Benjamin Rush ALS October 17, 1793

A fantastic letter in both content and context from the heart of the 1793 Yellow Fever outbreak in Philadelphia.

Rush writes to James Wharton:

"I am too weak to visit Mr. Davis, having just revived from two attacks of my fever. If Mr. Davis will dismiss Dr. Hodge, Mr. fisher my pupil shall attend him under my direction. Hodge is in a Bark and Wine Doctor. His prescriptions and mine are directly opposed to each other. Your Sincerely Benjamin Rush."

From Catalog I

Rush writes to James Wharton from his sickbed: "I am too weak to visit Mr. Davis, having just revived from two attacks of my fever. If Mr. Davis will dismiss Dr. Hodge, Mr. Fisher my pupil shall attend him under my direction. Hodge is in a Bark and Wine Doctor. His prescriptions and mine are directly opposed to each other." This letter -- six words at its center -- is the entire controversy in miniature: a dying physician, still fighting, refusing to cede a single patient to the opposition.