It
is a pleasure to note some churchmen--and among them Madox,
Bishop of Worcester--giving battle on the side of right reason;
but as late as 1753 we have a noted rector at Canterbury
denouncing inoculation from his pulpit in the primatial city, and
many of his brethren following his example.
The same opposition was vigorous in Protestant Scotland. A
large body of ministers joined in denouncing the new practice as
"flying in the face of Providence," and "endeavouring to baffle a
Divine judgment."
On our own side of the ocean, also, this question had to be
fought out. About the year 1721 Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, a physician
in Boston, made an experiment in inoculation, one of his first
subjects being his own son. He at once encountered bitter
hostility, so that the selectmen of the city forbade him to
repeat the experiment. Foremost among his opponents was Dr.
Douglas, a Scotch physician, supported by the medical professton
and the newspapers. The violence of the opposing party knew no
bounds; they insisted that inoculation was "poisoning," and they
urged the authorities to try Dr.
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