speak of the Senses and their Organs Of the NERVES If Hippocrates's Anatomy of the Brain be very scanty he has yet less of the Nerves To understand rightly the following Remarks we must take notice that the Greek Anatomists that came after Hippocrates distinguished three sorts of parts which were before confounded the Nerves called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which are the passages of the Animal Spirits which communicates sense and motion to all the parts of the Body the Tendons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which come from the Muscles and serve to contract or extend the Members and the Ligaments 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which serve peculiarly to strengthen the Articulations of the Bones Hippocrates has given the first of these names indifferently to all the three parts so that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nerve did as well and as often signifie in him a Tendon and a Ligament He seems sometimes to mean by it a Nerve tho' according to Galen Hippocrates uses generally the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that signification There is a passage in the pre-notions of Cos where he speaks of (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 internal Nerves and slender Nerves by which may be understood the Nerves properly so call'd There is likewise another passage wherein those names seem to be given to the true Nerves (b) Lib. de Oss Nat. The Rise or Origin of these Nerves says Hippocrates is from the back part of the Head continuing along the Spine of the Back to the Ischium whence come the Nerves which go to the Privities to the Thighs the Legs the Feet and the Hands and distribute themselves even to the Arms one part going into the Flesh the other along the Bone (c) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Perone to the Thumb while it traverses the flesh to the rest of the Fingers It goes also to the Blades of the Shoulders to the Breast and to the Belly through the Bones and through the Ligaments There come also others from the Privities which taking their course by the Anus tend toward the cavity of the Hips proceeding afterwards part upon the upper part of the Thigh and part under the Knees they continue to the Tendon and Bone of the Heel to the Feet and some to the Perone and some others to the Reins Hippocrates seems here to speak of real Nerves yet when he comes in the same Book to assign the use of the Nerves which he designs by the same name he confounds them with the Tendons The Nerves says he serve to bend to contract and extend the Members In this later place the word (d) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nerve may perhaps signifie a Tendon whereas in the former it signifies a Nerve But if Hippocrates knew the Nerves he seems to have been a stranger to their use for in the same passage he gives there the proper Office to the veins By the whole passage we may see what he thought of the uses of some other parts The Bones says he give the form to the Body and support it The Nerves bind contract and extend the Members The flesh and the skin unite all the parts together The veins which are spread thro' the whole body carry (e) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Spirit the flood or facility of flowing and the motion By these veins which carry the Spirit c. we are to understand the Arteries by what has been before observ'd of the Office Hippocrates allots them There is yet another passage in the fourth Book of Diet where he speaks of the passage of the spirits through the veins and through the blood and observes that 't is their natural way Convulsions the Palsie sudden Speechlesness and Vertigoes are there taken notice of as effects of the interception of the spirits in the veins and the Apoplexy seems to be intended by the name of (f) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Interception of the veins See anon the passage at length in the Chapter of Blood-letting As for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which as we have said generally signify'd a Nerve we must examine the principal passages wherein it is found that we may give the truer judgment of it The following are the most considerable passages We shall first propose one wherein Hippocrates after having laid down some of the Symptoms that accompany a dislocation of the Thigh bone forward adds (g) Lib. de Artic. That in such a dislocation they feel abundance of pain and that there is a suppression of Vrine because the head of that bone presses upon very considerable Nerves so that it causes a Tumour in the Groin Galen upon this passage says (h) In Lib. de Artic. Comment 3. That by these considerable Nerves Hippocrates meant the Nerves which go along with the Vein and Artery thro' the Groin which are call d (i) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 considerable or of great power because they are near the spinal Marrow and come out at the same place with those that go to the bladder Hence it is that the head of the Thigh-bone being displaced this way the bladder it self suffers and such an inflamation arises that no Vrine can pass It sometimes also happens as Galen says That the Vrine is stoppâ—d with the greatness of the inflamation which reaches to the neck of the bladder and the sphincter Muscle and stops by that means the passage If the suppression of Urine spoken of arises from the compression of the Nerves design'd by Galen we should rather attribute this symptom to a Stupifaction or a sort of Palsie of the bladder than to an inflamation of it an inflamation being not so natural a consequence of the compression of the Nerves as numbness but Hippocrates himself seems to acknowledge that this inflamation is the effect of the pain preceding and this makes me suspect that by these Nerves he meant no more than the Fibrous and Tendinous parts of the Muscles of the bladder or near it We find in the same Book another passage wherein Hippocrates seems to design the Nerves by the name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If you would says he cauterize or burn the skin under the Arm-pits you must take care of going too forward or taking too much for fear of hurting some considerable Nerves which are near the Glands of that part Galen wou'd have it that Hippocrates here points at the Nerves that come from the spinal Marrow to the Arms and indeed it seems as if he cou'd mean nothing else Nevertheless what Hippocrates adds presently after perswades me that he designs nothing but the Tendons of the Muscles which draw the Arm downwards You must know says he that when you have lifted up the Arm very high you cannot lay hold on the skin of the Arm-pit at least not so as to extend it the Arm being lifted up the skin which was under the Arm-pit disappears or can't be pinch'd And you must further take care of the Nerves which in this posture
the great Artery only in all the succeeding Anatomists hâ—â— Hippocrates under that name comprehends the Vena Arteriosa also the Aortae These Membranes are disposed by pairs for to every Orifice Nature has fram'd three which are round above in the form of a Semi-circle Those that know these Membranes wonder how they can shut the Aortae And if any one (o) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which words Foesius translates thus Siquis veteris instituti probè gnarus mortui animalis corde exempto hanc quidem demat illam vero reclinet neque aqua in cor penetrare nec Flatus emitti poterit And Cornarius much after the same manner Siquis veteris eximendi cor mortui moris goarus aliam auferat aliam reclinet neque aqua c. Why these Translators render the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by that of Mos or Institutum which it does not signifie is a mystery to me it ought to be translared Ordo with relation to the Membranes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to Erotian is an Attick Word signisâ—ing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Order I explain alsâ— the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ancient by the term Natural 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ordo vetus seu naturalis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says Erotian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 auferat I read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 firmet which I suppose to be the true reading but that the former crept into its place through the error of the Copists misled by affinity of the sound of those two Words who understands the ancient Order or the natural Order and Disposition of this Membrane takes out one rank or keeps one rank stretch'd and closes the other neither water nor wind can get into the Heart These Membranes are disposed with more Art or more Exactness on the Left-side than the Right The reason of this is because the Soul of Man or the Reasonable Soul which is above the other Soul has its Seat in the Left ventricle of the Heart This Soul has not its nourishment from the Meat which comes from the Belly but from a pure luminous Matter separated from the Blood This Matter which serves for Aliment to the Soul is abundantly furnished from the neighbouring Receptacle of the Blood and casts its Rays round as the Natural nourishment which comes from the Intestines and Belly is distributed into all parts and for fear lest that which is contained in the Artery shou'd hinder the course of the nourishment of the Soul and give a check to its motion the Orifice of this Artery is closed as aforesaid for the great Artery is nourished from the belly and intestines and not by this first or principal nourishment But the great Artery is not nourished by the blood which we see as is manifest by opening the left ventricle of any Animal for we find it quite empty or find nothing in it but serous humour or a little Bile and the aforesaid Membranes but the Artery is never without blood nor the right ventricle This Vessel therefore gave occasion to the making of those Membranes for the passage out of the right ventricle is likewise furnished with Membranes but the blood moves upon that side but feebly This way is open on the side to carry the blood thither for its nourishment but it is shut towards the heart so that way is left for the air to pass insensibly from the lungs to the heart not in great quantities for the heat which in this part is but feeble wou'd be over-power'd by the cold the blood not being naturally warm no more than water which receives its heat from elsewhere tho most believe it 's hot in its own nature This Book of the Heart will give us the greatest Idea of the Anatomy of Hippocrates and his exactness but it is one of those that is not acknowledgâ—d either by Erotian or Galen What the Author says in the beginning of this Book of the passage of one part of the drink into the Lungs being a very ancient Opinion and maintained by Plato who must have it from the Physicians that preceded him of which Hippocrates was most considerable we might infer that the Book in which this Opinion is maintained is his but those who forged this Book might on purpose insert this opinion to warrant its antiquity We shall see hereafter further proofs that it is spurious in the Chapters of Aristotle and Erasistratus This opinion is repeated in the Book of the Nature of the Bones It is indeed amply refuted in the fourth book of Diseases but most Authors agree this later book not to be Hippocrates's We shall find something more of importance in the Chapters of the Fibres We have seen already three different Opinions taken from the Writings of Hippocrates concerning the Origin of the Veins there is yet a fourth and what is more particular This later opinion is to be found in the same book with the third I mean the book of the Nature of the Bones in which the Veins are derived from the Head The passage is this The veins which are spread thro' the body and which give it (p) See the Chapter of the Nerves the spirit the flux and the motion are all branches of one Vein whence it draws its Origin or it terminates I know not but supposing a Circle a beginning is not to be found Something like this is what we read in (q) De locis in hom sub initia another place There is no origin or beginning in the body but the parts are equally both beginning and end for in a Circle there is no beginning There are some other passages parallel to these (r) Lib. de Alâ—men The nourishment comes from the inward parts to the hair nails and outward superficies It goes likewise from the external parts and superficies to the internal All agree consent and conspire together in the body And a little after (s) Ibid. The great Principle reaches to the extremities and the extremities to the great Principle (t) Ibid. The Milk and the Blood come from the superfluity of the nourishment or are the remainder of the nourishment of the body (u) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The same word is to be found in the first book of Diet. We find there likewise these following words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to turn about 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gyration or turning round 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 terms used by Hippocrates to signifie the Mechanism of our bodies by an allusion to the methods used by Artificers of all sorts in their Shops The Circulations go a great way in relation to the Faetus and to the nourishment after the nourishment is perform'd what remains returns and turns to Milk and becomes nourishment to the Mother and afterwards to the Faetus And again the same way which leads upwards leads also downwards or there is but one way which goes both upwards and downwards
less noble by the mothers side as being the 19th descendant from Hercules He was not content with learning Physick under his Father he had Herodicus above-mention'd for his Master in that faculty He was likewise the disciple of Gorgias the Sophist Brother to that Physician and according to some of Democritus the Philosopher as we gather from the above-cited passage of Celsus But if he learnt any thing of this latter t was in all probability by the conversations chiefly which he had with him when he was intreated by the Abderites to come and cure this Philosopher It is likewise credible that he was a follower of Heraclitus as we shall see hereafter If Hippocrates was not looked upon to be the first inventor yet all antiquity gives him this honour at least of being the first that re-established it after Esculapius and his Sons It may also be affirmâ—d that by the great reputation he acquir'd he has effac'd the glory of all that preceeded him except the God of Physick himself so that in the History of Physick we cannot conveniently stop any where between the God and him or make any considerable Epoch but in passing all at once from one to the other altho there was above seven hundred years difference between them Pliny makes Hippocrates the author of Clinic Physick which we have ascrib'd to Esculapius for 't is not probable that it was so long before the custom began of visiting the Sick in their bed but what distinguishes this Physician so eminently from those that came before is that according to the observation of the same author (b) Primus Hippocrates medendi praecepta clarissimè tradidit lib. 26. cap. 2 he is the first that clearly laid down the precepts of Physick reaping great advantage from the knowledge of the age he liv'd in and making Philosophy servicable to Physick and Physick to Philosophy (c) Lib. de decenti habitu We ought to joyn says the same Author Philosophy with Physick and Physick with Philosophy for a Physician that is a Philosopher is equal to a God Upon this account the (d) The Greeks called 'em 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Reason or Ratiocination and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Opinion or doctrine The Empâ—i al Phâ—sician◠〈◊〉 claim to him likewise Dogmatick or Reasoning Physicians call'd so in opposition to the Empirics have unanimously own'd him for their head as being the first that assisted reason with experience in the practice of Physick The Philosophers mention'd by us in the preceeding Book were well enough vers'd in the art of reasoning but wanted experience or practice Hippocrates is the first person who possess'd both one and the other This may seem to contradict what I have already advanc'd upon the credit of Celsus viz. that Hippocrates separated Physick from Philosophy For a Salvo to this seeming contradiction we need only suppose that Hippocrates who was descended of a Family where he as it were suck'd in Physick with his Milk finding this Art in the hands of Philosophers who had lately engross'd it to the prejudice of the Asclepiadae thought there was no better way to support the declining honour of his house than by using his utmost efforts besides the knowledge deriv'd to him by tradition to acquire all that learning which gave these new Physicians so great a reputation in the world But after he had made himself Master of it he openly declar'd that altho the lights of Philosophy were very serviceable to give a man a just Idea of things and to conduct methodically and in the right way such as design'd to carry arts to perfection yet however that Philosophy was not sufficient of itself to perfect a man for all professions if he did not descend to the particulars which did not belong to its jurisdiction that Philosophy had nature in general for its object but that Physick in a special manner applies itself to nature as it had a relation to man whom she consider'd under the different circumstances of health and sickness that it did not follow that a man must be a Physician because he was a Philosopher unless he had study'd humane body in particular and instructed himself in the several changes that befall it and in the proper methods to preserve or restore that since 't is impossible to acquire this knowledge without long experience he ought to employ his whole time this way and quit the general name of a Philosopher for that of a Physician tho this oblig'd him by no means to forbear Philosophizing in his profession And this is what Hippocrates meant by joyning Philosophy with Physick and Physick with Philosophy CHAP. II. Of the Philosophy of Hippocrates IF we may believe (a) De Nat Facult lib. 1.8 2. De deecret Hipp. 5. Methâ—d med lib. â—e Element 9. Galen Hippocrates no less deserved the first place among the Philosophers than the Physicians He likewise affirms that Plato has rejected none of Hippocrates's opinions that the writings of Aristotle are only a Comment upon the Physiology of the latter and that Aristotle is nothing but the interpreter of Hippocrates and Plato from whom he borrow'd his Doctrine of the first qualities â—ot cold dry and moist T is true Hippocrates seems in some places to declare for the four Elements air water fire and earth This at least must be acknowledg'd that in his Book of the nature of man he opposes those Philosophers who only maintain one But he establishes another system in his first Book of Diet where he makes mention of no more than two principles fire and water one of which gives motion to all things and the other nourishment and encrease These contradictions with some others that we shall take notice of hereafter proceed from the many interpolations in the works of Hippocrates The passage we cited last is one of those which anciently were suppos'd to belong to another Author What is more certain and of greater importance to the business in hand Hippocrates makes it appear in most of his Writings that he acknowledges a general principle which he called nature to which he ascrib'd a mighty power Nature is of it self sufficient to every animal and that in all respects She performs every thing that is necessary to them without needing the 〈◊〉 instruction from any one how to do it Upon this foot as if nature had been a principle indued with knowledge he gives her the title of just he ascribes a (c) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For Power Faculty or Virtue It is sometimes employ'd to signify the heighth of ' em virtue or virtues to her that are as it were her Servants (d) Lib. de alimento There is says he one only faculty and there are more than one 'T is by these faculties that all operations are perform'd in the bodies of animals They distribute the blood the spirits and heat thro all parts which by this means
receive life and sensation He affirms elsewhere that it is this faculty which gives nourishment preservation and growth to all things The manner wherein nature acts or its most sensible administration by the means of the faculties according to him consists on one side in attracting what is good and agreeable to each species and in retaining preparing or changing it and on the other side in rejecting whatever is superfluous or hurtful after she has separated it from the good The Physick of Hippocrates generally turns upon this hinge as also upon that inclination which as he supposes every thing has to be joynâ—d with what agrees with it and to remove from all that is contrary to it self supposing first an affinity between the several parts of the body which is the reason that they sympathize reciprocally in the ills they suffer as they share the good that arrives to them in common according to the great Maxim which he establishes (e) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that every thing concurs consents and conspires together in the body with relation to the animal O Economy as we shall find more particularly in the following Chapter Thus I have shown what it is that Hippocrates calls nature He no otherwise describes this principle of so many surprizing operations unless it be that he seems to compare it to a certain heat whereof he speaks after this manner (f) De Carâ—â—bus What we call heat or hot seems to me to have something of immortal in it that understands all that sees and knows as well what is present as what is to come At least we find a great resemblance between the effects which he ascribes to that heat of which more hereafter and those which he attributes to nature As for the rest altho Hippocrates acknowledges in some places fire water air and earth or fire and water in particular to be the first elements of the bodies yet he seems in others to admit three different principles the solid the liquid or the humid and the Spirits which he explains otherwise (g) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Equidem lib. vi sect viii by the container the contained and that which gives motion But as he particularly made use of these principles to explain all the accidents of humane body we shall forbear to give his meaning of them till we come to that Chapter In one of Hippocrates's Books which is entituled of Flesh (h) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the latter is more natural and answers the subject of the Book better according to others of principles we find something very singular concerning the formation of the universal world and of Animals in particular He at first supposes that the production of man or his being that he has a Soul that he is in health or that he is sick all his good and ill fortune in the world that he is born or dies to proceed from things (i) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 elevated and above us or the coelestial bodies By this we may understand the Stars the influences of which according to this Author have no small power over humane bodies But he explains himself when he ascribes all the above-mention'd things to that immortal heat of which above that is generally suppos'd to be the same thing with what he calls nature in other places The greatest part of the heat continues he that I have describ'd having gainâ—d the highest place at the time of the Chaos form'd that which the ancients call'd the Aether another part of this heat or the greatest part of the heat which remain'd continuing in the lowest space which is call'd Earth there was a meeting of Cold and Dry there and a great disposition to motion A third part keeping the middle space between the Aether and the Earth made what we call the Air which is likewise somewhat hot At last a fourth part that lay nearest to the Earth and was the thickest and most humid of all form'd what we call water All these things having been jumbled together by a circular motion at the time of the above-mention'd Chaos that portion of heat which continu'd in the earth being dispers'd into several places and divided into several parts in one place more and less in another the earth was dried up by this means and form'd as it were (k) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 membranes or tunicles in which the matter growing hot as it were by a sort of fermentation that which was most oyly and least moist was quickly burnt and so form'd the Bones but that which was more viscid and in some measure cold not being combustible form'd the Nerves or rather the Tendons and Ligaments which are hard and solid As for the Veins they were form'd of the coldest and most viscid parts the more glutionous parts being dry'd by the heat and from thence came the Membranes and Skins of which they are compos'd The cold particles which had nothing in them oleous or viscid being dissolv'd produc'd the humour or liquor which these Membranes inclose The Bladder with its contents were form'd after the same manner as were also all the other cavities In those parts continues Hippocrates where the glutinous exceeds the fat the Membranes are made and in those where the fat is stronger than the glutinous Bones are produc'd The Brain â—â—ing the (l) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Capital City seat or proper place of cold and glutinous which the heat cou'd neither dissolve not burn t is first of all formed of the membranes in its supersâ—â—e and afterwards of bones by the means of a small portion of fat which the heat had roasted the marrow of the back-bone is made after the same manner being cold and glutinous like the brain and consequently very different from the marrow of the bones which being only fat is not cover'd with any membranes The heart having likewise a great deal of glutinous matter in it became haâ—d and glutinous flesh inclos'd in a membrane and hollow The Lungs being near the heart are thus formed The heart by its own heat presently dries up the most viscid part of the moisture makes a sort of scumm full of Pipes and Channels being likewise filled with divers little veins The Liver is made of a great quantity of moist and hot that has nothing fat or viscid in it so that the cold being too strong for the hot the humid is coagulated or thicken'd Upon the same foot Hippocrates reasons about the production of the Spleen the Reins and some other parts What we have already cited may serve to give a Specimen of his manner of Philosophizing Upon which I make this reflection that this System of Hippocrates seems to be not very different from that of Heraclitus the heat by which the former supposes all things to have been produced being very near the same thing with fire which according to the latter was the origine or principle of all Bodies as we have observed above
(w) De Loc. in Hom. All the Veins communicate and run one into another for some are joyn'd immediately together others communicate by small veins which run from the Trunk of one to another and which serve to nourish the flesh (x) De Natur. hom There are a great number of different veins which come from (y) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So read all the MSS. says Foesius Yet Galen reads 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the Vena Cava the Ventricle or Belly by which the nourishment is conveyed into all the parts of the body The same nourishment passes also from the great veins as well internal as external to the belly and the rest of the body These veins supply one another reciprocally with nourishment those without to those within and those within to those without (z) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epidem lib 6. sect 6. The flesh draws from the belly and likewise from without and our senses discover to us that all the body is transpirable from within to without and from without to within Hippocrates speaks in another place of the (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De Diet. acut See the whole passage at length in the Chapter of Blood letting rest of the blood and spirits in the Vessels which supposes a precedent motion We have both related and render'd as exactly as possible the foregoing passages concerning the motion of the blood spirits and nourishments in the body because they seem to point at the most considerable Anatomical discoveries of our Age. Hippocrates did unquestionably acknowledge a sort of circulation of the blood and humours the aforecited passages are in express words He uses also in another place a term by which the Greeks used to signifie (b) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lib. de humor in prin the reflux of the Sea to express the return of the humours from the skin to the centre of the body It is necessary here to avoid a fallacy in giving to Hippocrates the honour of a discovery reserved to our Age to make the following Remarks It is apparent that this ancient Physician held this flux and reflux or this circulation to be made thro' the same Vessels which carry'd and brought back indifferently from the Centre to the Circumference and from the Circumference to the Centre again As for what escaped the known Vessels it pass'd according to him (c) De morb lib. 4. thro insensible channels and ways undiscoverable which yet were open as long as the Animal liv'd according to the principles laid down by him and related by us that all consents conspires and agrees together in the body or that all is transpirable from within to without and from without to within If these Principles served his turn in this case the attraction spoken of before and the faculties subservient to Nature brought him off easily for the rest that is that the motions of the blood and humours were usually determined by necessity and attraction (d) De Nat. â—uer The blood says he which by the order of nature descends but once a month to the Womb flows thither every day while the (e) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Seed or Faetus therein contained draws what is necessary for it according to its strength and has its respiration greater or less at first the respiration of the Faetus being very small little blood comes from the Womb but as by this respiration increases the Faetus draws more blood and it descends in greater quantities into the Womb. Nor does the Faetus only draw but all the parts likewise (f) De Morb. lib. 4. The Ventricle or Stomach says Hipporates elsewhere is a fountain which furnishes all the body when it is full but when it is empty it draws in its turn from the body which exhausted it The Heart the Spleen the Liver and the Head are the fountains which supply the other parts and in their turns draw from them There are in Hippocrates a hundred passages like these some of which we shall take notice of in the sequel The Office of Nature or the Faculties is according to him to regulate the attraction and provide for all the necessities of the Animal Nature as we have observed or its Faculties nourish and make every thing to grow and increase We shall add but a word or two more upon the subject of the motion of the blood in the Veins and Arteries by which we may judge of the Idea Hippocratet has had of it There are says he (g) De loc in Hom. This Book is by universal consent agreed to be genuine two other (h) By this name Hippocrates understands as well the Arteries as Veins veins which beat continually these veins are the only ones in the body that contain no blood for the blood turns from ' em Now that which turns away or returns is a contrary motion to that which comes forward on that side so that the first retiring or withdrawing from these veins and that which comes from above endeavouring to descend they do not agree but push one another by turns and mix and circulate one with another which produces the pulsation or beating of these veins We say nothing at present of the extraordinary motions of the blood and humours we reserve them for the next Chapter I know that some of the greatest (i) Riolan and several others Anatomists and Physicians of the Age Men very learned in the Languages and all sorts of Literature have done and yet do believe that the aforecited passages go abundance further We shall have occasion to examine their Opinion in the Second Part of this History Of the BRAIN (k) Lib. de Gland Galen supposes this Book to be spurious The Brain is reckoned by Hippocrates among the Glands because it appeared to him of the same nature being white fryalble and spungy as they were And he believed that the Brain sucked up the superfluous humours of the body like the other Glands which being all of a spungy nature imbibe says he moisture easily But there is this further of the Brain That the Head being hollow and round draws incessantly like a sort of Cupping-glass the moisture from the rest of the body which rises in the form of a vapour after which it being over-charged it sends it down to the lower parts especially the Glands from whence come Defluxions and Catarrhs Hippocrates in some other places makes the Brain (l) Lib. de Morb. sacro the Seat of Wisdom and Vnderstanding altho' as we have seen before he lodges the (m) Lib. de Corde Soul which is the same thing with the (n) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vnderstanding in the Left Ventricle of the Heart Hippocrates takes notice elsewhere that the Brain was (o) De loc in hom cloathed with two Membranes the one thick and the other thin We shall have further occasion to speak of the Brain and its Membranes when we
transparent the light and luminous bodies are (f) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reflected and by this reflection vision is made Vision is not made by what is not Diaphanous and does not reflect The rest of the white about the eye is a sort of flesh and what we call the sight appears black because it is deep The Tunicles which are about it are black for the same reason We call says he a Membrane or Tunicle that which is like a skin which is no way black of it self but white and transparent As for the moisture which is in the eyes it is something viscid for we have sometimes seen after the breaking of the eye that there came out a thick humour which is liquid while it is warm but solid as Incense when it is cold Those that think that Hippocrates knew as much as we do now may say that he called the Optick Nerves veins 'T is true this name signifies variety of things in this Author for he gave it not only to the Arteries but likewise to the Vessels which contained no blood such as the Ureters because they are round long hollow and white like veins He does indeed sometimes distinguish certain veins by the Epithet of (g) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 veins that hold blood but 't is not in opposition to the Nerves but to certain Vessels which he calls (h) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lib de Ossium Nat. veins that are very slender and contain but little blood He talks also of a Nerve full of blood which according to Erotian shou'd be a vein tho' others understand by it the Panniculus Carnosus A learned Interpreter of Hippocrates pretends that he gave to some veins the Epithet of hollow to distinguish them from veins that were (i) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vid. Foesii Oâ—comom Hippâ—c invoce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 solid but I find not this later word in Hippocrates tho the hollow veins there cited might be meant of the veins and arteries in general which are both hollow Vessels The same Interpreter says elsewhere (k) Id. in voce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Hippocrates in one place comprehends under the name of Veins Nerves Tendons and Ligaments which he appears not to me to prove Rusus Ephesius tells us That the most ancient Greeks call the Arteries Nerves if it be true that Hippocrates called the Optick Nerves veins he ought to have said that the Ancients reciprocally called the Nerves by the names of Arteries and Veins All that we can gather from all this is that the inaccurateness of Hippocrates and other Authors of those Times in distinguishing different Vessels by different names shews that they had but a very superficial knowledge of them Perhaps the word (l) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vein was a term as general amongst them as (m) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that of Vessel amongst the Anatomists since which signifies indifferently a Vein Artery or Nerve or even the Vreters or any other parts that serve for the conveyance of Liquors or Spirits If it were so the Ancients run no risque when they call all the Vessels veins without distinction Of the FIBRES Before we quit the Nerves we must examine the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whose plural makes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which it is pretended that Hippocrates signify'd equally a Fibre and a Nerve Some says Erotian will have this word to signifie a Nerve others explain it only of the Fibres whereof the Nerves are composed The Greek Authors that have written of Plants have call'd by this name the Nerves or Strings which appear on the back of Leaves and the strings at the end of Roots The Anatomists have given the same name to the small strings which are in the flesh and other parts and the Latins have translated it Fibrae Hippocrates has undeniably used the word in that sense as when he observes that the Spleen is full of strings or fibres He takes notice also of the Fibres in the blood but it is pretended likewise that he signified the Nerves by it To prove it a passage is cited where he says (a) De Ossiâ—m Natur. That the heart has Nerves or Fibres which come from all the Body He uses there the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we find no where else but Foesius reads 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This latter word may as well be rendred Fibre as Nerve that which inclines us to the later signification is what he adds as a proof That the Seat of Thought is rather about the Thorax than any other place of the body because this agrees with the opinion of those who bring the Nerves from the Heart as we shall see hereafter But perhaps neither the common reading nor that of Foesius are true And we ought to read with Cornarius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 habenas the Reins changing one letter it alters not the pronunciation This Author translates this passage thus The Heart is situated as in the Streights of a passage that it may hold the Reins for the guidance of the whole Body For this reason Thought has its Seat about the Thorax or Breast rather than any other part The changes of colour also are produced by the opening and shutting of the veins by the Heart when it opens them it looks fresh and lively when it shuts them we become pale and wan Of the MUSCLES There is little more to be found in Hippocrates concerning their Muscles than their name The following passage is the first that takes notice of them (a) Lib. de Arte. The parts whose flesh is turn'd round which is what we call a (b) MuÌ„s Muscle have all a belly or a cavity (c) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For all that is not composed of parts of a different nature whether it be covered with a Membrane or whether the flesh covers it all that is hollow and while it is well it is full of spirit but when it is diseased it is fillâ—d with a sort of water or corrupted blood The Arms have flesh of this sort the Thighs and the Legs the same as well as the most meagre and fleshless parts We find in another place the word (d) De Off. Nat. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which can be nothing but an Adjective to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is understood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Musculi adductores or adstrictores The Muscles which serve to draw back or gather together He speaks there of the Anus I know not whether there be any other particular wherein the action of the Muscle is touch'd As for the names the succeeding Anatomists distinguish'd the Muscles he has spoken in one place of the Muscle call'd (e) Lib de Artic Psoas Of the Oesophagus of the Stomach or Ventricle and of the Guts (a) Lib. de Anatom The Oesophagus according to Hippocrates is a Tunnel which reaches from the Tongue to the Stomach which is the
good Age but not the second which according to our Author must necessarily die in its entrance into the World or presently after The reason that he gives of this difference is That seven months after conception the Child in the Womb being perfectly form'd and already pretty strong altho' it has some time to grow moves very vigorously which causes the Membranes in which it is involv'd to stretch a little as we see the Ears of Corn open some time before the Grain is ripe It happens sometimes that this distention being greater than the Membranes can bear they break and the birth must follow This Birth being too early most of them that are born at that time die immediately But as we have observed the Infant having at that time his body compleatly form'd some however escape with due care As for those that remain longer in the Womb after the relaxation of the Membranes Hippocrates supposes that the strong efforts they have made renders them weak and sick for forty days so that if they are born in that time the fresh efforts which they are oblig'd to make to force their way into the World quite ruins their strength and certainly kills them whereas those that out-stay the term especially those that have forty days more to recover in being born in full strength easily survive These two forty days are the last of seven which Hippocrates supposes to pass between the time of the conception and the birth of Children who come according to the ordinary course of Nature He supposes at least that if the Child does not stay the full seven times forty days which carries the time of birth ten days over nine months reckoning as he does thirty days to a month it ought at least to be enter'd into the last forty days as those are that are born between the beginning and end of the ninth month He thought likewise that it was sufficient for Children that came in the seventh month that they were enter'd into the seventh For which reason he puts those that are born at the end of one hundred and eighty two days and a small part of a day in the number of those Children that comes at seven months compleat tho' this number of days after his way of reckoning makes but six months and two days and wants eighteen days to compleat the fifth forty That which perswaded Hippocrates that Children born at seven months were more likely to live than those born at eight and that seven times forty days were required between conception and a mature birth was That he supposed the number seven to be the most perfect of all numbers and to have a mighty influence not only in the formation and birth of Children but even over the life death and distempers of Men according to which he says in one place (a) Lib. de Carn That the Age or Life of Man is of seven days or is govern'd by the number seven that all that befals him or all that respects the Oeconomy of his body is regulated by the number seven by Septenary periods In which he followâ—d the opinion of Pythagoras acknowledging with him certain Laws (b) De partu septimes Epidem lib. 2. sect 6. of Harmony by which the whole Universe is govern'd which consists in the conjunction or union of certain Numbers of which seven is the most powerful But whatever was Hippocrates's reason for assigning these positive times of birth 't is very remarkable that the whole World has submitted to his Decision and his Authority alone has been the Rule and Standard to all the (c) Septimo mense nasci perfectum partum receptum est propter autoritatem doctissimi viri Hippocratis Paulus lib. 7. § de statu hominum He is cited upon the same account by divers other Lawyers Lawyers and Emperors of Rome in their Laws upon this subject We shall close the Account of his Anatomy with this digression taking notice only that there are in the Writings of Hippocrates many things concerning the Bones their number figure and contexture and that it is the part of Anatomy in which he is of all the most exact as being the most necessary to the practice of Surgery particularly that which relates to Fractures and Dislocations which he understood excellently well as we shall shew in proper place However we thought not fit to take further notice of it here because 't is a part of Anatomy least disputed in after-times and because we shall give a compleat System of Anatomy wherein the Osteology will be comprized in the Chapter of Galen This is what we wou'd observe of the Anatomy of Hippocrates We shall find something relating to it in the next Chapter and after in that of Erasistratus Of the Causes of Health and of Diseases their subject and principal differences Hippocrates as we have shewn laid down three Principles the Solid the Liquid and the Spirits which he sometimes explains (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by that which contains and that which is contain'd and that which gives the motion He seems to lay down these Principles only to Animal Bodies and that he designed by 'em the three principal substances whereof they are compos'd By that which contains we may understand the solid Parts as the Bones the Nerves or the Tendons and Ligaments the Cartilages the Membranes the Fibres and other like Parts By that which is contained Hippocrates particularly meant four sorts of Humours or liquid Matter (b) De Nat. hom found in the body The Blood the Pituita or Flegm the yellow Bile and the melancholy or black Bile of which we may make two sorts of different humours as we shall see by and by By that which gives the movement he design'd what is otherwise call'd Spirit which according to him is a substance like Air from whence it is drawn and is diffus'd thro' the whole body Hippocrates says That the blood is naturally hot and moist of colour red and sweet to the taste The Flegm is cold and moist white viscid and saltish the Bile yellow dry viscid and bitter and drawn from the fat part of the blood or aliments the melancholy black cold and dry very viscid windy and very fermentative The Body of Man is composed of four Substances (c) De nat hom on these depend health and sickness Men are well when these humours are in their natural state or while they balance one another in quality quantity and mixture On the contrary they are sick when the quantity of any of these is less or greater than it ought to be or when it is discharg'd from the rest upon any particular part of the body and especially when they are not mix'd together as they ought to be We must define health and sickness from what we have said of 'em Hippocrateâ— himself has given no express definition except of sickness in one place which he calls (d) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lib. de
but if we observe the constant Custom of Hippocrates to take exact notice of the Seasons in which or after which the Diseases that he would describe appear'd we shall see that whatever distemper he speaks of even the Plague it self he mentions nothing but the ordinary changes of the Air as hot or cold or moist or dry For example That a rainy Spring was preceded by a moist Winter or followed by a scorching Summer that such and such Winds blew c. without saying one single word of the particular and hidden qualities of the Air which are supposed to produce extraordinary distempers 'T is true there are some passages in his Writings on which they pretend to found the occult qualities aforesaid which Galen admitted as well as the Modern Authors before cited We find there first the very word (x) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lib. de Aliment hidden Cause Galen affirms that when Hippocrates speaks of Epidemical Distempers which he says come from the Air or that which we breathe which is charged with (y) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Galen renders 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an unwholsome vapour or a vapour proper to breed Diseases that this unwholsome vapour did not act according to the ordinary qualities but by an occult property absolutely inexplicable Yet I don't see that Hippocrates has explain'd himself concerning the nature of this Vapour nor the influence of the Stars or their manner of acting upon inferior Bodies tho' he supposes their action This vapour seems what he in another passage calls (z) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inquinamenta lib. de Flat Impurities or Infections of the Air but he says not wherein this infection â—onsists We shall close what relates to the Causes of Distempers with this Remark That in the same place where Hippocrates derives all Epidemical distempers from the Air he endeavours to prove that they do not come from the Aliments like ordinary distempers where we see that according to him the Air is the most general Cause of all Diseases The Humours and Spirits being as we have seen the Causes of Health and Sickness the solid or containing Parts which are the third sort of substance in the composition of Animal Bodies must be the subject of them because they are sound or unsound according to the good or ill disposition which the humours and spirits produce in them and as the impressions made upon them by foreign bodies and those things that are without them are beneficial 〈◊〉 mischievous This consequence may be justly drawn from several passages of Hippocrates such as the two following (a) De Nat. hum When says he any of the humours is separated from the rest and lodges apart the place from whence it came must be out of order and likewise that where it is lodged in too great quantity suffers sickness and pain The second passage is this (b) Ibid. That the Diseases which come from any part of the body that is considerable are the most dangerous for says he if the disease (c) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must rest that is to say lâ—dge in the place where it began when a Part that is of great importance suffers the whole body must suffer We find no Train nothing prosecuted far concerning the difference of Distempers in Hippocrates all that we can gather is That the different Causes of which we have spoken and the different Parts of the Body produce as great a variety of Distempers according to this passage (d) Lib. de Aliment the differences of Diseases arise from the following things From the nourishment the heat the blood the flegm the bile and all the humours As likewise from the flesh the fat the veins the arteries the nerves the muscles the membranes the bones the brain the spinal marrow the mouth the tongue the throat the stomach the intestines the diaphragm the belly the liver the spleen the reins the bladder the womb and the skin Some of these distempers Hippocrates held to be the mortal others dangerous the rest easily curable according to the Cause from whence they sprung and the Parts upon which they fell He distinguishes likewise Diseases in several places from the time of their duration into (e) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 acute or short and (f) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 chronical or long this likewise is referr'd to the different Causes before-mentioned acute Diseases being caught by the bile and the blood in the flower of Mans age or in Spring time and Summer The Chronical on the contrary are produc'd by the flegm or the melancholy in old Age and in the Winter Of these distempers some are more acute than others the like of the Chronical We shall see in the sequel the duration of one as well as t'other Hippocrates distinguishes distempers likewise by the particular Places where they are prevailed whether ordinary or extraordinary The first that is those that are frequent and familiar to certain Places he call'd (g) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Endemick Diseases and the latter which ravag'd extraordinarily sometimes in one place sometimes in another with which at certain times numbers were seized at once he call'd Epidemick that is Popular Diseases as the Plague the most terrible of all He made likewise a third oppos'd to the former which he call'd (i) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 straggling distempers including all the different sorts of distempers which invade at any one season in a word those distempers some of one sort and some of another He distinguish'd those which were born with us or were (k) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hereditary from those that were contracted afterwards He made a difference likewise betwixt those of (l) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a kindly nature and those of a malignant the first of those which are easily cured and frequently the second those which give the Physicians a great deal of trouble and are seldom overcome by all their care Of the remarkable Changes that happen in Diseases particularly of the Crises and Critical days Hippocrates made four Stages in Distempers the (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 beginning of the Disease its augmentation its state or heighth and its declination These last are Diseases that end happily for in others Death supplies the place of the declination In the third Stage therefore the change is most considerable for it determines the fate of the sick Person which is usually or oftenest done by means of a Crisis Hippocrates call'd Crisis that is Judgment any sudden mutation in sickness whether for the better or the worse whether health or death immediately succeed This change according to him is made by Nature at that time Absolving or Condemning a Patient To apprehend his meaning aright we must recollect his Idea of Nature which he represents as the Directress of the whole Animal Oeconomy If therefore Diseases be only a disturbance of this Oeconomy as we may
the Membrane of the Ear be indisposed we cannot hear for the same reason we cannot see when the Tunicle of the Eye is in the same Condition (a) De generat aninial lib. 2. cap. 6. The Nose is divided into two Channels by a Cartilage It has two veins which are joined to the Brain but they come from the Heart these go into the Channel which is the Organ of smelling as it receives the External Air and all that is diffused thro it The Flesh as we have observed already is the Organ of Feeling The Tongue of Tasting being soft and spongy and of a Nature approaching to that of the Flesh (b) Hist An. lib. 1. cap. 11. The Eye reaches into the Brain and is situated on either side under a little vein (c) Ib. cap. 9. The humour which is in the Eye which causes vision is what we call the sight (d) De Gen. An. lib. 2. cap. 6. The Eye of all the Organs of sensation has this peculiarity that it is moist and cold or that it contains a humour that is moist and cold which is not there at first or which is not at first in its perfection but is separated or distill'd from the purest part of the moisture of the Brain by the Channel that goes to the Membrane of the Brain 'T is very plain from what has been said that Aristotle allow'd the Nerves no part in the production of sensation Nor indeed could he acknowledge the Nerves or their office retaining the Idea which he had of the Brain The Diaphragme which he calls Diazoma or the Membrane which separates the lower Belly from the Breast has according to Aristotle no other business than to divide these two Cavities that the upper which is the Seat of the Soul may not be infected by the vapours which rise from the lower This is the sum of what we could collect from the writings of this Philosopher concerning Anatomy And we may observe that both he and Plato call'd indifferently by the name of Veins the Veins properly so call'd and the Arteries that they did not give the name of Artery to any thing but the Wind-pipe which they call'd (e) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rough or unequal in opposition to the Arteries properly so called and by the Antients named 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 laeves Arterlae smooth Arteries Aspera Arteria from whence we may infer that when we find in (f) See the next Vol. lib. 1. cap. of Erasistratus Hippocrates the word Artery in the sense of the Moderns that this word has been foisted in or that the Books in which 't is found are not Genuine The only place that I know of wherein Aristotle seems to give the name of Arteries to the Arteries properly so called is in his Book of the Spirit wherein he says that the Skin is compos'd of a Vein an Artery and a Nerve Of a Vein says he because the Skin yields Blood when 't is prick'd Of a Nerve because it can extend it self Of an Artery because 't is transpirable Aristotle seems here to have designed the real and true Arteries and to allot to them only Spirit according to the opinion of Praxagoras and Erasistratus of whom we shall speak hereafter which opinion perhaps they borrowed of him Perhaps also this Book was none of Aristotle's We must make one observation more concerning the Anatomy of Aristotle which is that he never dissected any thing but Brutes and that in his time they durst not Anatomize a Humane body Which he insinuates himself in these words (g) Hist An. lib. 1. cap. 16. The inward parts of mens bodies are unknown for we have nothing certain thereupon but we must judge of them by the resemblance which we suppose them to have to the parts of other Animals which answer to each of them I am surpriz'd (h) Anthropograph lib. 1. cap. 4. that Riolan should maintain the contrary and more that he should endeavour to prove it from passages of Aristotle which are nothing to the purpose but he is not the only one whose Prejudice and Bigotry for the Antients has caused to make such false steps We shall have occasion to say something more upon this subject in the first Book of the next Volume Aristotle wrote also some Books of Plants of which there are some yet remaining but he treats of them rather as a Philosopher than a Physician He was born in the ninety ninth Olympiad and he dyed the 3d year of the hundred and fourteenth Olympiad aged by this account about sixty three He was the Son of a Physician and of the family of the Asclepiades He belonged also to Physick another way which is not much for his honour (i) Diogenes Laertius Hesychius Milesius in vita Epicuri Epicurus reproaches him with having spent his patrimony while he was young in debauchery and that after he had been some time a Souldier he betook himself to selling (k) We shall consider in the sequel the meaning of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used by Diogenes Laertius on this occasion of Antidotes about the Markets till Plato's School being open'd he applied himself to the study of Philosophy under him CHAP. VI. Theophrastus THeophrastus who succeeded Aristotle took upon him the management of his School and after his death did something likewise towards Physick The most considerable of his works which remain to our times are his Books of Plants But as Plants may be consider'd either as a part of Agriculture of Natural History or of Physick Theophrastus as well as Aristotle seems to consider them chiefly as a Naturalist and seems rather to have examined their Growth and Termination and the parts whereof they are composed than their Medicinal properties altho sometimes en passant he touches upon them too But he having describ'd several we shall be obligâ—d to take farther notice of him upon this account with Dioscorides There are yet some small pieces of his remaining concerning the Vertigo Swooning Sweat and the Palsie of which he treats rather as a Philosopher than a Physician that is he is inquisitive after the Causes of these Distempers only without speaking of any Remedies He says that Vertigoâ—s come when some strange spirit or superfluous moisture goes into the Head or as he expresses it about the Head whether this comes from any sort of Food as from Wine or from any other humour or from turning the Head round For adds he the place about the Brain or the Brain an usual manner of expression among the Greeks is naturally moist and when any foreign Spirit gets in it does violence after it is got in and forces the natural moisture into the veins causing it to turn round so that this Spirit has the same effect as if any body turn'd the Head round it being indifferent whether it be done inwardly or outwardly The Palsie arises from a chilness or privation and want of Spirits or