Tag: Literary Vignettes
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The doctors of Thomas Hardy
In his widely read novels, Thomas Hardy describes life in late nineteenth-century England, when truly effective medical remedies were exceedingly few and doctors were greatly limited in what they could achieve. Conditions were worse in rural areas, where poverty was an additional factor in determining the outcome of illnesses. Although doctors in Hardy’s novels typically have…
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The Latest Decalogue
Arthur Hugh Clough (1819–1861) Thou shalt have one God only; who Would tax himself to worship two? God’s image nowhere shalt thou see, Save haply in the currency: Swear not at all; since for thy curse Thine enemy is not the worse: At church on Sunday to attend Will help to keep the world thy friend: Honor thy parents; that is, all From whom…
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The deaths of the Romantic poets
The deaths of John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron, all occurring within five years of each other, form a tragic trilogy in the history of English Romantic poetry. Each died young, and their ends reflect the turbulence, idealism, and fragility that marked their youthful spirits as well as an era in English poetry.…
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V.V. Veresaev, another forgotten physician-author
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Dr. Veresaev was born in Tula as Vikenty Vikentyevich Smidowitz in 1867, son of a famous Polish-Catholic physician father and a Russian mother. Raised and educated in Russia, his father established a free-of-charge hospital in Tula. First to introduce sanitary and hygienic principles to the city, his father ironically died in…
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The very prejudiced H.L. Mencken and his medical views
A century has gone by since Henry Louis Mencken wrote his diatribes, some of which he actually called Prejudices, now highly distasteful and taboo. He himself was born in Baltimore in 1880, spoke only German as a child, and during both wars thought the Germans should win. He studied at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and…
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The Carpathian wolves of Saki
The relationship between wolves and humans is old and complex. It oscillates between hostility and cooperation and eventually results in domestication as dogs. In Norse mythology, wolves were a powerful force destined to bring about the end of the world. To scientists today, wolves offer an invaluable window into the complexities of mammalian physiology, as…
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Premature burial in literature
Nothing is more terrifying than the thought of being buried alive, of being wrapped in a shroud, bound hand and feet, with no way to escape. This thought has long haunted human imagination. It was a real possibility before and during the 17th to 19th centuries, when numerous documented cases of premature burial, both verified…
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The bridge on the Drina: A literary and historical monument
Ivo Andrić’s The Bridge on the Drina (originally Na Drini ćuprija), published in 1945, is a monumental novel that spans over four centuries of Balkan history, using the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad as both a literal and symbolic centerpiece. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961, Andrić’s work is a profound meditation…
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Plato’s thoughts on illness, medicine, and doctors
In Plato’s philosophical works, particularly in The Republic and Timaeus, we find significant reflections on illness, medicine, and the role of doctors in society. These reflections reveal Plato’s holistic understanding of health as harmony and his views on the proper practice of medicine. For Plato, health represents a state of harmony and balance within the…
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The novels of Karl May: Myth, adventure, and cultural impact
Karl May (1842–1912) remains one of the most popular and widely read authors in the German-speaking world, renowned for his prolific output of adventure novels that captivated generations of readers. Although his name is less familiar outside of Europe, his imaginative works—particularly those set in the American West and the Middle East—have left a lasting…