Sketches from the History of Medicine, Ancient and Modern: An Oration Delivered Before the Hunterian Society

This 1868 oration, delivered before the Hunterian Society, offers a remarkable window into Victorian thinking about medicine's ancient roots. Sedgwick Saunders traces the evolution of healing from primal humanity through biblical times to more recent centuries, arguing that medicine emerged as civilization's response to suffering. He examines figures like Moses and practices such as circumcision to demonstrate how religious ritual and medical tradition became inextricably intertwined. The oration presents medicine not merely as scientific progression but as a reflection of how societies conceptualize the body, pain, and what it means to be human. This work captures a fascinating moment in medical historiography, before germ theory and laboratory science transformed the field entirely. For readers curious about how earlier generations understood medicine's history, or those interested in Victorian intellectual culture, this oration provides a compelling blend of period scholarship and cultural perspective.