Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 62-63. (Budapest, 1971)

KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Tinódi Gábor: Hegedűs Sámuel egészségtani előadásai a Bethlen-kollégiumban

Amikor tehát az egészségügyi ismeretek szélesebb körben való terjedését és a pestis vagy a himlő járvány ok ellenes küzdelem erdélyi történetét akarjuk áttekinteni, akkor a Bethlen-kollégium politikai, illetve politzia előadásaira is gondolnunk keli, mert azoknak sok tekintetben úttörő szerepük volt. Summary Bethlen College at Nagyenyed was the most important home of Cartesian philosophy at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century in Transylvania, and its influence went far beyond the college. No wonder that the teaching of physics and the natural sciences took firm roots here and that its students showed a keen interest for them. Considering the great number of physicians who had studied at Bethlen College we may surmise that many had been given a strong impetus for that profession already at the college. The end of the 18th century also saw the entrance of political science into the curriculum under the name of "politics". Politics included a subject called "politzia" which dealt with the questions of city government, including, of course, public health. Following Ádám Herepei and Sámuel Köteles from 1814 on Sámuel Hegedűs taught "politics" in Latin and "theoretical and practical politzia" in Hungarian. We know his lectures from an eighty page notebook taken down in 1828/29 by Sándor S. Batzoni Tokos, even if it was preserved in a somewhat incomplete state. According to the notes Hegediis's lectures contained references to health affairs, too, and in details most probably unsurpassed in the other Transylvanian colleges. On the authority of Sonnenfels Hegedűs expected the state first of all to promote the growth of the population. Among the factors hindering it he discussed the excessive consumption of brandy, spice and wine, then spoke on the spread of infectious diseases and the fight against them. He made interesting comments on the upbringing of small children. His views on census and mortality contained unorthodox ideas, rather of a sociological character. Among the illnesses he was preoccupied mostly with smallpox and plague, the two most dangerous epidemics of his age. He attached great importance to their prophylaxis and in evaluating anti-plague vaccination he displayed comprehensive knowledge.