TYPES OF FRENCH PHYSICIANS WHO FLOURISHED ABOUT THE TIME OF THE REIGN OF TERROR

Louis-Guillaume Lemonnier, member of the Academy of the Sciences and First Physician of the King (Louis XV. and also Louis XVI.), was born at Paris, June 27, 1717. His father and his brother were both of them members of the Academy, the former in his character of Professor of Physics at Harcourt, and the latter as one of the most celebrated astronomers of France. At the age of twenty-two he was sent (1739), with Carsini de Thury and Lacaille, to the south of France to extend the meridian of the Observatory of Paris, the task of making scientific observations along the route followed by his superior associates being specially assigned to him. He noted the existence of mines of ochre, coal, iron, antimony and amethysts in Auvergne, of mineral waters in Mont-d’Or, and of mines of iron in Roussillon. He also made analyses of the mineral waters of BarÈges, and determined the poisonous nature of certain species of mushrooms. In the same year he received the appointment of Physician to the Hospital at St. Germain-en-Laye, near Paris.

During this period of his career Lemonnier made the acquaintance of an expert floral gardener by the name of Richard, and in his company soon developed a keen interest in flowers and garden plants. The Duke of Ayen, who was one of the King’s favorites and well known for his love of flowers as well as for his boldness of speech in telling the truth to the royal household, made frequent visits to Richard’s garden and in this way acquired a friendship for Lemonnier, who entertained him greatly with his talks about botanical matters and about the cultivation of trees. As a result the Duke’s extensive park in time became the home of rare plants and numerous species of noble trees, many of which were still flourishing during Cuvier’s time. After a while Louis XV. was induced by the Duke to accompany him on some of his visits to Richard’s garden, and on one of these occasions the King asked that Lemonnier should be introduced to him, as he wished to become acquainted with the man who had so successfully aided the Duke in establishing an attractive botanical garden. At this first interview Lemonnier made a most favorable impression upon the King,—so favorable, indeed, that the latter, after a few further interviews had taken place, placed this physician and enthusiastic botanist in charge of the botanical garden at the Trianon, in Versailles; and not long afterward he appointed him his First Physician, a position which carried with it a liberal salary. Cuvier, in accounting for the enthusiastic love for botany which develops in certain men, makes the following remarks:—

In our dealing with plants nothing of a painful nature is encountered; no sad images are ever presented to our eyes; there is absolutely nothing to recall to our minds our passions, our disappointments, our misfortunes; love is never associated with jealousy, beauty exists without vanity, force is never accompanied by tyranny, and death takes place without agony; in brief, there is nothing to remind one of the human species.

The only use that Lemonnier made of his pleasant relationship with the King was to secure his sanction of the plan of sending competent botanists to different parts of the globe with instructions to bring or send back rare plants, first to the Trianon garden at Versailles and, after the death of Louis XV. (in 1774), to the Jardin du Roi (Jardin des Plantes) at Paris. In accordance with this scheme men were despatched to Persia, to the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean, to the banks of the Euphrates, to Cayenne in South America, to the Atlas Mountains, to Liban, to China and to the East Indies.

As Lemonnier was not in the habit of publishing anything on botanical subjects, he was comparatively unknown to the public. Were it not for this fact, says Cuvier, he would easily have taken rank among the most celebrated botanists of France. When his friends chided him for having neglected to avail himself of this mode of obtaining well-earned recognition he replied that the time spent in instructing others is lost so far as his own self-instruction is concerned. Furthermore, he was timid in regard to publishing. “There is sure to be a great deal of unjust criticism about anything a man may write, and I cannot easily bear such injustice. I therefore prefer to keep silence.”

Upon the death of Louis XV. Lemonnier lost his position of First Physician to the King and he was not reappointed by Louis XVI. until 1788. Thus, during a period of fourteen years, he was deprived of the large salary which is attached to that position, and was obliged to live upon the relatively small income which he derived from private practice. During the continuance of his official connection with the Court he invariably refused to accept any fees from those individuals who belonged to the Court circle but yet held no official position. On the other hand, he was most generous in giving the best of his service, gratis, to the poor. As a consequence, his popularity among the lower classes was very great. He reaped the reward for this disinterestedness on the occasion when the mob, in 1792, invaded Versailles and carried off the King and Marie Antoinette to Paris. As soon as the palace was vacated Lemonnier sought safety in one of the small pavilions in the adjoining park; but the rabble broke into the building and were carrying off Lemonnier as a prisoner when suddenly a man, who seemed to be one of the leaders of the mob, stepped out from the crowd and ordered the physician to follow him. Thus Lemonnier was conducted to his room in the Luxembourg palace in Paris, all the time under the guidance of this strange, rough-looking man, who nevertheless, when they arrived at the Luxembourg, acknowledged to the doctor that he intended, from the very first, to save his life if he possibly could, because he was sure, “from the kindly and venerable expression of his countenance, that he could not possibly have had anything to do with the abuses of which the rabble complained so bitterly.” Thus was Lemonnier rewarded for all his past services to the poor of Paris and Versailles.

During the last years of his life—he was eighty-two years old when he died—he enjoyed, in the quiet society of his former friends, who stood by him faithfully to the end, what he termed the happiest years of his life.

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Charles Louis Dumas, born at Lyons, France, on February 8, 1765, was the son of a practicing surgeon. At the age of seventeen he began the study of medicine at Montpellier, Barthez and Grimaud being at that time the most distinguished members of the Medical Faculty of that university. From the very first he manifested a keen interest in his studies. In 1785 he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine, the title of his graduating thesis being: “An Essay on Life, or the Vital Faculties.” In 1787 he visited Paris, and during the following two years devoted his attention chiefly to chemistry and to the study of human anatomy. It was during this period that he became warmly attached to Vicq-d’Azyr.

In 1790 he returned to Montpellier and took part in a competition for the chair of surgery left vacant by the death of Sabatier. Although the judges decided in favor of another competitor they were most favorably impressed with the talents which Dumas exhibited. A year later, upon the death of BarthÉlemy Vigaroux, Dumas accepted the position of Vice-Professor of Surgery in the same university, but, owing to the political troubles which developed at this time in Lyons, he was obliged to resign his chair at the end of one year and return to his native city. After the termination of the siege of Lyons he was expelled from the city, narrowly escaping with his life. In 1793 all teaching of medicine at the University of Montpellier ceased, and two years later a new school of medicine was organized, and the duty of teaching anatomy and physiology was assigned to Dumas. In 1798 he was chosen President of the school and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier. He died on March 28, 1813, at the early age of forty-seven.

The more important of the treatises written and published by Dumas are the following:—“Principes de Physiologie,” Paris, 1800–1803, 4 vols., and “Doctrine GÉnÉrale des Maladies Chroniques, etc.,” Montpellier, 1812, and a second edition (2 vols.) in 1824.

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Pierre-Jean-Georges Cabanis was born June 5, 1757, at the village of Conac, in the Department of CorrÈze, France. During his early youth he gave no evidence whatever of possessing an inclination to study, but at the age of fourteen he was taken to Paris, and then, for the first time, he manifested great eagerness to acquire all kinds of knowledge. After having completed his preliminary course of literary training he accepted the position of private secretary to Prince Massalsky, Bishop of Wilna, and accompanied him on his return to Poland. A residence of two years in that distracted country convinced him, however, that he had better return to France and seek there for an opening to some useful career. Accordingly he went to Paris, and, upon learning that a prize for a French translation, in verse, of a part of Homer’s Iliad had been offered by the AcadÉmie FranÇaise, he devoted all his time and energy to the writing of such a translation. Richerand, from whose eulogy on Cabanis I have derived most of the information furnished in the present sketch, does not state whether these efforts were or were not rewarded by the capture of the coveted prize. His account, however, makes it perfectly clear that Cabanis was an enthusiastic admirer of the poetry of Homer and that he would gladly have devoted his life to the cultivation of literature if he had not, at the same time, been deeply impressed with the idea that a good citizen should devote a large share of his time and his talents to things of real use to his fellow men and to his native or adopted country. Accordingly, in due course of time, he set aside his purely literary employment and began in earnest the study of medicine, to which vocation he now transferred his allegiance with all the ardor of which he was capable. Hippocrates, whose accurate descriptions of disease and whose high standard of professional duty excited his admiration as much as had the writings of Homer, furnished him with the first models that were to serve as guides in his newly chosen career. To add to his good fortune he had the privilege of studying medicine under the guidance of Dubreuil, a teacher of the very highest order, a philosopher, and a man of whom the pupil always spoke in strong terms of admiration and affection.

After taking his doctor’s degree in 1784 Cabanis devoted all his energies, during the few years which elapsed between this event and the breaking out of the French Revolution, to the practice of his profession. Aside from these duties he accepted only one official responsibility, viz., that of Administrator of the Hospitals of Paris, and this duty he performed with entire success. It is a fact worth noting that he was one of Mirabeau’s intimate friends, and he believed thoroughly in the principles of the French Revolution, but he did not approve of the excesses which characterized its progress.

Some idea of the importance of the position which Cabanis held in the esteem of his associates in the Parisian world of science and politics may be gained from the following statements:—Early in his career he was introduced by Turgot, the former Controller-General, to Madame HelvÉtius, the widow of the well-known littÉrateur, Claude Adrien HelvÉtius, and a woman whose weekly receptions (salons) brought together at frequent intervals some of the most famous men at that time residing in Paris. Thus he became acquainted with Franklin and Jefferson, of the United States, as well as with Diderot and d’Alembert, the famous writers connected with the French EncyclopÆdia. He was also presented to Voltaire, who received him in the most kindly manner. Although from 1789 to the end of his life he published a number of useful pamphlets on different topics connected with public affairs and especially with public charitable institutions and undertakings, he rarely permitted his name to appear as the author of such essays. In 1799, when the Consulate was entrusted with the government of France, Cabanis accepted a seat in the Senate and took an active interest in public questions. During the last three years of his life the increasingly bad state of his health did not permit him to do much work of any kind; and finally, on May 6, 1808, an attack of cerebral apoplexy put an end to his life.

The two most important works published by Cabanis are the following:—“Rapports du Physique et du Moral de l’Homme,” Paris, 1802 (2d edition in 1805); and “Du DegrÉ de Certitude de la MÉdecine,” Paris, 1797 (3d edition in 1819).

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FÉlix Vicq-d’Azyr, who was born in 1748, was distinguished chiefly as an anatomist and physiologist, and also as a writer on scientific topics. The Faculty of Paris, not being pleased with his rapid advance in popular favor, refused to allow him the privilege of lecturing in their anatomical theatre. Then Antoine Petit, who was at that time Professor of Anatomy at the “Jardin du Roi,”—an institution which was located in what is now known as the Jardin des Plantes and was in a limited sense a rival of the École de MÉdecine,—befriended him and did everything in his power to make him successor to himself in the Chair of Anatomy. In this attempt, however, Petit failed, for Portal, whose candidacy was backed by the more influential Buffon, eventually received the appointment. Just at this juncture of affairs Vicq-d’Azyr met with a stroke of good luck. A niece of the celebrated naturalist, Daubenton, who spent a large part of his long life in work connected with the Jardin du Roi, happened one day to have a fainting fit just as she was passing in front of Vicq-d’Azyr’s residence. This physician, who chanced to be at home when the fainting occurred, did everything in his power to restore the lady to consciousness; and in this he was perfectly successful. In fact, not many months elapsed before they were married; and from this time forward Daubenton did everything in his power to advance Vicq-d’Azyr’s career as a scientist. He aided him, for example, in procuring a great variety of foreign animals which the latter needed for his researches in comparative anatomy; and, in addition, he promoted his candidacy for membership in the AcadÉmie des Sciences, to which organization he received an election in 1774. Soon afterward he gained the esteem and friendship of Lassonne, the First Physician of the King, and through his influence Vicq-d’Azyr was commissioned to carry assistance to the people living in certain districts of France where an epidemic disease was raging. Later, Lassonne aided him in organizing the SociÉtÉ Royale de MÉdecine, the function of which was to perfect all the departments of medical activity. Eventually Vicq-d’Azyr was made SecrÉtaire Perpetuel of this society. The Faculty, as had happened before under similar circumstances, showed itself jealous of this new organization, and systematically did all in its power to undermine the influence of Vicq-d’Azyr, whom it recognized as the guiding spirit of the scheme. Despite these malicious efforts the public at large, recognizing their origin and the mean spirit of jealousy which prompted them, lost no opportunity of bestowing praise upon Vicq-d’Azyr. In 1788 the AcadÉmie FranÇaise chose him as Buffon’s successor, and in 1789 he succeeded Lassonne as the First Physician of the Queen.

Vicq-d’Azyr’s purely scientific writings are very numerous and of marked importance. They cover a wide extent of subjects—medicine, anatomy (both human and comparative), and the veterinary art. His death occurred on June 25, 1794, from some acute affection of the chest.

The treatises and memoirs which he wrote were first published separately at different dates, but in 1805 a fairly complete collection was published at Paris by Moreau.

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Jean-Noel HallÉ, born at Paris, France, toward the end of the eighteenth century, was one of the most distinguished physicians of that period. Cuvier, the famous naturalist and the author of the biography upon which the present sketch is based, makes the following statement:—

Those physicians who can steer their way successfully through such a maze of difficulties as existed during the French Revolution, and who at the same time can inspire their patients with a feeling of entire confidence in their ability to bring them safely back to health, deserve our highest admiration and respect. But when we wish, in giving an account of a physician of this calibre, to furnish clear proofs of the truth of what we say, we find it exceedingly difficult to produce the necessary evidence. The names of three such men occur to me, viz., HallÉ, Corvisart and Pinel.

In the further course of his narrative Cuvier states that, in his charitable gifts to the poor, HallÉ studiously concealed from them the source of the aid which they received. Many a patient, he adds, upon his recovery from the attack for which the doctor had treated him, was astonished to find that all the expenses incurred during his illness had in some mysterious manner been defrayed. “How rarely indeed,” says Cuvier, “does one learn of such a perfect carrying out of the injunction: ‘Let not thy right hand know what thy left hand doeth.’”

About the year 1794 HallÉ’s father and his grandfather were made members of the Order of Saint-Michael, an honor which conferred nobility not only upon them but also upon himself. Unfortunately for the doctor, who was residing in Paris at the time, this patent of nobility made him subject to the new law which had been passed by the Convention, and which drove into exile all members of the nobility. An exception, however, was made in his case because he held the office of Physician to the Poor, and also—doubtless—because he was universally known throughout Paris to be a staunch friend of the poor. Having thus received permission to remain in the capital HallÉ at once bethought himself how he might aid those unfortunates who were confined in prison. He was permitted, for example, to visit Malesherbes, Minister Turbot’s associate, who was awaiting his death by the guillotine. Not only was he thus enabled to speak words of comfort to the unfortunate prisoner, but he received from him such farewell messages for his distressed family and friends as he desired to send. HallÉ was also one of those friends of Lavoisier who interfered actively, but in vain, to save his life from the executioner’s block. Those were terrible times and it required great courage to do what HallÉ did in behalf of these innocent victims of the murderous Jacobins.

Fourcroy, the celebrated chemist and naturalist, who was authorized by the Convention in 1794 and 1795 to organize a new École de MÉdecine, to take the place of the one which the rabble had destroyed in 1783, appointed HallÉ Professor of Medical Physics and Hygiene. Then, later still (1796), Corvisart, who by that time was in the full exercise of his functions as medical adviser to Bonaparte,^[20] appointed HallÉ his associate in the professorship at the CollÈge de France. Shortly afterward he gave up the Chair entirely to HallÉ.

Between the years 1800 and 1812 HallÉ, more than any other French physician, exerted his influence—and with decided success—in overcoming the remaining opposition to vaccination, not only in France but also in Italy.

Corvisart left to HallÉ in his will the portrait of Stoll, the distinguished Vienna professor, and added a memorandum to the effect that he made this gift because he esteemed HallÉ more highly than he did any other physician.

Many anecdotes have been told concerning the peculiarities of HallÉ in his dealings with patients. The following two may perhaps prove of interest to my readers:—If, for example, the patient happened to be an artist, HallÉ refused to accept a fee from him; and, when asked why he did this, he replied: “Because from way back I belong to a family of artists.” Then, in the second place, he was not willing to accept fees from ecclesiastics. “If they have only just enough to live upon, they should not be subjected to any diminution of that small stipend. On the other hand, if they have more than is absolutely necessary for their legitimate living expenses, this excess belongs to the poor.” The following anecdote is told of one of his experiences:—

One day, when he returned to his office, worn out with a hard day’s practice, he was told that a lady was waiting to consult him. “Ask her,” he said to the attendant, “kindly to consult some other physician, as I am too tired to see her.” She sent back word that she had not the courage to do this, as she was not able to pay for the services of this other physician. “If that is the case,” HallÉ promptly replied, “tell her I will see her.” To himself he said: “I have no right to send her away.”

HallÉ’s death occurred on February 11, 1822. LaËnnec succeeded him at the CollÈge de France.

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Gaspard Laurent Bayle was born on August 18, 1774, at the village of Vernet in the Department of the Basses-Alps. The country in this part of France is very picturesque but not at all fertile; lofty mountains surround it on all sides. At an early age Gaspard manifested a high degree of intelligence and a strong inclination to study natural phenomena. He was barely ten years old when he began making a collection of insects, and he even went so far as to give names to the individual species. He was only twelve years old when he was sent to the High School of Embrun; and in this institution he made such advances in his studies that the principal, Father Rossignol, a Jesuit, looked upon him as one of the most promising of the pupils under his charge; more than this, he felt a strong affection for the boy. As the curriculum of the school studies did not include mathematics and natural history Father Rossignol took particular pains to furnish Gaspard with instruction in these branches of knowledge. The warm friendship which thus developed between the scholar and his instructor, continued unbroken up to the time of the latter’s death in 1813.

Laboring under the impression that it was his duty to become a priest Gaspard enrolled his name at the theological seminary in 1790, and devoted the following year to the study of philosophy and theology; but, after the lapse of a certain length of time, doubts began to enter his mind as to the wisdom of the choice which he had made, and accordingly, after consultation with his father and older brother, both of whom were lawyers, he abandoned the study of theology and entered his brother’s law office.

In 1793, when the storms of the French Revolution had reached their acme of violence, young Bayle, who was then only nineteen years old, attended a political meeting at Embrun and made such a stirring appeal to the mountaineers there assembled, in regard to their duty as Republicans, that he completely won their confidence, and was accordingly chosen to represent them at the approaching reception of the Proconsuls Barras and FrÉron, who had been sent by the Convention to persuade the inhabitants of that district to carry out the violent measures which had been planned against the city of Digne. The Proconsuls, who in the meantime had arrived at Digne, quickly discovered that public sentiment was not in favor of the measures advocated by the Convention; and accordingly, in the fear that an uprising of the citizens might imperil their own lives, they promptly fled from that city; but, before leaving, they made arrangements for the arrest of the young orator who had produced such a strongly antagonistic impression upon the people. As soon as Bayle’s father and brother had learned these facts they quickly took all the steps necessary for secretly getting Gaspard out of Digne and sending him as speedily as possible to Montpellier, where—by enrolling himself among the students of Medicine—they believed that he might reasonably expect to escape the clutches of Barras and FrÉron. These measures proved successful, and thus Bayle’s life was saved and his attention diverted from the Law to Medicine, a career in which he was destined to gain great credit.

After spending three years at Montpellier Bayle was sent, as an Officier de SantÉ, to serve at a military hospital temporarily established at Nice, in the south of France. And here let me remark, parenthetically, that this title should not be translated by the corresponding English term “Health Officer.” In 1795 a new type of medical school was established in France, the object of this innovation being to provide a class of practitioners who could meet all the ordinary medical needs of the peasants at a charge considerably less than that demanded by the graduates of the high schools. The course in these new schools covered a period of only two years, and the graduates were classed as “Officiers de SantÉ.”

As Bayle’s duties here at Nice were not very exacting he divided the time which he had at his disposal between the bedside observation of cases of actual disease and the study of treatises relating to pathology. In 1798 he went to Paris and followed several courses of instruction, more particularly that given by Corvisart on pathological anatomy. In 1799, at a competitive examination, he won the position of Assistant in Anatomy, and from that time forward he devoted a large part of his time to the work of making post-mortem examinations.

In 1802 Bayle received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. The thesis which he wrote on this occasion created a great sensation, partly because it described an entirely new form of gangrene, and even more on account of the philosophic manner in which he defended all his statements when called upon to do so at the public cross-examination which, at all the foreign universities, commonly precedes the bestowal of the degree upon the candidate. Two of Bayle’s friends who were present on this occasion, secured shorthand notes of the discussion that took place between the candidate and the professors (Petit-Radel, Pinel, Alphonse Leroy and Percy) whose duty it was to question him with regard to the views put forward in the thesis. The report based upon these shorthand notes covers nine printed pages of the biographic sketch which lies before me, and is not—as will readily be appreciated by my readers—suitable for reproduction here in its entirety; nor would a digest of such a report serve any useful purpose. The most that seems to me permissible under the circumstances is to furnish here two or three brief extracts, from a perusal of which it will be possible to form at least some idea of the character of this cross-examination. It should be stated, however, by way of preface, that Professor Petit-Radel had, just before the discussion began, raised objections to Bayle’s failure, in his thesis, to include in his list of inflammatory affections “the whitish engorgements observed at times in different organs”; and he then added the following remark: “You are not disposed, I assume, to recognize the existence of Boerhaave’s ‘white inflammation.’”

(Here follows the first part of the stenographic report of the cross-examination.)

BAYLE: “If in the affection to which you refer the swelling is accompanied by pain, and if it terminates by undergoing resolution or by suppuration, then I should say that it bore some relationship to inflammation; but if there is neither redness, pain, fever, nor suppuration, I should declare that it possesses none of the characters which distinguish inflammatory affections, and that consequently this so-called ‘white inflammation’ should be considered by us as something imaginary. At the same time I should not like to have anybody get the impression, from what I have said, that I deny the existence of such things as white tumors or swellings, indolent in character, and either elastic or permitting the pressure of a finger to leave the mark called ‘pitting’; I simply wish to emphasize the fact that these affections do not manifest any of the characteristics of an inflammatory disturbance.”

PETIT-RADEL: “Do you not believe that there exist certain kinds of humors which possess the power of giving rise to a white variety of inflammation?”

BAYLE: “As I do not know what this ‘white inflammation’ really is, you must not expect me to entertain a clear idea of what its immediate causes are; and even if I were personally familiar with this type of ‘inflammation,’ it is more than likely that I would wander far from the truth if I were to attempt to define the particular kind of humor which causes this affection. It is easy to say that bile, or some other humor that possesses a sufficiently acrid character, is the exciting cause; and then I might print what I have to say on the subject in a beautiful book.^[21] But of what use are all these hypothetical deductions; why resort to pure operations of the imagination when we seek to explain natural phenomena? Is it not better to say simply ‘I do not know’ than to erect a pompous edifice on a foundation of moving sand?”

PETIT-RADEL: “Very well, let us speak now of the treatment which you recommend. Was it a wise thing to prescribe bleeding and purgatives in the treatment of the gangrenous pustule which you describe in your thesis?” etc.

The remainder of the stenographic report is fully as interesting as the first part, but I do not feel warranted in omitting equally important text in order to find room for the report in its entirety. I will simply state that, before the cross-examination was completed, Bayle had boldly expressed the opinion that “there is nothing more harmful to the advance of practical medicine than the cultivation of the spirit of system.”

Not long after Bayle received his degree of M.D. he succeeded in obtaining, as the result of a competitive examination, one of the two positions of House Physician (“elÈve interne”) which existed at La CharitÉ Hospital; and here, having at his disposal an extraordinary amount of valuable material both clinical and pathological, and being aided by the experienced guidance of Corvisart and Dumangin, he enjoyed for about two years the most extensive opportunity for self-culture which it is possible for a young physician—Bayle was only twenty-eight in 1802—to have placed at his disposal. Being very industrious and also extremely ambitious to excel he accumulated a great stock of knowledge concerning the different forms of disease to which human beings are subject. Not only did he store this knowledge up in the chambers of his mind, but he also kept written records of everything that seemed to possess value, for use at a later period of his life. This fact should be remembered, for those who have had occasion to consult the numerous treatises which Bayle has published, cannot have failed to wonder that he should have been able to furnish so many and so complete histories of cases that came under his personal observation. But alas! he failed to realize that this sort of work was sapping his strength, and he also seemed to ignore the fact that he was carrying within himself the seeds of a pulmonary disease which was sure sooner or later to put an end to his labors. Already as early as in August, 1804, he was seized with such a violent nostalgia, such an irresistible longing for his beloved mountains, that he was obliged to drop all work at La CharitÉ and return to his home in the south of France. In addition to the nostalgia there were loss of flesh, insomnia and a sense of oppression in the chest. This change of scene, air and occupation proved rapidly beneficial, for, at the end of fifteen days, he felt much stronger and was able to sleep much more soundly than for many previous weeks. His morale, too, was markedly improved; his hunger for mountain scenery and air was now satisfied. Then, for several years after his return to Paris, he remained in comparatively good health, and was able to attend to an enormous amount of hospital and private practice, in addition to literary work. But in 1813 the threatening chest symptoms again compelled him to visit his beloved Alps and to spend several months with his wife and children in their mountain home. This time, however, the improvement in his health was much less pronounced than it was in 1804, and very soon he found that he would have to abandon all active work. His death took place on May 11, 1816, at the early age of forty-two.

According to the statement of Bayle’s biographer it was the unanimous opinion of all the physicians who had come in frequent contact with him during his professional career, especially in the course of his official work at La CharitÉ, that no physician of equally varied and great attainments had previously been seen in Paris. Professors Chomel and Cayol, and the famous LaËnnec maintained that this was not too great praise to bestow upon Bayle.

Of his published writings I shall mention here only a few of those which attained some celebrity, viz.: “Remarques sur les Tubercules,” in the Journal de MÉdecine, Chirurgie, et Pharmacie, tome 6, p. 1; tome 9, p. 427; and tome 10, p. 32.—“TraitÉ des Maladies CancÉreuses,” 2 vols., Paris, 1833. (One of the earliest and certainly one of the most elaborate treatises on this subject that is to be found in the entire range of medical literature.)—“MÉmoire sur l’oedÈme de la Glotte,” in the Dictionnaire des Sciences MÉdicales.

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Jean-Nicolas Corvisart, who was born February 15, 1775, at DrÉcourt, a village in the Department of Ardennes, N. E. France, was destined by his father to follow in his footsteps, in the career of an attorney; but the son disliked the work more and more as time went on. Finally, he found an opportunity of attending one of the lectures of Antoine Petit, who was one of the most eloquent lecturers on anatomy in France during the eighteenth century. He was completely fascinated by what he heard, and at once determined that this was the only profession that he cared to adopt. Accordingly, during the next few months he made a practice of rising very early in the morning and finishing the clerical work which had been assigned to him in his father’s office; thus gaining time to attend the lectures of Petit, Louis, Desault and Vicq-d’Azyr. When the father discovered what his son had been doing he made up his mind that it would be useless to make any further attempts to keep him occupied with work calculated to fit him for the career of an attorney. Accordingly he allowed him to follow the regular course of studies prescribed for those who intended to become physicians. At that early date (about 1770), however, the regular medical course of training carried out by the Faculty of Medicine was most unsatisfactory. For example, the so-called regular course of lectures was not well adapted to form an adequate basis of education for the student of medicine, and, in addition, there was nothing that could be called clinical teaching. In short, the student was obliged to pick up the knowledge which he needed, in large measure by the exercise of his own wits. But Corvisart was both eager to learn and very persevering, and he possessed such a genius for picking out as his guides the very men who were best fitted for imparting useful knowledge, that he managed to make satisfactory advances despite all these obstacles. The instructors in whom he placed the greatest confidence were Desbois de Rochefort, Head Physician of La CharitÉ Hospital, and Desault, Chief Surgeon of HÔtel-Dieu. These two men, says Cuvier, were the most distinguished medical men of their day in the art of curing disease. Desbois de Rochefort, for example, was the first of the Parisian physicians to give regular clinical instruction in the hospital with which he was connected, and Corvisart followed this instruction regularly throughout a period of several years. He was also present at most of the post-mortem examinations which took place during de Rochefort’s service; in fact, he took the very deepest interest in this part of the work. A prick of one of his fingers while he was dissecting caused an infection which nearly cost him his life. It was on this occasion that Desault, by his skill and by his untiring efforts to control the manifestations of the disease, rendered him splendid service.

Under such persistent and intelligent training it was not long before Corvisart was himself able to give courses of instruction in anatomy and physiology,—courses which rapidly became very popular with the students.

So far as dress was concerned, MoliÈre succeeded in driving out of fashion the gown and pointed bonnet which the physicians of that day were still, in accordance with the custom of centuries, wearing; but he failed to induce them to abandon the wig which they were expected to wear when engaged in actual service in the hospital wards. This practice continued in force until HallÉ and Corvisart both got themselves into trouble by refusing to wear a wig. In the case of Corvisart the following story is told:—A well-known Paris lady (Madame Necker) had just founded a fine hospital to which Corvisart hoped to be appointed the Physician-in-Chief. When he first appeared in one of the wards in his natural hair, the lady founder was much shocked, and declared positively that she was not willing to assume the responsibility of sanctioning any such novelty. Corvisart remained firm in his resolution and the position was given to another physician.

Compensation for this disappointment, says Cuvier, came to Corvisart soon afterward, in the following manner:—PÈre Potentine, the Superior of the monks connected with La CharitÉ Hospital, had been struck with the faithful manner in which Corvisart had cared for the sick under his charge. So, when Desbois-Rochefort, the pioneer clinical teacher in Paris, died in 1788, he quickly determined that he would, if possible, secure for Corvisart the important position which had just been vacated. His efforts proved successful, and in a short time the new appointee was attracting to La CharitÉ a large number of students who were just as appreciative of Corvisart’s clinical teachings as they had been of the instruction given by his predecessor.

A few years later still—in 1802—he was asked to see in consultation Bonaparte, who was suffering from an acute pulmonary attack; and on this occasion he had the good fortune not only to discover the real cause of the trouble but also to recommend the measures which resulted in curing the disease.

Despite his great success, both as a teacher and as a practitioner, Corvisart experienced his full share of professional disappointments, and was, in consequence, often very much depressed by them. He was wont to express in very plain terms his dislike for those treatises in which the author assigned to each disease a list of sharply defined characteristics, and which caused the reader to believe that the course which it pursued was invariably the same; which spoke of disease, in short, in such a manner as to convey to young men the impression that the science of medicine was one of the physical sciences, and that both diseases and the remedies to be employed might well be reduced to a comparatively few forms. No such simplicity exists in nature; the number of combinations is infinite, and each day the combination is likely to be completely changed. The numerous autopsies which he had made convinced Corvisart that similarly the internal changes vary just as greatly as do the external signs and symptoms.

The two most important treatises of which Corvisart was the author are his “Treatise on Diseases of the Heart” and his “Commentary on Auenbrugger’s Work.” Nowhere in medical literature, says Cuvier, will one find a more methodical or a more clearly written treatise on this subject than the first of these treatises. In the second one the author analyzes the different alterations in the lungs, bronchi and pleura which may be distinguished by means of Auenbrugger’s method. In the form which Corvisart has given to this second work we obtain the clearest evidence of his generous character. Rather than rob this man who had long been dead, and who was entirely unknown to him, of even a small portion of what was his due, Corvisart preferred—to use the expression employed by Cuvier—to immolate his own glory. It appears that before he had learned anything whatever about the work that Auenbrugger had published in 1763, he had himself made the majority of the discoveries set forth in that author’s treatise and was making preparations to publish them to the world. Just at this moment, however, he unexpectedly found a copy of a French translation of Auenbrugger’s dissertation, whereupon he abandoned his original plan and published instead the “Commentaries.” In his preface he gives the following explanation of the course which he adopted:—“I might have—if I had so wished—sacrificed the name of Auenbrugger to my own vanity; but my object is to revive the knowledge of his splendid and legitimate discovery.”

In 1789 Corvisart published the MSS. which Desbois de Rochefort had left to him as trustee. Already in 1788, as stated on a previous page, he had been appointed, by a unanimous vote, Physician to La CharitÉ Hospital. From the very start he took up with enthusiasm the work of clinical instruction in this hospital, and kept it up for nearly twenty years, thus gaining for himself—according to Dupuytren—the reputation of being the leading medical practitioner of his day, and adding great distinction to French medicine. In 1795, when the first École de MÉdecine was created, he was made “Clinical Professor of Medicine”; and from this time forward, for a period of several years, he carried on the work of clinical teaching practically without a rival.

In addition to the positions which he held at l’École de MÉdecine and at La CharitÉ Hospital Corvisart was connected in some teaching capacity with the CollÈge de France. At first he gave instruction in this institution only in the theory of medicine, but after 1795 he was formally installed in the College as a teacher of practical medicine; and from this time forward he was able so to arrange his lectures that those students who attended his clinical instruction at La CharitÉ, would be able to hear him, later in the day, explain more fully the diagnosis, treatment, etc., which he had adopted in the morning. In his manner of conducting these sittings Corvisart was largely guided by Stoll’s “Aphorisms,” a practical work which combined the genius of Boerhaave and that of Stoll,—a work in which problems and demonstrated truth were most happily combined. Corvisart was so impressed with the value of this treatise (“Aphorisms”) that he published a translation of it in 1797.

As a lecturer Corvisart possessed an animated and sparkling style of delivery and great clearness of expression. When asked why he improvised these lectures before the students, instead of writing them out beforehand, he said: “In lecturing I like to feel absolutely at my ease and not to be under the restraint which one feels after a formal preparation beforehand.”

In the hospital it was his practice to submit to the students for inspection and consideration only the most serious and the most typical cases. From the bedside he went, in company with the entire class, to the amphitheatre, and there entered upon a more complete description and discussion of what they had witnessed in the ward. If the patient died, then he took them with him to the dead-house and showed them whatever the autopsy revealed. Before doing so, however, he read to them a brief history of the case, in order to refresh their memory. Then, after the autopsy had been completed, he reviewed and compared the two sets of facts. As the author of this particular eulogy remarks, “One can imagine with what intense interest the students followed this last act in the course of instruction which Corvisart gave them.”

When Bonaparte was made Emperor of France one of his early acts was to appoint Corvisart, who had been instrumental in effecting his recovery from a serious pulmonary attack, his First Physician. This position was not, as might easily be imagined, that of a mere personal adviser; it was a much more important office, or at least it became so in the hands of Dr. Corvisart. He felt very strongly that he must use this great increase in his personal influence, not for himself nor for his immediate circle of friends, but for the benefit of the nation and for the advancement of the science of medicine. As an illustration of the spirit in which Corvisart interpreted the attitude which he should maintain in the face of his new responsibilities I will mention the following incident:—On one occasion, when the Emperor startled him with the announcement that he held in his hands the official appointment of his brother to a position connected with the Government, Corvisart remarked: “Allow me, your Majesty, to decline, for my brother, this position; he does not possess the necessary capacity. I know that he is poor, but that is a matter which concerns only myself.” After Corvisart left the room Napoleon, turning to one of his ministers who happened to be present, asked him: “Do you know of many men like this man?” On another occasion, when Corvisart happened to be the subject of conversation, the Emperor remarked: “He is an honest and skilful man, but a little brusque.”

Among his numerous acts of generosity toward his friends and benefactors there were some which showed that he did not forget his teachers nor even the hospitals. He established at l’École de MÉdecine a prize fund which had for its purpose to aid those who found it impossible, through lack of funds, to continue their scientific experiments.

Finally, it should not be forgotten that it was Corvisart who suggested to Bonaparte,^[22] the First Consul, the propriety of erecting at HÔtel-Dieu the monument in honor of Desault and Bichat. (See page 167.) By reason of the various responsibilities which very soon began to burden Corvisart he was obliged to give up, one after the other, his clinical teaching and finally his practice; it had become impossible for him to do justice to so many things. Thus, he resigned his Chair of Clinical Medicine in 1807, and in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon, he retired to his countryseat, where he hoped to regain in some measure the health which had begun to break down under the numerous burdens which he had been carrying. His death occurred on September 18, 1821.

From among the comments that were published by his contemporaries soon after Corvisart’s death I select the following as well adapted to complete the portrait of this remarkable man:—

Among his professional brethren Corvisart was admitted to have gained a high degree of skill in the power to diagnose diseases of the chest by means of percussion, and especially to have advanced our knowledge of affections of the heart and its annexes. No less important are the services which he rendered to physicians through his valuable and inspiriting clinical teaching. It was particularly in this form of teaching that he showed in what a rare degree he possessed the power of interesting his auditors in the case which happened to be at that moment under consideration. Corvisart was equally successful as a teacher of pathological anatomy, and nobody, since the time of Bichat, did more than he to develop in France the love of researches in pathological anatomy. However, despite their fascination with the study of the pathological lesions presented by the different organs of the body after death, these pupils rarely seemed anxious to harmonize them with the symptoms manifested by the patient during his lifetime. They persisted in forgetting the remarks made by their teacher on this very point, to wit:—

The most desirable thing, the thing which we should particularly strive to find out because it is that which is most important in practical medicine, is not what are the peculiarities discernible in the cadaver, but to recognize the existence of these pathological lesions from certain signs and symptoms manifested during life.

The only works which Corvisart has handed down to posterity are the following:—

“Essai sur les maladies et les lÉsions organiques du coeur et des gros vaisseaux,” Paris, 1806. (3d edition, 1818.)

“Nouvelle mÉthode pour reconnaÎtre les maladies internes de la poitrine, par la percussion de cette cavitÉ,” par Auenbrugger; ouvrage traduit du latin et commentÉ par J. N. Corvisart, Paris, 1808.

Corvisart’s comments constitute a large and important part of the book last mentioned, and virtually make of it an original work by Corvisart. Auenbrugger’s original treatise was published in 1763 and was then, according to Dezeimeris, entirely forgotten, notwithstanding the fact that in 1770 it was translated into French by RoziÈre de la Chassagne. Auenbrugger was the first physician who recognized the fact that, by percussion of the walls of the chest, a diagnosis may be made of some of the diseases affecting the organs contained therein. Corvisart practiced Auenbrugger’s percussion method during a period of twenty years and was in the habit of demonstrating it to the numerous students who attended his courses in clinical medicine. It was this long experience in the practice of percussion that enabled him to extend, correct and modify the method as it was set forth in Auenbrugger’s little treatise. If he had not done this and had not published the results in his French translation (of 1808), Auenbrugger would not have won the credit for his glorious discovery. The delicately considerate manner in which Corvisart engineered the whole scheme throws a flood of light upon the noble character of Napoleon’s First Physician.