An account of a medical controversy in the city of Cork, in which five physicians are engaged; with the remarkable manner of its being hitherto conducted : To which are subjoined two letters from Dr. Mead and one from Dr. Frewin, to the different persons concern'd.

Date:: 1749

Credit: An account of a medical controversy in the city of Cork, in which five physicians are engaged; with the remarkable manner of its being hitherto conducted : To which are subjoined two letters from Dr. Mead and one from Dr. Frewin, to the different persons concern'd. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$[7] much oFhis Humanity, and his peculiar Talent of Confolation, and when any Perfon happens to ad¬ mire or applaud the Author, he takes Care, in choice Terms, to praife that Gentleman’s great Candour for fo doing ; when his Adverfary hap¬ pened to recoiled aCircumflance which made againfl: the Author, tho’ it (lands proved by a double Evi¬ dence, he frankly calls it a Contradiction in Terms; and confutes the Evidence by quoting his Chriflian Faith, and that Stock of Honour upon which he had traded for fo many Years. Now by the Ma¬ nagement of thefe and many other excellent Devices, he has found Means to pillar and prop many a dead V/eight, that would otherwife have crulhed the weak Shoulders of any modern Author. I am apt to think, however, that this Invention is not alto¬ gether original and from himfelf, but that he took the Hint from Lord Shaftjburf s Advice to an Author, to divide himfelf into two Perfons, (tho’ with a different Intention) becaufe he has fome- times, not only multiplied himfelf into ten Perfons, but even up to 50,000 * as he makes the whole ac¬ cumulated Body of the City of Cork talk thro’ his Mouth ; and then he blufters and roars againfl his Adverfary, as if it were the Voice and party-co- lour’d Language of a Multitude of People. Again in the Reply, when the four Gentlemen are fuppofed to be jointly concerned in the Work, it is not then neceffary that the four (hould be talking together thro’ the whole Book, which might introduce an Indiftindnefs and Confufion of Lan¬ guage. It is therefore much better, for each to write a Paragraph in his Turn in the Name of the red, tho9 the Fads there mentioned may but barely be true with regard to his fingle Perfon \ fuch as that he did not fee fuch a Fad, or fay fuch a thing, upon the Credit of which, he may declare bluntly and$