*

216 Historical Account of the Origin and Progress of Phyfic.

ufed for medical purposes by the an-that Mercury, triturated with hog's.-cients.

Chemistry was alfo ftudied at this time with great diligence, and perhaps engaged the attention rather too A much: Paracelfus, confidered as a phyfician, was grofly ignorant, yet heing pofleffed of fome chemical remedies which he knew how to make the most of, he acquired great reputation, and founded a new fect in phyfic, wholly divefted of common fenfe, which, nevertheless, fupported itself a long time, and did great injury to the B true fcience of phyfick.

Anatomy was now cultivated in a very particular manner, and this period produced feveral proficients, which have been justly celebrated ever fince: Sylvius Vefalius, Columbus, Valverda, Fallopius, Euftatius, Adrien, Spigelius, Andrea Dulaurentius, Jerome, Fabricius de Aquapendents, Gafpard Affellius, and many others, inriched the fcience, with many important difcoveries, though they feem to have confined themselves rather to the defcription of the bones, the muscles, and the blood-veffels, than to have enquired into the ftructure of the vifcera, which, however, constitutes that part of Anatomy which is of most importance to a phyfician.

lard, and led in frictions, was an ef hcacious and certain remedy for this deplorable evil: There is not any difeale, on which we may more fafely depend on the virtue of the remedy applied to cure it, in which the fagacity and prudence of the phyficians who invented and applied it, deferve greater commendation, or in which the efficacy of the medicine appears to greater advantage.

As to the fcurvy, there is no doubt but that it was known to the ancients; the Stomatate and Scelotyrbe, which Strabo fays were contracted by the Roman army, under Ælius Gallus, in Arabia, and the fame diforders, which, according to Pliny, infested the army of Germanicus beyond the Rhine, appear to have been the fcurvy: The enlargement of the spleen, the Lienes magni, and the convolvulus fanguineus, or ileos Hematites, mentioned by Hippocrates in many parts of his works, and the ofcedo, for which feveral remedies are propofed by Marcellus, were probably fcorbutic affections, or approached very near them: The fcurs DV, however, was never a common dileafe till within about 250 years. It is, in general, the difeafe of the wretched and the poor, of those who are ill fed, ill lodged, and cloathed only with rags and naftiness, especially when they are reduced to a state of languor and weakness by any other difeafe, which encreases the poorness of the blood. The rich, however, are fubje&t to it in their turn; for extremes meet, and in this cafe oppofite caufes produce the fame effect: The rich become fcorbutic by eating too much, by taking food that is too fucculent, by the ufe of made dishes and high fauces, and by the want of exercile, which concur to produce a vicious acrimony in the blood.

For the fame reason that Anatomy
was more cultivated, the opening of
dead bodies was more frequent, and
this practice afforded many opportu- E
nities of very interefting obfervations,
and discovered the feat of many ma-
ladies, which, before, was unknown :
Judicial Aftrology loft all its credit,
but Talifmans ftill kept their ground.

In this period two new maladies
appeared which till fubfift, the Pox
and the Scurvy: The Pox was a fo- p
reign disease, which the Spaniards con-
tracted in the inland of Hifpaniola, to-
wards the end of the fifteenth centu-
ry, and carried to the Neapolitan war
in 1493: There they communicated it
to the Neapolitans and the French, and
it has been fince extended to almoft
every other nation upon earth. This
difeafe was very violent in the begin-
ning, and, although it is become
much more gentle, it must still be con-
tid red as one of the greatest evils that
has happened to mankind: The phy-
ficians who faw it when it first broke
out, and were astonished at its ap-
pearance, fought incessantly for new
remedies to refift it, and at length
facceeded; after many attempts, and
many disappointments, they found

It is greatly to be wished, that as cer tain a remedy had been discovered for the Scurvy as for the Pox: There are, however, remedies which will cure it

Gow is not arrived at its last stage, and the patient will perfevere long enough in the ufe of them.

The principal medical writers of this period were Sennert, Etmulier, and Riviere. The works of Sennert may H'be confidered alone as a physician's library, and contain much more true medical knowledge than many modern performances of great reputation.

The fourth period begins with the difcovery of the circulation of the blood,

Historical Account of the Origin and Progrefs of Phyfic. 219

blood, or rather with the time when it became publicly known; the discovery thereof is generally attributed to Har

ay, in 1628; but one Michael Servet, a native of Villanova in Arrogan, a phyfician, celebrated for his errors in reli

gion, and yet more for the punishment

A

to which he was condemned at Gene-
va, taught in a book which was prin-
ted in 1553, at Viennes in Dauphiny,
that the blood was carried by the pul
monary artery from the right ventricle
of the heart into the lungs, that the
ramefications of that veffel carried it B
into thofe of the pulmonary vein,
with which they communicated, and
that the blood was thence drawn into
the left ventricle of the heart, then
from the diafole, and thence diftribu-
ted through all the arteries of the bo-
dy. In 1559, a treatife of anatomy
was published by Realdas Columbus, in

which the doctrine of the circulation

very fully and particularly explained: Several other authors wrote upon the fubject before Harvey, and the difcovery was carried to its utmost perfection by Andrew Cafalpinus, of Arezxo, in a work published at Venice in D 1593, entitled, Queflionum Peripateticarum, Libri 4. Queftionum Medicarum, libri 4. In this work the author ufet the word circulation, and explains it exactly as it is now taught and believed; it is therefore very probable, that Harvey, who was at Padua in the beginning of the XVIIth century, remained there five years, and took his degree of Doctor, heard of the difcovery, which had then been published many years, and afterwards appropriated it as his own.

E

The Scurvy and the Pox, which appeared in the third century, conti- F nued in this, and Mercury in frictions was used for the cure of the latter with the fame fuccefs; many attempts were alfo made to adminifter this remedy in a more commodious manner, but though fome of them fucceeded, the common way feemed to deferve the preference. This remedy is not certainly efficacious except a certain quantity of it enters the body; and the quantity required, cannot always be rubbed in without producing a falivation; many contrivances, therefore, Lave been proposed to obviate that inconveniency.

The remedies that, in this period, were added to the Materia Medica, were the bark, specacuana, and femi ruba; the back is a fpecific in intermitting fevers, but the unfkilful use of

G

H

it has produced fo many fatal confequences, that it is to be doubted, fays M. Aftruc, whether, upon the whole, mankind have been gainers by the difcovery: Ipecacuena attenuates vifcid humours, and has been found fuc

cessful in fome fpecies of the Dyfentery, but it requires yet more caution in the use of it than the bark; the femiruba, which was difcovered by M. Julieu, a celebrated physician at Paris, is given in ferous dyfenteries.

In this period great advances have been made in Botany by Tournefort, Vaillant, Linnæus, and Jufieu. Anatomy alfo, particularly that of the vifcera, has been greatly improved by Duverney, Hunant, Morgany, Malphigy, de Ruifah, Winflow, and feveral others. Chemytry has been reduced within its proper bounds by Sthal, Boerbaavé, Friend, Homberg, and others, and

Pharmacy has been difencumbered of the trumpery that so long loaded and difgraced it.

In this period, two experiments were made, which had objects of very great importance. One was an attempt to reffore youth and prolong life, by injecting into the veins of an old perfon, the blood of a young healthy animal; and the other, to prevent the dangerous malignity of the mall pox, by innoculation. The firft of thefe experiments, which was called Transfufion, perished in its birth; the benefits of innoculation have eftablished the practice in Spight of all oppofition that ignorance and fuperftition could make against it.

About the fame time that the circulation of the blood became generally known, a new fyftem of philofophy was propofed by Defcartes, which to tally fubverted that of Ariftotle, upon which the galenical fyftem of phyfick was founded; Defcarte's principles were in a fhort time univerfally received, and those of Ariftotle, were driven out from the fchool of physick with a zeal and precipitation truly furprising; and the phyficians declared, that there was nothing folid or true in all that had been taught or practifed before that time, as if a few difcoveries in anatomy, and fome reafonings in natural philo fophy, could overturn the whole fyftem of phyfick.

This ftrange revolution was fucceed. ed by univerfal anarchy and confusion, no common guide was followed, no authority acknowledged, but every one did that which feemed right in his own eyes, and there were almoft as many fyftems of phyfick as physicians. Some

who

218

Declaration proper for the LIBERTY SOCIETY.

pofthumous fermons of Dr Duchal, Vol 1. page 100.

who had adopted the principles of Defcaries, talked and thought only of subtile matter, which they introduced eve- "As religious liberty, and men's ry where, and made to act as they being able to act in all matters of reli pleased; to advance, retreat, and form gion, according to the dictates of their vortexes, and by this fubtle matter, A own confciences, is a most valuable they folved all problems, and explain-and effential priviledge of human na ed all phænomena. Others who were infatuated with chemistry, transferred all its operations into the human body, where they faw nothing but fulphurs and falts, acids and alcalis, ferments of every kind, fermentations, effervefcences, and explosions; others who B had zealously efpoufed the corpufcular philofophy of Gaffendi, imagined the blood and other animal juices, to contain atoms or corpuscles, round or angular, rigid or flexible, great or fmall, to which they attributed fuch motion's as were neceffary to explain certain c functions; and others explained the fame functions, wholly upon the principles of geometry, mechanics, and hydraulics. Happily this diforder fubfifts in our fchools no longer, the practice of medicine proceeds in a more rational and certain path, and admits only what is deduced from the known D ftructure of the parts, the functions of which are to be explained, what refults from the invariable laws of the circulation of the blood and the lymph, and what is juftified by the opening of a dead body, and authentic obfervations.

Mr URBAN,

ture, fo it is the highest piece of injuftice to trample upon, or invade the unalienable rights of conscience, to force men to act against the dictates of it, or to lay them under any pains, penalties, or civil incapacities on this account alone. It is a violation of the natural rights of mankind, and an outrageous oppofition to that dominion over confcience which belongeth only to God. God alone is Lord of Confcience; and as in all matters of confience, he hath made us abfolutely dependent upon himself, fo by that very appointment, he must have made us independant of all others. To him, as our mafter, we ftand or fall; and as we are to obey his commands, and do his will without referve, fo it is impoffible we should be under any obligation to obey the commands of any power upon earth, in oppofition to his and we are indifpenfibly obliged to fuffer any thing that can be inflicted upon us in this world, rather than obey fuch commands."

A declaration of this kind made by every fubfcriber, fhould be a previous ftep to admiffion into the Society, and E would of itself tend greatly to preferve and fecure the good purposes of the Society, and to abolish and dif countenance all uncharitable, narrow, or bigotted notions, or party views, in religious or civil affairs; whereby, at length, the Reformation fo long de fired, and neceffary, both in,the Church and among the Diffenters, and fo can didly urged and recommended in the Univerfal Liturgy, lately published, may be brought about; and true, genuine Christianity in doctrine, in dif cipline, and in practice, may be estab lished; which is the fincere with of,

Tden 2.9. in your Magazine for HE propofal of your correfponFebruary last, p. 71. feconded and approved in March, p. 132, engages me alfo to trouble you with a hint or two in favour of the propofed defign for a fociety in defence of liberty, which merits the encouragement of every F fincere friend to Christianity and Virtue; and it were to be wifhed, the fcheme were well fettled and patronized in this metropolis, and in every large town in Great Britain, where lefs focieties, to correfpond with the principal one in London, might be thought G fit to be established. A fubfcription for this purpofe, when the plan is fully agreed upon, will, I hope, not fail to be countenanced in like manner as thofe for encouragement of arts, refor mation of manners, &c. And as a preamble or preliminary declaration to be figned by every member, I would, with fubmiffion to better judgment, propose these, or the like words, prin cipally extracted from the excellent

A new difcover'd Remedy for the Cramp.

fwer the purpose without taking phyfic.
-I had, for many years, been trou-
bled with this diforder in a most fe-
vere manner, fo that moft part of my
time in bed was paffed in mifery: I
tried various remedies, fuch as halfam
of Peru, rosemary, holding a clod of
brimstone during the fit, and tying A
eel-skins about my legs, &c. I think
I may fay, that I received fome ease
from each of these things, at first
trial, but the good effects continued
but for a fhort time, and the pain re-
turned with the fame violence as be-
fore thefe temporary remedies were
ufed.

Near five years ago, being from home, and obliged to lie upon a very hard bed for two nights, tho' I could not fleep the first night, through the uneasiness of my lodging, yet I had no cramp; the fecond night I slept well, but no cramp. The lofs of my

B

219

be affured that, in a very fhort time, by ufe, they will find this kind of lodging full as agreeable as that which is fofter, and where the feet lie almoft as high as the head.

It may be neceffary to add, that, as the bed flopes fo much, fomething ought to be fixed at the bottom for the feet to reft against.

If any farther fatisfaction upon this head is defired, either by means of your Magazine, or by any gentleman fending to G. H. to be left at the PoftOffice in Worcester, the fame principle which induced the publication of this, will oblige the giving all information that fhall be thought neceffary. Herefordshire, Your confiant Reader, May 19, 1762.

Mr URBAN,

G. H.

Read very lately, in the public pa
Cafew days ago died Mr Thomas
I
pers, the following paragraph

old tormenting companion for two nights together, a circumftance I had not experienced for years before, fet me on thinking what could be the caufe. I could not recollect any other alteration in my manner of living, than paffing from a foft bed to a hard one, therefore imagined that might be D the caufe; & likewife reflecting that this diforder almoft always makes its attack in the night, I gueffed it must, in a great measure, proceed from the unnatural pofition of the body in a foft bed, where the body finks down, and the feet rife up.

1 immediately fet my joiner to work, and made my bedtead reguJarly floping, fo that there was about a foot difference in height between the head and the feet. I likewife put a hard mattrafs upon the bed: My project fucceeded, and (I thank God) I immediately got rid of my grievous pain, which I have not felt fince, (near five years) unless a few times, when through mistake of fervants, the feathers of the bed were left too full at the bottom, and by that means the feet railed higher than they fhould be.

If this fhould be looked upon, by the learned, as trifling, yet facts are ftubborn things, and will not bow down to the moft learned and ingenious hypothefis; and as this is a fact I know the truth of, humanity obliges me to communicate it to your correfpondent, who defires a receipt for the cure of this acute pain. As it is highly probable that this method may give him and others ease, in like manMer as it has done me, and they may

E

F

G

S-tt-n, a man of the fricteft integrity,
who ordered the following infcription
to be put upon his grave:
Tho. St-tt-n cives Londinenfis,
Naturâ et vitâ peccator miferrimus."

Now, it is evident, that either the author of that paragraph, or the deceased, must have afferted a down. right falfity; becaufe, if Mr St-tt-n was really a man of the friteft integrity, he could not be vita peccator miferrimus; and if he really was vita peccator miferrimus, he could not be a man of the friceft integrity. I can, however, readily believe, that the deceafed was a thorough good man; but being then conscious of his own integrity, was he not to blame to say of himself, vitâ peccator miferrimus ?

I am fenfible that many other good men are pleased, while living, to pro. nounce of themselves what can only be true of the worst of characters; Even when prostrate before the Throng of Grace, they will pronounce themfelves to be what God knows they hap pily are not. But is not this a mockery of God, and a violation of known truth-Humility, I own, is a capital duty of a Chriftian; but does it therefore follow, that a wife man muft think himself a fool, an honest man a knave, a fober man a drunkard, a chafte man á debauchee? The foundation of humility is felf-knowledge: He who truly knows himself, muft indeed know, that he has faults and imperfections abundantly fufficient to make him humble; but this knowledge is

furely

Remarks on the Infcription on St-tt-n's Grave.

furely no just reafon why he should
profefs himfelf to be exceedingly more
Imperfect than he really is; much lefs
why he fhould pronounce of himself,
wita peccator miferrimus, when he knows
himself to be an honeft man, I con- A
fefs, that, in eftimating ourselves, we
fhould take aim rather below the
mark, than what we judge to be di-
rectly at it; because our opinions of
⚫oarfelves are apt to be raised by self-
'love. But to defcend fo low as to

deftroy all diftinction of character B mult furely commit violence upon truth and a good confcience, and make humility, one of the moft amiable of all virtues, appear ridiculous and abfurd, and hypocritical.

[ We cannot help reminding this writer of what St Paul fays of himself, that, touching the matters of the Law, he was C blamelefs; St Paul, therefore, was a man of beftricteft integrity; He was indeed a perfecutor; but he fays alfo, that he thought be ught to do what he did against the name of Jejus; in this particular, therefore, his integrity was unimpeached; yet he afterwards calls himself the chiefeft of Sinners: Will he not admit Paul's example to juftify St--? D If not, let him tell us why.