Harvey, Vanities of Philosophy and Physick, 1702
The Third Edition of the Vanities of Philosophy and Physick: Enlarg’d to more than double the number of Sheets; Convenient To be perused by Divines, and Students in any Faculty’ but more necessarily by Physicians, and chiefly by all that would preserve Health and prolong Life, as well in a Regular as Irregular way of Living; by Directions and Medicines herein mentioned, and easily prepar’d by any of the least Skill: There is also now added, a Third Medicine, without which the Design of this Treatise would be imperfect. Offering moreover At different Hypotheses in Metaphysicks, Natural, and Moral Philosophy; also in the Art of Physick, almost throughout the whole Body, and particularly relating to Indigestion & other Diseases of the Stomach, Fevers, Consumptions, Stone, Gravel, Suppression of Urine, Apoplexy, Palsie Madness, Disease of the Eyes, and others: With variety of Medicines and Rules, whereby to make particular Choice out of them. By Gideon Harvey, M. D. London: Printed for A. Roper at the Black-Boy, and R. Bassee at the Mitre, in Fleetstreet, 1702.
Octavo in 20th century half brown leather with marbled paper over boards. Spine sunned. End papers replaced. Toned with some additional focal stains/smudges. Trimmed at top edge, occasionally into titles. Binding cracked between A7 & A8, but all signatures holding strong. Typographic error at C2 (D2). A few pencil marks in margins.
Later ffep, later blank, title – A8, A – Aa8, Bb4, later blank, later rfep.
Title (26) 381.
An interesting and scathing review of medicine, law, philosophy, and theology as it was practiced at the end of the 17th century. To state it bluntly, the keyboard warriors in the comments section on social media these days would resonate with this one.
For the author, see Heirs 634: Gideon Harvey (1640?-1700?): “Though Harvey was a successful clinician, physician to Charles II and William III, as well as city physician of London, he was a medical outsider. He was a severe critic of and scourge to his contemporaries, whom he designated "dung-doctors," because of some of their clinical methods. Although he wrote almost endlessly on philosophy, diseases, cures, real or imagined quackery and charlatanry, with many of his books passing through two or three editions, the Dictionary of national biography (Vol. IX, p. 87) flatly states that "his works have no scientific value.""
