814

HOSPITALS, INFIRMARIES , &c. ,

to display his own magnificence and munificence, than toconsult the comforts or convenience of his soldiers; but theactions of genius are often so viewed, the little failures ofthe eminent are always magnified by those who cannotconceive like them.

In the same year, 1670, the Royal Hospital for soldiers,at Chelsea, was founded in England by James II. and com-pleted by William III . But a far larger and more magni-ficent establishment was first suggested by Queen Mary , theconsort of William , for seamen, in the Royal Hospital atGreenwich, near London ; determined on in the year 1694,and began in 1695, and from time to time in subsequentperiods, enlarged and beautified.

We now consider the question respecting regular armysurgeons; and here, as usual, go back into the womb of timeas remote as possible, when we have records to direct uswhich have a general credence. The first cognizable recordthen, is the Iliad of Homer ; in that we find the heroesbefore Troy having one physician, in Machaon. Homer isnot critically nice in his distinction between the avocation ofa physician and a pracliser of the surgical art, but makesone perform both indiscriminately, as appears from a before-cited quotation from the 2d book of the Iliad. Here, likethe knights in chivalry, the heroes dressed each otherswounds, as we perceive in the case of Patroclus and Eury-pilus, Iliad xi.

At length the necessity of employing the progeny ofEsculapius was seen by princes. The question of whetherthe Roman army was accompanied by surgeons, may tosome appear participating of the features of the last on hos-pitals, to be rather uncertain. But on this we have thehenqfit of the liter a scriptura of the learned Saumaise, todecide a point of such importance; who expressly says,that “ each cohort had in general a physician.” Hencethe reason why such terms as medicus cohortis, medicuslegionis, appear in writers of transactions occurring in theperiod of the latter empire.

Indeed Achilles Tatius , who lived in the third century ofour era, expressly, also, names a physician or surgeon ac-companying an army, as exercitus medicus, in the originalo rou o-TparoTredou larpos: this, besides their being also knownby the denominations just used, serves to convince us, andwe do contend, that if there had not been such offices thenexisting, the names serving to denote the officers would nothave appeared.

Besides these, there were also the deputati, described as