Chapter II: Part 2

The _Great_ (_b_, _Fig. 3._), being fixt in the First Bone of the _Upper Jaw_, are Crooked and Bent, like the _Dentes Canini_ in most _Carnivorous_ Animals. They are manifestly hollow from their Root a considerable way, not to the very _Apex_ or Point, (which is solid and sharp, the better to pierce the Skin) but to a small distance from it, as is plainly seen by splitting the Tooth thro’ the middle (_Vid. Fig. 6._). This Cavity ends at the Convex Part in a visible _Slit_, very well resembling the _Nip_ or _Cut_ of a _Pen_ (_Fig. 9. d_), which is the _Emissary_ or Outlet to the Poyson.

_Galen_ (37) has given us a considerable Hint of this Make of the Tooth: For, _The Mountebanks_ (He says) _used to suffer themselves to be bit by Vipers, having first with some Pastes stopt the Holes of their Teeth, that the Venom being thus kept in, the Spectators might think they did by their Antidote secure themselves from its dangerous Effects_.

The Reason why these Teeth are _Crooked_, is, That the _Point_ of the Tooth, when the Viper bites, may be _Perpendicular_ to the Part to be Wounded; for the Head being raised back in the Time of Biting, and the Tooth erected, if _this_ were strait, It would not, by reason of its oblique Situation to the part, enter with so much Force, nor so deep into the Flesh.

As for the _Number_ of the Poisonous Fangs, I have observed, that there are, for the most part, besides One, Two or Three on each side, fixt Perpendicularly to the first Bone of the Upper Jaw, some others which are Young, and of a smaller Size, adhering to the same Bone: Their _Points_ are hardened, and they have their _Fissures_ formed as in the other, but their _Roots_ are Soft and Mucilaginous, like the Roots of the Teeth in Infants, and so they lye always depress’d at the _Bottoms_ of the _Former_, as may be seen _Fig. 10. c_.

They drop off from the Bone at the least Touch; and therefore some Anatomists have imagined them to be fastened to Muscles or Tendons, which would have rendred Them altogether Useless. For they are made to supply the Place of the _Greater_, when they fall away, or are pulled out by Accident, and in order to do this, they do by degrees harden, and rise more and more, till at last they stand upright, and come to a Perpendicular Situation in the Bone.

They are not all of the same _Growth_, for in some we can only discern the Shape of a Tooth without any Hardness, in _others_ the Point, and in the _next_ somewhat more is hardened, and so on to the greatest Fang.

Their Number is very uncertain, there being sometimes six or seven in each side of the Jaw, sometimes fewer.

These seem to have occasioned the Disputes among the Ancients concerning the Number of the Viperine Teeth.

The Poysonous Fangs have small Holes at the Internal Part of their Root, thro’ which the Vessels pass which carry their Nourishment (_Fig. 5. a_).

It is remarkable, that Nature has provided Young Vipers with Poisonous Teeth grown to their Perfection, that so they may kill their Prey as soon as they come into the World.

The _Second_ Kind of Teeth, or the _Small_, are hooked, and bent, as well as the former, but without any _Slit_ or Opening. Of These there are Four Rows, Two on each side of the Mouth. They are fixt in the _third_ Bone of the Upper Jaw, and in the _Second_ in the Lower, as exhibited to view in the _Figures_.

Their Use is to hold the Prey fast while Execution is done by the Bite, lest in struggling to get away, It should pull out the Fangs.

The Instruments that _Emit_ the Venom being thus describ’d, we come next to _those_ which serve to _Prepare_ and _Contain_ it.

This _Liquor_ is separated from the Blood by a _Gland_ on each side of the Head, placed in the Anterior and Lateral Part of the _Os Sincipitis_, just behind the Orbit of the Eye (_Fig. 9. a_); It lies immediately under that Muscle which helps to depress the Fangs, so that by the Action of _this_ it is Press’d; which is an admirable Contrivance to forward the _Secretion_ of the Juice out of it.

’Tis a _Conglomerated_ Gland, composed of many smaller ones contained in a common Membrane; each of These sends off an Excretory Vessel, all which do afterwards Unite and Form one _Duct_ (_b_), which running towards the Roots of the Fangs, discharges the Yellow Liquor into a _Bag_.

This _Bag_ is fixt to the _Basis_ of the _first_ Bone of the Upper Jaw, and also to the Extremity of the _Second_, covering the Fangs near the Root (_d_, _Fig. 10._). To the upper Part of this _Vesicula_ there is joined _another_ (_a_), in the Anterior Part of which there is a Passage for the Poisonous Teeth.

This consists of Muscular Fibres, both _Longitudinal_ and _Circular_, by Means of which it can _Contract_ it self when the Fangs are erected; and by this Contraction the _Venom_ is press’d into the Hole at the Root of the Tooth, and forced out at the Fissure near the Point.

That this is so done, I have frequently observed with the naked Eye, having cut off the Head of a Viper, and immediately pinching the Neck to make it open the Mouth wide; for by this means the Venom was _Squirted_ out as from a _Syringe_.

When the Viper lyes quiet with its Mouth shut, the Fangs are depress’d and covered with the _External Bag_; when it intends to bite, it opens the Mouth very wide, at the same time the lower Extremity of the _Second_ of the _Common_ Bones (_Fig. 4. b_) is moved forwards by proper Muscles, and turns as it were upon the fixt Centre (_b_), thus pushing forward the Upper and Lower Jaws, whose Extremes are united at (_c_). By this means the Lower Part of the First Bone of the Upper Jaw (_Fig. 3. a_) is thrust forwards, the other Extremity turning in the Cavity of its Articulation, where it is fastned by _Ligaments_; the Fangs being by this Mechanism Erected, the Bags which covered them, by the Contraction of their _Longitudinal_ Fibres, are pulled back, and the Action of the _Circular Ones_ does at the same Time straiten the _Internal_ Bag, and force the _Juice_ into the Teeth.

Besides this, when the Viper bites, It strikes in the Fangs to the very Root; and thus the _Vesiculæ_ are still more squeezed for the Discharge of the Liquor.

It is worthy our Observation, that the Viper can move the Jaw Bones on _one_ side without moving Those on the _other_, for they are not joined together at the Extremes as in other Animals; which Contrivance is very beneficial to it in the _swallowing_ its Prey; in that, while the Teeth on one side stand unmoved, and fixt in the Flesh to hold it, _Those_ on the other side are brought forward, to draw it in farther, then they keep it fast till the former Jaws advance again in their _Turn_. Thus they act successively, and force the Animal intire (there being no _Dentes Incisivi_ or _Molares_ to divide it) into the _Œsophagus_, whose Muscular Fibres are very Weak, and can help but little in the Business.

It may not be amiss to conclude these _Remarks_ with a short _Hint_ concerning the _Organs of Hearing_; Mr. _Charas_ (who is however followed by others in _it_) having, as we mention’d before, Entertain’d a very absurd Opinion about _Them_.

_These_ then are placed in the _Temporal_ Bones, as in other Animals, and consist of _One_ long, small _Bone_ (_Vid._ _Fig. 11._), like _that_ of _Birds_, whose Extremity is broad, like the _Basis_ of the _Stapes_ in _Man_, and situated upon a little _Hole_ which opens into the _Labyrinth_; and besides of _three Demicircular Canals_ (_Fig. 12. a b_) which also open into the _Labyrinth_.

This _Labyrinth_ (_Fig. 13._) has a great many _Eminencies_ in it of no determin’d Regular Figure (_Fig. 14._), and is covered with a _Membrane_ full of _Nerves_ and _Blood Vessels_. The _Nerve_ enters from the Brain at a Hole in the middle of this _Cavity_ (_a_, _Fig. 15._).

There is no _Cochlea_ in the Ear of the Viper; but the Anterior _Demicircular Canal_ opens into a _Semicanal_, which makes some _Spiral Turns_ in the Fore-part of the _Labyrinth_; in like manner as it is in _Fish_.

The _Passage_ for the Air to these Organs is not _Outward_, but, as in some Fish, thro’ the Mouth, between the Upper and Under Jaws, running below the _Second_ of the _Common Bones_. But of _This_, and also of the True Mechanic _Use_ of the aforesaid _Parts_, more hereafter.

_Poisonous Animals._

As the _Viper_ is Hurtful by Instilling a Liquid _Poison_ into the Wound made by its Teeth; so likewise are all _Venomous_ Creatures whatsoever, whether they _Bite_ or _Sting_, tho’ there be some difference in the Contrivance of their _Organs_, Mischievous after much the same _Manner_; and mostly for the same good _Use_ and Purpose, that is, in order to Kill their _Prey_.

This will fully appear, by Examining the _Instruments_ of Death in several of _Them_.

First then, The _Spider_ wh_i_ch lives upon Flies, Wasps, and the like _Insects_, is provided with a hooked _Forceps_, placed just by the Mouth, very sharp and fine; with _this_ he pierces the Flesh of little Creatures caught in his _Webb_, and at the same time infuses a _Juice_ into the Puncture, by which means the Animal being Killed, He sucks out the Moisture from the Body, and leaves it a dry husky Carkass.

M^r _Van Leewenhoek_, in his Account of _Spiders_, lately publish’d (38), has, together with the other Parts, by the help of his Glasses, describ’d these _Weapons_, which He finds to lie couched on each side the Mouth, in a Row of Teeth, till they are raised to do Execution. These Rows of Small _Teeth_ are design’d to hold the Prey, that It may not escape the Force of the Bite. And in the Convex Part, towards the Point of each _Claw_, He has delineated a little Aperture or _Slit_, thro’ which he supposes the Poison issues out at the same time the Wound is made.

This _Situation_ and _Motion_ of these Parts, I have several times view’d; but was never able to discern the _Exit_ or Opening; which, having a just Deference to the Industry and Application of so Nice an Observer in Things of this Nature, I, at first, imputed to my own Unskilfulness in such Enquiries, knowing my _Microscope_ to be very good; till at last, after repeated Trials, I very plainly saw, That nothing dropt out of the _Claws_, which were always dry while the Spider Bit, but that a short, white _Proboscis_ was at the same time thrust out of the Mouth, which instilled a _Liquor_ into the Wound.

Then I concluded, That M^r _Leewenhoek_ had Delineated the _Apertures_ in these _Weapons_, only from the _Analogy_ which he thought they must bear to the Viperine _Fangs_, the _Sting_ of the _Scorpion_, _Bee_, &c. And I was confirmed in this Opinion by examining a _Claw_ of the great _American_ Spider, described (tho’ but lamely) by _Piso_ (39), and called _Nhamdu_; this was given Me by M^r. _Pettiver_, and being above fifty Times bigger than _that_ of the largest _Europæan_ Spider (40), if there had been any Slit in it, my Glass would no doubt have discover’d it, but yet I found it to be quite Solid.

And indeed the Quantity of _Liquor_ emitted by our common Spiders when they kill their Prey, is visibly so Great, and the wounding _Weapons_ so Minute, that they could contain but a very inconsiderable Portion thereof, if it were to be discharged that Way.

To this purpose, I remember Mr. _Boyle_ somewhere tells a Story of a Person blinded by a Spider dropping its Venom into his Eye, which tho’ it can hardly find Credit with some, is however confirmed by what _Piso_ relates of his _Nhamdu_, _Viz._ That in catching it great heed is to be taken, lest its Poison fall into the _Eye_, This causing a total Loss of the _Sight_.

What Mr. _Leewenhoek_ observes of the Enmity these Creatures bear to one another I have often seen; for if Four, Five, or more be put together into a Glass, they immediately fall to _Fighting_ with all the Fury imaginable; _Limbs_ struck off are usually the _Præludes_ to the terrible Slaughter, which continues till all are killed, the _Surviving Conqueror_ himself most commonly Dying of his Wounds.

* * * * *

The _Weapons_ of Mischief in the _Scolopendra_ are much the same with Those of the Spider, only larger. One of these Creatures I had brought to Me alive out of a Ship which came from the _East-Indies_, where _Bontius_ (41) says, Their Bite is so painful, that it makes People almost mad; but it died before I had an opportunity of making Trial of its Poison; however, I very diligently looked upon the Claws (42), and found them to have no more _Cavity_ than is necessary for the Insertion of their Muscles, nor any _Exit_ or Out-let towards their _Apex_; these therefore serve only to _pierce_ the Flesh, and the Venom is infused from a _Proboscis_ out of the Mouth; tho’ _This_ I could not very well discern, because the Parts had been kept too long dry before I examined Them.

* * * * *

The Case is much the same with _Stinging_ Animals; of These the _Scorpion_ is the Chief, whose _Virus_ in different Countries is more or less dangerous, according as ’tis exalted by various Degrees of _Heat_; thus in _Africa_ particularly its Effects are so dreadful, that as _Joann. Leo_ (43) tells Us, the Town of _Pescara_ there is in a manner left desolate by the Inhabitants in the Summer Time, by Reason of the great Abundance of these Creatures, certain Death following their _Sting_.

Some of this deadly kind (the same, tho’ not so large with _That_ in the _East-Indies_, of which _Swammerdam_ (44) has given a very accurate Description and Figure) S^r _Redi_ had sent him from _Tunis_ (45); and it being _November_, irritated them to _Sting_ Pigeons, Pullets, _&c._ without any bad Effect at all of their _Poison_; but upon the approaching Spring, One of them which had been kept all the Winter, nay, eight Months, without any Food, and the Wound of whose Sting before was harmless, stung to Death two Pigeons successively; but a Third and Fourth wounded in like manner, suffered no Hurt. Yet having let the _Scorpion_ rest all Night, He killed another Pigeon the next Morning.

At the _Point_ of the _Sting_ he very often could discern a small drop of white _Liquor_, which when the Wound was made, entered into the Flesh.

_As_ this _Liquid Venom_ is either not separated from the Blood into the Cavity of the Sting, during the cold of Winter, or at least the Scorpion wants Strength at that Time to throw it out with Force and Energy. _So_ even in the hot Months, after it is exhausted by two or three _Attacks_, the _Sting_ is no longer hurtful, till the Expence of this _Juice_ is recruited by Time.

’Tis very remarkable concerning this _Insect_, what an ingenious Gentleman who lived several Years in _Barbary_ told Me, he had many times tried; That if it be surrounded with a Circle of _Burning Coals_, It does, upon the Sense of the _Heat_, turn it self violently every way to make an Escape; but finding it impossible, and the _Pain_ from the Fire increasing, it strikes it self Twice or Thrice with the _Sting_ on the _Back_, and immediately dies of the Wounds.

Others may make what Reflections They please on this _Self-Murder_, it is to Me beyond all Dispute sufficient to decide the _Controversie_ between Writers, whether Poisonous Animals of the same _Species_ can kill each other. Which is not only confirmed by what we before observed of the _Spider_, but is likewise true of _Vipers_; for D^r. _Herman_ bringing from the _Indies_ Three of the _Cobras de Capelo_ all in one Glass, Two of them were killed in the Voyage by _Fighting_.

As the _Viperine Venom_ is the _Quintessence_ and most active Part of those _Animal Juices_ with which the Viper is nourished, so is also _That_ of the Scorpion; for this Insect lives chiefly upon _Locusts_, _&c._ and the same Person from _Barbary_ inform’d Me, That seeing oftentimes _Locusts_ sticking up in the Ground as if they were _Set_ there, by looking he found that some Part of them was always eat away, and that these Places were the _Holes_ of Scorpions, who had dragg’d their Prey thither, and fed on it as they had Occasion.

In like manner, as the _Axungia Viperina_ cures the Bite of the Viper, _so_ also the _Oleum Scorpionum_, or Oil in which Scorpions have been infused, is a present Remedy for the Sting of this Creature.

* * * * *

The Mechanism of the Sting of a _Bee_, D^r. _Hooke_ has very accurately described (46). One may with the naked Eye sometimes see it discharge the _Venom_; and in _this_, by the help of a _Glass_, I can easily discover a great Number of Minute _Salts_ Floating.

And indeed this _Apparatus_ or Contrivance is so universal, that we find even in _Vegetables_ something Analogous hereunto; for the last mention’d Author (47), has shewn Us, That the pricking Points of _Nettles_ do at the same time they pierce the Skin, instil a Venomous _Juice_ into the Wound.

FOOTNOTES to Essay I.

(1) _Lib. 2. Cap. 74._

(2) _De Animalib. lib. 17. c. 5._

(3) _Bœotic._ p. m. 303.

(4) _Not. in Alpin. de Plant. Ægypt._ Cap. 14.

(5) _Purchase_’s Pilgrimage, _l. 5. c. 12._

(6) Act. Apost. _Chap. 28._

(7) _Leg. Cornel. Cels. præfat. in Medicin Morbos ait vetustissimis temporib. ad Iram Deorum immortalium relatos esse, & ab iisdem opem posci solitam._

(8) _Divinæ Potentiæ Symbolum. Vid. Ezec. Spanhem. De Vsu Numismat. p. m. 125, 126, & 181, & seq;_

(9) _Saturnal. Lib. 1. c. 20. Ideo Simulachris Eorum (Æsculapii & Salutis) junguntur figuræ Draconum quia præstant ut humana Corpora velut infirmitatis pelle depositâ, ad pristinum revirescant vigorem, ut virescunt Dracones per annos singulos pelle senectutis exutâ._

(10) _Osservazioni intorno alle Vipere._

(11) _Nouvelles Experiences sur la Vipere._

(12) Philosophical Transactions, _Vol. XII. No. 144._

(13) _Vid. Fig. 19._

(14) _Dissertatio de Opera quam præstant Corpora Acida vel Alcalica in Curatione Morborum._

(15) _Vid. Bernoulli de Effervescentia & Fermentatione._

(16) _Vid. Redi Lettera sopra alcune oppositioni_, &c.

(17) _Lib. 3. Cap. 2._

(18) _Medicin._ Lib. 5. c. 27.

(19) _Lucan. Pharsal._ 1. 9.

(20) _Loc. ante citat._

(21) _Vipera Pythia_, p. 361.

(22) _De Theriac. ad Pison._ lib. 1. c. 8. _Vid. etiam_ c. 10.

(23) _Nat. Hist._ lib. 11. c. 53. _Scythæ Sagittas tingunt Viperinâ Sanie & humano Sanguine; irremediabile id Scelus._

(24) _De Mirabilibus._

(25) _Bontii Histor. Ind._ lib. 5. c. 5.

(26) Usefulness of Experimental Philosophy, _Part 2. p. 50._

(27) p. m. 66.

(28) _Esperienze intorno a diverse Cose Naturali._

(29) _Dissert. de Tarantula Histor._ 5

(30) _Pag. 88._

(31) _Lib. 30. c. 13._

(32) _De Abstinent. ab animal._ lib. 1. p. m. 16.

(33) _De simpl. Medit. Facult._ lib. 11. c. 1.

(34) _Curat. Diuturn._ lib. 2. c. 13.

(35) _Vid. Purchas._ Pilgrims, Part 2. l. 7. c. 9.

(36) Voyages, _Vol. 2. Part 1. p. 53._

(37) _De Theriac. ad Pison._ Cap. 12.

(38) _Philos. Transact._ N^o. 271.

(39) _Nat. Hist._ lib. 5. cap. 10.

(40) _Vid._ _Fig. 18._

(41) _Hist. Ind._ p. m. 56.

(42) _Vid._ _Fig. 17._

(43) _Histor. Afric._ lib. 6.

(44) _Hist. Insect._ p. 147.

(45) _Generazione degli Inserti_, p. 15.

(46) _Micrograph. Observ._ 34.

(47) _Ibid. Obs._ 25.

ESSAY II.

OF THE BITE OF THE _TARANTULA_ AND MAD DOG.

I Join these Two _Poisons_ together, because tho’ they differ very much in their Effects, yet both do agree in this, that they induce a particular _Delirium sui generis_, attended partly with _Maniacal_, partly with _Melancholy_ Symptoms.

The _Tarantula_ (of which the Figure may be seen in _Baglivi_’s Dissertation (48),) is a _Spider_ of _Apulia_ of the _Octonocular_ kind; that is of that _Species_ that has eight Eyes, and spins Webbs; it has eight Legs, four on each side, and in each Leg three Joints; from the Mouth proceed two Darts, in Shape just like to a hooked _Forceps_, or Crab’s Claws; these are solid, and very sharp, so that they can easily pierce the Skin; and between these and the Fore-Legs there are two little Horns, which I suppose do answer to those Bodies call’d from their Use in _Flies_ the _Feelers_; because as they do, so this Creature is observed to move ’em very briskly when it approaches to its Prey.

This, as other Spiders do, propagates its _Species_ by laying Eggs, which are very numerous; so that there are found sometimes in the Female, when dissected, a hundred or more; and these are hatched partly by the Heat of the Mother, partly by that of the Sun, in about twenty or thirty Days Time.

There is also a Spider of the like Nature with the _Tarantula_ in the _West-Indies_, which _Fr. Hernandez_ (49) describes by the Name of _Hoitztocatl_, or the _Pricking Spider_; and says, that its Bite induces Madness.

In the Summer Months, especially when the Heats are greatest, as in the Dog-Days, the _Tarantula_ creeping among the Corn in the Fields, bites the Mowers and Passengers; in the Winter it lurks in Holes, and is scarcely seen; and if it does bite then, it is not venomous, neither does it induce any ill Symptoms.

But in the hot Weather, altho’ the Pain of its Bite is at first no greater than what is caused by the Sting of a Bee, yet the Part quickly after is discoloured with a Livid, Black, or Yellowish Circle, and raised to an inflam’d Swelling; the Patient within a few Hours is seized with a violent Sickness, Difficulty of Breathing, universal Faintness, and sometimes Trembling, with a Weakness of the Head; being asked what the Ail is, makes no Reply, or with a querulous Voice, and melancholy Look, points to his Breast, as if the Heart was most affected.

During this mournful Scene, all the usual _Alexipharmick_ and _Cordial_ Medicines are of no Service; for notwithstanding their repeated Use, the Patient growing by degrees more melancholy, stupid, and strangely timorous, in a short Time expires, unless _Musick_ be called to his Assistance, which alone, without the Help of Medicine, performs the _Cure_.

For at the first Sound of the _Musical Instrument_, altho’ the Sick lie, as it were, in an Apoplectick Fit, they begin by Degrees to move their Hands and Feet, till at last they get up, and fall to Dancing with wonderful Vigour, at first for three or four Hours, then they are put to Bed, refreshed from their sweating, for a short time, and repeat the Exercise with the same Vehemence, perceiving no Weariness or Weakness from it, but professing they grow stronger and nimbler the more they dance.

At this Sport they usually spend Twelve Hours a Day, and it continues Three or Four Days; by which time they are generally freed from all their Symptoms, which do nevertheless attack ’em again about the same time the next Year; and if they do not take Care to prevent this Relapse by Musick, they fall into a _Jaundice_, Want of Appetite, universal Weakness, and such like Diseases; which are every Year increased, if Dancing be neglected, till at last they prove incurable.

As Musick is the common _Cure_, so they who are bitten are pleas’d some with one Sort of it, some with another; one is raised with a Pipe, another with a Tymbrel; one with a Harp, another with a Fiddle; so that the Musicians make sometimes several Essays before they can accommodate their Art to the Venom; but this is constant and certain, not withstanding this Variety, that they all require the quickest and briskest Tunes, and are never moved by a slow, dull _Harmony_.

While the _Tarantati_, or Affected, are Dancing, they lose in a manner the Use of all their Senses, like so many Drunkards, do many Ridiculous and Foolish Tricks, talk and act obscenely and rudely, take great Pleasure in playing with Vine-Leaves, with naked Swords, red Cloths, and the like; and on the other Hand can’t bear the Sight of any thing black; so that if any By-stander happen to appear in that _Colour_, he must immediately withdraw, otherwise they relapse into their Symptoms with as much Violence as ever.

It may afford some Light towards Understanding the Nature of this Poison, to observe that _Apulia_ is the hottest Part of all _Italy_, lying _Eastward_, and having all the Summer long but very little Rain to temper the Heats, so that the Inhabitants, as one of that Country observes (50), do breath an Air, as it were, out of a fiery Furnace; hence their Temperament is dry, and adust, as appears by their being generally lean, passionate, impatient, ready to Action, quick-witted, very subject to inflammatory Distempers, Phrensies, Melancholy, and the like, upon which Account there are more mad People in this, than in all the other Parts of _Italy_; nay, what in other Countries is but a light Melancholy, arises here to a great Heigth; for Women in a _Chlorosis_ do suffer almost the same Symptoms as Persons poisoned by the _Tarantula_ do, and are cured the same Way; and in like manner the Venom of the _Scorpion_ does here in Effects and Cure agree very much with that of this _Spider_.

From all this History it sufficiently appears, that those that are bitten by a _Tarantula_, do thereupon become _Delirous_, and that in order to account for their surprizing Symptoms; the Nature of a _Delirium_, from which many of them proceed, ought to be understood.

Such is the Constitution of the _Human Œconomy_, that _as_ upon the Impression of outward _Objects_ made upon the _Organs_, and by the Fluid of the Nerves conveyed to the _Common Sensory_; different _Species_ are excited there, and represented to the Mind; _so_ likewise upon this Representation, at the Command and Pleasure of the Soul, part of the same Fluid is determin’d into the Muscles, and mixing with the Arterial Blood there, performs all the Variety of Voluntary Motions and Actions.

This Order has been always so constant in Us, that at length by a kind of natural Habitude, without the Intervention of the Reasoning Faculty, Representations made to the Mind do immediately and necessarily produce suitable Motions in the Bodily Organs. When therefore these Representations are irregular, the Actions consequent to them must necessarily be so too.

This being premis’d, it may perhaps be probably said, that a _Delirium_ is the Representation and various Composition of several _Species_ to the Mind, without any Order or Coherence; together, at least most commonly, with irregular, or, as it were, undesigned Motions of the Body; that is, such a wandring and irregular Motion of the Nervous Fluid, whereby several Objects are represented to the Mind, and upon this Representation divers Operations perform’d by the Body, tho’ those Objects are not impress’d upon the Organs, nor those Operations or Motions deliberately commanded by the Soul.

The Mind indeed is the first Principle of all Muscular Motion; but in such Cases as these, its Promptitude to Action or Habit being so great, it is in a manner surpriz’d, and cannot recover it self after the Spirits are with violent Force determin’d pursuant to the Representation of the _Species_. For, _as_ in the former State of Things a Man is said to act Rationally, _so_ this latter Case is call’d a _Perturbation of Mind_, that is, a _Delirium_; tho’ it is very manifest, that in reality the Defect is not in the _Rational_, but _Corporeal_ Part; such _Species_ being really presented to the Mind, upon which by the Order of our Constitution such Motions ought to follow in the Body.

Thus, for Instance, if the Liquor of the Nerves is, without the Presence of any thing hurtful, put into a Motion like unto that which a painful Impression makes in it, the same Bodily Actions must insue as proceed from Fear, Anger, or the like Passion, determining the Spirits towards the Muscular Parts; and a By-stander, who sees no reason for such a Representation made to the Mind, will presently conclude that the Person thus acting acts without or besides his Reason, that is, is _Delirous_; especially if the Hurry and Confusion of the Spirits be such, that not only _one_, but _several_ different _Species_ be at the same time presented to the Mind; for a Man in this Case may act the Part of one Joyful, Angry, Timorous, or the like, without any appearing Reason, and all this almost in the same Moment of Time.

In one Word, _Deliria_ are the _Dreams_ of those who are _Awake_; and _as these_ in Us _Sleeping_ are infinitely various and wonderfully Compounded, and all from the same common _Cause_, diversely pressing the Orifices of the Nerves, and thus making different _Repercussions_ of their Fluid; and _as_ we all know that this Confusion making the Representation of several _Species_ to the Mind, there do hereupon follow, tho’ the Body seem now at Rest and in perfect Repose, such Motions in the Organs as are usually the Effect of the Arbitrary Determination of the Spirits thither; _so_ We are now to enquire what Alteration of the Body made by this Venom, can be the Occasion of this Disorder and Tumult in the Nervous Fluid, which excites in the Party infected such surprizing, and almost contradictory, Representations.

Most of the Symptoms of those who are bitten by the _Tarantula_ are at the first, that is, before they rise to a _Delirium_, plainly the same with those which the Bite of a Viper induces; without doubt therefore, as we have before observed of the common Spider, that it pierces the Flesh with its hooked _Forceps_, and at the same time instils from the _Proboscis_ in the Mouth a liquid Venom into the Wound; so the like _Claws_ in _This_ (of which I have taken the Figure (51) out of _P. Bonanni,_ very much magnified (52),) do serve to make Way for an active and penetrating Juice emitted from the same Part.

Of the Nature of which we may probably conjecture, that it is, when mixed with the Blood, being exalted by the Heat of the Climate, of so great Force and Energy, that it immediately raises an extraordinary Fermentation in the whole Arterial Fluid, by which its Texture and _Crasis_ is very considerably altered; the Consequent of which Alteration, when the Ebullition is over, must necessarily be a Change in the _Cohæsion_ of its Parts, by which the _Globules_, which did before with equal Force press each other, have now a very differing and irregular _Nisus_ or Action, so that some of ’em do so firmly cohere together, as to compose _Moleculæ_, or small Clusters; upon which Account there being now a greater number of _Globules_ contained in the same Space than before, and besides, the _Impulse_ of many of these when united together differing according to the Conditions of their _Cohæsion_, as to Magnitude, Figure, _&c._ not only will the _Impetus_, with which this Fluid is drove towards the Parts, be at some Strokes at least greater than ordinary; but the Pressure upon the Blood Vessels must be very unequal and irregular; and this more especially will be felt in them which are most easily distended; such are those of the Brain, _&c._ And hereupon the Fluid of the Nerves must necessarily be put into various _Undulatory_ Motions, some of which will be like unto those which different _Objects_ acting upon the Organs or Passions of the Mind, do naturally excite in _It_, whereupon such Actions must follow in the Body, as are usually the Consequents of the several _Species_ of Sadns, Joy, Despair, or the like Determinations of the Thoughts; and we shall readily pronounce one in this Condition, _Sad_, _Joyful_, _Timorous_, _&c._ and all without any apparent Reason or Cause; that is, in one Word, we shall say he is _Delirous_.

This is in some Degree a _Coagulation_ of the Blood, which will the more certainly, when attended with an extraordinary Heat, as in the present Case, produce such like Effects as these, because the _Spirits_ separated from the Blood thus Inflamed, and Compounded of hard, fixt and dry Particles, must unavoidably share in this Alteration; that is, whereas their Fluid consists of two Parts, _One_ more active and Volatile, the _Other_ more Viscid and Glutinous, which is a kind of Vehicle to the former; their _Active_ Part will bear too great a Proportion to the _Viscid_; and thus they must necessarily be of more than ordinary Volatility and Force, and will therefore, upon the least Occasion imaginable, be irregularly determin’d to every Part; and hereupon will follow Tremblings of the Body, Anger or Fear upon a light or no Cause, extream Pleasure at what is but a Trivial Entertainment, as Red, Green Colours, or the like; and on the other hand, wonderful Sadness at any thing not agreeable to the Eyes, as dark and black Things; nay, ridiculous Laughter, obscene Talk and Actions, and such like Symptoms; because in this Constitution of the Nervous Fluid, the most light Occasion will make as real a _Reflux_ and _Undulation_ of it to the Brain; that is, will present as lively and vivid _Species_ there, as the strongest Cause and Impression can produce in its natural State and Condition; nay, in such a Confusion, the Spirits cannot but sometimes, without any manifest Cause at all, be hurried towards those Organs, to which at other times they have been most frequently determined; and every one knows which they are in hot Countries and Constitutions.

We must however here remember what in the former Essay we mention’d of the Fluid of the Nerves, being _immediately_ altered by the venomous Juice.

It will perhaps make this Theory more than probable, to consider that _Baglivi_ (53), in the Dissection of a _Rabbit_ kill’d by a _Tarantula_, found the Blood Vessels of the Brain very turgid, and the Substance of the Brain it self, that is, the Beginning of the Nerves, lightly inflamed, and with livid Spots here and there, the _Lungs_ and other _Viscera_ distended, with concrete glotted Blood, and large Grumes of Blood with _Polypous_ Branches in the Heart, a large Quantity of extravasated _Serum_ upon the Brain, which is (as he takes Notice) mostly observed in those Subjects which died by a Coagulation of the Blood.

Neither is it amiss to remark, that in a _Chlorosis_ there is nothing preternatural but an _infarctus_ of the Arteries, and hence a retarded _Circulation_, from an Evacuation suppress’d; and in this Country too much Heat; that is, a beginning _Coagulation_, together with an Inflammatory Disposition.

In short, _Bellini_ has at large demonstrated, how _Deliria_, as well as _Melancholic_ as _Manaical_, do proceed from a State of the Blood and Spirits, not unlike to that I have here described.

But no less a Confirmation of these Notions may we have from the _Cure_; as to which it is observable, that the _Tarantati_ have no Inclination to _dance_ before they hear the Musick; for being ask’d to do it, they answer, it is impossible, they have no Strengh.

As for the Reason therefore of their starting up at the first Noise of the Instrument, we must reflect upon what we have just now been saying concerning the Cause of the Motions of the Body in a _Delirium_; and consider withal, that muscular Motion is no other than a Contraction of the Fibres from the Arterial Fluid making an Effervescence with the Nervous Juice, which by the light Vibration and Tremor of the Nerve, is derived into the Muscle.

And thus we have a twofold Effect and Operation of Musick, that is, both upon the Mind and Body. For a brisk Harmony excites lively _Species_ of _Joy_ and _Gladness_, which are always accompany’d with a more frequent and stronger Pulse, or an increased influx of the Liquor of the Nerves into the Muscles, upon which suitable Actions must immediately follow; and if we remember what we before hinted, that People in this Country are sprightly and ready to Exercise, and that in such a state of the Fluids as we have describ’d, a slight Occasion presents as strong _Species_, as a greater can at another time: The Influence of Musick on the _Mind_ will appear to be so much the more powerful and certain.

As for the _Body_, since it is sufficient for the purpose of putting the Muscles into Action, to cause those _Tremors_ of the Nerves by which their Fluid is alternately dropt into the moving Fibres; it is all one whether this be done by the determination of the Will, or the outward _Impulsions_ of an _Elastic_ Fluid; such is the _Air_; and that Sounds are the _Vibrations_ of It, is beyond dispute.

_These_ therefore rightly modulated may shake the Nerves as really as the _Imperium Voluntatis_ can do, and consequently produce the like Effects.

That This is so, besides what we shall add anon, we may be convinced by a Story which M^r. _Boyle_ (54) relates out of _Scaliger_, of a Knight of _Gascony_ whom the sound of a _Bagpipe_ would unavoidably force to make Water; for this Secretion we know is regularly the Effect of an Arbitrary Contraction of the Muscle of the Bladder.

The obstinate continuing of the _Tarantati_ in this Exercise, is doubtless in a great Measure owing to the strong Opinion they have of receiving Advantage from it, being incouraged by the By-standers, and having always believed, and been told, that it was the only Cure in these Cases.

The _Benefit_ from Musick is not only their Dancing to It, and so evacuating by _Sweat_ a great Part of the Inflammatory Fluid; but besides this, the repeated Percussions of the Air hereby made, by immediate Contact shaking the Contractile Fibres of the Membranes of the Body, especially those of the Ear, which being continuous to the Brain, do communicate their Tremblings to its Membranes and Vessels; by these continued Succussions and Vibrations, the _Cohæsion_ of the Parts of the Blood is perfectly broken, and its _Coagulation_ prevented; so that the Heat being removed by Sweating, and the Coagulation by the Contraction of the Muscular _Fibrillæ_, the wounded Person is restored to his former Condition.

If any one doubts of this force of the _Air_, let him consider that it is in _Mechanics_ (55) Demonstrated, that the smallest _Percussion_ of the smallest Body, can overcome the resistance of any great Weight which is in Rest; and that the Languid Tremor of the Air, which is made by the Sound of a Drum or Trumpet, may shake the vastest and strongest Edifices.

But besides all this, We must allow a great deal to the _determinate Force_, and particular _Modulation_, of these trembling Percussions; for contractile Bodies may be acted upon by one certain Degree of Motion in the ambient Fluid, tho’ a greater Degree of it differently qualified may produce nothing at all of the like Effect; this is not only very apparent in the common Experiment of Two String’d Musical Instruments tuned both to the same Heigth, the Strings of the one being struck upon, those of the other will found, and yet a much greater Motion of the Air may not Cause any sensible Vibration at all in the same Chords; but also by the _Trick_ which many have of finding the Tone or Note peculiarly belonging to any _Wine Glass_, and by accommodating their _Voice_ exactly to that Tone, and yet making it loud and lasting, they will make the Vessel tho’ not touch’d, first to Tremble, and then Burst; which it will not do if their Voice be but a little eithet too low or too high.

This last Consideration makes it no very difficult matter to conceive the reason, why different Persons, infected with this Venom, do require oftentimes a different sort of Musick in order to their Cure, in as much as their Nerves and _Distractile_ Membranes have differing _Tensions_, and consequently are not in like manner to be acted upon by the same _Vibrations_.

Nor are We to wonder at the Oddness of this Method and Practice; for _Musick_, altho’ it be Now-a-days applied to quite different Purposes, was anciently made great Use of for the removing of many, and those too some of the most difficult and obstinate Diseases.

For this we have a Famous Testimony in _Galen_ himself, (56) who tells us, that _Æsculapius used to recover Those in whom violent Motions of the Mind had induced a hot Temperament of Body, by Melody and Songs_. _Pindar_ (57) mentions the same thing; and indeed from hence not only the Notion, but the very Name of _Charming_ (58) seems to have taken its Origine. _Athenæus_ (59) relates that _Theophrastus_ in his Book of _Enthusiasm_ says, _Ischiadic Pains are Cured by the Phrygian Harmony_. This sort of Musick was upon a _Pipe_, and the most vehement and brisk, of all the Ancients knew; so that indeed it was said to raise those who heard it to downright Fury and Madness (60): And such we have observed to be required to the Venom of the _Tarantula_.

But what is besides in this last Authority very observable to our Purpose, is the manner of using this Remedy, and that was (61) by _Playing upon the part affected_, which confirms what we have just now advanced concerning the Effect of the _Percussion_ of the Air upon the Contractile Fibres of the _Brain_, for _Piping upon_ any Member of the Body, cannot be suppos’d to do Service any other way, than by such Succussions and Modulated Vibrations as we before mention’d. And this indeed _Cælius Aurelianus_ (62) agrees to, who calls this Practice, _Decantare Loca dolentia_; and says, that the _Pain is mitigated and discuss’d by the Tremblings and Palpitations of the Part_.

_Aulus Gellius_ (63) not only relates this same Cure of _Ischiadic_ Ails as a thing notorious enough, but adds besides out of _Theophrastus_, that _the Musick of a Pipe rightly managed healed the Bites of Vipers_.

And not only does _Apollonius_ (64) mention the Cure of Distractions of the Mind, Epilepsies, and several other Distempers this same way; but _Democritus_ (65) in his Treatise of Plagues, taught, that _the Musick of Pipes was the Medicine for most Diseases_; which _Thales_ of _Crete_ confirmed by his Practice, when sent for by the _Lacedæmonians_ to remove from them the Pestilence, he did it by the help of Musick (66).

All which Instances do evince this Remedy to have been very ancient in many Cases; and indeed as _Cælius-Aurelianus_ (67), takes notice that the first use of it was ascrib’d to _Pythagoras_ himself, so He having settled and founded his Sect in those very Parts of _Italy_ which are the Country of the _Tarantulæ_, going then under the Name of _Græcia magna_, now _Calabria_, it is not, I think, at all improbable that he may have been the Author and Inventor of this Practice there, which has continued ever since. Especially since _Jamblichus_ affirms (68), not only that he made use of Musick in Physick, but particularly that he found out and contrived some Harmonies to ease the Passions of the Mind, and others for the _Cure of Bites_: But of Musick enough.

To conclude with this Poison, we may take notice that, as to the _Return_ of the Symptomes the next Year, That is owing to the same excessive Heat in those Months, acting again upon the small remains of the Venomous _Ferment_; thus _Bartholin_ (69) relates a Story of a Melancholy Physician at _Venice_ who suffer’d the Attacks of his Disease only during the Dog-days, which yearly ended and return’d with them. A convincing proof how great a share Heat has in all these Cases.

_Of the Mad DOG._

More difficult and terrifying are the Symptoms from the Bite of a _Mad Dog_, whose Venom has this also surprising in it, that the bad Effects do not appear oftentimes till the Cause of ’em is forgot; for the Wound is as easily cured as a common Bite is; but nevertheless a considerable time after, a melancholy Tragedy succeeds, sometimes sooner, sometimes later; for there are Instances of its being deferred to Two, (70) Six Months, nay, a Year, and longer, tho’ the attack is generally within Forty Days after the Wound; about that time, the Patient complains of Running Pains all over his Body, especially near the Part wounded, like unto those in a Rheumatism, grows pensive and sad, prone to Anger upon little or no Occasion, with an intermitting Pulse, Tremblings and Contractions of the Nerves, with a great inward Heat and Thirst; and yet in a few Days (when the Disease is come to its height) a Dread and Fear of Water, and any Liquor whatsoever; so that at the very sight of it he falls into dismal Convulsions and Agonies, and cannot drink the least drop; and this _Hydrophobia_, or _Aquæ Timor_, has been always accounted the surest Sign and Mark of this Poison, as distinguishing it from all others.

The Ancients have at large described these Symptoms, as _Galen_, _Dioscorides_, _Aetius_, _Ægineta_, but most particularly of all, _Cælius Aurelianus_ (71); and later Writers have given us several Instances of the _Hydrophobia_; Two Histories of it published, the one by Dr. _Lister_ (72), the other by Dr. _Howman_ (73), I shall more especially take Notice of, and refer to, as containing the most exact and large Account of any I have met with; he that desires more, may consult the several Authors cited by that diligent Observer, _Stalpart van der Wiel_ (74).

That this Disease is accompany’d with a _Delirium_, is almost the common Opinion both of Ancients and Moderns; _Damocrates_ called it the barking Phrensie (75); but Dr. _Lister_ agrees in this Point with _Petrus Salius Diversus_ (76), and will not allow a _Delirium_ to be the necessary consequent of this Venom; and yet at the same time he tells us, that his Patient barked like a Dog, and bit at the By-standers; that he threw into his Mouth what was given him more hastily and suddenly than it is Natural or Customary for Men to do.

From such Actions as these, together with those mentioned before in relating the Symptoms, it is obvious enough to conclude, that Persons thus affected are in a proper Sence _Delirous_. Tho’ at the same time I do think that the _Hydrophobia_ it self (whatever is commonly believed) does not at all proceed from this _Delirium_, as will by and by appear.

I know indeed that the main and plausible _Objection_ against a _Delirium_ is this, that the Patient himself does Reason against his Timorousness, tho’ he cannot overcome it, forewarns the Standers-by of his Outrageous Fits, desires them to take care of themselves, and the like. Which from what I have already said concerning a _Delirium_, appears to be very consistent with it, nay, convinces that there is the greatest Degree of it in this Case; in as much as that it is not a Distemper of the Mind but of the Body. And to this purpose I remember to have seen my self an Instance of one in a Fever, who foretold some time before any signs of a _Delirium_ were discovered, how raving and unruly He should be, and made good his _Prognostick_ to that degree, that it was very hard Work to tame and master him; tho’, as he told me afterwards, he reason’d as much as he could against that groundless Jealousie of his Friends designing to Murder him, which put him upon his Mad Actions, but was not able to Conquer the prevailing _Species_ of Fear and Anger.

This _Delirium_ therefore, as _Cælius Aurelianus_ (77) says, _Proceeds intirely from an indisposition of the Body_, which is without all doubt owing to the alteration made in the Blood by the _Saliva_ of the _Mad Dog_, instill’d into the Wound inflicted by the Bite.

That we may rightly understand this, we must take Notice, that the _Rabies_ or Madness in a Dog is the effect of a Violent Fever; and therefore it is most common in excessive Hot Weather, tho’ sometimes intense Cold maybe the Cause of it; That no Dog in this Case ever sweats; from whence it follows, that when his Blood is in a Ferment, it cannot, as in other Creatures, discharge it self upon the surface of the Body, and therefore must of necessity throw out a great many _Saline_ and Active Particles upon those Parts, where there is the most constant and easie Secretion; and such, next to the _Miliary_ in the Skin in Us, are the _Salival_ Glands; for this reason much more Spittle is separated in a Dog when Mad, than at any other time, and that very frothy, or impregnated with Hot, Subtil Parts.

Now as we every Day observe, that what is thrown out from Liquors in a Ferment, is capable of inducing the like Motion in another Liquor of the same kind, when duly mixed with it; so we may very well suppose in the present Case, that the _Saliva_, which is it self one of the most Fermentative Juices in Nature, being turgid with Fiery, Saline Particles thrown into it out of the boiling Blood, when it comes by means of a Wound to be Incorporated with the Arterial Fluid of any One, does by Degrees raise a preternatural Effervescence in it; the Effects of which will necessarily be most felt in those Parts which being tender, are the least able to refill the distension of the Blood Vessels; such are the Stomach, and especially the Brain; and hereupon _Deliria_, with _Maniacal_, and such like Symptoms, will easily insue.

A Person thus affected may be said in a Degree to have put on the _Canine_ Nature, tho’ his Reason be all this time untouch’d and intire, may Bite, Howl, _&c._ because the _like_ violent Agitation of the Blood in Him as was in the Dog will present like _Species_, and consequently (so far as their different Natures will allow) produce like Actions; just as it has been observed, that _Sheep_ bitten by a Mad Dog, have run at the Shepherd like so many Dogs to Bite him; so much can an Alteration of the Blood and Spirits do. And as a Timorous Creature may be imboldened, so we oftentimes see Persons Courageous enough by a change made in the Blood by Evacuations, that is, by want of Force and Motion in that Fluid, made sheepish Cowards, in despight of their Reason, so long as that Defect is continued.

But the main difficulties in this matter are, the Mischief discovering it self so long after the Bite, and the _Hydrophobia_.

As to the former, we are to consider, that Fermentation being a Change made in the Cohæsion of the compounding Parts of a Fluid, it is sometimes a longer, sometimes a shorter time before this Alteration is wrought; which variety may proceed either from the different Nature and Constitution of the Ferment, or of the Liquor Fermented, and a great Number of Circumstances besides. So that this Venom may be all the while doing its Work, tho’ the change made by it may not be so considerable as to be sensibly taken Notice of till a long time after.

Nay, it may so happen, that the _Ferment_ being Weak may not raise in the Blood any remarkable Agitation at all, till some accidental Alteration in the Body unluckily gives it an additional Force. As we before observed, how much external Heat concurrs to heighten the Symptoms from the Bite of the _Tarantula_. And this probably may be the Case of Those in whom this Malignity has not appear’d till Six, or Twelve Months after the Wound.

That we may understand the Reason of the _Hydrophobia_, it is to be Remarked, that this dread of Water does not come on till the latter end of the Disease, Three or Four Days before Death; that is, not till this preternatural _Fermentation_ in the Blood is come to its Heigth; and as in the Dog, so in the Patient, a great quantity of Fermentative Particles is thrown off upon the Glands of the Mouth and Stomach, as appears by his Foaming at the Mouth, _&c_.