Athothis : a satire on modern medicine / by Thomas C. Minor.

of allowance. I am aware that circumcision has been practiced for ages by the Mexican Indians, the Fijians in Polynesia, and among various tribes in Australia and Africa!" " In my day this operation was only performed by the medical priest, for with us the priest, physician, and law- giver were one," said Athothis. " They were the potent triad created by Patah; for they were wisdom, and all wisdom is from Patah, and through all the circling ages, with few exceptions, wisdom has ruled mankind. The present day is one of these exceptions." " Why except the present day ?" asked Paulus Andro- cydes, whose curiosity was aroused. "Are not modern nations governed by wisdom ?" " No ! " answered Athothis, sternly. " Scepticism now rules the world. The intelligent foresight that created what is scoffed at as superstition is no longer respected. Mankind has strayed from the paths worked out by the first inspired teachers. When mortals deny a first great cause and lose faith in a future state of happiness, wis- dom flees and morality decays. Kings' heads no longer fit the crown, and the grandest empires perish. Your modern imagines himself a God able almost to create and control natural forces. This he calls science. An initiate of the first degree, he assumes to know all the secrets of natural order. The science of modern religions that tend to materialism; the science of modern schools of medicine that are mere reflections on death; the science of modern laws that benefit the few rich and oppress the many poor—these are all vile poisonous plants, that will bear bitter fruit for future generations. The education of ears that are deaf to the inspired voices of antiquity; the education of eyes that think to discover