Page:Quackery Unmasked.djvu/14

10 made vows, did penance, and made use of amulets, charms, and exorcisms, hoping by such means to gain the favor of the gods. For centuries the art of healing seemed inseparably connected with that theological delusion, which so long held the world in chains. Under such circumstances, medicine could not be expected to make much progress; but as superstition gave way, and reason and observation were adopted as guides, the profession improved, and made efforts to rid itself of its unprofitable alliance. It is probable that medicine received its earliest culture in Athens, Rome and Egypt; but so scanty and imperfect is its history, that we are often obliged to pass over whole centuries without obtaining any reliable information concerning its condition. But as there can have been no interregnum among diseases, efforts of some sort must have been constantly employed for the relief of the suffering, and thousands probably studied and labored, and devoted their lives to the cause, and finally passed away without leaving any durable record of their efforts.