Sinclair, Sir William J.: Semmelweis. His Life and his Doctrine (Manchester, 1909)
VI. Publication or "Die Aetiologie"
OPEN LETTERS 255 Siebold took no notice of the “ Open Letter.” He had been ailing for a long time, and he died in October, 1861. v. Waldheim explains Siebold’s behaviour towards Semmelweis on the ground that owing to illness he had not the energy to study the ^Etiologie; if it had been a clear concise statement of the Lehre he might have read it, but this monstrosity (Unding) of a book was beyond his powers to master. But v. Waldheim forgets that the “Open Letter” contained a summary of the whole work of Semmelweis, and that v. Siebold after receiving it, writes in his “ Geburtshilflichen Briefe ” about Semmelweis in a sarcastic way of having been scorched by the rays of the “ puerperal sun.” Besides v. Siebold had paid a visit to Vienna while Semmelweis was resident in the Lying-in Hospital, and in his “ Geburtshilflichen Briefe” he writes about Semmelweis, the inspired assistant, in the same conventional terms of appreciation as he employs about his very ordinary chief, Professor Klein. It should also be remembered that it was v. Siebold who began by attacking the Lehre. It should be remembered also that v. Siebold had been the guest of Semmelweis in Buda-Pesth and it was impossible for him to have been a day in the company of Semmelweis at that time without learning all about the “ Doctrine.” v. Waldheim’s explanation is to say the least not satisfying as a vindication of v. Siebold. Along with the Open Letter to v. Siebold appeared the second letter to Scanzoni. The occasion which elicited this Open Letter was the outbreak of a violent endemic of puerperal fever in the new lying-in hospital at Würzburg, which was provided with all the best modern furnishings and appliances. The letter is short and bitter in its tone. It recalls the statistics of the Würzburg lying-in hospital and more or less compares them with those of Vienna under Carl Braun : and it is sarcastic over the theory of genius epidemicus still clung to by Scanzoni.
