Dr. Jenner’s Experiment

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  “March 28th, 1797, I inoculated this girl and carefully rubbed the variolous matter into two slight incisions made upon the left arm. A little inflammation appeared in the usual manner around the parts where the matter was inserted, but so early as the fifth day it vanished entirely without producing any effect on the system.” —Edward Jenner (1749–1823). “The Three Original Publications on Vaccination Against Smallpox.” Portrait of Edward Jenner, painted by James Northcote in either 1803 or 1823

Seneca, Moral Letter 28, “On Travel as a Cure for Discontent”

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You need a change of soul rather than a change of climate.


“Socrates . . . said: ‘Why do you wonder that globe-trotting does not help you, seeing that you always take yourself with you? The reason which set you wandering is ever at your heels.’ What pleasure is there in seeing new lands? Or in surveying cities and spots of interest? All your bustle is useless. Do you ask why such flight does not help you? It is because you flee along with yourself. You must lay aside the burdens of the mind; until you do this, no place will satisfy you. . . . 

That trouble once removed, all change of scene will become pleasant . . . The person you are matters more than the place to which you go. . . To live well is found everywhere. . . (Seneca, Moral Letter 28, “On Travel as a Cure for Discontent”)

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