you cry experto crede Roberto because Carolo would not stand in the latter end of the Verse if this Doctor was your Reason you might have put a Negative before it and then it would have stood in Prose viz. ne experto crede Carolo Leigh Why Because he 's under the Influence of that Fire in the Concave of the Moon I come last of all to your last Exercitation and could really wish the first had been the last for how much soever you may be pleased with your own Book sure I am it is an ungrateful task to me to read over such Stuff Page 119 you say In duas itaque tantum species nos Hydropes dividimus c. i. e. We divide Dropsies into two Species to wit Cholerick proceeding from thick Cholerick obstructing the Pores and Glandules of the Liver c. Bless me Dr. I wonder at you that you should trust to your own Head as long as you borrowed from Dr. Willis and le Grand you were pretty safe and came off pretty well But now we find a Notion of your own and really it belongs to you this Exercitation I never suspected you for but Dr. is this a Production of yours that in your Remarks could divide betwixt the North and Northwest side of a Hair and can you divide Dropsies no better nay Doctor look as gruff as you please you are basely mistaken tho' you don't know where and therefore in compassion to you I shall show you your Faults for the obstruction of the Glandules of the Liver are an Effect of an Hydropical Disposition and by no means the Cause of it for as long as the Humors are in a right State they pass through those Parts without Obstruction but when for want of Spirits and good Blood an Hydropical Disposition is brought on then the Blood degenerating into a more phlegmatick State consequently obstructs the Glandules so that it is evident if the Indisposition proceeds the Obstruction the Obstruction cannot be the Cause of what went before And now Dr. I have taken a short View of your Remarks and also of your Quinque Exercitationes and if we reflect on the whole we may see there is little difference betwixt your Exercitationes and them and now Doctor you may see how ridiculous your Exercitations would be were they Printed in English but is is well they are in Latin because none can read them but those that think them not worthy to be taken Notice of And here Doctor I cannot but admire why you should be so angry with every Body that is not of your Mind and of Dr. Leigh's Opinion for we may observe that you are not only very angry at me but even with Dr. Lister whom you Reverence but why should I wonder at it it is the Nature of Men in your Condition and truly I pity it withal my Heart and am sorry that you have lost the Use of your Reason And Doctor may I ask you this Question what Reason have you now to complain of my Age And pray who is the younger Physitian I don't say the younger Man you have long enjoyed a head which I by no means envy you for may the Pudenda of a salt Bitch divert you make your Observations on Pigs Mice and Bog-houses I shall not in the least envy no not if you should take a Voyage with Diego and his Spanish Geese to the Moon for they would be very agreeable Company only consider whether you are not too near it already Pray do and keep out of Bethlem if you can But Doctor how came you to write your Remarks in English I thought you had too great Thoughts of your self to writ any thing in English vvas it because vvhen you vvere peevish and cross in Latin no Body took notice of you if so really you have got your self taken notice of vvith a Witness for vvhen I received your Remarks at Brazen-Nose having never seen such stuff in Print before I vvas very inquisitive to knovv vvhat Part of the World liked it and vvhat they said of it vvherefore I asked the Opinion of a fevv of the Younger sort and truly they told me they thought such things had never been Printed but it made them Laugh heartily but vvhen I consulted Men of Sense they advised me not to take notice of such Nonsense and truly Doctor I had taken their advice but vvhen about a Month ago I came to London and heard that Dr. Leigh vvas the Jest of the merry Philosophers of the Tovvn and that you had so miserably exposed your self as to be taken for a Mad-man I thought it necessary to let the World knovv that Dr. Leigh vvas in Manchester vvithout Bethlem or a Keeper But I have Reason to think that there is another Reason why you writ your Remarks in English viz. Ob defectum alterius to Use your own Phrase This Dr. Perhaps may startle you but for all you have writ a Book in Latin it 's true and you have Reason enough to write in English for the future for when your Book was Printing at Oxford there was such obscure Latin in it that several People could not tell what you meant for which Reason you may remember there were several things sent down to you to alter before they could be understood and pray let us see what a polished Piece it is at the last Page 2 you have this Piece of Latin at hanc semper vellet esse veram quia desiderium pati non potest adeoque Dogma tenacissimum ni fallor usque ad Iracundiam eorum quae annis prioribus edidit quod in Philosophia est maximum malum se in numerum plurium adduxit truly Doctor it is as like a Letter which I saw a Mad-man write to his Physician as any thing could be for the meaning is so Dark that one can scarce see what you aim at and it so posed two or three Scholars in Brazen-Nose that there were as many Opinions about the meaning of it as standers by and therefore Doctor for the future write English that People may understand your meaning and never let Ambition make you write in a Language you know so little of Page 3 and 4 you say Qui se solum intuetur mater Philosophatur opinioni haud Naturae se credidit O the wonderful Obscurity observable in Dr. Leigh And how well he understands Latin Opinioni haud Naturae se credit pray Doctor have you forgot what you Learnt at School quem casum regunt verba credendid A Dative but you had forgot and writ false Latin against your Will poor Man But let me tell you were you at School you would be taken up and Whipt soundly for such a Fault what Credidit se Phy Doctor I thought you had been too old to be Whip'd but it seems not too old to deserve it but suppose it did not deserve Whipping it is not Sense for credidit se Opinioni haud Naturae is most absurd
and that the Sick or Healthful Person must be let Bood at an equal space of time viz. 5 or 6 hours after a moderate Meal Now to any Ingenious Gentleman it appearing thus by observing Nature that the Gouty Blood differs from Healthful thus by such Viscidity of the Blood and some white Coagulated Matter which swims upon it we must consider what is the Cause of that Viscidity and then we know what is the Cause of the Distemper The Cause then of this Viscidity is either Acid or Alkaly if it were Alkaly then the whole Serum of the Blood would be Viscid like that white Viscid Matter that sticks to the Blood because it appears the whole Serum abounds with Alkalies by mixing it with Syrup of Violets so that here his own Experiment confutes himself but that the Cause of that Viscidity is Acid is plain because drinking much Wine which is Acid or any thing which causes Acidities in the Stomach brings a Fit of the Gout on sooner and more violent and any Gentleman may be further satisfied that Acids are the Cause of Coagulated Serum because all Acids curdle and thicken Milk which is much of the same Nature with Chyle For a further Confirmation that this Viscidity proceeds from Acids I might here bring all those Arguments I used in Answer to what he said of the Gout in his Book of Alkalies and Acids but what he said there I have already Answered `and I have here shewed that he hath alledged this Experiment against himself and therefore I need not repeat what the Reader may easily turn to before From what I have said here it appears that the Result is this that in a Natural State the Blood abounds with Alkalies that is that it hath a great deal of Alkaly and but a little Acid so as to make it moderately tender and that in a Distempered State it also abounds with Alkalies but hath too much Acid mixed with it so as to make it preternaturally Viscid from what I have said it also appears that the Experiment he has alledged is only in reference to the thin Serum and makes no Proof of that Viscid Matter which is the Cause of the Distemper and in both Natural and Preter-natural Blood it only proves that there is no Cause of this Distemper perceivable in the Serum because it abounds with Alkalies and consequently Alkalies cannot cause the Distemper because they cannot cause Coagulation the Serum of the Blood being full of Alkalies in a Healthful State so that the Conclusion from the whole is that Acids abounding too much cause Coagulations and consequently thicken that Matter which is the Cause of the Gout So that tho' there is more Alkaly than Acid in Gouty Blood and in Respect of the Acid the Alkaly abounds yet since Alkaly in a Healthful Body does not cause the Gout but it is the superabundant Acid by Coagulating that Serum and Blood which causes those ill Effects in the Gout and because there is more Acid in Gouty than Healthful Blood the former in Respect of the latter abounds with Acids and the Gout consequently must proceed from too much Acid which causes those Coagulations Now from hence it appearing that his Experiment is not only invalid to his purpose but very strong against it and that he hath drawn false Conclusions from it and that too by an Observation equally as easy as the Experiment I shall proceed to take Notice how upon this fair Demonstration of his Ignorance he boldly values himself and not only so but imperiously and with Contempt rails at the whole Learned World as if he alone had gained the Victory when alas It is he alone that gropes so miserably in the Dark And what Usage must this Man deserve Who upon Grounds so slight tho' true and much more since they are false takes occasion to huff the whole World and to tell them no Body is in the Right but himself But that I may not pass too severe a Sentence upon him I shall take notice how he hath condemned the World without Grounds and then sure it cannot be thought unreasonable that he should have as severe a Sentence who hath given such just Reasons for it Page the 3. He says Every Gentleman is able to Reason thus with himself my Physician tells me my Blood abounds with Acids and upon that score gives me Alkalies to Mortify and Correct those Acids in my Blood But if my Physician should be mistaken and instead of Acids my Blood abounds with Alkalious Particles his giving me Alkalies must increase the Matter of my Distemper c. therefore since I have so fair an opportunity put into my Hands and by so easie an Experiment am capable of being Judge my self what Particles my Blood abounds with my own Eyes shall be the Judge whether Acids or Alkalies are to be blamed if the Blood abounds with Acids he ought to be kicked out of the Common-Wealth for endeavouring to impose upon Mankind This is the Sentence he thinks good enough for himself if it could be proved that he was mistaken I having therefore proved that he is in an Error may venter to enlarge a little and say he does not only deserve to be kicked out of a Common-Wealth but out of all Ingenious Mens Company and this Paragraph can no otherwise be answered than thus Every Gentleman is able to Reason with himself Mr. John Colbatch tells me the Cause of my Distemper is Alkalies and upon that score gives me Acids to Mortify and Correct those Alkalies in the Blood But if Mr. John Colbatch should be mistaken and instead of Alkalies the Cause of my Distemper should be Acids his giving me Acids must increase the Matter of my Distemper therefore I have so fair an Opportunity given me to see the Insufficiency of this Experiment by an easie Observation am capable of being a Judge my self and my own Eyes shall be the Judges whether Acids be not the Cause of my Distemper and truly it so plainly appears that Mr. John Colbatch is mistaken and that my Distemper proceeds from Acids that Mr. John Colbatch deserves to be kicked out of the Common-Wealth for endeavouring to impose upon Mankind Page 4. He says He hopes from Gentlemen he shall have Justice tho' Physicians have endeavoured to expose him As for Physicians they surely have Reason to expose him for a vain Pretender since he hath given such pregnant Proof of it and as for Gentlemen I have made it plain enough to them by an Observation as easie as they can wish that he hath no worse Usage than he really deserves and then what he pronounces is his own Merit And now the Reason is plain why Physicians have endeavoured to expose him to wit because he hath endevoured to expose Mankind when himself alone deserves it Pag. the 6th He goes on to value himself upon this Experiment and says an Ounce or two of Blood is to be spared in any Case and pray let People
no need I should make a Repetition here Page 77. By what I have said I hope I have freed Acids from occasioning the Viscousness of the Blood in Rheumatisms which Viscocity if it can be once taken of every one knows that the Distemper immediately vanishes but this is not done by Alkalies but by Acids as Tincture of Antimony and Chalybeates What he hath said he hopes is sufficient but truly I don't see that he hath said any thing to the purpose as Grounds of such hopes but if we believe him that Rheumatick Peoples Blood abounds with Alkalies more then healthful Peoples which is false it does not therefore follow that this Distemper is caused by Alkalies because Alkalies according to him cannot Coagulate without Acids so that it thence follows that as Acids differ in quantity more or less so the Blood is accordingly Coagulated and then we must conclude that the Coagulation depends on the Acids and then as I said before Acid Medicines would increase it But here to prove that Acids cure this Distemper he calls two Medicines eminently Alkalious Acids by which Rule he may say with as much Reason that a company of Statues took Barcellona from the Spaniards and if any Body should contradict him and say that they were Men he must Answer but they ought to be called not Men but Statues as I call them and this is just his Case to which I having before said enough I shall here say no more to it but refer the Reader to what hath gone before Pag. 79 80 and 81. He makes an Harangue that Steel is turned into a Vitriol before it can be carried into the Blood and consequently acts as an Acid upon it But granting it so I have already shewn what would be the Effects according to his Supposition viz To encrease the Distemper but as he is not the first that hath supposed it to work upon the Body by that means so he is not the first mistaken in that Point for Chalybeats don't cause such Effects as we see they do by being turned into a Vitriol but by absorbing those Acids in the Stomach and Pancreatick Juice by which means the Ferment of the Liver is more powerful and helps to correct the Acidity of the Chyle and the Blood not being supplyed with Acid Chyle those Acidities in it's Mass are soon altered and digested to a higher Degree of Maturity by a long continued Circulation and Fermentation Pag. 82 83 84 and 85. are filled up with two preparations of Steel which he account Acids and a story to tells us that Cinnaber which he once thought an Alkaly proves to be an Acid. But it only proves so for his Conveniency for there is no Reason that he gives for it and therefore we have Reason to believe that it is what all Learned Men know it to be for it does not only correct Acids in the Stomach but is of very great Use almost always where the Mass of Blood hath a manifest Viscidity And here before I leave this Chapter I shall observe that those Acids in the Stomach which he says Page 80 cannot get into the Blood till vitriolized is a Mistake for we may take notice that some People if not most that are subject to Rheumatick Pains and the Gout feel a manifest Acidity upon their Stomachs sometime before their Paroxysms and when that Acidity is carryed off they feel the dreadful Effects of it in the Mass of Blood But supposing it to be turned into a Vitriol a Vitriol is but a stronger Acid than that in the Stomach and consequently would do more Mischief than if it were not turned into a Vitriol as I have elsewhere shewn CHAP. VI. Of Consumptions THe last Distemper that this Gentleman pretends to give an Account of is Consumptions but if he had consider'd and understood what an Ingenious and Learned Tract Dr. Morton hath writ on this Subject he might have been ashamed to offer such a small Parcel of Nonsense But as there is no Reason in what he says so there is as little he had in Writing Page 89. He says my Reasons in short for the Use of Acids are as follow The Globules of the Blood being broken and confusedly mixed with the Serum by Reason of so many Acrid Alkalious Particles mixed with it and together with the Serum admitted into the small Glandules of the Lungs and not being capable of being discharged cause Inflammations there and by consequence Hectick Fevors What he means by broken Globules thrown into the Glands I profess is such a Peice of Philosophy that I neither see that it hath any Meaning or Sense in it for I have already shewed that those Particles of Blood which he takes Notice of swim in the Serum confusedly must be divided into an innumerable small Particles before they can pass through the capillary Vessels and consequently can do no Prejudice by being broken but suppose they were forced into Vessels which they ought not Acids by Coagulating the Alkaly would rather fix them there than remove them Nay allowing his own way of Assertion which I have before confuted viz. that Alkalies coagulate Acids it would not help him because those Alkalies in the Glands could not be removed according to his own Assertion but by Acids and what a Removal would it be when as his Acid Medicines were laid down in the Glands the Alkaly would coagulate the Acid and so fix it there as much as the Alkaly As for what he says Page 90 and the 91 of the Use of Alkalies I don't believe any rational Physician would ever give any Alkalies in such a Case so that here he might have kept this Advice to himself Page the 92 and 93 he makes a very simple Objection against his foolish Assertion and makes an Answer to it agreeable to so great a Peice of Nonsense but both of them being not worth while to take notice of I shall leave them to the consideration of those that think they deserve any thing else besides a sharp Reprimand Page the 94 He tells us a story that Riverius cured one of a Consumption by Conserve of Roses and Oyl of Sulphur by the Bell but any one may guess what a Consumption it was since the same Remedy will scarce cure an ordinary Cough From Page the 94 to the 100. He tells a long story of an old Man and a Pot of Oyl of Sulphur But that being nothing at all to this Distemper but a Story by the by to fill up his Book and least he should seem to say not only nothing to the purpose but to little for a Chapter of Consumptions I shall take Notice of it no further Page the 100 101 and the 102 he tells another story of a Man who that being bit with a Viper could not be cured by Alkalies and no wonder for no rational Man would depend upon a Medicine he knew not the Effects of in such a Case but would have immediate Recourse to a
almost tastes like Mace be of the same Taste with those Oranges the same Method they may take with all the Medicines he uses and if they find Juniper Berries c. taste like Oranges then Mr. John Colbatch is in the right otherwise they know he is mistaken But the last Medicine he mentions is Tartar Vitriolat but there is so little in that Medicin of it and the Effects of it will be so small that it is not much matter whether it be Alkaly or Acid. In his Third Case for Convulsions he gives Vitriolated Tartar Crem Tartar and Costor Ag. Paeon Rorismarin and Puleg all of which are known to be Absorbers of Acids and Correcters of them except the two first for they manifestly abound with a Volatile and Spirituous Oyl and if the two former were Acids yet the latter being of a quite contrary Nature and more in Quantity all that can be said of this Medicine is that it neither did good nor harm the one part of it answering the other and obstructing the Force of it and it was all one as if one should mix hot and cold Water together to cool ones thirst and if that Patient recovered it was not to be ascribed to the Vertue of his Medicine but the Mildness of the Cause of that Distemper which would have gone off as soon without it The remaining Pages of this Book are filled up with a Catalogue of Distempers sent to him by Dr. Jones who because Colbatch hath Imposed upon some part of the Kingdom would needs be seen in so Meritorious a Cause but what will not some Men do when they value a private Design before Truth and Honesty and an Account of the Use of Beverage at Sea but this being not at all to the purpose but to fill up his Book I shall only further take notice That Pag. the 86th He says he could never hear that the Peruvian Bark cured one Consumption neither from Apothecarys nor Phisicians but I can tell him that I knew more than one cured of a very Violent Hectick Fever only by the Use of that Bark and Balsamick Syrup in which it was given and a Composition of Laudanum Pil. de Styrace with Safron which the Learned Dr. Morton hath in this Phythiologia Having hitherto travailed through Clouds Ignorance and Absurdities through Contradictions Mistakes and Forgetfulness through an indigested Mass and a confused Congeries of incoherent Rubbish which though it is nauseous yet I shall not think a little time ill spent to undeceive the World from such a vain pretending Impostor that knows nothing but Nonsense and who and whose sole Support is Impudence and Boldness All that I have now to do is to examin his Treatise of the Gout and to shew what Absurdities and Mistakes he is guilty of there and the ill Consequences of his Erroneous Practice AN EXAMINATION OF Mr. John Colbatch HIS TREATISE OF THE GOUT Wherein his Absurdities and False Opinions in Physick are truly Represented and fully Confuted AS ALSO It is made evident that the EXPERIMENT he there alledges in Vindication of his Hypothesis is strong Proof against himself AND LASTLY That his Practice is very Dangerous though his ill grounded and erroneous Hypothesis were allowed LONDON Printed in the Year 1699. AN EXAMINATION OF Mr. John Colbatch HIS TREATISE Of the GOUT c. CHAP. I. In which are contained Remarks on his Dedication and Preface with an Application to Dr. Cole THE next and last Part of this nauseous Task that I have undertaken is to examin and lay open the Mistakes of his Book concerning the Gout but before I set about that there are two Things which lie in my way and which I must take notice of viz. a Dedication and a Preface The first thing I shall take a View of is his Dedication where he begins and says My Love to Truth and the Good and Welfare of Mankind have ingaged me in Publishing of the following Piece But however specious this Pretence is it appears that it is not for the Good nor Welfare of Mankind but on the contrary will tend to their great Destruction and the Ruin of their Constitutions since it will easily appear that it is made up of the same Materials that the rest of his Books are viz. notorious Mistakes and Blunders and such plain ones too that one can scarce think but that he was either conscious of them or very ignorant But as I would not have him thought to be quite so ignorant so I rather think that he was conscious of the Falsness of what he asserted and only did it with a Design to get a Reputation amongst the Injudicious which he designed to impose upon how much soever he exposed himself to the Ridicule and Contempt of the Judicious and Learned by his weak and inconsistent Falsities And truly thus far he is in the right It wants a much better Champion tho' he 's pleased to call himself a Champion to assert and defend a false Cause against so many Potent Adversaries who have Truth on their side for were he in the right all that could be said of his Book is that he is dully and foolishly in the Right but since it will presently appear that he is so much mistaken he is much less to be valued for daring and endeavouring to impose on the World But the remaining Part of his Dedication being most of it a Compliment to Dr. Cole which were it true would but sorrily recommend Dr. Cole to the Learned World I shall make Remarks on what follows and then make my Apology to Dr. Cole for presuming to shew the Absurdities of a Book which the Author tells the World tho' I believe falsly is agreeable with his Practice The Compliment bestowed on Dr. Cole is I presume to prefix your Name before it knowing that if you but please to espouse it my Business is done and the Conquest gained But I dare venture to say that though Dr. Cole should espouse his Cause which I believe he will not the Victory would not be gained since the Cause hath neither Truth nor Reason on it's side and here I shall for some Reasons make a short Apology to Dr Cole An Apology to Dr. COLE Learned Sir IT is now almost a Year and half ago since I was brought into your Company by a very Ingenious and Experienc'd Chirurgeon Mr. Geeke living in Salisbury-Court And Sir that Civility you were pleased to shew me and the Freedom you took in Conversation with me who was both a Stranger and so much Inferior to your self both in Learning and Judgment as well as Reputation gave me Reason to entertain such Thoughts of you as I believe one of your Years and Character might deserve And truly I had such an Opinion of you that I could not then imagin that you would ever be concerned in Patronizing of a Book that is not only False and Absurd but Weak and Inconsistent and not only so but rudely contradictory to all
the Expence of his Experiments is so chargable that it would be fitter to be carryed on at the Expence of the Nation Nay and he states the Charge too a Thousand Pound a Year would not be felt by the Nation O! what a mighty Projector He has a Thought as extensive as the Nation 't is a Wonder he is not sent for to Court he 'd put them upon Ways and Means with a Witness if not to raise Money yet to lay it out But O! Vanity of Vanities verily every thing in Mr. John Colbatch is Vanity No less than a Thousand a Year must be spent upon Experiments made by a Man who hath neither Discretion nor Judgment to make them nor Philosophy to direct him how to make and how to apply them Truly it is a Wonder and a great one too that the Nation does not take Notice of him for he would be a mighty Jest were he known to the bottom Pag. xvth He says we do now grope most miserably in the dark and it grieves me to the very Soul when I see People in Distress and know not how to help them Poor Soul But I hope he hath a Cordial and a most noble Acid by him to take a Lick of now and then or else he might pine away for he looks very thin and what must then become of all those Angelic Faces that brought such a mighty Qualm over his Stomach in the Small-Pox Ah! Beauty and Distress are two great Causes of his Grief but I believe Money is the Root of all the Evil. Really if turning his Books would do good poor Man though he does not understand them he 'd never cease to do it but it hath proved in vain and now he confesses himself ignorant and truly I think not without reason for through all his Books I have yet examined he hath groped so miserably in the dark that I had sometimes much ado to find where he was or what Cloud he was lost in he was so far from Truth and the Light which ought to be in his Expressions but God be thanked he 's come to Moon-shine at the last but his Misfortune is that glimmering Light has led him into a Wilderness where he is no better then in the dark having lost his Way in Experiments that he misapplies and makes bad Use of because he does not understand them But why must it be we grope in the dark Is Mr. John Colbatch more then one or does he speak for his Companions As for rational Physicians they are not so miserably in the dark but that they have Reason for what they do and know what to do tho' Distempers are sometimes so violent as not to yeild to proper Medicines But well may Apothecaries grope in the dark when they pretend to things they don't understand since even in the Light they mistake their Way most miserably Pag. xvi He says He hath grounded his Hypothesis upon plain Experiments and he expects an Answer should be backed with Experiments And so far I shall satisfy his Curiosity by and by Pag. xvi He says he remembers he said in his Essay of Alkalies he had not had many Patients and really the Number has not been much increased yet what little Reason then hath he to write upon a Subject where were what he says true as to his Pretensions in the Cure of Distempers general Rules are not to be made by a particular Constitution but since what he says is false he had much less Reason to be so bold and it is but a sorry Recommendation to his Book that he grounded it upon such small Reason Pag. xvii If People are once satisfy'd that the Bloods abounding with Alkalious Particles is the Cause of the Gout and other Distempers it necessarily follows that Acids are only proper to correct the said Alkaline Particles And further Pag. xviii He says I do assert that the Cause of the Gout is not the Bloods abounding with Acids but Alkalies But in Opposition to this Assertion I say I assert that it is not from Alkalies but Acids and this I shall prove from what he hath said of the Gout in his Book of Alkaly and Acids and because he desires that Arguments against this Book should be backed with Experiments I shall bring as substantial Experiments against his Hypothesis as he hath for it to wit the same and shall shew that he hath so overlooked these Experiments and understands them so little that he hath drawn false Conclusions from them and this I shall do when I come to his Book in its proper Place Page xix He asks if Acids abound in the Blood how comes a Dead Body to stink so soon every Body knows that Acids preserve Animal Substances from Stinking and Corruption But this relating to the Cause of the Gout I should answer it when I come to that Cause which he hath laid down in his Book But for once I shall answer this Question where it is asked for that a dead Body stinks so soon only shews that a Body in a Natural State abounds with Alkalies for a Body that is killed by some sudden Accident will stink as soon as one that dyes by a Distemper so that this proves nothing at all in Relation to Distempers Page xxiij He says He hath had wonderful and astonishing Success in the Cure of Fevers And truly It is astonishment to me for I wonder how any Body ever scaped with their Lives considering the Methods he takes in most Distempers but perhaps he used his Acids moderatly so that the Mischeif might be less conspicuous Page xxv He says I must needs confess that I have been the warmer in some of my Expressions that thereby I might exasperate those who are my professed Enemies to convince me of my Errors and if so he did well but he only saith this to suggest to his Friends that they must take all that write against him to be his Enemies lest they should believe what they say but I profess I am so far from being exasperated towards him or being his Enemy that I write only to detect such notorious Errors and for Truth sake and did it lie in my Power to make Interest for him in his own Trade I would do all I could to set him in it as far as he deserves it for I am sorry to see him grope in the Dark so miserably in a way he hath no Understanding to lead him and were I his Friend I should cordially advise him to follow Light rather than Darkness and like an honest Man to fall to his Trade again now he has broke that Impostume in his Head that filled him so much with Vanity and a corrupted Mass of dismal dark Thoughts But I am afraid he is not capable of Advice being so much blown up with Conceit that though a Wise Man would hear Instruction yet a Fool hates Knowledg as the Wise Man says Page xxxij He says If any one will by well grounded and
that they never fail to answer the end for which they were given us they are never guilty of deceiving us This Quotation I suppose is only to let us know that he hath seen Malbranch and must needs have a scrap out of him tho' nothing to his Purpose for what signifies it to tell People to what end their Senses were given them when he is only endeavouring to discover what Pain is but he and his Father are here for once mistaken for they fail to guard us from Injuries and very often deceive us they fail to guard us from Injuries so much that they are the only Causes that make Things Injuries that otherwise would not be offensive as every small Blow or bitter Taste every terrible Sound and threatning Word it is true our Senses are the only things that make us capable of Pleasure yet are those the Instruments which lay us open to as many Injuries and that they are guilty of deceiving us is plain since we have such an Instance in himself Pag. 17th He goes on As for Instance our Taste never tells us that bitter is sweet or sweet bitter our smells never fail of distinguishing heat from cold and cold from heat and so on and all these proceed from a Placid Vellication of the Membranes Pain proceeds from a Contraction of the fibers and Pleasure from a pacid Relaxation of them What he means by a placid Vellication and a placid Relaxation I believe is scarce common Sense but I cannot but take notice here how prettily and considerately Father Malbranch presides his Contradiction for first He says Pleasure and Pain proceed from a Placid Vellication of the Membranes and then that Pain is a Contraction and Pleasure a Pacid Relaxation but the Pain that Cold causes can scarce be a Vellication and a Contraction too there being as much Difference betwixt stretching of a Rope and twisting of it when they make them as there is betwixt hanging and not hanging whether he deserves it or not The latter End of the 17 and the beginning of the 18. He says And I do lay it down as a possitive Assertion that all Pain is caused by a Stagnation of the Juices which causes a Compression of the Membranes But here He is positive a little too soon for tho' it were granted that there were a Stagnation of the Juices yet Pain is not caused by a Compression of the Membranes but by Preternaturally affecting that which is the Sensitive Being which Membranes by no means are but since he does lay it down as a positive Assertion that all Pain is caused by a Stagnation of the Juices I that being granted lay it down as another Assertion that were there Reason to draw such a Conclusion from the Pain of the Gout proceeds from Acids for since it is the Nature of Acids to thicken the Blood and it 's Serum and since the more Acid it is the thicker it will be and since Acid will thicken the Serum and Alkalies will not and again since Coagulation make the Serum subject to obstruct it must needs follow that those Obstructions in the Gout proceed from Acids but because he appeals to ingenious Gentlemen I shall give an Instance that Acids thicken the Serum and consequently cause Obstructions and so pain that those ingenious Gentlemen may see the Truth of it and because he shall have no way to perswade Gentlemen that the Instance is not true I desire them for their own satisfaction to look back to the first Page of his Introduction where they have his own Confession that Niter is an Acid now almost any Gentlemen and I dare Appeal to them knows that upon taking cold some Peoples Heads will be stuffed with Phlegm or else they will spit a great deal of Phlegm which shews that Acids cause the Serum of the Blood to thicken and consequently obstruct and sometimes cause Pain in the Head but some People are not subject to spit Phlegm nor to the Pain of the Head and for those Gentlemen I have another Instance viz. that the Niter of the Air thickens most Liquids with which it is mixed as Blood c. And in Frosty Weather when it is Violent enough even Milk and Water will be Frozen which is a fort of Coagulation by a Mixture of Acids And here I shall let all ingenious Gentlemen nay and all knowing Women understand that Acid causes most Distempers for any Observing Woman out-does Mr. Colbatch so far that she knows taking cold which is caused by Acid Nitrous Particles causes People to fall into Rheumatisms c. And they know likewise that taking cold often occasions Stitches up and down in the Body in which there is Pain and consequently by Mr. Colbatch confessed to proceed from Obstructions And that they may know Alkalies do not cause Obstructions they must remember that the Serum of the Blood in Healthful People turns Syrup of Violets Green and consequently according to Mr. Colbatch abounds with Alkalies yet they are not troubled with Pain or Obstructions in the Pleurisie it is also observed that their Blood abounds with a siezy Gelly which Distemper happens often upon taking great Colds the Blood being thickened by the Acid Nitrous Particles of the Air and these Observations I have laid down because they are suited to the Apprehensions of ingenious Gentlemen and discerning Women who are imposed upon by him And I have another plain Observation that will satisfie all Observing Women that Acids cause Distempers for nothing is more common than that taking cold stops Womens Courses the Acid Particles of the Air coagulating their Blood and causing Obstructions and nothing is more common that that Children and young Women drive themselves into the Green-sickness by eating Fruit which Mr. Colbatch in his Appendix of Alkaly and Acid owns are Acids so that it appears very plainly to all ingenious People that are not Physicians that all Pain and Obstructions proceed from Acids and not Alkalies and consequently not only the Gout but Rheumatisms Scurvy Small Pox c. proceed from Acid and consequently are to be cured with Alkalies so that all that he hath said or has to say about the Use of Acids must be false and dangerous and I need not go any further in the Proof of it for all ingenious People are already satisfied only for the Authors sake I shall shew him what little Reason he hath to be so proud of himself for I would fain have him humble because Humility may correct a Multitude of Sins and God knows how much need he hath of it who alone can tell Quot aegros Autumno occiderit uno Or in other Words how many such a one as Mr. Coblatch hath sent to their long Home but truly Mankind takes less Notice of it because as he says Page 26. of this Treatise Quoniam successus ejus Sol videt Errores autem tellus opperiret In other Words those he hath not killed cry him up but those he hath overcharged