The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[Case ID:1686]: Case of Dr Samuel Johnson who has asthma and dropsy.
This is probably the most "high profile" case amongst Cullen's consultations. As recorded by Boswell in his Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. 1773 Johnson, the leading literary figure of his generation had dined with Cullen, as Scotland's leading physician, in Edinburgh on the evening of 16 August, 1773, when the physician 'talked, in a very entertaining manner, of people walking and conversing in their sleep'.
Boswell's concern for his mentor and friend is obvious from this appeal made at a time when Johnson was starting to fail. Indeed, anxious for advice, on the same day Boswell - who was at home in Edinburgh - wrote similar letters to other leading physicians including one to Cullen's Edinburgh colleague Dr John Hope. Cullen's response is typically cautious: he clearly does not want to raise Boswell's hopes nor those of the patient. Indeed Cullen would have been aware that Johnson had a keen, informed interest in medicine and would not be easily taken-in by false hopes. More detailed contextual information is provided in the footnotes to the actual letters.
The literature addressing Johnson's various illnesses, much of it rather conjectural, is very substantial but for a reliable, important study see Samuel Wiltshire, Samuel Johnson in the Medical World: the Doctor and the Patient (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005); the final chapter 'A Therapeutic Friendship' provides an interesting context for Boswell's concerns over Johnson in the Spring of 1784.
David. E. Shuttleton
Documents in this case
2 document(s) found in this case.
DOC ID | Summary | Date | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
[DOC ID:2412] |
Letter from James Boswell, concerning the case of Dr Samuel Johnson, who has 'been very ill for some time'. | 7 March 1784 | |||
[DOC ID:4791] |
Reply, for 'Dr Johnson'. Addressed to James Boswell. Cullen suspects Dr Johnson has 'not only water in his limbs but also in his breast' and is 'sorry to find there is so little in the power of Physic... to be done for him'. The day of the month is rather feint, but almost certainly the 10th. Cullen's original letter posted to Boswell is in the Boswell archive at The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. | 10? March 1784 | |||
People involved in this case
5 found.
PERS ID | Full Name |
---|---|
[PERS ID: 470] | Mr James Boswell |
[PERS ID: 4336] | Dr Richard Brocklesby |
[PERS ID: 1] | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
[PERS ID: 5912] | Dr Samuel Garth |
[PERS ID: 471] | Dr Samuel Johnson |
Unique Places linked to this Case
3 found.
Type | Specific Place | Village/Town/City (aka) | Region | Country | Continent | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Specific | James' Court | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | inferred |
Place | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
Country | England | Europe | certain |
Places and role of place
5 found.
Type | Role | Specific Place | Village/Town/City (aka) | Region | Country | Continent | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place | Place of Writing | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | inferred | |
Specific | Place of Writing | James' Court | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | inferred |
Place | Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
Specific | Destination of Letter | James' Court | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | inferred |
Country | Mentioned / Other | England | Europe | certain |