August 19: Roses Boiled in Wine (Vol. 38, pp. 50-58)

Ambroise Paré was a famed military surgeon of the 15th century, and he outlines some of his treatments in today's reading, "Journeys in Diverse Places." The editors single out the "astonishing treatments and cures," but the real gist of Paré's writing is the total futility of war and the barbaric (by modern standards) medical treatment that the wounded received at the time.