SOME PAPERS Writ in the Year 1664.  
In Answer to a LETTER, Concerning the PRACTICE of PHYSIC IN ENGLAND.  
By Dr. C. T.  
Published at the Request of a Friend and several Fellows of the College of Physicians.  
LONDON, Printed for James Allestry, at the Rose and Crown, in St. Paul's Churchyard, MDCLXX.   

For my Worthy and much Honoured Friend the Author of the following Discourse.  
Sir,  
I Own a very great Obligation for those Papers you were pleased to entrust me with so freely as you did, and at the first request; and though it be now five or six years since you writ them, yet I know they will be hugely welcome to the public; and the World will be informed, that what is now prosecuted, is in truth a matter of consequence, and not a caprice of young unpractised heads, as some endeavour to render it, but managed seriously by men of the ablest of the Profession, and worthy of the care and consideration of our Superiors. And pray give me leave in a few words to acquaint you with the occasion I had to desire them of you at first.  
It was my good fortune not long since to be in the Company of five or six persons, not only considerable for their Estates and Interest in the City, but likewise for their mature understanding of business: as they were discoursing of several matters relating to the Trade both of the City and Nation in general, it happened that one past through the room in which they sat, to go up a pair of stairs that lead into a Chamber, where the only Son of the Gentleman, at whose House they were, then lay under some little Aguish distemper: One of the Company that spied him, saluted him by his name, which occasioned another to demand who it was; to whom the Gentleman of the House replied, it was his Apothecary gone up to visit his Son who was at that time a little indisposed; whereupon another asked the rest if they had seen two Discourses lately published by two very eminent Members of the College of Physicians, which (says he) the Apothecary's passing by put me in mind of: one besides himself, said he had seen and read them, and added frankly, they seemed in his judgement very judiciously writ, and very much to be considered by all that regarded their healths; so they left off a little their former discourse, and began to enter into the matter of those Books, and the persons that read them represented to the Company, some of the most important passages, as their memories served: whilst they were thus discoursing, the Apothecary came down, and was called by the Master of the House to this part of their Conference: To do him right, he spoke very civilly, and told the Gentlemen he hoped all these appearances of difference between the College and them would soon pass over, and presently took leave and went away. After he was gone, one among the rest, a very grave man, who had sat all the while silent and heard what was produced out of these Books, began very solemnly to declare, that since health was one of the greatest goods of life, and that which alone gives as it were their being so, to all the rest; and since it was so much the interest of a Prince to preserve his people in strength and vigour, he professed he could not understand how that reconcilement of these differences between the Physicians and the Apothecaries, which so much concern the lives and healths of the King's Subjects, could ever be so well made up as the person that was gone said he hoped to see. For, said he, if what has been alleged out of these Books here, be true, there has been too long already a foul and shameful abuse put upon the people, by the present method of practising Physic, as it now (so he phrased it) joggs on between the Physician and Apothecary, and that since those able and well-known Physicians had so freely and honestly of themselves proposed ways of redress, and so far opened the eyes of all men to discern the mockeries they have been gulled with so long, he said it was too late for them now easily to retreat: And believed that all men who had read those Books would as well as he, look upon such a composure, as a new way only of continuing the former abuses under some more artificial and secret disguise. But whatever, said he, may be done out of Conscience, I am sure they shall destroy their interest by it, and as long as ever Apothecaries continue practising as they do, so long shall the most gainful and secure part of practice come into their hands, by means of the Bills they formerly have, and daily will receive from them, and nothing remain for the Physician but such solicitous and extreme Cases (where the Apothecary shall vouchsafe to call him in) in which his own credit shall every moment run as great a fortune as the Patient's life. For, said he, how many men in this Town have been already, or ever shall be intended by the Physicians as Apothecaries only, we in spite of common course they now take to hinder it, shall to save charge and expense of Physic, always esteem and make use of as a sort of cheaper Doctors; except only in such extremities where our lives are in manifest danger. And I have often wondered that so great a Company of prudent men should do such things every day, which if we in our particular Trades should suffer, we should not only be laughed at, but others of the same way would presently endeavour to obstruct or punish. For I have often observed myself (to tell truth) when I have been with my Physician either for my own concern or any of my Family, and have received good by what has been prescribed; my Apothecary has often recommended the same, and repeated it again without the knowledge of the Doctor; and at other times told my Wife of an excellent course against the Scurvy, ordered by an eminent Physician, and named him: and sometimes commended a Powder of another Doctors against the Worms, for my Children, which he said he had by him: All which things I noted to be so prejudicial to the Physician, that I could not choose but wonder that Physicians would so carelessly expose the fruit of all their time and studies, and put every day the best of their Trade out of their own hands into another's who had so little consideration of them: And this indeed wholly deterred me from breeding one of my Sons a Physician, since I saw how easily every good Medicine that my Doctor had, came into the hands of my Apothecary for a fee or two, and after that, both I and all my Friends could readily command it, and Mr. Doctor never the wiser.  
When this Gentleman had done, we began freely to tell one another, being all Tradesmen, who knew as well the difficulty of getting, as the use and consequence of money, how it was customary with us to send to our Apothecaries only, unless where the danger was very great, to avoid the charge and expense of Physicians: Not but that we all concluded it would be better to have the advice of a Physician at the very first, if they would so order the matter that we might address ourselves as reasonably to them as we now can to our Apothecary; forasmuch as the greatest diseases have small beginnings, and it were more comfortable to apply ourselves where we may be as well advised of the nature of our present indisposition and what it is like to come to, as receive what is proper, either to cure or prevent it, which said they, on all hands is confessed, the Physician is more able to do than an Apothecary, else should we never fly to him where we fear a danger as now we do. I than took occasion to tell them, that the principal design aimed at in those Books was to exhibit such a method as might lessen the expense of Physic to the people more than half in half, and to show that the Apothecary by his excessive prices, and by his unnecessary and frequent repetitions of chargeable Medicines, besides sees which some of them take, and expect, or else they think they are not kindly used, amounted often to three times as much as they could hope to have saved in fees by not going to the Physician; and farther added, that a worthy Friend of mine a Physician had an excellent discourse by him to advance this proposition, and enforce what had been already made public. They commanded me to importune you for it, which since you are pleased so readily to consent to, you have a great deal more obliged all the World in it than me, although I am as much as any can be,  
SIR, Your most affectionate and obliged Servant.   

ERRATA.  
PAg. 9 lin. 18. read Fevers. lin. 25. Physician, pag. 13. lin. 24. r. most of us have been Travellers. p. 17. l. 11. r. they would. p. 35. the last line, r. by Custom, and leave out the following by, pag. 37. l. 18. r. their, p. 41. l. 9 r. it proved, p. 43. l. 4. that Roman, p. 46. l. 4. Prujean.   


Sir,  
I Do assure you I defer much to your kindness, or to your judgement, or to both, in that I am contented you should do what you will with part of those papers I writ in 64 but since some of those people who invaded the profession of Physic, and railed at learning and the College (with all that confidence that great ignorance uses to enable bold Knaves with) are dead, or sunk into that contempt such men at last must fall into, I would have all that which concerns their Characters wholly left out, nor am I at all willing that the reformation of our faculty, which I there designed, should as yet be made public.  
For although I have been several times confirmed by better judgements than my own, that it is a rational way to improve the usefulness of our profession, as much as by the industry of a Society of men learned and most capable of such an undertaking, it is possible to be done, yet I do not think the age, or the world we live in, very susceptible of such propositions now.  
The Charity there designed to supply all the poor of the Cities of London and Westminster with advice, and some of them with medicines gratis, and the better supplying and serving the sick in those Hospitals we have, would but be looked upon as a decoy to bring in benefactors, whose bounty and Charity might be perverted to luxurious uses, and the care that is offered at to provide against the slaughters every day made by ignorant Quacks and Mountebancks, and yet to secure all the encouragements that can reasonably be asked to any that are really possessed of any thing that may be useful to the recovery or comfort of those that are afflicted with sickness, would be looked upon but as a design to Monopolise physic to the College, and to invest the Physicians with a power to enslave Surgeons and Apothecaries.  
Alas Sir, we live in an age where to prescribe any bounds is to violate magna Charta, we would all be Kings but Statesmen we are all, nor can any of those that are really so, with so much confidence, venture to cure any disease in a man, as the blue aprons in a Coffe-house shall all those in the State, for it is the humour now to affect, to be wisest out of the Sphere that God, Nature, and Education have placed us in, and we all think ourselves able, and are busy to reform every thing, but that which is really our duty to endeavour the amendment of, I am sure you cannot but meet with occasions every day to confirm these observations.  
And this I confess makes me think diversely from what I find the general opinion to be, That it is an age for the advancement and improvement of knowledge; I rather fear our tumbling into the greatest barbarity and the most profound ignorance, the way to solid knowledge by cultivating of our reasons, and inuring them to compare, compute, and estimate well, gins now to be wholly despised, the young blades who have truanted at School, and debauched at an University, if they have acquired but rongue enough to rally the ancient learning, and talk of experiments, will disturb the gravest Societies with their impertinenties, silence the most learned, and think themselves the only dictator's in universal learning, and if they are so unfortunate to be endowed with wit and good natural parts, they turn every thing that is sober into Ridiculous, and go out Doctors in Atheism.  
Our municipal Lawyers have a bar that hath hitherto kept ignorant invaders at some distance in their profession, but Women, Weavers and Cobblers think themselves able to comprehend all the mysteries in Divinity, and all the reason of Physic, Zeal and good meaning may excuse them in their Divinity but I am deceived if any thing, but pride, and the greatest folly, can be alleged for their Physic.  
How authoritatively will a Nurse with wind and vapours give you the causes of all diseases and their Symptoms, but an Apothecary's Apprentice with Fermentation confounds the admiring Customers, who take him for a very priest of Apollo pronouncing from his Tripod, whilst a learned and a rational Physician, especially if he have the misfortune of being modest, is looked upon at the best but as a weak, and a timorous man, if he hath the good fortune to be counted a safe man, he may perhaps have some few patients, but the Crowds for the most part follow the boasting and the lying Quacks; and although they find themselves still cheated by them, yet a new one or the same with some circumstances a little disguised shall cheat them over again, how often even in our age, hath the cheats and knaveries of the pretended Chemists been detected, even with the ruin of some of the admirers of it, yet that vanity wants not its Patrons now: and sober men who knowing the usefulness of Chemistry, and the best ways of improveing it, would purge it from that lying and knavery which makes the very enquiring into it a reproach in the opinion of some sober men, are looked upon as not capable of knowing any thing in it, so that with some men a man must not be thought a Chemist without renouncing learning and his reason, and with others he is believed to have shaken-hands with them and honesty to, if they think him one. I have a great many more reasons why I would not have that part of my discourse printed truly I have enough too that nothing of it should be, since I believe that there is very little said in that which hath not been better said by others: Besides when I writ it, the letter which gave the occasion of it was just printed, and in every one's hand, which would have a little satisfied, for the immethodicalness of the answer; The provocations the Apothecaries had given us were very fresh, they endeavour, dirtily and unjustly to asperse that Society of men who gave them that Trade, by which they were grown rich, and had the Confidence to affront the King's prerogative in opposing our patent, although that prerogative is the only title they have to be a Corporation: The pretended Chemists were then setting up for a College to lay in a Magazine of charcoal, that they might have the better utterance for smoke and lies, and to show how useful they might in time be, did every day furnish us with some papers for necessary uses, but all that being spent and the rest almost forgotten, the heat I then was in is much cooled, and I confess I would rather contribute to the preserving the Apothecaries, than the destroying of them, so it may be done honestly, but we cannot be honest men if we do in the least connive at their abusing the people in their Quacking, or the prizes of their medicines, nor can they be honest when they meddle in what they understand not, and unjustly injure those men to whom they own their being Apothecaries: To make this very evident is but briefly and truly to stare the case betwixt us and them.  
Although the College of Physicians had been established in the Reign of King Henry the 8th under the broad seal of England, and was confirmed by several acts of Parliament, yet there was no such thing as a Corporation of the Trade of Apothecaries until the Reign of King james, when the College (I hope not through pride and laziness grown weary of making their own medicines, but) to obviate all the mischiefs that might be done, where the ordainers of medicines were the makers and exhibiters of them too, petitioned the King, that such a number of men whose names they offered might be taken for the most part, I think out of the company of Grocers, and constituted a company distinct; for the making such medicines as the College of Physicians should ordain, this petition was granted, and they by the King's Charter made a Corporation, and in that Charter there is special provision made, that nothing in it should in the least infringe the privileges of the College of Physicians, the inventing, ordaining, and making of medicines having always been a part of Physic, and so publicly asserted in the Apothecary's constitution, that by the King's especial command the College of Physicians composed the London dispensatory, and the Apothecaries not only of London but of all England are, by public proclamation, commanded to follow that, as the rule of their Trade, they are to make and sell those medicines in their shops, and the Physicians empowered to search and examine those shops, whether they have them, and have them well made: They have not the least clause in their Charter to enable them to advise, prescribe or ordainany remedy, but they are faithfully to dispense such medicines as shall be ordered by Physicians, and are not to make a Apprentice free without his being first examined by the Physicians.  
It was upon these terms the College trusted the Apothecaries with the knowledge of making their medicines, and let it be left now to any indifferent man to judge what the honesty or gratitude of those men can be, who not only betray a trust, committed to them with so much advantage to themselves, but convert what they are trusted with to the hurt of those that trust them.  
I should have thought this enough to have impartially stated the matter betwixt them and us, if I had not lately read as ridiculous a piece of drollery in my opinion, as no sense, less reason, and great confidence can furnish out, nothing can speak more pride nor more ignorance; which two in conjunction do always insolently endeavour to levelly every thing to the meaness of their own understandings. I would have the Pulpit guard routed, and this witty pamphlet called Lex Talionis or Vinditiae printed together, to show the uselessness of those tedious methods of studying divinity, and Physic, and how unnecessary the endowments of Universities, Colleges and Schools are. The civil law hath no great encouragements left amongst us, and if the Butcher, the Cobbler, the Weaver with gifts are fit to preach and teach than the men of humane learning, and carnal knowledge; and if serving an Apprenticeship seven years with an Apothecary, and reading a little in those three ancient Authors Frambesarius, Riverius and Primrose, qualifies any man sufficiently for the practice of Physic, to what end this charge and trouble of taking degrees, this twelve years' study before a man can be a Doctor. The learning to know all homebred and exotic plants, the Analysing of them in their Elaboratories, the considering what parts are useful of them, and what not, and how their effects may best, and most gratefully be acquired, the inventing the best ways of compounding and mixing (which are things I am sure the Students in Physic in both our Universities for some years past have busied themselves with) are nothing to what may be acquired by making of medicines, according to the Dispensatory, and selling them to the best advantage: but although this Animal hath showed his teeth thus against Learning and the Universities, and may perhaps, because he could not by't, pass unpunished by them, sure the Apothecaries have more sense than not to find him out, and punish him for his most scandalous libelling of them, what ever their fortune may be otherwise, I cannot think any of them so foolishly wicked as to be Wittols, nor so wretchedly knavish to suffer the Physicians to go snips with them in their profits, the better to cheat their customers which this thing of paper would insinuate to the World that some of them do.  
But the poor Droll had not sense enough to know, that making of Cuckolds and getting of money are not by all accounted very disgraceful crimes, by what instruments soever the pleasure or the profit is procured, nor did his little understanding comprehend how wretchedly contemptible those instruments of either are even to those whose bad ends they serve, sure the honest Apothecaries (and I cannot but persuade myself there are many such) when they consider that this insiped libeler having insinuated, that there are some Apothecaries, who are such wretched instruments for the profit and pleasure of Physicians, and not particularly marked them out; hath given the censuring part of the World occasion to think every Apothecary such an one: will rouse themselves, and either by publicly branding the Guilty, vindicate the Innocent; or else by pursuing the sottish Defamor to a just punishment, do something towards wiping off those dirty aspersions he hath cast upon them.  
Those Physicians that think any thing in the Pamplet reflects on them, may by making their own medicines, and having as little to do with Apothecaries as may be, testify to all the World that they are not in confederacy with dishonesty, and the world will easily be satisfied that it is cheaper being cozened by one than by two, and that it is much safer to trust him whose credit and interest it is to cure Diseases, than him whose interest is only to put off his ware. But let the Apothecaries vindicate themselves as well as they can, this fellow being believed to be an Apothecary (and truly the stile, the method, and the force of his reasoning seem to make good the Proverb, that he talks as an Apothecary) hath left that scandal upon them and their profession, they will not be able easily to wipe off, for it will be believed he knew what he said, at least as to his own particular, and was therefore willing enough to have the World believe the same of all the rest of his profession; he should therefore have done well to have given his Book a truer Title, Scandalum Pharmacopaerum had been much fit for it than Vindiciae etc.  
But Sir, I am grown almost as impertinent as he, and although I have already outrun the limits of a letter, I cannot give over without telling you, I think you did not do, yourself, nor our faculty right, in that you did not better inform the grave company you spoke off; you know as well as I, that it is an experiment as old as Galen (who with the same medicines cured feain Rome with which some of the Roman Practitioners killed men) that not only the more generous and powerful remedies, but the weaker and milder have when unduly made use off, brought on irreparable mischiefs: I do assure you we have some very late examples of it, where the Apothecary's Quacking with medicines formerly prescribed by the Physicians, and he at last, though too late called in has had the misfortune to see his patiented die, and his medicines defamed, whilst the Apothecarv to justify himself, affirmed he had given nothing but what the Physitlan in the same case before ordained, whilst the miferable Wretch had not only wholly mistaken the case, but most unduly exhibited the remedies: We are able to produce many miscarriages of this kind, and indeed I think it a duty incumbent upon us, to make things of this nature as public as we can, for whilst we detect all the frauds and abuses that men may suffer by, in the ill using of Physic, and do our own parts to the best of our understanding honestly, candidly, and charitably where our assistance is required, we deliver our own Souls, and then in God's name let every man dispose of the care of his own life and health as to him seems best.  
But Sir, it is time that I release you, and if you will be Printing these Papers, remember I cannot think them worth the owning, especially after what hath been said in this kind already.   

Sir,  
ALthough I was extremely pleased with the news of your safe arrival, yet that of the improvement of that noble Lady's health by what I sent her, gives me so great and pleasing a satisfaction as you only can guests at; who know the zealous designs I have to serve her as successfully as I am sure I do faithfully.  
But the composition and making of that syrup which my Lady hath found so much good by, and of divers others out of the common road, are the effects of an order lately made at a full College amongst us, to encourage all of our profession to the making of medicines for their own practice, and to which if the members of our Society will industriously settle themselves: as I doubt not but we shall acquire all those noble ends you mention in your Letter, and which as I go along I shall particularly speak to, so it will be the best way to brand those men for their injustice, and ingratitude, who have had the confidence publicly to affirm that they who made and taught them their profession were wholly ignorant in it.  
I do assure you Sir it is with some reluctancy that I tell you, that we believe that we are able to pick out, divers Mrs. amongst them of name; that appear full of business, but are really full of words, and yet are whollv ignorant, in those first and simple preparations of infusions: and others, who by their own acknowledgements, have been forced after they have set up for themselves, to take Journeymen, to teach them how to make up the common medicines of the Dispensatory, their Mrs. not having the will, or leisure (to say no other) to teach it them, in the whole time of their Apprenticeships.  
But Sir as your own observations amongst men, have given you occasion enough to remark the bold ignorance, of many of these invaders of our profession: so they have amongst things too, taught you, how divers the laws of drawing out Tinctures exactly are, as to their proper menstruums, time, and heat, so that you cannot much wonder at my Lady's complaint: That Apothecaries ignorant or careless in these things, make up these sorts of medicines you mention, so fullsome, nauseous, and unhealthy, but this not being my business at this time, I shall proceed with your letter.  
And should Sir with you and your good company, hearty bewail the State of the professors of Physic at present in this nation, if my humour and Philosophy, as you very well know, did not assign me rather amongst the followers of Democritus than Heraclitus; I confess I cannot forbear smiling at the scarce credible humour that reigns now amongst some men, that are certainly no friends to inspiration, new lights nor levelling, of patronising those, who if they have any knowledge in Physic, it must be from inspiration or new light, which some of them indeed pretend to, for as to any proper education to what they profess, they are too well known to make any claim here, learning or scholastic education they publicly declaim against, they rail at Anatomical exercises as useless, and think the knowledge of plants, fit only for an herbwife to make and sell Nosegays with, the Groom of the Chamber of whom you shall hear more anon, tells you but with reverence to God Almighty, that he might have spared his labour, of making all that wonderful variety of medicinal plants, since he knoweth a separating medicine worth them all, a new knack as some of them call it, that cures (or kills) infallably.  
But when I find these men have considerable Patrons, I cannot but merrily consider to what that policy drives: perhaps it's hoped that the countenancing this Fanatic humour of levelling our profession may cause it all to be spent upon us, and save the Church and State, on which its virulency had been so long exercised, but may it not rather be feared, that others will with those very arguments, are now urged to lay waste the faculty of Physic, and make it a prey to Ostlers, Cobblers and Tinkers, hereafter bring Tailors to invade the Bar, and jugglers the Pulpit: But you will tell me it is easy to foretell, that, what hath been already done, may possibly be done again. But perhaps Sir, it is not so easy, (if these men were ever able to bring it into question) to destroy the privileges of a Society of men established, by so many acts of Parliament, and (to say nothing of the merit of divers of their members, whose names are celebrated with honour in other Nations) at once to destroy the third part of the portions of the younger Sons of the Gentry of England: For to one of the three faculties, some of them are usually designed, nor yet perhaps to rob both our Universities, of the honour and advantage, of educating generous, and ingenious young men, to the faculty of Physic, nor of conferring upon them honourable degrees, as rewards of their industry and merit: But these degrees Sir are our faults, to be Graduates and Doctors are our crimes, for otherwise we having the advantage confessedly of more learning, than those that at present oppose us may have read as many Chemical Authors: Most of have been Travellers, and not only seen the best Elaboratories, but have conversed with, and been Disciples to the most celebrated Chemical Operators, our Western part of the world knoweth; we have visited its most famous Hospitals, followed and observed the practice of the most exercised Physicians in them, but Sir we are Doctors, and College Doctors that is after all this, before we could be admitted to the lawful kill of a Cobbler in London, we have been forced, by three days rigid examination, to give Testimony that we were able to do it in good form, and according to rule, whereas like a company of Dunces, we might have saved all this charge and trouble, and being but a little while Philosophers, by the Fire, with the help of a three penny pipkin, and two pence in Charcose, we might have found out a true separating medicine, should have killed hundreds, and the ten that had escaped, ourselves nor no body else knowing how, should have been printed for cures, we dubbed Hermetical Doctors, and have set up for the Chemical College.  
I know you will chide me for this, but give me leave to pursue my humour, and laugh at what is so truly ridiculous; I am sure you can witness for me, I am far from being a despiser of Chemistry, I love it and own it as one of the best keys to the secret recesses of Nature, I think no man worthy the name of a Physician, that is not knowing in it; for it hath not only much mended the Preparations of Medicines, but hath produced many generous Remedies, and of great use, but to make every little Fellow, that can build a furnace, burn some thing in it until it stinks, and then christian it by the name of a great Medicine, a Physician; is to dub a labourer in the brick-kilns, an Architect; or the maker of bellows an Organist. Would you not, Sir, think that man out of the way, that should commend one for an excellent hors-man, because he made good Spurs, or a Blacksmith for an excellent Watchmaker, because he made most exquisite Files, if some of these pretenders to Chemistry only, were by the communication of others, or by chance indeed, Masters of one or moro good Medicines, would this think you qualify them for Physicians? were it reasonable that one that understood nothing of the frame or the making of a Watch, should mend it when out of order, although he had all the Tools of a Watchmaker in his power? I am sure you would not think it so, I wish no body else would; but it is time I ask your pardon for this digression, and I am sure of it from you, because you know I am always ready without prejudice to embrace what ever can reasonably appear to be for the public good, and the rendering the faculty of Physic truly useful and beneficial to Mankind, which must give it its greatest honour; and estimation, and of this I hope to give you farther testimony as I pass your propositions, and offer some of my own; being resolved (only ask your leave forlittle extravagant digressions sometimes) to answer your letter as I read it.  
And therefore must next say something of the business of our Patent, in which although I do to you acknowledge I was ever of your sense, considering the vast length of it, in which it was impossible, but there must be a thousand clauses might give occasion to captious men to quarrel, and so of force cause debates for their explanation: Yet I could not but condemn that sense in myself, when I considered the great worth, honesty and known abilities of him that drew up that patent, beside the great assistance, and advice he took in the doing of it: I need but name Mr. John Alleyne to have what is said of him believed; and Sir you were I am sure sensible, in those few debates we had before the Committee of the house, what little reason there was for those senseless clamours against. it, how little there was asked the nov●, we being most willing to put all our demands into that one of having sufficient power to put in execution the true intents of Acts already established.  
But Sir I think you know how impossible almost, in a great assembly of men it is, to have them all of one mind, nay if they could all agree to the attaining of one end, yet that they should not pitch upon several ways to it; for in such, some men may have no information at all of the thing before them, others extremely misinformed, others prejudiced because such men are engaged in it.  
Sir, if to these you had been pleased to add the singularity of some, and the levelling humour of others to oppose and destroy every thing that looks like conformity, order or government, you had certainly with those you mentioned, said all the reasons why any thing so long as our Patent, should not easily pass with the consent of a great assembly.  
It is most true Sir what you observe the genius of this present age seems given up to penetrate into the causes of natural things, and it seems at last to have pitched upon the true means, for so noble and great an exploration; by promoting useful knowledge drawn from experiments, but besides the famous men you mention for it, our own nation ought not to have, her Verulam, and Gilbert Forgotten, nor our profession in it Harvey, Glisten nor Enter; to mention no others now: and perhaps few men are so well qualified, for promoting this useful way of knowledge, as well educated Physicians are: I shall not now stand to discourse how much more difficult a thing it is than usually considered to get experience from experiments: how few compare (or are indeed qualified to do it) all circumstances; and since a little one, may make great alterations in things, and the knowledge resulting from experience is, that actions, or causes so circumstantiated, always will produce such an effect; the circumstances not considered, or taken notice off, what can such an experience amount to. How many impertinent Fools do we meet with every day, that talk mighty big of experience, without knowing any thing of it, if they did, these would neither pretend to miracles themselves, nor expect them from others, this I confess amongst other things, makes me despair of any advantages to be procured, for a real and true promoting the good our profession might bring to mankind, or of any great advantages from the royal Society.  
For although certainly, there yet never met a company of more excellent and ingenuous Persons, who by a most virtuous, and innocent diversion, are laying the foundation of great good to others, and this by a constant and considerable charge to themselves, without the least injury or detriment to any, yet they cannot escape the malicious Scommas and detractations of covetous Persons who either hope from them the Philosophers stone, or some wonderful projects for the getting of money, or of ignorant and pretending Curiosos, who would presently see a perpetual motion, or the squaring of the Circle. Beside the liberty some men take, and think it the only wit too, of turning every thing, into Ridicule, neither the Scripture, nor the great author of it God himself excepted.  
But Sir, I am now come to that part of your-letter which indeed speaks your kindness to our profession, you will find few of us so brutish, as to hate reproof, or not to love Instruction; I hope we all of us covet more the wounds of faithful friend, than the kisses of a deceitful enemy, and therefore shall acknowledge the imperfections, you charge upon the present method of practising Physic in this Nation: The world doth too much want the advantages might be drawn from it, both as to the assistances to health, and the knowledge of nature in general our patient's lives., and our credits are too often in the power of an ignorant confident Fool; or an idle careless Boy: The charge of it is often insupportable, as well as unconscionable, and uncharitable, we many times prescribe, a drachma of Treacle, worth two pence, to a poor Neighbour out of charity, the Apothecary makes him pay half a Crown for a Cordial Bolus. There are of us, have retrieved some of our prescriptions, and the Apothecary's bills upon them, you will perhaps be amazed when I tell you, that where a Physician hath without a Fee, Prescribed some thing worth , because it was made into twenty four pills, there was so many shillings paid to the Apothecary upon his bill for it; but I will give you no more accounts of this kind now, you may in good time see store of them, upon profess beyond denial; we have endeavoured already, and will always do what ever lieth in us, to reform what ever honest men think amiss, or to acquire that perfection knowing men think we yet want, and is attainable, even to an universal medicine, when ever we can be well assured it hath been in the World or that it is like ever to be.  
We must acknowledge too, that the distributing two parts of our profession to be exercised by others hath been by accident the fatal cause of all these ills; and though we may say, that the weakness of the heart, hands, or Eyes of very knowing Physicians, might make them willing to instruct others, to the manual operations in Physic, yet perhaps it will be hard to believe, that any thing, but the pride and laziness of others, spawned Apothecaries; the dispensatories of all the World witness, that Physicians made and gave them their Trade: In England their Charter will tell them, it was our College that made them a Corporation, and you can tell yourself Sir how grateful returns they have made us, or will you not rather tell me, how justly we are punished for the pride and laziness I have confessed, but if you will a little better consider it, you may have some reason to think, that honesty with the design of clear and upright dealing with all men, and a supposition of improving the experience of our profession, were the first motives to what was done in this matter: And here Sir give me leave to assure you, that you need not ask the pardon of any rational Physician, when you affirm that Physic is but a mass of noble experiments, and I dare with confidence aver, no man can at this time name one Physician of the College of London, fond of the common principles, in the physiological part of our profession, and that with old Doctor Winston, and Doctor Wright, all our dogmatic Gallenistes, as they call them, died, and yet I believe all the inspired Chemists, that labour so much at this time for a licence (perhaps at last to coin) will never be able with their joined stocks, to leave behind them, such an estate as the latter did, gotten all by honest galenical practice.  
But Sir to what I was saying, there might be great▪ motives of honesty and ingenuity, with provision for the safety of mankind, although certainly much against the private interest of Physicians to make the Pharmacy of Physic a particular Trade, suppose Sir that goodly Tribe, who have lately with as much ignorant impudence, as notorious falsehood, endeavoured to surprise many honourable and noble personages, and to persuade them into a belief, that it was fit to establish a Corporation of practising Chemists, that is a body of men, who shall have liberty to exhibit secrets of their own; which none can know but themselves, to those that are sick or would prevent sickness, besides the mischiefs that this way, a bold and no way to be controlled ignorance may do; what designed murders may not malicious contrivance with mercenary knaves perpetrate; that there may be amongst these great pretenders of new discoveries in Physic, that have been such; mercenary knaves, I mean; I think a man may affirm without danger of an action: But Sir since as you have said Physic is but a mass of noble experiments, and those performed by a great variety of medicines, most of which have been of known use, for the better part of two thousand years, if a select choice of these both simple and compound being first made, it were committed to a body of men, bred up only to be knowing in the kinds, and goodness of those simples, and an exact making of the compounds, to have such always in readiness, to deliver out upon the prescript of the Physician, and that prescript to be kept always on record, by which the goodness, and aptness in the exhibition might be judged off, when needful; certainly all is done, that morally can be thought on, to prevent the mischiefs, both of ignorance, and villainy: Whereas the other way mankind is left without defence against, or reparation of the attaque of either. And certainly Sir, they that first designed to put the business of Pharmacy, into this way, could not be ignorant of the great profit, and advantage of the other, (that of making their own medicines,) would bring them in, and a little practice would soon teach the Arts these men of mighty Secrets practice: when one that appears mean and poor, gives but sixpence for that, which better  gives five shillings for; besides, the often selling upon occasion that, which they would otherwise hire some body to throw out of doors; beside, that knowing men might often cos●n● the people, with advantage to them, as well as credit to themselves: and here give me leave to tell you a short story.  
A Physician of your acquaintance and mine, in the country in the beginning of his practice there; being suddenly carried to a Gentlewoman, that had been for some time sick of a ; and she living at some distance, from his place of abode; or from any Apothecaries, found as soon as ever he came, that though she appeared just then worse than in the whole precedent time of her sickness, and consequently despaired of by her friends, yet that her sickness was very near determining, and as he thought he had reason to believe to health, he was unwilling in his beginning, in a family of great relations in the Country, to lose the credit of a great cure, and therefore thought it necessary to seem to do some thing in it, yet something that might not at all impede, what nature was so well in doing, and which he did believe, before he could send home or to an Apothecaries, she would have done without him: whilst he was considering this he had at a Table where he was leaning, made up three or four fine pills, of white bread, and conveying them into a little box in his pocket, by and by calls for a spoon, and in some liquor, with due formality gave them, giving direction for her careful attendance, with confident assurance of her speedy recovery, which accordingly happened, for in very few hours, she fell into a most profuse sweat, and soon recovered perfectly: the Gentleman was not only famous for his great cure, but his greater cordial, and forced indeed to make a good one up into that form, to satisfy the importunity of his patients for it, you may see by this Sir, how easy it is for any one, to whom some lucky chance hath given credit, if he will but pretend to secrets, of secret, and particular preparation, to impose upon the not considering part of the World, who yet are so zealous to be thought knowing, they are always finding out, and rendering the causes of things, and generally will have that to be it, which is the next obvious to their short understandings, though farthest of any removed from the nature of that thing, they apply it to: And Sir, you may by the by observe too, how often it must happen in like cases, that bold and ignorant Quackes interposing, destroy those, whom nature would cure, whilst the knowing and experienced Physician, who hath been long since taught, where truly there is need of it, to fly to the assistance of remedies, as extreme as the danger, will not by unnecessary, and ignorant tamperings destroy, where nature would certainly cure.  
But now Sir, give me leave to assure you, that those two great evils, which the way of practie as you suppose it now to be, had produced, have been of late years very much amended amongst us, for since the time that our great Dootor Harvey acquired that honour to himself, and to our nation in his excellent Anatomical discoveries our younger Physicians grew generously to emulate both his fortune, and endeavours, and perhaps the World hath not a Society, of our profession, in which considering the number of them, there are so many excellent Anatomists, nor did they so give themselves up to this, that they neglected the enquirlng into the natures of vegetables, and minerals, they had, and have still though I acknowledge not by any public order of the Society, their committees and meetings for particular inquiries, those that are our old men now thus spent their younger years, and I think the learned Authors of them will own, that the treatises de Rachitide, Anatomia hepatis, and de Glandulis had, if not their production, yet improvement from such meetings as these; and he that hath lately heard Sir George Ents anatomical Exercises must have acknowledged the great progress that is made in the Anatomia comparata, and give me leave to tell you Sir, men that have been acquainted with the practice of our English Physicians, must acknowledge no age yet ever saw such an improvement of the materia medica; Sir they must be very malicious, or ignorant, that have the face to affirm, that we are so tied up to the prescriptions of Galen, as not to have embraced and cultivated Chemistry, and that with diligence, reason, and success, we have not indeed embraced the lying and boasting part of it, to cry up ourselves, and medicines, at such a rate; that if the boasted virtues of any one of them were true, there were no need of any other Physician, or medicine, and the stupidity of the World, or of those that possess such wonder working medicines, were to be admired, that the one should ever want health, or the other money; I will not undertake Sir, to justify every composition, in our present dispensatory, though I dare affirm there are as good, if not better in it, as to the reason of the compositions, and the usefulness of them, than in any other public one now extant; besides that all of them have been approved by a long experience. I mean such an one as knows how to make use of them with consideration of all circumstances, those little Fanatic heads, that pretend to find fault with quantities, or the ways of composition, in prescribed, and approved Medicines. (I do not intent by this to justify some defects, in the directions, and rules of compounding, or the mistakes of just proportions, to make things such as they should be,) do not know what somewhere in your letter you observe, from our great Verulam, how little the nature of any thing is known to us a priori, and that in things of experience, a little alteration from the way experienced, makes it an other thing, and puts us to seek a new; I do assure you Sir, knowingly that Z●elfon who being bred an Apothecary, hath made a rational attempt, to the correcting the Augustan Dispensatory, hath spoiled some very good medicines, and even in matter of fact is so much mistaken, as to affirm that in some distillations nothing of that can be brought over the Helm, which if he had ever tried he must have known the contrary, and so in some other things proposeth the doing of what I think, cannot be done, in that way he proposeth.  
I do assure you Sir, our little Juntoes and committees, meet not to drink, or to talk only, but they do impose tasks upon each other, and work cheerfully and willingly in all the parts of Physic, so that I hope hereafter throughly to satisfy you, that we have in this last age set ourselves to improve our profession, by those that you approve to be, and are certainly the best ways to do it, and you will find, that when ever we come to the resolutions of making our own medicines altogether: or have our privileges so bettered and confirmed that we may safely trust the Apothecary, that their is provision for a dispensatory, consisting of so choice experimented medicines, both Chemical and others, especially with relation to our own nation, that no age hath yet produced a better, and they shall be all such too, as the Physicians of our College have made, and long experimentea themselves. But I think as the case stands yet betwixt us and the Apothecaries, none will expect, we should put any thing of such a nature into their hands, who have made us so kind returns for what we entrusted them with before: But Sir, that you may know this is not only talk, I will give you now some little account of a weekly Junto that as I am informed have met constantly this nine or ten years, never increasing their number above five, and of which I think it a misfortune not to be one: for some years it was their business to examine as far as they could, all the dispensatories they could get, with the reformations and animadversions upon them, to compare divers compositions with our own, to consider upon what authority they had been received, altered or amended, and to inquire, as much as the nature of the thing would bear, into the reason of the compositions; for though we be assured of the effects of a medicine, perhaps the why and the how such effect is produced, will not be so easily ascertained, and in compositions that which some little busy body, to appear wise, will be making pretensions to mend, by altering, may be that which gives it as to this particular effect, its greatest Energy: He that considers what alterations some bodies produce in others, though at distance, which yet a little diversity of position, or change of the Medium may alter, will be apt enough to apprehend, how little a thing may alter the result of a composition, where divers things must be precisely, as to the measures of proportion, and time, and the quality of the Mediums, by which they are to be embodied, so made up; to produce such effects, and though every novice in Chemistry may know this, yet wanting the knowledge of other things to enable them prudently to compare and adjoust things to determine effects, or at least to the way of knowing truly their effects: it serves them rather to spoil, than mend any thing they take in hand: This little Committee therefore I was speaking of, made it their business most to inquire into the real effects of medicines, and into all circumstances that attend the effects produced, and to this end did not only bring in, and communicate to one another, diligent observations in their own practice, but as much as they could, that two of the most eminent Physicians in the Town, by looking over their prescripts, and diligently enquiring into the occasions and success of them, they had their times too, not only of considering homebred, and exotic simples, as to the outward appearance of their several species; but of their natures and effects, when used alone. And here Sir, I cannot but tell you, I do believe there are very few Physicians of this present College that would be long to seek in any place of the World, for some proper helps in any occasion of sickness they should be called too, though there were no Apothecaries or Chemist, besides himself in the whole Country. But besides this Sir, this little Junto too in other years' exercises, brought in not only the Histories of the diseases their own practice furnished them with, but any remarkable ones they could be furnished with from others, as well as many from books, and besides the enquiring into the natures of them, both upon old and new principles, they considered the just circumstances, and measures of applying the most effectual remedies to their cure: In other years, they treated one another once a week, with some animal, for anatomical dissections, and very rarely in that whole time met, but they had some thing relating to their profession, to inquire into: But I hope by that time you come to Town, to give you a better account of this, and to make you and myself too, better acquainted with some of this industrious meetings and I have given you this account now, only to let you know, that we are not those useless insipid drones, that some things of great noise would render us to the World; I could tell you too of greater things done, for these will own themselves as yet but for seekers by some of greater eminency, and of the elaboratories, and charity every day exercised in assisting of the poorer sort, but they are no Grooms of the great Chamber that do it, nor will they bribe any body, with the hopes, or promise of a charity, to preach their cures, and their bounty, and to assert the truth of things, of which it is impossible they should have any knowledge; yet I would not have you think, I am now justifying every individual member of our Society, in every thing. We are not perhaps all prudent, or good natured men; but I dare all their enemies, to charge any one of them with want of learning in his profession, with the want of honesty in the exercise of it, or in his dealing in relation to others, because I am sure if there be any such amongst us, it is because they are not made appear to be such; and I know the constitutions of our particular government so well, it would soon free itself from such scandals as that, and it is something of this in our Government, that will always make ignorant, or vicious persons fly, as much as they can or dare, in our faces, for we do not only make an onquiry into the learning, and sufficiency for practice, of those that are admitted of our body, but into their probity and good manners too, which that we may have time to do, no man can be admitted sooner than three months, after his first making his desire of admission known to the College, that in the mean time the present Fellows may have time to inquire after him, and if there be just exceptions against his learning, or his honesty, they may be objected before his admission, as Candidate, after which to, if he doth not behave himself as a learned, and an honest Physician, he shall then be barred for ever being Fellow; and there are examples of Fellows being expelled, and forfeiting all their privileges amongst us, for ill practice, dishonest Mountebankery, and ill manners: And this I take it Sir, is bidding open war to ignorance, and knavery, and therefore we must expect the effects of it; all the mischiefs, such enemies can do us: for no virtuous or learned person, will ever scruple to have his name registered, and enjoy privileges, and liberties established by la, amongst a company of men of known learning, and of no blasted credits; because they are required, with all respect and civility imaginable, to give an honourable, and honest testimony of their abilities in their profession, to men too, who have given the greatest testimonies, of any Societies of men in the World, that they are not tied up to the dictates of any Sect of Philosophers or Physicians, they have long since embraced the more generous, and useful way of Philosophising freely; they cherish it, and encourage it in all their members, and I do assure you Sir, no man was ever discouraged by them, who gave a good account that he had judgement, and abilities for the practice of Physic, though he were deficieat in the abstruser notions, and nice distinctions of the Schools, provided they had no reason to think him other, than an honest man: therefore certainly those that know this, must always think the cry against Doctors, and College, is but a compact of ignorance and knavery, which, if I do not forget before I have ended my letter, I will make you a little more sensible of, by giving you a short account of those people that make it most.  
But I hope you are by this time satisfied, that the College of Physicians, have without a Monitor, put themselves into the ways of improving the usefulness of their profession, as much as the nature of the thing is capable of, and nothing but ignorance, or malice can deny, what you are pleased to take notice of; viz. That this College of Physicians in London, hath more advanced the true knowledge of Physic, within this last forty years, than any one Society of Physicians in Europe besides; and than if you please to consider, that this hath been for the most part carried on, by the private endeavours of several members of it, our College having none of the advantages of public Professors, competently endowed from the Public, for teaching in the several parts of Medicine (only one endowed Lecture from a private Benefactor for Anatomy,) nor no public Physick-garden, nor Elaboratories for Chemical operations, except those of private erection. You may perhaps be induced to believe, that those men, who have been so industrious without those helps, might advance much farther with them. If the Physicians of those Hospitals we have, had such a Salary, as might oblige them to attend those places diligently, and to suffer our younger Physicians for some time to attend on them; by their direction to serve, and minister diligently about the sick, keeping exact accounts of all Accidents, Cures and miscarriages, and of the Anatomy of morbid bodies that die, and such of those as appeared really useful, to be registered in the Archives of our College, might we not hope in some time, to arrive at as much perfection in our Art, as is to be hoped for, considering that we must, I fear when all is done, be still mortal, and whilst men are so unwilling to believe that, or at least that it should be so yet with them, how infirm or old soever they be; there will be employment for bold pretending ignorance, which shall too, thrust sober knowledge out of doors; for where those dastardly fears of dying are, they will catch hold of the next log that offers itself to their short and fearful apprehensions; though in the bottom of ignorance, where they must inevitably perish by it, certainly that Bishop, had a great and generous soul, not clogged with those misbecoming fears, who upon a bold undertaking of a Mountebank to cure him, when his Physicians despaired, chose rather to die in the hands of Art, as more becoming the courage of a man, and the sobriety of a Christian, who should use none but lawful means to preserve himself, than to have it said when he was gone, that he would have been beholding to base and sordid Ignorance, for a few more years of pain and trouble.  
And now, Sir, I was just coming to the Reformation you propose in the practice of Physic, if I were not startled at the danger you are running yourself into, it is well since your Letter is public, that your name is concealed, what do you think otherwise might become of you and it, that dare venture to provoke the mighty men of fire, what? Paracelsus, and Helmont not Philosophers, I see squadrons arming against you, the Rosters of Geber, the Tosters of Lul, the Fricasseers of Paracelsus, and the Olla Podrida men of Helmont, men that all know how to roast Apples, stew Prunes, tossed Cheese; and some who can, it is believed for need, toss a Panacke, can say, Archaeus, Case, Blas, Duelech, Duumvirate, and a thousand harder words, which though you do not, they all understand, one as well as tother, and because you do not understand them at all, and perhaps may think, you have a pretty moral assurance they cannot, because they are unintelligible; will you call the Philosophy of Paracelsus and Helmont, idle and extravagant Theories? I dare assure you, I can tell you a way, how you shall come to think you understand all those wonderful things, as well as they, that think they understand them best, for there are some that know the emptiness of them as well as you, but use them for sounds sake, and to amuse admiring ignorance: but the way in short for you, or any body to understand them as well as any, is to be mad, as they that think they do understand them: do you not remember the two Fellows of a College in Cambridge that had been for some years mad, and at last growing a little civiller in their madness, were suffered to walk abroad, and coming into the Chapel at Evening Prayer, sat devoutly and attentively there, until the second lesson was now to be read, when one of them, before he whose turn it was to read, could get to the desk was there, had turned to the proper Lesson and began to read; all were a little surprised, but perceiving he read distinctly and orderly, they let him go on to the end; hoping he would as orderly then recede; but instead of that, he began a very mad, senseless comment upon the Chapter he had read; some were quickly ordered to get him out of the Chapel, whilst the rest began the nunc dimiitis, when Prayer was done, the other madman, who had continued civil to the end of prayers, coming to the master, desired to know, why his fellow madman was not suffered to go on, with his pious and learned Comment, and being answered, because he talked like a Fool, and a Madman, what none could understand; replied with some admiration, How, not understand him, I profess, Sir, I understood him very well; and certainly it is much after the same manner, that these Men of mighty words, and inextricable notions, understand one another; but I cannot forbear to observe, a pretty kind of errand like humour, dictated perhaps from the Custos errans, in these men's understandings, that what ever there is plain, and of good use to be found, in these Authors they deal on, they either do not understand, oversee, or else pass by, as disdaining to take notice of any thing less than Windmills; but by this time you are, I believe, laughing at me, who have run so goodly a course at them myself, and therefore I come now to the reformation you propose.  
And do assure you Sir, for all the sixteen reasons you give, I shall myself be most willing so submit, to that very reformation, if we cannot have a better, but since you do yourself intimate a better, from the primitive and certainly for that reason, that they made their own medicines, the best practice of Physic; why should the College of Physicians go on to encourage a Trade, set up only for their ease, and which if they will themselves be industrious, there is not at all any use of to mankind; why should we be concerned for their being a Corporation, or having been bred to a Trade, which hath only given them the confidence, before they well understand that, to invade a profession, that few of them can ever be capable of understanding; some of them have given it for reason why they did oppose the passing of our patent, that it would hinder them from practising Physic, which they did and ought to do, and shall they say and do this expressly against known Laws, and shall we scruple to do what both the Laws allow, our patient's safeties, our own credits, and interests calls upon us to do, that is, make all our own medicines; especially at this time, when we are ready to make a good and thorough reformation in the whole Materia meaica, and when perhaps, we shall not find many of them, for the general want amongst them of knowledge, in Chemical operations, capable of assisting us: I do assure you Sir, there are a great many amongst us, I am sure some of your acquaintance very knowing not only in all our home bred simples, but in the ways of knowing and choosing the best and most useful exotic medicinal things, (those that are not, let them in God's name learn, of those are) and therefore I cannot see if we will set ourselves throughly, and industriously to our business, what need we can have of Apothecaries, eonsidering how many very good Druggist's there are in Town, and then having nothing to do: with Apothecaries at all, we comply wholly with your first reason, we obtain all the advantages of your second, third and fourth, for indeed as you well observe in this, what advantage in nature can an ignorant Mountebank, or boasting pretender to Chemistry have, beyond a sober rational Physician, but in that of making trivial, and common things great secrets, the better to cheat a sort of people, that love to be cheated; and were born only to admire noise, and emptiness: This pretence to secrets Sir, like the Quakers light within them, is to be encountered by no reason, he that is the most knowing in all the materia medica, and the most skilful in the preparations of medicines, will find it perhaps a hard thing, to confute a fellow that with confidence tells you, of a thing of his own invention, unknown to others, or of a particular way of preparing a known medicine, invented by himself, though how many of that kind, when they have been known, have proved, (if of use or good at all,) such as were known to every body, and of common practice in the Town, and yet how many do we see every day, who if a fellow, nay any old Woman, whose education hath been never so remote from the thing they pretend to, or their parts never so mean, shall confidently tell them of great secrets, they presently cry those up, for the only knowing persons, and all men else as Sots and Idiots, never considering that if a fellow ignorant in every thing else, even wanting much to have a share in common sense, should by hap stumble upon any thing that is very good, and prove able to make up a good medicine custom, and usage, yet by it is impossible but that his paramount ignorantce, should some times do great mischiefs with this good medicine; for we must allow such a thing as this, to be of force to cause great alterations in our bodies, and then it may if not given with reason, make those alterations sometimes to our destruction, except it be an Universal medicine; and then I assure you, I shall no more plead for the faculty of Physic, but will burn all my books, and if I cannot acquire it myself, will with all my heart serve that earthly God, that I shall know Master of it; but till then Sir, I cannot but think it reasonable, that Physicians should be Masters of those things they have been the inventors of themselves, and since those they have entrusted to make them refuse all subordination to them, or to submit medicines invented and designed by Physicians, for such and such uses, to their judgements, whether they be fit for these uses or not, nay rather than miss the serving of a bill sent to them, because they want the things prescribed, will according to their shallow capacities, put in one thing for an other, or any thing, no matter what, so they be paid for the bill, though to the loss of the Physician's credit, and health, if not life of the patiented. I cannot Sir, but think it most necessary, as well as most reasonable; that Physicians resume this part of Physic into their own hands wholly: and either make Medicines for their own practice themselves, or keep, some in their houses, who may do it under their eye, and so enable them, to give a better account of all they do; to the world, their own consciences, and to God. But if you urge against me what I have said before for the making the Pharmacy of Physic a particular Trade, as argument still to continue it so, I shall quickly reply, I will not be against it, so that it be reduced to its primitive constitution, and that we be secured of their honest and faithful dispensing of our prescriptions, that they have their shops stored, with good and wholesome medicines, and to secure that, that they of all men shall not on any terms be suffered to practise, for that destroys the very reason of their constitution; and this indeed is the great secret, and stirs up their industrious opposition to us, for whilst they can vend medicines, by their own practice, without the survey or prescript of the Phystian, the putting off the worst, and refuse things, brings in the greatest gain. Besides, that not knowing, or considering more than that gain, they never want any thing: that which comes next to hand makes up any Physician's prescript, and powder of a rotten post, may with some wonderful commendations of its excellency, and virtue, serve there own practice, better than the best garbelled spices: And that this is too much truth, I think is evident by their no opposition, when lately the pretended Chemists so industriously laboured the making themselves a Corporation; for in that the knife was at their Throats, & Apothecaries when that is done, will certainly in a little time signify nothing: All the hurt it can do Physicians, is to force them to what I would have them now do, the making their one Medicines, and truly I think a very little consideration may serve a man to foresee, that the next age will scarce know, what an Apothecary is; for what with these pretenders to secrets, and the affronts the Apothecaries put upon us, with their confident invading our profession, we shall be driven at last, to what I have been thus long speaking for: Our old practitioners are unwilling yet to come to it, but the younger provide for it a pace, and I doubt not but will find encouragement enough to pursue it: but the design of your fifth reason, for the better breeding up of yond Students in our faculty, will hardly ever be well acquired, as to the curing of diseases, but by some such constitution for the Physicians of our Hospitals, as I have formerly intimated: for although every Doctor in Physic should be able to teach the Anatomical, Botanical, and Pharmacutical knowledge of our profession, yet there are not many that have so much practice in great Cities as to need help; besides that those that are able to send for Physicians, will not always be contented that a younger Physician should be trusted with the knowledge of their infirmities. I could urge a great many inconveniences against this way, but there can be none against constituting our Hospitals so, that the sick in them might be much better attended, and our younger Physicians, In a few Years, acquire great knowledge, in the practical part of their profession, for thus a three, or four Years attendance, on persons of all ages, and sexes, and sick of all, perhaps of more than all the now known diseases, and under a well experienced practitioner, must give men of any capacity, especially if before but reasonably well grounded, in the true principles of their profession, that judgement, (if you will give me leave to use one hard word) that Sto●asme, in judging the nature, and causes of diseases, and application of fit remedies to the cures of them, which only indeed makes an able and a fortunate Physician and without which all the secrets and wondered receipts, the promising Quacks of this age boast off, signify not so well as herb ●ohn in Porridge, since they are so far from doing no hurt, that they many times, do fatal and irreparable misc●iess, by an unseasonable, and ignorant application of them.  
But certainly part of your sixth reason is grounded upon mistake, if you reckon that the Fees of Physicians makes any very considerable advance, in the charge of taking Physic; For as no ingenuous Physician can or will grate on the necessitous condition of his Patient, and make a Cure more irksome to him than a disease, so t●e constitutions of our Society, and Custom as prevalent as a Law, forbidden, and restrain the most covetous amongst us, to contract for Cures, or to make any bargains for our rewards, I speak now for the Fellows and Candidates of our Society: And what ever Westminster-hall may show done by others, I am very confident it can produce very few Suits commenced by any of that number, against those that have recovered from sickness: The truth of it is, we are generally, too much at the mercy of our Patients, as to that. An honest, and conscientious Physician (I am sure if we are not all such, we ought to be such) cannot neglect the life of a man, committed to his care, but many of us can affirm by experience enough, that there are too many, that very much undervalue, not only their Physicians, who by God's blessing on his skill, and industry, hath restored them health for sickness, and case for pain, but even that health and ease, they are now possessed of, whilst (though well able to do otherwise) they give mean, and dirty rewards to their Physicians; or perhaps reproaches instead of any. It is a common excuse for their closeness of hand, that the Doctor gets his Fees easily enough, which he only makes a visit and writes a few words for, but not to wish them that solicitude of mind and anguish of soul, that the doubtful condition of a Patient hath given me, I wish they would consider for others, what I am sure they would for themselves, that is the real loss, and gain in all they deal for; they would then easily compute, that besides the labour of study, and the expense of as much time, as would make up two Apprenticeships, before a man can acquire a lawful title to Physic; the charge of his Education, the taking Degrees, most commonly too his Travel, the making of Experiments, and his Library, may amount to a greater stock, than is necessary to make a man a Master in any other profession whatsoever; and yet there are far greater encouragments for other professions than for ours, the two other learned ones of Law and Divinity, mount men to the highest Honours and Authorities next the King, and Royal Family, wealthy Revenues are provided for Churchmen, and places of great profit for men of the Law; but a Doctor of Physic never gets farther; some few of them acquire the honour of being more immediately in the service of the King, but I have not heard of any of them amongst us, very rich, except Sir Theodore Mayerne; all which I have said to insinuate, what I doubt not but you will easily acknowledge; that as Physicians may very well deserve the Fees, that use and custom hath allowed them, so it is not by those Fees that the charge of Physic is increased, beyond what people are willing to make it; since every Patient is in this case his own Chancellor. To confirm this truth to you, before I come to discover the little arts by which the charge of Physic is really increased; Let me tell you a Story, which to me seems not very unpleasant.  
One of our number, and a friend of yours and mine, one day in his study was addressed to, by a man that appearred but of an ordinary condition, with his urinal in hand, desiring as he phrased it, his worship's advice, upon due consideration of his complaints, if proved the man had gotten a disease, that too often happens to his betters, and being now of some months standing, required a little more than ordinary care to root it out; he said enough to make the Physician commiserate his case, who without any consideration of his promises of being very thankful, gave him directions then without a Fee, and so from time to time after for his cure; so that in about two months' time, with six or seven pounds charge to the Apothecary, (who was wise enough to be paid for his Physic as the patiented had it) the man thought himself perfectly cured, but in this time the Physician had learned, that he was a fellow did pay for his debauches, and was able enough to pay for his cure too, and so grew into some expectation of the fellows promises, who one day coming to him, told him he was come to give his worship's content, the Physician honestly advised him to be sure he were well, because in this disease men too often thought themselves well too soon, since it was in humane bodies like horse radish in the ground, where if the least Fiber of the roots be left, it will over run the ground again; but he boasting of good stomach, freedom from pains, and cleanness of skin, very generously laid down two half Crowns for the Physician's reward, who disdaining the meaness of it, told him if he were able to give no more, he would not take that from him, adding that if he had gone to some of those, that use to make bargains, they would have made him pay twenty pounds for his cure, besides his Physic; to which the fellow replied with a little emotion, how Sir, twenty pound, I protest I would not take so much Physic again, if you would give me forty shillings, and so with his two half Crowns in his hand, left the Physician, who heard no more of him, nor did he I assure you ever think of suing him. I doubt not but many of our profession, often meet with such returns as these, and if we did not meet with more generous, and worthy dealing from better persons, the practice of Physic would be forsaken by all learned, and ingenious persons. And the world would want that improvement of real knowledge which that faculty hath, and doth every day make.  
But as I insinuated before, this Story was only brought in to advertise you, that whilst all men are their own Chancellors as to the reward they give their Physicians, those rewards are perhaps, the least part of the charge in taking Physic, and yet it must be acknowledged, as you observe, that the charge of Physic is sometimes intolerable, and unconscionable, and I will endeavour now to let you see how indeed it too often comes to be so.  
And that you may know I am not partial to ourselves, I will acknowledge that I fear Physicians sometimes contribute to the making this charge, Apothecaries very often, but patients are for the most part the occasion of it themselves: few amongst us are so wise as the Romans, who entertaining, or being entertained by some English, with more Wine than men of that Nation use to drink, was the next morning very sick, with all those accidents that accompany the debauches of men not used to it; he sent presently for his Physician, a learned and ingenious person of our Nation, one who lived long in Rome, and from whom I had the Story, who finding what his sickness was, by making him keep his bed that day, with a little broth only, found him the next morning reasonably well recovered, but still in fe●r that so violent a sickness, as he had felt the day before, would not go off so easily, and therefore prayed another visit from his Physician in the afternoon, who then found him up, and almost in the opinion he should be well; which his Physician wholly confirmed him in: the man with great joy when the Physician was going, putteth two Zechines of Gold into his hand, at which he being a little surprised, such fees by men of his quality not being usually given there, nay my Doctor saith the patiented, when you cure me without putting those Devils of Senna, Rhubarbe, Agaricke, Marobatanes, into my Belly, I will pay you five times better, than when you torment me with all or any of them; but few amongst us, will think a Physician deserves a reward if he order them no Physic, not considering that he that conducts a sick man soon, safest and with least trouble, to that health he wants, deserves better than he that by unpleasant, long, and troublesome ways brings him to it: It is of an English man the Story is told, who gave the Barber a shilling, ana his Wife six pence, who helped in pulling him about the room by his tooth, and not drawing it: but thought the tooth-drawer did not deserve six pence, who pulled it out dexterously and quickly, because he had taken no more pains in the doing it.  
This humour too often inclines the Physician, when perhaps there is little need of it, to charge the patient's belly with Physic, and his Table with pots, and glasses; but if the Apothecary be a friend to the family, and the Physician called in by him, if he doth not then serve the Apothecary, as much as the patiented, 'tis ten to one but he is turned out again, however will scarce ever be called another time: And it seems to me Sir, that I am now upon the very reason of the great charge you mention in taking Physic, perhaps there are few Tradesmen, that think it a fault to sell as much of that commodity they Trade in, and to as much profit as they can, I am sure the selling as much as they can, to those will buy it, can never be thought one; yet few people mark, that it is as much the interest of the Apothecary to do this, as it is of any other Tradesman. When an Apothecary calls to see how my Lord or his worship, or my Lady and the family are, as to health, he is a very diligent, honest, careful, good natured man; at that time the daughter Betty, or the son Thomas, look as they had the worms, or they did not eat their Supper with any Stomach last night (perhaps by reason of two full a Dinner at noon) or the Woman or the Maid have a pain in their Heads, it may be by sitting up late when the Master and Lady were in Bed, but the Apothecary will send something that is good for them, presently that Doctor such a one prescribed, (for usually it is upon the authority of some Physician, and with pretence to his Medicines they drive on this trade) and the Child or the Woman is well, and all is well at that time; but sometimes it happens, that by the untimely exhibition of a very good remedy, they grow sick indeed, and until the Apothecary is frighted with eminent danger, his trade drives on as he could wish it; but if any danger appear, a Physician must be called, and the Apothecary must be advised with who is fittest to be called; and methinks it seems very natural, that he should call in such an one, if he knows him, that is most likely to save his credit, and will best help to carry on the trade of selling his Medicines; such a one, who if he come Three or Four times a day, writes new Bills for the Apothecary, compound Glisters, rich cordial Juleps and Boluses, Pearl, Besoar and Gold, words that signify very much in augmenting the sum, at the foot of the Account in an Apothecary's Bill: I do assure you many of us in families where we are Physicians in ordinary, have known the Apotheoaries' Bill at Christmas come to thirty, Forty, Fifty pounds, sometimes more, for Physic for the Family, when no Physician hath ordained Ten pounds worth of Physic; for in such Families the Coachman, Groom and Footman upon any little occasion will be helping the Apothecary of the Family off with his ware, without troubling Mr. doctor for his advice, whether it be proper or no; and Sir, if to these arts you add the unconscionable prizes of some of them (for I do not in this, nor in any thing before charge all of that profession, I know divers honest knowing and conscionable Men amongst them) put upon things of no value, you may easily compute what it is that makes that intolerable charge of Physic you mention: it is some years since, when Doctor Pursean, Doctor Bates and myself, for three or four week's attendance on a person of quality, received in Fees, three or four and thirty pounds, they being consulters sometimes only, and I ordinary Physician had more than half of that sum; I believe myself, the person was well, and well satisfied until the Apothecary's Bill was brought in, but then I was called to the ungrateful work of judging upon the prizes of it, I was a little started, to find the sum total Five and Fifty pounds, and I do assure you I speak moderately, when I say if he were paid it, his gain was as much as the three Physicians received, but it was an Apothecary of the patients own choice, and I had nothing to answer for it.  
You know Sir, by what means abroad, in many well governed States and Cities, this is always prevented, where the Physicians once a year set the price of all Medicines, and cause it to be printed, and I am afraid it was the apprehension of our taking up this authority here, that made the Apothecaries with so much industry oppose our Patent, and use us with so much disrespect before the Committee of your house lately; for if they had well and honestly considered their own interest, I know nothing which could more solidly have advantaged them, than the prosperous condition of the College of Physicians.  
But Sir, I have been too long upon this sixth reason of yours, and therefore shall briefly tell you, that all the advantages of your seventh are better obtained by Physittans' making their own medicines, and that I cannot comply with part of your eight, because no business of any great, though private concernment, is brought to pass without an industry proportionate to the acquisition of that we contend for: They who have the ease they wish for in their private affairs, and have no concernment for the public, will no doubt (without considering how things are changed now) keep the road they have been used too, and in which they have acqnired the ease and advantage they enjoy, and think it perhaps just to do so, because custom makes the greatest Sins not Bugbear, but they that are well exoited by their particular concernments, or with the desire of doing honestly in their Station, will never scruple to use all ingenious industry to vindicate an honourable profession, of which they are members, from the obloquy is brought upon it, by ignorance, or knavery: It is on these, the wits vent their virulent Scommas and reproaches; no man yet was ever reproached, for being an honest, able and learned Physician, he that is that, and a young man, will generously contend for the reputation he deserves, and never refuse any pains to help, out of charity, the distresses of the needy; though called upon in the night to do it, his interest will make him rise to help others; and it will become the elder Physicians, who are infirm, so much to countenance, and advantage the younger men of the Society, as to call them in to cases, in which those assistances you mention, are necessary to the frailties of age, or humanity; and this too, if that candour, and ingenuity be exercised, that becomes such men to use, may be so adjusted as not to increase the charge of the patiented; and this will give better satisfaction in my opinion, than the sending one, that is but breeding up to be a Physician, when two professed Physicians of the College should be so concerned in assisting him.  
Your 9th consists of many parts, but all the difficulties insinuated in it, as to the hazard, and charge a young Physician, at his first entrance to practice may run, in making a competent provision of medicines, may be obviated easily enough, by what you insinuate yourself, of remitting easy things, as common Decoctions, Glisters, Ptysans etc. to the patients themselves; which may also upon occasion, and according to emergent exigencies, be actuated by little quantities of generous and lasting remedies, which no Physician that will attempt the way, that you or I would have but must always have a competent Stock of, readily to supply the sick with upon occasion; and I doubt not, when you and I meet, but that I shall satisfy you, that some of us have contrived a Materia medica, consisting of generous, lasting, and acknowledgedly, the most effectual known medicines; which when the trouble of making them is once over, may be contained in a Cabinet not of the largest size; and by present mixtures, according to the occasion, and the help of easily prepared Vehicles, may serve as effectually, as any other whatsoever, to cure all the diseases that infect miserable man; or at least to give him all that relief, his condition is capable to receive from medicine: I cannot therefore think, that having some medicines made from shops, renders the way you propose better, because less troublesome than that of the ancients, for I am one of those, that cannot value any trouble, that is indeed really necessary to the acquiring an honest and an honourable purpose; besides for the ease, and less trouble you mention, there are three professions in Town, that may not only be better encouraged, but likewise be very helpful, to those that would have that less trouble and ease: All the manual operations in our profession, belong to the Surgeons, applying Blisters, (making issues, bleeding all, which the Apothecaries very often do now) and giving Glisters (where the patiented hath not the convenience of having one can give it at home) are all manual operations, and may if they will, be performed by some of them; The Druggist may as well furnish us, as the Apothecaries, and those Distillers that are known honest, careful and able men, may be employed to destil great quantities of those waters, both simple, and compound, which shall be judged fit to be always in readiness for use, and the number of those I believe need not be many: And although I will allow those men that will not take all the pains themselves, all the advantages of ease these helps can give them; yet I would have every man of our profession, make himself very knowing, both in the choice and preparation of the Materia medica, that he may not easily be imposed on by those he buys from.  
But Sir, that I may at last contract: All the advantages of your seven following reasons, except that of your twelfth viz: of a Physician gratifiing Apothecaries his particular Friends, are by that way I urge perfectly acquired; and that which makes me at present zealous for this way, is that we may the better vindicate our selves from those dirty aspersions, these men before the Committee of the House endeavoured to cast upon us; we ought to let them know that as our predecessors invented, and gave them that Trade, by which they now subsist, and by which many have gotten fair estares, to wit the London Dispensatory, and procured them to be made a distinct Corporation, that they might the better apply themselves to the knowing, and choosing the best simples, and compounding such Medicines, after such methods and forms, as Physicians judged fittest for practise at that time; in trust and confidence, that they would honestly apply themselves to that only, and not ingratefully invade, and undermine the privileges, and interests of such benefactors; neglecting their own honest duties, and destroying the very reason of their constitution; which if it were an honest one, could be nothing, but the obviating those mischiefs, that might be done, where ordainers of medicines were the makers of them likewise: All this I say considered, we ought to let them know, that we are not at all inferior to those predecessors of ours, to whom they own so much; but as in that Dispensatory they then made, they had selected from a vast number of others, such Medicines as they judged fittest to be ready in shops for the uses they should appoint them to; so we taught by their experience, and our own, (besides the communications, we have had from the rest of the learned World) have not only a great provision of preparations, by that advantage the improvement of Chemistry hath given us, unknown to them, but know likewise the defects of many of those in the present dispensatory, and the excellency of many others, not then brought into use. Besides that the various complications of diseases, and the luxury, and delicacy of this latter age, having produced many new appearances of Diseases, not known or taken notice of before, it hath put learned and industrious men, upon the invention of appropriate, and more grateful Medicines: so that, That Dispensatory of London being almost grown useless, we ought to recall it, and then either keep the making of medicines to ourselves, or else put it into such hands, or into such a method, as may render all more safe, both to our patient's health, and our own credits.  
Having therefore Sir, thus leapt to your 17th and lastly, you will find me still of the opinion, that all the reasons of that proposition are likewise better complied with, and all the advantages better acquired, by the way of wholly making our own Medicines and having nothing to do with those men who have used us so unkindly, provided there be prescribed that candour, and integrity, that mutual communication, and assistance, to each other of the Society, that aught to be amongst men of a liberal and ingenuous profession, and that we do really set ourselves to detect all the frauds, cheats, and abuses, that are or may be practised by any in the practice of Physic, so that being severely honest ourselves, we may cheat those, that think we are not so; the best way, and if I be not much deceived myself; we are a body of men at this time for the most part, very well qualified for such an undertaking: Omitting therefore the thanks that not only myself, but all of our Society own you, for the just defence you have made for us, and the good opinion you have of us, I will as shortly as I can, offer the Reformation I would propose, in order to promoting all the advantages, the faculty of Physic can give to mankind.   
FINIS.