who earnestly studies, with his own eyes,—and not through the medium of books,—the natural phenomena of the different diseases, must necessarily excel in the art of discovering what, in any given case, are the true indications as to the remedial measures that should be employed. This was the method in which I placed my entire faith, being fully persuaded that if I took Nature for my guide I should never stray far from the right road, even if from time to time I might find myself traversing ground that was wholly new to me.
In the brief account which I have thus far given of the
part played by Sydenham in advancing the science of
medicine, I have called attention only to the general
character of the services which he rendered. It may now
be interesting to furnish here a few details that will aid
in completing the picture of this great English physician,—details
relating to his life and personal character, to his
views regarding certain diseases and the remedies which
he was in the habit of employing for their relief or cure,
and to his later writings.
Throughout the greater part of his professional career Sydenham was a frequent sufferer from gout, some of the attacks being of a severe type and occasionally of long duration. During the winter of 1676, for example, he was seriously ill from renal calculus, haematuria being brought on by the slightest movements of his body. All through the year 1677 he continued to experience frequent attacks of pain, and on one occasion he was unable to leave the house for a period of three months.
Speaking of the epidemic of the Plague in 1665, during the progress of which he left London, Sydenham says: "When I saw that the danger was in my immediate neighborhood I listened to the advice of my friends and joined the crowd of those who were fleeing to the country. A little later, when the epidemic had further increased in severity, and before any of my neighbors had returned, I yielded to the calls of those who had need of my services, and went back to London." It is worthy of remark, says Laboulbène, who fully appreciated the heroism which prompted this last decision, that we should never have
