john wesley and the desideratum (1)

8/13/2019 John Wesley and the Desideratum (1)

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JOHN WESLEY AND THE DESIDERATUM:

THIS CURIOUS AND IMPORTANT SUBJECT

Linda S. Schwa

Professor Emerita of Chemistry, Wells College

Research Fellow, Northeastern SeminaryPastor, Clarion Free Methodist Church

Introduction

It was a time when new technology revolutionied the way that !eo!le thought a"out the

world# It was also a time when health care was in crisis, with a seemingly monolithic

esta"lishment doing little to meet the sim!lest needs# Furthermore, the outsourcing of $o"s and

weather%induced food shortages !ushed many to choose "etween a meal and a medicine#

Such was the middle of the eighteenth century in England# Its distur"ing, if distant,

similarity to as!ects of our own time gives new interest to res!onses of the day# &mong these,

'ohn Wesley(s )*+ wor- The Desideratum: Or, Electricity made plain and useful. By a Lover

of Mankind, and of Common ense)$oins technology and health care in a "road and distinctive

way that is well worth dee!er study#

The Desideratumhas elicited a wide range of evaluations from scholars of the last half%

century, from !raise to ridicule# .owever, some of the most o"vious /uestions one might as- of

the wor- have gone unaddressed0 how Wesley used the sources availa"le to him, the e1tent of his!ersonal contri"ution to the wor-, and his understanding of the rationale for electrical treatment#

In order to address these /uestions, it is im!ortant to understand the wor-(s setting in the conte1t

of the electrical technology of its time#

Background to the work

Electrical science and 'ohn Wesley grew u! together# .au-s"ee, the Royal Society

e1!erimenter, devised convenient methods for collecting static electricity not long after Wesley(s

"irth# 2y the time that 'ohn Wesley reached 31ford in )*4, the teaching of Newtonian

mechanics through a course of logically !rogressing demonstrations was well esta"lished,4and

he attended these courses#5&dvances came thic- and fast0 in )*46, Ste!hen 7ray showed that the

roster of electrical conductors included human "eings8a discovery with a highly entertaining

side9, and in )*:+ the sim!le condenser, -nown as a ;


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to "e stored, revolutionied the field yet again#

In the "anner year of )*:*, readers of !o!ular !eriodicals could learn of dramatic

e1!eriments in


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accumulated using a


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s!iritual in origin, he also recognied ;nervous disorders which are !urely natural#=45It is these

he has in mind in suggesting the !ossi"le connections "etween electricity and the structure and

function of !eri!heral nerves0

Perha!s if the nerves are really !erforated 8as is now generally su!!osed9 the electric

ether is the only fluid in the universe which is fine enough to move through them# &nd

what if the nervous $uice itself "e a fluid of this -ind If so, it is no wonder that it has

always eluded the search of the most accurate naturalists#4:

&s we will see, these ideas fit within a descri!tive model of human !hysiology that is still

recognia"le#

Part I of The Desideratum

3ne of the reasons that so much less has "een written on the "ody of The Desideratum

than on its !reface may "e that, on the first reading 8or the first three9 one(s eyes glae over at the

anti/uated scientific voca"ulary# .owever, if one ta-es Wesley at his word D that he was

;chiefly inde"ted to Mr# Fran-lin= for this !art4>D the confusions "egin to clear# & careful

reading of Fran-lin(sE#periments and O$servations on Electricity4+not only shows how Wesley

used Fran-lin(s wor- !oint "y !oint, "ut also suggests where Wesley(s conce!tual framewor- for

understanding electricity differed from Fran-lin(s# Fran-lin descri"ed electricity in "oth fluid

and !articulate terms, antici!ating the discovery of the electron "y a century and a half#4*

Wesley(s introduction to Part I of The Desideratumem!hasied the fluid !ro!erties of electricity,

a fluid so !ervasive, fine and swift ;that all other matter seems to "e only the "ody, and this the

soul of the niverse#=4A ?his em!hasis on electricity as an elemental energy, for which Wesley

used 7eorge 2er-eley(s e1!ression ;the soul of the universe,= was also consistent with the

Newtonian language of ;ethers#=46 2ut this was no digression into a"struse !hiloso!hy

Wesley(s introduction immediately !laced the su"$ect of electricity into a coherent and self%

consistent framewor- directed toward e1!laining its o"served !hysiological effects# ?hat

framewor- drew in a significant way on the great discoveries of the !receding century that had

made 2ritish medical science the world standard#

William .arvey(s )+4A wor- on the circulation of the "lood ins!ired a generation of

colleagues and !rotGgGs to e1!lore, "y meticulous dissection, the many roles of vessels in human

anatomy and !hysiology#5 &ny serious student of anatomy 8as Wesley was5)9 over the ne1t

:


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century learned that the vessels D including also those of the various glands and the nerves D and

their fluids were the -ey to understanding the human organism# Such a conce!tual framewor-

em!hasied the harmonious wor-ing of the "ody as a whole through the several networ-s that

!rovide communication among its !arts# In this, the as%yet un-nown fluid !ro!er to the nerves

must !lay a -ey role# Electricity D which could flow to or from the earth through a human "eing,

and which, among its effects, noticea"ly accelerated the !ulse and the motion of "lood through

the vessels D a!!eared to "e a very convincing candidate for the role of the hitherto elusive

;nervous $uice#=54 ?his is the framewor- that !ulls together Wesley(s thoughts on ;ethereal fire,=

his selections from Fran-lin and other ;electricians,= and his !reference for !hysicians li-e

?homas Sydenham and 7eorge Cheyne who focused on the "ody as a ;well%wor-ing= whole#55

Part II of The Desideratum

In the second !art, Wesley was, as he noted in the !reface, $ust as inde"ted to


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of theDesideratum, what he himself contri"uted# ?he answer is sim!le0 nearly half of the case

studies in theDesideratumcome from Wesley(s own clinics, and, given the level of detail, most

of these seem to "e from Wesley himself#

It is not difficult to verify this# &s Wesley moved down the al!ha"etical list of illnesses,

giving one or more e1am!les of treatment for each one, he cited each one a"stracted from

+ and )**5, cro!s were !oor, and the rise in "read !rices, although not so high in


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!ostulated#

?hese few e1am!les from a very large "ody of literature on electrothera!y over the !ast

three decades suggest that the case studies in The Desideratum, far from "eing a farrago of over%

ho!eful anecdotes, often have sur!risingly contem!orary relevance# ?his is true even of what

might "e initially the least "elieva"le case0 that of the "lind "oy treated "y the surgeon of

Borchester# In the !ast few years, among the various a!!roaches to designing a visual !rosthesis

for the "lind, electrical stimulation of the o!tic nerve has also "een e1!lored, and its eighteenth%

century antecedents noted#>

Why, then, has it ta-en so long for Wesley(s wor- on electricity to "e a!!reciated "y

scholars, as it is "y !ractitioners in the field of medical electricity, as an early and legitimate

contri"ution to medicine Its science does re/uire translation into today(s terms# ?he com!le1

history of electrothera!y did include much colorful /uac-ery# .owever, the greatest o"stacle

may "e the long history of !ortraying 'ohn Wesley as "iased against science and driven "y other

agendas, a !ortrayal su!!orted "y selective /uotation and a hermeneutic of sus!icion#

.owever, criti/ues of Wesley(s a!!roach to science often founder on a tendency to

confuse scientific models with sim!le meta!hors# & scientific model is a conce!tual framewor-

ca!a"le of including, in a coherent and self%consistent way, as wide a range of -nown

o"servations as !ossi"le# For e1am!le, most of us understand the human "ody in terms of organ

systems as /uasi%inde!endent units controlled "y the central nervous system 8that is, the "rain

and s!inal cord9# 3nce the reader "ecomes aware that in the eighteenth century the im!ortance

of communication "y vessels over%rode the individual significance of organs, Wesley(s medical

wor-s "ecome more understanda"le and their com!lementary !ers!ective, rediscovered in

medicine over the last thirty years, intriguing#

Wesley(s understanding of the human "ody fre/uently a!!eared in his sermons,>)and one

of the most stri-ing e1am!les of the vessel%"ased understanding of anatomy and !hysiology

occurs in his late sermon, ;What is Man= .ere, the !articles of the ;earth= of which we are

made cohere and ;lengthen into innumera"le fi"ers, a thousand times finer than hairs# ?hese,

crossing each other in all directions, are strangely wrought into mem"ranes and these

mem"ranes are as strangely wrought into arteries, veins, nerves, and glands#= ?hese all%

im!ortant vessels carry ;various fluids, constantly circulating through the whole machine,= and

this dynamic vital !rocess de!ends on ;the ethereal fire= D Wesley(s synonym for electricity D

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which is !resented as the !ro"a"le fluid of the nerves#>4 It is a coherent model, and its !icture of

the energetics of res!iration8e1!ressed today as electrical !otentials9 and the role of nerves in

heart and circulatory function is clearly !art of the lineage of modern !hysiology# It is not a

;!ara"le of electric fire,=>5"ut a theoretical model !owerful D that is, "road%"ased D enough to

suggest a rationale for electrical thera!y and to indicate the cases in which it might "e

!articularly useful# It was, after all, ;real flame, such as sets fire to s!irits of wine,= not a

meta!hor, that intrigued 'ohn Wesley on his first visit to ;the electrical e1!eriments#=>:

2ut finally, what does The Desideratumadd to our understanding of 'ohn Wesley(s !lace

in science and medicine It shows him to "e a s-ilful and !ainsta-ing reviewer of current

scientific literature, though not a !artici!ant in the community of e1!erimenters# It allows one a

!ractical yet com!rehensive !icture of how Wesley viewed the human !erson, and a glim!se of

him at wor- in his clinics and neigh"orhood# It o!ens to the reader an as!ect of his times D the

;electrical century= D that is of intense interest to contem!orary scholars and to today(s

!ractitioners of electrical medicine#

It is, however, his o!ening and closing call for the coo!erative efforts of ;men of sense=

and ;lovers of man-ind= to e1!lore the medical uses of the new medium,>>sharing the results

o"tained>+that most sets the wor- in today(s conte1t# In ma-ing these a!!eals, Wesley "ecame

!art of the !rocess of technology transfer#>*


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ine1!ensive, and effective ways of getting and -ee!ing well D is increasingly, if still im!erfectly,

a!!reciated#

Notes

Portions of this wor- will a!!ear more fully in &'n(ard and Out(ard )ealth*: "ohn +esley*s

)olistic Concept of Medical cience, the Environment and )oly Livin, Be"orah Madden 8ed#9,

E!worth Press0 in !ress#

6


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)'ohn Wesley, The Desideratum: Or, Electricity made plain and useful. By a Lover of Mankind, and of

Common ense, 6 however, )*>6 was the date of Wesley(s QPreface(, and the date of !u"lication was )*+#4'# , ol# 4, !# 4A+#:2en$amin Fran-lin,Ben1amin 2ranklin*s E#periments: 0 3e( Edition of 2ranklin*s E#periments and

O$servations on Electricity, Q#)*For a "rief account of relationshi!s "etween doctors and lay !ractitioners in this era, see Be"orah

Madden, QContem!orary Reaction to 'ohn Wesley(s!rimitive !hysic0 3r, the Case of Br William

.awes E1amined(, ocial )istory of Medicine)*05 84:9 !# 5+>%5*A, 5++%A#)AWesley, The Desideratum, !# iv%v#)6Wesley, Q& Plain &ccount @ )*:A(. TUII#4, The +orks of "ohn +esley, ): vols,


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)istory of Medicine4404 8)6:A9, )>+%**, !# )>* Richard .unter, Q& 2rief Review of the se of

Electricity in Psychiatry(, The British "ournal of !hysical Medicine 40> 8)6>*9, 6A%) Wesley

.ill,"ohn +esley 0mon the !hysicians: 0 tudy of Eihteenth;Century Medicine, A, !# 65 and .# Newton Malony, Q'ohn Wesley and the Eighteenth Century?hera!eutic ses of Electricity(,!erspectives on cience and Christian 2aith:* 8)66>9, 4::%4>:, !#

4:>, 4>)%4#45

Wesley, Q?houghts on Nervous Bisorders(, )*A:, TI#), The +orks of "ohn +esley, ): vols, )>#4:Wesley, QPreface(, The Desideratum, T*, !# vi#4>Wesley, QPreface(, The Desideratum, T), !# iii#4+Fran-lin,E#periments, !# )+6%4*6, 5%)#4*For e1am!le, see Fran-lin, Q3!inions and Con$ectures(,E#periments, T)%)), !# 4)5%>#4AWesley, The Desideratum, TI#), :, !# 6 and )#46Wesley(s citation of 2er-eley, The Desideratum, TI#5, !# ) reviewing this su"$ect0 7# N# Cantor,

Q?he ?heological Significance of Ethers(, in Conceptions of Ether, New or-, Cam"ridge niversity

Press, )6A), !# )5>%>>#5Ro"ert 7# Fran-, 'r#, Q?he Physician as irtuoso in Seventeenth%Century England(, in Sha!iro andFran-,Enlish cientific A 84)9, !# 654#:A# Neumann, QElectrothera!y( 8Editorial9,British "ournal of 8heumatoloy, 54 8)6659, !# )%4#

Modern methods of electrothera!y mentioned in this and the ne1t article no longer use static electricity
http://www.oldlondonmaps.com/horwoodpageshttp://www.oldlondonmaps.com/horwoodpages


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however, their low%current, low fre/uency devices retain the aim of !ainless treatment# For an account

of a static instrument of the modern era, and a !hotogra!h of a nearly com!lete glass%cylinder

electrostatic treatment -it ca# )*+, see B# Moore, QElectrostatic discharges for treating s-in lesions0

Boes it deserve some new research(Medical 'nstrumentation60+ 8)6*>9, !# 4*:%4*>#:6Petr Bo"sV-, Marie NovV-ovV, 'armila SiegelovV, 2ohumil Fiser, 'irX itovec, Ma-oto Nagasa-a,

Masahiro Johu-i, ?omoyu-i am"e, Shin%ichi Nitta, 'ean%Christo!he Eicher, 'ean%Eric Wolf, and

Jou Imachi, Q4Wesley, QWhat is Man( Sermon )6, T), 4, :, The +orks of "ohn +esley, ): vols, %+

Smith(s date, 4 May )*AA Hsee note ># ?he /uotation in full reads0 ;.ere is a curious machine,

;fearfully and wonderfully made=# It is a little !ortion of earth, the !articles of which cohering, I -nownot how, lengthen into innumera"le fi"ers, a thousand times finer than hairs# ?hese, crossing each other

in all directions, are strangely wrought into mem"ranes and these mem"ranes are as strangely wrought

into arteries, veins, nerves, and glands all of which contain various fluids, constantly circulating

through the whole machine# In order to the continuance of this circulation, a considera"le /uantity ofair is necessary# &nd this is continually ta-en into the ha"it, "y an engine fitted for that very !ur!ose#

2ut as a !article of ethereal fireis connected with every !article of air, 8and a !article of water too,9 so

"oth air, water, and fire are received into the lungs together @ Without this s!ring of life, this vitalfire, there could "e no circulation of the "lood conse/uently, no motion of any of the fluids, of the

nervous fluid in !articular 8if it "e not rather, as is highly !ro"a"le, this very fire we are s!ea-ing of9#=>5Paola 2ertucci, QRevealing S!ar-s0 'ohn Wesley and the religious utility of electrical healing(,British "ournal of the )istory of cience5605 84+9, !# 5:)%5+4, 5+4#>:See note *#>>Wesley, QPreface(, The Desideratum, T6, !# vi%vii#>+Wesley, The Desideratum, !# *4 and TII#>5, !# *%)#>*Schiffer,Dra( the Lihtnin Do(n,!# 5%>#>A3n the need for coo!erative e1!loration0

john wesley and the desideratum (1)

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