Letter on Turkish Smallpox Inoculation

Scientific Revolution
eer, crossing boundaries of education and
m insects and nurturing daughters as she
~te. Her focus on breeding, habitat,
ith the domestic practice of a
fe. We have here not a female mind uneasy
onnected to the organic (images that have
t in recent scholarship), but a woman
prise on a creative margin- for her
.’n domestic workshop and learned
it to Maria Sibylla Merian than her
~e sanctification of her entomological
is transformations," she wrote in her 167
~appened so many times that one is full
power and his wonderful attention
m d unworthy flying things . . . Thus
acles such as these to the world in a
:honor me for it; praise God alone
smallest and most insignificant
her conversion
but her stress on God’
talking about insects
prophetic and lyrical
de Labadie had said
announces God or
the voice of a
the sea and its
tells of God
try to hear or see
LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGUE
<strong>Letter</strong> on Turkish Smallpox Inoculation
Lady Mary Wortley Montague, an English aristocrat, came down
with smallpox in 1715. She survived, but was badly scarred by the
rash that accompanied the often-fatal disease. Her younger brother
died from smallpox, one of the tens of thousands who succumbed in
epidemics across Europe and around the world in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. Two years after her recovery Montague traveled
to Istanbul with her husband, who was the British ambassador to the
Ottoman Empire. There, she witnessed a new approach to w, arding
off smallpox infections, as she described in the following letter to a
friend in England. What process does Montague describe in her letter
What was her response to the events she witnessed in Turkey
Thinking Historically
This letter provides a clear example of how scientific observation can
change the material world in which we live. After observing the Turkish
smallpox inoculation Montague had her son and daughter inoculated.
In fact, she became an advocate for smallpox inoculation in
England and played an important role in persuading the English medical
profession to support the innovative procedure. Montague paved
the way for a safer vaccine, developed by Edward Jenner iu 1796, that
would eventually eradicate the disease from the planet.
Despite her admirable efforts, it was difficult to convince Europeans
to embrace smallpox inoculation, which had been practiced in
Asia for centuries. Even though the effectiveness of this techuology.
came to be recognized in England during Montague’s lifetime, the
French and other Europeans, accordiug to Voltaire, thought that the
English were "fools and madmen" for experimenting with inoculation.
What does this suggest about the nature of scientific discovery
Besides lack of knowledge, what Other obstacles need to be overcome
of Lady Mary Wortley Montague, written during her travels in Europe, Asia, and
to which are added poems by the same author (Bordeaux J. Pinard 180.5). Tbe UCL A
M. Darling Biomedical Library, History a~ld Special Collections Division.
715

The Scientific Revolution
To Mrs. S. C., Adrianople, April 1, O.S.
APropos of distempers, I am going to tell you a thing, that will
you wish yourself here. The small pox, so fatal, and so general amo
us, is here entirely harmless, by the invention of ingrafting, which
term they give it. There is a set of old ,vomen, who make it their busin
to perform the operation, every autumn, in the month of septemb
when the great heat is abated. People send to one another to know if
of their family has a mind to have the small-pox; they make parties
this purpose, and when they are met (commonly fifteen or sixteen
gether) the old woman comes with a nut-~hell full of the matter of
best sort of small pox, and asks what vein you please to opened,
She immediately rips open than you offer to her, with a
(which gives youno more pain than a common scratch), and puts i
the vein as much matter as can lie upon the head of her needle,
that, binds up the little wound with a hollow bit of shell, and in
manner opens four or five veins. The Grecians have commonl
stition of opening one in the middle of the forehead, one in each
and one in the breast, to mark the sign of the cross; but this has a
effect, all these wounds leaving little scars, and is not done by
are not superstitious, who choose to have them in the legs, or that
the arm that is concealed. The children or young patients play
all the rest of the day, and are in perfect health to the eighth.
Then the fever begins to seize them, and they keep their beds
days, very seldom three. They have very rarely above twenty or
in their faces, which never mark, and in eight days time they are
as before their illness. Where they
sores during the distemper, which I don’t doubt is a great
Every year thousands undergo this operation, and the
sador says pleasantly that they take the small-pox here by way of d
sion, as they take the *vaters in other countries. There "
any one that has died in it, and you may believe I am well
the safety of this experiment, since I intend to try it on my
son. I am patriot enough to take pains to bring this useful
into fashion in England, and I should not fail to
doctors very particularly about it, if I knew any one
thought had virtue enough to destroy such a considerable
their revenue, for the good of mankind. But that distemper is todi
ficial to them, not to expose to all their resentment
that should undertake to put an end to it. Perhaps if Ili
may, however have the courage to war with them. Upon this c
admire the heroism in the heart of
Your friend, etc. etc.
~Creature,

SUGITA GEMPAKU
A Dutch Anatomy Lesson in Japan
Sugita Gempaku* (1733-1817) was a Japanese physician who, as he
tells us here in his memoir, suddenly di~coyered the value of Western
medical science when he chanced to wime~s a dissection shortly after
he obtained a Dutch anatomy book.
What ~vas it that Sugita Gempaku learned on that day in 17717
What were the differences between the treatments of anatomy in the
Chinese Book of Medicine and the Dutch medical book What accounts
for these differences
Thinking Historically
How might the Dutch book have changed the way the author practiced
medicine How did it change his knowledge of the humar
How did it change the relevance of his knowledge of the human
to the medicine he practiced How revolutionary was the new knowledge
for Sugita Gempaku
Whenever I met Hiraga Gennai (1729-1779), we talked
on this matter: "As we have learned, the Dutch method
vestigation through field work and surveys is truly amazing.
directly understand books written by them, we will .benefit
However, it is pitiful that there has been no one who has set
on working in this field. Can we somehow blaze this trail
sible to do it in Edo. Perhaps it is best if we
gasaki to make some translations. If
lated, there will be an immeasurable benefit to the
time we spoke in this manner, we deplored the "
*SO0 gee tab gehm PAH koo
Sugita Gempaku, Ranto Kotohajime (The Beginning of Dutch S
Lu, ed., Japan: A Documentary History, vol. I (Armonk, N.Y.: M.
Iwanami Shoten, Nihon Koten Bunka Taikei (M~
95 (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1969), 48%93.
722

Gempaku / A Dutch Anatomy Lesson in Japan 723
in Japan
physician who, as he
[ the value of Western
dissection shortly after
that day in 1771
of anatomy in the
book What ac-
.way the author pracof
the human body
the human body
the new knowl-
~ each other
f scholarly inamazing
If we can
1 benefit greatly.
, has set his mind
menting our desires. However, we did not vainly lament the matter for
long.
Somehow, miraculously I obtained a book on anatomy written in
that country. It may well be that Dutch studies in this country began
when I thought of comparing the illustrations in the book with real
things. It was a strange and even miraculous happening that I was able
to obtain that book in that particular spring of 1771. Then at the night
of the third day of the third month, I received a letter from a man by
the name of Tokuno Bambei, who ~vas in the service of the then Town ......
Commissioner, Magaribuchi Kai-no-kami. Tokuno st~te.d in his letter ’
that "A post-mortem examination of the body of a condemned criminal
by a resident physician will be held tomorrow at Senjukotsukahara.
You are welcome to witness it if you so desire." At one time my colleague
by the name of Kosugi Genteki had an occasion to witness
a post-mortem dissection of a body when he studied under Dr.
Yamawaki T6y6 of Kyoto. After seeing the dissection firsthand, Kosugi
remarked that what was said by the people of old was false and simply
could not be trusted. "The people of old spoke of nine internal organs,
and nowadays, people divide them into five viscera and six internal organs.
That [perpetuates] inaccuracy," Kosugi once said. Around that
time (1759) Dr. T6y6 published a book entitled Zfshi (On Internal
Organs). Having read that book, I had hoped that some day I could
witness a dissection. When I also acquired a Dutch book on anatomy, I
wanted above all to compare the two to find out which one accurately
described the truth. I rejoiced at this unusually fortunate circumstance,
and my mind could not entertain any other thought. Ho~vever, a
thought occurred to me that I should not monopolize this good fortune,
and decided to share it with those of my colleagues who were diligent
pursuit of their medicine ...Ȧmong those I invited was one
[Maeno] Ry6taku (1723-1803)..
The next day, when we arrived at the location... Ry6taku reache~l
under his kimono to produce a Dutch book and showed it to us. "This
is a Dutch book of anatomy called Tabulae Anatomicae. I bought this a
ago when I went to Nagasaki, and kept it." As I examined it,
book I had and was of the same edition. We held each
hands and exclaimed: "What a coincidence!" Ry6taku continby
saying: "When I went to Nagasaki, I learned and heard," and
book. "These are called long in Dutch, they are lungs," he
us. "This is hart, or the heart. When it says maag it is the stomand
when it says milt it is the spleen." However, they did not look
the heart given in the Chinese medical books, and none of us were
could actually see the dissection.
Thereafter we went together to the place which was especially set for
observe the dissection in Kotsukahara .... The regular man who
the chore of dissection was ill, and his grandfather, who was

724 The Scientific Revolution
ninety years of age, came in his place. He was a healthy old man. He h
experienced many dissections since his youth, and boasted that he di
sected a number of bodies. Those dissections were performed in thos
days by men of the eta ~ class .... That day, the old butcher pointed t
this and that organ. After the heart, liver, gall bladder, and stomach we
identified, he pointed to other parts for which there were no names.
don’t know their names. But I have dissected quite a few bodies from m
youthful days. Inside of everyone’s abdomen there were these parts an
those parts." Later, after consulting the anatomy chart, it became clea r
me that I saw an arterial tube, a vein, and the suprarenal giandl The ol
butcher again said, "Every time I had a dissection, I pointed out to thos
physicians many of these parts, but not a single one of them questione
’what was this’ or ’what was that’" We compared the body as dis
sected against the charts both Ry~)taku and I had, and could not find
single variance from the charts. The Chinese Book
says that the lungs are like the eight petals of the lotus flower,
petals hanging in front, three in back, and two petals forming like tw
ears and that the liver has three petals to the left and four petals to th
right. There were no such divisions, and the positions and shapes
testines and gastric organs were all different from those taught by
theories. The official physicians, Dr. Okada Y6sen and Dr.
Rissen, have witnessed dissection seven or eight times. Whenever the
witnessed the dissection, they found that the old theories contradicted r,
ality. Each time they were perplexed and could not resolve their doubt
Every time they wrote do*vn what they thought was strange.
in their books. "The more we think of it, there must be
ferences in the bodies of Chinese and of the eastern barbarians [iiei
Japanese]." I could see why they wrote this way.
That day, after the dissection was over, we decided that wei
should examine the shape of the skeletons left exposed on th~
ground. We collected the bones, and examined a number of
Again, we were struck by the fact that they all differed from
theories while conforming to the Dutch charts.
The three of us, Ry6taku, [Nakagawa] Junan (1739-1786
went home together. On the way home we spoke
the same way. "How marvelous was our actual experience today!
shame that we were ignorant of these things unti! now. As
who serve their masters through medicine, we
complete ignorance of the true form of the human body.
ful it is. Somehow, through this experience,
truth about the human body. if we
edge behind us, we can make contributions for people
XThe eta were an untouchable caste in Japan, defined by
pations associated with death -- tanning or ~vorking with hides, cremating
ing meat, and, thus, doing autopsies. They could not be physicians. [Ed.]

entitle Revolution
place. He was a healthy old man. He had
ii~ce his youth, and boasted that he dis~
~0~e dissections were performed in those
i That day, the okt butcher pointed to
~r~; liver, gall bladder, and stomach were
parts for which there were no na s. I
i~e dissected quite a few bodies from my
~’~ abdomen there were these parts and
e anatomy chart, it became clear to
and the suprarenal gland. The ol,
a dissection, I pointed out to those
one of them q~
We compared the body as
and I had, and could not find
Book of Medicine (Yi
; of the lotus flower, with three
and two petals forming like two
the left
¯
and four petals
’ and shapes
from those taught by
Y6sen and Dr.
or eight times.
old theories
:l no
was strang
be fundamenta!
f the eastern barbarians
Franklin / <strong>Letter</strong> on a Balloon Experiment in 1783 725
and on this earth." Ry6taku spoke to us. "Indeed, I agree with you
wholeheartedly." Then I spoke to my two companions. "Somehow if
we can translate anew this book called Tabulae Anatomicae, we can get
a clear notion of the human body inside out. It will have great benefit
in the treatment of our patients. Let us do our best to read it and understand
it without the help of translators." Ry6taku responded: "I have
been wanting to read Dutch books for some time, but there has been no
friend who would share my ambitions. I have spent days lamenting it.
If both of you wish, I have been in Nagasaki before and have retained
some Dutch. Let us use it as a beginning to tackle the. book together."
After hearing it, I ans~vered, "This is simply wonderful. If we are to
join our efforts, I shall also resolve to do my very best."...
The next day, we assembled at the house of Ry6taku and recalled
the happenings of the previous day. When we faced that Tabulae
Anatomicae, we felt as if we were setting sail on a great ocean in a ship
without oars or a rudder. With the magnitude of the work before us,
we were dumbfounded by our own ignorance. However, Ry6taku had
been thinking of this for some time, and he had been in Nagasaki. He
knew some Dutch through studying and hearing, and knew some sentence
patterns and words. He was also ten years older than I, and we
decided to make him head of our group and our teacher. At that time I
did not kno~v the twenty-five letters of the Dutch alphabet. I decided to
study the language with firm determination, but I had to acquaint myself
with letters and words gradually.
we decided that we
a number of
all differed from
unan (1739-1786
) each other and
y. Iti=
As
our
bod}
people under
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
<strong>Letter</strong> on a Bal!oon Experiment in 1783
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was the preeminent statesman, diplomat,
and spokesman for the British colonies that became the United
States during his long lifetime. Trained as a candle maker and printer,
he became a journalist, publisher, merchant, homespun philosopher,
and inveterate inventor. He invented the lightning rod, the Franklin
stove, bifocals, and the medical catheter, among other things. His
*, ed., The Ingenious Dr. Franklin, Selected Scientific <strong>Letter</strong>s of Benjamin
ia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1931), 99-102.

The Scientific Revolution
inventions sprang from a gift of immense curiosity and an exhaustive
reading in the science of his day.
Franklin, sometimes called "the first American," represented the
fledging Republic in France during the Revolution, ensuring French
participation against the British. In 1783 he signed the second Treaty
of Paris, by which the British recognized the independence of the
United States. Franklin was the only founding father to sign the Declaration
of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Paris (1783), and the
Constitution of the United States (1789). Throughout his life Franklin
furthered his interest in scientific experiment and invention. In December
of 1783, he wrote to a friend about h recent invention that fascinated
him: an early experiment in air travel in a balloon. What did
Franklin see and what did it mean to him
Thinking Historically
What evidence do you see in this letter that the scientific revolution
was a genuinely revolutionary change What was revolutionary about
it What evidence do you see that the people of the time thought they
were living in a revolutionary age How would you compare their attirades
with those of people today toward modern technological iuno~
vation8
TO
SIR JOSEPH BANKS
Dear Sir: --
In mine of yesterday I promised to give you an account
Charles & Robert’s experiment, which was to have
and at which I intended to be present. Being a little indisposed,
air cool, and the ground damp, I declined going into the
Tuileries, where the balloon was placed, not knowing how long
be obliged to wait there before it was ready to depart,
in my carriage near the statue of Louis XV, from whence
see it rise, and have an extensive view of the region of
which, as the wind sat, it was likely to pass. The morning
but about one o’clock the air became tolerably clear, to
faction of the spectators, who were infinite,
the intended experiment several days before in the
Paris was out, either about the Tuileries, on the quays
the fields, the streets, at the windows, or on the tops
the inhabitants of all the to~vns and villages of the
fore was a philosophical experiment so

mtific Revolution
of immense curiosity and an exhaustive
~y.
"the first American," represented the
luring the Revolution, ensuring French
iK In 1783 he signed the second Treaty
~h recognized the independence of the
i~ 0nly founding father to sign the Decfi);
the Treaty of Paris (1783), and the
~ (1789). Throughout his life Franklin
C experiment and invention. In Decem-
I about a recent invention that fascitravel
in a balloon. What did
him
that the scientific revolution
What was revolutionary about
they
you compare their atmodern
technological inno-
Passy, Dec. 1,
account of
this day~
indisposed,
into the garden
:how long I
and
of air
was
great
ever
Franklin / <strong>Letter</strong> on a Balloon Experiment in 1783 727
guns were fired to give notice that the departure of the balloon was
near, and a small one was discharged, which went to an amazing
height, there being but little wind to make it deviate from its perpendicular
course, and at length the sight of it was lost. Means were used, I
am told, to prevent the great balloon’s rising so high as might endanger
its bursting. Several bags of sand were taken on board before the cord
that held it down was cut, and the whole weight being then too much
to be lifted, such a quantity was discharged as to permit its rising
slowly. Thus it would sooner arrive at that region where it would be in
equilibrio with the surrounding air, and by dischargi.ng more sand afterwards,
it might go higher if desired. Between one and two o’clock,
all eyes were gratified with seeing it rise majestically from among the
trees, and ascend gradually above the buildings, a most beautiful spectacle.
When it was about two hundred feet high, the brave adventurers
held out and waved a little white pennant, on both sides [of] their car,
to salute the spectators, who returned loud claps of applause. The wind
was very little, so that the object though moving to the northward, continued
long in view; and it was a great while before the admiring people
began to disperse. The persons embarked were Mr. Charles, professor
of experimental philosophy, and a zealous promoter of that science;
and one of the Messieurs Robert, the very ingenious constructors of the
machine. When it arrived at its height, which I suppose might be three
or four hundred toises, it appeared to have only horizontal motion. I
had a pocket-glass, with which I followed it, till I lost sight first of the
men, then of the car, and when I last saw the balloon, it appeared no
bigger than a walnut. I write this at seven in the evening. What became
of them is not yet known here. I hope they descended by daylight, so as
to see and avoid falling among trees or on houses, and that the experiment
was completed without any mischievous accident, which the novelty
of it and the want of experience might well occasion. I am the more
anxious for the event, because I am not well informed of the rrfeans
provided for letting themselves down, and the loss of these very ingenious
men would not only be a discouragement to the progress of the
art, but be a sensible loss to science and society.
I shal! inclose one of the tickets of admission, on which the globe
represented, as originally intended, but is altered by the pen to
show its real state when it went off. When the tickets were engraved the
was to have been hung to the neck of the globe, as represented by a
little drawing I have made in the corner.
I suppose it may have been an apprehension of danger in straining
: the silk, that induced the constructors
throw a net over it, fixed to a hoop which went round its middle,
and to hang the car to that hoop.
Tuesday morning, December 2d.- I am relieved from my anxiety
that the adventurers descended well near L’Isle Adam before

728 The Scientific Revolution
sunset. This place is near seven leagues from Paris. Had the wind blow
fresh they might have gone much farther.
If I receive any further particulars of importance, I shall commun
cate them hereafter.
With great esteem, I am, dear sir, your most obedient and most
humble servant,
FRANKLIN
P.S. Tuesday evening. -- Since writing the above I have received the
printed paper and the manuscript containing some particulars of th
experiment, which I enclose. I hear further:that the travellers had pe
fect command of their carriage, descending as they pleased by lettin
some of the inflammable air escape, and rising again by dischargi
some sand; that they descended over a field so low as to talk with th
labourers in passing, and mounted again to pass a hill. The little ba
loon falling at Vincennes shows that mounting higher it met with a c
rent of air in a contrary direction, an observation that may be of use t
future aerial voyagers.
REFLECTIONS
Was there a scientific revolution in the seventeenth and eighteenth
tury By most measures we would have to say "yes." There were new
polished-glass instruments with which to observe and measure; book
theories, diagrams, debates, and discoveries emerged at a dizzying
Age-old authorities- Aristotle, Ptolemy, even the Bible- were
into question. The wisdom of the ages was interrogated for
and forced to submit to tests by experiment. But these
not have constituted a revolution if they occurred in a vacuum.
Maria Sibylla Merian’s metaphor is perhaps most
There was a metamorphosis--a change from one way of lookin
the world to another. We might even say it was a change
dieval manner of wearing the world like a robe to a modern
world as a stage, as a reality seen through a window, somethin
rate that could be touched, weighed, measured, even bought
However we choose to characterize the changes in
ing during this period, it is important to emphasize the r
impact of the European scientific revolution of the
without slighting the scientific and technological achievements
civilizations. Many of the scientific developments in Euro
from foreign innovations, and in some fields Europe was
vanced as other societies. Yet the scientific
nation of observation and generalization

ientific Revolution
~ leagues from Paris. Had the ~vind blowr
tch farther.
ticulars of importance,
dear sir, your most obedient and mos
FRANKLIN
the above I have received thl
some particulars of
the travellers had
as they pleased by
and rising again by discharging
low as to talk with
pass a hill. The little
g higher it met with a curmay
be of use
eighteenth
"yes." There were new
bserve and measure; books
at a dizzying
Bible--were
changes
vacuum.
of looking
Reflections 729
matics, induction and deduction established a body of knowledge and a
method for research that proved lasting and irreversible.
Why was it that China, so scientifically and technologically adept
during the Sung dynasty, pictured hearts and lungs as flower petals in
the late-MinE and early-Ch’ing seventeenth century Was it that Chinese
science lost momentum or changed direction Or does such a
question, as Lynda Shaffer *varns, judge China unfairly by Western
standards Do the peta! hearts reflect a different set of interests rather
than a failure of Chinese science
Chinese scientists excelled in acupuncture, mass.age, and herbal
medicine, while European scientists excelled in surgery. It turned out
that the inner workings of the human body were better revealed in surgical
dissection than in muscle manipulation or in oral remedies. And,
as Sugita Gempaku reminds us, the Europeans not only cut and
moved, they also named *vhat they found and tried to understand how
it worked. Perhaps the major difference between science in Europe and
that in India, China, and Japan in the seventeenth century was one of
perspective: Europeans were beginning to imagine the human body as a
machine and asking how it worked. In some respects, the metaphor of
man as a machine proved more fruitful than organic metaphors of humans
as plants or animals.
Asking probing questions and testing the answers also changed our
understanding of the heavens. If mathematical calculations indicated
that a star would appear at a particular spot in the heavens and it did
not, Galileo might just as soon have questioned the observation as the
math. From the seventeenth century on, scientists would check one or
the other on the assumption that observation and mathematics could be
brought together to understand the same event, that they would have to
be in agreement, and that such agreement could lead to laws that could
then be tested and proved or disproved.
It is this method of inquiry, not the discoveries, that was new. For
the scientific method that emerged during this period constituted a systematic
means of inquiry based on agreed-upon rules of hypothesis, experimentation,
theory testing, !aw, and dissemination. This scientific inquiry
*vas a social process in two important ways: First, any scientific
discovery had to be reproducible and recognized by other scientists to
gain credence. Second, a community of scientists was needed to question,
dismiss, or validate the work of its members.
Finally, we return to Baumer’s emphasis on the societies of
seventeenth-century science. The numerous organizations in Europe are
testaments not only to a growing interest in science but to a continuing
public conversation. Science in Europe thus became a matter of public
concern, a popular endeavor. Compare the masses of Parisians Ben
Franklin described who turned out to view the balloon experiment

The Scientific Revolution
with the few physicians gathered around Sugita Gempaku who co
learn from the expertise of outcast butchers.
Ultimately, then, the difference between European science and
of India or China in the seventeenth century may have had more t
with society than with culture. The development of modern
methods relied on the numerous debates and discussions of a
conscious class of gentlemen scientists in a Europe where news
quickly and ideas could be translated and tested with confidence acrc
numerous borders. To what extent does science
demonstrate the hallmarks of the seventeenth-century scientific
tion