John Wesley. Primitive Physic or An Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases. Bristol: William Pine, 1773.
The influence
of Hippocrates and humoral theory is evident in Wesley’s remedies,
which were published more than a century after the writing of Lord Phioravante
and
1300 years after Hippocrates first wrote his Aphorisms. Fevers, induced vomiting,
and bloodletting are all discussed. Fevers are described as evidence of
disturbed equilibrium,
and vomiting and bloodletting as methods of relieving the imbalance of fluids.
Diet is also a major component of the remedies suggested by the author.
The
emphasis on diet and also the ready availability of the drugs prescribed enhanced
its household usefulness and contributed to its huge success. Wesley’s
treatise was tremendously popular, and it went through many editions.
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