Not long afterward Renaudot’s two sons, both of whom had by this time completed the regular course of studies at the Medical Schools, made a respectful request to the Faculty for permission to appear before them for the examination to which all candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine were obliged to submit. In the meantime, as if to show his approval of the request which Renaudot’s sons had made, Richelieu had taken Eusebius with him as his physician-in-ordinary when he joined Louis XIII. at the seat of war in the southern part of France. But neither this kindly act on the part of the Cardinal, nor any of the other efforts made by Renaudot’s friends in behalf of his two sons, seemed to make any impression upon the Faculty. They refused point blank to grant the desired opportunity for an examination. As a last resort, Isaac appealed to Parliament “to issue a decree to the effect that the Faculty of Medicine must confer the degree of M.D. on both Isaac and Eusebius Renaudot within fifteen days; and declaring that, if the decree should not be obeyed within the prescribed limits of time, the decree itself should serve as full equivalent for the title in question.” The Faculty duly entered the decree upon their registers, but in secret they determined that the two Renaudot brothers should be excluded from all their official meetings. Théophraste Renaudot protested and the Faculty of the University of Montpellier pleaded warmly in his behalf, but it was of no avail. After the death of Richelieu the Paris Faculty had no difficulty in thwarting nearly all the excellent schemes of Renaudot. He was obliged to abandon the plan of building, at his own expense, a hospital, and his two sons were not permitted to practice medicine in Paris. He continued, however, to edit the Gazette up to the time of his death in 1653.
Gilles de la Tourette, in his interesting memoir, makes the following reflection upon the career of this pioneer journalist:—“All the innocent inventions of this benefactor of humanity are prospering to-day. In addition to his plan for building a hospital, he was the first to organize the whole scheme of Public Assistance—viz., charitable consultations (not unlike our dispensary work) and gratuitous visits at the residences of the poor. And, in addition to these, he introduced the Monts-de-Piété into Paris and also his Bureau of Addresses of exchange and redemption. To this man whose guiding maxim was ‘Lend money to the poor without expecting any return,’ posterity owes some reparation, and I hope that soon it will be possible to erect in one of our public squares a monument that will perpetuate the memory of the greatest philanthropist of the seventeenth century.”[[2]]
BOOK II
MEDICINE IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL GERMANY DURING THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
CHAPTER II
LOW STATE OF MEDICAL AFFAIRS IN GERMANY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
The intellectual activity of Germany was very low during the first half of the eighteenth century, and this statement applies with equal truth to all the departments of learning. It was only at the time of the French Revolution and for a few months previous to this period that the signs of an awakening began to show themselves. The prevailing unrest and turmoil in the political world are commonly assumed to have furnished ample cause for this widespread intellectual inactivity; and yet, on the other hand, it is conceivable that it was these very disturbances in the domain of politics which had the effect of stimulating the marked increase in mental activity which soon followed. This certainly seems to have been true of general literature, for it was toward the end of the period named that what are admitted to be the classical works of German authors—for instance, the writings of Klopstock, Lessing, Herder, Gellert, Wieland, Goethe, Schiller and the philosopher Kant—were first published. In medicine, says August Hirsch, one of the leading German historical authorities, other influences, beside those of a political nature, contributed powerfully toward the advancement of the science of medicine. The medical students and the younger practitioners, according to his statements, began at this period to show evidences of a wish to become more learned in things relating to their calling and to possess greater refinement in their manners and habits. Trips were made by them more and more frequently to the leading cities of France, Italy and England for the purpose of acquiring additional knowledge of medical science. Thus, little by little, the medical profession of Germany gained increased standing and respect from the community. Beginning with Prussia the governments of the different German states, one after the other, established examinations for the purpose of determining the fitness of the applicants for the right to practice medicine. Then, following the example of their rulers, members of the aristocracy adopted the practice of taking a physician with them on their travels, and the wish to be chosen for this privileged office acted upon the younger physicians as a decided stimulus to acquire greater skill and knowledge. Thus gradually the family physician, in many instances, came to be considered an adviser of greater importance than the clergyman. Then, beside, the knowledge that he had acquired this increased power and that he was held in greater esteem by society, reacted upon the physician’s character, rendering him more and more ambitious to excel and to deserve confidence.
While, during the earlier part of the eighteenth century, medical affairs in Northern and Central Germany were in the condition described above, there was taking place at Vienna, the capital of Austria, the most effective revival of medical science of which we possess any record. Of this important event, however, I will say nothing further at present. A reasonably full account will be found in one of the later chapters.