[History of the "charitable works" of Philibert Guybert]

Hist Sci Med. 1998;32(1):11-26.
[Article in French]

Abstract

This report, made in two parts, relates Philibert Guybert's Charitable works history which were reprinted at least sixty times between 1623 and 1679 - quite an exceptional number for that period. Le Médecin charitable (The Charitable Physician) (1623), was followed by other works such as Le Prix et valeur des médicaments (Price and value of medicines) (1625), l'Apothicaire charitable (The charitable Apothecary) (1625), la Manière d'embaumer les corps morts (The way of embalming corpses) (1627), etc. As an indication of methods then used in the Parisian Faculty of Medicine, Guybert's works were compiled at many times under the title (Euvres charitables de Philibert Guybert, until the reference edition in 1633, in which other authors works were added. Philibert Guybert's objective was to help people, particulary the poor, to treat themselves by making their own remedies, in other words, fighting against privileges, as well as the apothecaries' lure of profit-making and their corrupted methods. The first part recalls the period between 1623 and 1629, with regard to Guybert's first works and the controversy between doctors and apothecaries. The second part begins by relating the history of the reference edition, in 1633, which came out few months before Guybert's death. Gui Patin, the well-known parisian doctor, took an important part in this edition: he wrote a Traité de la Conservation de la Santé (Treaty of health conservation), and also many annotations concerning l'Avis sur la peste (Advice on the plague) by Nicolas Ellain - in which Patin expresses his disapproval of certain remedies such as theriac, mithridate, arsenic, pearls, bezoaa, etc. -, and also how he felt about le Traité de la Saignée de Galien (The treaty of blood-letting by Galien) - with his approval of both the blood-letting and Galien! Then the author recalls the posthumous editions, some of them clandestine, and also evokes latine and english editions (Medici officiosi opera and The charitable Physician respectively). The nature of Guybert's works, and also various similar events (such as the 1647 trial between Patin and apothecaries) show the importance of conflicts occurred between Parisian apothecaries and doctors of the time.

Publication types

  • Biography
  • Historical Article
  • Portrait

MeSH terms

  • Antidotes
  • Charities / history*
  • France
  • History, 17th Century
  • Pharmacists / history*
  • Politics*
  • Poverty / history*
  • Publishing / history*
  • Social Welfare / history

Substances

  • Antidotes

Personal name as subject

  • P Guybert