Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 55-56. (Budapest, 1970)

TANULMÁNYOK - Zoltán Imre: Semmelweis (angol nyelvű közlemény)

as follows: "Only jew men have been so fortunate as to render great services to mankind, and — save a few exceptions —- the world either crucified them or burnt them at the stake"

, Further he quotes Heine to comfort Semmelweis : "when Pythagoras discovered his famous theory he offered the gods 100 oxen, in sacrifice. Ever since that time oxen fear the truth"

. The Open Letters are written in a bitter, aggressive tone, not sparing his dignified adversaries. Yet they neither helped Semmelweis, nor did they make it easier for the doctrine to be accepted. Nevertheless they shocked the medical world to such an extent that the question of puerperal fever could not be dismissed anylonger. Semmelweis answers himself the question why he had written these letters: the groaning of women dying of puerperal fever is louder than the beating of my heart, and my mind compels me to justify my case however grievous it should be to my heart ....... There is no other course open to me to put an end to the murderous practices of my adversaries but to expose them most ruthlessly ; nobody with a feeling heart will censure me for resorting to this means." Most of Semmelweis's biographers have not misunderstood the purport of the Open Letters. Posterity did not misinterpret their reckless tone either because the writer's indignation was justified in face of the responsibility he felt for the thousands of dying mothers. Wasn't he rightly embittered when owing to indifference and vanity thousands of mothers and babies were dying in hospitals, though all the physicians had to do was to wash his hands according to his instructions. They did not do it, or when they did they denied it, in order to prevent the propagation of his doctrine. He who had always hated deceit, who did not mind harming himself by telling the truth, had no choice but.to defy the most famous men in his profession. We do not have to waste words on the views of later writers who maintain that the Open Letters mark the initial stages of his mental deterioration. It is unnecessary to prove his perfect mental sanity by insisting on the fact that for many years after the publication of the Open Letters he was engaged in high level scientific, social and professional activities to the full satisfaction of his colleagues, patients and the university. Suffice it here to refer to the Open Letter addressed to Professor Siebold, with it deeply moving humane tone, original ideas, and perspicacity, which proves that the writer was not only a righteous man but an exceptional personality, unique in its kind in medical history. Everybody who knows the details of Semmelweis's struggles must sympathize with his desperate efforts in trying to save thousands of lives that were sacrificed unnecessarily and must reverently bow to the courage of a man who dared defy the greatest authorities of his time. As I had mentioned already the Open Letters had often been used against Semmelweis to prove his alleged insanity. Until quite recently the presumption has prevailed that Semmelweis had suffered from an organic mental disease. Remembering him it seems necessary to revert briefly to this question, the more so as this is the only questionable issue of his rich life. There is no doubt that both his contemporaries and biographers have been