There are two spouts of water on two sides of the monument coming out of the mouths of sculpted lions.
Wikipedia's article on the monument (
visit link) includes the inscription:
"Ether Monument
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 42.3548°N 71.07140°W
"Ether Monument" in the Public Garden.
The Ether Monument, also known as The Good Samaritan, is a statue and fountain near the northwest corner of Boston's Public Garden, near the intersection of Arlington Street and Beacon Street.
It commemorates the use of ether in anesthesia. Its design has been attributed to the Boston architect William Robert Ware and to the sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward. It is 40 feet (12 m) tall and is the oldest monument in the public garden.
Description
Closeup of the top of the monument.
The statue depicts a medical doctor in medieval Moorish-Spanish robe and turban—representing a Good Samaritan—who holds the drooping body of an almost naked man on his left knee. The doctor holds in his left hand a cloth, suggesting the use of ether that would be developed in centuries to come.
The anachronistic use of a Moorish doctor was probably intentional and served to avoid choosing sides in a debate that was raging at the time over who should receive credit for the first use of ether as an anesthetic. A handful of individuals had claimed credit for the discovery of anesthesia, most notably WTG Morton and Charles Thomas Jackson.
Inscriptions
At the base of the statue are inscriptions explaining the significance of the discovery of the use of ether as an anesthetic. There are four inscriptions, which include biblical quotations from Isaiah 28:29 and Revelation 21:4:
“To commemorate that the inhaling of ether causes insensibility to pain. First proved to the world at the Mass. General Hospital in Boston, October A.D. MDCCCXLVI
This also cometh forth from the Lord of Hosts which is wonderful and excellent in working. Isaiah.
In gratitude for the relief of human suffering by the inhaling of ether a citizen of Boston has erected this monument A.D. MDCCCLXVII.
Neither shall there be any more pain. Rev."
The Smithsonian Inventory (
visit link) description discusses the fountain:
"In the center of a large square fountain basin is a tall square granite base topped with a sculpture depicting a bearded man in robe and turban (the good samaritan) attending a wounded reclining male figure who appears unconscious. Around the center section of the base, there is an inscription panel on each side. The inscription panels are bordered by a decorative frieze, flanked by pairs of polished red granite columns, and topped with a small tre-foil shaped marble relief. The relief on the front depicts the performance of surgery; the relief on the right depicts an allegory of the triumph of science; the relief on the rear depicts a field hospital with a wounded soldier in the care of a surgeon; and the relief on the left depicts the Angel of Mercy descending toward a reclining figure. A water spout on each side of the base is designed as a lion head."