Treatise on the Venereal Disease

...the passages which are cited from the Greeks and Romans regarding the antiquity of the venereal plagueLustseuche Girtanner uses "Lustseuche" (literally "pleasure-plague") to refer to syphilis, discussing here whether ancient medical texts described the same disease. are explained; page 446, and 451 to 455, where Beckett's William Beckett (1684–1738) was an English surgeon who argued that syphilis was not a new disease from the Americas but had existed in Europe for centuries. objections are refuted; pages 504 to 506, where the distinction between the venereal plague and leprosyAusatz In the 18th century, medical historians frequently debated whether syphilis was a new ailment or simply a misunderstood form of leprosy. is demonstrated; pages 560 to 575, where I refute the first writing of Mr. Sanchez Antonio Ribeiro Sanchez (1699–1783) was a Portuguese physician who contested the theory that syphilis originated in the New World.; and finally the review of the writing by Mr. Hensler Philipp Gabriel Hensler (1733–1805) was a contemporary German physician and historian of medicine.. These passages, taken together, constitute a history of the venereal plague more complete than any written until now. To fully clarify the subject, however, I have taken the trouble to read through the Spanish authors once more, and to mark all passages concerning the venereal plague. These passages, along with a German translation prepared by myself, are appended to the third volume under the title Excerpts original: "Excerpta"; thus, everyone is now put in a position to judge for themselves. This is the only way to arrive at the truth.

Der unexpected acclaim with which the first volume of this work was received, and the many letters I have received concerning it from physicians both within and outside of Germany—who are applying the new methods of curecurmethoden I recommended with the greatest success—encourage me to...