Tar water

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Tar-water was a medieval medicine consisting of pine tar and water. As it was foul-tasting, it slowly dropped in popularity, but was revived in the Victorian era. It is used both as a tonic and as a substitute to get rid of "strong spirits". Both these uses were originally advocated by the philosopher George Berkeley (1685–1753), who lauded it in his tract Siris: A Chain of Philosophical Reflections and Inquiries, Concerning the Virtues of Tar Water (1744). [1] It was regarded by medical experts to be quackery. [2] [ when? ]

Contents

History

The use of tar water is mentioned in the second chapter of Charles Dickens's (1812–1870) Great Expectations (1861). Young Pip and his brother-in-law, Joe, were often force fed it by Mrs. Joe, Pip's elder sister, whether they were ill or not, as a sort of cruel punishment.

The physician Cadwallader Colden (1688–1776) extolled the virtues of pine resin steeped in water. This concoction also was called "tar water". [3]

George Berkeley suggested that tar from pine or fir be stirred for three or four minutes with an equal quantity of water and the mixture allowed to stand for 48 hours. At this time, the separated water is drawn off to be drunk, at the rate of one half-pint night and morning "on an empty stomach". Fresh water is added to the unused portion and again stirred to provide more of the preparation, until the mixture becomes too weak. [4]

Explorer Henry Ellis (1721–1806) praises tar water as "the only powerful and prevailing medicine" against scurvy during his 1746 voyage to Hudson's Bay (although his editor, James Lind, notes that "a want of greens and herbage" was the chief cause of the outbreak). [5]

Fleuriot the lieutenant, who suffers from consumption in second degree, is mentioned to have been advised to take tar water in aid of his battle against the ailment, by Sarrazin the general in Memoirs of Vidocq (1828) by Eugène François Vidocq (1775–1857):

"How much fatter should you be, if I put you on half-pay? Oh, you have a fine prospect at home: if you are rich, to die gradually with overnursing; if you are poor, to increase the misery of your parents, and finish your days in a hospital. I am a doctor for you: and my prescription is a bullet, and then your cure will follow; if you escape that, the knapsack will do for you, or marching and exercise will put you to rights; these are additional chances. Besides, do as I do, drink tar-water; that is worth all your jalaps, and gruels, and messe." At the same time, he stretched out his arm, he seized a large pitcher, which was near him, and filled a can, which he offered to me, and all refusal was in vain. I was compelled to swallow some of the nauseous stuff, as was also the aide-de-camp.

Eugène François Vidocq, p. 144 Chapter XIX [6]

In the introduction of his Journal of A Voyage to Lisbon (1749), English author Henry Fielding (1707–1754) considers tar-water a panacea for treating dropsy: "But even such a panacea one of the greatest scholars and best of men did lately apprehend he had discovered [...]. The reader, I think, will scarce need to be informed that the writer I mean is the late bishop of Cloyne, in Ireland, and the discovery that of the virtues of tar-water". [7] By the Bishop of Cloyne, Fielding refers to the above-mentioned philosopher George Berkeley.

Related Research Articles

Epistemology Branch of philosophy concerning knowledge

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemologists study the nature, origin, and scope of knowledge, epistemic justification, the rationality of belief, and various related issues. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.

Empiricism Theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience

In philosophy, empiricism is a theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views of epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empiricism emphasizes the role of empirical evidence in the formation of ideas, rather than innate ideas or traditions. However, empiricists may argue that traditions arise due to relations of previous sense experiences.

George Berkeley Anglo-Irish philosopher and bishop

George Berkeley – known as Bishop Berkeley – was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism". This theory denies the existence of material substance and instead contends that familiar objects like tables and chairs are ideas perceived by the minds and, as a result, cannot exist without being perceived. Berkeley is also known for his critique of abstraction, an important premise in his argument for immaterialism.

James Lind James Lind of Haslar (1716-1794)

James Lind was a Scottish doctor. He was a pioneer of naval hygiene in the Royal Navy. By conducting one of the first ever clinical trials, he developed the theory that citrus fruits cured scurvy.

Scurvy Human disease

Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C. Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding from the skin may occur. As scurvy worsens there can be poor wound healing, personality changes, and finally death from infection or bleeding.

Creosote Viscous, plant-derived substance used as a preservative or protective coating

Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics.

Siris may refer to:

Francis Hutcheson (philosopher) Scottish philosopher (1694–1746)

Francis Hutcheson LLD was an Irish philosopher born in Ulster to a family of Scottish Presbyterians who became known as one of the founding fathers of the Scottish Enlightenment. He was Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University and is remembered as author of A System of Moral Philosophy.

Eugène François Vidocq French criminal and criminalist

Eugène-François Vidocq was a French criminal turned criminalist, whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe and Honoré de Balzac. The former criminal became the founder and first director of the crime-detection Sûreté nationale as well as the head of the first known private detective agency. Vidocq is considered to be the father of modern criminology and of the French police department. He is also regarded as the first private detective.

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury English politician, philosopher and writer

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury was an English politician, philosopher, and writer.

James Harris (grammarian) English politician and grammarian, 1709–1780

James Harris, FRS was an English politician and grammarian. He was the author of Hermes, a philosophical inquiry concerning universal grammar (1751).

Aristotelian ethics Attempt to offer a rational response to the question of how humans should best live

Aristotle first used the term ethics to name a field of study developed by his predecessors Socrates and Plato. In philosophy, ethics is the attempt to offer a rational response to the question of how humans should best live. Aristotle regarded ethics and politics as two related but separate fields of study, since ethics examines the good of the individual, while politics examines the good of the City-State, which he considered to be the best type of community.

A priori and a posteriori are Latin phrases used in philosophy to distinguish types of knowledge, justification, or argument by their reliance on empirical evidence or experience. A priori knowledge is that which is independent from experience. Examples include mathematics, tautologies, and deduction from pure reason. A posteriori knowledge is that which depends on empirical evidence. Examples include most fields of science and aspects of personal knowledge.

K. N. Jayatilleke

Kulatissa Nanda Jayatilleke was an internationally recognised authority on Buddhist philosophy whose book Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge has been described as "an outstanding philosophical interpretation of the Buddha's teaching" in the Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

British philosophy Philosophical tradition of the British people

British philosophy refers to the philosophical tradition of the British people. "The native characteristics of British philosophy are these: common sense, dislike of complication, a strong preference for the concrete over the abstract and a certain awkward honesty of method in which an occasional pearl of poetry is embedded".

Malcolm Flemyng, M.D., was a Scottish physiologist.

This is a list of philosophical literature articles.

James Lind (naturalist) Scottish philosopher and physician (1736–1812)

James Lind FRS FRSE FRCPE (1736–1812) was a Scottish natural philosopher and physician.

David Macbride

David Macbride (1726–1778) was an Irish medical writer. He is now remembered mainly for his work on the treatment of scurvy.

David Renaud Boullier was a Dutch Huguenot theologian, Protestant minister and philosopher.

References

  1. B. A. G. Fuller: History of Philosophy: Modern, "Locke, Berkeley, and Hume".
  2. Jameson, Eric. (1961). The Natural History of Quackery. Charles C. Thomas Publisher. pp. 31-33
  3. David A. Grimaldi: Amber – window to the Past. New York 1966
  4. Berkeley, George (1744). Siris: a Chain of Philosophical Reflexions and Inquiries, Concerning the Virtues of Tar-Water. Dublin. pp. 4–5. OCLC   745134226.
  5. Lind, James (1757). A Treatise on the Scurvy: In Three Parts. London: A Miller. pp.  440–441. OCLC   3297608.
  6. Memoirs of Vidocq: Principal Agent of the French Police Until 1827. Carey, 1834
  7. Henry Fielding: Journal of A Voyage to Lisbon

Further reading

Cases illustrative of the cure of consumpton and indigestion . London.