A supplement to the first part of Medical commentaries / by Dr. Hunter.

  • William Hunter
Date:
1764
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A supplement to the first part of Medical commentaries / by Dr. Hunter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    But* to be more ierious, we muft allow that the language and man¬ ner of literary war fhould be adapted to the circumftances. Injuries, difregard of truth, and mean artifices, in one party, will, and ought to be, treated with fome degree of indignation,, by the other. In order,, therefore, to judge properly of the manner, we muft enter into the caufe, and lift it to the bottom, that we may fee and feel the fituation of the writer; and then, perhaps, what feemed, upon a fuperficial view, too keen, will appear to be very gentle. In the ninth chapter of the Medical Commentaries, I defended myfelf againft a reproach thrown upon me by profeffor Monro, fenior, of Edin¬ burgh, by giving a clear and concife account of a difpute, which I was> unfortunately involved in with Mr. Pott. The account was indeed un¬ favourable to Mr. Pott; but the circumftances were fairly ftated, fo far as I could be informed; and I had taken fome pains to procure informa¬ tion, I concluded that account by fuppofing that it was poflible that I had mifunderftood his condudt towards me;; and declared, that if ever I fhouldi fee reafon to think that to have been my cafe, he fhould find me ready to? do him juftice.. Here the affair refted till laft Odlober, when he publifhed: a fecond edition of his general Treatife on Ruptures. In that he added a. chapter on the Hernia congenita; and took the opportunity of giving the. public his account of our difpute. I read it, and found that we differed very widely in ftating the fadts upon which the whole difpute between, us depends. I remembered the promife I had made, and reafoned thus in my own mind : Plad I been convinced of being in the wrong, I fhould certainly have excufed myfelf in the heft manner I could; but I fhould as certainly have done juftice to Mr. Pott’s character, by owning my error, and afking pardon of him, and of the public. Whoever reads his account, and fuppofes that there are no miftakes in it, muft think that it is my duty to do fo immediately. Yet, now that I have got all the light which he has given me; when I read over both accounts, and compare them together, I am ftill confcious that mine is exadlly true in every particular ; and that in his there are fuch miftakes and inac¬ curacies, as could not have been expedled from a man of his underftand- ing and abilities, whether one conftders him as a furgeon, or as an author. Yet thefe miftakes happen to be in the great points upon which the difpute turns, and totally change the nature of the cafe : therefore,, juftice to the public, as well as to myfelf, obliges me to clear up the matter.5* The
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