Page:Merret - A short view of the frauds and abuses committed by apothecaries.pdf/71

 then many; and if one, better him whose education will teach him better Morality, (and who hath given his Faith (equivalent to an Oath) twice to the Body of the College; viz. once at his admission as Candidate, and a second time at his admission as Fellow; whereby he promiseth in these words, That he shall give nothing to cause miscarriage, or to destroy, or hinder Conception, nor Poysons (for of such good Medicines may be made) to an evil purpose; nay that he shall not even teach them where there is any suspicion of ill using of them. Which promise is nothing else but the Oath proposed by Hippoc. to Physicians, in the entrance to his Books) such as want these qualifications; and this seems to be the reason why our Common Law makes it Felony, for any person to have any one dy under his hand, unless he were a lawful Physician. More noble and generous was the opinion of Alexander the Great, concerning his Physician, who confidently drank off that Medicine which cured him, though he was before informed by some friend that 'twas poysoned. Neither can History it self to my knowledg produce any example, that ever any such foolish Villany was acted; Though doubtless many lives might have been saved if the Apothecaries would have complyed with the College, in their proposed Orders for selling Rats-bane.

In the next place I shall recite some few of their devices against those Physicians in particular that make their own Medicines, as to tell the Patient that is averse to Chymical Medicines, that the Doctor is Chymical, and that because forsooth he makes his own Medicines; but to those that affect Chymical, that the Rh