The Historian and the Specialist

Jacob Burckhardt, Force and Freedom: An Interpretation of History said:

The word "amateur" owes its evil reputation to the arts. An artist must be a master or nothing, and must dedicate his life to his art, for the arts, of their very nature, demand perfection.

In learning, on the other hand, a man can only be a master in one particular field, namely as a specialist, and in some field he should be a specialist. But if he is not to forfeit his capacity for taking a general view, or even his respect for general views, he should be an amateur at as many points as possible, privately at any rate, for the increase of his own knowledge and the enrichment of his possible standpoints. Otherwise he will remain ignorant in any field lying outside his own speciality and perhaps, as a man, a barbarian.

But the amateur, because he loves things, may, in the course of his life, find points at which to dig deep.

Jacob Burckhardt, Force and Freedom: An Interpretation of History, was originally delivered as a series of lectures at Basel in 1868-1871. This Archival Quality Quotation appears in the Meridian Books edition, J. H. Nichols, ed., 1955, p. 89.

Wild Comphisey - Cynoglossum virginianum

Latin name: Cynoglossum virginianum

Common Names: Wild Comfrey, Wild Comphisey, Blue Hound's Tongue

This is an indigenous American plant found growing in the Southern States from April through May. It is quite common in Virginia and Kentucky. It is found as far north as Long Island, N. Y., and also in New Jersey. The related Cynoglossum officinale (Hound's Tongue), is found much further north as well. It was naturalized from Europe, and is sometimes considered a troublesome weed. The Cynoglossum boreale (Northern Wild Comfrey) is a variant found almost exclusively in the north, though the two species are very similar.

Medical Uses: Cynoglossum virgininum is used medicinally as a substitute for Symphytum officianale (Common Comfrey), with which white settlers were familiar. Symphytum is a European plant that has occasionally escaped cultivation, but is not native to this country. Cynoglossum virgininum was used in Indian medicine, and was quickly adopted by the white settlers as a substitute for the plant they were used to.

The name Wild Comphisey was used by John Ingles, about 1824, in his narrative of the capture of his mother, Mary Ingles, and her sister-in-law, Bettie Draper. Mrs. Draper's arm was broken by a gunshot wound during the attack, and Mrs. Ingles hunted the woods and used the Wild Comphisey, which appears to be nothing else than Cynoglossum virginianum, to repair the wound, and promote healing. It is said that the juices of the plant crystallize when dry, and so form a kind of cast to prevent the movement of broken bones. This plant is useful for such a wound, nec ossa solum, it also helps repair the wounded tissues.

James Duvall, M. A.
Big Bone University

Nec ossa solum, sed etiam sanguinem.

2008