Chapter III: Part 3

As also, that this _Fear_ is not from a sight _of_, or any imaginary appearance _in_ the Water, for if the Vessel be close shut, and the Patient bid to suck thro’ a Quill, as soon as he has tasted, he falls into Anguish and Convulsions, as Dr. _Lister_ observed. It is therefore highly probable, if not certain, that this surprising Symptom proceeds from the intolerable _Pain_ which any Liquor at this time taken induces, partly by hurting the inflamed Membranes of the _Fauces_ in Deglutition; partly by fermenting with these Active Particles discharged by the Blood upon the _Stomachic_ Glands, and thus twitching and irritating the Nervous Membranes; the very memory of which _grievous Sence_, after it is once felt, is so terrible, that the affected Person chuses any thing rather than to undergo it a second time.

The Effects of this _Irritation_ are manifest in the Convulsions of the Stomach, and frequent _Singultus_, with which the Patient is continually oppress’d. And we all know by how necessary a kind of _Mechanism_ we do fly from and abhor those things which have proved disagreeable to the _Animal Œconomy_, to which nothing is so contrary and repugnant as _Pain_; at the first Approaches of which, Nature Starts and Recoils, tho’ Reason be arm’d with never so much Courage and Resolution to undergo the Shock.

Nor will any Body wonder how this _Ferment_ should cause such _Torment_, who considers how often, even in _Colical_ Cases, Persons are downright distracted by excessive Pain, from a Cause not unlike to this we are treating of, that is, from a corrosive Ferment in the Bowels, rarefying the Juices there into _Flatus_, and by this means irritating and stimulating those tender Membranes into Spasmodic and Convulsive Motions.

And indeed Dr. _Lister_’s Patient told him, that the very swallowing of his own Spittle put him to such Torture in his Stomach, that Death it self was not so Terrible as the Inexpressible Agony.

It may serve both to Illustrate and Confirm this Theory, to take Notice, that not only may (according to these Principles) other Bites besides that of a _Dog_ happen to induce the like Symptoms; thus _Malpighi_ (78) relates a Story of a Mother made _Hydrophoba_ by the Bite of her _Epileptic_ Daughter; but that there are other Cases, without any Bite at all, which are attended with an _Hydrophobia_.

Thus _Schenkius_ (79), _Salmuth_ (80) and others have observ’d a _Dread of Water_, without any Suspicion of a Bite, from _Malignant Fevers_. Now in _These_ there is doubtless a Hot, Putrid _Ferment_ in the Blood; and it is no wonder if Part of it be discharged upon the Throat and Stomach, which we do evidently find in these Distempers to be more particularly affected by It, especially towards the latter End, from the _Aphthæ_, _Singultus_, and the like usual Symptoms of a fatal Malignity.

Nay, _Hippocrates_ (81) himself seems more than once to have remarked something like this Symptom in Fevers, and to call those who were thus affected Βραχυπόται, or little Drinkers; for I cannot assent to Dr. _Lister_, (tho’ _Cælius Aurelianus_ be on his side) who thinks that the Βραχυπόται are ὑδροφόβοι, from the Bite of a Mad Dog; as well for other Reasons, as because _Plutarch_ (82) assures Us, that the _Hydrophobia_ and _Elephantiasis_ were both first taken Notice of in the time of _Asclepiades_ the Physician; who liv’d in the Days of _Pompey_ the Great, many Years later than either _Hippocrates_ or _Aristotle_.

Neither is it amiss to add, that _Ioannes Faber_ (83) in the Dissection of one who dy’d at _Rome_ of the Bite of a Mad Dog, and a _Hydrophobia_ succeeding it, found the Blood _Coagulated_ in the right Ventricle of the Heart, the Lungs wonderfully _Red_ and _Tumefied_; but especially the _Throat_, _Stomach_, and _Bowels_, bearing the Marks of the Inflammatory Venom.

The same Observation has been made by others in Bodies Dead of this Disease. Thus the _Acta Medica Hafniensia_ (84) relate one Case, in which, part of the Liver was _Inflamed_, the Lungs Parched and Dry, and the inner Coat of the _Stomach_ so _Mortified_, that it might be abraded with one’s Fingers.

_Bonetus_ (85) tells _another_, where all the _Viscera_ were found quite _arid_, without any Juice at all.

And in a very particular History of an _Hydrophobia_, lately published at _Ulm_, (86) We are informed, that the _Stomach_, when opened, discover’d the Marks of an _Erosion_ or Excoriation, with something like a Gangrene, and Suffusion of Blood here and there. Which does very well agree with the Observations in the _German Ephemerides_ (87), where we find several _Footsteps_ of a _Sphacelus_ or Mortification in the Bodies of Those who died _Hydrophobi_.

The Cure of this Poison is either immediately upon the Wound made, or some Days after, before the Fear of Water is discover’d; for at that time all Authors do agree the Malady to be Incurable; and the Reason is plain from what has been already deliver’d.

As in other Venomous Bites, so in this, _Galen_ (88) very wisely advises to inlarge the Wound, by making a round Incision about it, to Cauterise it with a hot Iron, and apply drawing Medicines, so as to keep it a running Ulcer at least Forty Days. (89) _Scarifying_ and _Cupping_ may answer where this Severity is not allow’d: And however, the Dressing it with _Unguentum Ægyptiacum_ (or the like) Scalding Hot, must not be omitted; by which alone, timely applied, I am assured that one Bitten was happily preserved.

But where these Means of destroying the Ferment in the beginning are omitted, the dangerous Consequences of its being mixed with the Blood is by all possible Care to be prevented.

To this purpose, to say nothing of the many Inconsiderate Jumbles of _Antidotes_, _Theriacas_, &c. nor of such vulgar Trifles as the _Liver_ of the Mad Dog, of which _Galen_ (90) observed, that tho’ some who made use of it, together with other good Medicines, recover’d, yet that they who trusted to it alone died; one of the greatest Remedies commended to us by Antiquity, is the _Cineres Cancrorum Fluviatilium_; which _Galen_ (91) says, no Body ever made use of, and miscarried; and before Him _Dioscorides_ (92) assured, that ’tis a Medicine may be rely’d on. These were given in large Quantities, _viz._ a good Spoonful or Two every Day for Forty Days together, either alone, or rather mix’d with the Powder of _Gentian Root_ and _Frankincense_. The _Vehicle_ was either Water or Wine. In like manner at this Day the Remedy in the greatest Repute of any against most Poisons in the _West-Indies_, is a kind of a _River-Craw-Fish_, call’d _Aratu_ (93).

This is manifestly an _Absorbent_, and very _Diuretic_ Medicine, especially when prepared after the right manner, which was by Burning the Craw-Fish alive upon a _Copper-Plate_, with a Fire made of the Cuttings or Twigs of _White Briony_: For whether the latter part of the Management signifies much or no, the former most certainly does; and the _Salt_ of the _Copper_, which powerfully provokes Urine, being mix’d with that of the _Ashes_, may very much exalt their Virtue.

And it is upon this same Score, that the _Spongia_ of the _Cynnorrhodos_ or _Rosa Sylvestris_ is so Celebrated an Antidote, not only for this Poison, but also for that of the Viper, _Tarantula_, and others too, that ’tis call’d in _Sicily Sanatodos_, or All-heal; this being not a _Vegetable_, as _P. Boccone_ (94) who has wrote a whole Letter of its wondrous Virtues, terms it, but an _Animal Alkali_, as well as the former; for as Mr. _Ray_ (95) has observed, this Spongy Excrescence, if it be cut, is found full of White Worms; Being the Nest of these Insects, which lodging here all the Winter, do in the beginning of the Spring turn to Flies, and quit their Quarters. Indeed this Remedy was antiently too of so great Esteem, that _Pliny_ recommends it as the only Cure of an _Hydrophobia_, divinely discovered by an Oracle (96).

As all Insects abound with a Diuretick Salt, so _Cantharides_ more than any others; therefore the Learned _Bacchius_ (97) goes farther, and from the Authority of _Rhazes_ and _Joannes Damascenus_, advises to give these in Substance for many Days together. The Preparation of this Antidote, (so he calls it) is by infusing the _Cantharides_ in Soure Butter-milk Twenty Four Hours, then drying them, and with the Flower of Lentils and Wine making them up into _Troches_ of a Scruple Weight, of which one is to be taken every Day, By which means he assures us, that tho’ the Patient make bloody Urine, yet that Milk largely drank will abate that Symptom, and that an _Hydrophobia_ will be happily prevented. _Boccone_ (98) tells Us, That in _Upper Hungary_ They give _Cantharides_ to Men bitten by a Mad Dog, _Five_ to a Dose; and to _Beasts_ in greater Quantity. But of the inward Use of these Flies more in its proper Place.

In short, all the _Specifics_ in this Case are such as do either absorb a peccant _Acidity_ in the Stomach, or carry it off by Urine; as _Terra Lemnia_, highly commended by _Galen_ (99), _Garlick_, _Agrimony_, _Oxylapathum_, and many others, of which a Catalogue may be seen in _S. Ardoynus_. So the _Alyssum_ or Madwort, celebrated for this use by the Ancient Physicians, as well _that_ described by _Diascorides_, which is a Species of _Leucoium_, as the other of _Galen_, which is a _Marrubium_, is very manifestly a Bitter, Stomachic, and Diuretic Plant (100). The _Lichen cinereus terrestris_, recommended in the Philosophical Transactions (101), Operates the same way.

But the greatest and surest Cure of all, is frequent _Submerging_ or Ducking the Patient in Water. The first mention I find of this is in _Cornelius Celsus_ (102); whether he had it from the Ancient _Grecian_ Physicians, or it was the Discovery of his own Age, matters but little to our Purpose; certain it is, that he collected his Principal Rules of Bathing from _Cleophantus_, who, as _Pliny_ says (103), did, besides many other delightful things, first introduce the Use of Baths; As appears by comparing the Writings of the _One_ with the Fragments of the _Other_, preserv’d in the Works of _Galen_. And that from _Asclepiades_, who afterwards so far improved this Part of Physick, that he discarded almost all inward Medicines, he might learn this Management, is not improbable; for the _Hydrophobia_ (as we before took Notice) having been first regarded in the time of this great Physician, ’tis very likely that among other Advantages of his new Method, he might commend it for the Cure of so deplorable a Malady.

However it be, This Practice was in this last Age with great Authority revived by the Ingenious _Baron Van Helmont_ (104), who having in his own Country seen how great Service it did, has at large set down both the manner of the Operation; and, Consonant to the Principles of his own Philosophy, shewn the Reason of its good Effects. Since him _Tulpius_ (105), an Observer of very good Credit, takes notice, that tho’ he saw many, yet that never one miscarry’d, where it was in time made use of.

As all Baths do chiefly act by the sensible Qualities of Heat and Cold, and the Gravity of their Fluid; so we need go no farther to fetch the Reason of the great Advantage of this Method in the present Case, than to the Pressure of the Water upon the Body of the Patient.

Every one knows how plentifully plunging into cold Water provokes Urine, which proceeds no doubt from the constriction hereby made of the Fibres of the Skin and Vessels. Thus this outward Cure differs not much in effect from the inward Medicines beforementioned, but must necessarily have the better of them in this Respect, that when the Fermenting Blood stretches its Vessels, the exceeding weight of the ambient Fluid resists and represses this Distension, and so prevents the Effects of It. For this Reason the Salt Water of the Sea is especially chosen for this Business, because its greater Gravity than that of Fresh does more powerfully do all this, and break the beginning Cohæsion of the Parts of the Blood.

Thus we may, without having recourse to the _Fright_ and _Terror_, with which this Method, when rightly practis’d, (by keeping the Party under Water for a considerable time, till he is almost quite drowned) is usually accompanied, probably enough account for the Advantages of this Immersion. Tho’ it is not unlikely that this new Fear may have some good Effect in the Case too, for not only Convulsions, but Agues, and other Diseases, have oftentimes been happily Cured, merely by terrifying and surprising the Patient.

The Reason of this will easily be understood by him who knows what Alterations the Passions of the Mind do make in the Fluid of the Nerves and Arteries; of which in another Place.

It may for our present purpose suffice to take Notice, That as in Consideration of the last mentioned Effect upon the Mind, _Van Helmont_ commends this same Practice in all Sorts of Madness, and Chronical _Deliria_; so upon the account of the before hinted Alterations on the Body, Bathing was, among the Ancients, the common Cure of Melancholy, and such like Distempers (106). And as the younger _Van Helmont_ (107) to confirm his Father’s Notions, tells Us, that one Dr. _Richardson_ did with wonderful Success make use of this Management in these Cases, so in like manner _Prosper Alpinus_ (108) takes Notice, that the _Egyptians_ do at this Day perfectly recover Melancholy Persons by the same Method, only with this Difference, that they make their Baths warm.

He that compares what has been already advanc’d concerning _Deliria_, with the _Bellinian_ Theory of Melancholy and Maniacal Distempers, and reflects upon the Nature of Baths, and their manner of Acting, will see so much Reason in this Practice, as to be sorry that ’tis now-a-days almost quite laid aside and neglected. For we must observe, that altho’ there be some Difference in the Treatment and Cure of _Deliria_, whether Maniacal or Melancholy, when they are Originally from the Mind, as the Effects of Care, Trouble, or the like, and when from an Indisposition of the Body; yet that both do agree in this, that they require an Alteration to be made in the Blood and Spirits; inasmuch as the Mind, by often, nay, almost continually, renewing to it self any one _Idea_, of Love, Sorrow, _&c._ does so constantly determine the Spirits and Blood, one and the same way, that the Body does at last as much share in the Alteration, as if it had been primarily affected, and consequently must have, in some manner, the same Amendment. Upon this Score _Baccius_ (109) asserts the admirable Use of Temperate Baths, in all kind of Distractions; and assures us, that not only common _Deliria_, but even the _Dæmoniaci_, _Phanatici_, _Lycanthropi_ themselves, _&c._ are cured by frequent Washings in fresh Water, and a moist and Nourishing Diet.

But to insist upon this Subject is foreign to our purpose; only in regard that the most usual Methods of Cure in these Cases are so very tedious, and oftentimes unsuccessful at the last, I thought it not amiss to hint thus much, in order to the advancing something more Certain and Effectual towards the Removal of the greatest Unhappiness to which Mankind is liable.

To conclude with the _Hydrophobia_; where these Remedies fail, or are Administred too late, the Patient, from the prevailing inflammatory Disposition of the Blood, grows more and more _Delirous_, and by Degrees downright raving Mad, at last (as it most commonly happens in Maniacal People) suffers a total Resolution of Strength, and Dies. Thus Dr. _Howna_’s Case ended in a perfect universal _Paralysis_.

FOOTNOTES to Essay II.

(48) _De Tarantul._

(49) _Histor. Animal. Nov. Hispan._ Tract 4. c. 5

(50) _Baglivi_, p. 11.

(51) _Vid. Fig. 16._

(52) _Micrograph. Curios._ p. 69.

(53) Pag. 40.

(54) Of Languid and unheeded Motion.

(55) _Borelli De Vi Percussion._ Prop. 90, _and_ 111.

(56) _De Sanitate Tuenda_, lib. 1. c. 8.

(57) _Pythior. Od._ 3. μαλακαῖς ἐπαοιδαῖς. _Vid. ibid. Scholia._

(58) _A Carmine._

(59) _Deipnosoph._ l. 14. p. m. 624.

(60) _Vid. Bartholin. de Tibiis Veter._ l. 1. c. 9.

(61) εἰ καταυλήσοι τις τοῦ τόπου τῇ φρυγιστὶ ἁρμονίᾳ.

(62) _Morb. chronic._ l. 5. c. 1. _Qua cum saltum sumerent palpitando discusso dolore mitescerent._

(63) _Nect. Atticar._ l. 4. c. 13.

(64) _Histor. Mirabil._

(65) _Apud Aul. Gell. loc. citat. Plurimis hominum Morbis Medicinam suisse Incentiones Tibiarum._

(66) _Plutarc. de Musica._

(67) _Loc. ante cit._

(68) _De Vit. Pythagor. cap._ 25. πρὸς δηγμοὺς Βοηθητικώτατα μέλη.

(69) _Histor. Anatom._ Cent. 2. H. 26.

(70) _S. Ardoyn de Venen._ pag. 381.

(71) _De Morb. Acut._ lib. 3.

(72) _Exercitat. de Hydrophob._

(73) Philosoph. Transact. N^o. 169.

(74) _Observ. Rarior. Centur._ 2. _obs._ 100.

(75) Παρακοπὰν ὑλακτικὰν, _apud Galen de Antidot._ lib. 2. cap. 15.

(76) _De Hydroph._

(77) _Loc. citat. Tota oritur ex Corporis ipsius mala Affectione._

(78) _Oper. Posthum._ p. 55.

(79) _Obser. de Venen. Animal._

(80) _Obser._ Cent. 2. Obs. 52.

(81) _In Prorrhetic. & coac. & alibi._

(82) _Sympiosiac._ 5. 9.

(83) _Apud Hernand. & Recch. Plantar. & Anim. Mexicanor. Histor._ p. 494.

(84) Vol. 5. Obs. 114.

(85) _Sepulcret._ Lib. 1. Sect. 8. Obs. 8.

(86) _Rossini Lentilii Dissertatio de Hydrophobiæ Causa & Cura._

(87) _Eph. Cur._ Dec. 3. Ann. 2. Obs. 104.

(88) _De Theriac. ad Pison._ l. 1. c. 16.

(89) _Vid. Aetium._ .6: c. 24.

(90) _Simpl. Medic. Facult._ l. 11. c. 1.

(91) _Ibid._ l. 11. c. 34.

(92) _Theriac._ Cap. 2.

(93) _Vid. Pison. Histor. Nat. & Med. Ind._ lib. 5. c. 16.

(94) _Museo di Piante rare_, Osservaz. 2.

(95) _Hist. Plant. Tom._ 2. p. 1471.

(96) _Histor. Natur._ l. 8. c. 41. & l. 25. cap. 2.

(97) _De Venen._ p. 80.

(98) _Museo di Fisica_, Osservaz. 21.

(99) _Medicam. facult._ lib. 9. C. 1.

(100) _Fab. column. Phytobasan._ pag. 27.

(101) No. 237.

(102) _Lib._ 5. c. 27.

(103) _Nat. Hist._ l. 26. c. 3.

(104) _Tr. Demens_ Idea.

(105) Observ. 20.

(106) Vid. _Aretæum Cappad. Cur. Diut._ lib. 1. cap. 5. Et _Aetium_ l. 6. c. 11.

(107) Tr. Man and his Diseases.

(108) _Medicin. Ægyptior._ l. 3. c. 19.

(109) De Therm. _l. 7. c._ 22.

ESSAY III. of Poisonous Minerals and PLANTS.

Altho’ there be a great Variety of Internal _Poisons_, as well _Mineral_ as _Vegetable_; yet they do all of ’em seem to agree in their Primary Effects, and Manner of Operation; and as the Teeth or Stings of _Venomous_ Animals do constantly infuse a Juice into the Wound they make, by which the Mass of Blood is infected; so the Force of _These_ is chiefly confined to the Stomach and _Primæ Viæ_; and tho’ it may in some Cases be Communicated Farther, yet the Principal Mischief is done in These Parts.

_Deleterious Medicines_, says Dioscorides, _are many, but the Alterations made by them in the Body, common, and but few_ (110).

Of all this kind, those of a _Mineral_ Nature are the most violent and deadly, the greater Gravity and Solidity of their Parts giving to these a Force and Action surpassing the mischief of _Vegetable_ Juices; and therefore whereas noxious Plants do vary their Effects in different Creatures, so as to prove harmless, nay, perhaps Beneficial and Nutritive to some, as Hemlock they say is to Goats (111) and Starlings (112), and Henbane to Hogs (113), the Strength of the Stomach in These Animals being sufficient to Conquer and Divide such Corrosive Substances, and their Blood perhaps requiring to be recruited by such warm and active Particles; A Mineral Malignity is not, at least so far as we know, conquerable by any, but becomes universally hurtful and destructive.

We shall here give the first Place to _Mercury Sublimate_.

This is no other than a Mixture of _Quicksilver_ with _common Salt_. The way of preparing it, as ’tis made at _Venice_, from whence great quantities are sent into other Countries, _Tachenius_ has given Us in his _Hippocrates Chymicus_ (114); as to which we must observe, that tho’ there be always added a proportion of _Salt-Petre_, and _Calcin’d Vitriol_ to the other Ingredients, yet these do not enter into the Composition, but only serve to facilitate the Work; as abundantly appears from this Experiment, That Mercury sublim’d with the same Proportion of Nitre and Vitriol without _Marine Salt_, neither receives any increase of its Weight, nor acquires any malignant Quality.

The Effects of this _Poison_ when taken are, violent Griping Pains, with a Distension of the Belly, Vomiting of a slimy, frothy Matter, sometimes mixt with Blood, and Stools of the same, an intolerable Heat and Thirst, with cold Sweats, Tremblings, Convulsions, _&c._ as will appear from the following History (115).

To a large Dog was given a Drachm of _Mercury Sublimate_, mixt with a little Bread; within a quarter of an Hour He fell into terrible Vomitings, casting up frequently a Viscid, frothy _Mucus_, every time more and more Bloody, and purged the same downwards; till tired and spent with this hard Service, He lay down quietly as it were to Sleep, but Died the next Morning.

The _Abdomen_ being opened, a great quantity of extravasated Blood was found between the Liver and Stomach, and between the duplicature of the _Omentum_ about the Stomach; the Guts as well as the Stomach were distended, and full of a frothy Bloody _Mucus_; on the outside they were of a livid Colour, within all over red, and inflamed down to the very _Rectum_; The Fibrous Coat of the Stomach being taken off, between that and the Nervous one, grumous Blood was found in several Places; the like was discovered here and there in the Intestins between the same Coats.

The same _Symptoms_ with these, and manifest Signs of a burning Corrosion followed with _Ulcers_ in the Bowels, _Baccius_ (116) observ’d in a young Man Poison’d by _Sublimate_, mixt with his Meat.

What we are here chiefly to examine is, how from Ingredients singly Innocent and Harmless, so Mischievous a Compound can result; for as the Case is very plain with respect to _Salt_, so is it likewise now Notorious enough, that _Quick-silver_ it self, which the Ancients, _Dioscorides_, _Galen_, _Pliny_, &c. have unjustly rank’d among Poisons, is in many Diseases inwardly taken of very safe and beneficial Use; and that not only when disguised with _Sulphur_, _Sugar_, &c. but _Crude_, without any Correction, or vainly pretended Mortification.

This the _Arabian_ Physicians first gave the hint of; _Avicen_, (117) having observ’d, that _They who drink It in a large quantity receive no hurt, its weight making a free Passage thro’ the Body_. This was Incouragement enough for the Practice of giving whole Pounds of It in the _Iliac Passion_; which is oftentimes done with good Success, without any frightful Symptom accompanying the Advantage receiv’d from its Ponderosity.

Afterwards it plainly appear’d that this Mineral, tho’ not taken in so great a Dose as could immediately force its way thro’ the Intestins, even when it was lodged for some time in this or that Part, was not at all hurtful by any Corrosive or Malignant Quality. And _Fallopius_ (118), _Brasavolus_ (119), with others of great Note, confirmed its harmless Efficacy in the Cure of the _Worms_, not only in adult Persons, but even in the more tender Constitutions of Children.

Nor are these the only Cases in which good Service may be had from this Weighty Fluid; he that rightly considers the State of the Animal _Oeconomy_, the various Alterations it suffers from the Stagnation of its more Viscid Juices in the smallest Canals, and how much the Impulse and Force of the Circling Blood, by which Obstructions are to be removed, must be increased by its carrying along with it such Particles as the _Mercurial Globuli_, will perhaps see good Reason to allow, that the prudent and cautious Management of _Quicksilver_ may do that in some obstinate and dangerous Diseases, which we cannot promise our selves from any other of our known Medicines whatsoever.

But I am not to insist on this Head; and the learned _Author_ of the _New Theory of Fevers_ (120), has already most ingeniously explain’d the _Mechanism_ by which such Effects as these are produced in the humane Body. It suffices to my present purpose, to have proved that pure _Mercury_ is not Poisonous or Corrosive; and therefore not only have I seen Two Ounces of It given every Day for One and Twenty Days together, without any Inconvenience at all; but found once some quantity of It in the _Perinæum_ of a Subject I took from the Gallows for a Dissection (whose rotten Bones quickly discovered what Disease it was had required the Use of it, and that I suppose chiefly in External Application by Unction) without any Marks of Corrosion of the Part where it was lodged.

Tho’ withal we may upon this Occasion remark, that the extreme Gravity of this Mineral alone, however serviceable it may be in other Respects; yet when it happens in so great a Quantity to Obstruct the Capillary Ducts, as that the Force of the Circling Fluid is not sufficient to Wash it away, must necessarily induce Symptoms troublesome and bad enough, as _Spasms_, _Contractions_, _Palsies_, &c. which They do commonly Experience, who have either been too often dawbed with _Mercurial Ointments_, or for a long time imploy’d in rubbing the _Quicksilver_ upon _Looking-Glasses_; for the Internal Use of It will never produce any such Mischiefs.

As for _Sublimate_ then, most certain it is, that the _Saline_ Particles do impart to the _Mercury_ this Malignant Quality; or to speak more properly, That the _Salt_ receives from the _Mercurial Corpuscles_ such an Increase of its Gravity and _Momentum_, as renders its Cutting Corrosion more Effectual and Penetrating; for the manner after which this Matter is done, is plainly this.

The _Globules_ of the _Mercury_, tho’ so minutely divided by the Action of the Fire, as to rise in the form of a _Fume_, yet are still Solid and Ponderous Bodies; ’tis all one to the present purpose, whether We suppose ’em perfectly _Sphærical_, or with the Learned _Gulielmini_ (121) _Sphæroidical_, for in both Cases, by reason of their extreme Parvity, being perhaps Simple and Elementary Bodies, they will easily be lodg’d in the Pores and Interstices of the _Saline Crystals_; which being compos’d of the _Atoms_ of _Salt_, variously by _Sublimation_ combin’d and united, are a kind of Cutting _Lamellæ_ or Blades; the force of which could never have been very penetrating, upon the account of their Lightness and easie Dissolution, if the _Mercury_, without blunting their Edge, or breaking their Figure, did not lend ’em an Additional Weight, and thus at the same time strengthen their Action, and prevent their quick Solution by the Juices of the Stomach; which cannot now disjoin their Compounding Parts, because the Vacuities into which they should, in order to do this, insinuate themselves, are already possess’d, and taken up by the _Mercurial Globules_.

In short, These _Crystals_, which are to be considered as so many sharp Knives or Daggers, Wounding and Stabbing the tender Coats of the Stomach, and thus causing excessive Pains, with an Abrasion of their Natural _Mucus_, and (upon the constant Sense of Irritation) continual Vomitings, _&c._ must of necessity, sticking here and there in the capillary Vessels, stop the Passage of the Blood in several Places, whereupon it Stagnates, and there follow little Inflammations, which growing higher and higher, terminate quickly in perfect Ulcers and Gangrenes; and these though singly very small, yet many in number, do all together make up one continued and incurable Mortification.

This being the Nature of _Sublim’d Mercury_, it may not be amiss to enquire, how it comes to pass, That This same Compound resublim’d with _live Mercury_ in the Proportion of Four Parts to Three, (for the _Sublimate_ will not take up an equal quantity) especially if the work be repeated Three or Four times, looses its Corrosiveness to that Degree as to become not only a Safe, but in many Cases, a Noble _Medicine_. For I do not see that any of the Chymical Writers have hit upon the true Solution of this _Phænomenon_.

Here then it is to be considered, That the Action of the _Saline Crystals_ depending upon their Solidity and Largeness, these must necessarily, by every subsequent Sublimation, be broken into smaller and smaller Parts; the _Mercurial Globules_ (for the Reasons given by the _Author_ (122) of the forementioned _Theory of Fevers_) arising more quickly and easily than the _Salts_, quit the Interstices in which they were lodged, and the _Crystalline_ Blades are divided every time more and more by the force of the Fire; whereupon a new Combination of Parts succeeds; and although there be a greater Proportion of the _Mineral_ to the _Salts_ than before, which makes _Dulcify’d Mercury_ Specifically heavier than the _Corrosive_; yet the broken pieces of the _Crystals_ uniting into little Masses of differing Figures from their former Make, those Cutting _Points_ which were before so sharp, are now either quite lost, or at least, by reason of their Bluntness, cannot make Wounds deep enough to be equally mischievous and deadly; and therefore do only Vellicate and Twitch the sensible Membranes of the Stomach to that Degree, as excites them to an Excretion of their Contents and Glandular Juices, upwards or downwards, according as the force of Irritation is greater or less.

Thus a violent _Poison_ is mitigated into a _Vomit_ or _Purge_; nay, it may easily happen (especially in Robust Constitutions, and if the Bowels be at the same time by any means defended against the Stimulating Power of the Medicine) that this Twitching may be so slight, as to be almost insensible, and hardly troublesome; and then the _Mercurial Globules_ being freed indeed from most of the _Saline Parts_ in their Passage thro’ the _Primæ Viæ_, but still having a mixture of some few of them, are quickly conveyed into the Blood, where by their Motion and Weight they must necessarily dissolve the Preternatural Cohæsions of all the Liquors, particularly of Those which Circulate in the smallest Canals, and are most Viscid and Tenacious, making ’em more Fluxile and Thin, or of more easie Secretion; whereupon all the Glands of the Body are, as it were, set to Work, and Scoured of their Contents; but the _Salival_ Ones especially, being many in Number, very large and wide, and the Juice they separate of a Tough and Ropy Substance, so that a considerable quantity of It is accumulated before it is forced out at the Orifices of the Ducts. These Effects will be most remarkable in _Them_, and a _Salivation_ or Spitting must continue so long, till the Active Mineral Particles are thro’ these and the other Passages discharged out of the Body.

As the Difference between Mercury _Corrosive_ and _Dulcified_ lies in a greater and lesser Degree of Operation and Force, so this same Consideration distinguishes the several _Preparations_ of this Mineral from each other; which tho’ very many, yet do all vary their Effects in the Body, only according as the _Mercurial Globules_ are differently combined with _Salts_, and the _Points_ of _These_ more or less broken by the Action of the Fire, in the Burning of Spirits upon Them, and such like Managements: And therefore however dignified with the great Names of _Arcana_, _Panacææ_, _Princes Powders_, &c. They do not afford Us any thing Singular and Extraordinary, beyond what we may with equal Advantage promise our selves from some or other of the most common and usual _Processes_.

We may also fairly conclude from this Reasoning, that the safest way of raising a _Salivation_ is by _Internal_ Medicines; since whatever Mischiefs can be apprehended from _These_, may in a greater degree follow from the _External_ Use of _Mercury_; not only because, as We have already hinted, the Mineral _Globules_ being intimately combined with Salts in the several Preparations given inwardly, will by the Irritation of These, be easily and fully thrown out at the Organs of Secretions, till the Blood is quite discharged of its Load; whereas, in all the Dawbings with Mercurial Ointments, We can never be certain that none of the heavy Particles are left lodg’d in the _Interstices_ of the _Fibres_ or _Cells_ of the _Bones_; But also, in as much as by computing the Portion of _Mercury_ in all the Doses necessarily to promote a Spitting, and the Weight of the same Mineral usually apply’d when this is done by Unction, it will appear, that the quantity in the latter Case vastly exceeds that in the former, and consequently that the Inconveniencies to be feared will be in the same proportion.

Therefore this External Management of _Mercury_ is only to be allow’d of, where either the Case will bear the Violence of such a Method, or outward _Ulcers_ and _Tumors_ require a particular Cure by _Liniments_, &c.

Nor is it improper to Remark that, We do hereby see how the Use of this Mineral comes to produce that Effect so often complain’d of, (tho’ not always with Reason) of making the Bones Foul or Carious. For, if the _Laminæ_ or _Fibres_ of These are already so much broken and spoiled by a Disease, as that the Circulation of the Fluids thro’ ’em can’t be maintain’d, they must necessarily be corrupted more by the Weight of the _Mercurial Globules_; tho’ here also it is plain, that the _outward_ Use of this Remedy will be more to be blamed than the _inward_.

And indeed, as the earliest Use of _Mercury_ was in _Unguents_ and _Emplasters_, so most of the Prejudices and Out-cries against It are owing to Effects produced this way. For the first attempts of the Cure of _Venereal Maladies_ by this Remedy, were learned from the _Arabians_ (123), who having recommended _Mercurial_ Ointments in the _Lepra_ or _Scabies_, gave a handle to the _Italian_ Physicians to try their Efficacy, in removing the Foulness of the Skin from a new and terrible Contagion; neither were they sparing of their Liniments, which they continued to rub in for 12, 15, nay, sometimes for above 30 Days together (124). So that it is no wonder if they often met with very untoward Symptoms from so severe a Treatment, and if, (as some of them (125) do affirm) they now and then found _Mercury_ in the rotten Bones of their Patients, who had, it may be, suffered too much both from their Disease and their Physician.

* * * * *

Thus much of _Mercury_. Let Us in the next place examine _Arsenick_, about the Nature and Composition of which Authors are very much puzzled.

This, in short, is either _Native_ or _Factitious_, and each of Three sorts, _Yellow_, _Red_, and _White_. The _Native Yellow_ is what the Latins call’d _Auripigmentum_; and this _Olaus Wormius_ (126) makes Threefold. The _Red_ is the _Sandaracha_ of the _Greeks_. The _White_ was not known to the Ancients; and indeed _Theophrastus_ seems only to have known the _Red_; but _Dioscorides_ describes both _Red_ and _Yellow_; _Nicander_ had no Knowledge of either; The only Mineral Poisons He mentions are _Litharge_ and _Ceruss_.

_Orpiment_ and _Sandaracha_ differ only by their greater or lesser Concoction in the Earth; and therefore from _Orpiment_ Boiled in a close Pot Five Hours in a Furnace Fire, is made the _Factitious Sandaracha_, as perfect as the _Natural_ (127).

The _Factitious Yellow_ is made from the Crusts of the _Natural Orpiment_ (128).

The _Native White_ is more rare, but found plentifully in some Silver Mines in _Germany_ (129).

But the _White Factitious_ is of the most common Use of all; and it is, as _Agricola_ tells us, no other than _Orpiment_ again and again sublimed with an equal part of _Fossile Salt_, till it is brought to a Whiteness.

_Orpiment_ and _Sandaracha_ are mostly found in Mines of God; and all Metallic Writers do agree them to be the best Signs of the Richness of the Vein. This is Ground sufficient for the _Chymists_ to take _Arsenick_ for the Subject Matter of their great Work, as they call It; and they have very fondly accommodated some Ænigmatical Lines in the _Sibylline Oracles_ (130) to this _Mineral_. Tho’ the Interpretation be strained, and not fairly made out, (the _Author_ of these Verses, whatever he might mean, being indeed Discoursing of the Name of the _Divine Power_ it self) yet very true it is, that this great Expectation from _Arsenick_ is as old at least as _Caligula_; that is, of more ancient Date considerably than the far greatest part of those Suppositious and Ill-contrived Compositions which do now bear the Name of _Oracles_: For that Covetous Emperor, as _Pliny_ relates (131), ordered a great quantity of _Orpiment_ to be wrought upon, that He might extract _Gold_ out of It, and made some; but as it usually happens in such like Attempts, the quantity did not answer the Expence.

It is more to our purpose to take notice, that the later _Pretenders_ to this _Philosophy_, by finding their three _Principles_, _Salt_, _Sulphur_, and _Mercury_ in this Body, will lead Us into its true Nature and Composition.

For whether We take _Orpiment_ or _Sandaracha_, either of them will afford a _Regulus_ or Mercurial Substance, more pure than that of _Antimony_. The manner of extracting It _Lemery_ (132) has taught; and to This indeed the Mineral owes its great Ponderosity.

The Inflammability and Smell of _Arsenick_ are sufficient Proofs of its abounding _Sulphur_, which may without much difficulty be separated from It (133).

That it consists of some _Saline Parts_ we are assured by Its Solution in common Water (134); and it is upon the account of These that It does more happily promote the _Flowing_ of Metals than any other _Salt-Pouders_ which the Workmen make use of: Wherefore some have called It a coagulated _Aqua Fortis_.

From all this it appears, that Authors do vainly Dispute wherein the Noxious quality of _Arsenick_ resides, since the Case here is plainly much the same with that of _Sublimate Corrosive_; and as the Salts there, together with the Mercurial Particles, do compose pungent _Crystals_, so without all doubt the _Regulus_ of this Mineral gives a like force to the _Saline Bodies_, which without this weight could be but of small Effect. The main difference is, that in _Arsenick_ we have an addition of _Sulphur_, which does not only strengthen the Action of the other Parts, in that as a _Vinculum_ it keeps them united together; but consisting besides of many hot and fiery Corpuscles, promotes the Inflammation of those Wounds which the Crystalline _Spicula_ make in the Membranes of the Stomach.

Upon the Score of such a Texture and Make as this, _Arsenick_ makes no Ebullition either with _Alcalies_ or _Acids_ (135); and _as_ the _Regulus_ of It being cleared from most of its Salts, is by much less hurtful than the crude Mineral it self; _so_ on the other Hand, the _Factitious White_, in which there is a much greater Proportion of the Saline to the Metallic Parts, is the most Violent of all the kinds, superiour in Force to _Mercury Sublimate_.

The several Histories related by _Wepfer_ (136) do put this out of Question; It is sufficient to our Purpose to mention One.

A Dog having eat some Fat mixt with _White Arsenic_, died the next Day; The upper Part of the Stomach, when opened, was red and inflamed, the Coats thinner than ordinary, the bottom of It was covered with a fætid Slime, and some Pieces of Fat; the Thin Guts were so Corroded as to be Pervious in Three Places, Two of the Ulcers so large that they would easily admit a _Bean_. The Cavity of the _Abdomen_ contained a yellowish _Ichor_ tinged with Blood.

The Case being thus, one would wonder what should induce Authors to prescribe so Corrosive a Mineral to be worn upon the Pit of the Stomach, as an _Amulet_ against the Plague. This Trick we may well believe to be Dangerous, when _Lionardo di Capo_ (137) tells Us of a Child a kill’d by the Violent Vomiting and Purging, occasion’d from a slight Wound made in the Head by a _Comb_ wet with Oil in which _Arsenick_ had been infused; for the Pores of the Body being opened by Heat and Exercise, some of the Noxious _Effluvia_ may easily Insinuate themselvs into the Part; accordingly _Crato_ (138) observ’d an Ulcer of the Breast caused by this Application; _Verzascha_ (139) Violent Pains, and fainting Fits; _Diemerbrock_ (140), and Dr. _Hodges_ (141), Death it self.

The Truth of the Matter is, This Practice seems to owe its Origine to a Mistake (142), some of the _Arabian_ Physicians had commended _Darsini_ worn in a Bag for a Preservative in Plague time; This in their Language signifies _Cinnamom_; but the _Latin_ Interpreters retaining the same Word in their Translations (as was frequently done), one or other afterwards not understanding its meaning, and deceived by the likeness of the sound, substituted in its Place _De Arsenico_, as if _Darsini_ were all one with _Zarnich_. The Authority of the first Author served to propagate the Error; nor were Those wanting who reason’d upon the Matter, and found it agreable to their Philosophy, that this Mineral should draw to it self and concenter the _Arsenical Effluvia_ out of the Air, and thus secure the Body from their Infection; These being, as they imagined, the Common Cause of Pestilential Diseases.

Having thus particularly Discoursed of the Nature of these Two Poisons, I shall not need to insist upon any more out of the _Mineral Kingdom_.

All of _Them_ bear some Analogy to the former, and are more or less Dangerous, according as their _Salts_ receive a differing Force from the _Metallic_ Particles. For this Reason as we have observed, that the most Virulent may be mitigated by breaking the _Points_ of the _Saline Crystals_; so on the other Hand, the most Innocent Minerals may become Corrosive, by combining Them with _Salts_, as we see in the several Preparations of _Silver_, _Antimony_, _Iron_, &c.

Poisonous Plants.

To Proceed therefore to _Vegetables_; the most Notorious of _These_ for Venomous Juices among the Ancients were _Cicuta_ and _Aconitum_.

Our _Œnanthe Cicutæ facie_, _succo viroso_, which _Wepfer_ has described by the Name of _Cicuta Aquatica_, and of the dismal Effects of which in some Children, who by mistake did Eat of It, He has wrote a large Volume, was very probably the _Cicuta_ so much in use of old, especially at _Athens_, for _Killing_. At least the Violence of _This_ makes It a much fitter Instrument of Death than the common _Hemlock_, which is not by far of so Malignant a quality.

Tho’ we must withal allow differing _Climates_ very considerably to heighten or abate the _Virtues_ of _Plants_. And it is not altogether Improbable, that the Poison with which the _Athenians_ took away the Lives of Malefactors was an inspissated Juice compounded of _That_ of _Cicuta_ and other Corrosive Herbs (143).

But be this as it will; The Alterations which _Wepfer_ observed the Roots of _Œnanthe_ to make in the Body, were a Violent Pain and Heat in the Stomach, Terrible Convulsions, with the Loss of all the Senses, Distorsion of the Eyes, and flowing of Blood out at the Ears, the Mouth so fast shut that no Art could open It, Efforts to Vomit, but nothing thrown up, frequent Hick-Coughs, with a great Distension and Swelling, especially at the Pit of the Stomach; and when Death had concluded the Tragedy, a continued Running of green Froth at the Mouth.

_Stalpart van der Wiel_ gives Us the like account of Two Persons kill’d at the _Hague_ by the same _Roots_ (144).

In a _Dog_, who for Experiment’s sake died by this _Poison_, The Stomach when opened was found quite _Constringed_, and shut up at both _Orifices_, Its inward Surface red, with livid Spots here and there; The Intestines were empty; only the _Rectum_ contained a little greenish _Mucus_.

Thus it appears, that this Plant consists of Hot, Acrious and Corrosive Parts, which by Rarefying the Juices of the Stomach, and Wounding Its Nervous Membrane, are the Cause of all those Disorders which do immediately follow.

For upon the Sense of a violent _Irritation_ and _Pain_, the Fluid of the Nerves is presently in large quantities determined to the Part affected; and this, if the _Stimulus_ be not over great, will be only to such a Degree as is sufficient, by contracting the Fibres of the Stomach, and Muscles of the _Abdomen_, to throw off the Cause of the Disagreable _Sensation_; but the uneasie _Twitching_ being too terrible to be born, the Mind, by a kind of surprize, does with _Haste_ and _Fury_ as it were Command the Spirits thither; Thus the Business is over-done, and the Action of the Fibres becomes so strong, that the Orifices of the Stomach are quite closed; so that instead of discharging the Noxious Matter, The _Torment_ is made greater, and the whole _Œconomy_ put into Confusion.

This forcible Contraction of the Muscles was the Reason that one of the Children which _Wepfer_ saw, made _Urine_ in the midst of the Agony, to the height of Five or Six Foot, with a strength and violence Surprising to the Spectators.

Nor is it any wonder, if in these _Circumstances_ all Sense be lost, Blood gush out at the _Ears_, _Nostrils_, &c. the Parts being all torn and broke by the Violence of the _Convulsions_; which tho’ they began in the Muscles of the Belly, must at last prevail in the Members too, till the whole Fabrick is shock’d and overturn’d; and some of the _Corrosive Salts_ perhaps getting into the Blood, and by the Rarefaction of It Distending the Vessels, The Membranous Coats of which being already overstretched, will the more easily give way, and let out their Fluid.

The Case of _Aconitum_ is much the same; this is our _Napellus_ or _Monkshood_; and its Effects do so nearly agree with those now related of _Œnanthe_, that I shall not need to recite Them; the Experiments of _Wepfer_ (145) are full and convincing. And indeed _as_ all the _Histories_ which this same _Author_ has so carefully given Us of Trials made with several Vegetable Poisons, _Solanum_, _Nux Vomica_, _Coculus Indicus_, &c. on different Creatures, do put it out of all doubt, that the common Mischief of _These_ is a Twitching and Inflammation of the Stomach; _so_ it appears from hence, that _Virulent Plants_, although they may be distinguished even from one another by _particular Virtues_, do however _Kill_ by a like Operation and Force, which differs chiefly in Degree from _That_ of Noxious Minerals.

And therefore in order to know what the _Specifick Qualities_ of any such _Herbs_ are, they must be given only in very small _Doses_; and then perhaps it would appear, that they are not made (as some do imagine) to be Deleterious and Destructive, but for very Good and Beneficial Uses; as we do particularly Experience in the Case of _Opium_.

Nor is it at all strange, that the _Symptoms_ from a _Vegetable_, and from a _Mineral_ Virulency, should be so different, although of the same kind, and only of unequal force; for the more solid Parts of _Minerals_, eroding the Coats of the Stomach, induce a perfect Mortification and Gangrene, and thus do their Work at once; whereas the weaker Salts of _Plants_ can make but a slighter _Excoriation_, upon the painful Sense of which those Agonies and Convulsions that follow do rather gradually exhaust the Strength; and thus the Animal is not kill’d so speedily, nor with the same _Appearances_.

Upon this Score, tho’ Mineral Poisons do not pass the _Primæ Viæ_, Vegetable ones in some Cases possibly may; just as We find Those Medicines which have a great Degree of Irritation presently to induce a _Vomiting_; whereas the same _Twitching_ a little weakened suffers them to pass into the Intestines, and _Work_ downwards by Stools.

By this We may perhaps give some Guess at the Nature of those _Poisons_, with which They tell Us the _Natives_ in some Parts of _Africa_ and _India_ are so expert at Killing, that they can do It in a longer or shorter time as they please. These are most probably either the _Fruits_, or the Inspissated _Juices_ of Corrosive Plants, which inflaming the Bowels, may cause little Ulcers there, whose Fatal Consequences, we know, may very well be slow and lingering.

This I am the rather induced to believe, because an Ingenious _Surgeon_, who liv’d in _Guinea_, told Me, that the _Antidote_ by which the _Negroes_ would sometimes Cure Those who were _poisoned_, was the _Leaf_ of an _Herb_ which purged both upwards and downwards. For by this means the Stomach might be cleared from the adhering Corrosive Parts of the Venom. Yet I can hardly think it possible at the same time that they should be able, by varying the Composition or Quantity of the _Dose_, to ascertain the Time in which It shall Kill, to a Week, Month, _&c._ nor indeed have I ever met with any Person who could Attest This, to be Matter of Fact.

Tho’ repeated Trials and Observations may help one well practised in such Tricks to give notable Conjectures in this Point.

The Ancients indeed pretended much the same thing with their _Aconitum_, of which They seem to have made a kind of Secret and Mystery; as we learn from _Theophrastus_ (146), who says, _The ordering of this Poison was different, according as It was designed to Kill in Two, Three Months, or a Year_: But this he relates only as a common _Tale_ or _Opinion_, and not as a Story to which Himself gave any manner of Credit.

It is very plain; that the common _Cure_ of all _Poisons_ of this kind, must be by freeing the Stomach, as soon as possible, from the Corrosive Vellicating Particles, and defending the Membranes from their Acrimony, by such Things as are of a a Smooth, Oily and Lubricating Substance.

FOOTNOTES to Essay III.

(110) Ποικίλα μὲν γὰρ τὰ δηλητήρια φάρμακα, κοιναὶ δὲ καὶ οὐ πολλαὶ ἐξ ἀυτῶν γινόμεναι διαθέσεις. _Alexiph._ pag. 399.

(111) _Lucret._ lib. 5.

(112) _Galen. Simp. Medic._ l. 3. cap. 18.

(113) _Sext. Empiric. Hypoth. Empiric._ 1.

(114) _Cap. 24._

(115) _Wepfer de Cicut. Aquatic._ pag. 300.

(116) _De Venen._ pag. 21.

(117) _Can. Medic._ l. 4. Fen. 6. _Argentum Vivum plurimum qui bibunt non læduntur eo; egreditur enim cum dissositione suâ per inferiorem regionem._

(118) _De Morb. Gallic. cap._ 76.

(119) _De Morb. Gall. inter Autores de Morb. Gall._ pag. 599.

(120) Pag. 91. _& seq._

(121) _Trattato de Fiumi._ Cap. 1.

(122) Pag. 93.

(123) _Vid. Jaan. Baptist. Montan. Tract. de Morb. Gallic. inter Autor. de Morb. Gall._ p. m. 482. _Et Fallop. de Morb. Gall. Cap. 76._

(124) _Nicol. Mass. de Morb. Gall. Tract. 4. Cap. 2._

(125) _Argentum vivum accepi ex Osse Cujusdam corrupto, quem perunctum ab Empyricis plus decies ferebant, non semel emanavisse._ Anton. Gall. in Lib. de Ligno Sancto non permiscendo.

_Non semel in Sepulchris Argentum Vivum in Mortuorum Capitibus reperi._ Anton. Musa Brasavolus in Tract. de Morb. Gallic.

(126) _Museum_, p. 28.

(127) _Agricola de Natura Fossil._ p. m. 592.

(128) _Idem, Ibid._

(129) _Block Scrutinum Arsenici_, §. XIV.

(130) _Lib._ [smudge]. Εννέα γράμματ᾽ ἔχω, τετρασυλλαβός είμι, νόει με. Αἱ τρεῖς αἱ πρῶται δύο γράμματ᾽ ἔχουσιν ἐκάση, Η λοιπὴ δὲ τὰ λοιπὰ, καὶ εἰσὶν ἄφωνα τά πέντε. Τοῦ παντός δ᾽ ἀριθμοῦ ἑκατοντάδες εἰσὶ δὶς ὀκτω, Καὶ τρεῖς τρὶς δεκάδες.

(131) Nat. Hist. _l. 33. c. 4._

(132) _Cours de Chymie_, Part 1. Chap. 10.

(133) _Lemery_, ibid.

(134) _Vid. Eman. Konig Regn. Mineral._ and _Boyle_ History of Mineral Waters.

(135) _Grew_ of Mixture, _pag. m._ 246.

(136) _Cicut. aquat._ pag. 274. _& seq._

(137) _Incertezza de Medicament_, p. m. 82.

(138) _Epistol._ 68.

(139) Observation 66.

(140) _De Peste_, Histor. 99.

(141) _De Peste Londinens._ p. 239.

(142) _A. Deusingius de Peste_, Part 4. Sect. 3. c. 3.

(143) _Vide_ Wepfer, _Pag. 60._

(144) _Observat. Centur._ 1. Obs. 43.

(145) Pag. 176. _seq._

(146) _Hist. Plant._ l. 9. c. 16.

ESSAY IV.

OF OPIUM.

The Ancients having Experienced that _Opium_ would oftentimes Kill, though taken in no large quantity, ranked It with _Poisons_, and gave It the first place among Those, which from their Stupefying Quality They call’d _Narcotic_.

True indeed it is, that We do every Day find This to be, in a small Dose, one of the most Noble Remedies in the World. But it is not worth the while to engage in the Controversie warmly debated by some _Authors_, how far _Poisons_ are Medicinal; since it is notorious enough, that Medicines do sometimes prove _Poisonous_. And take the Matter as We please, it may serve to very good Purposes to understand the manner of Operation of so Celebrated a _Drug_, and help Us in a great Measure to ascertain Its Use in different Cases, if we are beforehand rightly apprised of Its Nature and Way of Acting.

In order hereunto, it is necessary, besides some other _Præcognita_, since one of the chief Virtues of this Medicine Is _Hypnotic_, to Define distinctly what _Sleep_ is, or rather, (to avoid Confusion and Disputes about Words) what Difference there is between an Animal Body when _asleep_ and when _awake_. For I suppose the _History_, _Manner of Preparing_, &c. of _Opium_, to be already sufficiently known.