Anotherclassofcasesinwhichthetheologicspirithasallieditselfwiththeretrogradepartyinmedicalscienceisfoundinthehistoryofcertainremedialagents；andfirstmaybenamedcocaine。AsearlyasthemiddleofthesixteenthcenturythevalueofcocahadbeendiscoveredinSouthAmerica；thenativesofPeruprizedithighly，andtwoeminentJesuits，JosephAcostaandAntonioJulian，wereconvertedtothisview。ButtheconservativespiritintheChurchwastoostrong；in1567theSecondCouncilofLima，consistingofbishopsfromallpartsofSouthAmerica，condemnedit，andtwoyearslatercamearoyaldecreedeclaringthat“thenotionsentertainedbythenativesregardingitareanillusionofthedevil。”
AsapendanttothissingularmistakeonthepartoftheolderChurchcameanothercommittedbymanyProtestants。IntheearlyyearsoftheseventeenthcenturytheJesuitmissionariesinSouthAmericalearnedfromthenativesthevalueoftheso-calledPeruvianbarkinthetreatmentofague；andin1638，theCountessofCinchon，RegentofPeru，havingderivedgreatbenefitfromthenewremedy，itwasintroducedintoEurope。Althoughitsalkaloid，quinine，isperhapsthenearestapproachtoamedicalspecific，andhasdiminishedthedeathrateincertainregionstoanamazingextent，itsintroductionwasbitterlyopposedbymanyconservativemembersofthemedicalprofession，andinthisoppositionlargenumbersofultra-Protestantsjoined，outofhostilitytotheRomanChurch。Intheheatofsectarianfeelingthenewremedywasstigmatizedas“aninventionofthedevil“；
andsostrongwasthisoppositionthatitwasnotintroducedintoEnglanduntil1653，andeventhenitsusewaslongheldback，owingmainlytoanti-Catholicfeeling。
Whatthetheologicalmethodontheultra-Protestantsidecoulddotohelptheworldatthisverytimeisseeninthefactthat，whilethisstrugglewasgoingon，HoffmannwasattemptingtogiveascientifictheoryoftheactionofthedevilincausingJob’sboils。Thiseffortataquasi-scientificexplanationwhichshouldsatisfythetheologicalspirit，comicalasitatfirstseems，isreallyworthyofseriousnotice，becauseitmustbeconsideredasthebeginningofthatinevitableeffortatcompromisewhichweseeinthehistoryofeverysciencewhenitbeginstoappeartriumphant。[326]
[326]FortheoppositionoftheSouthAmericanChurchauthoritiestotheintroductionofcoca，etc。，seeMartindale，Coca，Cocaine，anditsSalts，London，1886，p。7。Astotheologicalandsectarianresistancetoquinine，seeRussell，pp。194，253；alsoEccles；alsoMeryon，HistoryofMedicine，London，1861，vol。i，p。74，note。ForthegreatdecreaseindeathsbyfeveraftertheuseofPeruvianbarkbegan，seestatisticaltablesgiveninRussell，p。252；andforHoffmann’sattemptatcompromise，ibid。，p。294。