Scars following the Corrosion of a Dysentery or Looseness or interrupted by its own viscidity or slime squeez'd into its Vessels from the Guts and afterwards congeal'd of which we have a plain Instance in the Case of drinking cold Liquors after a violent hot Exercise for as much as the heat melts the slime and the motion drives it into the Vessels and the sudden arrival of cold Liquor cuts off its retreat by causing its Coagulation so that it either stagnats or proceeds with the Chyle to the Blood and depraves its Crasis This viscidity or crudity of the Chyle or of the Humor its Companion is the true cause of all Chronical Distempers falsly imputed by the Ancients to Obstructions or contrary Qualities of the Bowels That there are Obstructions I do not deny Some in the Blood Vessels causing Inflammations Others in the Lymphatic or perhaps those of the Chyle causing the rupture of the Vessels and effusion of the Lymph upon the Cavities of the Body And others again in the Bowels appearing in the form of Imposthumes and Schirrus's But these are rather the effect than cause of Chronical Diseases That stagnation of the Liquors in their respective Vessels is occasion'd by their viscidity The viscidity is caus'd by acid Crudities attending the Chyle and debauching the Blood and Lymph Moreover the proneness of Imposthumes to suppurate and that of Schirrus's to become Ganeers are solid proofs of their being caus'd by a viscous acid And as to the Antipathy of the Bowels 't is inconsistent with the Laws of Circulation The Blood and Spirits are equally the cause of heat all over the Body if all the parts be equally 〈◊〉 pos'd for their Reception 'T is true indeed a particâ—â—â—â— Bowel or external part may be occasionally weakâ—â—â— and suffer a Relaxation of its Fibres or by vertue of acid pointed Particles darted into its Bosom like that of a Thorn into the Finger may be disturb'â— with Heat and Inflammation while the others retain their cooler Temperature But it plainly appears that these effects are not owing to any Radical Antipathy in the Qualities of the Bowels but the occasional unequal Distribution of the viscous acid Particles It remains therefore to be concluded upon that the acid Crudity of the Chyle impress'd upon it in the first Passages is the natural and obvious cause of Chronical Distempers and that Obstructions may be effected by the long duration of these Distempers but cannot claim the priviledge of being their Causes This Hypothesis will be set in a clearer light by surveying the Symptoms and the Method of Curing these Chronical Distempers The former are acid Belchings Wind loss of Appetit Gripings and noise in the Guts incident heat and Inflammation Looseness c. the natural Progeny of an acid Crudity And as touching the latter the whole Circle of Specifics is generally made to center in an aperient Vertue Now the Preparations of Steel and Lead do justly lead the Van of this numberless Catalogue And how these astringent Medicines should be intitled to an opening Vertue all the Posse of Writers is at a loss to explain Whereas 't is an obvious Solution that these metallin Particles suck up and incounter the acid Crudity and transform it into a vitriolic Concrete which is afterwards evacuated under the form of black Excrements So that it opens or unlocks the Passages only indirectly by subduing the hostil Intruder Antiscorbutic volatil salin Medicines and Gums are likewise us'd Now they attinuat the viscous Humor precipitat the rank acid fortifie the Stomac the original source of the Evil and whet the Bile And here by the way 't will not be improper to take notice that the Essences commonly prepar'd from volatil Antiscorbutic Herbs as the Essence of Scurvygrass c. fall short of the original vertue of their Herbs as containing only the volatil Salt strip'd of the fix'd Salt which withal is very useful Upon which account I prefer the Quintessences made of the Oyl and both the Spirits one prepar'd by Fermentation and the other by Putrefaction These two being mix'd with the distill'd Oyl by long Digestion and frequent Cohobation And besides all Antiscorbutic Spirits prepared by Fermentation ought to be frequently cohobated in order to extract the fixed Alcalin Salt Tartar also is a great Specific in these Cases But its Cream is too acid Let it be mix'd with half the quantity of Salt of Tartar dissolv'd in warm water after Fermentation filtrated and set to evaporat Thus its Acidity is conquer'd It s volatil Spirit or rather that drawn from the Dregs of Wine or the Carminative Spirit prepar'd from Nitre Tartar and Spirit of Wine and all volatil Preparations of Tartar are of wonderful efficacy in clearing the first Passages correcting the Digestive Ferment and conquering the acid of Wine that we in these Countries are so obnoxious to In the Animal Province Man's Urine given to drink and all urinous Spirits and Salts especially the Spirit of Salarmoniac prepar'd with Quick-lime are noted antiacids in all Chronical Distempers The Spirit of Ants and that of Earth-worms are famous Anti-scorbutics Of the Mineral Family Steel is the Head It ought not to be much impregnated with an acid otherwise it will not dissolve in the Body The best way of giving it is either in crude Powder or by way of extract taken from its Infusion in the Juice of Apples Quinces or of Tamarinds or a Tincture taken from the same with Spirit of Scurvygrass The Tincture of Steel prepar'd with Spirit of Bread is likewise a proper form It s Crocus is best prepar'd by sprinkling it with Juice of Cichory and exposing it to the Sun Next to Steel is Lead especially its Sugar and the Antiphthisical Tincture prepar'd from it and vitriol of Steel with Spirit of Wine From these Premises we infer that the Cause of all Chronical Distempers is a viscous acid Crudity either bred in the Stomac or caus'd by the vicious Effervescencies of the Gall and the Juice of the Pancreas in the Guts Upon which Account all Stomachical attenuating anti-acid Medicines are the true Antidote of these Diseases And whoever attempts to cure 'em without a special regard to the Stomac and first Passages shoots short of his Mark The forms of Recipe's shall be inserted in the particular Description of the respective Diseases SECT XIV Of Diseases relating to the Lungs and Organs of Respiration THUS far we have consider'd the Chyle in its separat State It remains now to survey its state of Complication with the Blood The mix'd Mass of Blood and Chyle is carried from the Axillary Vein to the descending Trunc of the Vena Cava from thence 't is convey'd to the right Ventricle of the Heart and before its entry into the left Ventricle is thrown into the Lungs by the Vena Arteriosa The Lungs are a heap of little Bladders joyn'd by a simple Membran endow'd with moving Fibres and require to be dilated before the Blood
in the Lungs and causes a plentiful evacuation of froth The slime that is also voided proceeds from the Glandules of the Wind Pipe which are provok'd to frequent Contractions by the Anxiety of the Breast and so separate large quantities of serum which accompanies the Air in Exspiration Besides the Pituitous Membran being straiten'd by this Anxiety Distills a viscous Lymph upon the Wind Pipe which helps to make up the quantity The remote causes of this stagnation which the Ancients erroneously miscall'd a Catarrh are 1. The redundancy or over-bearing Turgescence of Blood 2. The Viscidity of the Blood occasion'd by Crude Chyle 3. It s Coagulation caus'd by cold Air by an inconsiderat assumption of cold Water immediatly after great heats by fear or by the Influence of a Vicious Acid. 4. The accidental obstruction of the Lungs by Stones Excrescences c. The symptoms are a sense of weight upon the Breast difficulty of breathing danger of Choaking a very slow pulse and sometimes a Cough and a fatal evacuation of froth and slime 'T is distinguish'd from an Apoplexy by the difficulty of Respiration and lowness of the Pulse For Cure Blood-letting is absolutely necessary and ought to be perform'd betimes after which a sharp Clyster may be injected and scarifying Cupping-Glasses applied to several parts of the Body Then give Sperma Ceti to a dram in Hyssop Water Gum Ammoniac dissolv'd in Vinegar or its Spirit Prepar'd with Verdigris Saffron Volatil salt of Amber Spirit of Hartshorn Crabs Eyes Diaphoretic Antimony the Juice of the flowers of red Dasies and the Vulnerary herbs especially the Juice of Radishes are also very proper As for the Ligatures Frictions Cataplasms Plaisters Gargarisms c. recommended by the Ancients they are of no use as being only contriv'd in pursuit of their mistake assigning a Chimerical defluxion from the Head for the cause of this disease These three different sorts of choaking Diseases miscall'd Catarrhs ought to be carefully distinguish'd by reason that their Cures are so very different SECT XV. Of the accidents that disturb the transformation of the Chyle and fermentation of the Blood THE Chyle being separated in the Guts and convey'd thro' the milky vessels into the Conduit of the Breast joyns the Blood in the left Subclavian Vein and by vertue of fermentation is wrought into the same colour and consistence This Fermentation which for the most part assimilates the Chyle springs from the Vital Spirit and saline principle lodg'd in the Blood which is enliven'd and reinforc'd by the continu'd supplies of the air receiv'd in the Lungs For the Chyle is carried up to the Subclavian Vein in order to have a shorter passage into the Lungs where the mixt Composure of Blood and Chyle is dissolv'd and rarify'd the acid and urinous Salts are disengaged and render'd volatil which by justling and encountring each the other produce a notable Fermentation by virtue of which the Sulphureous and Volatil parts joyn together and are invested with a red Colour Besides the Chyle is tinctur'd with the Sulphur of the Choler in the Guts and so predispos'd to a likeness and easy union with the Blood This Transformation of the Chyle is not accomplish'd by one single passage thro' the Lungs but must be compleated by repeated Circulations along with the Blood Which truth is plainly made out by the Chyle or Milky liquor that swims upon Blood drawn forth four or five hours after eating So that the mass of Blood consists naturally of Chyle and Blood which being perfectly mix'd make up an univocal Homogeneous Liquor 'T is true the Ancients speak of four humours c. as being different ingredients of the Blood which they infer'd from the apparent unequal condition or the several parts of Blood drawn forth from the Body but that is owing only to its Corruption or alteration occasion'd by the Nitrous Salts of the Air. Upon which account all special predictions grounded on the external appearance of Blood are frivolous and uncertain This regular Fermentation and Assimilation is disordered by the defects of the Chyle or the Blood The former may be cast into three heads 1. When the Chyle is not sufficiently digested attenuated and volatilis'd in the Stomach 2. When it is not duely tinctur'd with the Oyly Sulphur of the Choler 3. When the Choleric or pancreatic Juices are tardy in separating its dregs The Latter into these 1. When the Motion of the Blood is rais'd beyond its natural pitch 2. When 't is depress'd and diminish'd 3. When its substance is adulterated The signs by which we descry a disorderly fermentation are the pulse and urine But they are oft-times fallacious For the pulse may be immediately influenc'd by the Animal Spirits without any dependance upon the fermentation of the Blood and the Urine may be disguis'd by drinking or the disorders of the solid parts imploy'd in that service The immediat cause of a disorderly fermentation of the Blood is the degeneracy of the Urinous and Acid Salts from their due proportion and harmony The remote causes are the various Contagious particles convey'd into the Body with the Air or any other vehicle antecedent losses of Blood disorders of the Bowels c. The Cure is perform'd by Saline Remedies calculated for the particular indisposition of the Blood and vary'd according to the difference of Temperaments Of which more above CHAP. I. Of Feavers in general A Feaver is a vicious fermentation of the Blood in which its temperament is deprav'd and the whole Body disorder'd The infinite variety of Feaverish ferments occasions a great many various depravations of the Blood But in general the formal Essence of all Feavers consists in a preternatural fermentation of the Blood occasion'd by a foreign ferment which sometimes immediately affects the Blood sometimes the Spirits and sometimes both at which time Nature indeavours to throw out the heterogeneous particles In order to make this appear let us Consider the following Remarks 1. That the eating of Summer Fruits frequently causes Feavers Now these are indow'd with a notable propensity to ferment 2. That Cold or what ever impairs the insensible transpiration produces the like effect Now the Vicious Salts thus imprison'd and overflowing in the Blood cannot affect it any other way than by creating a fermentation 3. That Feavers insue the inspiration of Contagious particles which naturally propagate by fermenting 4. That the Rotten Feavers mention'd by the ancients are only explicable by the Doctrine of fermentations for no living thing can be properly intitled to putrefaction unless by it be meant a turbulent confus'd motion proceeding from the dissolution of contrary Salts as that of Spirit of Vitriol and Oyl of Turpentin The Common Symptoms of Feavers are likewise vouchers for the fermentation that causes ' em These are commonly reckon'd four viz. 1. An alteration of the pulse 2. A Chilness shivering and shaking 3. Excessive heat 4. The Change of Urine both as to the Liquor and what it contains
grains the Infusion of two or three drams of Hedge-Hyssop or its Conserve given to two drams Syrup of Buckthorn and the Rinds or Leaves of Elder The proper season for exhibiting Purges to Hydropic Persons is immediatly before the new Moon when the Disease of it self relents But if the Hydropic Water lodge in the Purse of the Caul or duplicat of the Peritonaeum or Vesicles of the Mesentery and not in the Cavities of the Womb Purgation is of no use And withal we ought to remark that Purgatives ought to be mix'd with Stomachical Specifics especially Wormwood and not too often repeated by reason that they melt down the laudable Humors as well as the bad and so indirectly strengthen the Disease especially if they do not operat quickly after Administration If the Hydropic Person Vomit easily or be molested with a shortness of Breath Vomits are useful But they ought to be given in large Doses otherwise they do not Operate Opiats in general are pernicious tho' in some singular Instances they may pacify the Spirits appease the irritated Fibres of the Kidneys and so indirectly promote an Evacuation by Urine Diuretics are the choicest evacuating Remedies But they ought not to be exhibited till after the use of Laxative attenuating and opening Ingredients nor us'd without the addition of Chalybeat or Corroborating Medicines Asarum Wormwood Elecampane and Gentian lead the Van. The Juice or Infusion of Celandin the greater is a celebrated Specific to which we may add the Decoction of Swallow-wort in Wine or its Extract it being peculiarly calculated for such Dropsies as proceed from Scrophulous tumors in the Mesentery Hore-hound is much recommended against a Hydropical Jaundice The Infusion Decoction or Juice of Garlic is a powerful Diuretic as also Turmerick and Madder The Decoction Infusion Spirit and Rob of Juniper Wood and Berries are of excellent use and seem to claim a Preference before the Decoctions of Guajacum and Sassafras The Juice of the Herb Kali given to half a dram is much applauded but it ought not to be taken above three Days in a Week for fear of over doing In those Dropsies which approach to Anasarca's fix'd Salts are of good use and perhaps preferable to other Diuretics But in an Ascites 't is not improper to shift 'em for those of a volatil nitrous Character The Heads of the fix'd sort are the Lixivious Salts of Vine-Twigs Bean-stalks Juniper and Lime-tree-wood The volatil are all the volatil preparations of Tartar the Spirit and Flowers of Sal-Armoniac or Elixyr Propritatis prepar'd with it and the volatil Salt of Harts-horn Poppius bestows large Encomiums on the Spirit of Urine rectify'd with Spirit of Wine Ambergrise and Mosch and given to half a dram Morning and Evening nay Man's Urine or that of Sheep is very effectual among poor People Crollius recommends Goose-Dung given to a dram in distill'd Urine The Spirit of putrifi'd Earth-worms given to sixty drops twice or thrice a day in Wine impregnated with Juniper Berries or the Liquor that flows per deliquium from Earth-Worms putrifi'd with Moss of Earth and baken with Dough in an Oven given to a spoonful twice a day the Powder of dry'd Toads the Heads and Guts being thrown away given to a Scruple three or four times in one Day but so as to intermit three or four days before it be us'd again the Liquor which drops per deliquium from Cockle-shells coagulated with Spirit of Salt the Powder of greasie Beetles or of Hog-lice these are all approv'd for their anti-hydropic Vertue Sudorifics are not proper in an Ascites by reason that they heat and fret the Serum and dissolve the Blood so as to occasion a further effusion of Serum into the Cavities In case of an Anasarca or when the Serum stagnates in the Glandules and Bowels they are useful and ought to be given in small quantities lest a stronger force should weaken the Patient Juniper-Wood Millet-seeds and Vegetable Aromatics together with volatil Salts are the most proper Ingredients and ought to be administer'd in a liquid form Sometimes Mercurial Salivations are also of use in desperat Dropsies After the internal Remedies for evacuating the hydropical Serum we come in the next place to what assistance external Operations can afford If the Navel be much rais'd we apply aperients to it and if they do not open it we tap it with a Needle A Paracentesis is also frequently perform'd on the side of the Belly with good success But we ought to remember that in Dropsies the Peritonaeum is very thick that 't is dangerous to take out above eight or ten Ounces of Water at once that if the Disease be confirm'd and the Bowels beset with Schirrus's or already corroded by the Water and if the larger Lymphatic Vessels be broken or if the Dropsy be universal a Paracentesis is of no use Sometimes if Nature tend that way the Scrotum opens of it self or if it do not 't is artificially open'd with a Cautery or a Launce But it ought to be carefully defended by proper Preservatives from a Gangrene to which 't is very liable Slight scarrifications of the Legs are oft-times of good use but the Wounds must be gently handled and frequently fomented with the Spirit of Wine camphoris'd in order to prevent a Gangrene If Blisters rise in the Legs we apply Cole-wort Leaves to 'em nay oft-times the Leaves of Water-Plantane bruis'd and applied raise Blisters of themselves which void a great deal of Serum Blistering Plaisters are us'd with good success but they ought to be cautiously applied to the outermost Parts because they extinguish the native heat and promote a Gangrene Upon which account Caustics which fortifie the Part with an Eschara and do not attract the Humors so violently are more proper But if the Disease be confirm'd and if the Person be weak and cold then they may introduce a Gangrene or at least will only give vent to the Water under the Skin as not being able to extend their influence to the Cavities Some choose to pair the Nails of the Toes very close and tye strait Ligatures upon the Parts The former Stratagem drains the Water and the latter cuts off all further Supplies and forces the imprison'd Matter either to retire into the Lymphatic Vessels or march out by the proper Passages Having thus dispatch'd the first Indication we are arriv'd at the second which was to corroborat the Stomac and Crasis of the Blood for which end chalybeat Medicines ought to be mix'd with the above mention'd Ingredients especially to Worm-wood and Ground-Ivy which last is of excellent use both inwardly and outwardly The Salt of Wormwood coagulated with the Spirit of Salt the Tincture of Tartar Tincture of the Vitriol of Steel the Terra foliata of Tartar and the Lapis Fulminaris pounded with Alcohol of Wine and mix'd with the Powder of Snakes Cast-Coats are much applauded for the same purpose If the Fibres of the Skin be weak and relaxated it
Salt of Tartar of each a Dram boil them in a sufficient quantity of common Water to nine Ounces of the strain'd Decoction add Electuary of Bay-berries an Ounce distill'd Oil of Amber volatil Salt of Hartshorn or Urine of each a Scruple the Yelk of one Egg Mix them and make a Clyster To such Decoctions you may also add Electuary of Hiera Picra Castor distill'd Oils of Cumin Caraways Amber Juniper-berries Turpentine c. Or instead of distill'd Oils volatil Salts from a Scruple to half a Dram as that of Urine Hartshorn Amber c. Clysters of the Smoak of Tobacco are also approv'd If the Patient is plethorick a Vein may be opened but with due caution Internally in the time of the Fit volatil and oily Salts are to be us'd and in particular such as readily cause sweat to which Opiats may be added Bitter things therefore are in common use such as Set-wall Southernwood Wormwood Lovage Angelica Gentian-root Mint Galangal Penny-royal Fever-few Clary its Decoction and Spirit Roman and common Chamomil Orange Peel wild Carrot-seed Juniper-berries Garlic taken in Wine its Electuary Saffron Rosemary Myrrh Elder and dwarf Elder-berries c. all which by virtue of an oily volatil Salt destroy the vitious Acid. To these we may add Castor Assa foetida the volatil Salts themselves as Spirit of Sal Armoniac Hartshorn volatil Salt of Amber given from five Grains to twelve in Swallow-water with Castor distill'd Oil of Amber volatil Salt of Soot the Tincture of Tartar Tincture of the Dross of the Regulus of Antimony Tincture of Castor prepar'd with Spirit of Wine or otherwise all the several Preparations of the fore-mention'd Simples Crollius's Elixir for the Womb Camphyr the Spirit of human Secundine chiefly that of the first Child the Juice of Courser's Dung express'd with Wine or Ale or its Decoction to all which we join Opium Hysteric Laudanum Mithridate and Triacle of which innumerable Prescriptions might be made up As Take of the Waters of Mint Elder-flowers and Fever-few of each an Ounce Essence of Castor three Drams volatil Salt of Hartshorn twelve Grains that of Amber eight Grains Hysteric Laudanum nine Grains Syrup of Orange Peel six Drams Mix and make a Potion Or Take prepar'd Amber prepar'd Pearls or Crabs-eyes Castor of each a Scruple distill'd Oils of Rue and Amber of each five Drops Mix and make a Pouder 'T is to be noted that Preparations with Castor and such like fat volatil Salts yielding a strong smell agree not with some Patients for whom meagre Salts are more proper as dulcify'd Salt of Nitre c. If sweet Smells or Tasts be offensive we choose Medicines of contrary qualities After the Fit is over if a Relapse is feared it may be prevented by the use of Medicines partaking of Steel As Take Antiscorbutic and Hyssop-water of each an Ounce and a half Solution of Steel in Juice of Apples three Drams Spirit of Scurvy Grass a Dram and a half fermented Laudanum two Grains Syrup for the Scurvy three Drams Mix and make a Potion But if what is above prescrib'd prove ineffectual we may try a strong Snuff and if that has no effect give a Vomit yea Blood-letting has been found sometimes to avail in desperat Cases Hitherto we have prescrib'd what is to be done during the Paroxysm when 't is over we first give Digestives then Vomits and afterwards Anti-hypocondriac and Antiscorbutic Remedies for Digestives I refer you to the hypocondriac and scorbutic Diseases Or Take red Coral prepar'd or Mother of Pearl or Crabs-eyes prepar'd half a Dram Arcanum Duplicatum a Scruple Salt of Wormwood half a Scruple Mix for three Doses For a Vomit take Arcanum Duplicatum or Tachenius's vitriolated Tartar nine Grains Mynsicht's Emetic Tartar two or three Grains Mix and make a Pouder Next to these Aromatics mix'd with mild Laxatives are to be us'd and these almost the same as the internal Specifics prescrib'd in the Fit In short the Method of Cure is the same with that of hypocondriac and scorbutic Disorders So that alterative Bags of carminative Ingredients such as are friendly to the Nerves and Womb infus'd in Wine are of very good use Or whatever partakes of a volatil Alcali or a volatil oily aromatic Salt more or less bitter which destroys Acids or has an anodine Quality as the Roots of Angelica Butter-burr Set-wall Lovage Gentian and the like also Orange-peel and all Aromatics especially Clary and its Decoction also Baum Rosemary Mugwort Sage c. the Carminative Seeds or those call'd hot to which wild Laxatives such as black Hellebor and Briony may be added As for example Take of the Leaves of Baum Fever-few Pennyroyal of each a handful Leaves of Senna Roots of Gentian and black Hellebor of each a Dram prepar'd Spurge and true aromatic Costus of each three Drams Set-wall Salt of Tartar of each half an Ounce Cut bruise and tie them in a Bag to be infus'd in Wine Medicines of Steel are wonderfully helpful as also succinated Spirit of Salt Ammoniac given to thirty Drops at night and mild Laxatives mix'd with Opiats Take Gum Ammoniac dissolv'd in Vinegar half a Scruple Vitriol of Mars five Grains Extract of Castor three or four Grains Extract of Troches Alhandal a Grain or of the Troches themselves three Grains Make Pills with the distill'd Oil of Amber SECT IV. Of the Disorders of Women denying admission to Men. CHAP. I. Of the down-falling of the Womb. SOmetimes the outer Neck of the Womb especially its internal wrinkled Membrane either by hard Labour or the unskilful hand of a Midwife or by an immoderate red or white Flux is so relaxated and extended that it hangs out in form of a Ball having a hole in the middle two Fingers breadth without the Privity and sometimes some part of the internal Membrane is relaxated and hangs out like a blind round Ball by a small Neck In this Case both the Antients and some of the Moderns fancy that the Womb falls down Whereas that Symptom never happens but when an unskilful Midwife pulls it down by force and so kills the Patient outright This Distemper is usher'd in by a stretching Pain of the Parts to which the Womb is fastened sometimes a Feaver and Convulsions supervene and sometimes the prominent Substance becomes the Seat of an Ulcer or Gangrene and must be cut out by the hand of the Surgeon All that Art can do is 1. To restore the Part fallen down to its natural Place 2. To confirm it there either truly by Astringents or palliatively by other means 3. If that can't be compass'd Amputation is the only relief The Patient being conveniently plac'd on her Back let the part be gently put up with ones Fingers cover'd with a soft Cloth wet with the Decoction of mild discussive Aromatics such as Rosemary Sage Wormwood c. boil'd in equal parts of Wine and common Water or Water from the Forge This done Decoctions prepar'd of vulnerary Astringents
Disease the Manner of its Invasion and the Signs which generally accompany it Secondly To describe the Part affected whether mediatly by being influenc'd from another or immediatly by the Residence of the Morbific Cause within its self Thirdly The Causes of every Distemper both Radical and Occasional Fourthly What Prognostics we can have of the Event of every Distemper And Fifthly To subjoyn the Method of Cure both General and Special the Nature of the Remedies whether Simple or Compound Universal or Specific Together with Historical Cases and Practical Observations applied to every Disease But some things are necessary to be premis'd before we launch into the Practice Whoever would understand it thoroughly must be well acquainted with the Principles of Chymy and Mechanicks The former are serviceable in explaining the Vital Functions of the Body and the latter in the Animal Musculary Motion For Nature has acted Geometrically in framing our Bodies as well as in every thing else The remaining Preliminary Principles that a Student ought to know before he Commence the Practice of Physic are briefly couch'd under the following Heads SECT I. Of the General Vertues of Med'cines AS the Oeconomy of Man's Body is only explicable by the different Forms Sizes and Various Combinations of the Minute Particles of which every Body is compounded according to the Principles of Mechanism So the Vertues of Medicines may best be deduc'd from the same Cause Especially since Occult Qualities are now hiss'd out of Doors and the four first Elementary Principles of Cold Hot Dry and Moist are more Imaginary than Real This Particular Disposition and Texture of Parts that entitles all Medicines to their Respective Specific Qualities is Originally owing to the Seed and may properly be call'd the Seminal Disposition As for Example Scurvygrass is a Specific against the Scurvy not because it is Hot or enjoys such an Occult Quality but because it enjoys such a Texture of Parts that makes it a subtil penetrating Body fit for altering and subduing the Acid Scorbutical Matter Now its precise Seminal Vertue is not Common to all its Parts but peculiar to a sharp Volatil Salt couch'd within its Body that actuates the other Earthy Particles And indeed the Various Exaltation or Depression of Acid or Alcali Salts is the distinguishing Character of all their respective Textures because the Saline Particles are more active and produce more Notable Effects than any of the rest tho 't is probable all of 'em Originally may have sprung from Water Thus such Med'cines were by the Ancients accounted Hot as by their sharp pointed Particles affect the Tongue and Palate the same way as Fire is wont to do or by Vertue of a Volatil Oily Salt dissolve the Mass of Blood and augment its Fermentation Those of a contrary Vertue they styi'd Cold Such are all Acid or Nitrous Medicines Those they call'd Dry which either drink in the moisture of the Body as Burnt Harts-horn c. or open a Door for its Passage as all Sudorifics Those Moist that either supply moisture as all Nourishing and Liquid Things or give a stop to its Consumption as Quieting Pacific Medicines All Med'cines fit for Conquering a prevailing Acid or Alcali in the first Passages were by the Ancients call'd Aperitive I choose rather to Christen 'em Alterative If they are Anti-Acids they perform their Task by imbibing the peccant Acid as Steel and all Earths or qualifying its sharpness as Oily fat Medicines or fermenting with it so as to work it into a Third Compound as all Ascali's both Fix'd and Volatil If their business be to conquer Alcali's they reduce the Bile or any other Vicious Alcali to its true Temperature by opposing themselves to their Extremes For 't is the Disproportion'd Mixture of the Juices in the first ways that destroys the Natural Fermentation of the Blood and is the Source of all Chronical Distempers commonly but falsely imputed to Obstructions And all remedies capable of reducing them from either Extreme are what I call Alteratives in General But are distinguish'd by several particular Names corresponding to their special Qualities As those of an Oily Mucilaginous Body and free from any Predominant salt are call'd Softening Suppurating Expectorating Incrassating Anodyne c. Opposite to them are the Astringents of a Styptic Austere Body Compounded of Earth and an Acid Salt which thicken fluid humors and eontract the fibres of the Parts as Allum c. Those that are most Famous for making head against Acids are sometimes term'd Febrifuga's by reason of their Noted Vertue in Intermitting Feavers and sometimes Vulnerary by reason of their healing Vertue Such as have a sharp penetrating Salt whether Acid or Alcali are Attenuating Discussing c. Those endow'd with a Volatil Oily Salt a piercing Smell and a grateful Taste are Aromatic Carminative Cephalic c. and are commonly us'd for Cordials Those of a Volatil Salt apt to dissolve the Mass of Blood are Diuretic Sudorific and Alexipharmacal These are the General Classes of all remedies us'd in Physic Such of 'em as are more Universal and Answer more Indications are to be most esteem'd As Opium Sal volatile Oleosum and the fix'd Sulphurs of Minerals and Mettals which are all useful in an infinity of Cases and are upon that account Entitled to a preference before others of a narrower extent SECT II. Of the Vital Functions of the Body HAving touch'd upon the Vertues of Medicines and their manner of Operation the next thing is to consider the Subject or Body upon which the Operation is perform'd It s structure presents us with some gross material Parts and some more subtile and active which serve to inform and actuate the other The former represent the External Fabric of an Ingenious Machine the latter the Internal Wheels and Springs of Motion The Ancients imagin'd our grosser part to be compounded of the four first Elements but without either Reason or Experience I deny not but that there are such things as Water Earth and Air which make up the greatest part of our Terraqueous Globe but I doubt much if they and fire are the first and simplest Ingredients of all Compounds Indeed as to Water I do not dispute the point Thales and Helmont have clearly made it out that all things consist of Water But as for fire the Modern Experiments do sufficiently prove that 't is nothing else but a division of the smaller Particles of fat Acids such as we call sulphurous by means of the Air from whence heat and light must necessarily ensue We see that flame is only a further rarefaction of the same Particles that when more condensated appear in smoak and a little more Condensation converts smoak into soot and the Oyl of Soot which is a fat Acid differs from all the three as they from one another by a further or lesser degree of Rarefaction or Condensation Thus the Various Conjunction Separation or Transposition of the same Minute Particles is the Original of the
one Dram. Syrup of Rasberries half an Ounce With the Spirit of Vitriol as much as sufficeth for a grateful sharpness Make a Julep Thus I have hinted at the general Cures of Alcaline and Acid Corruptions Besides these already mention'd there are some Universal Remedies not confin'd to either side but useful in both Cases These are Emulsions extracted from the Milky Seeds the distill'd Oyls of Vegetables Gums Mucilages and the Sulphurous Productions of Minerals which are all of a temperate Nature and equally remov'd from either extreme A Pituitous Cacechymy must be cur'd by Altering Attenuating and Resolving remedies Namely Alcali Salts as well fix'd as Volatil the more penetrating Gums and Generous Aromatics The Morbific matter being viscid and tough must be prepar'd and digested before we attempt any Evacuation The common forms for Digestives are as follows Take of Tartar Vitriolated and the Salt call'd Digestivum Hypochondriacum of each fifteen Grains Salt of Wormwood and of Carduus Benedictus of each half a Scruple Mix for a Powder to be divided into two parts Or Take of Tartar Vitriolated one Dram Salt of Carduus Benedictus half a Dram flowers of Sal armoniac fifteen Grains Mix them together and divide the Powder into three Doses Or Take of Tartar Vitriolated half a Dram Crabs Eyes prepar'd one Scruple Salt of Tartar half a Scruple Mix them for two Doses Take Tartar Vitriolated half a Dram Salt of Wormwood Crabs Eyes prepar'd of each fourteen Grains Make a Powder to be divided into three or four Doses Take of the Cream of Tartar one Dram Tartar Vitriolated half a Dram Salt of Wormwood and Cichory of each half a Scruple Make a Powder and divide it into three equal parts These Powders must be exhibited a Day or two before Evacuation The following Powder is to be taken twice a Day in the Morning before Dinner and in the Afternoon two or three hours before Supper Take of Sal armoniac depurated a Dram and a half Mastic half a Dram Cinnamom a Scruple Salt of Wormwood six Grains Mix them and use as before directed If Liquid forms are more acceptable they may be prescrib'd thus Take of Mint Water one Ounce the Salt call'd Arcanum Duplicatum one Scruple Crabs Eyes prepar'd half a Scruple Salt of Tartar five Grains Syrup of Hyssop half an Ounce Mix them for a draught Or thus Take of Mint Water two Ounces Cinnamom Water six Drams Gum Ammoniac dissolv'd in Vinegar one Dram Tartar Vitriolated one Scruple Syrup of Roses one Ounce Mix them for two or three Doses A Serous Cacochymy is remov'd by the use of such remedies as alter the vicious serum and evacuate it These last mention'd are the subject of the ensuing Paragraph SECT IV. Of the Medicines that evacuate the Corrupt Juices of the Body AFter the use of altering Medicines 't is a proper season to exhibit those that evacuate the prepar'd humors They are distributed into five Classes The first contains those which operate by Vomiting The Second those which move the Belly and perform their office by stool Those of the Third pass by Urine The Fourth by the Pores of the Skin And Lastly the Fifth is allotted to the Medicines which evacuate by Salivation This last Class I have taken notice of elsewhere but the other four I shall briefly run over CHAP. I. Of Vomiting Medicines THE Animal Family affords no Vomits that I know of except the Pairings of the Nails of Human Bodies Which we infuse in generous Wine over Night and in the Morning give the strain'd Liquor to Drink 'T is an excellent Vomit Among the Vegetables Asarabacca is the safest and most successful Vomit Dioscorides and the Ancients were not Ignorant of its efficacy It Enjoys a sharp pungent salt resembling that of Ginger and Zedoary which provokes Urine Corrects the causes of Chronical distempers and irritates the Fibres of the Stomach I have known Inveterat Tertian and Quartan feavers cur'd by the use of Asarabecca with white Pepper that would not yield to any other Medicines It may be given by way of Powder Infusion or Decoction If it be exhibited in form of a Powder it ought to be Pounded very fine for the grosser Particles cannot enter into the Pleats of the Stomach and being eluded there procure to themselves a Passage by Stool Its Dose is from half a Dram to a whole Dram. For a gentle Infusion we take Nine or Ten Green Leaves of Asarabecca and chop 'em small and infuse them for the space of a Night in four Ounces of Carduns Benedictus Water and half an Ounce of Mead. In the morning let the strain'd Liquor be exhibited 'T is a gentle Vomit For a stronger Infusion take Nine Green Leaves of Asarabecca Beat them in a Marble or Stone-Mortar pouring simple Mead upon 'em till ye have reduc'd them to a Juice Then take this juice and dilute it with two Ounces of Carduus Benedictus Water 'T is an Admirable Vomit As for Decoction Helmont Zwelfer and the Honourable Mr. Boyle have observ'd that if ye boyl Asarabecca Roots in Water they lose their Vomiting quality and become Diuretic whereas if ye boyl them in Wine 't is an excellent Emetic The Reason of which I take to be this Viz. That their diuretic vertue proceeds from an essential salt not very Volatil the saline Volatil Emetic parts being evaporated in boyling with Water but Wine penetrates into the Texture of its body before these Volatil salts are gone and so partakes of their Vertue If ye boyl Asarabecca Roots in Mead ye have a Noble Pectoral Medicine It Attenuates the slimy humors in the Breast and has no Emetic force There are no other Vegetable Vomits fit to be us'd White Hellebor 't is true was frequently exhibited by the Ancients But they infus'd it in a sweet Wine which qualify'd its sharpness and besides the difference of Climats alters the Vertues of Medicines I have seen very Tragical effects produc'd by white Hellebor and therefore would not advise any to use it except in one case Namely Madness 'T is a specific for that disease and is frequently attended with success where Antimonial Vomits have prov'd ineffectual Let it be us'd thus Take of the Roots of White Hellebor one Dram infuse it in Rhenish Wine or rather macerate it in some hot place for the space of one Night Then boyl it strain off this Wine and throw it away for 't is too sharp And pour fresh Wine upon it only to stand in infusion all Night In the Morning exhibit a Dram and a half or two Drams of the strain'd Liquor to the Mad Person 'T is a Medicine admirably fit for this case and this only In the Mineral Family Antimony and Vitriol are the two noted Emetics But Vitriol is not so Friendly to Nature as the former it weakens the Body and disorders the Stomach whereas Antimony produces no such effects The Vitrum Antimonii alone is of more use and efficacy than a Thousand
Disease call'd Cholera A Cholera is a Disease in which the vicious humors are impetuously thrown out both upwards and downwards with a violent Pain in the Stomac and Belly distention of the Hypocondria Heartburnings Thirst Perplexity of the Breast a swift and sometimes small pulse frequent swoonings unquietness tossing a Coldness in the outer Parts Cold sweats especially upon the forehead prostration of strength and at last Convulsions and Hiccoughs This disease is call'd a wet Cholera in opposition to that call'd dry iâ— which nothing but wind is voided upwards and downwards It differs from a Diarrhaea only Gradually the symptoms being the same but only mere fierce The Causes are the same but more Exalted and Virulent The Seat of the illness is the Duodenum and Pylorus where the Inraged matter irritates the Choleric and Pancreatical Passages thro' which the Blood being overcharg'd with Heteregeneous particles indeavours to discharge ' em The occasional Causes are the same as those of a Looseness The Corruption and Acrimony of Food in the Stomac the Assumption of sharp Caustic Medicines such as Antimony Arsenic Mercury c. And the Internal malignity or depravation of the humors 'T is an acute disease and quickly finishes its Course If the Excrements be Livid Fetid Black or Corrosive if it accompany malignant Feavers especially in the Beginning and if the Stomac be very much disorder'd it proves fatal It observes a Tertian Period in its Exasperations And frequently relapses after an apparent Cure As touching the Cure Alexipharmacal Medicines are absolutely necessary If it proceed from corruptible and fermenting things taken inwardly such as Summer Fruits c. we must not be over-forward in stopping it especially if such things be voided as ought to be so Far less is it allowable to give Purgatives for they increase the Tumult Opiats indeed ought never to be omitted If the Patient be extreme weak give 'em in small Doses and frequently otherwise very large Doses are requir'd We mix 'em with Bezoars and diaphoretic Antimony All cold drink must be avoided Wine is very proper Watery diluting Decoctions are likewise very necessary for eluding the edge of the Salts In the declination of the Disease the Stomac ought to be corroborated with proper Remedies The Remedies prescrib'd in the last Article are all convenient here especially the Juice of Mint Sal Prunel Tincture of the golden Earth made with Spirit of Salt a notable astringent prepar'd Crystal Emerald Chalybeats c. If the Disease be caus'd by Poyson Oyl of sweet Almonds Milk fresh Butter and absorbent Powders especially prepar'd Chrystal and seal'd Earth If it proceed from the abuse of Summer Fruits besides gentle discussives and cleansers the fix'd Salts and Earths mix'd with Opiats are proper If it arise from a malign ferment the Juices and Syrups of Pomgranats red Corants Barberries Syrup of Coral Spirit of Vitriol of Steel seal'd Earth mix'd with Spirit of Vitriol Solar Jovial Martial Bezoar Bezoardic Tincture and such like are convenient Opium Diascordium Conserve of Mint Spirit and Extract of Venice Treacle and especially Camphyr are the most noted general Specifics against a Cholera The forms of Recipe's are the same as above As Take of Venice Treacle a dram seal'd Earth two Scruples mix for a Bolus to be taken in a spoonful of Vinegar of Wine Take of the Conserve of Mint a dram seal'd Earth prepat'd red Coral and prepar'd Crystal of each half a dram Laudanum Opiatum two grains With Quercetanus's Syrup of Coral make an Electuary Take of Purslain Water three ounces Cinnamom Water half an ounce Spirit of Venice Treacle and Diascordium of each two drams Confection Alkermes one dram unburnt Hartshorn half a dram Syrup of Coral six drams Make a Potion to be given by spoonfuls Take of Mint Water two ounces Cinnamom Water Bezoardic Vinegar and Spirit of Venice Treacle camphoris'd of each half an Ounce with Syrup of the Juice of Citrons make a Potion The external Remedies mention'd in the last Article are proper in this Spirit of Wine camphoris'd mix'd with Venice Treacle is a noble Epithema for the Stomac if apply'd hot with several folds of Linnen If a Cholera proceed from an Error in Diet it sometimes happens but very rarely that a gentle cleansing Medicine wou'd not be amiss Such as are Whey alter'd with solutive Syrup of Roses or Pulp of Tamarinds gentle Infusions of Rhubarb c. But Milk Clysters with Venice Treacle or Diascordium dissolv'd in 'em are always useful If a Cholera be caus'd by the violence of purging Medicines Laudanum Opiatum or Treacle or Confection Alkermes dissolv'd in warm Wine is a Sovereign Remedy Essence of Venice Treacle mix'd with that of Opium and given to forty drops twice or thrice a day is very successful against a Cholera caus'd by Emetics ART III. Of a Lienteria A Lienteria is a Looseness by which the Meat is sent out before it be alter'd The Causes are an Ulcer in the Stomac or a sharp scorbutic Salt convey'd thither with the Saliva and by the Glandules of its Membrans or corrupted Victuals irritating the Stomac to an early contraction and evacuation of what it contains The Laxity of the Pylorus occasion'd by much drinking and the Deficiency Laziness and Depravation of the Stomachical ferment leaving the Meat undigested The use of Signs is to distinguish the Causes If the Stomac be irritated there 's a gnawing heat in the Stomac accompany'd by Vomiting If the ferment be weak the Appetit is dejected the Breath fetid and the Cavity of the Stomac and Guts molested with Wind and Noise A Chronical Lienteria exhausts the Strengh and tends to a Consumption If it follow other heavy Distempers or accompany a Scurvy or seize Women with Child 't is very dangerous The Indications of Cure are to corroborat the Stomac and Pylorus by Medicines prescrib'd in the first Section of this Book and mitigat the irritating Acrimony of Humors by such Remedies as are us'd against a Cholera Looseness c. Gentle Vomits are proper if the Stomac be stuff'd with pituitous Excrements But such as are fat and oily ought to be avoided for they relaxat the Fibres of the Stomac If Vomiting be not convenient gentle astringent Purgatives are allowable such as Rhubarb or the Pills of Aloe or those of Mastic But by all means let strong Purges be prohibited If there be any suspicion of Poyson or if the Lienteria proceed from Summer Fruits and such corruptible things let Alexipharmacal Medicines be exhibited As for corroborating Medicines see the Chapter of Vomiting and that of a looseness The Antiscorbutic Tincture of Coral Allum us'd as above and Eggs boyl'd hard with Nutmegs and Rose Vinegar Spirit of Salt c. are of noted vertue for that purpose The Irritation of the Stomac is cur'd by Opiats mix'd with Spices and absorbent Powders as in a looseness Externally we apply as above directed in the Chapters of Inappetency Vomiting c.
inappetency especially an aversion to meat in the Morning an uncooth taste invades the Mouth which by degrees becomes saltish and is attended by a dry tickling Cough in process of time the taste of the Mouth becomes putrid and resembles that of Ashes or rotten Meat the dry Cough prevails towards Night and brings up some thin watery Matter respiration is render'd difficult and the Breast oppress'd especially after eating at which time the whole Body especially the palms of their Hands are molested with Heat The Pulse is always quick frequent and small After some time all these Symptoms increase the Cough angments and copiously brings up a viscous white then yellow green or livid and at length a true purulent Matter whereupon Night-sweats a Hectic Feaver and a gradual decay insue In fine if a Phthisic of the Lungs be not externally occasion'd or depend not upon a preceding Disease such as a Pleurisie or spitting of Blood it always flows from the Stomac From this Induction we may infer that in the beginning of a Phthisic the Cough does not always proceed from the Lungs but from the Stomac Nay sometimes tho' the Lungs be ulcerated if the Matter do not irritate the Bronchia there insues no Cough at all Besides the Matter which is expectorated by coughing is not always bred in the Lungs as being sometimes taken up from other ulcerated Parts by the Blood In which case 't is a difficult matter to trace out the part to which the Ulcer belongs But in general if it lodge in the Abdomen the Symptoms of the Belly do discover it If the Cough bring up no purulent Matter we conclude that the Phthisic is owing to a Schirrus or some such disorder among the Viscera Now the purulency of this Matter is discover'd by its sinking in Water whereas that which is only viscid being porous and dilated with Air swims above To conclude if the Lungs are exulcerated the Cough sounds hollow and deep and if they be much consum'd are voided by pieces If the right side be chiefly affected the sick Person cannot lie but on the right side and eâ—contra A confirm'd Phthisic or Consumption is incurable while 't is yet but growing there are some hopes especially if the Stomac is not much disorder'd If it proceed from hard swellings in the Lungs Schirrus's or Ulcers in the Bowels from the Scurvy the Whites Dropsy or running of the Reins 't is seldom cur'd If the Cough disappear of a sudden 't is a tragical Omen as also if the Hairs fall off and the feet swell or if the expectorated Matter stink when thrown upon burning Coals The Cure is compassed by removing the various Causes mitigating the Symptoms and projecting a method for nourishing the Body For which end let the following Cautions be heedfully minded 1. There 's no Remedy whatsoever that equals Vomits especially in the beginning nor any case in which they are nor convenient except that of a spitting of Blood and extream Weakness 2. Purgation Bleeding and issues are of no use The first is pernicious and augments the Cough or if in the beginning of a Phthisic it be absolutely necessary to cleanse the first Passages Rhubarb is the most proper Ingredient the second is never allowable unless a suppression of Blood require it the third was introduc'd of old in compliance with the exploded Fancy of a Phthisic's being caus'd by a Catarrhâ— distilling from the Brain which now we justly refer to the Stomac 3. Sugar Hony and all sweet Syrups are hurtful They putrify in the Stomac weaken its digestion and proâ—â—ore the corrosion of the affected Bowel 4. A scorbutic Consumption is admirably accounted for by a Milk Dyet especially that of Goats Milk mix'd with vulnerary and anti-scorbutic Syrups 5. Tho' an inveterat Phthisic do not admit of a perfect Cure yet the Life may be drill'd on by a Milk Diet using vulnerary Medicines and changing the Air. Milk is a Sovereign Remedy when the Disease proceeds from a sharpness of the Blood or Lymph it both cleanses with its Whey and heals with its Butter Indeed if it spring from the corruption of a Bowel or default of the Stomac 't is improper as being apt to curdle and putrify in a deprav'd Stomac Goats Milk mix'd with the Spirit of Scurvy-grass or that of Sal-Armoniac is of excellent Use in Scorbutic cases but Woman's Milk suck'd immediately from the Breasts without being exposed to the Air and the Butter made of it are preferable to any other It will not be amiss to add a little Sugar or Conserve of Roses to prevent Curdling And when Persons are confin'd to a Milk Diet they ought to take of it three or four times a Day and use some exercise after taking it in order to promote its quick distribution and in the interim eat nothing else but Raisins or Food of very easie digestion Note before the use of Milk 't is advisable to exhibit a Vomit The Yelks of Eggs dissolv'd in Wine and mix'd with a little Amber-grise are of admirable use in Venereal Consumptions The Decoctions of Elecampane-roots with Raisins and Liquorice and a little Spanish Wine are of noted efficacy against all Phthisics to which we may add Sweet Almonds and Emulsions of Milky Seeds Oysters River-Crabbs mix'd with Butter Cockles and all temperat Ingredients In the beginning of the Disease especially when it proceeds from the Stomac Acids such as the Spirit of Salt Nitrum Antimoniatum Terra foliata Tartari distill'd Vinegar with Crabs-Eyes dissolv'd in it Sal-Armoniac c. are recommended upon the acount of their Stomachical Virtue But after the confirmation of the Disease or an Ulcer in the Lungs both these and all Spaw-Waters ought to be equally avoided And as for the sharpness of the Blood and Lymph which vitiats the Lungs and is generally the Cause of those Phthisics that the Ancients refer to Catarrhs from the Head Sulphur is a proper Remedy It contains both Acid and Balmy Parts the former are pernicious and ought to be carefully separated from the latter Thus the Flowers of Sulphur nicely prepar'd and the Balsam of Sulphur prepar'd with distill'd Oyl of Aniseeds are incomparable Medicines If a Hectic and Night-Sweats prevail perhaps the Balsam of Sulphur prepar'd with distill'd Oyls may prove too hot in which case let it be prepar'd with the Oyl of Sweet-Almonds adding but a few drops of distill'd Oyl of Aniseed which last alone is a noble Pectoral Or the heat of the Balsam may be restrain'd by adding the Sugar of Lead or the Anti-phthisical Tincture of two Parts of Vitriol of Steel and one of Sugar of Lead infus'd in rectifi'd Spirit of Wine or the dewy Phlegm of Vitriol that 's free of Acidity rectifi'd upon its own Caput mortuum The Tincture of Blood-stone or that of the Sulphur of Vitriol are also fir to be added In the room of Common Sulphur some chuse the Mineral fix'd Sulphurs such as Diaphoretic Antimony Poterius's Antihectic and all
causing a greater afflux of pituitous Matter After evacuation we administer the Juice of Radishes the Infusion of Horse Radishes in Wine the Juice of Limons to two or three ounces with Oxymel the dulcify'd spirit of Salt the Philosophical spirit of Vitriol or rather the Acid spirit of Sal-Armoniac with the Decoction of Parsley Roots and red Vetches the Juice of the Pellitory that grows upon the Rubbish of old Walls as being impregnated with the Nitrous Salt of the Lime the Winter Cherry Madder volatil Salt of Amber c. If the Fibres of the Kidneys be flaggy Aromatic and Nervous Medicines are proper especially Turpentin the spirit and Oyl of Juniper-berries Cinnabar of Antimony and above all the volatil Salt of Amber given to twelve grains in a Convenient Vehicle is an admirable Diuretic If the Fibres be contracted we exhibit Narcotics with Cinnabar of Antimony and the volatil Salt of Amber or Mithridat with some diuretic Decoction or in imitation of Gesnerus the Powder of Glass If the ferment of the Kidneys be defective we exhibit the sharp salin Diuretics mix'd with the temperat Oily Ingredients especially the Decoction of Garlic Heads the Seed of Hedge Mustard given to a dram in Wine the Juice of Parsneps the Spirit and Salt of Urine Amelungius's nephritic Tincture prepar'd from Tartar Nitre Antimony and the solar Flint-stones the Carminative Spirit the volatil spirit of Tartar the spirit of Sal-Armoniac the volatil Salt or distill'd Oyl of Amber the Spirit or Juice of Earth-worms the Powder Juice and Infusion of Wood-lice the Infusion of Spanish Flies in Wine or their Diuretic Essence prepar'd with the Tincture of Tartar the Infusion of Horses Dung in Rhenish Wine the Urine of a Goat Crabs Eyes mix'd with Wine or Vinegar the Decoctions of red Vetches Chervil Madder or St. John's-wort the Shells of Hens Eggs or rather those of Estrich Eggs given to a dram or dissolv'd in spirit of Salt the Powder of Snails Shells dissolv'd in like manner the fix'd Salts of Diuretic Plants prepar'd according to Tachenius's Method or so that they be not too much calcin'd and consequently rob'd of their Salin Vertue the Tincture of Tartar prepar'd thus Take of the Salt of Tartar two ounces dissolve 'em in Water then strain and set it upon the Fire while 't is a boyling throw into it by degrees three ounces of the Cream of Tartar in Powder then thicken 'em with a gentle Fire and afterward reduce 'em to Powder from which extract an admirable Diuretic Tincture with the spirit of Wine To these we may add the Juice of the Birch-tree the distill'd Oyl of Turpentin and Emulsions made of violet Seeds and Speedwell Water or of Turpentin and the yelk of an Egg with some Diuretic Water and the Juice of Limons Or Take of the Waters of Parsley and Restharrow of each an ounce Elixyr of Juniper-berries call'd Malvaticum six drams spirit of Putrified Earth-worms two drams volatil spirit of Tartar a dram distill'd Oyl of Turpentin three drops Syrup of Ground Ivy two or three drams Mix and exhibit a Spoonful now and then Take of Tartar vitriolated a dram of the Salt of Bean-stalks and Salt of Pigeons Dung of each fifteen grains volatil Salt of Amber twelve grains Make a Powder for three Doses Externally we anoint with Stone Oyl Oyl of Scorpions and distill'd Oyl of Turpentin mix'd with the Ointment of Marsh-mallows ART 2. Of the Stone in the Kidneys STones in Man's Body are nothing else but a vicious Acid congeal'd with a volatil Alcali This vicious Acid for the most part is bred in the Stomac and being mix'd with the Blood attacks a naked volatil Alcali wherever it meets it with which it conspires to make up a third Concrete or Stone Now the Kidneys being plentifully stock'd with a volatil Alkali are most liable to the shocks of this Acid. 'T is true that in a healthy state the Alcali of the Urine in the Kidneys is naturally qualifi'd with an Acid and then 't is secure from the efforts of the vicious Intruder but for as much as the Urine is oft-times liable to Alteration or Corruption which sets the volatil Salt at liberty much after the same method as when it has been expos'd to the Air in an Urinal and begins to smell therefore the Kidneys are in such cases in danger of being molested with Stones Thus the generation of a Stone supposes two concurring Causes one is a prevailing Acid in the Body occasion'd mostly by imperfect Digestions in the first Passages or by such things as are apt to become Acid viz. Milk Cheese and especially Wine The other is the Putrefaction and liberty of the volatil Alkali of the Urine occasion'd generally by the weakness of the Ferment as by Asparagus and such Diuretics as enfeeble the Ferment and cause a putrid smell in the Urine Now that a volatil Acid engag'd with the volatil Alcali in the Kidneys is apt to become a Stone is made out by the following Remarks 1. Arthritick and Melancholick Persons who are much molested with vicious Acids are very liable to the Stone whereas those of a bilious Constitution are not 2. Those who live near the Danube and â—e wont to drink much Wine are frequently troubled with the Stone by reason of the prevailing Acid in Wine which is apt to congeal with a volatil Alcali as if ye take Nitre very well six'd and mix it with Flint-stones then melt it upon a strong Fire and 't will become like Glass pulverize this Glass and pour Spirit of Wine upon it after some time pour that off and add fresh Spirit of Wine which in a Month's time will become a red Oil containing the Acid of the Nitre exalted with the Spirit of Wine Now if ye put a few Drops of this volatil Acid Oyl into a Glass of Wine 't will gather it into a hard substance 3. The Chymical Analysis of the Stones presents us with a fetil Oyl an Urinous Spirit a volatil Salt and a Caput mortuum like Quick-lime Not to speak of its effervescence with any Alcalin Salt When the Stones thus ingendered of the volatil Acid and Alcali are growing together they sometimes take in a viscid Mucilage being the deprav'd nourishment of the Kidneys which renders the stones white Sometimes they corrode the small Vessels and take in some drops of Blood which makes the stones red Sometimes the pure Salts join together without any other mixture but some earthy Particles caus'd by the Putrefaction of the Urine and then the Stones are yellow But at other times the Membranes and the whole substance of the Kidney make a part of the Concrete A Stone in the Kidneys while it lies quiet and does not stir is attended by few or no Symptoms But when it begins to move or as the Practitioners speak in the Paroxysm it grates upon the Membranes which by means of the immediat Correspondence of their Nerves with all those from the Mesenteric Plexus
from the sense of Thirst a proneness to rub and toss the Head and pull up the Hairs When the Inflammation relents it tends to a Gangrene which occasions Convulsions Lethargies and a total inactivity A true Phrensy proceeding from the Inflammation of the Brain is very dangerous If it increase after sleeping if it be serious and fierce if a clammy cold Sweat drop from the Head while the Body is unconcern'd if it be attended by a difficult Respiration immoderat Watching Headaches notable Weakness a ghastly Countenance an invincible Forgetfulness a Hiccough gnashing of the Teeth trembling of the Tongue and Hands and involuntary voiding of Excrements if the Person he speechless apt to gather up or pick the Bed-cloaths or become lethargic if the Nostrils drop and the Urine be not tinctur'd All these Symptoms portend Death A Paraphrenitis proceeding only from the Heat and Effervescency of the Blood and Spirits is more tolerable A Symptornatical Phrensy is a proper Subject of Cure but a Critical one ought not to be meddled with It is follow'd for the most part by bleeding at the Nose and is distinguish'd by the following Symptoms The Urine affords signs of Concoction the Pulse is unequal but strong and large the Eyes sparkle a murmuring Noise disturbs the Ears the Nostrils itch the Face is red and the lower Belly softly distended Sometimes 't is usher'd in by a sudden Headache or the sick Person is young and apt to bleed at the Nose If these Symptoms are wanting the Phrensy is symptomatical and ought to be cur'd by allaying the Heat and Turgency of the Blood and Spirits or removing the Stagnation In the first place let the Physician take care that he be not impos'd upon by drunken Persons whose Phrensies resemble those of Feavers In the next place if the phrentic Person be molested with Head-aches and immoderat Watchings Narcotic Medicines are very proper but ought to be cautiously administred for fear of exalting the Phrensy or converting it into a Lethargy In order to avoid such Consequences let us take notice of the following Cautions 1. That in acute hot Diseases Opiats ought to be prepar'd with Vinegar 2. That they ought not to be administred in the beginning or height of the Distemper but only during its increase 3. That when the Person is very weak they should be omitted 4. They ought still to be mix'd with Bezoardic Diaphoretic Pouders Blood-letting is always convenient unless the Feaver be very malign and ought to be liberally perform'd and in the following manner 1. Let a Vein in the Hams be first open'd then in the Arm and afterwards in the Forehead Incase of a particular Suppression of Blood in the lower Region let the Vein in the Ancle be first open'd Instead of breathing the Vein in the Forehead some recommend the Application of scarify'd Cupping-glasses to the forepart of the Head 2. Let the Surgeon while the Vein is open lay his hand upon the Patient's Head and mind the beating of the Artery in order to adjust the quantity of Blood to be drawn forth and the strength of the Patient 3. Let the Orifice of the Vein be stop'd and open'd by turns by the Surgeon's Finger Thus the stagnating Blood is evacuated without impairing the strength of the Patient in so great a measure as otherwise As for external Applications all strong smelling things except Camphyr ought to be avoided Vinegar must be added but in small quantities because its sharpness hinders sleep A symptomatical Phrensy disappears upon the removal of the principal Disease Cooling and narcotic Medicines are its proper Cure to which Diaphoretic Febrifuga's are join'd according to the Degree and Circumstances of the Feaver Take of the Waters of Male Pimpernel Purslain and white Water-Lillies of each an Ounce and a half Syrup of Water-Lillies and Syrup of Poppies of each six Drams The Acid Mineral Spirits of Vitriol Salt Sulphur dulcify'd Spirit of Nitre and dulcify'd Spirit of Salt are very useful against Phrensies Camphyr has a peculiar pacific Virtue If it be added to Opiats their Dose ought to be proportionably lessen'd As Take of the Conserve of red Poppy-flowers vitriolated half a Dram Langelot's Laudanum Opiatum one Grain Camphyr two Grains Mix c. Sugar of Lead prepar'd with Spirit of Nitre is a powerful Pacific The Decoction of the Flowers of Male Pimpernel in Water whetted with a little Rhenish Wine is of excellent use Take of the four great Cold-seeds of each a Dram and a half white Poppy-seeds three Drams With Purslain-water make an Emulsion To which add human Scull prepar'd without Fire half a Dram Bezoar Mineral a Scruple Syrup of Purslain half an Ounce Mix for use In a malignant Phrensy let the following Pouder be exhibited viz. Take of Cinnabar of Antimony twelve or fifteen Grains Lunar Bezoar six or eight Grains Laudanum Opiatum a Grain Camphyr two Grains Make a Pouder for two Doses to be exhibited in the Emulsion of white Poppy-seeds made with Pimpernel and Purslain Water Or Take of the Cephalic Specific Pouder a Scruple Sugar of Lead six Grains Camphyr two Grains Laudanum Opiatum a Grain and a half Acid Juleps are likewise very proper and if the Belly be constipated Tamarinds may be boil'd in ' em Externally let Cataplasms of Rue Chamomile Vervain Briony-roots and Soap or of Radishes Salt sharp Vinegar and Yest be applied to the soles of the Feet Or Take of the Juice of Houseleek new drawn six Drams sharp Wine Vinegar an Ounce and a half Nitre two Drams Camphyr half a Dram. Mix and apply to the Stones soles of the Feet and forepart of the Head When the Person sleeps it ought to be taken off the Head A Cataplasm of Houseleek Purslain and Roses may be applied to the Temples and Forehead The Pulp of a Gourd applied to the Head shav'd is commended by Bartholet Some set their Feet into an excavated Gourd and find benefit by it The Juice of live River-Crabs newly express'd is applied to the Forehead with wonderful success Or Take of Rose-water ten Ounces Opium a Dram Saffron half a Scruple Mix them and apply with a doubled Linen Cloth to the Forehead Take of the Water of Frogs Spaun six or eight Ounces fresh Juice of River-Crabs two three or four Ounces Opium dissolv'd in Vinegar half a Dram or two Scruples Camphyr and Saffron of each six eight or ten Grains Mix c. Or Take of the Juice of River-Crabs extracted with the Water of Frogs Spawn six Ounces Vinegar of Roses two Ounces Triacle of Andromachus two Drams Camphyr half a Scruple Saffron six Grains Mix and foment the Head and Temples Let the Liquor be lukewarm or somewhat cold Lindanus attributes much to the antient way of applying live Creatures cut up along the middle as a Dove a Cock c. to the Head shav'd But in the first beginning of a Phrensy they rather enforce it Oftimes the phrentic Persons thro inadvertency neglect to void their
with the latter If ye dissolve Quicksilver in Spirit of Nitre the Acid of the Spirit fixes the Mercurial Alcali so that it remains at the bottom when ye draw off the Spirit But if ye throw common salt into it the Mercury precipitates which by separation and sublimation yields a Powerful Corrosive But after all 't is certain that liquid Mercury cannot be Coagulated but by Acids For Alcali's and Urinous salts restore it to its Natural freedom Cinnabar is a mixture of Mercury with an Acid Sulphur that fixes it Now if ye add salt of Tartar Urine or the like it disengages the Mercury and brings it to life again The Common Mercury of the Shops is not this Genuin Alcali that I 've thus describ'd but Adulterated with Sulphur It being liquid is apt to mix with an Acid so that we never find it pure This Acid Sulphur is the hidden cause of Salivation it attenuates and dissolves the viscid stubborn humors and evacuates them by the Salivary Glandules While the Mercurial Alcali absorbs the most fix'd Acids in the Body that wou'd not yield to any other Medicine Crude Mercury is a mild enough Medicine at least its sharpness is so insensible that it seldom procures either Stool or Salivation at first I prescrib'd Crude Mercury to a Woman subject to the Iliac Passions that had been constipated for a long time I order'd her three Ounces to be drunk with her other liquors and continu'd the use of it â—ill she had four and twenty Ounces in her Body It produc'd no sensible effect till the fourth Day that she began to spit and the viscid humors that the Mercury had attenuated were Copiously voided by stool Thus Crude Mercury is inoffensive with regard to the solid parts It does not irritate either the Stomach or Guts to contract themselves and cast out what they contain But only attenuates the viscid humors that block up the Passages and prepares 'em for a spontaneous Evacuation To return to Mercurial Vomits Mercury being of it self uncapable to provoke the Stomach must be mix'd with an Acid in order to become Emetic The more it partakes of the Acid the more fiercely it operates If the Acid Spirit in which 't is dissolv'd be drawn off with a gentle fire and but once 't is a dangerous Medicine and scarce fit to be us'd But if the Acid be sufficiently taken off either by a greater force of fire or reiterated Destillations it becomes milder The mixture of the Acid and the Mercurial Alcali make a Vitriol-like Concrete which provokes Vomiting and moves the Belly for all Cathartic Medicines taste like Vitriol The best Emeric of all the Mercurial Family is Turbith Mineral There are two ways of preparing it The first was invented by Crollius and 't is this Take half a Pound of Mercury and Infuse it in a Pound of Rectify'd Spirit of Sulphur Draw off the Spirit with a strong fire and repeat the Destillation thrice The fourth time add a little fresh Spirit and continue to draw it off till the bottom of the Retort and the Sand become Red hot Then take out the white Mass or Caput Mortuum and infuse it in Rain Water or some Distill'd Water Let it stand and digest till it sweeten that is till all the sharpness of the Water be gone Thus the white precipitat becomes yellow Put this yellow precipitat into a Glass with a long Neck and let it stand for digestion over a fire of Ashes for eight Days that so the resiâ—ue of the Mercury if any there be that is not fix'd by the Acid may be sublimated in the Head of the Glass Then take the Powder that lies at the bottom and kindle fresh Spirit of Wine thrice upon it Here the Spirit of Sulphur is prefer'd to that of Vitriol which generally retains some of its Mineral Particles and by Vertue of their motions if it stand any considerable space of time grows muddy and hot Spirit of Salt and Nitre are two extremes from which that of Sulphur seems to be equally remov'd Therefore Crollius prefer'd it to all other Acids He chose Distill'd Waters for sweetening the Precipitate because Common Water is already Loaden with Salt and therefore unfit to charge it self with Foreign Salts This Turbith Mineral ought not to be given in Powder lest it offend the Gums and Palate Bolus's and Pills are Convenient forms Take of Crollius's Turbith Mineral five Grains Venice Triacle as much as sufficeth to make a Bolus Or Take the same quantity of Turbith Mineral and with Juice of Spanish Liquorice reduce it to the consistence of Pills The other preparation of Turbith Mineral was first Communicated to the World by Mynsichtius 'T is as follows Take Corrosive Sublimat Mercury and dissolve it in Common Water then precipitate with the Oyl of Tartar per deliquium Take this precipitat and sweeten it often with a Distill'd Water or not Common Water and kindle Spirit of Wine upon it several times The Dose is from five Grains to six It is a very Powerful Medicine in all inveterat Distempers arising from an Acid. It absorbs the Acid Particles attenuates and evacuates the viscid humors Salt of Vitriol is a Nauseous Medicine and hurtful to the Stomac It s Emetic Vertue seems to proceed from the oar of Copper of which it partakes The Spirit of Sulphur and Chalybeat Minerals which are its other Ingredients are known to be no Vomits Vomiting ought to be avoided by those who are Subject to a Rupture by Child-bearing Women and such as are troubl'd with a down-falling of the Womb. CHAP. II. Of Purging Medicines THE Humors evacuated by stool are Convey'd to the Guts by the Passage of the Choler or that of the Pancreatic Juice or through the miliar Glandules inserted into the Coats of the Guts The Mesaraic Veins cannot cast forth any serum by reason that all secretion must needs be perform'd by Glandules Our Purging Medicines are all prejudicial to the Stomac except Aloe and Rhubarb They are endow'd with a certain Virulency that offends our Constitutions and do equally assault both the Noxious and Nourishing Juices If they do not meet with Corrupt Humors they make a prey of the good ones Accordingly we see that they weaken the Body disorder the Spirits and sometimes produce very dismal effects Which obliges us to add Correcters to qualify and cicurate their Malignant Qualities The Animal Family produces no Purgatives The Vegetable Boasts of a great many which are all endow'd with a sharp Volatil Salt mix'd with a viscid Oyl Fix'd Salts are the most proper Correcters of Vegetable Purgatives by reason that they open the resinous Textures and remove the offending viscidity Sometimes Fermentation produces the same effect The Mineral Purging Medicines consist of a sharp Vitriolic Sulphur which is admirably Corrected by adding Nitre They all compass their end by twitching and vellicating the Coats of the Guts or the Orifices of the Choleric and Pancreatic Passages or by
squeezing the Miliar Glandules and so provoking them to an evacuation Some Purging Medicines enter into the Blood and dissolve its Mass If there be any corrupt juices Incorporated with it they carry them off If there be none they melt down the laudable Blood into serum and dispose it for secretion We are oppress'd with a Numberless train of Purging Medicines whereas one or two might Answer all our demands Some few indeed besides the evacuating Vertue have a specific Relation to some Diseases as black Hellebor to Melancholly Rhubarb to the disorders of the Kidneys and especially Câ—loquintida to all Acid Enormities But by a modest Computation five or six might be pick'd out that might very well suffice for all the Indications in Physic These are Jalap Senna black Hellebor Aloe and Rhubarb to which ye may add Scammony and Coloquintida for quickning Ingredients Jalap is a Root imported from Mexico It s Purgative Vertue is owing to its resinous Oyly parts which are strongly six'd by an Acid. For if ye extract the Resin out of it by Spirit of Wine the remaining Caput Mortuum is rob'd of its Purging Vertue This discovers the error of many Physicians who order Jalap to be infus'd in Wine or Common Water which are improper Vehicles for a resinous Body It purges gently without throws or gripings The excrements it evacuates are ting'd with a yellow Colour It agrees best with moist Constitutions and is recommended by Borellus as a specific in a Dropsy If it be well Concocted in the first Passages it not only evacuates but attenuates the humors But the Resin of Jalap taken in solid Powder sticks to the pleats of the Stomach and Guts causes a great many disorders and sometimes a super-purgation Whereas if it be dissolv'd with the Yelk of an Egg in any convenient liquor it is easily concocted and operates without any trouble If Jalap be desir'd in a solid form we prescribe thus Take Cream of Tartar from fifteen Grains to a Scruple Powder of Jalap ten twelve or fifteen Grains and a drop or two of Distill'd Oyl of Annisseeds or Mace Mix and make a Powder If it want to be quicken'd thus Take Powder of Jalap ten fifteen or sixteen Grains Cream of Tartar or Tartar Vitriolated or the Salt call'd Arcanum Duplicatum from twelve to fifteen Grains Prepar'd Scammony one Grain or two Distill'd Oyl of Anisseeds or Mace or Cinnamon two drops Mix and make a Powder as above This is call'd the Purging Vegetable for many uses or Purgans Vegetabile Polychrestum The following prescription purges gently and do's not Gripe Take Powder of Jalap from half a Scruple to fifteen Grains Nitre depurated half a Scruple or four Grains of Nitre and the like quantity of Salt of Tartar prepar'd Scammony one Grain or two Distill'd Oyl of Anisseeds or Mace one or two drops Mix and make a Powder Or Take Cream of Tartar one Scruple Resin of Jalap half a Scruple Salt of Tartar seven Grains Distill'd Oyl of Anis-seeds two drops If a Bolus be more acceptable than a Powder Take of Conserve of Clovegilliflowers half a Dram Cream of Tartar fifteen Grains Powder of Jalap half a Scruple Distill'd Oyl of Mace two drops With a sufficient quantity of Solutive Syrup of Roses make a Bolus Or Take of the Pulp of Raisins two Drams Powder of Jalap one Scruple Scammony prepar'd with Sulphur one Grain With a sufficient quantity of the Syrup of Fumitory make an Electuary For Pills prescribe thus Take of Extractum Catholicum twelve Grains Resin of Jalap four Grains the extract of Trochisci Alhandal two Grains Mix for Pills For a liquid form thus Take of Spirit of Wine or of any other rectified Spirit one Pint of the Roots of Jalap four Ounces Citron Peel six Drams Saffron five Grains Let them stand in a warm infusion then strain the liquor and reserve it for use 'T is call'd Essentia Citrata and may be given from half an Ounce to six Drams Or Take of Hyssop Water one Ounce Cinnamon Water three Drams Powder of Jalap fifteen Grains Extract of Trochisci Alhandal two Grains Syrup of Cichory with Rhubarb half an Ounce Mix for a Potion Or Take Rosin of Jalap from half a Scruple to twelve Grains Salt of Tartar from six to seven Grains with a sufficient quantity of the Syrup of Roses make a Syrup The Salt of Tartar Correct the resin and prevents its sticking to the pleats of the Stomach If an Emulsion be more agreeable Take Melonseeds peel'd half a Dram Resin of Jalap six seven eight nine or fourteen Grains Beat them up together pouring in of warm Rose Water or Mint Water or any other convenient Water one Ounce add Cinnamon Water two Drams Make an Emulsion and sweeten it with solutive Syrup of Roses or any other grateful Syrup Ye may add two Grains of Scammony prepar'd with Sulphur or one Grain of the extract of Trochisci Alhandal with eight Grains of Salt of Tartar Hartwigius prepar'd it with the Yelk of an Egg thus Take Resin of Jalap seven eight or ten Grains and for those who are more robust twelve or fifteen Grains beat 'em up with the Yelk of an Egg. Then pour upon them of Fennel or Mint Water half an Ounce or as much as sufficeth to make an Emulsion Afterwards add Cinnamon Water a Dram or two with a small quantity of sugar or Syrup of Cinnamom 'T is an admirable Purge and sometimes evacuates both upwards and downwards Senna was first found out by the Arabians Hippocrates and the Ancient Grecians knew nothing of it It is a mild Purgative more usual in Chronical Distempers than in acute which are generally cur'd by Vomits Three things are diligently to be observ'd in using of it First that the leaves be well separated from the stalks which are apt to Gripe Secondly that they be not infus'd too long lest the thicker mucilage which is troublesom to the Stomac and Guts be also extracted For the Purging Vertue of Senna proceeds from a Volatil mucilage attended by a thicker The former is gentle and easy The latter griping to a high degree Thirdly that it be never exhibited without the addition of Ginger and Tartar which sharpen and attenuate the mucilage It is a proper purge for hot and dry Constitutions We prescribe it in Powder thus Take of Cream of Tartar and Leaves of Pick'd Senna of each two Drams Ginger Anisseeds Cinnamom and Galandal of each half a Scruple Mix and make a Powder Which is a gentle Lenitive and may be taken at Dinner in a spoonful of broth Dose as much as will lie upon the Point of a knife The infusion of Senna is better than the Decoction in which the Volatil mucilage evaporates and the thicker is too much extracted If ye add Cream of Tartar to it it must always be boyl'd else it will not mix with the Cream Therefore in simple infusions we only add Salt of Tartar and for the most part black
but a heap of crude Matter Sometimes it melts into a fix'd Viscous acid that falling short of its due thinness and volatility is the source of all Chronical Distempers which by the Ancients were imputed to the unequal Disposition of the Bowels or the cold Constitution of the Stomac complicated with the heat of the Liver This we call the acid Crudity of the Stomac At other times it degenerates into a Cruditas Nidorosa a putrid Matter smelling like something burnt or roasted The causes of these Disorders are the deficiency confusion or flatness of the Spirits thro' Weakness Passions Pains and want of Exercise the corruption or fixation of the acid ferment occasion'd by vicious Acids sweet things and such as tend to an acid Crudity or its dullness and inactivity occasion'd by the oyly Salt of the Choler abounding in the the Stomac eating of fat Food as Eggs fry'd with a large quantity of Butter and such like which produce a Cruditas Nidorosa the fixation and viscidity of the Reliques of preceding Digestions in the Pleats of the Stomac following the preposterous administration of fix'd absorbent Powders in Feavers eating of disagreeable and unwonted Food which renverses the Seminal Crasis of the ferment and requires a new proportion of digestive Salts whereas the Food that the Appetit calls for and is by custom well acquainted with meets with a more wellcome reception from the ferment that is in some measure ally'd to it by vertue of the remains of food of the same Nature lodg'd in the Stomac the Relaxation Exulceration Excoriation and Obstruction of the Stomac Its Sympathy with the Kidneys in Nephritic Pains c. These Causes relate to the Stomac and its ferment The Causes relating to the Object or Food receiv'd are gormandizing or over-charging the Stomac and ferment variety of contrary Meats which are not equally digested one part remaining crude while the other is already transform'd departing from the usual Measures and Seasons of Eating or anticipating Meals before the former be digested crossing the Natural Appetit by pressing such things as are loath'd and denying that it long'd for abstaining from Bread or using such as is not sufficiently fermented and impregnated with that volatil Acid that so notably promotes Digestion hard viscous and oyly Food or such as is not easily dissolv'd or mix'd with watery Vehicles excessive Drinking which over dilutes the ferment relaxes the Fibres of the Stomac and causes the Food to float unsteddily Eating of solid Foot without a sufficient quantity of moisture for its Vehicle neglect of Chewing c. The particular Causes of an acid Crudity are the redundancy of acid Humours in the Body the frequent use of Acids whether open or occult or of Spices and such like sharp things as are apt to exalt an Acid. Those of a musty Crudity are the recoyling of the Bile and Alcalin Humors the deficiency of Acids as in acute Feavers the undue stay of Food in the Stomac or the contraction of the Pylorus stopping its passage using fat oyly fix'd or Chalybeat Ingredients soon perishing Fruits in a word whatever is apt to corrupt or contract a Nidor The Symptoms of an impair'd Chalification are a heavy pain about the Stomac and distention of the Breast after eating frequent Belchings whether insipid putrid sulphureous or resembling the very taste of the Food tho' five or six Hours after eating Sometimes especially in Hypochondriac Persons the Face is inflam'd and respiration is difficult while they lie on their Backs In a Morning their Mouth is beset with a viscous Phlegm The Urine is sometimes thin and watry at other times thick and muddy Sometimes a Vertigo happens attended by all the Symptoms of the Hypochondriac Illness which takes its rise from the Stomac The Signs of an acid Crudity are Heart-burning acid Belchings much Wind the Constipation of the Belly and the thickness and viscidity of whatever is vomited up whether Naturally or by Art Those of a musty Crudity are these In the Morning they perceive an uncouth ashy Taste like that of rotten Wood afterwards a gnawing in the Stomac and loathing of Meat with a Bitterness in the Mouth their Belchings resemble the taste of rotten Fish or fry'd Eggs the Belly is open and loose and what they vomit is either insipid or bitterish As for Prognostics An acid Crudity is the fore-runner and cause of Intermitting Feavers Hypocondriac Illness Scurvy Cachexies Colic Passions Arthritic and Nephritie Pains Melancholy and fore'd Eruptions in the Skin In a word 't is the source of all the Chronical Dstempers which by the Ancients were refer'd to the Obstructions of the Bowels Mesentery Liver â—pleen c. Chylification is the Work of Nature not to be compass'd by Art Wherefore the Cure consists only in removing the offensive Crudity cleansing the Stomach and gently whetting the Appetite In the first place Antimonial Vomits mix'd with attenuating Ingredients are requir'd Then Stomachical Purges of Hiera with Agaric Aloe and Mastic Or Take of the Pills call'd Aleophanginae a Scruple Tartar vitriolated six Grains Scammony sulphurated two Grains Extract of Troches Alhandal a Noble Medicine for cutting pituitous Humours a Grain and a half with the Tincture of Tartar make Pills Take of Quercetanus's Pills of Ammoniac a Scruple Extract of Steel half a Scruple Extract of Troches Alhandal two Grains distill'd Oyl of Mace two Grains With Elixir Proprietatis or Essence of Sassafras or Essence of Mint or Spirit of Mastic make Pills Or a Purging Medicine may be made of Salts Thus Take of Tartar vitriolated Cream of Tartar of each half a Scruple Scammony sulphurated four Grains Troches Alhandal two Grains Distill'd Oyl of Anniseeds two Drops make a Powder If a Liquid Form be desir'd Take of Wormwood or Hyssop-water Mint-water of each half an Ounce Tartar vitriolated Extract of Agaric of each half a Scruple Extract of Troches Alhandal one Grain Scammony sulphurated two Grains solutive Syrup of Roses half an Ounce Mix for a Potion Of Alterative Medicines Galangal and Ginger are much the best Next are the Carminative Seeds Anniseeds Caraway-seeds Cumin-seeds the four lesser hot Seeds Acorus-roots preserv'd Nutmeg not by it self but in conjunction with Stomachic Simples among which Mint and Wormwood lead the Van. Next to them are Myrrh Zedoary Rosemary Sassafras Quinces dulcify'd Spirit of Salt an incomparable Remedy Spirit of Mastic mix'd with that of Mint Elixir Proprietatis is an excellent Stomachic but for acid Crudities it ought to be prepar'd without an Acid and mix'd with Spirit of Sal-armoniac For musty Crudities let it be prepar'd with an Acid and mix'd with Spirit of Scurvygrass Mynsichtius his Elixir of Vitriol Michael s Stomachical Elixir mix'd with the Asthmatic Spirit or with the Spirits of Mastic and Scurvygrass Essence of Baum mix'd with the Philosophical Spirit of Vitriol as likewise those of Penny-royal Mint Rosemary Sassafras and Myrrh are all very proper Wormwood-Wine is likewise useful Or Take of curl'd Mind wild
the febrile matter and the previous infirmity of the part The various Divisions of Feavers may be gather'd from the following Chapters As for their Causes whatever abolishes the natural proportion and Symmetry of the Salts causes a preternatural Fermentation and is call'd a febrile Ferment If it affect the Blood immediatly the Spirits receive its influence at second hand and if the Spirits are first attack'd the Blood is disorderd by them This Ferment must be somewhat disagreeable to our natural Ferments else it cannot cause a Fever Such as are the particles retain'd by stopping the insensible transpiration the Ferment proceeding from Ulcers Inflammations Contagion or Acid Lymph striking inwards a Scab or Itch eating Summer Fruits c. If this ferment be ingendred within the Body it oft-times proceeds from the long stay of Victuals in the stomac which by delay and want of digestion become naked Acids or viscid Bodies inclosing an Acid within 'em upon which account we derive the cause of Intermitting Feavers from the Stomac and for so much as their Paroxysms are but so many continual Feavers most of this sort acknowledge the same Original When the Blood and Humors are forc'd out of their respective Vessels by Wounds and Ulcers they ferment and occasion a feaverish disorder in the Blood or Spirits This Ferment approaches to an Acid both in favourable and malignant Feavers but with this difference that a malignant ferment is sharper and more Volatil and penetrating than the other and is frequently couch'd under covert of other minute particles as in Spring the Exhalations of Fermenting Plants in Summer the Alcalin Effluviums in the Air in Autumn and Winter the Acid Salt which then prevails The steams of Rotten Carkasses and the unfavourable aspects of the Stars may occasion the like malignity These particles tho' originally included in a narrow compass multiply by fermentation and spin out the disease The alteration occasion'd by them in the Blood is perfectly parallel to that of Urine which is brought into fermentation by the jarring of its Salts by virtue of which it precipitates its disproportionable parts and then returns to a pacific state Even so the preternatural fermentation of the Blood is caus'd by the disproportion of its Salts and moves it to cast forth the superfluous and offending parts by the passages of Urine Sweat c. Tho' in this Critical Evacuation not only the first morbific matter but the laudable parts of the Blood and Chyle that the fermentation had melted down into a saline form and render'd insociable are equally discharg'd The remote Causes are various The Obstruction of the pores of the Skin and excessive Drinking or Eating are natural inlets to a Feaver The passions of the Mind especially Fear are generally arraign'd as Causes of malignant Feavers but 't is not immaginable how they should produce such an effect of themselves 'T is true indeed Fear and other passions may depress or disorder the Spirits and so procure an easie admissio nto the Airy Ferment that was unable to storm them in their natural Order The Symptoms are accounted for above to which we may add the vicious increase or diminution or depravation of the Appetit Headachs swoonings c. The general Prognostics are deriv'd from the Pulse and Urine A vehement large equal pulse is a sign of strength a small unfrequent pulse betokens weakness A hard pulse bespeaks the inflammation or distention of some membranous part as in Pleurisies and malignant Feavers affecting the Spirits and Nerves A soft pulse discovers that the Spirits are not much disorder'd and if it be large and vehement withal forebodes sweating Urine affords the signs of Crudity or Concoction If clear Urine become muddy or contain a Cloud or Sediment 't is a sign of Concoction and portends a happy solution of the disease for by Concoction we understand the separation or precipitation of the peccant Salts from the mass of Blood and by Crudity the perturbation of the Blood arising from these Salts Now in the beginning of Acute Diseases the Urine is clear and unmuddy'd by reason that the Salts are yet reigning in the Blood but in the increase of the Disease it becomes thick and troubled and at the height precipitates a copious sediment If the Urine continue muddy and do's not Clarify by standing 't is a sign that the Commotion and Confusion of the Blood do's not yet abate Nature do's not evacuate the offending matter before a sufficient Concoction and in imitation of her example Art ought not to attempt any evacuation in Benign Feavers before the signs of Concoction appear In malignant Feavers indeed 't is not safe to wait for 'em but to indeavour an early precipitation by proper remedies Clear and sound-like Urine is a sign that the animal Spirits are principally affected and is attended by malignity but concocted Urine if it continue such is a certain presage of Recovery If after an apparent Concoction it become crude or thin again 't is a fatal Omen This gradual Concoction is the effect of Nature indeavouring a Crisis Accordingly we find that immediatly before the Crisis Nature struggles most and the Sickness is at its greatest height in which case it ought not be disturb'd by artificial administrations but the natural tendency of the morbific matter must be heedfully observ'd for sometimes 't is cast forth by Sweat sometimes by Urine somtimes by Bleeding and at other times is thrown upon several parts of the Body by way of swellings and Imposthumes or is gather'd under the skin all over the Body and tinges it with a yellow colour which we call the Jaundice and is a sign of health if it happen on the fifth or seventh day but if it commence sooner unless attended by some notable Evacuation 't is oft-times fatal But of all fatal signs that of the Patient 's rubbing and picking the nose without any efflux of matter is the most dismal As touching the Method of Cure 'T is necessary to distinguish malignant Feavers which suddenly weaken the Person and generally determine in some notable Evacuations from those that are benign and favourable in which we either leave all to Nature as the ancients did or anticipat her efforts by enervating and correcting the febrile Ferment with Artificial Remedies and so ascribe the whole Cure to Art Sometimes we joyn issue with Nature and while she performs her Work are only busy'd in removing the impediments that imbarrass her by cleansing the first passages emptying the Blood Vessels and promoting the precipitation of the morbific matter by Medicines proper for that purpose Indeed when Nature departs from her due Measures by indeavouring unseasonable evacuations as in the beginning of a Feaver while the Urine is yet Crude a violent Loosness Bleeding c. 't is a perplex'd Case for to withstand Nature and stop the Loosness c. were to augment the Feaver and to suffer it to go on weakens and disables the Patient so that he cannot encounter
correcting the viscidity or sharpness of the Lymph especially the saliva and pancreatic juice evacuating the crude Phlegm and Lymph thus prepar'd and mitigating the Symptoms If the Breast be oppress'd let a gentle Vomit be exhibited or a mild purgative As Take Mynsicht's emetic Tartar two or three grains purifi'd Sal-Armoniac eight grains Or Take of Ruffius's Pills de tribus fifteen grains fulminatory Gold three grains prepar'd Scammony Treches Alhandal of each a grain With compound Tincture of Tartar make Pills In the next place attenuating Diuretic Remedies are proper as dulcifi'd Spirit of Salt of excellent use against a Hectic dulcifi'd Spirit of Nitre essential Salt of Tartar Sal-Armoniac Nitrum Antimoniatum Tartar vitriolated Terra foliata Tartari or its Liquor Tincture of Tartar Essence of Myrrh tartaris'd carminative Spirit Spirit of Sal-Armoniac anisated Poterius's Antihectic c. Take of purifi'd Sal-Armoniac half a dram Poterius's Antihectic a scruple make a Powder for two Doses one in the Morning and the other at Night before the Fit Nitrum Antimoniatum mix'd with an equal quantity of Sal-Armoniac or Arcanum duplicatum mix'd with diaphoretic Antimony or Sal-Armoniac mix'd with Galangal and Ginger are successfully us'd after the same method Take of Mint-Water and Fennel-Water of each an ounce and a half Spirit of Treacle two or three Drams dulcifi'd Spirit of Salt half a dram or a whole dram Poterius's Antihectic a scruple Syrup of Hyssop six or eight drams Mix for two Doses Let the Mouth be gargaris'd with small Beer and Hony of Roses or with Water Vinegar and purifi'd Nitre or the infusion of Holyhoc-flowers in Water with a little Spirit of Salt and a convenient Syrup The Feaver call'd Epiala in which the inward parts are oppress'd with heat while the external are cold is by some referr'd to this Head But 't is only a combination or rencounter of either a Continual and Intermitting or two Intermitting Feavers The Swoonings that sometimes attend both this and other sorts of Feavers are caus'd either by some viscious slime irritating the Mouth of the Stomac or some sharp rusty Humour lodg'd in it In the last case Unicorn's Horn or the Decoction of Tamarinds in Water are much approv'd But if a viscid windy Matter arise to them volatil spiritous Remedies are proper Tho' after all 't is worthy our consideration what Ballonius remarks upon this matter viz. That many Physicians are faulty in giving strong Cordials against swooning where purging were more proper Of Symptomatical slow Feavers These Feavers are frequently occasion'd by a preposterous use of Absorbents in Intermitting and Continual Feavers which fix the heterogeneous Particles and render the Chyle and Lymph viscid or by over-feeding in the declination of other Feavers while the digestive faculty is weak by which means the Chyle is loaded with Crudities They may likewise follow other Diseases proceeding from a viscous Acid. Their Symptoms are the same as above to which we may add that sometimes they are accompanied by a looseness or voiding of liquid pituitous Matter The Cure consists in tempering the saltish Acid attenuating the viscid Matter and procuring to it an egress by vomiting stool urine or sweat They sometimes proceed from Ulcers especially of the internal parts retention of the After-birth a dead Child in the Womb chronical Pains and are cur'd by removing the respective Cause by Medecins alotted to that purpose In general gentle Vomits and Purges are proper and in a word the whole series of Medicins prescrib'd for the independent Slow Feavers Sometimes such Feavers follow an unseasonable use of sudorific Decoctions against the Pox before the Body be evacuated and are cur'd by vomiting and the repeated use of Sal-Armoniac Of Hectic Feavers A Hectic is a Slow Feaver advancing insensibly If it be a principal independent Disease it proceeds from the Corruption of undigested Food in the Stomac immoderate fatigue sorrow watchings want over-liberal evacuations excessive Bathings c. Oft-times 'tis only a symptom of other Diseases and follows the irregular Cure of Continual and Intermitting Feavers Inflamations of the Bowels Lungs Mesentery Womb and Kidneys the French-Pox c. The Part affected is not the habit of the Body as the Ancients fancy'd but the mass of Blood and Lymph Hence the greatest heat is perceiv'd about the Arteries As for the independent Principal sort of Hectics the Stomac and digestive Faculty are the original seat of their cause The immediat cause is the indisposition and unequal texture of the Blood caus'd by the saltish sharpness of the Lymph in the conglobat Glandules and the viscosity of that in the Conglomerat From whence insue a deprav'd and diminish'd fermentation weakness weariness deficiency of Spirits and the whole train of Hectic Symptoms The salin and viscid Blood is render'd unfit for nourishing the parts and after eating when the thin readier part of the fresh Chyle dilutes the Blood and disengages its Salts the Pulse is a little enlarg'd and the Heat augmented and after some time sink again to their ordinary pitch And the coarse remains of the Chyle are frequently voided by Night-Sweats as having receiv'd a vicious Tincture in the Stomac from the Saliva and being upon that Account equally disagreeable to the Blood and solid parts As for the Remote Causes Fatigue and Labour Watchings and Care exhaust the Spirits and watery Vehicle of the Blood Anger exalts the Bilious Salt which joyning with the Acid acquires a saline Acrimony Grief and Sorrow increase the Acid which joyning to the urinous Salt becomes dull and unactive indigested Crudities in the Stomac or the want of Food occasion a stricter union between the Acid and urinous Salts and their mutual degeneracy into a third sharp saline Body Ulcers both internal and external corrupt the Blood by vertue of their salin sharp Matter continual and intermitting Feavers attended by plentiful Sweats exhaust the dewy watry part of the Blood or the unseasonable use of absorbent earthy Powders administred for their Cure destroys the Ferment of the Stomac and increases the Acrimony of the Blood Thus they all conspire to render the Blood and Lymph saltish or viscous There are three Essential Signs of a Hectic Feaver 1. An obscure insensible Heat increasing after eating 2. The successive Consumption of the Body 3. A swift frequent small weak and oft-times a hard Pulse To which we may add in some cases Night-Sweats the falling off of the Hairs an universal Weariness inward Heat and averseness to sleep in the morning If Ashy belchings precede the appearance of these Symptoms they serve for a confirmation In the beginning of the Disease the Urine resembles that of healthy Persons unless the Stomac be much deprav'd in which case 't is white pale and thick afterwards when the Appetit and Digestion are in a manner quite abolish'd it becomes thin transparent and high Colour'd and when 't is form'd into a perfect Consumption a fat oily Crust resembling Cobwebs swims on the Top. But we ought
malignant as the Itch c. and e contra Oft-times it lies latent in the Body for three or four days 'till the Season of exhibiting Antidotes be over upon which account a Physician ought to be very watchful in the Beginnings of Feavers The Symptoms which lead us to the discovery of a latent Malignity are these following a sudden prostration of strength and the Appetit dejected while the other Functions are regularly perform'd stubborn Watchings without any anxiety if the Head be only affected but if the Stomac and Breast be disorder'd they are attended with a great perplexity tossing to and again sometimes the whole Body sometimes only an Arm or a Leg to which symptom Deliriums and Convulsions frequently succeed The Urine resembles that of healthy Persons or if by vertue of Medicines or otherwise it happens to thicken yet it still continues transparent and has little or no sediment unless it be a yellowish Clot of Chyle voided along with it The Pulse is at first in seeming good order of a sudden it becomes weak small oft-times hard and towards the height of the Feaver unequal At first a gentle shivering may usher in the Feaver to which succeeds a very moderat heat externally tho' in the mean while they are burnt up within which is a fatal sign of internal Inflammations And notwithstanding the moderation of the Heat an unquenchable thirst molests 'em and their Tongue is dry and rough Or if on the contrary they be extream hot and withal insensible of thirst 't is likewise a sign of malignity These are the most common Symptoms Sometimes the Feaver is attended by violent Head-aches difficult respiration respecially upon the point of cuticular Eruptions stinking Excrements and lastly eruptions of Spotts Pushes Wheals c. According to which it undergoes several Denominations Sometimes the malignity is arriv'd at that height that the external Parts are corrupted and seiz'd with Gangreens the Person possess'd with an invincible aversion to all manner of Liquors c. Malignant Feavers admit of several Degrees The first is when the occasional sharpness and degeneracy of the febril ferment converts a benign Feaver into a malign one 2. When the ferment is not only sharp but contagious or epidemical Now the original of Contagion is an active spirituous ferment easily communicable to the Spirits and capable to propagate it self by a fermentative motion in matter fit for its purpose which in company of Spirits exhal'd from the sick Person pitch upon those whose Constitution and Pores gives the easiest admission such as the Relations of the sick Person weak People c The manner of its reaching and insinuating into such Persons is either by immediat Contact or in the Vehicle of Food Cloaths c. or that of the Air convey'd into the Lungs where it debauches the Spirits circulating that way and in passing the Mouth adulterats the Saliva which immediately affects the most sensible Orifice of the Stomac Hence the first and most dismal Scene of tragical Symptoms is laid in the Stomac 3. When the ferment is become pestilent And 4. When 't is form'd into a direct Plague The cause of Malignity assign'd by Willis is the coagulation of the Blood and that by Sylvius is a sharp volatil lixivious Alcali destroying the acid Sulphur of the Blood and consequently its consistence But the vicious fluidity of the Blood attending malignity confutes the former and the natural inactivity of Alcali's the known power of volatil Acids in extinguishing the animal Spitits and galling the nervous System and the Antidotal vertue of Alcali's both volatil and fix'd such as Camphyr Myrrh and the absorbent Powders overturns the latter Hypothesis 'T is therefore a sharp volatil Acid that causes malignity partly by dissolving the texture of the Blood and disposing it for Putrefaction and generation of Worms observable by Microscopes partly by irritating the Stomac Brain and nervous Parts and partly by extinguishing both the vital and animal Spirits That the Spirits are immediatly attack'd as well as the Blood and Humors is made to appear by the symptoms of sudden Weakness contracted Pulses Watchings Deliriums c. and by the force of imagination in propagating the Contagion Nay oft-times the Spirits are principally assaulted and the Humors only mediatly thro' their sides Now it will be of use in malignant Feavers to distinguish nicely the original trouble of the Animal Spirits and nervous System from that of the vital Spirits and Mass of Blood The Symptoms of the former are an unquenchable Thirst a rough and dry Tongue a quick and small Pulse attended by a moderat Heat anxiety and unquietness proceeding from the Stomac a melting looseness the rotten smell of Excrements and the thin fluid consistence of the Blood Those of the latter are a violent heat of the Forehead the hardness of the Pulse without the trouble of any membrane in the Body or a laudable Pulse attended by extream weakness the prostration of the Appetit squeamishness vomiting stubborn watchings without any visible Cause the dryness or roughness of the Skin and the unaccountable thickness and crudity of the Urin. The Remote Causes of Epidemical Malignity are approaching to corrupted things as Dead Carcases c. The Salt Subternanean Fumes Earth-quakes a preceding famine eating of corrupt Food as of putrify'd Summer Fruits and drinking Rotten Water c. Inwardly the prevalent acidity of the Juice of the Pancreas may so exalt the Bile to a rusty sharp quality that it becomes malignant Thus Benign Feavers frequently degenerat into malign ones and Scorbutic or Hypocondriac Persons who are stuff'd with a fix'd Acid are not so much oppress'd with malignity or a Volatil Acid as others The prognostics of malignant Feavers are very uncertain and fallacious A large and equal Pulse is a good sign A quick and small creeping Pulse is a bad sign as also an unequal Pulse tho' neither the inequality nor intermission nor smallness are so fatal in malignant as in Benign Feavers If Doating continue after sleeping and be not attended by Sweats if the Eye represent false Colours of Objects if the Urine after apparent Concoction become Crude again if it stink if it appear Fat Oily black or livid with a blackish Sediment If a Looseness happen especially after eruptions upon the Skin if the Excrements or Urine are Bloody If the Excrements Serum or Blood send forth a heavy Smell if a redness of the Face Heat and Watchings be attended by a dropping at the Nose if the Tendons start if a tickling or pricking Pain invade the Palms of the Hands if the Person attempts to catch Flies or pick the Bed-Cloaths if any of these Symptoms appear they threaten Convulsions or Death Deafness tho' it be look'd upon as a dismal Symptom in the beginning of acute Feavers meets with a favourable construction about the height of Malignant Feavers The Eruption of Bubo's and swellings of the Glandules frequently infer the solution of the Disease The Cure is
especially Crabs Eyes mix'd with Vinegar Tho' Vinegar be an acid yet when joyn'd to Crabs Eyes and absorbent Powders it ferments and assumes a lixivious Urinous form which is of admirable efficacy for dissolving clotted Blood To these we ought always to add Sperma Ceti and the Decoctions or Waters of Vulnerary Plants as being inrich'd with a plentiful Alcali The dulcify'd Spirit of Nitre and all the Preparations of Nitre are also of excellent use especially if the Feaver be high As for external applications I refer the Reader to the sixth Book and shall only now take notice of two Particulars 1. The mistake of those who apply repelling Astringents in order to straiten the Vessels and hinder the Corruption of Blood Whereas the Doctrine of Circulation teaches us that the Blood convey'd thither by the Arteries cannot be beat back or return any other way than by the Veins Now to straiten the Vessels that are already straitned by the swelling is the ready way to hinder the Bloods access to the Veins and augment the Inflammation 2. If the tumor cannot be discuss'd we must bring it to a Head by ripening Applications and when the Ulcer is open see it throughly cleans'd before we attempt to consolidat The general Cure of Inflammations being thus accounted for we proceed to Particular Inflammations ART 1. Of a Quinsey Thrush and falling of the Vvula or Palat of the Mouth THE Inflammation of the Muscles of the Neck especially those of the Windpipe and Gullet is stil'd a Quinsy under which we comprehend all Inflammations relating to the Chops If the Internal Muscles of the Throat or Head of the Gullet are inflam'd 't is call'd Synanche if the External Parasynanche if the Internal Muscles of the Head of the Windpipe Cynanche if the External Paracynanche If a Quinsey proceed from the simple Stagnation of pure Blood 't is accounted Genuin if the Viscidity of the Lymph be the first Author of the Swelling and so accompany or rather cause the Stagnation 't is a spurious or white Quinsey The causes of a Quinsey are the unseasonable suppression of a Flux of Blood malignant Miasma's in the Air irritating the Throat and Windpipe the assumption of Corrosive Liquors which provoke the Muscles to contractions cold Air Bones Pieces of Glass or whatever happens to disturb the repose of those Parts or thicken the Blood or Lymph The viscidity or sharpness of the Lymph has a peculiar tendency to the Inflammation of the Tonsillae or Glandules in the Throat which causes 'em to throw out large Quantities of glutinous Lymph upon the Tongue and Jaws An Imminent Quinsey is usher'd in by a difficulty of Breathing swallowing and moving the Neck and a notable Heat in the Throat The Symptoms that accompany it are a difficulty of Breathing especially in a Cynanche the tumor pain and redness of the Neck and Tongue a viscous Film or Crust proceeding from the Tonsillae and covering the Tongue a difficulty of swallowing especially in a Synanche A genuine Quinsey is also attended by an acute Feaver and a distending Convulsive Pulse like that in a Peripneumonia But a spurious one by a slow Feaver and meeker Symptoms If this Inflammation be not quickly discuss'd it either choaks the Patient or becomes an Ulcer which sometimes distils a purulent matter into the Lungs and occasions tragical Symptoms If the swelling and redness display themselves visibly upon the external Muscles 't is a good Circumstance If the internal swelling and difficulty of breathing increase without an apparent Tumor and be attended by Froth in the Mouth If the Feaver observe the period of a continual Tertian if the Vein under the Tongue when open'd do not bleed these I say are bad Omens If the Swelling disappear of a sudden without the Signs of Concoction in the Spittle or diminution of the anxiety of the Breast or if the Head Pleura or other parts are seiz'd with Pain and inflammation by vertue of the Translation of the morbifical Matter we look for Death The Cure is either internal or external The former is the same with that of Inflammations in general providing a due regard be had to the peculiar constitution of the Parts as appears by the following Rules 1. The volatil Salts and absorbent Powders above mention'd join'd to the dulcifi'd Spirit of Nitre and Laudannm are given with good success in order to sweat Especially Horse-Dung and the Dung of Birds as being plentifully impregnated with a Volatil nitrous Salt Nitre dissolv'd in the ordinary Drink is also much approv'd 2. Amber Myrrh Spirit of Harts-horn and all Medicines recommended for Catarrhs are very proper in Quinseys by reason that the Lymph is always faulty as well as the Blood 3. In the beginning of the Disease we first open a Vein in the Leg then in the Arm and towards the height under the Tongue Before the Invasion of a Quinsey if the Patient be not Plethorick nor the Blood very high we may order Blood-letting under the Tongue but in no other case before the height If the Piles or Terms are suppressed we must always let Blood in the Leg. In desperate cases we apply Scarify'd Cupping-Glasses to the Neck Shoulders and Chin. In fine the Constitution of the Patient and other incident Circumstances must be our Directory for regulating the Measures of Bleeding 4. Epidemical Quinseys or such as proceed from the malignity of the Air must be treated as malignant Diseases without Bleeding or Purging And the Physician ought to avoid their Breath as being very catching 5. Antimonial Vomits are of singular use in the beginning of the Disease especially if it be epidemical or if the Patient be molested with a bitter rusty taste in the Mouth a tickling heat in the Gullet and a loathing of Meat They are improper at any other time besides the very height of the Disease when the suppuration is in some measure advanced and the Swelling cannot be laid open Then indeed a Vomit is the last Refuge If the Person cannot swallow any Liquor let the Throat be tick'ld with Mercurius Vitae with Hony upon a Feather 6. Purgatives are improper as being apt to augment Inflammations Perhaps in the beginning 't will not be improper to cleanse the first Passages with a Laxative But Clysters ought to be injected every Day during the whole progress of the Disease 7. Blistering Plaisters applied to the Neck after the first Blood-letting are not improper 8. If the Inflammation of the Tonsillae arising from viscid Lymph be apt to relapse frequently let an Issue be cut in the Arm. 9. We must be very nice in distinguishing a Quinsey from a Prunella which generally follows Feavers and requires the application of Medicines improper for a Quinsey See the Chap. of Acute Feavers The external part of the Cure of a Quinsey is perform'd 1. By Gargarisms Ointments Cataplasms and Plaisters of discussing Ingredients such as Chamomil and Elder-Flowers Mint Penny-Royal Wild Marjoram Sage Hyssop the
Make a square Plaister to be applied to the Loyns Take the expres'd Juice of ten River Crabs boyl'd in Milk and add to it three ounces of the Crum of white Bread three yelks of Eggs an ounce of Butter an ounce of the Oyl of Chamomil and half a scruple of Saffron Mix all for a Cataplasm to be applied to the Loyns for allaying the excessive heat of the Kidneys While these Prescriptions are in use 't will be requisite to look out for internal Med'cines In the beginning gentle Laxatives are useful They ought to be mix'd with the meekest Diuretics As Take of Tartar Vitriolat fifteen grains Salt of Broom three or four grains Scammony prepar'd with the Juice of Roses three grains distill'd Oyl of Turpentin a drop Make a Powder to be exhibited in the beginning of the Paroxysm Or Take of Turpentin a dram Rhubarb in Powder two scruples prepar'd Amber half a dram Cinnamon half a scruple with the Oyl of Turpentin make Pills for a few Doses Note Turpentin is both a Laxative and a Diuretic and upon that account highly useful in this case The Emulsions of Violet-seeds with Speedwell-water mix'd with Crabs Eyes are also very proper for the same purposes The first Passages being clear'd we exhibit such Medicins as mitigat the Pain and allay the sharpness of the Humours with gentle Diuretics Thus the Elixir of Juniper mix'd with the Essence of Opium and exhibited by Spoonfuls The Oyl of sweet Almonds mix'd with Pearch Stones and the Syrup of Mash-mallows And the Emulsions temperat Seeds are very proper In general Narcotics are very serviceable not only by allaying the Pain but by procuring Sleep and so strengthening the Spirits in order to the expulsion of the Stone To these we add the gentle and easie Diuretics As Take of prepar'd Crabs Eyes Sperma Ceti of each a scruple volatil Salt of Amber five grains Laudanum Opiatum two grains Make a Powder Sometimes we add Cinnabar of Antimony for preventing or removing the Convulsion of the internal parts Take twelve living Wood-Lice bruise 'em with two drams of the sharpest Tincture of Tartar then strain it and add a scruple of the Essence of Opium Dose thirty or forty drops The Tincture of the Balsam of Peru or that of Capivi are likewise very proper Take of the extract of Acorus sixteen grains Castor four grains Hysteric Laudanum six grains with the Oyl of Turpentin make Pills to be exhibited when a Vomiting and Hiccough attend the Stone in the Kidneys Take of the Water of Strawberries and Winter Cherries of each an ounce and a half Cinnamon-water three drams Crabs Eyes two scruples Egg-shells calcin'd a scruple purify'd Nitre half a dram Laudanum Opiatum two or three grains Syrup of Marsh-mallows half an ounce Make a Potion Take of prepar'd red Coral and Pearch Stones of each fourteen grains Diaphoretic Gold twelve grains Camphyr three grains Make a Powder for two Doses Take of Marshmallows-roots an ounce Liquorice-roots two drams Mallows one handful Violet-seeds half an ounce Boyl them in Barley-water To two pound of the strain'd Decoction add of the Syrup of Poppies two ounces prepar'd Crab's Eyes a dram Mix c. Sometimes we add Juniper-berries Carrot-seeds St. Johns-wort-seed c. Forestus's diuretic Decoction is much approv'd As also the decoction of Chamomil-flowers or that of Water-lillies In every draught of such Decoctions 't is customary to add a few drops of the Spirit of Nitre or of a mixture of the Spirit of Salt with the volatil Salt of Amber When the Symptoms attending the Fit begin to relent we must have recourse to strong sharp Diuretics such are the Juice of Radishes given to two ounces with Spanish Wine the Roots and Leaves of Horse-radishes infus'd in Wine or a Spirit distill'd from Wine in which Roots or Leaves of Horse-Radishes have been infus'd in a Cellar for fourteen Days together the Essence of Restharrow Burdock-seeds the Infusion of Ground-Ivy dry'd and Garlic Heads in the Spirit of Wine or that of Juniper-berries an Electuary of the Rob of Juniper and St. Johns-wort-seeds which when bruis'd smell like Turpentin and consequently must needs be serviceable both for cleansing the Veins and preserving their ferment by its balmy virtue Carrot-seeds infus'd in fermenting Ale The distill'd Oyl and volatil Salt of Ash-tree-seeds or the following Oyl Take of the inner rindes of Ash-tree-roots two pound fresh Juniper-berries three pound Turpentin a pound and a half Mix 'em with the Turpentin and digest all for the space of three Months in twelve pound of Water Then distill an admirable Diuretic Oyl Dose eight or ten drops in white Wine The Juice of the tendrels of the Birch-tree gather'd in March is of excellent use if drank like Spaw-waters As also the Water distill'd from Arsmart and frequently cohobated the Decoctions of the Indian Nephritic Wood the Gum of the Cherry-tree form'd into Pills or dissolv'd in Wine and the Nephritic Essences or Spirits of Winter Cherries Juniper-berries c. Timaeus recommends the Juice of the wild Tansey gather'd in May before the Sun-rising and that of green Rye mixt with red Wine To these we add the volatil Salt of Amber the Salt of Urine Nitre Spirit of Nitre and all nitrous Salts especially that of Pigeons Dung or the infusion of Pigeons Dung in Vinegar mix'd with Hony or the following Salt Take Nitre well fix'd and expose it to the Air. 'T will melt to the consistence of Pap. Then mix it with an equal quantity of the red Oyl of Vitriol When their Ebullition ceases draw off the Liquor with a strong Fire and 't will leave a white Salt of admirable efficacy against the Stone The Mineral and Animal Stones are likewise recommended in this case especially Nephritic Stones Crabs Eyes Pearch or Carp Stones the shells of Eggs especially Estrich Eggs. They are not directly Diuretic but they drink up the Acid that gathers the Stone and if dissolv'd in the compound Spirit of Salt are converted into a third Concrete that proves an admirable Diuretic The Lye of the calcin'd Eggshells the lixivious Salt of Quick-lime calcin'd with Sal-Armoniac are also much approv'd The decoction of Quick-lime in Water being strain'd and congeal'd yields a fix'd Salt which is either us'd in Powder or infus'd in rectify'd Spirits to which it gives a notable red Tincture that 's much commended Helvetius boyl'd Quick-lime in Vinegar and evaporated the decanted Decoction The remaining Salt he made red hot in a Crucible and extracted a notable nephritic Tincture with Spirit of Wine The Spirit of putrify'd Earth-worms is also a proper Diuretic or the Powder of Scorpions first wash'd then infus'd alive in Spanish Wine for 24 Hours and then bak'd in an Oven in a Pot cover'd with Sage leaves their Dose is four or five grains in a potch'd Egg. If the Wings Head and Feet of Crickets be lop'd off and its Body be macerated in Parsley-water 't will become a milky Liquor that 's very Diuretic
The Essence of Wrens is much applauded as likewise the following Pills Take black Beetles gather'd in May without touching 'em with one's Hand Suffocat 'em in Spirit of Wine then dry 'em cut 'em into pieces and in the middle of their Body ye will find a viscous Liquor which mix with their Powder to the consistence of a Balsam Then take of this Balsam adram distill'd Oyl of Anis and that of Cloves of each three drops Make Pills Of which exhibit two grains once or twice in Elder-flower water in the Morning with a fasting Stomac They will cause a Strangury that shall last for thirty Days If Diuretic Med'cines prove ineffectual we ought to discontinue their use for some time lest the Kidneys be overcharg'd with Crudities The strongest of these Diureticks are by some call'd Lithontriptica or dissolvers of the Stone in the Body but I doubt much if any such Med'cines be yet discover'd 'T is certain that Spirit of Nitre will dissolve a Stone out of the Body but the alteration it undergoes in mixing with the various Humours in the Body cramp its virtue within us And therefore whoever pretends to the knowledge of Lithontriptica's must have found out such a Med'cine as is not liable to be chang'd by the Humours of the Body and besides that is neither an Acid nor an Alcali but consists of both as the Stone it self and is peculiarly calculated for its Pores as Aqua fortis is for Silver Some have exploded all Lithontriptica's as being too corrosive and apt to injure the Stomac Guts c. But they ought to consider that all sharp dissolving Menstruum's are not corrosive to the taste as Arsenic Quick-silver Mercurius Vitae c. whic are altogether insipid And besides some Liquors are qualify'd for dissolving hard Concretes that wo'not pick upon softer Objects as Vinegar dissolves the shells of Eggs while their inner Membran is left intire After the Paroxysm is over and the Stone voided we ought to prevent the generation of new ones by proper preservatives as 1. By keeping the first Passages clean with Laxatives and once in three or four Months a Vomit or a stronger Purge 2. By correcting the Acid in the first Passages with absorbent Powders and the fix'd Salts of Diuretic Plants 3. By cleansing the Reins and evacuating the first Rudiments of the Stone with volatil Diuretics the Spirit and volitil Salt of Tartar the Spirit of Urine that of Sal-Armoniac the Spirit of Worms Elixir Proprietatis Turpentin fat Broth Whey c. Some commend Milk but its Curd disswades us from using it However we ought still to remember that the Diuretics must be of the meeker sort and exhibited only once or twice in a Fortnight or three Weeks and that at some distance from the times of eating but not till the first Passages are clear'd 4. By strengthening the Reins retrieving their ferment and preserving the Urine from corruption with balmy Med'cines such as Turpentin the Balsam of Sulphur Juniper St. John's-wort-seeds c. ART 3. Of a Diabetes or excessive Flux of Vrine A Diabetes is either genuin or spurious The former is a voiding of Liquors by Urine without any stay or alteration in the Body The latter is a voiding of a much larger quantity of Urine than that of Liquids receiv'd into the Body The cause of the former is the laxity and openness of the Passages which lead directly from the first Passages to the Reins 'T is true these Passages are not yet discover'd but the quick Passage of some Liquors and their being voided without any alteration in colour taste or consistence according to the Observations of Galen Bartholin Hildanus c. do sufficiently evince their necessity The cause of the latter is a sharp volatil Salt or Ferment bred in the first Passages that dissolves the fat acid in the Blood Chyle and muscular Flesh unlocking their Texture and melting the ferment of the Reins Thus the balmy and nutritious parts of the Blood being melted down and tinctur'd with a sharp acrimony they stimulat the Kidneys and force their passage This volatil Alcali Salt is not unlike that which sometimes causes melting loosenesses or that of Spanish Flies and Beetles and is frequently the follower of violent Diureticks Perhaps it also sucks in the humidity of the Air in the Body by virtue of which it melts and so increases the quantity of Urine which sometimes exceeds that of all the Juices in the Body The Symptoms of the spurious Diabetes are the crudity thinness and sweet taste of the Urine with a fat Scum swimming upon it a notable weakness leanness dryness of the Mouth thirst a heat and pain in the Loyns a slow Feaver and in short all the Symptoms of a Hectic If it follow immoderat Labour Venery or Chronical Feavers 't is uncurable For Cure of a genuin Diabetes we exhibit Astringents and Aromatics such as we generally prescribe for defending and fortifying the Stomac and Bowels in the use of Spaw Waters Thus the astringent crocus of Steel the Tincture of the Sulphur of Vitriol Bole Armenic seal'd Earth Conserve of Roses vitriolated the decoction of Orange-peel and Plantan bol'd in Chalybeat-water are very proper Some recommend as an Arcanum a Cocks-comb calcin'd and exhibited with ones own Urine As for the Cure of a spurious Diabetes we must endeavour to correct the Acrimony of the Volatil Alcali to prevent the colliquation of the Juices by Narcotics and proper Astringents First of all their Diet must be the same as that of Hectic Persons In the next place vomiting is very proper to which we subjoin the Powder of the natural Blood-stone or of the Artificial one made of the Vitriol of Steel and Sugar of Lead The Antiphthisical Tincture prepar'd from the same Ingredients The Tincture of the Sulphur of Vitriol the astringent Crocus of Steel the Powder or Spirit of Allum Amber and its Troches or those of seal'd Earth taken in an Acid Vehicle the Tincture or Magistery of Coral prepar'd with the Juice of Citrons or their mixture with Vinegar Take of Plantan Water three ounces Distill'd Vinegar six drams red Coral pulveriz'd not prepar'd a dram Laudanum Opiatum two grains Syrup of Purslain an ounce Mix and exhibit a spoonful frequently Quicklime-Water given to four or five ounces thrice a day is of singular use in this Distemper as also Milk especially Chalybeat Milk or that in which hot Irons are frequently extinguish'd Asses or Goats Milk are the Best and next to them Cows Milk The Emulsions of sweet Almonds and white Poppy-seeds are also very proper Externally some apply to the Kidneys the Juice of River-Crabbs or Baggs of Plantan and Oak-Leaves boil'd in Chalybeat Milk ART 4. Of a Pissing of Blood THE Urine is sometimes tinctur'd with Blood and that more or less according to its quantity The Blood springs either from the Kidney Ureters or Yard or from the Contusions of other parts The Causes are the same as those of
thro a Sieve and add to it of Horse-dung three Ounces Oil of Chamomil an Ounce and a half rosted Onyons two Ounces Make a Cataplasm Common Soap dissolv'd in hot Milk is also very proper Take of the Mucilages of Marshmallow and Fenugrec-seeds extracted with the Decoction of Figs of each an Ounce Goose Fat six Drams Oil of Chamomil and Oil of white Lillies of each half an Ounce Mix and add of the distill'd Oil of Turpentin a Dram stinking Oil of Tartar a Scruple Make a Liniment Take of the Plaister of Henbane two Ounces Gum Ammoniac dissolv'd with a gentle Heat an Ounce Mix and make a Plaister The discussive Ingredients are endow'd with volatil subtil hot parts for subduing the Acid melting down the thicken'd Humour and opening the Pores Such are the Roots of Fennel Elecampane Flower-de-luce Birth-wort Pellitory of Spain and Ginger the Leaves of Dill Chervil Rosemary Marjoram Calamint wild Marjoram Lavender and Hyssop the Flowers of Roman Chamomil Lavender Rosemary and Saffron Juniper and Bay-berries the Seeds of Cumin Anise and Caraways all the Spices Castor Storax the Spirit of Wine camphoris'd the Essences of Aromatic Plants their distill'd Oils c. The Decoctions of such Ingredients are us'd both for Fomentation and Fumigation Cataplasms Liniments and Plaisters are likewise in use but Care is to be taken that no oily Ingredient stop the Pores of the Skin The ripening Ingredients ought to be 1. Moist and juicy for dissolving the two combatant Salts that promote Suppuration 2. Oily and temperate and 3. Indow'd in some measure with a penetrating Virtue in opposition to the fix'd Acid. Such are Marshmallow-roots white Lillies rosted Onyons and Garlic the Emollient Seeds Flowers Oils Ointments Plaisters c. The general Doctrine of Tumours being thus premis'd we proceed to the Description of particular Swellings which we cast into four Heads 1. Those that proceed from the Stagnation of Blood 2. Such as are Critical 3. Such as arise from the Depravation of the Lymph and 4. Those which relate to the Blood-Vessels 1. Under the first Head we comprehend Inflammations Blood-shot and St. Antony's Fire Inflammations are cur'd thus Inwardly we exhibit the same Medicines as we prescrib'd for a Pleurisy to which we add Nitre by reason of the Feaver that accompanies ' em Externally we first bleed and then endeavour to discuss 'em by applying the Decoction of Sulphur in Urine and the Plaister of Sperma Ceti or the Juice of River-Crabs and Horse-dung or the Spirit of Wine camphoriz'd mix'd with gentle Diaphoretics and the Water of Spirma Cetiâ— or Quick-lâ—me-water with Sugar of Lead or the Lee of the Ashes of Vine-twigs mix'd with Vinegar Nitre and Salt If these do not succeed we must endeavour to bring the Swelling to a head by applying Milk in which Castle-soap is boil'd But if the Inflammation and Heat be great we must avoid oily fat Ingredients If the Inflammation be spurious that is if a pituitous Humour accompany the stagnating Blood we may add Ripeners of the sharper kind Generally the Plaisters of Melilot and Diachylon softer'd with the Oil of Liâ—â—ies or Ointment of sweet Almonds are very proper After the Swelling is open apply the Balsam of Sulphur and Plaister Diasulphuris or an Ointment of Turpentin Hony of Roses and Balsam of Peru dissolv'd in the Yelk of an Egg. If the Ulcers are deep and hollow inject the Decoction of Tobacco and Plantain mix'd with Myrrh and Aloes or temper'd with Lime-water and the Spirit of Venice Triacle Some are wont to apply Astringent Cataplasms and Plaisters in the beginning of an Inflammation in order as they fancy to hinder the irruption of the Blood but the Rules of Circulation have discover'd their Mistake Blood-shot is the effect of Contusions or the Distortion of the Capillary Vessels It s internal Cure is the same as that of a Pleurisy Externally we apply a slice of raw Beef or Venice Triacle mix'd with the Syrup of Elder Sugar of Lead and Salt of Wormwood If these prove successless we must have recourse to Cataplasms of the Roots of Solomon's Seal and Comfry bruis'd and boil'd in Wine or to the Spirit of Wine camphoris'd and the Spirit of Sal Armoniac If a nervous part be affected by the Contusion we exhibit the Oil of Lavender inwardly and anoint the part with the Balsam of Peru mix'd with Spirit of Wine and Oil of Castor If the Symptom do not disappear after these Applications we must endeavour to suppurat and after Suppuration consolidate as above But when the Part quickly becomes black and threatens a Gangrene or when the Contusion is deep and reaches beyond the Cuticle 't is not safe to stay for Maturation therefore we scarify it and then apply Aromatic Decoctions or Lime-water sharpen'd with the Spirit of Wine and sweet Mercury St. Antony's Fire is an Inflammation incident to Scorbutical Persons and seems to proceed from a subtil volatil Acid that ferments with the volatil Salt of the Blood and causes it to stagnat It is usher'd in by shivering and attended by a notable Heat and Feaver It s Colour is very red when touch'd it becomes white but quickly reassumes its redness It spreads over the neighbouring Parts and is apt to degenerat into sordid Ulcers or Gangrenes When it besets the Arms 't is more troublesome than in the Legs If it strike in or seize the Head Face Mouth or Fundament 't is very dangerous It s internal Cure is accomplish'd by the Water Essence and Syrup of Elder-flowers mix'd with the volatil Salt of Hartshorn or that of Amber Camphyr Sugar of Lead Diaphoretic Antimony Cinnabar of Antimony and absorbent Pouders Purgation before the Declension is absolutely pernicious as also bleeding unless the Disease be occasion'd by a Contusion Fracture or Wound Externally cold astringent oily and fat Ingredients are hurtful the more proper Medicines are the Decoctions of Elder-flowers in which Venice Triacle and Castle-soap are dissolv'd the Spirit of Wine impregnated with Camphyr or Saffron the Decoction of Myrrh and Frankincense in Wine mix'd with Camphyr and Saffron the Water of Sperma Ceti and that of Cow's Dung distill'd in May the bruis'd Leaves of Radishes applyed as Cataplasms Clouts dip'd in Hare's Blood or the first Flood of a Virgin 's Terms the Leaves of Arsemart bruis'd and applied the Pouders of Myrrh Frankincense Chalk Sugar of Lead and Camphyr sprinkl'd upon brown Paper dip'd into the Spirit of Wine impregnated with Saffron To all which we may add Laudanum Opiatum as occasion requires The following Ointment is also much approv'd Take of the Pouder of Elder-flowers three Drams Ceruss a Dram and a half With Salt of Wormwood and Venice Triacle make an Ointment The Ointment of Sugar of Lead and Syrup of Elder is likewise of noted Efficacy If notwithstanding these Precautions the Swelling be ulcerated apply the Water of Quick-lime prepar'd with Elder flowers and mix'd with the Juice of Cresses Sugar of Lead and
but those of the Lungs Bronchia and Windpipe of the Middrif especially its tendonous part of the internal side of the Guller and Orifices of the Stomac of the Guts excepting that part of the streight Gut which may be reach'd from without of the Caul Sweetbread and Liver especially if they reach the large Vessels of the Gall Bladder and Branches of the choleric Passage of the Spleen which is full of Arterious Blood of the Conduit of the Breast the Navel-string Kidneys and the Neck of the Bladder of the Womb while the Woman is with Child of the Medulla of the Brain intercostal Nerve Cerebellum and Marrow of the Back-bone betwixt the Vertebrae of the Neck and those of the Back these I say are all mortal Those of the Mesentery are curable if the large Vessels be safe as likewise those of the cortical part of the Brain of the temporal Muscles of the bottom and muscular part of the Bladder and the inferiour part of the spinal Marrow if it be not cut acroâ—s A Surgeon's Duty with reference to Wounds is to remove the corrupt Blood and Juice that hinders Coalition to join the divided parts and apply such vulnerary balmy Ingredients as preserve their nutritious Juice from Corruption Now for so much as the natural Temperature of the nutritious Juice consists in a temperat oily volatil Salt surrounded with a Dewy Vehicle and consequently its Degeneracy is justly call'd Acidity we ought therefore to keep the Wound safe from the Injury of the Air which has a notable Virtue of creating Acids and to untye or open it as seldom as ever we can Some Surgeons being more amus'd with the Effect than the Cause choose rather to provide for the removal of the Gore and Filth than be so nice in exposing the Wound to the Air. But as their Practice is unaccountable so it ought not to be look'd upon as a Precedent The Surgeon's Breath especially that of drunken Persons or Women in their Terms is likewise prejudicial to a Wound and therefore ought to be avoided as well as the Influence of the Moon which stupifies and benums whatever is expos'd to it as appears by gathering its Rays with a Convex Glass Thus the Corruption of the natural Juice is prevented by applying temperat volatil balmy saline Medicines such as the Balsam of Peru Turpentin Oil of St. John's wort Balsam of Sulphur and especially Paracelsus's Balsam of Samech prepar'd from the Salt of Tartar volatiliz'd by the Spirit of Wine The common express'd Oils without they be further prepar'd are pernicious by reason of their latent Acid as also all sharp volatil Salts because they increase the Pain melt down and consume the Nourishment of the Part and hinder Consolidation But above all let Acids be strictly prohibited In the mean while we administer internally Medicines prepar'd from the vulnerary Plants Dog's Dung Earthworms burnt River-Crabs and the Blood of Goats Crabs-eyes mix'd with Wine are also of good use for they qualify and correct the Acid of the Wine which of it self is highly pernicious Nay the chief Virtue of all vulnerary Ingredients is that of subduing an Acid thus Mercury fix'd by Acids is reviv'd by boiling in the Juices of vulnerary Plants Some are wont to apply Digestive suppurating Ingredients to all Wounds but if the Wound be free of Contusion and no heterogeneous Substance be lodg'd in it they are noxious as causing a needless Afflux of Matter and converting the Wound into an Ulcer 'T is true that Wounds receiv'd by a Pistol which generally carry Contusion along with them or those of the Head which require to be kept open for some time or such as are already ulcerated require Digestives Such are Turpentin the Yelk of an Egg Myrrh Balsam of Peru Oil of Roses Camphyr Hony and in a word all oily Alcalies to which we add Absorbent Pouders as Chalk Lead Copper c. After Digestion we add some sharper Ingredients for cleansing the Ulcer The remaining part of a Surgeon's Office is to take out the heterogeneous Substance if any such there be and to join the divided parts either by convenient Ligatures or sewing 'em together The heterogeneous Substance is extracted by proper Instruments or by applying the fat of Hares with Amber and living Crabs or the dry'd Tongue of a Fox soak'd in Wine or a Plaister of Hony Yest and Misseltoe of the Oak and administring in the mean while the vulnerary Decoctions such as that of Dittany with Crabs-eyes For joining the sides of the Wound we use a Fillet of two ends meeting in one Body which joint Body we apply to the part opposite to the Wound and bring the two ends across upon it so as to join its Lips These Fillets will serve for joining simple Wounds that run along with the length of the Fibres but for large ones that come across the Fibres or the Joints or when any part is almost cut off to a very Point then 't will be needful to few up the Part with a Needle and Thread But we ought to take care not to attempt sewing up a nervous Part for fear of inlarging the Pain or pricking a Nerve as also when we few not to bring the sides of the Wound too close because they are apt to swell and besides the purulent matter if it have not a sufficient Vent left will recoil and create hidden Ulcers or corrode the Bones Wounds that come by Pricks rather than Cuts are plied with Tents which provide for the Incarnation of the remote bottom of the Wound before its surface be cover'd with Flesh But in applying Tents we ought to observe these Cautions 1. They must not be too long apply'd because they retard Consolidation 2. In nervous parts they ought not to be long or hard for fear of irritation 3. They ought not to be too large for fear of rubbing off the Gore which cements the sides of the Wound or hurting the growing tender Flesh and denying Reception to the purulent matter When the Wound is a closing we ought not to be too liberal in applying astringent Pouders because they straiten the Pores harden the Fibres and so occasion a Scar or Roughness especially in adult Persons whose nutritious cementing Juice is not so balmy as that of young People To prevent such Deformities let the Fat of a Graylin be frequently drop'd into the Wound when it begins to consolidate 'T is true that moderat Astringents are useful for drying up the thin serous Humor that accompanies the nutritious Juice of the part cramps its cementing Faculty and renders the part flaccid soft and overgrown with luxuriant Flesh But in simple Wounds where there is no loss of Substance they are not so very necessary To conclude we may justly infer from the foregoing Premises that vulnerary Medicines are enrich'd with a temperat volatil oily Salt and a gentle astringent Force as being such as do not of themselves create new Flesh but only preserve the natural