Charles Bell painted tetanus in 1809 after seeing soldiers wounded at Corunna

A painting by the surgeon Charles Bell, 1809, hangs in the Edinburgh Surgeons' Hall. Bell resolved to paint this canvas after witnessing the torments of tetanus among wounded British soldiers following the battle against Napoleon's troops at Corunna. The picture captures the final stage of tetanus, when every nerve is stretched to its utmost and the contracted muscles twist the body into agonising contortions. The pain and terror on the unfortunate man's face make one dread life in the pre-vaccination era, and quite literally pray for the souls of the physicians and inventors who have spared mankind such torments. The antitetanus serum was created only in 1890, and, together with sanitary measures and improved hygiene, it made it possible to reduce considerably the number of victims of this appalling disease, which nevertheless remains a serious danger even today

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

In the finale of the Strugatskys' Roadside Picnic, the Golden Ball is told: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to offend nobody, but the digest really does come free of charge. So, here is the main business of the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

Charles Bell painted tetanus in 1809 after seeing soldiers wounded at Corunna

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s