetite or Desire, which aims at
an end, introduces us to moral action. Truth and Falsehood, as regards
Reason, correspond to Good and Evil as regards Appetite: Affirmation
and Negation, with the first, are the analogues of Pursuit and
Avoidance, with the second. In purpose, which is the principle of moral
action, there is included deliberation or calculation. Reason and
Appetite are thus combined: Good Purpose comprises both true
affirmation and right pursuit: you may call it either an Intelligent
Appetite, or an Appetitive Intelligence. Such is man, as a principle of
action [hae toiautae archae anthropos].

[Footnote 12: This theory (taken in its most general sense, and apart

from differences in the estimation of particular pleasures and pains),
had been proclaimed long before the time of Epicurus
[Footnote 12: This theory (taken in its most general sense, and apart
from differences in the estimation of particular pleasures and pains),
had been proclaimed long before the time of Epicurus. It is one of the
various theories of Plato: for in his dialogue called Protagoras
(though in other dialogues he reasons differently) we find it
explicitly set forth and elaborately vindicated by his principal
spokesman, Sokrates, against the Sophist Protagoras. It was also held
by Aristippus (companion of Sokrates along with Plato) and by his
followers after him, called the Cyrenaics. Lastly, it was maintained by
Eudoxus, one of the most estimable philosophers contemporary with
Aristotle. Epicurus was thus in no way the originator of the theory:
but he had his own way of conceiving it--his own body of doctrine
physical, cosmological, and theological, with which it was
implicated--and his own comparative valuation of pleasures and pains.]

It should be added that whisky and heavy doses of quinine are distinctly

deleterious and should be avoided, as should all quack remedies and
catarrh cures; there are more effective remedies which carry no
possibilities of harm
It should be added that whisky and heavy doses of quinine are distinctly
deleterious and should be avoided, as should all quack remedies and
catarrh cures; there are more effective remedies which carry no
possibilities of harm.

The whole series of events, tragic, pathetic, comical and

otherwise, took place upon a stage made particularly fit by
nature and the surrounding circumstances
The whole series of events, tragic, pathetic, comical and
otherwise, took place upon a stage made particularly fit by
nature and the surrounding circumstances.