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Encyclopedia Britannica.
Material, TV /jf ATERIAL, denotes fometliing compofed of
Material- 1V | matter. In which fenfe the word ftands
tfts. oppofed to immaterial. See Matter and Meta-
^ PHYSICS.
MATERIALISTS, a fe£l in the ancient church,
compofed of perfons who, being prepoffeffed with that
maxim in the ancient philofophy, Ex nihilo nihil Jit,
“ Out of nothing nothing can arife,” had recourfe to an
internal matter, on which they fuppofed God wrought
in the creation 5 inflead of, admitting God alone as the
l#le caufe of the exiftence of all things. Tertullian vi-
goroufly oppofes the doarine of the materialirts in his Material-
treatife againft Hermogenes, who was one of their ifts.
number.
PTaterialifls is alfo a name given to thofe who main¬
tain that the foul of man is material} or that the prin¬
ciple of perception and thought is not a fubdance di-
flinft from the body, but the refult of corporeal orga¬
nization : See Metaphysics. There are others, call¬
ed by this name, who have maintained that there is
nothing but matter in the univerfe ; and that the Deity
himfelf is material. See Spinoza.
MATHEMATICS.
Definition A /TATH EMATICS is divided into two kinds, pure
of mathe- -t-VJL anc) mixed. In pure mathematics magnitude is
matics. confidered in the abftradl ; and as they are founded on
the fimpleft notions of quantity, the conclufions to
which they lead have the fame evidence and certainty
as the elementary principles from which thefe conclu¬
fions are deduced. This branch of mathematics com¬
prehends, 1. Arithmetic, which treats of the properties
of numbers. 2. Geometry, which treats of extenlion as
endowed with three dimennons, length, breadth, and
thicknefs, without confidering the phyfical qualities
infeparable from bodies in their natural date. 3. Al¬
gebra, fometimes called univerfal arithmetic, wTich
compares together all kinds of quantities, whatever be
their value. 4. The dircB and inverfe method of Flux-
fo/; r,(called on the continent, the differential and integral
calculi'), which confider magnitudes as divided into
two kinds, condant and variable, the variable magni¬
tudes being generated by motion ; and which deter¬
mines the value of quantities from the velocities of the
motions with which they are generated. Mixed Mathe¬
matics is the application of pure mathematics to certain
edablidied phyfical principles, and comprehends all the
phyfico-mathematical fciences, namely, 1. Mechanics ;
1. Hydrodynamics; 3. Optics; 4. AJlronomy; 5. A-
coujlics; 6. EleBricity, and 7. Maghetifm. The hi-
dory of thefe various branches of fcience having been
given at full length, w7e lhall at prefent dired! the at¬
tention of the reader to the origin and progrefs of pure
mathematics.
2. In attempting to difeover the origin of arithmetic
VOL. XIII. Part I.
and geometry, it would be a fruitlefs talk to conduA
the reader into thofe ages of fable which preceded the
records of authentic hidory. Our means of informa¬
tion upon this fubjedl are extremely limited and im-
perfeft 5 ^ud it w7ould but ill accord with the dignity
of a fcience whofe principles and conclufions are alike
irrefidible, to found its hidory upon conjedlure and
fable. But notwithdanding this obfeurity in which XIie
the early hidory of the fciences is enveloped, one thing fciences crl-
appears certain that arithmetic and geometry, and fome ginated in
of the phyfical fciences, had made confiderable progrefs
in Egypt, when the myderies and the theology of that
favoured kingdom were tranfplanted into Greece. It
is highly probable that much natural and moral know¬
ledge was taught in the Eleufinian and Dionyfian my¬
deries, which the Greeks borrowed from the Egyptians
and that feveral of. the Grecian philofophers were in¬
duced by this circumdance to travel into Egypt, in
fearch of thofe higher degrees of knowledge, which an
acquaintance with the Egyptian myderies had taught
them to anticipate. We accordingly find Thales andA c 6l-
Pythagoras fuccedively under the tuition of the Egyp-a! C. slo.
tian prieds, and returning into Greece loaded with the
intellectual treafures of Egypt. By the eftabliOiment
of the Ionian fchool at Miletus, Thales indru&ed his E'fcoverics
countrymen in the knowledge which he had received ofT1,al®s‘
and gave birth to that fpirit of invedigation and dif-
covery with which his followers were °infpired. He
taught them the method of afeertaining the height of
the pyramids of Memphis by the length of their
fhadowsj and there is reafon to believe that he was the
A firii
2
MATHEMATICS.
who employed the circumfererice of a circle for the
menfuration of angles. That he was the author of
greater difcoveries, which have been either loft or a-
fcribed to others, there can be little doubt ; but thefe
are the only fa£ts in the hiftory of Thales which time
has fpared.
Difcoveries 3- fcience of arithmetic was one of the chief
ofPythago-branches of the Pythagorean difcipline. Pythagoras'
las- attached feveral myfterious virtues to certain combina¬
tions of numbers. He fwore by four, which he regard¬
ed as the chief of numbers. In the number three he
fuppoled many wonderful properties to exift; and he
regarded a knowledge'of arithmetic as the chief good.
But of all Pythagoras’s difcoveries in arithmetic, none
have reached our times but his multiplication table. In
geometry, however, the philofopher of Samos feems to
have been more fuctefsful. The difcovery of the ce¬
lebrated propofition which forms the 47th of the firft
book of Euclid’s Elements, that in every right-angled
triangle the fquare of the fide fubtending the right
angle is equal to the fum of the fquares of the other
two lides, has immortalized his name ; and whether we
confider the inherent beauty of the propofition, or the
extent of its application in the mathematical fciences,
we cannot fail to clafs it among the moft important
truths in geometry. From this propofition its author
concluded that the diagonal of a fquare is incommen-
turate to its fide ; and thus gave occafion to the dif¬
covery of feveral general properties of other incom-
menfurate lines and numbers.
4. In the time which elapfed between the birth of Py¬
thagoras and the deftruftion of the Alexandrian fchool,
the mathematical fciences were cultivated with great ar¬
dour and fuccefs. Many of the elementary propofitions of
geometry were difcovered during this period •, but hi¬
ftory does not enable us to refer each difcovery to its
proper author. The method of letting fall a perpendi¬
cular upon a right line from a given point (Euclid, B.
1. prop, xi.) ;—of dividing an angle into two equal parts,
(Euclid, B. I. prop. ix.)j and of making an angle equal
to a given angle, (Euclid B. I. prop, xxiii.} were in-
ofOerioY8 vente^ k)7 Oenopidus of Chios. About the fame time
dus and Ze- ^eno(Iorus> fome of whofe writings have been preferved
nodorus. by 1 heon in his commentary on Ptolemy, demonftrated,
in oppofition to the opinion then entertained, that ifo-
perimetrical figures have equal areas. Coeval with this
difcovery was the theory of regular bodies, for which
we are indebted to the Pythagorean fchool.
The cele- 5* About this time the celebrated problem of the du¬
brated pro- plication of the cube began to occupy the attention of
Idem of the the Greek geometers. In this problem it was required
onheTubeto conftru& a cube whofe folid content fliould be
propofed " double that of a given cube; and the afliftance of no
and invefti-other inftrument but the rule and compaffes wms to be
gated. employed. Ehe origin of this problem has been a-
feribed by tradition to a demand of one of the Grecian
deities. The Athenians having offered fome affront to
Apollo, were affliifted wdth a dreadful peftilence ; and
upon conlulting the oracle at Delos, received for an-
lwTer, Double the altar of Apollo. The altar alluded to
happened to be cubical; and the problem, fuppofed to
be of divine origin, was inveftigated with ardour by the
Greek geometers,^ though it afterwards baffled all their
acutenefs. I he lolution of this difficulty was attempt-
A C 450. ed by Hippocrates of Chios. He difcovered, that if
two mean proportionals could be found between the
fide of the given cube, and the double of that fide, the
firft of thefe proportionals would be the fide of the
cube fought. In order to effedt this, Plato invented an
inftrument compofed of twm rules, one of which moved
in grooves cut in two arms at right angles to the
other, fo as always to continue parallel with it ; but as
this method wras mechanical, and likewife fuppofed the
defeription of a curve of the third order, it did not fa-
tisfy the ancient geometers. The doctrine of conic Conic fee-
fedlions, which wTas at this time introduced into geo-tions difeo-
metry by Plato, and which w’as fo widely extended as vered by
to receive the name of the higher geometry, was fuccefs- ^a^)' ^
fully employed in the problem of doubling the cube.
Menechmus found that the two mean proportionals men¬
tioned by Hippocrates, might be coniidered as the ordi¬
nates of two conic fedfions, wfflich being conftructed ac¬
cording to the conditions of the problem, would interfeff
one another in two points proper for the folution of the
problem. The queftion having affumed this form, gave
rife to the theory of geometrical loci, of which fo many
important applications have been made. In doubling
the cube, therefore, we have only to employ the inttru-
ments which' have been invented for deferibing the
conic fedtions by one continued motion. It was after¬
wards found, that inftead of employing two conic fec-
tions, the problem could be folved by the interfeclion of
the circle of the parabola. Succeeding geometers em¬
ployed other curves for this purpofe, fuch as the con¬
choid of Nicomedes and the ciffoid of Diodes, &c. ^ 2^‘
An ingenious method of finding the two mean proper- • 4
tionals, without the aid of the conic fedfions, was after- A. D. 400.
wards given by Pappus in his mathematical colledlions.
6. Another celebrated problem, to trifedl an angle, The trifec-
was agitated in the fchool of Plato. It was found that this tion of aa
problem depended upon principles analogous to thofe ofan§le*
the duplication of the cube, and that it could be con-
ftrudted either by the interfedlion of two conic fedlions,
or by the interfedlion of a circle with a parabola.
Without the aid of the conic fedtions, it was reduced to
this fimple propofition :—To draw a line to a femicircle
from a given point, which line lhall cut its circumfer¬
ence, and the prolongation of the diameter that forms:
its bafe, fo that the part of the line comprehended be¬
tween the two points of interfedlion fliall be equal to
the radius. From this propofition feveral eafy conftruc-
tions may be derived. Dinoftratus of the Platonic
fchool, and the cotemporary of Menechmus, invented a
curve by which the preceding problem might be folved.
It had the advantage alfo of giving the multiplication of
an angle, and the quadrature of the circle, from which it
derived the name of quadratrix.
7. While Hippocrates of Chios was paving the way for Hippe-
the method of doubling the cube, which was afterwards crates’s
given by Pappus, he diftinguiffled himfelf by the qua-nula-
drature of the lunulae of the circle ; and had from this A'‘ C'
circumftance the honour of being the firft who found a
curvilineal area equal tq a fpace bounded by right
lines. He was likewife the author of Elements of Geo¬
metry, a work, which, though highly approved of by his
cotemporaries, has ftiared the fame fate with fome of
the moft valuable produsftions of antiquity.
8. After the conic feilions had been introduced into
geometry by Plato, they received many important ad¬
ditions from Eudoxus, Menechmus, and Arifteus. The
latter
A. C. 380. latter of thefe pRIlofophers wrote five books on conic fac¬
tions, which, unfortunately for fcience, have not reached
A. C. 300.
our times.
Elements of 9* About this time appeared Euclid’s Elements of Geo-
Euclid. metry, a work which has been employed for 20C0 years
in teaching the principles of mathematics, and which is
ftill reckoned the molt complete work upon the fubjeft.
Peter Ramus has afcribed to Theon both the propoli-
tions and the demonftrations in Euclid. It has been
the opinion of others that the propofitions belong to
Euclid, and the demonftrations to Theon, while others
have given to Euclid the honour of both. It feems moft
probable, however, that Euclid merely collected and ar¬
ranged the geometrical knowledge of the ancients, and
that he fupplied many new propolitions in order to form
that chain of reafoning which runs through his ele¬
ments. This great work of the Greek geometer con-
ftfts of fifteen books : the eleven firft books contain the
elements of pure geometry, and the reft contain the
general theory of ratios, and the leading properties of
commenfurate and incommenfurate numbers.
Bifcoveries 10. Archimedes, the greateft geometer among the an-
ofArchi- cients, flourilhed about half a century after Euclid.
/TcTz o '^'e Was t^ie W^° ^oun^ t^ie rati° between the dia-
‘ 2^°' meter of a circle and its circumference ; and, by a me¬
thod of approximation, he determined this ratio to be as
7 to 22. This refult was obtained by taking an arithmeti¬
cal mean between the perimeters of the inferibed and
circumfcribed polygon, and is fufficiently accurate for
every praftical purpofe. Many attempts have fince
been made to affign the precife ratio of the circumfer¬
ence of a circle to its diameter ; but in the prefent ftate
of geometry this problem does not feem to admit of a
folution. The limits of this article will not permit us
to enlarge upon the difeoveries of the philofopher of
Syracufe. We can only ftate, that he difeovered the
fuperficies of a fphere to be equal to the convex fur face
of the circumfcribed cylinder, or to the area of four of
its great circles, and that the folidity of the fphere is
to that of the cylinder as 3 to 2. He difeovered that
the folidity of the paraboloid is one half that of the cir¬
cumfcribed cylinder, and that the area of the parabola
is two thirds that of the circumfcribed re&angle ; and
he was the firft who pointed out the method of drawing
tangents and forming fpirals. Thefe difeoveries are
contained in his works on the dimenfion of the circle,
on the fphere and cylinder, on conoids and fpheroids,
and on fpiral lines. Archimedes was fo fond of his
difeovery of the proportion between the folidity of the
fphere and that of the cylinder, that he ordered to be
placed upon his tomb a fphere inferibed in_ a cylinder,
and likewife the numbers which exprefs the ratio of
thefe folids.
Bifcoveries 1 While geometry was thus advancing with fuch ra-
of Apollo- pid fteps, Apollonius Pergaeus, fo called from being
nms. born at Perga in Pamphylia, followed in the fteps of
A. C zoo. .Archimedes, and w-idely extended the boundaries of
the fcience. In addition to leveral mathematical works,
which are now loft, Apollonius wrote a treatife on the
theory of the conic ledftions, which contains all their
properties with relation to their axes, their diameters,
and their tangents. He demonftrated the celebrated
theorem, that the parallelogram deferibed about the
two conjugate diameters of an ellipfe or hyperbola is
M A T H E M A T 1 .C S.
equal to the rectangle deferibed round the tw’o axes,
and that the fum or difference of the fquaves of the two
conjugate diameters are equal to the fum or difference
of the fquares of the two axes. In his fifth book he de¬
termines the greateft and the leaft lines that can be
drarvn to the circumferences of the conic feflions from
a given point, whether this point is fituated in or out
of the axis. This work, which contains every where
the deepeft marks of an inventive genius, procured for
its author the appellation of the Great Geometer.
12. There is fome reafon to believe, that the Egyptians Meneluus
were a little acquainted with plane trigonometry ; and writes on
there can be no doubt that it was known to the Greeks.^ fiei'kal
Spherical trigonometry, which is a more difficult part of
geometry", does not feem to have made any progrefs till ‘ J
the time of Menelaus, an excellent geometrician and
aftronomer. In his work on fpherical triangles, he gives
the method of conftru&ing them, and of refolving moft
of the cafes which were neceffary in the ancient aftro-
nomy. An introdudlion to fpherical trigonometry had Theoilo-
already been given to the world by Theodofius in his fius’s fphe-
Treatife on Spherics, where he examines the relative pro- ncs-
perties of different circles formed by cutting a fphere in A" C‘
all diredlions.
13. Though the Greeks had made great progrefs in the pr0grefs 0f
fcience of geometry, they do not feem to have hitherto ana.yfis.
confidered quantity in its general or abftrafl ftate. In
the waitings of Plato wTe can difeover fomething like
traces of geometrical analyfis j and in the feventh pro-
pofition of Archimedes’s work on the fphere and the
cylinder, thefe traces are more diftinftly marked. He
reafons about unknown magnitudes as if they were
known, and he finally arrives at an analogy, whicl,
when put into the language of algebra, gives an equa¬
tion of the third degree, which leads to the folution of
the problem.
x 4. It was referved, however, for Diophantus to lay the 7-^ anaiy,
foundation of the modern analyfis, by his invention offisofiude-
the analyfis of indeterminate problems ; for the method 'erminate
which he employed in the refolution of thefe problems Pro^lerris
has a ftriking analogy to the prefent mode of refolving ^
equations of the lit and 2d degrees. He w^as likewifetiis.an'
the author of thirteen books on arithmetic, feveral of A. D. 350.
which are now loft. The works of Diophantus were
honoured wfith a commentary by the beautiful and
learned Hypatia, the daughter of Theon. The fame A -p
fanaticifm which led to the murder of this accomplifhed ^I<?*
female w^as probably the caufe that her works have not
defeended to pofterity.
15. Near the end of the fourth century of the Chriftian jvratliema
era, Pappus of Alexandria publilhed his mathematical tical collec-
colleflions, a work which, befides many newr propofi-tionsof
tions of his own, contains the moft valuable productions PaPPus*
of ancient geometry. Out of the eight books of which a. D. 400.
this work confifted, two have been loft j the reft are oc¬
cupied with queftions in geometry, aftronomy and me¬
chanics.
16. Diodes, whom w’e have already had occafion to D;fcover|es
mention as the inventor of the ciffoid, difeovered the folu-0f Diocte
lion of a problem propofed by Archimedes, viz. to cut
a fphere by a plane in a given ratio. The folution of
Diodes has been conveyed to us by Eutocius, who
wrote commentaries on fome of the works of Archi¬
medes and Apollonius, A. D. 520. About the time
A 2 of
4
MATHEMATIC S.
of Diodes flourlilied Serenus, who wrote two books on founded by Lagus, one of the fucceffors of Alexander, -
and Sore- Cyljn(]er and cone, which have been publuhed at the difperled Greeks continued for a while to cultivate -^d-no-
r‘Us‘ the end of Halley’s edition of ikpollonius. their favourite fciences, and exhibited fome marks of^f
Labours of I7» Geometry was likewife indebted to Proclus, the that genius which had infpired their forefathers. The the made-
Proclus. head of the Platonic fchool at Athens, not only for his pa- tnagic fquares were invented by Mofchopulos, a difeo- (quares.
A. D. 500. tronage of men of fcience, but his commentary on the very more remarkable for its ingenuity than for its
firft book of Euclid. Mathematics were alfo cultivated pradical ufe. The lame fubjech was afterwards treated
by Marinus, the author of the Introduction to Euclid’s by Cornelius Agrippa in his work on cccult philofo-
Data •,—by Ifidorus of Miletus, who was a difciple of phy j by Bachet de Meziriac, a learned algebraift,
Proclus, and by Piero the younger, whofe work, en- about the beginning of the 17th century, and in later
titled Geodefia, contains the method of determining the times by Frenicle de BelTi, M. Poignard of Bruffds, De
area of a triangle from its three fides. - la Hire, and Sauveur.
Deftnuftion While the mathematical fciences were thus flou- 23. The fcience of pure mathematics advanced wiih a Alo-ebrain-
ofthe A- rifhing in Greece, and were fo fuccefsfully cultivated by doubtful pace during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centu-troduced
iexandrian the philofophers of the Alexandrian fchool, their very ries. The algebra of the Arabians was introduced in-int0
library. exiltence was threatened by one of thofe great revolu- to Italy by Leonard of Pifa, who, in the courfe of his^p^01™1^
tions with which the world has been convulied. The commercial fpeculations in the eaft, had comiderable 1jo2
dreadful ravages which were committed by the fuccef- intercourfe with the Arabs. A work on the Plani-
fors of Mahomet in Egypt, Perfia, and Syria, the de- fphere, and ten books on arithmetic, were written by
ftrusflion of the Alexandrian library by the caliph Jordanus Nemorarius. The elements of Euclid were A. D. 1230.
Omar, and the difperiion of a number of thofe illuftrious tranilated by Campanus of Novara. A work on alge-I 25°*
men who had Hocked to Alexandria as the cultivators bra, entitled Humrna de Arithmetical Geometric, Propor*
of fcience, gave a deadly blow to the progrefs of geo- tione et Proportionalitate, was pubiilhed by Lucas Pac-
Kevival of raetry. When the fanaticifm of the Mahometan reli- cioli j and about the fame time appeared Regiomonta-
Ycience, gion, however, had fubfided, and the termination of nus’s treatife on trigonometry, which contains the me-
war had turned the minds of the Arabs to the purfuits thod of relblvlng iphevical triangles in general, when a-D iipj
of peace, the arts and fciences engaged their affeftion, the three angles or three Hides are known,
and they began to kindle thofe very intellectual lights 24. During the i6;h century, algebra and geometry
which they had fo afliduoully endeavoured to extinguiih. advanced with rapidity, and received many new difeo-
The works of the Greek geometers were ftudied with veries from the Italian philofophers. The formula for ^ tj t
care; and the arts and fciences reviving under the auf- the iolution of equations of the third degree was dif-A-d"
pices of the Arabs, were communicated in a more ad- covered by Scipio Ferrei profeffor of mathematics at
vanced condition to the other nations of the world. Bologna, and perhaps by Nicholas Tartalea of Brefcia;
19. The fyftem of arithmetical notation at prefent a- and equations of the fourth order were refolved bv
dopted in every civilized country, had its origin among Lewis Ferrari, the difciple of Hieronymus Cardan of
A'. D. 960. the Arabs. Their fyHem of arithmetic was made known Bononia. This laid mathematician pubiilhed nine books
to Europe by the famous Gerbert, afterwards Pope Syl- of arithmetic in 1539 ; and in 1545 he added a tenth
vefter II. who travelled into Spain when it was under containing the doCtrine of cubic equations which he
the dominion of that nation. had received in fecrecy from Tartalea, but which he
20. The invention of algebra has been aferibed to the had fo improved as to render them in fome meafure his
Arabs by Cardan and Wallis, from the circumftance of own. The" common rule for folving cubic equations
their ufing the words fquare, cube, quadrato-quadra- Hill goes by the name of Cardan’s Rule.
turn, &c. inftead of the 2d, 3d, 4th, &c. powers as 25. The irreducible cafe in cubic equations was fuccefs-D;rcoverjes
employed by Diophantus. But whatever truth there fully illuftrated by Raphael Bombelli of Bologna. He of Eombek
may be in this fuppofition, it appears that, they were has fhown in his algebra, what was then con Hdered as a li¬
able to refolve cubic, and even biquadratic equations, paradox, that the parts of the formula which reprefents A-I>- I5/9-
as there is in the Leyden library, an Arabic MS. en- each root in the irreducible cafe, form, when taken toge-
titled “ The Algebra of Cubic Equations, or the Solu- ther, a real refult; but the paradox vanilhed when it
tion of Solid Problems.” was feen from the demonftration of Bombelli that the
Progrefs of 21. The various works of the Greek geometers were imaginary quantities contained in the two numbers of
the Arabs tranilated by the xArabs, and it is through the medium the formula neceffarily deftroyed each other by their
in geome- 0f an Arabic verfion, that the fifth and fixth books of oppofite figns. About this time M aurolycus, a Sici - Labours of
Apollonius have defeended te our times. Mahomet Ben lian mathematician, difeovered the method of fumming Mauroly-
Mufa, the author of a work on Plane and Spherical up feveral feriefes of numbers, fuch as the feries 1 2 cu?’
Figures, and Geber Ben Aphla, who wrote a commen- 3, 4, &c. ; 1, 4, 9, 16, &c. and the feries of trlan-^ied i4/
tary on Plato, gave a new form to the plane and fpheri- gular numbers, 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, &c. ^
cal trigonometry of the ancients.. By reducing the 26. The fcience of analyfis is under great obligations Difcoveries
theory of triangles to a few propofitions, and by fubfti- to Francis Vieta, a native of France. He introduced of Vieta.
tuting, inftead of the chords of double arcs, the fines of the prefent mode of notation, called literal, by employ- Born I540-
the arcs themfelves, they fimplified this important branch ing the letters of the alphabet to reprefent * indefinite Died l6°3-
of geometry, and contributed greatly to the abridge- given quantities; and we are alfo indebted to him for
nient ot aftrunotnical calculation. A treatife on the the method of transforming one equation into another,
art of furveying was likewile written by Mahomet of whofe roots are greater or lefs than'thofe of the origi-
Bagdad. . na] equation by a given quantity ; for the method of
22. After the deftruction of the Alexandrian fchool multiplying or dividing their roots by any given num-
' ber
S'
pier,
Born 1550
I>ied 1617.
M A T H E
ber, of depriving equations of the fecond term, and of
freeing them from fractional coefficients. The method
which he has given for refolvihg equations of the third
and fourth degree is alfo new and ingenious, and his
mode of obtaining an approximate folution of equations
of every order is entitled to hill higher praife. We
are alfo indebted to Vieta for the theory of angular
feftions, the objedt of wffiich is to find the general ex-
preffions of the chords or fines for a ieries of arcs that
are multiples of each other.
Lop-arithms 27. While analyfis was making fuch progrefs on the
invented by continent, Baron Napier of Merchifton in Scotland was
Baron Na- bringing to perfeclion his illuftrious difcovery of the lo¬
garithms, a let of artificial numbers, by which the molt
tedious operations in multiplication and divifion may be
performed merely by addition and fubtra&ion. This
difcovery was publiihed at Edinburgh in 1614 in his
work entitled Logarithnwrum Cation is Defcriptio, feu
ylrithmctica Suppuiationum Mirabilis Slbbreviatio. It
is well known that there is fuch a correfpondence be¬
tween every arithmetical and geometrical progreffions,
viz. -I0’ I’ *’ o’ r any terms of
[«, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64,^ ' :
the geometrical progreifion may be multiplied or divided
by merely adding or fubtradting the correfponding
terms of the arithmetical progreffion, thus the produft
of four and eight may be found by taking the lum of
the correfponding terms in the arithmetical progreffion,
viz. 2 and 3, for their fum 5 points out 32 as the pro-
duif of 4 and 8. The numbers o, 1, 2, 3, &c. are
therefore the logarithms of 1, 2, 4, 8, &c. The
choice of the two progreffions being altogether arbi¬
trary, Baron Napier took the arithmetical progreffion
which we have given above, and made the term o cor-
refpond with the unit of the geometrical progrefiion,
which he regulated in fuch a manner that when its
terms are reprefented by the abfcifiae of an equilateral
hyperbola in which the firlt abfcifs and the firft ordi¬
nate are each equal to r, the logarithms are reprefent¬
ed by the hyperbolic fpaces. In confequence, however,
of the inconvenience of this geometrical progreffion,
Baron Napier, after confulting upon the fubjetl with
Henry Biiggs of Greffiam College, fubftituted the de¬
cuple progreflion 1, 10, ico, 1000, of which o,- I, 2,
3, 4, &c. are the logarithms. Nothing now remained
but to confirucl tables of logarithms, by finding the lo¬
garithms of the intermediate numbers between the terms
A. D. 161S. of the decuple progreffion. Napier, however, died be¬
fore he v/as able to calculate thefe tables $ but his lofs
was in fome meafure fupplied by Mr Bnggs, who applied
himfelf with zeal to this arduous talk, and publilhed in
1618 a table of the logarithms of all numbers from 1 to
1000. In 1624 he publilhed another table containing the
logarithms from lOOO to 20,coo, and from 90,000 to
100,000. The defers in Briggs’s tables were filled up
by his friends Gellibrand and Hadrian Viacq, who alfo
puhlilhed newr tables containing the logarithms of fines,
tangents, &c. for 90 degrees.
Difcovcrles 28. During the time when Napier and Briggs were
of Harriot, doing honour to their country by completing the fy Hem
Born 1560. 0f logarithms, algebra w-as making great progrefs in
Bied 1631. t]ie }iancjs 0f our countryman Harriot. His Artis ana-
Ijticce Praxis, which appeared in 1620, contains along
with the difcoveries of its author, a complete view of
the Hate of algebra. He fimplified 1^ie nptatiou by
M A T I e s.
fubftituting finall letters in Head of the capitals introdu¬
ced by Vieta; and he was the firlt who Ihcwed that
every equation beyond the firlt degree may be confider-
ed as produced by the multiplication of as many fimple
equations as there are units in the exponent of the high-
elt power ot the unknown quantity, from this he de¬
duced the relation which exilts between the roots of
any equation, and the coefficients ol the terms of which
it confilts.
29. About the fame time, a foreign author named Fer- Fernei firft
nel, phyfician to King Henry II. ot France, had the gives the
merit of being the firfi who gave the meafure of themeaiureof
Tables of
logarithms
computed
by Mr
Briggs.
earth. By reckoning the number of turns made by a-1-eaxt .
coach wheel from Amiens to Paris, till the altitude of
the pole liar was increafed one degree, he ellimated the-
length of a degree of the meridian to be 56746 toifes,
which is wonderfully near the truth. He alio wrote a
work on mathematics, entitled De Proportiontbus.— Menus
About this time it was Ihown by Peter Metius, a German ^
mathematician, that if the diameter of a circle be reel num¬
bs circumference will be 355* This refult, fo very near i,ers for the
the truth, and expreffed in fo few figures, has preterved diameter
the name of its author. _ ference ofa
30. The next author, whofe labours claim our attention, circle~
is the iilultrious Defcartes. We do not allude to thofe
wild and ingenious fpeculations by which this philofo-Difcoyeries
pher endeavoured to explain the celeltial phenomena
but to thefe great difcoveries with which he enriched
the kindred fciences of algebra and geometry. He in-Die4 1659..
troduced the prefent method of marking the powers of
any quantity by numerical exponents. Pie firfl explain¬
ed the ufe of negative roots in equations, and Ihowed
that they are as real and uleful as pofitive roots, the on¬
ly difference between them being founded on the dif¬
ferent manner in which the correi’ponding quantities are
confidered. Pie pointed out the method of finding the
number of pofitive and negative roots in any equation
where the roots are real ; and developed the method
of indeierminates which Vieta had obfeurely hint¬
ed at.
31. Though Regiomontanus, Tartalea, and Bombelli,
had tefolved feveral geometrical problems by means of
algebra, yet the general method of applying geometry
to algebra was firft given by Vieta. It is to Defcartes, He exten4s
however, that we are indebted for the beautiful and ex- the applica-
tenfive ufe which he made of his difcovery. His me-bon of ai-
thod of reprefenting the nature of curve lines by equa-Sebra t0
tions, and of arranging them in different orders accord-
ing to the equations which diftinguiftied them, opened
a vaft field of inquiry to fubfequent mathematicians $
and his methods of conftruffing curves of double cur¬
vature, and of drawing tangents to curve lines, have
contributed much to the progrefs of geometry. The
inverfe method of tangents, which it was referved for the
fluxionary calculus to bring to perfeftion, originated at
this time in a problem which Florimundus de Beaune
propofed to Defcartes. It was required to conftrucft a I(-
curve in which the ratio of the ordinate and fubtangent
ftiould be the fame as that of a given line to the por¬
tion of the ordinate included between the curve and a
line inclined at a given angle. The curve was con-
ftrudled by Defcartes, and feveral of its properties de¬
leted, but he was unable to accompliih the complete A D
folution of the problem. Thefe difeoveries of Defcartes
were ftudied and improved by his fucocffors, among
wh,qni >
€
whom we may number the celebrated Iludde, who
published in Schooten’s commentary on the geometry of
J3cfc.artes, an excellent method of determining if an
equation of any order contains feveral equal roots, and
oi djmovering the roots which it contains.
(Difeoveries 3 2.1'he celebrated Pafcal, who was equally diftinguifh-
of Faical. ed by hts literary and his fcientific acquirements, extend-
Wed 1662. Cd . e boltndarJes of analyfis by the invention of his arith¬
metical triangle. By means of arbitrary numbers pla¬
ced at the vertex of the triangle, he forms all the figur-
ate numbers in fucceffion, and determines the ratios be¬
tween the numbers of any two cafes, and the various
lunjs reflating from the addition of all the numbers of
one. rank taken in any poflible direclion. This in-
geni.ous. invention gave rife'to the calculation of proba-
Ijilities in the theory of games of chance, and formed
the foundation of an excellent treatife of Huygens, en¬
titled D? Ratiocinns in Ludo A/ece, publifhed in i6jy.
Rifcoveries _ 33gbeveia^ curious properties of numbers were at the
of Fermat. fam<- time difcovered by Fermat at Touloufe. In the
tv ra theor>r of P”me numbers, particularly, which had firfl:
ed I663, been cqnfidered by Eratofthenes, Fermat made great
difeoveries ; and in the dodtrine of indeterminate pro¬
blems, he feems to have been deeply verfed, having re*
publifhed the arithmetic of Diophantus, and enriched
it with many valuable notes of his own. He invented
the.method of difeovering the maxima and minima of
variable quantities, which ferves to determine the tan¬
gents of geometrical curves, and paved the way for
the invention of the fluxionary calculus.
Gavaleri’s 34* Another flep towards the difeovery of fluxions wras
method of at this time made by Cavaleri in his geometry of indivi-
^lfibles- hbles. In this work, which was publifhed in 1635, its au-
’A- thor fuppofes every plane furface to confift of an infinite
number of planes j and he lays it down as an axiom,
that thefe infinite fums of lines and furfaces have the
fame ratio when compared with the unit in each cafe as
the fuperficies and folids to be meafured. This inge¬
nious method was employed by Cavaleri in the quadrature
of the conic fe&ions, and in the curvature of folids ge¬
nerated by their revolution, and in order to prove the
accuracy of his. theory, he deduced the fame refults
from different principles.
The fame 35’' Problems of a fimilar kind had been folved by Fer-
fubjeft dif mat anc* Defcartes, and now occupied the attention of
cuffed by Roberval. The latter of thefe mathematicians began
Roberval. his inveftigation of this fubjetf: about a year before the
i634- publication of Cavaleri’s work, and the methods which
both of them employed wmre fo far the fame as to be
founded on the principles of indivifibles. In the mode,
however, which Roberval adopted, planes and folids’
were confidered as compofed of an infinite number of
re&.angles, whofe altitudes and the thicknefs of their
fe&ions were infinitely fmall.—By means of this method,
Roberval determined the area of the cycloid, the cen¬
tre of gravity of this area, and the folids formed by its
revolution on its axis and bafe. He alfo invented a
general method for tangents, fimilar in metaphyfical
principles to that of fluxions, and applicable both to
mechanical and geometrical curves. By means of this,
he determined the tangents of the cycloid ; but there
were, fome curves which refifted its application. Con-
fidering every curve to be generated by the motion of a
point, Roberval regarded this point as a&ed upon at
£very inllant with two velocities afeertained from the
M A T H E M A T I C S.
nature of the curve. Ele conftrufted a parallelogram
having its fides in the fame ratio as the two velocities;
and he affumes as a principle, that the dire&ion of the
tangent muft fall on the diagonal, the pofition of which
being afeertained, gives the pofition of the tangent.
36. In 1644, folutions of the cycloidal problems for-Labours of
me.rly refolved by Roberval were publilhed by Toricelli Toricelli.
as invented by himfelf. The demonftrations of RoBerval I<J44’
had.been tranfmitted to Galileo the preceptor of Tori-
celii, and had alfo been publifhed in 1637 in Merfen-
nus’s Univerfal Harmony. The Italian philofopher was
confequently acculed of plagiarifm by Roberval, and
the charge fo deeply affe&ed his mind as to bring him
prematurely to the grave. It is obvious, however,
from the demonftrations of Torricelli, that he had never
feen thofe of Roberval, and that he was far from merit¬
ing that, cruel accufation which deprived fcience of one
of its brighteft ornaments.
37- 1 he cycloid having attrafted the notice of geeme-Farther di£.
teis from the number and Angularity of its properties,covenes of
the celebrated Pafcal propoi'ed to them a variety ofPafcal-
new nrohlems rplai-itm t-r. fblu  1 _jr 1 ■ i6sS.
new problems, relative to this curve, and offered prizes1651
for tneir folution. Thefe problems required the area of
any cycloidal fegment, the centre of gravity of that
egment, the folids, and the centres of gravity of the
fohds, which are generated either by a whole revolu¬
tion, a half or a quarter of a revolution of this fegment
round an abfeiffa or an ordinate. The refolution of
thefe problems was attempted by Huygens, Sluze, Sir
Chnftopher Wren, Fermat, and Roberval. Sluze dif¬
covered an ingenious method of finding the area of the
curve. Huygens fquared the fegment comprifed be¬
tween the vertex, and as far as a fourth of the diameter
of the generating circle; and Sir Chriftopher Wren af-
certamed the length of the cycloidal arc included be¬
tween the vertex and the ordinate, the centre of gra¬
vity of this arc, and the furfaces of the folids generated
during its revolution. Thefe attempts w7ere not con¬
fidered by their authors as folutions of Pafcal’s problems
and therefore they did not lay claim to his prize. Our
countryman Wallis, however, and Lallouere a Jefuit
gave in a iolu.tion of all the problems, and thought
themfelves entitled to the proffered reward. In the
methods employed by thefe mathematicians, Pafcal de-
tefted feveral fources of error ; and it was referved for
that great genius to furnifti a complete folution of his
own problems. Extending his inveftigations to curtate
and prolate cycloids, he proved that the length of
thefe curves depends on the reftification of the ellipfe
and afiigned in each cafe the axis of the ellipfe. From
this method he deduced this curious theorem, that if
two cycloids, the one curtate and the other pro’late, be
luch, that the. bafe of the one is equal to the circumfe¬
rence of the circle by which the other is generated the
length of thefe two cycloids will be equal.
38. While thefe difeoveries were making on the conti-r , -
nent the friends of fcience in Britain were aftively WaliT °
employed in promoting its advancement. In i6cc 1(155
Wallis publilhed his Arithmetica Infinitorum, a work of
great genius. He attempted to determine by the fum-
mation of infinite feries, the quadrature of curves, and i<JSa.
the curvature of fohds, fubjeds which were afterwards
mveftlgated in a different manner by Iftimael Bullial-
dus. By Wallis’s method, curves '- ere fquared when
their ordinates are expreffed by one term, and when
, their
MATHEMATICS.
Btfcoveries
of Newton,
Lord
Brouncker
difcovers
continued
fra 61 ions.
Born 1520.
Died 16S4.
* Opera
Pojlhuma,
tom. ii.fub
jinem.
Labours of
James Gre-
S0D-
Labours of
Dr Barrow
Theory of
evolutesdif-
covered by
Huygens,
i673-
their ordinates were complex quantities raifed to en¬
tire and pofitive powers, thefe ordinates were refolved
into feries, of which each term is a monomial. Wallis
attempted to extend his theory to curves whofe ordi¬
nates were complex and radical, by attempting to in¬
terpolate the feries of the former kind with a new fe¬
ries ; but he was unfuccefsful.
39. It was left to Newton to remove this difficulty. He
folved the problem in a more direft and fimple manner
by the aid of his new formula for expanding into an in¬
finite feries any pow'er of a binomial, whether its exponent
was pofitive or negative, an integer or a fra&ion. Al¬
gebra is alfo indebted to this illuftrious mathematician for
a fimple and extenfive method of refolving an equation
into commenfurable factors; for a method of fumm-ng up
the powers of the roots of an equation, of extrafting the
roots of quantities partly commenfurable, and partly
incommenfurable, and of finding by approximation the
roots of literal and numerical equations of all orders.
40. About this time, William Lord Brouncker, in at¬
tempting to demonftrate an expreffion of Wallis on the
magnitude of the circle, difcovered the theory of con¬
tinued fraftions. When an irreducible fraftion is ex-
preffed by numbers too great and complicated to be ea-
fily employed by the analyft, the method of Lord
Brouncker enables us to fubftitute an expreffion much
more fimple and nearly equivalent. This theory,
which enables us to find a very accurate relation be¬
tween the diameter and circumference of the circle,
was employed by Huygens * in the calculation of his
planetary automaton, for reprefenting the motions of
the folar fyilem, and was enlarged and improved by
other celebrated geometers. Lord Brouncker had
likewife the merit of difcovering an infinite feries to re-
prefent the area of the hyperbola. The fame difcovery
was made by Nicholas Mercator, who publifhed it in
his Logarithmotechnia in 1668.
41. The fubjecl ol infinite leries received confiderable
- addition from Mr James Gregory. He was the firlt who
gave the tangent and fecant in terms of the arc, and,
inverfely, the arc in terms of the tangent and lecant.
He contlrudled feries for finding directly the logarithm
of the tangent and fecant from the value of the arc,
and the logarithm of the arc from that of the tangent
and fecant ; and he applied this theory of infinite feries
to the rectification of the ellipfis and hyperbola.
42. The differential triangle invented by the learned
Dr Barrow, for drawing tangents to curves, may be re¬
garded as another contribution towards the invention of
fluxions. This triangle has for its fides the element of
the curve and thofe of the abfcifs and ordinate, and
thole fides are treated as quantities infinitely fmall.
43. The doftrine of evolutes had been flightly touched
■ upon by Apollonius. It remained, however, for the
illuftrious Huygens to bring it to perfection. His
theory of evolutes is contained in his Horologium Ofcil-
/atorium, publilhed in 1673, and may be regarded as
one of the fined; difcoveries in geometry. When any
curve is given, Huygens has pointed out the method of
conftrufting a fecond curve, by drawing a feries of per¬
pendiculars to the firft, which are tangents to the fe¬
cond ; and of finding the firft curve from the fecond.
From this principle he deduces feveral theorems on the
rectification ol curves; and that remarkable property
of the cycloid, in which an equal and fimilar Cycloid is
produced by evolution.
4.4. In contemplating the progrefs of analyfis from the Hiflory of
beginning of the 17th century, to the invention Gf the difcove-
fluxions, we cannot fail to perceive the principles of
that calculus gradually unfolding themfelves to view.
The human mind feemed to advance with rapidity to¬
wards that great difcovery j and it is by no means un¬
likely that it would foon have arrived at the doctrine of
fluxions, even if the fuperior genius of Newton had not
accelerated its progrefs. In Cavalerius’ Geometria In-
divijibilium, we perceive the germ of the infinitefimal
calculus ; and the method of Roberval for finding the
tangents of curves, bears a ftriking analogy to the me-
taphyfics of the fluxionary calculus. It wtis the glory
of Newton, however, to invent and illuftrate the me¬
thod of fluxions; and the obfcure hints which he re¬
ceived from preceding mathematicians, do not in the
leaft detradl from the merit of our illuftrious country¬
man.
45. On the claims of Leibnitz as a fecond inventor of General re¬
fluxions, and the illiberal violence wfith wffiich theymark?011
have been urged by foreign mathematicians, we would .the dllPutc
wiftt to fpeak with delicacy and moderation. Who that Xewton
can appreciate the difcoveries of that celebrated mathe-and Leib-
matieian, or is acquainted with that penetrating genius nitz.
which threw" light on every department of human
knowledge, would willingly ftain his memory with an
ungracious imputation ? The accufation of plagiarifm
is one of thofe charges which it is difficult either to
fubftantiate or repel, and when direfted againft a great
man, ought never, without the cleareft evidence, to be
wantonly preferred or wfillingly received. If charitable
fentirnents are ever to be entertained towards others, 
to what clafs of beings fhould they be more cheerfully
extended than to thofe who have been the ornaments of
human nature ? If fociety has agreed to regard as fa-
cred the failings and excentricities of genius,—when
ought that reverence to be more ftrongly excited than
when we are paffing judgement on its mightieft efforts ?
Inquiries into the motives arid adlions of the learned
ought never to be wantonly indulged. When the ho¬
nour of our country, or the charadter of an individual,
requires fuch an inveftigation, a regard to truth, and
a contempt of national prejudice, ihould guide the in¬
quiry.—We fltould proceed with delicacy and forbear¬
ance.—We ffiouid tread lightly even on the allies of
genius. It is not uncommon to witnefs die indulgence
of malicious plealure, in detraft ing from trie merits of a
diftinguilhed character. The affailant raifes himfelf
for a while to the level of his enemy, and acquires
glory by his fall. But let him remember that the lau¬
rels thus won cannot flouriih long. The fame public
opinion which conferred them will tear them from his
brow, and confign the accufer to that infamy from
which the brighteft abilities will be infufficient to raile
him. The confequences of fuch conduct have been
feen in the fall of Torricelli. It was the charges of
plagiarifm, preferred by Roberval, that hurried this
young and accornplilhed philofopher to an early
grave.
46. We havp’been led into thefe obfervations bv ftudy-
ing the diipute between the followers of Newton and
Leibnitz. The claims of the Britifti, as well as thofe of
the :
8 mathematics.
tlie Foreign mathematicians, have undoubtedly been too
high ; and vi&ory rather than truth Teems to have been
the object of conteft. Even the name of Newton has
not efcaped from ferious imputations. The immenfity
of the flake for which the different parties contended,
may perhaps juflify the commencement of the difpute ;
and the brilliancy of the talents that were called into
aftion, may leave us no caufe to regret its continuance :
But nothing can reconcile us to thofe perfonal animofl-
ties in which the good fenfe and temper of philoiophy
are loft, and that violence of literary warfare where ici-
ence can gain nothing in the combat.—In giving an
account, therefore, of that interefting difpute, wre ftiall
merely give a brief view of the fafts that relate to the
difeovery of the higher calculus, and make a few ob-
fervations on the conclufions to which they lead.
Newton 47* In the year 1669, a paper of Sir Ifaac Newton’s,
publiihes entitled De Analystper equationes numero termrnorum in-
a tract C<^-Jinitas, was communicated by Dr Barrow to Mr Col-
taming te jj one of the fecretaries of the Royal Society. In
fluxions. this paper the author points out a new method of iquar-
ing curves, both when the expreflion of the ordinate is
a rational quantity, and when it contains complex ra¬
dicals, by evolving the expreflion of the ordinate into an
infinite number of futiple terms by means of the bino¬
mial theorem. In a letter from Newton to Collins,
dated December 10. 1672, there is contained a method
of drawing tangents to curve lines, without being ob-
ftrudled by radicals •, and in both thefe works, an ac¬
count of which was circulated on the continent by the
fecretaries of the Royal Society, the principles of the
fluxional calculus are plainly exhibited ; and it is the
opinion of all the difputants, that thofe works at leaft
prove, that Newton muft have been acquainted with
the method of fluxions when he compofed them.
48. Leibnitz came to London in 1673, and though
there is no diredl evidence that he faw Newton’s paper De
Analysi per F.quationes, &c. yet it is certain that he
had feen Sir Ifaac’s letter to Collins of 16725 and it is
highly improbable that fuch a man as Leibnitz fhould
have been ignorant of a paper of Newton’s which had
been four years in the poffeflion of the public, and
which contained difeuffions at that time interefting to
every mathematician.
Correfpond- 49. A letter from Newton to Oldenburg, one of the
ence be- fecretaries of the Royal Society, dated Odtober 24.
1676, was communicated to Leibnitz. This letter
Oldenburg, contains feveral theorems without the demonftrations,
which are founded on the method of fluxions, and
merely ftates that they rcfult from the folution of a
general problem. The enunciation of this problem he
expreffes in a cypher, the meaning of which was, An
equation containing any number of flowing quantities
being given, to find the fluxions, and inverfely. In re¬
ply to this communication, Leibnitz tranfmitted a let¬
ter to Oldenburg, dated June 21. 1677, where he ex¬
plains the nature of the differential calculus, and af¬
firms, that he had long employed it for drawing tan¬
gents to curve lines.
Leibnitz 50. The correfpondence between Leibnitz and Qlden-
publithes burg having been broken off by the death of the latter,
AlTd? ^e‘^n'tz publhhed in the Acia 'Erudit. Lipf. for Oclo-
rential c?l-^er I^^4’ t*16 principles of the new analyfis, under the
cuius. title of Nova Methodus pro maxlmis et minimis, itcm-
que tangentibus, qiue ncc fradlas, nec irrationales quanti-
2
tales moratur, et Jingu/are pro illis calculus. This pa¬
per contains the method of differencing fimple, frac¬
tional, and radical quantities, and the application of
the calculus to the folution of fome phyfical and geo¬
metrical problems. In 1685, he likewife publifhed two
fmall pamphlets on the quadrature of curves, contain¬
ing the principles of the Calculus Summatorius, or the
Inverfe Method of Fluxions ; and in 1686 there appear¬
ed another tr^idl by the fame author, On the Recondite
Geometry, and the Analysis of Indivifibles and Infinites,
containing the fundamental rule of the integral cal¬
culus.
51. Towards the clofe of the year 1686, Sir Ifaac New- Newton
ton gave to the world his illuftrious work entitled p/ff. pubbibes
lofophice Natuvalis Principia Mathematica. Some of the
moft difficult problems in this work are founded on the
fluxional calculus 5 and it is allowed by Boffut, one of
the defenders of Leibnitz, “ that mathematicians did
Newton the juftice to acknowledge, that at the period
when his Principia was publifhed, he was mafter of the
method of fluxions to a high degree, at leaft with re-
fpefl to that part which concerns the quadrature of
curves.” The claim of Leibnitz, as a feparate inventor
of the differential calculus, is evidently allow'ed by
New'ton himfelf, when he obferves, that Leibnitz had
communicated to him a method fimilar to his own for
drawing tangents, &c. and differing from it only in the
enunciation and notation.
5 2. About this time, it became fafhionable among geo- Leibnitz
meters to perplex each other by the propofal of new propofes
and difficult problems, a practice which pow'erfuily |'^e
contributed to the progrefs of mathematics. The dif-ifoc'j11roriOU^
pute in which Leibnitz was engaged with the Carte-culVe;
fians refpeiling the meafure of aClive forces, which the
former fuppofed to be as the fimple velocity, while the
latter afferted, that they were as the fquare of the velo¬
city, led him to propofe the problem of the ifochronous
curve, or “ to find the curve which a heavy body muft
deferibe equally, in order to approach or recede from
a horizontal plane in equal times.” This curve was^4;^, fs
found by Huygens to be the fecond cubic parabola ; folved by-
hut he gave only its properties and conffruClion without Hnygens in
the demonftrations. The fame folution, along with the16"?*
demonftration, was given by Leibnitz in 1689, wdio,
at the fame time, propofed to geometers to find the
paracentric ifochronal curve, or the curve in which a
body would equally approach or recede from a given
point in equal times. «
5 3. It was at this time that the two brothers, .Tames and jafaes Ber-
John Bernouilli, began to difplay thofe talents fromnouilH alfo
which the phyfical and mathematical fciences received^8 the
fuch immenfe improvements. James was born in 1654,1J°^c,nouft
and died in 17055 and John, who was his pupil, was
born in 1667, and lived to the advanced age of 68
years. In 1690, James Bernouilli gave the lame folu¬
tion of the ifochronous curve that had been given by
Huygens and Leibnitz 5 and propofed the celebrated
problem of the catenary curve, which had formerly
perplexed the ingenuity of Galileo. In twTo memoirs,
publiihed in 1691, he determined, by means of the in - Solution ot;
verfe method of fluxions, the tangents of the parabolicthePr°P-em
fpiral, the logarithmic fpiral, and the loxodromic curve,
and likewife the quadratures of their areas. curve, and
54. The*problem of the catenary curve having occupied other analo-
the attention of geometers, was refolved by Huygens, gous Pro-
Leibnitz,bleins-
9
MATHEMATIC S.
Leibnitz, and John Bernouilli. In thefe folutions,
however, the gravity of the catenary curve was fuppo-
fed to be uniform ; but James Bernouilli extended the
folution to cafes where the weight of the curve varies
from one point to another, according to a given law.
From this problem he was alfo conducted to the deter¬
mination of the curvature of a bended bow, and that of
an elaftic bar fixed at one extremity, and loaded at the
other with a given weight. In the hopes of contribut¬
ing to the progrefs of navigation, the fame mathemati¬
cian confidered the form of a fail fwoln with the wind.
When the wind, after firiking the fail, is not prevent¬
ed from efcaping, the curvature of the fail is that of
the common catenarian curve ; but when the fail is
fuppofed perfectly flexible, and filled with a fluid pref-
fing dowmw’ards on itfelf, as water preffes on the fides
©f a veflel, the curve which it forms is one of thofe de¬
nominated /intearice, which is expreffed by the fame
equation as the common elaftic curve, where the exten-
fions are reckoned proportional to the forces applied at
each point.—The fame problem was folved in the ’jour¬
nal des Sfavans for 1692, by John Bernouilli but
there is fatisfaftory evidence that it was chiefly borrow¬
ed from his brother James.
Xafiours of 55. The attention of James Bernouilli was now direc-
Jarnrs Ber- tecj to t}je theoryjof curves produced by the revolution of
n0U1 one curve upon another. He confiders one curve roll-
165)2. ing upon a given curve, equal to the firft, and immove¬
able. He determines the evolute and the cauftic of the
epicycloid, defcribed by a point of the moving circle,
and he deduces from it other two curves, denominated
the antievolute and pericaujlic. He found alfo that the
logarithmic fpiral wras its own evolute, cauftic, antievo¬
lute, and pericauftic ; and that an analogous property
belonged to the cycloid.
1692. 56. About this time Viviani, an Italian geometer, dif-
tinguilhed as the reftorer of Arifteus’s conic feflions, re-
Problem of quired the folution of the following problem, that there
exifted a temple of a hemifpherical form, pierced with
four equal window’s, with fuch {kill, that the remainder
of the hemifphere might be perfeftly fquared. With
the aid of the new analyfis, Leibnitz and James Eer-
nouilli immediately found a folution, w’hile that of Vi¬
viani was founded on the ancient geometry. He proved
that the problem might be folved, by placing, parallel
to the bafe of the hemifphere, two right cylinders, the
axes of which Ihould pafs through the centres of two ra¬
dii, forming a diameter of the circle of the bafe, and
piercing the dome each way.
' 57. Prior to fome of thefe difcuflions, the curves cal¬
led caujlic, and fometimes Tfchirnhaufeman, w?ere dif-
covered by Tfchirnhaufen. Thefe curves are formed by
the crofling of the rays of light, when reflefted from a
curved furface, or refrafted through a lens fo as not to
nouilli at meet a ppint- With the affiftance of the com-
tendsto the mon geometry, Tfchirnhaufen difcovered, that they are
fame fub- equal to ftraight lines when they are formed by geo-
jedt, metrical curves, and found out feveral other curious
properties. By the aid of the higher calculus, James
1^3- Bernouilli extended thefe refearches, and added greatly
And folves to the theory of cauftics produced by refradtion.
the pro- 38. The problem T' the paracentric ifochronal curve,
paracentric6 ProP°^e^ ^7 Leibnitz in 1689, was f°lved by James
ifochronal Bernouilli, who took for ordinates parallel ftraight lines,
eurve. and for abfcifi'as the chords of an infinite number of
Voe. XIII. Part I.
Vtviani
folved.
Tfchirn-
h ail fen on
cauftic
curves.
concentric circles dfefcribed about the given point. In
this way he obtained a feparate equation, conllrudled at
firft by the rectification of the elaftic curve, and after- r^89-
wards by the rectification of an algebraic curve. The
fame problem wras folved by John Bernouilli and Leib¬
nitz.
59. In 1694, a branch of the new analyfis, called the The expon-
exponential calculus, was invented feparately by John enbal cal-
Bernouilli and Leibnitz. It confifts in differencing and^^j1^
integrating exponential quantities or powers with varia- Leibnit;/
ble exponents. To Leibnitz, the priority in point of and John
invention certainly belongs; but John Bernouilli was Bernoulli^
the firft who publiihed the rules and ufes of the cal¬
culus.
60. The marquis PHofpital, who, in 1695, had folved The Mar-
the problem about the curve of equilibration in draw7- quis 1’Hof-
bridges, and Ihewrn it to be an epicvcloid, publifhed in Pltal Phb'
the following year his Analysis of Infinites for the un- of
derfianding of curve lines. In this celebrated work, infinites,
the differential calculus, or the direft method of fluxions,
w7as fully explained and illufti ated; and as the know7-
ledge of the higher geometry had been hitherto con¬
fined to a few, it w7as now7 deftined to enlighten the dif¬
ferent nations of Europe.
61. The methods which were employed by Defcartes, Newton
Fermat, &c. for finding-the maxima and minima 0f finds the
quantities, yielded in point of fimplicity and generality refiftan1^
to that which was derived from the doftrine of fluxions. 1
Another clafs of problems, however, of the fame kind,
but more complicated, from their requiring the inverfe
method of fluxions, began now to exercife the ingenuity
of mathematicians. A problem of this clafs for finding '
the folid of leaft refiftance, was folved by Newton in
the 34th propofition of the 2d book of his Principia.
After having determined the truncated right cone,
which being moved in a fluid by the fmalleft bafe
(w7hich is unknown), experiences the leaft refiftance, he
gave without any demonftration the ratio from which
might be derived the differential equation of the curve
that generates by a revolution of its axis the folid of
leaft refiftance. A general folution, however, was
ftill wanting, till the attention of geometers was di-
redted to the fubjedt by John Bernouilli, who propo-
fed, in 1697, the celebrated problem of the Brachy-
fiochronon, or the curve along the concave fide of
which if a heavy body defeend, it will pafs in the leaft
time poflible from one point to another, the two points
not being in the fame vertical line. This problem w7as
refolved by Leibnitz, New’ton, the marquis de PHofpi¬
tal, and James Bernouilli, who demonftrated that the
curve of quickeft defeent is a cycloid reverfed. This
refult will appear at firft furprifing, when we confider
a line to be the fhorteft diflance between two points;
but the furprife will ceafe when we refledl, that in a
concave curye lying between the two given points the
moving body defeends at firft in a more vertical direc¬
tion, and therefore acquires a greater velocity than
when, it rolls down an inclined plane. This addition to
its velocity, confequently, at the commencement of its
path may balance the increafe of fpace through which Dfipute be,
it has to move. tween
62. At the clofe of this difeuflion commenced that ce- j^bn
kbrated difpute about ifoperimetrical problems, between nouilli on
James and John Bernouilli, in which the qualities ofifoperime-
the head were more confpieuous than thofe of thetncalfis-
B heart.ures’
MATHEMATICS.
heart. Tbefe illuftrious charafters, conne&ed by the
ftrongeft ties of affinity, were, at the commencement of
their diftinguifhed career, united by the ■warmeft affec¬
tion. John was initiated by his elder brother into the
mathematical fciences j and a generous emulation, foft-
ened by friendfhip in the one, and gratitude in the
other, continued for fome years to direft their ftudies,
and accelerate their progrefs. There are few men,
.however, who can fupport at the fame time the charac¬
ter of a rival and a friend. The fuccefs of the one
party is apt to awaken the envy of the other, and fuc¬
cefs itfelf is often the parent of prefumption. A foun¬
dation is thus laid for future diffenfion ; and it is a me¬
lancholy fad! in the hiftory of learning, that the mof!
ardent friendlhips have been facrificed on the altar of li-
i<u)- terary ambition. Such was the cafe between the two
Bernouillis. As foon as John was fettled as profeffor
of mathematics at Groningen, all friendly intercourfe
betwTeen the two brothers was at an end. Regarding
John as the aggreffor, and provoked at the ingratitude
which he exhibited, his brother James challenged him
Problems by name to folve the following problems : I. “ To find,
propoled by among all the ifoperimetrical curves between given li-
TobnBer mits, fuch a curve, that, conftrudling a fecond curve,
nouilii. the ordinates of which fhall be the fundticns of the or¬
dinates or arcs of the former, the .area of the fecond
curve fnall be a maximum or a minimum.—2. “ To
find among all the cycloids which a heavy body may
defcribe in its defcent from a point to a line, the pofi-
tion of which is given, that cycloid which is defcribed
in the leaf! poffible time.”—A prize of 50 florins was
promifed to John Bernouilli, if, within three months,
he engaged to folve thefe problems, and publifh within
a year legitimate folutions of them.
63. In a fhort time John Bernouilli produced his folu-
tion and demanded the prize. He fucceeded in conftruc-
ting the problem of fwiftefl: defcent *, but his folution of
the other problem was radically defective. This failure
mortified that vanity with which he gloried in his ap¬
parent fuccefs. He acknowledged the miftake in his
folution, and, with the fame imperious tone, tranfmit-
ted a newr refult, and redemanded the prize. This
new folution, which was ftill defebiive, drew down the
wit and ridicule of James Bernouilli, which his bro¬
ther attempted to repel by a torrent of coarfe invec¬
tive.
I70Q• 64. Leibnitz, Newton, and the marquis PHofpital,
being appointed arbiters in this difpute, James Bernouilli
publilhed, in 1700, the formula; of the ifoperimetrical
problem, without any demonflration ; and John tranf-
mitted his folution to the French academy in February
1701, on condition that it fliould not be opened till
his brother’s demonflrations were publiflied. In confe-
quence of this, James Bernouilli publiflied his folution
in May 1701, in the ABa Eruditorum, under the fol¬
lowing title, Analysis tnagni Problcmatis Ifoperimetrici,
and gained great honour from the Ikill which it dif-
played. For five years John Bernouilli was filent upon
the fubje£I; but his brother dying in 1705, he publilh¬
ed his folution in the Memoirs of the Academy for
1706. About 13 years aftenvards, John Bemouilli
having perceived the fource of his error, confeffed his
miftake, and publilhed a new folution, not very differ¬
ent from that of his brother, in the Memoirs of the
Academy for 1718.
65. In the problem relative to the cycloid of fwiftefl
defcent, John Bernouilli obtained a refult fimilar to that
of his brother, by a very ingenious method, which ex-^
tended the bounds of the new7 analyfis. In his invefti nouiiips ro¬
gations he employed the fynchronous curve, or that lution of
W’hich cuts a feries of fimilar curves placed in fimilar the feccad
pofitions, fo that the arcs of the latter included between 1>1U v'm'
a given point and the fynchronous curve, fliall be de-1704.
fcribed by a heavy body in equal times. He demon-
flrated, that of all the cycloids thus interfebied, that
which is cut perpendicularly is defcribed in lels time
than any other terminating equally at the fynchronous
curve. But being unable to give a general folution ol
the problem, he applied to Leibnitz, w'ho eafily reiolved
it, and at that time invented the method of differencing
de curva in curvam.
66. About a month after the death of the marquis de
I’Hofpital, John Bernouilli declared himlelf the author
of a rule given by the marquis in his Analyfis of Infinites,
for finding the value of a frablion, whofe numerator
and denominator fliould vanifli at the fame inftant, when
the variable quantity that enters into it has a certain
given value. The defence made by the marquis’s
friends, only induced John Bernouilli to make greater
demands, till he claimed as his own the molt important
parts of the Analyfis of Infinites : But it does not ap¬
pear, from an examination of the fubjedl, that there is
any foundation for his claims.
67. Tow’ards the clofe of 1704, Sir Ifaac Newton pub¬
liflied, at the end of his Optics, his Enumeratio Labours of
rum ter tut or din is, and his treatife De ^uadratura Cur- Newton.
varum. The firft of thefe papers difplays great abili- 1704..
ty j but is founded only on the common algebra, and
the doftrine of feries which Newton had brought to
fuch perfedlion. His treatife, De Hhiadratura Curva-
rum, contains the refolution of fluxional formula;,
with one variable quantity which leads to the qua¬
drature of curves. By means of certain feries he ob¬
tains the refolution of feveral complicated formulae, by
referring them to fuch as are more fimple ; and thefe fe¬
ries being interrupted in particular cafes, give the flu¬
ents in finite terms. From this feveral interefting pro-
pofitions are deduced, among which is the method of
refolving rational fraflions. In 171 r Newton publifh-
ed his Method of Fluxions, The objeft of this wrork is1^1 ’
to determine, by fimple algebra, the linear coefficients
of an equation that fatisfies as many conditions as there
are coe-fricients, and to conftru61 a curve of the parabo¬
lic kind palling through any number of given points.
Hence arifes a fimple method of finding the approxi¬
mate quadrature of curves, in which a certain number
of ordinates are determinable. It has been the opinion
of fome able mathematicians, that this treatife contains
the firft principles of the integral calculus with finite
differences, afterwards invented by Dr Taylor. A
pofthumous work of Newton’s, entitled the Method of1^^'
Fluxions, and of Infnite Series, was publiftied by Dr
Pemberton about nine years after the death of its au¬
thor 5 but it does not contain any new inveftigations
which accelerated the progrefs of the new analyfis.
68. The mathematical fciences were at this time in-Labours of
debted to the labours of Manfredi, Parent, and Saurin. Manfredi,
The former of thefe geometers publiflred a very able*r‘
work, De ConflruBime Equationum dijjerentialiumprimi, ^0y. ’
gradus. To Parent we are indebted for the problem by
which
M A T H E M A T I C S.
11
which we obtain the ratio between the velocity of the
power, and the weight for finding the maximum effefl
of machines ; but his reputation was much injured by
the obfcurity of his writings. Saurin was celebrated for
his theoretical and practical knowledge of watchmak¬
ing, and was the firft who elucidated the theory of
tangents to the multiple points of curves.
Account of 69. While the fcience of analyfis was thus advan-
the difpute cing with rapidity, the difpute between Newton and
between Leibnitz began to be agitated among the mathemati-
^'LLeib- ciails °f Europe. Theie illuftrious rivals feemed to
‘vitZ' have been hitherto contented with (haring the honour
of having invented the (luxional calculus. But as foon
as the priority of invention was attributed to Newton,
the friends of Leibnitz came forward with eagernefs to
(upport the claims of their mafter.
Faciode 70, a wTork on the curve of fwifteft defcent,
Duillier and the folid of lead refidance, publilhed in 1699, Ni-
cnmmences cbolas Facio de Duillier, an eminent Genoefe, attributed
the^difpiitCfto Newton t]1£ invention of fluxions, and hinted,
Newton. t^at Leibnitz, as the fecond inventor, had borrowed
from the Englifh philofopher. Exafperated at this im¬
proper infinuation, Leibnitz came forward in his own
Leibnitz defence, and appeals to the admiflion of Newton in his
defends Princi/jia, that neither had borrowed from the other,
lumftlf. He exprefled his convi£lion, that Facio de Duillier was
not authorifed by Sir Ifaac, to prefer fuch a charge,
and threw himfelf upon the teftimony and candour of
the Englifh geometer.
-esj-v-,- 1 71. The difcuflion reded in this fituation for feveral
makes the }Tears5 till our celebrated countryman. Dr Keill, indi¬
fame charge gated by an attack upon Newton in the Leipfic Jour-
againft nal, repeated the fame charge againd Leibnitz. The
Leibnitz. German plnlofopher made the fame reply as he did to
his former opponent, and treated Dr Keill as a young
man incapable of iudging upon the fubjeifL In 1711,
i?1:. Dr Keill addreffed a letter to Sir Flans Sloane, fecre-
tary to the Royal Society, and accufed Leibnitz of ha¬
ving adopted the differential notation, in order to have
it believed, that he did net borrow his caleulus from the
waitings of Newton.
Leibnitz 72, Eeibnitz was with reafon irritated at this accufation,
appeals to and called upon the Royal Society to interfere in his
the Royal behalf. A coramjttee of that learned body wras accord-
Society. ingly appointed to invedigate the (ubjeiff, and their re-
1712, port was publiflied in 1712, under the title of Commerci-
um Epi/lolicum de Analyfipromota. In this report the
Who ap-
committee maintain that Leibnitz was not the fird
point a inventor, and abfolve Dr Keill from all blame in giving
committee the priority of invention to Newton. They were cau-
to examine tious, however, in dating their opinion upon that part of
ana icport. charge in which Leibnitz was accufed of plagiarifm.
j 1 ’ 73* atifwer to the arguments advanced in the Com-
nouil'i m- tnerciumEpiftolicutn, John Bernouilli, the particular friend
plies to °f Leibnitz, publifhed a letter, in which he has the af-
their report furance to date, that the method of fluxions did not
given in the prece(]e t])e differential calculus, but that it might have
ta^en 'ts r'l'e from it. The reafon which he afligns
tolicum. for this drange affertion is, that the differential calcu¬
lus was publifhed before Newton had introduced an
uniform algorithm into the method of fluxions. But it
may as veil be maintained that Newton did not dif-
cover the theory of univerfal gravitation, becaufe the
attra&ive force of mountains and of fmaller portions of
matter was not afeertained till the time of Malkelyne and
Cavendidi. The principles of fluxions are allowed to
have been difeovered before thofe of the differential cal¬
culus, and yet the former originated from the latter, be¬
caufe the fluxional notation was not given at the fame
time !
74. Notwithdanding the ridiculous affertion of John Remrrksdn
Bernouilli, it has been admitted by all the foreign ma-1'16 contro'
thematicians, that Newton was the fird inventor of the'^ ^
method of fluxions. The point at iffue therefore is
merely this :—did Leibnitz fee any of the writings of
Newton that contained the principles of fluxions before
he publifhed in 1684 his Nova Methoduspro maximis ct
minimis ? The friends of Leibnitz have adduced fome
prefumptive proofs, that he had never feen the treatife
of Newton, de Analyji, nor the letter to Collins, in
both of which the principles of the new calculus were
to be found 5 and in order to drengthen their argument,
they have not fcrupled to affert, that the writings al¬
ready mentioned contained but a vague and obfeure in¬
dication of the method of duxions, and that Leibnitz
might have perufed them without having difeovered it.
This fubfidiary argument, however, reds upon the opi¬
nion of individuals j and the only way of repelling it is
to give the opinion of an irnpartial judge. M. Mon-
tucla, the celebrated hidorian of the mathematics, who
being a Frenchman, cannot be fufpeffed of partiality
to the Englilh, has admitted that Newton in his trea¬
tife de Analyji “ has difclofed in a very concife and
obfeure manner his principles of Huxions,” and “ that
the fufpicion of Leibnitz having feen this w'ork is not
deditute of probability, for Leibnitz admitted, that in
his interview with Collins he had feen a part of the
epidolary correfpondence between Newton and that
gentleman.” It is evident therefore that Leibnitz had
opportunities of being acquainted with the doftrine of
fluxions, before he had thought of the differential cal¬
culus 5 and as he was in London where Newton’s trea¬
tife was publilhed, and in company with the very men
to whom the new analyfis had been communicated, it
is very likely that he then acquired fome knowdedge of
the fubjefL In favour of Leibnitz, however, it is but
juflice to fay, that the tranlition from the method of
tangents by Dr Barrow' to the differential calculus is fo
fimple, that Leibnitz might very eafily have perceived
it; and that the notation of his analyfis, the numerous
applications which he made of it, and the perfection to
which he carried the integral calculus, are confiderable
proofs that he wras innocent of the charge which the
Englifh have attempted to fix upon his memory.
75. In 1708, Remond de Montmort publilhed a cu-Works o«
rious work entitled the Analylis of Games of Chance, in the doo
which the common algebra was applied to the compu-tr*ne or
tatien of probabilities, and the eitimation of chances.
Though this work did not contain any great difeovery, 7
yet it gave extent to the theory of feries, and admir¬
ably illuflrated the doCIrine of combinations. The
fame fubjeCI was aftenvards difeuffed by M. de Moivre,
a French proteftant refiding in England, in a fmall >
treatife entitle Menfura Sortis, in which are given the
elements of the theory of recurrent feries, and fome very 171 *
ingenious applications of it. Another edition was pu¬
blilhed in Englilh in 1738, under the title of the Do&rine
of Chances,
B a
A
1 2
Leibnitz
propcfes to
Lnglifh the
problem of
orthogonal
trajectories.
M A T H E M A T I C S.
1717.
1718.
Integration
cf rational
fractions.
*7i9-
Labours of
Roger
Cotes, born
1676.
J)r Taylor
invents the
integral
calculus of
finite dif-
ifrencos.
Problem of
reciprocal
trajectories.
1716.
/
Refolved
by Euler,
born 1707,
died 17 S3.
•V72S-
76. A Ihort thtie before bis death, Leibnitz prcpofed to
the Englith geometers the celebrated problem of ortho¬
gonal trajectories, which was to find the curve that cuts
a feries of given curves at a Conftant angle, or at an
angle varying according to a given law. This pro¬
blem was put into the hands of Sir Ifaac Newton when
he returned to dinner greatly fatigued, and he brought
it to an equation before he went to reft. Leibnitz
being recently dead, John Bernouilli affumed his place,
and maintained, that nothing was eafier than to bring
the problem to an equation, and that the folution of the
problem was not complete till the differential equation
of the trajeCtory was refolved. Nicholas Bernouilli,
the ion of John refolved the particular cafe in which the
interfered curves are hyperbolas with the fame cebtre
and the fame vertex. James Hermann and Nicholas
.Bernouilli, the nephew of John, treated the fubjeCt by-
more general methods, which applied to the cafes in
which the interfeCfed curves were geometrical. The
moft complete folution, however, was given by Dr
Taylor in the Philofophical TranfaClions for 1717,
though it was not fufhciently general, and could not
apply to fome cafes capable of refolution. This defeCt
was fupplied by John Bernouilli, who in the Leipfic
TranfaCtions for 1718, publifhed a very fimple folution,
embracing all the geotnetrical curves, and a great num¬
ber of the mechanical ones,
77. During thefe difcufiions, feveral difficult problems
on the integration of rational fractions were propofed by
Dr Taylor, and folved by John Bernouilli. This fub-
jeCf, however, had been firft difcuffed by Roger Cotes,
profeffor of mathematics at Cambridge, who died in
1710. In his pofthumous work entitled Harmonia
Menfuraruni) publifhed in 1716, he gave general and
convenient formulae for the integration of rational frac¬
tions ; and we are indebted to this young geometer for
his method of eftimating errors in mfxed mathematics,
for his remarks on the differential method of Newton,
and for his celebrated theorem for refolving certain equa¬
tions.
78. In 1715, Dr Taylor publifhed his learned work
entitled Methodus incrementorum direBa et inverfa. In
this work the doCtor gives the name of increments or
decrements of variable quantities to the differences,
whether finite or infinitely fmall, of two confecutive
terms-in a feries formed after a given law. When the
differences are infinitely fmall, their calculus belongs to
fluxions ; but when they are finite, the method of find¬
ing their relation to the quantities by which they are
produced forms a new calculus, called the integral cal¬
culus of finite differences. In confequence of this
work, Dr Taylor was attacked anonymoufly by John
Bernouilli, who laviftved upon the Englifh geometer
all that dull abufe, and angry ridicule, which he had
formerly heaped upon his brother.
79. The problem of reciprocal traje<5!ories was at this
time propofed by the Bernouillis. This problem re¬
quired the curves which, being conftrudfted in two op-
pofite direflions in one axis, given in pofition, and then
moving parallel to one another with unequal velocities,
fliould perpetually interfeft each other at a given angle.
It was long difcuffed between John Bernouilli and an
anonymous writer, who proved to be Dr Pemberton.
It wras by an elegant folution of this problem that
the celebrated Euler began to be diftinguiftred among
mathematicians. He was the pupil of John Bernouilli,
and continued through the whole of his life, the friend
and rival of his fon Daniel. The great object of his
labours was to extend the boundaries of analylis ; and
before he had reached his 21ft year, he publifhed a new
and general method of refolving differential equations
of the fecond order, fubjetfted to certain conditions.
80. The common algebra had been applied by Leibnitz ^akovn£
and John Bernouilli to determine arcs of the parabola,^1” a&"
the difference of which is an algebraic quantity, ima¬
gining that fuch problems in the cafe of the ellipfe and
hyperbola refifted the application of the new analyfis.
The Count de Fagnani, however, applied the integral
calculus to the arcs of the ellipfis and hyperbola, and
had the honour of explaining this new branch of geo¬
metry.
81. In the various problems depending on the analyfis Problem of
of infinites, the great difficulty is to refolve the differen- ^Amt
tial equation to which the problems are reduced. Count
James Riccati having been puzzled with a differential 1725.
equation of the firft order, with two variable quantities,
propofed it to mathematicians in the Leipfic A£!s for
1725. This queftion baffled the fkill of the moft cele¬
brated analyfts, who were merely able to point out a
number of cafes in which the indeterminate can be fe-
parated, and the equation refolved by the quadrature of
curves.
82. Another problem fuggefted by that of Viviani was Problem of
propofed in 1718 by Erneft von Offenburg. It W’as re- Orenburg,
quired to pierce a hemifpherical vault with any number
of elliptical windows, fo that their circumferences
fhould be expreffed by algebraic quantities ;—or in
other wTords, to determine on the furface of a fphere,
curves algebraically re&ifiable. In a paper on the rec¬
tification of fpherical epicycloids, Herman * imagined *
that thefe curves were algebraically re&ifiable, andjAA
therefore fatisfied the queftion of Offenburg $ but JohntionJs_
Bernouilli (Mem. Acad, Par. 1732.) demonftrated, that 1726.
as the rectification of thefe curves depended on the qua¬
drature of the j'yperbola, they were only reCtifiable inpef0ivec[K
certain cafes, and gave the general method of determi-jehn Ber-
ning the curves that are algebraically reCtifiable on thenouilli.
furface of a fphere.
83. The fame fubjeCt was alfo difcuffed by Nicole and Labours of
Clairaut, (Mem. Acad. 1734). The latter of thefeClairaut.
mathematicians had already acquired fame by his Re-
cherches fur les Courbet a double Courbure, publifhed
in 1730, before he was 21 years of age 5 but his repu¬
tation was extended by a method of finding curves
whofe property confifts in a certain relation between
thefe branches expreffed by a given equation. In this
refearch, Clairaut pointed out afpecies of paradox in the
integral calculus, which led to the celebrated theory of
particular integrals which was afterwards fully illuftrat-
ed by Euler and other geometers.
84. The celebrated problem of ifochronous curves be-protign, 0f
gan at this time to be rcagitated among mathematicians, ifochronous.
The obje<ft of this problem is to find luch a curve that acurves>
heavy body defeending along its concavity fhall always
reach the loweft point in the fame time, from what¬
ever point of the curve it begins to defeend. Huygens
had already fhewn that the cycloid was the ifochronous
curve in vacuo. Newton had demonftrated the fame
curve to be ifochronous when the defeending body ex¬
periences from the air a refiftahee proportional to its ve¬
locity,
13
M A T H E M A T I C S.
* Memoirs locity ; and Euler * and John Bernouillif, had fepa-
cf Peters- rately found the ifochronous curve when the refiftance
burgh, ^ was as the fquare of the velocity. Thefe three cafes,
^kMein Par anc^ even a fourth in which the reliftance was as the
173®” fquare of the velocity added to the product of the velo¬
city by a conftant coefficient, were all refolved by Fon¬
taine, by means of an ingenious and original method •,
Fontaine! ancl lt 1S vei7 remarkable that the ifochronous curve
is the fame in the third and fourth cafes.—The method
of Fontaine was illuflrated by Euler, who folved a fifth
cafe, including all the other four, when the refiftance
is compofed of three terms, the fquare of the velocity,
the produdl of the velocity by a given coefficient, and
a conftant quantity. He found alfo an expreffion of the
time which the body employs to defcend through any
arc of the curve.
Algebra of 85. The application of analytical formulae to the phy-
fines and fico-mathematical fciences was much facilitated by the
cofines. algebra of fines and cofines with which Frederick
Chriftian Mayer, and Euler, enriched geometry. By
the combination of arcs, fines, and cofines, formulae are
obtained which frequently yield to the method of refo-
lution, and enable us to folve a number of problems
which the ordinary ufe of arcs, fines, and cofines, wmuld
/render tedious and complicated.
Improve- 86. About this time a great difcovery in the theory of
ment in the differential equations of the firft order was made fepa-
ofdiffer°n rat;eV by Euler, Fontaine, and Clairaut. Hitherto
tialequa?" geometers had no dire£t method of afcertaining if any
tions. differential equation were refolvable in the Hate in
which it was prefented, or if it required fome prepara¬
tion prior to its refolution. For every differential equsi-
tion a particular method was employed, and their refo¬
lution was often effedled by a kind of tentative procefs,
which difplayed the ingenuity of its author, without be¬
ing applicable to other equations. The conditions un¬
der which differential equations of the firft order are. re¬
folvable were difeovered by the three mathematicians
whom we have mentioned. Euler made the difcovery
in 1736, but did not publifti it till 1740. Fontaine
and Clairaut lighted upon it in I7391 Euler after¬
wards extended the difcovery to equations of higher
orders.
Difcovery g y. The firft traces of the integral calculus w'ith partial
of the inte- differences appeared in a paper of Euler’s in the Peteri-
fuswith bur§h Tran fa 61 ions for 17345 but d’Alembert,, in his
partial dif- work Sur les Vents, has given clearer notions of
fcrences. it, and was the firft who employed it in folution of the
problem of vibrating cords propofed by Hr iaylor, and
inveftigated by F.uler and Eaniel Bernouilli. ^1 he ob¬
ject of this calculus is to find a fun£Hon of feveral vari¬
able quantities, when we have the relation of the coef¬
ficients which affefl the differentials of tshe variable
quantities of which this funflion is compofed. Euler
exhibited it in various ■points of view7, and fhe'wed its
^ application to a number of phyfical problems 5 and he
burX™' afterwards, in his paper entitled Invejigatio FunBionum
Tranjac- ex data Differentiahum conditione *, he completely ex-
tio/is, 1762. plained the nature, and gave the algorithm of the cal¬
culus.
The prin- g8. While the analyfis of infinites was making filch ra-
fluxionf progrefs on the continent, it was attacked in England
attacked by tbe celebrated Dr Berkeley, bithop of Cloyne, in a
by Dr wmrk called the AnnhjJl, ora difconrfe addrejjedto an In-
Berkeley, fidel Mathematician, wherein it is examined whether the
*734-
objeB, principles, and inferences of the modern analyfis,
are \more dflinBlij conceived than Religious Myfieries
and Points of Faith. In this work the doilor admits
the truth of the conclulions, but maintains that the
principles of fluxions are not founded upon realbning
ftriflly logical and conclufive. This attack called
forth Robins and Maclaurin. The former proved that
the principles of fluxions wrere confiftent with the ftri6l-
eft reafoning, while Maclaurin, in his Treatife of Flux¬
ions, gave a fynthetical demonftration of the principles
of the calculus after the manner of the ancient geome¬
tricians, and eftabliffies it with fuch clearnefs and fatis-
fa6tion that no intelligent man could refute his affent.
The differential calculus had been attacked at an earlier
period by Nieuwentiet and Rolle, but the weapons
wielded by thefe adverfaries were contemptible when
compared with the ingenuity of Dr Berkeley.
89. Notwithflanding this attack upon the principles of Works of
the new analyfis, the fcience of geometry made rapid
advances in England in the hands of Ihomas Simplon,"5 ^
Landen and Waring. In 1740, Mr Simpfon publifh-
ed his Treatife on Fluxions, which, befides many origi-I74c*
nal refearches, contains a convenient method of refolv-
ing differential equations by approximation, and various
means of haftening the convergency of llowly conver¬
ging feries. We are indebted to the fame geometer for
feveral general theorems for fumming different feries,
whether they are fufceptible of an abfolute or an ap¬
proximate fummation. His Mathematical Dijfertations,
publiffied in 1743, his Efiays on feveral SubjeBs in 1
Mathematics, publifhed in 1740, and his SeleB Exer-
eifes for Toung Proficients in the Mathematics, publiffi¬
ed in 1752, contain ingenious and original refearches
which contributed to the progrefs of geometry.
90. In his Mathe?natical Lucubrations, publiffied in The refidu-
1755, Mr Landen has given feveral ingenious theorems
for the fummation of feries 5 and the Philofqphical i ranf- jfy Ljirukjr.
affions for 1775 contain his curious difcovery of the
reffification of a hyperbolic arc, by means of two arcs 1777.
of an ellipfis, which was afterwards more Amply de-
m on fixated by Legendre. His invention of a new cal¬
culus, called the refidual analyfis, and in fome re-
fpeffs fubfidiary to the method of fluxions, has immor¬
talized his name. It was announced and explained in a
fmall pamphlet publiffied in 1715, entitled ix Difcour/e
concerning the Rfidual Analyfis.
91. The progrefs of geometry in England was acce-Labours oi'
lerated by the labours of Mr Edward Waring, profeffor Waring,
of mathematics at Cambridge. His two works entiiledt Phil. Trctnj'-
Meditationcs Analytwce, publifhed in 1769, and Medita-17^4> ani^
tiones Algebraicce, and his papers in the PhilofophicaH'??1’ P-
TranfaCtlons on the fummation of forces, are filled with I4'J“
original and profound refearches into various branches
of the common algebra, and the higher analyfis.
92. It was from the genius of Lagrange, however,Difcoverks *
that the higher calculus has received the moft brilliant ^ Ba-
improvements. This great man was born in Piedmont. SianSe*
He afterwards removed to Berlin, and hence to Paris,
where he flill refides. In addition to many improvements
upon the integral analyfis, he has enriched geometry with His method
a new calculus called the method of variations. The objeft f varia-
of this calculus is, when there is given an expreffion ortl0ns*
funflion of two or more variable quantities whofe relation
is expreffed by a certain law7, to find what this funffion
becomes when that law fuffers any variation infinitely
{ms'll,
H M A T H E
fmall, occafloned by the variation of one or more of the
terms which exprefs it. This calculus is as much fu-
perior to the integral calculus, as the integral calculus
is above the common algebra. It is the only means
by which vre can refolve an immenfe number of prob¬
lems de maximis et minimis, and is neceiTary for the fo-
lution of the moll interelling problems in mechanics.
Hii theory His theory of analytical functions is one of the molt
brillimit fpecimens of human genius. In the Memoirs
tions." of Berlin for 1772 he had touched upon this intereft-
ing fubjeft, but the theory was completely developed
in 1797 in his work entitled Theorie des fonBions ana-
lytiques, contenant les principes da ca/cul dijferentiel,
deg a gees de toute confideration dHnfinimcnts petits, on
evanoui/fements, ou des /imites, ou des fluxions; et rc-
duit a I'anahjfle algebrique des quantilesfluies. In a great
number of memoirs which are to be found in the Me¬
moirs of the Academy of Paris, in thofe of the Acade¬
my of Berlin*, and in thofe of the French Academy, La¬
grange has thrown light on every branch both of the
common algebra and the new analyfis.
Labours of 93, The new geometry has like wile been much indebted
a ace" to the celebrated Laplace. His various papers in the Me-
* Tom. 6. 7. moires des Spavans Etrangers,* and the Memoirs of the
French Academy, have added greatly to the higher
calculi, while his application of analyfis to the celellial
phenomena, as exhibited in the Mecanique Celefle, and
his various difeoveries in phyfical aflronomy, entitle him
to a high rank among the promoters of fcience.
Works of ^ 94. Among the celebrated French mathematftians of
crok^Eof" t^le anc* Pre^ent century, we cannot omit the names of
fut, and Coufin, Lacroix, and Boflut *, all of whom have written
Legendre, large works on the differential and integral calculi, and
illullrated the new analyfis by their difeoveries. The
Elemens de Geometric by Legendre is one of the belt
and moft original works upon elementary geometry,
and his papers in the Memoirs of the Academy con¬
tain feveral improvements upon the new analyfis.
Agnefi’s 9$• 1° Italy the mathematical fciences were defiined to
analytical be improved and explained by a celebrated female,
mftitutions. Donna Maria Gaetana Agnefi was profeflbr of mathe-
11^‘ matics in the univerfity of Bologna, and publifhed a
learned work entitled Analytical Inflitutions, con¬
taining the common analyfis, and the differential and in¬
tegral calculi. It has been tranfiated into Englifh by
Profeffor Colfon, and was publithed at the expence of
,T . Baron Maferes. A few years ago feveral curious pro-
i>n theer°ri Pcrt'es t^ie circle have been difeovered by Mafche-
ciiclc. roni, another Italian mathematician, who has publifhed
MATICS.
them in his interelling work flur le Geometric da Corn-
pas.
96. In England the mathematical fciences have been Englifli
fuccefsfuliy cultivated by Emerfcn, Baron Maferes, Dr marhemat-
M. Young, Dr Hutton, Profeffor Vince, and Profeffor cians'
Robertfon of Oxford. The DoBrine of Fluxions by Lmerfon.
Emerfon, and his Method of Increments, are good in-
troduefions to the higher geometry. The Scriptores
Logarithmici of Baron Maferes j his Trails on the Re- ^’aron Ya -
flolutmn of Equations ; his Principles of Life Annuities,
and his other mathematical papers, do the highelt ho¬
nour to his talents as a mathematician •, while his zeal
for the promotion of the mathematical tciences, and his
generous attention to thofe r,ho cultivate them, entitle
him to the noble appellation of the friend and patron of
genius. Dr Mathew Young, bithop of Clonfert, has-Ur M.
given a fynthetical demonilration of Newton’s rule for Leung,
the quadrature cf fimple curves; and has written on
the extraflion of cubic and other roots. Dr Hutton L)r Hutton
and Dr Vince have each publifhed feveral elementary and Dr
treatifes on mathematics, and have invented inoeni-' lnce‘
ous methods for the fummation of feries. Mr Robert-, T
fon of Oxford is the author of an excellent treatife on Robert"
conic fedfions.
97. The ancient geometry was affiduoufly cultivated inSeottiflima-
Scotland by Dr Robert Simpfcn and Dr Matthew Stew-themati-
art. Dr Simpfon’s edition of Euclid and his treatife on c’;ans-
conic fedfions have been much admired. The Trails
Phjfical and Mathematical of Dr Matthew Stewart, Pr s;®p-
and his Propoftiones Gecmetncce more veterum demon- 'on'
flrata, contain fine fpecimens of mathematical genius. In
the prefent day the names of Profeffor Playfair and Pro-I>)'M'
feifor Leflie of the univerfity of Edinburgh, Mr Wal-Stewaif-
lace and Mr Ivory now of the Royal Military College at
Great Marlow, are well known to mathematicians.
Mr Playfair’s Elements of Geometry, and his papers on ^ Piay*
the Arithmetic of Impojftble Quantities and on Porifms, are ^
proofs of his great talents as a mathematician and a phllo-, T r.
fopher. Mr Leflie, well known for his great difeoveries on *
heat, has found a very fimple’ principle, capabRof extenfive
application, by which the complicated expreffions in the
folution of indeterminate problems may be eafily re-
folved. Mr Wallace’s papers on Geometrical For if ms Vr Wal-
in the 4th vol. of the Edinburgh Tranfadlions, difplaylace-
much genius j and Mr Ivory’s Treatifes in the lafl vol.
of Baron Maferes’s Scnptorcs Logarithnnci, and his pa- Mrlvcry.
per on A New Series for the Rectification of the Ellitfs,
Edin. Tranf. vol. zfth. entitle him to a high rank among
modern mathematicians.
MAT
Mathemati- MATHEMATICAL, any tiling belonging to the
cal c fcience of mathematics.
Matlock. Matiiematibal Inflruments, fuch infiruments as are
w v ufually employed by mathematicians, as compaffes,
feales, quadrants, &c.
Machine for dividing Mathematical Inflruments.
See Ramsden’s Machine.
MAI LOCK, a town or village of Derbyfhire, near
Wickfworth, fituated on the very edge of the Der-
MAT
went ; noted for its bath, the water of which is milk- Matlock.
warm ; and remarkable* for the huge rocks in its envi-' v 
rons, particularly thofe called the Torr, on the eait
fide of the Derwent, over againft it, which feem to be
piled one upon another. It is an extenfive draggling
village, built in a very romantic %le, on the fteep’fide
of a mountain, riling irregularly from the bottom to
nearly the fummit. Near the bath are feveral fmall
houfes, whofe fituation is on the little natural horizon¬
tal
MAT [ i
MatraCs tal parts of the mountain, a few yards above the road,
!’ and in fome places the roofs of fome almoft touch the
iMatror,. fjoors 0f ot;hers> There are excellent accommodations
for company who refort to the bath *, and the poorer
inhabitants are fupported by,the fale of petrifadlions,
cryftals, &c. and notwithftanding the rockinefs of the
foil, the cliffs produce an immenfe number of trees,
whofe foliage adds greatly to the beauty of the
place.
MATRASS, Cucurbit, or Bolthead, among
chemifts. See Chemistry, Explanation of Plates.
MATRICARIA, Feverfew; a genus of plants,
belonging to the fyngenefia clafs ; and in the natural
method ranking under the 49th order, CotTipqfitce. See
Botany Index.
MATRICE, or Matrix. See Matrix.
Matrice, or matrix, in Dyeing, is applied to the
ffve fimple colours, whence all the reft are derived or
corapofed. Thefe are, the black, white, blue, red, and
' yellow or root colour.
Matrice, or matrices, ufed by the letter-founders,
are thofe little pieces of copper or brafs, at one end
whereof are engraven, dentwife, or en crcux, the feve-
ral characters ufed in the compofing of books. Each
character, virgula, and even each point in a difcourfe,
has its feveral matrix ; and of confequence its feveral
puncheon to ftrike it. They are the engravers on me¬
tal that cut or grave the matrices.
When types are to be caft, the matrice is faftened
to the end of a mould, fo difpofed as that when the
metal is poured on it, it may fall into the creux or ca¬
vity of the matrice, and take the figure and impreflion
thereof. See Letter Foundert.
Matrices, ufed in coining, are pieces of fteel in
form of dies, whereon are engraven the feveral figures,
arms, charafters, legends, See. wherewith the fpecies
are to be ftamped. The engraving is performed with
feverai puncheons, which being formed in relievo, or
prominent, when ftruck on the metal, make an in¬
dented impreffion, which the French call en creux.
MATRICULA, a regifter kept of the admiflion
of officers and perfons entered into any body or fociety
w hereof a lift is made. Hence thofe wrho are admitted
into our univerfities are faid to be matriculated. A-
mong ecclefiaftical authors, we find mention made of
two kinds of matricule ; the one containing a lift of
the eccleiiaftics, called matricula clericorum : the other
of the poor fubfifted at the expence of the church,
called matricula pauperum.
MATRICULA was alfo applied to a kind of alms-
houfe, where the poor were provided for. It had cer¬
tain revenues appropriated to it, and was ufually built
near the church, whence the name was alfo frequently
given to the church itfelf.
MATRIMONY. See Marriage.
MATRIX, in Anatomy, the womb, or that part of
the female of any kind, wherein the foetus is conceived
and nouriffred till the time of its delivery. See Ana¬
tomy, N° 108.
Matrix is alfo applied to places proper for the ge¬
neration of vegetables, minerals, and metals. Thus
the earth is the matrix wffierein feeds fprout ; and
marcafites are by many confideved as the matrices of
metals.
The matrix of ores is the earthy and ftony fubftan-
5 ] MAT
ces in which thefe metallic matters are enveloped :
thefe are various, as lime and heavy fpar, quartz,
fluors, &c.
MATRON, an elderly married woman.
Jury of Matrons. When a widow feigns herfelf
with child in order to exclude the next heir, and a
fuppofititious birth is fufpesffed to be intended, then,
upon the writ de ventre infpiciendo, a jury of women
is to be impannelled to try the queftion whether the
woman is with child or not. So, if a woman is
convifted of a capital offence, and, being condemned
to fuffer death, pleads in ftay of execution, that fhe
is pregnant, a jury of matrons is impannelled to in¬
quire into the truth of the allegation ; and, if they
find it true, the convict is refpited till after her deli¬
very.
MATRON A, in Ancient Geography, a river fepa-
rating Gallia Celtica from the Belgica (Cefar). Norv
the Marne ; which, riling in Champagne near Langres,
runs north-weft, and then wreft, and paffing by Meaux
falls into the Seine at Charenton, two leagues to the
eaft of Paris.
MATRONAL I A, a Roman feftival inftituted by
Romulus, and celebrated on the kalends of March, in
honour of Mars. It was kept by matrons in particu¬
lar, and bachelors w?ere entirely excluded from any
lhare in the folemnity. The men during this feall
fent prefents to the women, for which a return was
made by them at the Saturnalia: And the women
gave the fame indulgence to their fervants now which
the men gave to theirs at the feaft of Saturn, ferving
them at table, and treating them as fuperiors.
MATROSSES, are foldiers in the train of artil¬
lery, who are next to the gunners, and aflift them in
loading, firing, and fpunging the great guns. They
carry firelocks, and march along with the ftore wag¬
gons, both as a guard, and to give their affiftarice in
cafe a waggon Ihould break down.
MATSYS, Quintin, painter of hiftory and por¬
traits, was born at Antwerp in 1460, and for feveral
years followed the trade of a blackfmith or farrier, at
leaft till he was in his 20th year. Authors vary in their
accounts of the caufe of his quitting his firft occupa¬
tion, and attaching himfelf to the art of painting.
Some affirm, that the firft unfolding of his genius was
occafioned by the fight of a print which accidentally
was fhown to him by a friend who came to pay him a
vifit wffiile he was in a declining ftate of health from
the labour of his former employment, and that by his
copying the print with fome degree of fuccefs, he was
animated with a defire to learn the art of painting.
Others fay, he fell in love with a young woman of
great beauty, the daughter of a painter, and they al¬
lege that love alone wrought the miracle, as he could
have no profpeft of obtaining her except by a diftin-
guifhed merit in the profeffion of painting : for which
reafon he applied himfelf with inceflant labour to ftudy
and pradlife the art, till he became fo eminent as to
be entitled to demand her in marriage, and he fucceed-
ed. Whatever truth may be in either of thele ac¬
counts, it is certain that he appeared to have an un¬
common genius ; his manner was Angular, not refem-*
bling the manner of any other mafter ; and his piflures
were ftrongly coloured and carefully finiftied, but yet
they are fomewhat dry and hard. By many cornpe-
Matroa
II.
Matlys.
tsnt.
MAT [ 16 ] MAT
Matt tent judges it was believed, when they obferved the
. T ftrength of expreffion in feme of his compefitions, that
‘ ' if he had ftudied in Italy to acquire fome knowledge
of the antiques and the great mailers of the Roman
fchool, he would have proved one of the moil eminent
painters of the Low Countries. But he only imitated
ordinary life ; and feemed more inclined, or at lead
more qualified, to imitate the defects than the beauties
of nature. Some hiftorical compofitions of this mailer
deferve commendation ; particularly a Defcent from the
Crofs, which is in the cathedral at Antwerp j and it is
jufily admired for the fpirit, {kill, and delicacy of the
whole. But the mod remarkable and bed known pic¬
ture of Matfys, is that of the Two Mifers in the galle¬
ry at Windfor. He died in 1529.
MATT, in a (hip, is a name given to rope-yarn,
junk, &c. beat flat and interwoven \ ufed in order to
preferve the yards fx-om galling or rubbing, in hoiding
jor lowering them.
MATTER, in common language, is a word of the
fame import with body, and denotes that which is tan¬
gible, vifible, and extended •, but among philofophers
it fignifies that fubdance of which all bodies are com-
pofed ; and in this fenfe it is fynonymous with the
word Element.
It is only by the fenfes that we have any communi-
-cation with the external world ; but the immediate ob-
je£ls of fenfe, philofophers have in general agreed to
term qualities, w'hich they conceive as inhering in
fomething which is called their fubjeB or fubjlratum.
It is this fubflratum of fenfible qualities which, in the
language of philofophy, is denominated matter; fo
that matter is not that which we immediately fee or
handle, but the concealed fubjeB or fupport of vifible
and tangible qualities. What the moderns term quali¬
ties, was by Ariftotle and his followers called form ;
but fo far as the two do&rines are intelligible, there ap¬
pears to be no eflential difference between them. From
the moderns we learn, that body confids of matter and
qualities ; and the Peripatetics taught the fame thing,
when they faid that body is compofed of matter and
form.
How philofophers WTre led to analyze body into
matter and form, or, to ufe modern language, into
matter and qualities; what kind of exiffence they at¬
tribute to each ; and whether matter muff be conceived
as felf-exiilent or created—are queftions which (hall be
confidered afterwards (See Metaphysics). It is fuf-
ficient here to have defined the term.
MAI I HEW, or Gofpel of St Matthew, a cano¬
nical book of the New Teftament.
St Matthew wrote his gofpel in Judea, at the re-
queft of thofe he had converted ; and it is thought
he began in the year 41, eight years after Chrift’s
refurreiflion. It was written, according to the tefti-
mony of all the ancients, in the Hebrew or Syriac
language ; but the Greek verfion, which now pafles
for the original, is as old as the apoftolical times.
St. Matthew the Evangelifts Day, a feftival of the
Chriftian church, obferved on September 21 ft.
St Matthew, the fon of Alpheus, -was alfo called
Levi. He was ef Jewifti original, as both his names
difeover, and probably a Galilean. Before his call to
the apoftolate, he was a publican or toll-gatherer to
the Romans j an office of bad repute among the
Jews, on account of the covetoufnefs and exaflion of Matthew,
thofe who managed it $ St Matthew’s office parti- v~ ’ r
cularly confiding in gathering the cuftoms of all
merchandife that came by the fea of Galilee, and the
tribute that paffengers were to pay wdio went by
water. And here it was that Matthew fat at the re¬
ceipt of cuftoms, when our Saviour called him to be a
difciple. It is probable, that, living at Capernaum,
the place of Chrift’s ufual relidence, he might have
fome knowledge of him before he was called. Mat¬
thew immediately expreffed his fatisfadlion in being
called to this high dignity, by entertaining our Sa¬
viour and his difciples at a great dinner at his own
houfe, whither he invited all his friends, efpecially thofe
ot his own profeflxon, hoping, probably, that they might
be influenced by the company and converfation of
Chrift. St Matthew continued with the reft of the
apoftles till after our Lord’s afeenfion. For the firft
eight years afterwards, he preached in Judea. Then
he betook himfelf to propagating the gofpel among the
Gentiles, and chofe Ethiopia as the feene of his apofto¬
lical miniftry j where it is faid he fuffered martyr¬
dom, but by what kind of death is altogether uncer¬
tain. It is pretended, but without any foundation,
that Hyrtacus, king of Ethiopia, defiring to marry
Iphigenia, the daughter of his brother and predeceflbr
vEglippus, and the apoftle having reprefented to him
that he could not lawfully do it, the enraged prince
ordered his head immediately to be cut off. Baronius
tells us, the body of St Matthew was tranfported from
Ethiopia to Bithynia, and from thence was carried to
Salernum in the kingdom of Naples in the year 954,
where it was found in 1080, and where Duke Robert
built a church beaxing his name.
St Matthew, a town of Spain, in the kingdom of
Arragon, feated in a pleafant plain, and in a very fer¬
tile country watered with many fprings. W. Long,
o. 15. N. Lat. 40. 22.
Matthew of Paris. See Paris.
Matthew of Wefminfer, a Benedidline monk and
accompliftied fcholar, who wrote a hiftory from the
beginning of the world to the end of the reign of Ed¬
ward I. under the title of Flores Hiforiarum ; which
was afterwards continued by other hands. He died in
1380.
St MATTHIAS, an apoftle, tvas chofen inftead
of Judas. He preached in Judaea and part of Ethi¬
opia, and fuffered martyrdom. See the ABs of the
Apofles, chap. i. There was a gofpel publilhed un¬
der Matthias’s name, but rejected as fpurious; as
likewife fome traditions, wThich met with the fame
fate.
St Matthias's Day, a feftival of the Chriftian
church, obferved on the 24th of February. St Mat¬
thias was an apoftle of Jefus Chrift, but not of the
number of the twelve chofen by Chrift himfelf. He
obtained this high honour upon a vacancy made in
the college of the apoftles by the treafon and death
of Judas Ifcariot. The choice fell on Matthias by
lot ; his competitor being Jofeph called Barfabas, and
furnamed Jufus. Matthias was qualified for the
apoftleftiip, by having been a conftant attendant upon
our Saviour all the time of his miniftry. - He was,
probably, one of the 70 difciples. After our Lord’s
refurredtion, he preached the gofpel firft in Judaea.
Afterwards
MAT [ i? ] M A U
Mnttiacx Afterwards it is probable he travelled eaihvards, his
Aqtxa; relidence being principally near the irruption of the
river Apfarus and the haven Hyffus. The barbarous
■ , people treated him with great rudenefs and inhumani¬
ty •, and, after many labours and fufferings in convert-
ing great numbers to Chriftianity, he obtained the
crown of martyrdom ^ but by what kind of death, is
uncertain.—They pretend to {how the relics of St Mat¬
thias at Rome ■, and the famous abbey of St Mat¬
thias near Treves boafts of the fame advantage : but
doubtlefs both without any foundation. There was a
gofpel afcribed to St Matthias ; but it was univerfally
rejedled as fpurious.
MATTIACiE AqujE, or Mattiaci Fontes, in
Ancient Geography, now Wilhaden, oppofite to Mentz,
in Weteravia. E. Long. 8. N. Lat. 50. 6.
MATT1ACUM, or Mattium, in Ancient Geogra¬
phy, a town of the Mattiaci, a branch of the Catti in
Germany. Now Marpurg in Heffe. E. Long. 8. 40.
N. Lat, 50. 40.
MATTINS, the firft canonical hour, or the firft
part of the daily fervice, in the Romifh church.
MATTHIOLUS, Peter Andrew, an eminent
phylician in the i6th century, born at Sienna, was well
{killed in the Greek and Latin tongues. He wrote
learned commentaries on Diofcorides, and other wrorks
which are efteemed ; and died in 1577.
MAT GRANTS, in Pharmacy, medicines which
promote the fuppuration of tumors.
MATY, Matthew, M. D. an eminent phyfician
and polite writer, wras born in Holland in the year
1718. He was the fon of a clergyman, and w’as ori¬
ginally intended for the church ; but in confequence
of feme mortifications his father met with from the
fynod, on account of the peculiar fentiments he en¬
tertained about the dodlrine of the Trinity, turned
his thoughts to phyfic. He took his degree of M. D.
at Leyden j and in 1740 came to fettle in England,
his father having determined to quit Holland for ever.
In order to make himfelf knowm, he began in 1749 *0
publifh in French an account of the produftions of the
Englitb prefs, printed at the Hague under the name of
the "journal Britannique. This journal, which conti¬
nues to hold its rank amongft the bed of thofe which
have appeared fince the time of Eayle, anfwered the
chief end he intended by it, and introduced him to
the acquaintance of fome of the moft refpedlable lite¬
rary characters of the country he had made his own.
It was to their aCtive and uninterrupted friendfhip he
owTed the places he afterwards poffelTed. In 1758 he
was chofen fellow, and in 1765, on the refignation of
Hr Birch, wdib died a fewr months after, and had made
him his executor, fecretary to the Royal Society. He
had been appointed one of the under librarians of tlm
Britifh muieum at its firft inftitution in 1753, an<^ ^e"
came principal librarian at the death of Hr Knight in
1772. Ufeful in all thefe fituations, he promifed to be
eminently fo in the laft, when he was feized with a
languifhing dilbrder, which in 1776 put an end to a
life which had been uniformly devoted to the purfuit
of fcience and the offices of humanity. He was an
early and adive advocate for inoculation \ and when
there was a doubt entertained that one might have the
fmallpox this w'ay a fecond time, tried it upon him-
lelf unknown to his family. He was a member of
VOL. XIII. Part 1.
the medical club (with the Drs Parfons, Templeman, ^ waty,
Fothergill, Watfon and others), which met every
fortnight in St Paul’s Churchyard. He was twice
married, viz. the firft time to Mrs Elizabeth Boifra-
gon } and the fecond to Mrs Mary Deners. He left
a fon and three daughters. He had nearly finifhed
the Memoirs of the earl of Chefterfield ; which were
completed by his fon-in-law Mr Juftamond, and pre¬
fixed to that nobleman’s Mifcellaneous Works, 1777,
2 vols. 4to.
Maty, Paul Henry, M. A. F. R. S. fon of the
former, was educated at Weftminfter and Trinity col¬
lege Cambridge, and had their travelling fellowffiip for
three years. He was afterwards chaplain to Lord
Stormont at Paris in 17—, and foon after vacated his
next fellowfhip by marrying one of the three daughters
of Jofeph Clerk, Efq. filler of the late Captain Charles
Clerk (who fucceeded to the command on the death
of Captain Cook). On his father’s death in 1776, he
was appointed to the office of one of the under libra¬
rians of the Britifh mufeum, and was afterwards prefer¬
red to a fuperior department, having the care of the
antiquities, for which he was eminently qualified. In
1776 he alfo fucceeded his father in the office of
fecretary to the Royal Society. On the difputes re-
fpe£Hng,the reinftatement of Dr Hutton in the depart¬
ment of fecretary for foreign correfpondence in 1784,
Mr Maty took a warm and diftinguilhed part, and re-
figned the office of fecretary j after which he under¬
took to affift gentlemen or ladies in perfebling their
knowledge of the Greek, Latin, French, and Italian
claffics. Mr Maty was a thinking confcientious man j
and having conceived fome doubts about the articles
he had fubferibed in early life, he never could be pre¬
vailed upon to place himlelf in the way of ecclefiaftical
preferment, though his connexions were amongft thofe
who could have ferved him eflentially in this point ;
and foon after his father’s death he withdrew himfelf
from miniftering in the eftabliftied church, his reafons
for which he publilhed in the 47th volume of the Gent.
Magazine, p, 466. His whole life was thenceforwards
taken up in literary purfuits. He received look from
the duke of Marlborough, with a copy of that beauti¬
ful work, xhe. Gemmcc Mar/bunenfes, of which only 100
copies were worked off for prefents ; and of which
Mr Maty wrote the French account, as Mr Bryant did
the Latin. In January 1782 he fet on foot a Review
of publications, principally foreign^ which he carried
on, with great credit to himfelf and fatisfadlion to the
public, for near five years, when he was obliged to
difeontinue it from ill health. He had long laboured
under an afthmatic complaint, which at times made
great ravages in his cosftitution, and at laft put a pe¬
riod to his life in Jan. 1787, at the age of 42 ; leaving
behind him one fon.—Mr Maty was eminently ac¬
quainted with ancient and modern literature, and parti¬
cularly converfant in critical refearches. The purity
and probity of his nature wrere unqueftionable 5 and hi*
humanity was as exquifite as it wmuld have been exten-*
five, had it been feconded by his fortune.
MAUBEUGE, a town of the Netherlands, in Hai-
nault, with an illuftrious abbey of canoneffes, who
muft be noble both by the father and mother’s fide.
This place w7as ceded to France in 1678 5 and fortified
after the manner of Vauban. In September 1793, the
C Auftrians
M A U [ i
Mauraueo Audriafts formed the blockade of this place, but were
j! ^ . driven from their pofition in the following month. It
..i-Hj-.ertms. feate(j 0n t}lg river Sambre, in E. Long. 5. o. N.
Eat. 50. 15.
MAUCAUCO, Macaco, or Maki, a genus of
quadrupeds belonging to the order Primates. See Mam¬
malia Index.
MAVIS, a fpecies of turdus. See ORNITHOLOGY
Index.
MAUNCH, in Heraldry, the figure of an ancient
coat fleeve, born in many gentlemen’s efcutcheons.
MAUNDY THURSDAY, is the Thurfday in pafi-
fison week ; which was called Maunday or Mandate
Thur/datf, from the command which our Saviour gave
Ids apoftles to commemorate him in the Lord’s lupper,
which he this day inflituted ; or from the new com¬
mandment which he gave them to love one another,
after he had wafned their feet as a token of his love
to them.
MAUPERTUIS, Peter Louis Morceau de, a
Celebrated French academician, was born at St Malo
in 16985 and was there privately educated till he arriv¬
ed at his 16th year, when he was placed under the ce¬
lebrated profePfior of philofophy M. le Blond, in the
college of La Marche, at Paris. He foon difcovered a
paffion for mathematical fludics, and particularly for
geometry. He likewife pra£lifed inftrumental mufic
in his early years with great fuccefs 5 but fixed on no
profeffion till he was 20, when he entered into the ar¬
my. He firft ferved in the Grey Mufqueteers 5 but in
the year 1720, his father purchafed for him a company
of cavalry in the regiment of La Rocheguyon. He re¬
mained but five years in the army, during which time
he purfued his mathematical lludies with great vigour 5
and it was foon remarked by M. Freret and other aca¬
demicians, that nothing but geometry could fatisfy
his adiive foul and unbounded thirft for knowledge.
In the year 1723, lie was received into the Royal
Academy of Sciences, and read his firft performance,
which was a memoir upon the conftruclion and form
of mufical inftruments, November 15. 1724. During
the firft years of his admiflion, he did not wholly con¬
fine his attention to mathematics ; he dipt into natu¬
ral philofophy, and difcovered great knowledge and
dexterity in obfervations and experiments upon animals.
If the cuftom of travelling into remote climates, like
the fages of antiquity, in order to be initiated into
the learned myfteries of thofe times, had full fubfifted,
no one would have conformed to it with greater eager-
nefs than M. de Maupertuis. His firft gratification
of this paffion was to vifit the country which had
given birth to Newton 5 and during his refidence at
London he became as zealous an admirer and fol¬
lower of that philofopher as any one of his own
countrymen. His next excurfion was to B'afil in
Switzerland, where he formed a friendllnp with the fa¬
mous John Bemouilli and his family, which continued
to his death. At his return to Paris, he applied him-
felf to his favourite ffidies with greater zeal than ever : '
—And how well he fulfilled the duties of an academi¬
cian, may be gathered by running over the memoirs of
the academy from the year 1724 to 1736 5 where it ap¬
pears that he was neither idle nor occupied by objefts
of finall importance. The moft fublime queftions in
geometry and the relative fciences received from his
s ]
M A U
hands that elegance, clearnefs, and precifion, fo re- Mauprrtita.
markable in all his writings. In the year I73^> he "y
was fent by the king of France to the polar circle, to
meafure a degree, in order to afeertain the figure of
the earth, accompanied by Meffrs Clairault, Camus,
Le Monnier, 1’Abbe Outhier, and Celfius the cele¬
brated profeflbr of aftronomy at Upfal. This diftinc-
tion rendered him fo famous, that at his return he was
admitted a member of almoft every academy in Eu¬
rope.
In the year 1740 Maupertuis had an invitation from
the king of* Pruffia to go to Berlin 5 which was too
flattering to be refufed. His rank among men of let¬
ters had not wholly effaced his love for his firft pro-
feflion, namely, that of arms. He followed his Prut-
fian majefty into the field, and was a witnefs of the
difpofitions and operations that preceded the battle of
Molwitz 5 but was deprived of the glory of being pre-
fent, when victory declared in favour of his royal pa¬
tron, by a Angular kind of adventure. His horfe, dur¬
ing the heat qf the aftion, running away with him
he fell into the hands of the enemy 5 and was at firft
but roughly treated by the Auftrian foldiers, to whom
he could not make himfelf known for want of lan¬
guage 5 but being carried prifoner to Vienna-, he re¬
ceived fuch honours from their Imperial majefties as
were never effaced from his memory. From Vienna
he returned to Berlin 5 but as the reform of the aca¬
demy which the king of Pruffia then meditated was
not yet mature, he went again to Paris, where his af¬
fairs called him, and was chofen in 1742 dire&or of
the Academy of Sciences. In 1743 he was received in¬
to the French academy ; which was the firft inftance
of the fame perfon being a member of both the aca¬
demies at Paris at the fame time. M. de Maupertuis
again affumed the foldier at the fiege of Fribourg, and
was pitched upon by Marfhal Cogny and the Count
d’Argenfon to carry the news to the French king of
the furrender of that citadel.
He returned to Berlin in the year 1744, when a
marriage was negotiated and brought about by the
good offices of the queen-mother, between our author
and Mademoifelle de Borck, a lady of great beauty and
merit, and nearly related to PvT. de Borck at that time
minifter of ftate. This determined him to fettle at
Berlin, as he was extremely attached to his new fpoufe,
and regarded this alliance as the moft fortunate cir-
cumftance of his lire.
In the year 1746, PvL de Maupertuis was declared
by Ins Pruffian majefty prefident of the Royal Academy
of Sciences at Berlin, and foon after by the fame prince
was honoured with the order of Merit: However, all
thefe accumulated honours and advantages, fo far from
leffening his ardour for the fciences, feemed to furniffi
new allurements to labour and application. Not a day
paffed but he produced fome new projeft or effay for
the advancement of knowledge. Nor did he confine
himfelf to mathematical ftudies only : metaphyfics,
chemiftry, botany, polite literature, all {hared his at- -
tention, and contributed to his fame. At the fame
time, he had, it feems, a ftrange inquietude of fpi-
rit, with a morofe temper, which rendered him
miferable amidft honours and pleafures.—Such a
temperament did not promife a very pacific life 5
and be was engaged in feveral quarrels. He had
a,.
M A U [
Manpertuis. a quarrel with Koenig the profeffor of philofophy at
Franeker, and another more terrible with Voltaire.
Maupertuis had inferted into the volume of Memoirs
of the Academy of Berlin for 1746, a difcourfe upon
the laws of motion j which Koenig was not content
with attacking, but attributed to Leibnitz. Mauper¬
tuis, flung with the imputation of plagiarifm, engaged
the academy of Berlin to call upon him for his proof j
which Koenig failing to produce, he was llruck out
of the academy, of which he was a member. Several
pamphlets were the confequence of this ; and Voltaire,'
for feme reafon or other, engaged againtt Maupertuis.
We fay, for fome reafon or other ; becaufe Mauper¬
tuis and Voltaire were apparently upon the moll ami¬
cable terms j and the latter refpedled the former as
his mailer in the mathematics. Voltaire, however, ex¬
erted all his wit and fatire againll him *, and on the
whole was fo much tranfported beyond what was
thought right, that he found it expedient in 1753 to
quit the court of Pruffia.
Our philofopher’s conftitution had long been con-
fiderably impaired by the great fatigues of various kinds
in which his adlive mind had involved him ; though
from the amazing hardlhips he had undergone in his
northern expedition, molt of his future bodily fuffer-
ings may be traced. The intenfe lharpnefs of the air
could only be fupported by means of itrong liquors,
which ferved to increafe his diforder, and bring on a
fpitting of blood, which began at lead 1 2 years before
he died. Yet flill his mind feemed to enjoy the
greateft vigour ; for the belt of his writings were pro¬
duced, and moll fublime ideas developed, during the
time of his confinement by ficknefs, when he was un¬
able to occupy his prefidial chair at the academy. He
took feveral journeys to St Male, during the laft years
of his life, for the recovery of his health : And though
he always received benefit by breathing his native air,
yet Hill, upon his return to Berlin, his diforder like-
wife returned with greater violence.—His lall journey
into France was undertaken in the year 1757 ; when
lie was obliged, foon after his arrival there, to quit
his favourite retreat at St Malo, on account of the
danger and confufion which that town w’as thrown in¬
to by the arrival of the Englilh in its neighbourhood.
From thence he went to Bourdeaux, hoping there to
meet with a neutral fhip to carry him to Hamburgh,
in his way back to Berlin; but being difappointed in
that hope, he went to Thouloufe, where he remained
feven months. He had then thoughts of going to Italy,
in hopes a milder climate would rellore him to health :
but finding himlelf grow worfe, he rather inclined to¬
wards Germany, and went to Neufchatel, where for
three months he enjoyed the converfation of Lord
Marifchal, with whom he had formerly been much
connedled. At length he arrived at Bafil, October
16. 1758, where he was received by his friend Ber-
nouilli and his family with the utmolt tendernefs and
affedtion. He at firlt found himfelf much better here
than he had been at Neufchatel : but this amendment
was of Ihort duration 5 for as the winter approached,
his dilorder returned, accompanied by new7 and more
alarming fymptoms. Fie languithed here many months,
during which be was attended by M. de la Condamine 5
and died in 1759.
He wrote in French, 1, The figure of the earth de-
ip ] M A U
termined. 2. The meafure of a degree of the meridian. Maul
3. A difcourfe on the parallax of the moon. 4. A J|. f
difcourfe on the figure of the liars. 5. The elements :
of geography. 6. Nautical aftronomy. 7. Elements
of aftronomy. 8. A phyfical differtation on a white
inhabitant of Africa. 9. An eifay on cofmography.
10. Refledlions on the origin of languages. 11. An
eflay on moral philofophy. I 2. A letter on the pro-
grefs of the fciences. 13. An effay on the formation
of bodies. 14. An eulogium on M. de Montefquieu.
15. Letters, and other works.
MAUR, St, was a celebrated difciple of St Bene-
di£l. If we can believe a life of St Maur aferibed to
Fauflus his companion, he was fent by Benedict on a
milhon to France. But this life is confidered as apo¬
cryphal. In rejedling it, however, as well as the cir-
cumftances of the midion, we mull beware of denying
the million itfelf. It is certain that it was believed in
France as early as the 9th century ; and notwithlland-
ing the filence of Bede, Gregory of Tours, and others,
there are leveral documents which prove this, or at
lead render it extremely probable. A celebrated fo-
ciety of Benedidtines, took the name of St Maur in
the beginning of the lall century, and received the
fandlion of Pope Gregory XV. in 1621. This fo-
ciety was early dillinguilhed by the virtue and the
knowledge of its members, and it Hill fupperts the
charadler. There are perhaps fewer eminent men in
it than formerly ; but this mull be aferibed to the le¬
vity of the age, and partly to the little encouragement
for the refearches of learned men. The chief perfons
of ingenuity which this fociety has produced are, the
Fathers Menard, d’Acheri, Mabillon, Ruinart, Ger¬
main, Larin, Montfaucon, Martin, Vaiflfette, le Nourri,
Martianay, Martenne, Maffuet, &c. &c. See L'Hi-
/foire Litteraire de la Congregation de St Maur, pub-
lilhed at Paris under the title of BruJJels, in a.to, 1770,
by Dom. Tallin.
M A URIC E A U, Francis, a French furgeon, who
applied himfelf with great fuccefs and reputation to
the theory and pradlice of his art for fi veral years at
Paris. Afterwards he confined himfelf to the difor-
ders of pregnant and lying-in-women, and was at the
head of all the operators in this way. His Obfervn-
tions fur la grojjejfe and fur Caccouchement des femmes,
fur leurs maladies, et celles des enfans nouveaux, 1694,
in 4to, is reckoned an excellent work, and has been
tranfiated into feveral languages, German, Flemifh, Ita¬
lian, Englifh : and the author himfelf tranflated it into
Latin. It is illullrated with cuts. Fie publilhed ano¬
ther piece or two, by way of fupplement, on the fame
fubjedl ; and died at Paris in 1709.
MAURICE, St, commander of the Theban le¬
gion, was a Chriftian, together with the officers and
fold iers of that legion, amounting to 6600 men 
This legion received its name from the city Thebes
in Egypt, where it was raifed. It was fent by Dio¬
cletian to check the Bagaudac, who had excited fome
difturbances in Gaul. Maurice having carried his
troops over the Alps, the emperor Maximinian com¬
manded him to employ his utmoll exertions to extir¬
pate Chrillianity. This propofal was received with
horror both by the commander and by the foldiers.
The emperor, enraged at their oppolition, command¬
ed the legion to be decimated 5 and when they ftill
C 2 declared
M ’ A U L 20 ] M A U
Maurice, declared that they would fooner die than da any thing
prejudicial to the Chritlian faith, every tenth man of
thofe who remained was put to death. Their perfe-
verance excited the emperor to ftill greater cruelty *,
for when he favv that nothing could make them
relinqu’dh their religion, he commanded his troops
to furround them, and cut them to pieces. Mau¬
rice, the commander of theft' Chriftian heroes, and
Exuperus and Candidus, officers of the legion, who
had chiefly mitigated the foldiers to this noble re¬
finance, fignalized themfelves by their patience and
their attachment to the doctrines of the Chriilian re¬
ligion. They were maffacred, it is believed, at A-
gaune, in Chablais, the 22d of September 286.—
Notwithftanding many proofs which fupport this tranf-
aclion, Dubordier, Hottinger, Moyle, Barnet, and
Moiheim, are difpofed to deny the fa£t. It is de¬
fended, on the other hand, by Hickes an English
writer, and by Dom Jofeph de Liile a Benedictine
monk cJe la congregation de Saint Vannes, in a work of
his, entitled Defence de la Verite du Martyre de la Le¬
gion Thebcnne, 1737. In defence of the fame fad, the
reader may confult Hijioria di S. Mauritie, by P. Rof-
fignole a Jefuit, and the Acda SanBorum for the month
of September. The martyrdom of this legion, written
by St Encherius biffiop of Lyons, was tranfinitted to
poiterity in a very imperfed manner by Surius. P. Chif-
fiet a Jefuit, difcovered, and gave to the public, an ex-
ad copy of this wmrk. Don Ruinart maintains, that it
lias every mark of authenticity. St Maurice is the pa¬
tron of a celebrated order in the king of Sardinia’s do¬
minions, created by Emanuel Philibert duke of Savoy,
to reward military merit, and approved by Grego¬
ry XIII. in 1572. The commander of the Theban le¬
gion muft not be confounded with another St Maurice,
mentioned by Theodoret, who fuffered martyrdom at
Apamea in Syria.
Maurice, (Mauritius Tiberiusf was born at Ara-
biffus in Cappadocia, A. D. 539. He was defcend-
ed from an ancient and honourable Roman family.—
After he had filled leveral offices in the court of Tibe¬
rius Conllantine, he obtained the command of his ar¬
mies againil the Perfians. His gallantry was fo con-
ipicuous that the emperor gave him his daughter
Conftantina in marriage, and inverted him with the
purple the 13th Augurt 582. The Perfians ftill
continued to make inroads on the Roman territo¬
ries, and Maurice fent Philippicus, his brother-in-law,
agr.inft them. This general conduced the war with
various fuccefs. At firft he gained feveral fplendid
vihtories, but he did not continue to have a decided
fuperiority. As there was a great ufe for foldiers in
thefe unfortunate times, the emperor iffued a man¬
date in 592, forbidding any foldier to become a monk
till he had accomplifhed the term of his military fer-
vice. Maurice acquired much glory in rertoring Chof-
roes II. king of Perfia, to the throne, after he had
been depofed by his lubjedts. The empire was in his
reign haraffed by the frequent inroads of the Arabian
tribes. He purchafed peace from them, by granting
them a penfion nearly equal to 100,000 crowns j but
thefe barbarians took frequent opportunities to renew
the war. In different engagements the Romans de-
ftroyed 50,000, and took 17,000 prifoners. Thefe
were deftroyed, on condition that the king of the 4-hari
ftiould return ail the Roman captives in his dominic»s. Maurice.
Regardlefs of his promife, he demanded a ranfom of
10,000 crowns. Maurice, full of indignation, refiTed
the firm : and the barbarian, equally enraged, put the
captives to the fword. While the emperor, to revenge
this cruelty, was making preparations againft the A-
bari, Phocas, who from the rank of centurion had
attained the higheft military preferment, affumed the
purple, and was declared emperor. He purfued Mau¬
rice to Chalcedon, took him prifoner, and condemned
him to die. The five fons of this unfortunate prince
were maffacred before his eyes, and Maurice, humbling
himfelf under the hand of God, was beard to ex¬
claim, Thou art jujf, 0 Lord, and thy judgements are
'without partiality. He was beheaded on the 26th No¬
vember 602, in the 63d year of his age and 20th of
his reign. Many writers have eftimated the charac¬
ter of this prince by his misfortunes inftead of his
actions. They believed him guilty without evidence,
and condemned him without reafon. It cannot be de¬
nied, however, that he allowed Italy to be haraffed }
but he was father to the reft of the empire. He re-
ftored the military difcipline, humbled the pride of his
enemies, fupported the Chrittian religion by his laws,
and piety by his example. He loved the fciences, and
was the patron of learned men.
Maurice, eleeior of Saxony, fon of Henry la
Pieux, was born A, D. 1521. He was early remark¬
able for his courage, and during his whole life he was
engaged in warlike purfints. He ferved under the
emperor Charles V. in the campaign of 1544 againtt
France ; and in the year following againft the league
of Smalkalde ; with which, although a Proteftant, he
would have no manner of connexion. The emperor,
as a reward for his fervices, in the year 1547, made
him eleftor of Saxony, having deprived his coufin
John Frederick of that eledtorate. Ambition had
led him to fecond the views of Charles, in the hope of
being eledlor, and ambition again detached him from
that prince. In 1551 he entered into a league againft
the emperor, together with the eledlor of Branden-
burgb, the Count Palatine, ,the duke of Wirtem-
burg, and many other princes. This league, encou¬
raged by the young and enterprifing Henry II. of
France, was more dangerous than that of Smalkalde.
The pretext for the affbciation was the deliverance of
the landgrave of Heffe, whom the emperor kept pri¬
foner. Maurice and the confederates marched, in
1552, to the defiles of Tyrol, and put to flight the
Imperial troops who guarded them. The emperor
and his brother Ferdinand narrowly efcaped, and fled
from the conquerors in great diforder. Charles hav¬
ing retired into Paffau, where he had colle&ed an
army, brought the princes of the league to terms of
accommodation. By the famous peace of Paffau,
which was finally ratified the 12th of Auguft 1552,
the emperor granted an amnefly without exception to
all thole who had carried arms againft him from the
year 1546. The Proteftants not only obtained the
free exercife of their religion, but they tvere admit¬
ted into the imperial chamber, from which they had
been excluded fince the vidlory of Mulberg.—Mau¬
rice foon after united himfelf with the emperor againft:
the margrave of Brandenburg, who laid wafte the
German provinces. He engaged him in 1553, gain¬
ed
M 'A ' U [2
Maurka. ed ti e battle of Siverfhaufen, and died of the wounds
he had received in the engagement two days af¬
ter. He was one of the greatelt proteftors of the Lu¬
therans in Germany, and a prince equally brave and
politic. After he had profited by the Ipoils of John
Frederick, the chief of the Proteilants, he became
himfelf the leader of the party, and by thefe means
maintained the balance of power againil the emperor in
Germany.
Maurice de Naffau, prince of Orange, fucceeded
to the government of the Low Countries after the
death of his father William, who was killed in 1584
by the fanatic Gerard. The young prince was then
only eighteen years of age, but his courage and abi¬
lities were above his years. He was appointed cap¬
tain general of the United Provinces, and he reared
that edifice of liberty of which his father had laid the
foundation. Breda fubmitted to him in 15905 Zut-
phen, Deventer, Hull!, Nlmeguen, in 1591. He
gained feveral important advantages in 1 592, and in
the year following he made himfelf mailer of Gertru-
denburg. When he had performed thefe fplendid
fervices, he returned to the Low Countries by the way
of Zealand. His fleet was attacked by a dreadful
tempeft, in which he loft forty vefiels, and he him-
ieix had very nearly pcriftied. His death would have
been confidered by the Hollanders as a much greater
calamity than the lofs of their vefiels. They wratched
over his fafety with exceeding care. In 1594, one of
his guards was accufed of an intention to take away his
life ; and it was generally believed that he was bribed
t-3 this iervice by the enemies of the republic. He
fell a facrifice at Bruges, either to his own fanaticifm
or to the jealous anxiety of the friends of Maurice.
The prince of Orange, increafing in reputation, de¬
feated the troeps of the archduke Albert in 1597, anc^
drove the Spaniards entirely out of Holland. In 1600
he was obliged to raife the fiege of Dunkirk ; but he
took ample vengeance on Albert, whom he again de¬
feated in a pitched battle near Nieuport. Before the
aftion, this great general fent back the ftiips which
had brought his troops into Flanders: My brethren
(laid he to his army), we mujb conquer the enemy or
drink up the waters of the fea. Determine for yourfehes ;
/ have determined I /hall either conquer by your bravery,
or I [hall never furvive the difgrace of being conquered by
men in every ref peel our inferiors. This fpeech elevated
the foldiers to the higheft pitch of enthufiafm, and the
vidlory was complete. Rbinberg. Grave, and Eclufe,
cities in Flanders, fubmitted to the conqueror the fol¬
lowing year. Maurice, howTever, not only laboured
for the commonwealth, but alfo for himfelf. He co¬
veted the lovereignty of Holland, and was onpofed in
the profecution of his defign by the penfioner Barne-
veldt. The zeal and adlivity of this wife republican
eoft him his life. He wTas an Arminian 5 and at this
time Maurice defended Gomar againft Arminius.—
Taking advantage of the general odium under which
the Arminians lay. he found means to get Barneveldt
condemned in 1619. His death, wholly owing to
the cruel ambition of the prince of Orange, made a
deep impreffion on the minds of the Hollanders. The
truce with Spain being expired, Spinola laid fiege to
Breda in 1624, and in fix months, by the proper di-
recLon of his great talents, though with great flangh-
i ] M A U
ter of his troopc, he took the place. The prince of Maurt:-?,
Orange, unfuccefsful in every attempt to raife the Mauritania.
fiege, died of vexation in 1625, aged 55 years, with
the reputation of the greateft warrior of his time.—
“ The life of this ftadtholder (fays the abbe Ray-
.nal) was almoft an uninterrupted feries «f battle?,
of fieges, and of victories. Of moderate abilities in
every thing elfe, he fhone confpicuous in his military
capacity. His camp was the ichool oi Europe ; and
thofe who received their military education in his ar¬
mies augmented, perhaps, the glory of their mafter.—
Like Montecuculi, he difeovered inimitable fidll in
his marches and encampments 5 like Vauban, he pof-
feffed the talent of fortifying places, and of rendering
them impregnable 5 like Eugene, the addrefs of find¬
ing fubfiftence for great armies in countries barren by¬
nature, or ravaged by war ; like Vendome, the happy.'
talent of calling forth, in the moment they became
neceflary, greater exertions from ins foldiers than could
reafonably be expedted 5 like Conde, that infallible
quicknefs of eye which decides the fortune of battles g
like Charles XU. the art of rendering his troops al¬
moft invincible to cold, hunger, and fatigue j like
Turenne, the fecret of making war with the leaft pof-
fible expence of human blood.1’ The Chevalier Folard
maintains, that Maurice was the greateft commander
of infantry iince the time of the Romans. He ftudied
the military art of the ancients, and applied their rules
with great exadlnefs in the various occurrences of war.
He not only took advantage of the inventions of o-
thers, but he enriched the fcience of war with feveral
improvements. Telefcopes were firft ufed by him for
a military purpofe 5 and, befides a kind of gallery in.
condudling a fiege, and the plan of blockading a
ftrong place, which were of his invention, he greatly
improved the whole art by his method oi: puftnng an
attack with great vigour, and of defending, for the
greateft length of time, and in the beft manner, a
place befkged. In ihort, the many ufeful things
which he pradlifed or invented, placed him in the
higheft rank among men of a military charadle: . On
one occafion, a lady of quality alked him, Who was
the frjl general of the age ? Spinola (replied he ) is the
fecond. It was his conftant pradlice, during fleep, to
have twm guards placed by his bedfide, not only to de¬
fend him in cafe of danger, but to aw'ake him if there
iho-uld be the leaft occafion. The w’ar betwixt Spain
and Holland was never carried on with greater keen-
nefs and animofity than during his adminiftration.—
The Grand Signior, hearing of the vaft torrents of
blood {bed in this conteft, thought that a great em¬
pire muft depend on the decifion. The objedt of fo
many battles was pointed out to him on a map, and
he faid coldly, If it were my hnfn- fs, I would fend my
pioneers, and order them to cajl this little corner of earth
into the fea. Maurice, like many great men, was im¬
patient under contradiction, and too much devoted to
women. He was fucceeded by Frederick Henry his
brother.
MAURITANIA, an ancient kingdom of Africa,
bounded on the weft by the Atlantic ocean, on the
fouth by Getulia or Libya Interior, and on the north
by the Mediterranean 5 comprehending the greater
part of the kingdoms of Fez and Morocco—Its an¬
cient limits are not exaCtly mentioned by any hiftorian;
neither^ N
M A U [ 22 ] M A U
ZMauritanfo. neither can they now be afcertained by any modern ob- Hefperides, and made himfelf mafter of all the gold-Mauritania.
v—~~l fervations, thefe kingdoms being but little known to en fruit there. Bochart thinks that the fable alluded  y'”—^
Europeans. chiefly to naval engagements, wherein Hercules, for
This country was originally inhabited by a people the molt part, was vi&orious j though Antonis from
called concerning the etymology of which name time to time received fuccours by fea. But at laft
authors are not agreed. It is probable, however, that Hercules, coming up with one of his fquadrons which
this country, or at leaf! a great part of it, was firfl had a llrong reinforcement on board, made himfelf
called Phut, fince it appears from Pliny, Ptolemy, and matter of it, and thus rendered Antaeus incapable for
St Jerome, that a river and territory not fir from Mount the future of making head againft him. The fame
Atlas went by that name. From the Jerufalem Tar- author likewife infinuates, that the notion of Antmus’s
gum it likewife appears, that part of the Mauri may gigantic ftature prevailing for fo many centuries a-
be deemed the offspring of Lud the fon of Mifraim, mongff the Tingitanians, pointed out the lize of the
fince his defendants, mentioned Geneffs x. are there veffels of which his fleets and fquadrons were corn-
called 'KuViio, Mauri, or Mauritani. It is certain, pofed. As for the golden apples fo frequently men-
that this region, as well as the others to the eaftward tioned by the old mythologifts, they were the trea-
ot it, had many colonies planted in it by the Phoeni- fures that fell into Hercules’s hands upon the defeat
clans. Procopius tells us, that in his time two pillars of Antaeus; the Greeks giving the oriental word
ol white Hone were to be feen there, with the follow- Sxn, riches, the flunification affixed to their own term
ing iufcription in the Phoenician language and charac¬
ter upon them : “ We are the Canaanites, that tied
from JoJhua the fon of Nun, that notorious robber.”
Ibnu Rachic, or Ibnu Raquig, an African writer cited
by Leo, together with Evagrius and Nicephorus Cal-
lillus, afiert the fame thing.
The Mauritanians, according to Ptolemy, were di¬
vided into ieveral cantons or tribes. The Metagonitce
were feated near the flraits of Hercules, now thole
of Gibraltar. The Saccojii, or Cocojii, occupied the
coaft of the Iberian fea. Under thefe two petty na¬
tions the Majices, Verues, and Verbiccc or Vervica',
were fettled. The Salifce cr Sahnfcc, were fituated
lower, towards the ocean ; and, flill more to the
fouth, the Volubiiiani. The Maurenjii and Herpiditari
poffiefled the eaftern part of this country, which was
\ terminated by the Mulucha. The Angaucani, or
j7/ngacaucani, NeBiberes, Zagrenjh, Banurber, and Va-
cutitce, extended themfelves from the fouthcrn foot
of Ptolemy’s Atlas Minor to his Atlas Major. Pliny
mentions the Baniurce, whom Father Hardouin takes
to be Ptolemy’s Baniubse ; and Mela the Atlantes,
whom he reprefents as poffefled of the weftern parts of
this diftriiff.
The earliefl prince of Mauritania mentioned in
hiftory is Neptune ; and next to him were Atlas and
Antaeus his two Ions, both famous in the Grecian
fables on account of their wars with Hercules. An-
tceus, in his contention with that hero, feems to have
behaved with great bravery and refolution. Having
received large reinforcements of Libyan troops, he
cut off great numbers of Hercules’s men. But that
celebrated commander, having at laft intercepted a
flrong body of Libyans fent to the relief of Antmus,
gave him a total overthrow, wherein both he and the
beft part of his forces were put to the fword. This
decifive action put Hercules in poffeffion of Libya
and Mauritania, and confequently of the riches of all
thefe kingdoms. Hence came the fable, that Her¬
cules, finding Antaeus, a giant of an enormous fize
with whom he was engaged in Angle combat, to re¬
ceive freffi ftrength as often as he touched his mother
earth when thrown upon her, at laft lifted him up in
tne air and iqueezed him to death. Flence likewife
may be deduced the fable intimating that Hercules
rook the globe from Atlas upon his own fhoulders,
overcame the dragon that guarded the »rchards of the
3
apples.
With regard to the age in which Atlas and An¬
taeus lived, the moft probable luppofition feems to be
that of Sir Ifaac Newton. According to that iliuf-
trious author, Ammon the father of Sefac was the
firft king of Libya, or that vaft trad! extending from
the borders of Egypt to the Atlantic ocean ; the con-
queft of which country was effedled by Sefac in his
father’s lifetime. Neptune afterwards excited the
Libyans to a rebellion againft Sefac, and flew him ; and
then invaded Egypt under the command of Atlas or
Antaeus, the fon of Neptune, Sefac’s brother and ad¬
miral. Not long after, Hercules, the general of The-
bais and Ethiopia for the gods or great men of Egypt,
reduced a fecoi'd time the whole continent of Libya,
having overthrown and flain Antaeus near a town in
Thebais, from that event called Ant as a or Antteopolis:
this, we fay, is the notion advanced by Sir Ifaac New¬
ton, who endeavours to prove, that the firft redudlion
of Libya, by Sefac, happened a little above a thou-
fand years before the birth of Chrift, as the lall, by
Hercules, did fome few years after. Now, though
we do not pretend to adopt every particular cxrcum-
ftance of Sir Ifaac Newton’s fyftem, yet we cannot
forbear .obferving, that it appears undeniably plain
from Scripture, that neither the weftern extremity of
Libya, nor even the other parts of that region, could
poffibly have been fo well peopled before the time of
David or Solomon, as to have fent a numerous army
to invade Egypt. For Egypt and Pho?nicia, from
whence the greateft part of the anceftors of the Li¬
byans came, and which were much nearer the place
from whence the firft difperfion of mankind was made,
could not themfelves have been greatly overftocked
with inhabitants any confiderable time before the reign
of Saul. And that fuch an invafion happened in the
reign of Neptune, or at leait of his fon Antaeus, has
been moft fully evinced by this moft excellent chrono-
loger.
From the defeat of Antaeus, nothing remarkable
occurs in the hiftory of Mauritania till the times of the
Romans, who at laft brought the w’hole kingdom
under their jurifdiftion j tor wffiich fee the article
Rome. i. With regard to the cuftoms, &c. of this
people, it would feem from what Hyginus infinuates,
that they fought only with clubs, till one Bel us, the
fon. of Neptune, as that author calls him, taught
them
M A U [ 23 1 M A U
Mauritania.them the ufe of the fword. Sir Ifaac Newton makes
k“^ v ' this Belas to have been the fame perfon with Seloftris
king of Egypt, who overran a great part of the then
known world. 2. All perfons of diftin£lion in Mau¬
ritania went richly attired, wearing much gold and
fdver in their clothes. They took great pains in cleanf-
ing their teeth, and curled their hair in a curious and
elegant manner. They combed their beards, which
were very long, and always had their nails pared ex¬
tremely clofe. When they walked out in any num¬
bers, they never touched one another, for fear of dif-
concerting the curls into which their hair had been
formed. 3. The Mauritanian infantry, in time of ac¬
tion, ufed fhields made of elephants fkins, being clad
in thofe of lions, leopards, and bears, which they
kept on both mght and day. 4. The cavalry of this
nation was armed with bread fhort lances, and carried
targets or bucklers, made Kkewife of the fkins of wild
beads. .They ufed no faddles. Their horfes were
fmall and fwift, had wooden collars about their necks,
and were fo much under the command of their riders,
that they would follow them like dogs. The habit of
thefe ho rfemen was not much different from that of
the foot above mentioned, they condantly wearing a
large tunic of the fkins of wil’d beads. The Phutaei,
of whom the Mauritanians were a branch, were emi¬
nent for their fhields, and the excellent ufe they made
of them, as w*e leam from Homer, Xenophon, Hero¬
dotus, and Scripture. Nay, Herodotus feems to in¬
timate, that the fhield and helmet came from them to
the Greeks. 5. Notwithdanding the fertility of their
foil, the poorer fort of the Mauritanians never took
care to manure the ground, being drangers to the art
of hufhandry } but roved about the country in a wild
favage manner, like the ancient Scythians or Arabes
Scenitm. J hey had tents, or mapalia, fo extremely
fmall, that they could fcarce breathe in them. Their
food was corn, herbage, &c. which they frequently
did eat green, without any manner of preparation,
being deditute of wine, oil, and ail the elegancies as
well as many necelfaries of life. Their habit was the
fame both in fummer and winter, confiding chiefly of
an old tattered, though thick garment, and over it a
coarfe rough tunic ; which nnfwered probably to that
of their neighbours the Numidians. Mod of them lav
every night upon the bare ground j though fome of
them drewed their garments thereon, not unlike the
prefent African Kabyles and Arabs, who, according
to Dr Shaw, ufe their hykes for a bed and covering in
the night. 6. If the mod approved reading of Ho¬
race may be admitted, the Mauritanians diot poifoned
arrows; which clearly intimates, that they had force
Ikill in the art of preparing poifons, and were excellent
dartmen. J his lad obfervation is countenanced by
Hercd'an and Atlian, who entirely come into it, affirm¬
ing them to have been in fuch continual danger of be¬
ing devoured by wild beads, that they durd not dir
out of their tents or mapalia without their darts. Such
perpetual exercife mud render them exceedingly fkil-
ful in hurling that weapon. 7. The Mauritanians fa-
crificed human vrehras ta their deities, as the Phoe¬
nicians, Carthaginians, &c. did.
i he country people were extremely rude and bar¬
barous ; but thofe inhabiting cities mud undoubtedly
have had at lead fome fmaitering in the literature of the
feveral nations they deduced their origin from. That Mauritla,
the Mauritanians had feme knowledge in naval affairs, ^a"rit:US', «
feems probable, not only from the intercourfe they
had with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, as well
as the lifuation of their country-; but likewife from
Orpheus, or Onomacritus, who aflerts them to have
made a fettlcment at the entrance into Colchis, to which
place they came by fea. Magic, forcery, divination,
&c. they appear to have applied themfelves to in very
early times. Cicero and Pliny fay, that Atlas v;as the
inventor of adrology, and the dodlrine of the fphere,
i. e. lie fird introduced them into Mauritania. This,
according to Diodorus Siculus, gave rile to the fable
of Atlas’s bearing the heavens upon his dioulders. The
fame author relates, that Atlas indrucled Hercules in
the dotlrine of the fphere and adrology, or rather
adronomy, who afterwards brought thofe fciences into
Greece.
MAURITIA, the GlNKGOf or Maidenhair tree:
A genus of plants belonging to the natural order of
palmre. See Botany Index.
MAURITIUS, or Maurice, an ifland of Africa,,
about 400 miles ead of Madagafcar, lying in the la¬
titude of 20 and 21 degrees fouth. It is about 150
miles in circumference. In the beginning of the 16th
century it was difeovered by the Portuguefe, who-
knowing that Pliny and other ancient writers had
mentioned the ifland of Cerne in thefe Teas, took it
for granted that this mud be it ; and accordingly we
find it fiyled Cerne or Sirne, in their maps : but, not-
wilh'landing this, they did not think fit to fettle it;
and indeed their force was fo fmall, in companion of
the vafl dominions they grafped, that it was very ex-
cufable. However, according to their laudable cu-
flom, they put fome hogs, goats, and other cattle, up¬
on it, that in cafe any of their drips either going to
the Indies or returning to Portugal diould be obliged
to touch there, they might meet with refrefliments.
The Dutch, in the fecond voyage they made to the '
Ead Indies under their admiral James Cornelius Van-
neck, came together with five fliips on the 15th of
September 1568; anchored in a commodious port, to
which they gave the name of Warwick Haven; and
gave a very good account of the place in their jour
nals. Captain Samuel Cadleton, in the Pearl, an
Englilh Ead India fliip, arrived there- on the 27th of
March 1612 ; and taking it to be an ifland undiicover-
ed before, bedowed upon it the name of England's Fa¬
red, though others of his crew called it Pearl Ijland ■:
and in the account of their voyage, written by John
J atton the mader of the diip, celebrated it as a place
very convenient for (hipping, either outward or home¬
ward bound, to refredi at. This they fometimes ac¬
cordingly did, and brought fome cargoes of ebony,
and rich wood from thence, but without fixing any
fettlsment.
At length, in 1638, the Dutch feated themfelves
here: and it is highly remarkable, that at the very,
time they were employed in making their fird fettle-
rr.ent, the French lent a vefiel to take potTedion of it,
who found the Dutch beforehand with them, and re¬
plied the affiflance of an Englilh Indiaman, wooding
and watering in another port of the ifland, who very
frankly offered it, to drive the Dutch from their half-
fettled pods. They continued for fome time in quiet.
polTellion..
%
M A U [ 24 ] M A U
Mauritius, pofleffion of the. places they fortified m this ifiand, to
which they gave the name of Mauritius, in honour of
Prince Maurice their ftadtholder. But having en¬
gaged the French, who were fettled on Madagafcar,
to deal 50 of the natives, and fell them for (laves,
for the improvement of the Dutch fettlements here,
this proved the ruin of both colonies j for the negroes
ftirprifed and roafiacred the French in Madagafcar-,
and the (laves in Mauritius (led into the centre ot the
ifiand •, from whence they fo much and fo inceffantly
molefled thofe who had been formerly their mafters,
that they chofe to quit a country where they could no
longer remain in. any tolerable degree of fafety. The
Eaft India Company, however, from motives of con-
veniency, and a very imperfeff notion of its value, dil-
approved this meafure, and therefore ordered it to be
refettled ; which was accordingly done, and three forts
erefted at the principal havens. Things now went on
fomewhat better than they did before ; but they were
(hill very much difturbed by the revolted negroes in
the heart of the ifle, whom they could never fubdue.
One principal ufe that the company made of this
place, was to fend thither (late prifoners, who, as
they were not men of the bed morals, quickly cor¬
rupted the reft of the inhabitants, and rendered them
fuch a race of outrageous fmugglers, the fimation of
the place concurring with their bad difpofition, that,
after various ineffedlual attempts made to reform them,
orders wrere at length given to abandon Mauritius a
fecond time, which, after fome delays, wrere put in
execution in the year 1710.
Twro years after this, the French took poffeflion of
it, and named it the ijle de France. This name has
obtained among themfelves, but the Europeans in ge¬
neral continue to call it Mauritius. It lies in S.
Lat. 20. 15. E, Long. ,6. 15. The inconveniences
arifing from the w'ant of a port at the ifiand of Bour¬
bon, induced the French to take poffeflion of Mauri¬
tius, it having two very good harbours, to fortify which
no expence has been fpared. That on the north-weft
is called Port Louis, that on the fouth-eaft fide of the
ifland is called Port Bourbon. The trade-wind from
the fouth-eaft in thefe latitudes blow's all the year
round, excepting for a few days at the fummer fol-
ftice, when it is interrupted by hard gales and hurri¬
canes from the north. The eafe with which this wind
enables (liips to enter the port of Bourbon, caufed the
French, wdien they firft took poffeflion of this fpot, to
efteem it the bed port in the ifland j but experience
pointing out to them, that the fame wind often ren¬
dered the paffage out of the harbour fo difficult, that a
Ihip was fometimes obliged to wrait a confiderable time
before the weather admitted of her putting to fea, this
harbour is in a great meafure abandoned, and the prin¬
cipal town and feat of government is now fixed at Port
Louis, which is nearly in the middle of the north fide
of the ifland, and its entrance is through a channel
formed by twro flioals, wdfich advance about two miles
into the: fea. When a (hip arrives oppofite to this
channel, the fouth-eaft wind hinders her from entering
the port under fail, and (he muft either warp in with
cables or be towed in with boats. The neceffity of this
operation, joined to the extreme narrownefs of the
channel, which does not admit of two drips abreaft of
.each other catering at the fame time, is one of the bed
2
defences the harbour has againft an attack by fea •, for, Mauritius,
from thefe obftacles, an enemy would find it a matter ——y——'
of the greateft difficulty to force the port; and in ad¬
dition to this natural ftrength, they have built two forts
and as many batteries, which are mounted with heavy
cannon, and entirely command the approach to the
harbour, (liould drips prefume to force an entry under
fail. This port is capable of containing 100 fail of
(Lips, and is wrell provided with every requifite for
repairing and even building of (hips. This port has
proved of the greateft advantage to France in the fe-
veral wars which have been carried on between Great
Britain qnd her ; and has proved of great utility to the
French Eaft India Company’s commerce 5 for here
their (hips and crews w-ere fure to meet with all necef-
fary refrefhment after a long voya'ge. The port of
Bourbon is alfo for ified •, and an army landed here
would find it an extremely difficult ta(k to pafs the
mountains to the different parts of the iiland. There
are feveral places between the north-eaft extremity and
Port Louis where boats may land, but all thefe are de¬
fended by batteries ; and the country behind them is
a continued thicket : The reft of the coaft is inaccefti-
ble. In the north-eaftern quarter is a plain extending
about 10 miles from eaft to w!eft, and in fome places
five miles inland from the northern coaft. All the
reft of the ifland is full of high and Keep mountains,
lying fo near to one another, and the intervals between
them fo narrow, that, inftead of valleys, they rather
referable the beds of torrents; and thefe are choked
with huge fragments of rocks which have fallen from
the deep fides of the impending mountains. On the
(ummits of the mountains ice is frequently to be found,
and they are covered with forefts of ebony and other
large trees. The ground they (hade produces herbage,
fhrubs, and plants of various forts, from the common
grafs to the ftrongeft thorn, and that in fuch profufion,
that they form a thicket fo clo(e!y interwoven, that
no progrefs can be made but by means of a hatchet.
Notwnthftanding thefe difficulties, plantations have been
formed on thefe mountains, and very confiderable pro¬
grefs has been made in the plains •, but the produdfions,
although moftly of the fame kind, arc not only in lefs
quantity, but of an inferior quality to thofe produced at
Bourbon ifland.
In a courfe of years, however, the fbttlement coft fo
much, and was confidered in every light worth fo
little, that it had been more than once under deli¬
beration, whether, after the example, of the Dutch,
they ftiould not leave it again to its old negro in¬
habitants ; which fooner or later in all likelihood would
have been its fate, if, in 1735, t^e fHrno-’s M. de la
Bourdonnais had not been fent thither with the title of
governor general of the French i[lands.
He found this ifle in the wmrft (late poflible, thinly
inhabited by a fet of lazy people, who equally hated
induftry and peace, and who wTere continually flatter¬
ing this man to his face, and belying him wherever
and as far as they durft. He gave himfelf no trouble
about this, having once found the means to make him¬
felf obeyed he faw the vaft importance of the ifland j
he conceived that it might be fettled to great advan¬
tage ; and, ’without fo much as expecting the thanks
of thofe for whom he laboured, he began to execute
this great defign. Kis firft ftep was to bring over
black
M A U [
'Mauritius, black boys from Madagafcar, whom be carefully
u—Y~— trained up in good principles, and in continual exer-
cife ; by which he rendered them fo good (oldiers, that
he very quickly obliged the Merones, or wild negroes,
either to lubmit or to quit the iiland : he taught the
planters to cultivate their lands to advantage ; he, by
an aqueduct, brought freih w^ater to the fea lide ; and
whereas they had not fo much as a boat at his coming
thither, he made a very fine dock, where he not only
built fioops and large veffels, but even a Hup of the
burden of 500 tons. However incredible it may feem,
yet it is certainly fa£t, that in the {pace of five years
he converted this country into a paradile, that had
been a mere wildernefs for 5000 ; and this in fpite of
the inhabitants, and of the company, who being ori¬
ginally prejudiced by them, behaved ill to him at his
return. He foon made the cardinal de Fleury, how¬
ever, fenfible of the true (late of things •, and compel¬
led the company to acknowledge, though they did not
•reward, his fervices. He afterwards returned into the
Indies, and perfe&ed the work he had begun, and to
him it is owing that the ifie of France was rendered
<>ne of the fineft and moft important fpots upon the
globe. Here no coffee is raifed 5 but by the indefa¬
tigable induifry of M. de Bourdonnais, fugar, indigo,
pepper, and cotton (which are not at Bourbon), came
to be cultivated with fuccefs. Since the departure of
that moft excellent governor, the plantations have been
neglected, and are fallen off; but if a proper fpirit of
a&ivity was raifed among the inhabitants, they might
foon be made to refume their fiouriftung appearance.
Mines of iron have been difeovered in the mountains
near the great plain, in the north-eaft part of the
ifiand ; and thefe mountains affording in great abun¬
dance the neceffary fuel, forges have been erefted :
but the iron produced is of a very in'erior quality, it
being brittle, and only fit for making cannon-balls and
bomb-fhells. Black cattle, fheep, and goats, are pre-
ferved with difficulty j the firft generally die before
they have been a year in the ifland, and this occafions
frequent importations of them from Madagafcar and
other parts. Common domeftic poultry breed in great
plenty ; and, with fiffi and turtle, fuinifh a great part
of the food of the European inhabitants.
The approach to the ifland is extremely dangerous,
it being furreunded with ledges of rocks, and many
of them covered by the fea. The fhore abounds with
coral and (hells. This ifiand is faid to contain 60 ri¬
vers : fome are confiderabie ftreams, and moft of them
have their fources from lakes, of which there are\ feve-
lal in the middle part of the ifiand. The rivers affjrd
plenty of various kinds of fiih, particularly eels. Thefe
are of an enormous fize, fome having been found that
were fix feet long, and fix inches in circumference,
and fo extremely voracious, that it is dangerous to
bathe in thofe parts of the river where they lie, as
they will feize a man without fear, and have ftrength
fufficient to keep him under water till he is drowned.
Here is a great variety of birds, and bats as large as
a young kitten : the inhabitants efieem them a deli¬
cate morfel. The air is both hot and moift, but not
unwholefome. The place abounds with infedts, which
are very troubleforne •, but there are no ferpents. It
has been difeovered, that off Port Louis the fouth-
eaft wind generally blows with leaft ftrength about
Vol. XIII. Parti.
5 ] M A X
f’unrife ; and it alfo happens, on four or five days, at Manma
intervals, in the courfe of a month, that early in the c
morning the wind ceafes in the northern part of the 1 '“■.‘'.V'
ifiand for an hour or two, when a breeze rifes, al¬
though but faintly, from the north-weft ; during
which, a fiu’p (lationed at the entrance of the channel
to avail herfelf of this breeze, may enter the harbour
and attack the forts.
This ifiand, during the period of the French revo¬
lution, did not entirely efcape from the ftorm which
then agitated the parent country. In the year 1799,
a confpiracy was formed, and broke out, for the pur-
pofe of refitting the government which had been efta-
bliihed under the authority of the republic. It was,
however, foon fuppreflbd oy the activity of the munici¬
pality and governor-general, fupported by the major! y
of the inhabitants, and order and tranquillity were again
reftored.
The population of this ifland in 1799 amounted to
bj.oo'o, viz. 55,000 (laves, and 10,000 whites and
mulattocs. The following is a ftate of the produce of
this iiland in 1800.
Coffee, 6000 bales, of too lbs. French.
Indigo, 300,000 lbs. from 2s. to 8s. per lb.
Cotton, 2coo bales, of 250 lbs.
Raw fugar, 20.000,000 lbs.
Cloves, 20,000 lbs.
MAURUA, one of the Society ifiands in the South
fea. It is a fmall ifiaud, entirely lurrounded with a
ridge of rocks, and without any harbour for (hipping.
It is inhabited , and its produftions are the fame with
thofe of the neighbouring ifiands. A high round hill
riles in the middle of it, which may be leen at .he
diftance of 10 or 12 leagues. W Long. 152 32.
S. Lat. 16. 25.
MAUSOLEUM, a magnificent tomb or fepulchral
monument. The word is derived from Maulolus king
of Caria, to whom Artemiiia his widow ere&eu a
moil ftately monument, eftesnted one of the wonders
of the world, and called it, from his own name, Mau-
foleum.
St ■ AWES, a town of Cornwall, in England,
feated on the eaft fide of Falmouth haven, in W. Long.
4 56 N. Lat. 50. 6. Though but a hamlet of the
pariiii of St Juft, two miles off, without a minifter,
or either church, chapel, or meeting-houfe, it has lent
members to parliament ever fince 1562 who are re¬
turned by its mayor or portreve. It confifts but of
one ftreet, under a hill, and fronting the fea, and its
inhabitants fubfift purely by filhing. K. Henry VIII.
built a caftle here, oppoiite to Pendennis, for the bet¬
ter fecurity of Falmouth haven. It has a governor, a
deputy, and two gunners, with a platform of guns.
Here is a fair the Friday after St Luke’s day.
MAXENITUS, Marcus Aurelius Valerius, a
. fon of the emperor Maximianus Hercules, was, by the
voluntary abdication of Dioclefian, and of his father,
raifed to the empire A. D. 306. He afterwards in¬
cited his father to reaffume his imperial authority ;
and in a perfidious manner deftroyed Severtis, who
had delivered himfelf into his hands, and relied upon
his honour for the fafety of his lile. His vicfoiies
and fucceffes were impeded bv Galerius Maximianus,
who oppofed him with a powerful torce. The defeat
I) and
Maxilla
li
Maximus.
M AX [ 26 ] M A Y
and voluntary death of Galerius foon relfored peace
to Italy j and Maxentius paffed into Africa, where
, he rendered himfelf odious by his cruelty and oppref-
fion. He foon after returned to Rome, and was in¬
formed that Conftantine wTas come to dethrone him.
He gave his adverfary battle near Rome, and, after
he had loft the vidtory, he fled back to the city. The
bridge over which he croffed the Tiber w’as in a de¬
cayed fituation, and he fell into the river, and was
drowned, A. D. 312. The cowardice and luxuries of
Maxentius were as confpicuous as his cruelties. He
opprefted his fubjedls with heavy taxes, to gratify the
cravings of his pleafures, or the avarice of his fa¬
vourites. He was debauched in his manners, and nei¬
ther virtue nor innocence were fafe whenever he was
inclined to voluptuous purfuits. His body was de¬
formed and unwieldy. I'o vifit a pleafure ground, or
to exercife himfelf under a marble portico, or walk
on a ftrady terrace, was to him a Herculean labour,
which required the greateft exertions of ftrength and
refolution.
MAXILLA, the Jaw. See Anatomy, X° 20—
26.
MAXIM, an eftablifhed propofttion or principle 5
in which fenfe it denotes much the fame with axiom.
MAXIMILIAN I. emperor of Germany, ligna-
lized himfelf againft the French while he was king of
the Romans, and after he was emperor entered into
the army of Henry VIII. of England as a volunteer
againft that nation t he was a protestor of learned
men, and abolifhed an iniquitous tribunal, ftyled Ju¬
dicium occultum Wejlphalice ; he compofed fome poems,
and the memoirs of his own life. He died in 1519,
aged 60.
MAXIMUM, in Mathematics, denotes the greateft
quantity attainable in any given cafe.
If a quantity conceived to be generated by motion
increafes or decreafes till it arrives at a certain magni¬
tude or pofition, and then, on the contrary, grows
greater or leffer, and it be required to determine the
faid magnitude or pofition, the queftion is called a pro¬
blem de maximis et minimis.
MAXIMUS, a celebrated Cynic philofopher, and
magician, of Ephefus. He inftrufled the emperor
Julian in magic j and, according to the opinion of
fome hiftorians, it was in the converfation and com¬
pany of Maximus that the apoftafy of Julian originat¬
ed. The emperor not only vifited the philofopher,
but he even fubmitted his waitings to his infpeftion
and cenfure. Maximus refufed to live in the court of
Julian •, and the emperor,, not diflatisfied with the re-
fufal, appointed him high pontiff in the province of
Lydia, an office which he difeharged with the great¬
eft moderation and juftice. When Julian went into the
eaft, the philofopher promifed him fuccefs, and even
faid that his conquefts would be more numerous and
extemive than thofe of the fon of Philip. He perfuaded
his imperial pupil, that, according to the doftrine of
metempfyehofis, his body was animated by the foul
which once animated the hero whofe greatnefs and vic¬
tories he w7as going to eclipfe. After the death of
Julian, Maximus was almoft facrificed to the fury of
the foldiers; but the interpofition of his friends faved
his life, and he retired to Conftantinople. He wras
foon after accrued of magical practices, before the em¬
peror Valens, and beheaded at Ephefus, A. D. 366. Maximus
He wrote fome philofophical and rhetorical treatifes, II
fome of which were dedicated to Julian. They are all
now loft. v——
Maximus of Tijre, a Platonic philofopher, went
to Rome in 146, and acquired fuch reputation there,
that the emperor Marcus Aurelius became his fcholar,
and gave him frequent proofs of his efteem. This phi¬
lofopher is thought to have lived till the reign of the
emperor Commodus. There are ftill extant 41 of his
differtations •, a good edition of which wms printed by
Daniel Heinfius, in 1624, in Greek and Latin, with
notes.
Maximus Marius. See Marius.
MAY, the fifth month in the year, reckoning from
our firft, or January ; and the third, counting the
year to begin with March, as the Romans anciently
did. It was called Maius by Romulus, in relpecl to
the fenators and nobles of his city, who were named
majores ; as the following month was called Junius, in
honour of the youth of Rome, in honorem jumorum,
who ferved him in the war; though fome will have it
to have been thus called from Maia, the mother of Mer¬
cury, to whom they offered facrifice on the firft day of
it ; and Papius derives it from Madius, eo quod tunc ter¬
ra madeat. In this month the fun enters Gemini, and
the plants of the earth in general begin to flower.—
The month of May has ever been efteemed favour¬
able to love and yet the ancients, as xvell as many
of the moderns, look on it as an unhappy month
for marriage. The original reason may perhaps be
referred to the feaft of the Lemures, which was held
in it. Ovid alludes to this in the fifth of his Fafti,
when he fays,
Nec mdiuc tccdis eachm, ncc virginis apta
Tempora ; quae nupft, non diuturna fuit ;
Hac quoque de caufa,Ji te proverbia tanguni,
Menfe malum Maio nubere vu/gus ait.
MAr-dew. See Dew.
Max-duke, a fpecies of cherry, See Prunes, Bota¬
ny Index*
May, IJle of, a fmall iftand at the mouth of the
frith of Forth, in Scotland, about a mile and a half
in circumference, and feven miles from the coaft of
Fife, almoft oppofite to the rock called the Bafs. It
formerly belonged to the priory of Pittenvveem j and
was dedicated to St Adrian, fuppofed to have been
martyred in this place by the Danes ; and hither, in
times of Popifh fuperftition, barren women ufed to
come and worfhip at his (brine, in hopes of being
cured of their fterility. Flere is a tower and light-
houfe built by Mr Cunningham of Barns, to whom
King Charles I. granted the iiland in fee, with power
to exaft twopence per ton from every (hip that paffes,
for the maintenance of a lighthoufe. In the middle
of it there is a frefti-water fpring, and a fmall lake.-—
The foil produces pafturage for 100 (beep and 20
black cattle. On the weft fide the fteep rocks render
it inacceffible 5 but to the eaft there are four landing
places and good riding. It was here that the French
fquadron, having the chevalier de St George on board,
anchored in the year 1708, when the vigilance of
Sir George Byng obliged him to relinquilh his de-
fign, and bear away for Dunkirk. The (bores all
round
MAY [ 2
May round the iiland abound with fifh, and the cliffs with
11 water fowl.
Mayprne.^ ]yjAy? Thomas, an eminent Engliflr poet and hifto-
rian in the i yth century, was bom of an ancient but
decayed family in Suffex, educated at Cambridge, and
afterwards removed to London, where he contra&ed a
friendfhip with leveral eminent perfons, and particu¬
larly with Endymion Porter, Efq. one of the gentle¬
men of the bedchamber to King Charles I. While he
refided at court, he wrote the five plays now extant
under his name. In 1622, he published a tranllation
of Virgil’s Georgies, with annotations j and in 1635
a poem on King Edward III. and a tranllation of Lu¬
can’s Pharfalia ; which poem he continued down to the
death of Julius Coefar, both in Latin and Englilh
verfe. Upon the breaking out of the civil wars he
adhered to the parliament ; and in 1647, he publiih-
ed, “ The hiftory of the parliament of England,
which began November the third, MECXL. With
a fliort and accefiary view of fome precedent years.”
In 1640, he publilhed, Hijloriae Parliamenti An¬
glia ftreviarium, in three parts •, which he after¬
wards tranfiated into Englifh. He wrote the Hi-
llory of Henry II. in Englilli verfe. He died in
1642. He went well to reft over night, after a cheer¬
ful bottle as ufual, and died in his fleep before morn¬
ing : upon which his death was imputed to his tying
his nightcap too clofe under his fat cheeks and chin,
which caufed his fuffocation but the facetious An¬
drew Marvel has written a poem of 100 lines, to make
him a martyr of Bacchus, and die by the force of good
wine. He -was interred near Camden in Weftminfter
Abbey ; which caufed Ur Fuller to fay, that “ if he
were a biaffed and partial writer, yet he lieth buried
near a good and, true hiftorian indeed.” Soon after
the reftoration, his body, with tbofe of feveral others,
was dug up, and buried in a pit in St Margaret’s
churchyard j and his monument, which was erefted
by the appointment of parliament, was taken down
and thrown afide.
MAYER, Tobias, one of the greateft aftronomers
and mechanics the 18th century produced, was born at
Mafpach, in the duchy of Wirtemberg 1723. He
taught himfelf mathematics, and at the age of four¬
teen defigned machines and inftruments with the great-
eft dexterity and juftnefs. Thefe purfuits did not hin¬
der him from cultivating the belles lettres. He ac¬
quired the Latin tongue, and wrote it wdth elegance.
In 1750, the univerfity of Gottingen chofe him for
their mathematical profeffor 5 and every year of his
ftiort life was thenceforward marked with fome confi-
derable difeoveries in geometry and aftronomy. He
publilhed feveral works in this way, W'hich are all rec¬
koned excellent ; and fome are inferted in the fecond
volume of the “ Memoirs of the univerfity of Got¬
tingen.” His labours feem to have exhaufted him j for
he died w’orn out in 1762.
MAYERNE, Sir Theodore de, baron of Aul-
bone, was the fon of Lewis de Mayerne, the celebrated
author of the General Hiftory of Spain, and of the
Monarchic anjlo-democratique, dedicated to the ftates-
general. He was born in 1573, and had for his god¬
father Theodore Beza. He ftudied phyfic at Mont¬
pelier, and was made phyfician in ordinary to Hen-
7 ] MAY
ry IV. who promifed to do great things for him, pro- Maytem,
vided he would change his religion. James I. of Eng-, 1 a^‘!e'
land invited him over, and made him firft phyfi¬
cian to himfelf and his queen, in which office he feiv-
ed the whole royal family to the time of his death in
1655. His works were printed at Ltmdon in 1700,
and make a large folio, divided into two books j the
firft containing his Conjiha, Fpi/lolcv, et Obfervationes ;
the fecond his Pharmacopoeia variaque mcdicamentorum
formulae.
MAYHEM. See Maim. _
MAYNE, Jasper, an eminent Engliih poet and
divine in the 17th century, who was bred at Oxford,
and entered into holy orders. While his majefty re¬
fided at Oxford, he was one of the divines appointed
preach before him. He publilhed in 1647
to
piece entitled oxaomaxia, or The people's war ex¬
amined according to the principles of reafon andferipture,
by Jafper Mayne. In 1648 he was deprived of his
ftudentlhip at Chrift church, and two livings he had ;
but was reftored with the king, who made him his
chaplain and archdeacon of Chichefter ; all which
he held till he died. Ur Mayne was held in very
high efteem both for his natural parts and his acquired
accompliffiments. He was an orthodox preacher,
and a man of fevere virtue and exemplary behaviour *,
yet of a ready and facetious wit, and a very Angular
turn of humour. From fome ftories that are related
of him, he feems to have borne fome degree of re-
femblance in his manner to the celebrated Ur Swift ;
but if he did not poffefs thofe very brilliant parts
that diftinguilhed the Uean, he probably was lefs
fubjedf to that capricious and thofe unaccountable
whimfies which at times fo greatly eclipfed the abi¬
lities of the latter. Yet there is one anecdote re¬
lated of him, which, although it refledls no great ho¬
nour on his memory, as it feems to carry fome degree
of cruelty with it, yet is it a ftrong mark of his re-
femblance to the Uean, and a proof that his propen-
fity for drollery and joke did not quit him even in
his lateft moments. The ftory is this: The Uoffor
had an old fervant, wTho had lived with him fome years,
to whom he had bequeathed an old trunk, in which
he told him he would find fomething that would mahe
him drink after his death. The fervant, full of ex¬
pectation that his mailer, under this familiar expref-
fion, had left him fomewhat that would be a reward
for the affiduity of his paft fervices, as foon as decency
would permit, flew to the trunk \ when, behold, to his
great difappointment, the boafted legacy proved to be
a red herring. The doClor, however, bequeathed many
legacies by will to pious ufes •, particularly 50 pounds
towards the rebuilding of St Paul’s cathedral, and 200
pounds to be diftributed to the poor of the parilhes
of Caffington and Pyrton, near Wattington, of both
which places he had been vicar. In his younger years
he had an attachment to poetry 5 and wrote two plays,
the latter of which may be feen in the tenth volume
of Uodfley’s Colleclion, viz. 1. Amorous war, a tragi¬
comedy. 2. The city-match, a comedy. He publilh¬
ed a poem upon the naval viftory by the duke of York
over the Dutch, printed in 1665. He alio tranfiated
into Engliffi from the Greek part of. Lucian’s Dia¬
logues.
D 2
MAYNOOTH,
MAY [ 23 ] MAY
MAYNOOTH, ot Manooth, a poft town in
the county of Kildare, and province of Leinfter, in
Ireland, near 12 miles from Dublin. Though not
very large, it is regularly laid out, and conlifts of good
houfes. Here is n charter fchool, which was opened
27th July 1 759.
MAYNWARING, Arthur, an eminent political
writer in the beginning of the 18th century, llaid fe-
veral years at Oxford, and then went to Chefliire,
where he lived fome time with his uncle Mr Francis
Cholmondeley, a very hoaeft gentleman, but extremely
averfe to the government of King William III. to
whom he refufed the oaths. Here he profecuted his
fludies in polite literature with great vigour 5 and com¬
ing up to London, applied to the fludy of the law.
He was hitherto very zealous in antirevolutional
principles, and wrote feveral pieces in favour of King
James II. ; but upon being introduced to the duke of
Somerfet and the earls of Dorfet and Burlington, be¬
gan to entertain very different notions in politics. His
father left him an eftate of near 800I. a year, but fo
encumbered, that the intereft money amounted to al-
moft as much as the revenue. Upon the conclulion
of the peace he went to Paris, where he became ac¬
quainted with Mr Boileau. After his return he was
made one of the eommiffioncrs of the cuftoms, in
which poll he diifinguhhed himfelf by his fkiJl and in-
dudry. He wras a member of the Kit cat club, and
was looked upon as one of the chief fupports of it by
his pleafantry and wit. In the beginning of Qpeen
Anne’s reign, the lord treafurer Godolphin engaged
Mr Donne to quit the office of auditor of the irripreits,
and made Maynwaring a prefent of a patent for that
office worth about 2000I. a-year in a time of bufinefs.
He had a confiderable ffiare in the Medley, and was
author of feveral other pieces. The Examiner, his an-
tagonift in politics, allowed that he wTrote with toler¬
able fpirit, and in a malferly (lyle. Sir Richard Steele
dedicated the firft volume of the Tatler to him.
MAYO, one of the Cape de Verd iilands, lying in
the Atlantic ocean, near 300 miles from Cape Verd
in Africa, about 17 miles in circumference. The foil
in general is very barren, and water fcarce ; however,
they have fome corn, yams, potatoes, and plantains,
with plenty of beeves, goats* and affes. What trees
there are, grotv on the fides of the hills, and they
have fome figs and w-ater melons. The fea round
about the bland abounds wuth fiffi. The chief com¬
modity is fait, wuth wffiich many Engliffi (hips are
loaded in the fummer time. The principal towm is
Pimfa, inhabited by negroes, who fpeak the Portu-
guefe language, and are itout, lufty, and fleffiy. They
are not above 200 in number, and many of them go
quite naked. W. Long. 23. 5. N. Lat. 15. 10.
P.Iayo, a county of Ireland, in the province of Con¬
naught, having Sligo and the fea on the north, Rof-
cornmon on the f>uth, Leitrim and Rofcommon on
the eaft, and the Atlantic ocean on the w'eft. It
contains 724,640 Iriffi plantation acres, 75 pariibes,
nine baronies, and one borough. It gives title of earl
to the family of Bourke. This county takes its name
from an ancient city, built in 664; the ruins of the ca¬
thedral, and f;rae traces of the ftone walls which en-
compaffed the city, yet remain on the plains of Mayo.
It was a univerfity, founded for the education of fuch
of the Saxon youths as wmre converted to the Chriftian Mayor;
faith : it was fituated a little to the fouth of Lough
Conn and is to this day frequently called Mayo of
the Saxons, being celebrated for giving education to
Alfred the Great kincr of England. As this town has
gone to decay, Balinroke is reckoned the chief town.
The county by the fea is mountainous 5 but inland
has good padures, lakes, and rivers. It is about 62
miles long, and 52 broad. Caftlebar is the affizestowm.
—Mayo was formerly a biffiop’s fee, which is now
united to TuAM.
MAYOR, the chief magifirate of a city or town;,
chofen annually out of the aldermen. The wrord, an¬
ciently -wrote ineyr, comes from the Britiffi miret, i. e,
cujlodirc, or from the old Engliffi maier, viz. pot eft as,
and not from the Latin major. King Richard I. hi¬
ll 89, changed the bailiff of London into a mayor,
and from that example King John made the bailiff of!
King’s Lynn a mayor anno 1204 : Though the fa¬
mous city of Norwuch obtained not this title for its
chief magiftrate till the feventh year of King Hen-,
ry V. anno 1419 ; fince wffiich there are few towns
of note but have had a mayor appointed for govern¬
ment.
Mayors of corporations are juffices of peace pro
tempore, and they are mentioned in feveral ftatutes ;
but no perfon ffiail bear any office of magiftracy con¬
cerning the government of any town, corporation, &c.
who hath not received the facrament according to the*
church of England within one year before his elec¬
tion, and who ffiall not take the oaths of fupremacy,
See.
If any perfon intrudes into the office of mayor, a
quo warranto lies againft him, upon which he {hall
not only be cuffed, but fined. And no mayor, or
perfon holding an annual office in a corporation for
one year, is to be elefted into the fame office for the
next} in this cafe, perfons obffru&ing the choice of a
fucceffor are fubjeft to idol, penalty. Where the
mayor of a corporation is not chofen on the day ap-.
pointed by charter, the next officer in place {hall the day
after hold a court and ele6I one 5 and if there be a de¬
fault or omiffion that w-ay, the eleftors may be com¬
pelled to choofe a mayor, by a writ of mandamus out
of the king’s bench. Mayors, cr other magiftrates
of a corporation, who ffiall voluntarily abfent them-
felves on the day of election, are liable to be imprifon-
ed, and disqualified from holding any office in. the cor¬
poration.
Mayor's Courts. To the lord mayor and city of
London belong feveral courts of judicature. The
higheft and moft ancient is that called the hujhngs, de-
ffined to fecure the law's, rights, franchifes, and cuffoms
of the city. The fecond is a court of requejl, or of
confcience ; of w hich before. The third is the court of
the lord mayor and aldermen, where alfo the ffieriffs
fit 5 to which may be added two courts of flieriffs, and
the court of the city orphans, whereof the lord may¬
or and aldermen have the cuftody. Alfo the court
of common council, which is a court or affembly,
wherein are made all by-laws which bind the citizens
of London. It confifts, like the parliament, of two
houfes : an upper, confiffing of the lord mayor and
aldermen ; and a lower, of a number of common
council men, chofe by the feveral wards as reprefen-
tatives
M A Z [ 29 ] M E A
IWaza tatives of the body of the citizens. In the court of
II . common council are made laws for the advancement of
Mazarine. tracje^ anj committees yearly appointed, &c. But acts
made by them are to have the ailent of the lord mayor
and aldermen, by flat, n Geo. I. Alfo the chamberlain’s
court, where every thing relating to the rents and re¬
venues of the city, as alfo the affairs of fervants, &c.
are tranfafted. Laftly, To the lord mayor belong the
courts of coroner and of efcheator; another court for
the confervation of the river Thames; another of gaol-
delivery, held ufually eight times a-year, at the Old
Bailey, for the trial of criminals, whereof the lord
mayor is himfelf the chief judge. There are other
courts called wardmotes or meetings of the wards; and
courts of halymote or affemblies of the feveral guilds
and fraternities.
MAZA, among the Athenians, was a fort of cake
made of flour boiled with wrater and oil, and fet, as
the common fare, before fuch as w^ere entertained at
the public expence in the common hall or Prytnneum.
MAZAGAN, a llrong place of Africa in the king¬
dom of Morocco, and on the frontiers of the province
of Duguela. It was fortified by the Portuguefe, and
befieged by the king of Morocco with 200,000 men
in 1562, but to no purpofe. It is fituated near the fea.
W. Long. 8. 15. N. Lat. 33. 12.
MAZARA, an ancient town of Sicily, and capi¬
tal of a confiderable valley of the fame name, which is
very fertile, and watered with feveral rivers. The
town is a bilhop’s fee, and has a good harbour; is
feated on the fea coaft, in E. Long. 1 2. 30. N. Lat.
37- 53-
MAZARINE, Julius, a famous cardinal and
prime minifler of France, was born at Pifcina in the
province of Abruzzo, in Naples, in 1602. After
having finifhed his fludies in Italy and Spain, he en¬
tered into the fervice of Cardinal Sachetts,.and became
well fkilled in politics, and in the interelts of the
princes at war in Italy •, by wdiich means he was
enabled to bring affairs to an accommodation, and the
peace of Oueiras was fliortly concluded. Cardinal
Richlieu being taken with his conduft, did from
thenceforward highly efteem him j as did alfo Cardinal
Antonio, and Louis XIII. who procured him a car¬
dinal’s hat in 1641. Richlieu made him one of the
executors of his will ; and during the minority of
Louis XIV. he had the charge of affairs. At laft
he became the envy of the nobility, which occafioned
a civi w7ar 5 whereupon Mazarine w’as formed to re-
t're, a price was fet on his head, and his library fold.
Notwithftanding, he afterwards returned to the court
in more glory than ever; concluded a peace with Spain,
and a marriage treaty betwixt the king and the in¬
fanta. This treaty of peace paffes for the mafter-
piece of Cardinal de Mazarine’s politics, and procured
him the French king’s moil intimate confidence : but
at lafl his continual application to bufinefs threw him
into a dffeafe, of which he died at Virvciennes in
1661.—Cardinal Mazarine was of a mild and affable
temper. One of his greatefl talents was his knowing
mankind, and his being able to adapt himfelf, and to
ailume a charadler conformable to the circumftances
of affairs. Fie poffeffed at one and the fame time the
bifhopric of Metz, and the abbeys of St Arnauld,
St Clement, and St Vincent, in the fame city ; that of
St Dennis, Clugny, and Vitffor, of Marfeilles ; of St MazzeoM,
Michel at Soiffons, and a great number of others. at'
He founded Mazarine college at Paris ; which is alio
called the college of the four nations. '1 here has been
publilhed a colleClion of his letters, the moft copi¬
ous edition of which is that of 1745> *n 2 vols. duo¬
decimo.
MAZZUOLI. See Parmigiano.
MEAD, a wholefome, agreeable liquor, prepared
with honey and water-
One of the beft methods of preparing mead is as fol¬
lows : Into twelve gallons of water put the whites ot
fix eggs ; mixing thefe wTell together, and to the mix¬
ture adding twenty- pounds of honey. Let the liquor
boil an hour, and when boiled, add cinnamon, ginger,
cloves, mace, and rofemary. As foon as it is cold,
put a fpoonful of yeft to it, and turn it up, keep¬
ing the veffel filled as it works; when it has done
working, flop it up clofe ; and, wken fine, bottle it oft
for me.
Thorley fays, that mead not inferior to the beft of
foreign wines may be made in the following manner :
Put three pounds of the fineft honey to one gallon of
wTater, and two lemon peels to each gallon; boil it
half an hour, w’e-ll feummed ; then put in, while boiling,
lemon peel : work it with yeft ; then put it in your
veffel with the peel, to ftand five or fix months, and bot¬
tle it off for ufe. If it is to be kept for feveral years,
put four pounds to a gallon of water.
The author of the Dictionary of Chemiftry direfls
to choofe the whiteft, pureft, and beft tafted honey,
and to put it into a kettle with more than its weight
of water : a part of this liquor muft be evaporated by
boiling, and the liquor feummed, till its confidence is
fuch, that a frefh egg (ball be fupported on its forface
without finking more than half its thicknefs into the
liquor; then the liquor is to be drained, and poured
through a funnel into a barrel; this barrel, which
ought to be nearly full, snuft be expofed to a heat as
equable as poffible, from 20 to 27 or 28 degrees of
Mr Reaumur’s thermometer, taking care that the bung-
hole be (lightly covered, but not doled. The pheno¬
mena of the fpirituous fermentation will appear in this
liquor, and will fubfift during two or three months,
according to the degree of heat; aftei^ which they will
diminifti and ceafe. During this fermentation, the
barrel muft be filled up occafionally with more of the
fame kind of liquor of honey, fome of which ought
to be kept apart, on purpofe to replace the liquor which
flows out of the barrel in froth. When the fermenta¬
tion ceafes, and the liquor has become very vnious,
the barrel is then to be put into a cellar, and w-ell
clofed ; a year afterwards the mead will be fit to be put
into bottles.
Mead is a liquor of very ancient ufe in Britain. See
Feast.
Mead, Dr Richard, a celebrated Englifti phyfi-
cian, was born at Stepney near London, where his
father, the Reverend Mr Matthew M ad, had been
one of the two miniilers of that pariih ; ' but in 1662
wras ejeCfed for nonconformity, but continued to
preach at Stepney till his death. As Mr Mead had
a handfome fortune, he bellowed a liberal education
upon 13 children, of whom Richard W’as the eleventh;
and for that .purpofe kept a private tutor in his houfe,
who.
M E A [ 30 ] M E A
Mead.
who taught him the Latin tongue. At 16 years of
age Richard was fent to Utrecht, where he ftudied
three years under the famous Graevius; and then
choofing the profefiion of phyfic, he went to Leyden,
where he attended the leftures of the famous Pitcairn
on the theory and practice of medicine, and Her¬
man’s botanical courfes. Having alio fpent three
years in thefe ftudies, he went’ with his brother and
two other gentlemen to vifit Italy, and at Padua took
his degree of dodtor of philofophy and phyfic in
5695. Afterwards he fpent fome time at Naples and
at Rome j and returning home the next year, fettled
at Stepney, where he married, and pradlifed phyfic,
with a fuccefs that laid the foundation of his future
greatnefs.
In 1703, Dr Mead having communicated to the
Royal Society an analyfis of Dr Bonomo’s difcoveries
relating to the cutaneous worms that generate the
itch, which they inferted in the Philofophical Tranf-
adlions j this, with his account of poifons, procured
him a place in the Royal Society, of which Sir Ifaac
Newton was then prefident. The fame year he was
eledled phyfician of St Thomas’s hofpital, and was al-
fo employed by the furgeons to read anatomical lec¬
tures in their hall, which obliged him to remove into
the city. In 1707 his Paduan diploma for dodtor of
phyfic was confirmed by the univerfity of Oxford 5
and being patronized by Dr RadclifFe, on the death
of that famous phyfician he fucceeded him in his houfe
at Bloomfbury-fquare, and in the greateft part of his
bufinefs. In 1727 he was made phyfician to King
George II. whom he had alfo ferved in that capacity
while he w7as prince of Wales; and he had afterwards
the pleafure of feeing his twm fons-in-law, Dr Nichols
and Dr Wilmot, his coadjutors in that eminent fta-
tion.
Dr Mead was not more to be admired for the qua¬
lities of the head than he was to be loved for thofe of
his heart. Though he wras himfelf a hearty whig, yet,
uninfluenced by party principles, he was a friend to all
men of merit, by whatever denomination they might
happen to be diftinguifhed. Thus he was intimate
with Garth, with Arbuthnot, and writh Freind 5 and
long kept up a confiant correfpondence with the great
Boerhaave, who had been his fellow ftudent at Ley¬
den : they communicated to each other their obferva-
tions and projefts, and never loved each ether the lefs
for being of different fentiments. In the mean time,
intent as Dr Mead was on the duties of his profeflion,
he had a greatnefs of mind that extended itlelf to all
kinds of literature, which he fpared neither pains nor
money to promote. He caufed' the beautiful and fplen-
did edition of Thuanus’s hiftory to be publifhed in
1713, in feven volumes folio : and by his interpofition
and affiduity, Mr Sutton’s invention of drawing foul
air from fhips and other clofe places was carried into
execution, and all the fhips in his majefly’s navy pro¬
vided with this ufeful machine. Nothing pleafed him
more than to call hidden talents into light; to give
encouragement to the ’greateft projefls, and to fee
them executed under his own eye. During almoft half
a century he was at the head of his bufinefs, which
brought him one year above feven thoufand pounds,
and for feveral years between five and fix thoufand }
yet clergymen, and in general all men of learning,
♦ 2
were welcome to his advice. His library confified Meadow,
of 10,000 volumes, of which his Latin, Greek, and Meal,
oriental manuferipts, made no inconfiderable part. v "
He had a gallery for his pictures and antiquities, yrhich
coft him great fums. His reputation, not only as a
phyfician, but as a fcholar, was fo univerTally efla-
blifhed, that he correfponded with all the principal li¬
terati in Europe : even the king of Naples fent to de¬
fire a complete colletlion of his works ; and in return
made him a prefent of the two firft volumes of Signior
Bajardi, which may be confidered as an introdudion
to the collection of the antiquities of Herculaneum,
At the fame time that prince invited him to his pa¬
lace, that he might have an opportunity of fhowing
him thofe valuable monuments of antiquity ; and no¬
thing but his great age prevented his undertaking a
journey fo fuited to his tafie. No foreigner of learn¬
ing ever came to London without being introduced to
Dr Mead ; and on thefe occafions his table was always
open, and the magnificence of princes was united with
the pleafures of philofophers. It was principally to
him that the feveral counties of England and our co¬
lonies abroad applied for the choice of their pbyfi-
cians, and he was likevvife confulted by foreign phy-
ficians from Ruffia, Pruflia, Denmark, &c. He wrote,
befides the above works, 1. A Treatife on the Scurvy,
2. De variolis et morbillis differtatio. 3. Medico facra:
five de Morbis infignioribus, qm in Bibhis niemoratitur,
Commentarius. 4. Manila et Pracepta medico. 5. A
Difcourfe concerning petlilential cofttagion, and the
methods to be ufed to prevent it. The works he
wrote and publifhed in Latin were tranflated into
Englifh, under the Dodor’s infpedion, by Thomas
Stack, M. D. and F. R. S. 'Ibis great phyfician,
naturalift”, and antiquarian, died on the 16th of Fe¬
bruary 1794.
MEADOW, in its general fignification, means
pafture or grafs lands, annually mown for hay : but it
is more particularly applied to lands that are fo low
as to be too moitt for cattle to graze upon them in
winter without fpoiling the fward. For the manage¬
ment and watering of meadows, fee Agriculture,
P- 435-
MEAL, the flour of grain. The meal or flour of
Britain is the fineft and whiteft in the world. The
French is ufually browner, and the German browner
than that. Our flour keeps well with us : but in carry¬
ing abroad it often contrads damp, and becomes bad.
All flour is fubjed to breed worms j thefe are white in
the white flour, and brown in that which is brown j
they are therefore not alwaysdiflinguifhable to the eye:
but when the flour fetls damn, and fmells rank and
mufty, it may be conjedured that they are there in
great abundance.
The colour and the weight are the two things
which denote the value of meal or flour 5 the whiter
and the heavier it is, others things being alike, the
better it always is. Pliny mentions thefe two cha-
raders as the marks of good flour; and tells us, that
Italy in his time produced the finefl: in the worlds
This country indeed was famous before his time for
this produce ; and the Greeks have celebrated it 5 and
Sophocles in particular fays, that no flour is fo white
or fo good as that of Italy. The corn of this coun¬
try has, however, loft much of its reputation fince that
time }
M E A [ .si ] M E A
Mead, time ) and the reafon of this Teems to be, that the
—v _ whole country being full of fulphur, alum, vitriol,
marcafites, and bitumens, the air may have in time af¬
fected them fo far as to make them diffufe themfelves
through the earth, and render it lefs fit for vegetation j
and the taking fire of feme of thefe inflammable mi¬
nerals, as has fometimes happened, is alone fufficient
to alter the nature of all the land about the places
where they are.
The flour of Britain, though it pleafes by its white-
nefs, yet wants fome of the other qualities valuable
in flour; the bread that is made of it is brittle and
does not hold together, but after keeping a few days
becomes hard and dry as if made of chalk, and is full
of cracks in all parts ; and this mull: be a great difad-
vantage in it when intended for the fervice of an army,
or the like occafions, where there is no baking every
day, but the bread of one making mull neceffarily be
kept a long time.
The flour of Picardy is very like that of Britain ;
and after it has been kept fome time, is found improper
for making into pafle or dough. The French are
forced either to ufe it immediately on the grinding, or
elfe to mix it with an equal quantity of the flour of
Brittany, which is coarfer but more unftuous and
fatty •, but neither of thefe kinds of flour keep well.
The flour of almoft any country will do for the
home confumption of the place, as it may be always
frelh ground ; but the great care to be uled in feledl-
ing it, is in order to the fending it abroad, or furnilhing
flrips for their own ufe. The faline humidity of the
fea air rails metals, and fouls every thing on board, if
great care be not taken in the preferving them,. This
alfo makes the flour damp and mouldy, and is often
the occafion of its breeding infedls, and being wholly
fpoiled-
The flour of fome places is conflantly found to keep
better at fea than that of others •, and when that is
once found out, the whole caution needs only be to
carry the flour of thofe places. Thus the French find
that the flour of Poitou, Normandy, and Guienne, all
bear the fea carriage extremely well ; and they make a
confiderable advantage by carrying them to their A-
merican colonies.
1 he choice of flour for exportation being thus made,
the next care is to preferve it in the flrips : the keep¬
ing it dry is the grand confideration in regard to this;
the barrels in which it is put up ought to be made of
dry and well feafened oak, and not to be larger than
to hold two hundred weight at the moft. If the wood
of the barrels have any fap remaining in it, it wall moi-
llen and fpoil the flour ; and no wood is fo proper
as oak for this purpofe, or for making the bins and
other vefiels for keeping flour in at home, fince wdren
once well dried and fcafoned it will not contradf hu¬
midity afterwards. The beech wood, of which fome
make their bins for flour, is never thoroughly dry, but
always retains fome fap. The fir will give the flour a
tafte of turpentine *, and the aflx is always fubject to be
eaten by worms. The oak is preferable, becaufe of its
being free from thefe faults j and w hen the feveral
kinds of wood have been examined in a proper manner,
there may be others found as fit, or poflibly more fo,
than this for the purpofe. The great tefl is their havr
ing more or lefs fap. See Flour and Wood.
MEAN, in general, denotes the middle between
two extremes : thus wre fay the mean distance., mean
proportion, &c.
Mean, Arithmetical, is half the fum of the two ex¬
tremes, as 4 is the arithmetical mean between 2 and 6;
for L+-=+,
Mean, Geometrical, is the fquare root of the rect¬
angle, or product of the two extremes : thus,
X9 — V9—3
To find two mean proportionals between two ex¬
tremes : multiply each extreme by the fquare of the
other, then extraft the cube root out of each product,
and the two roots will be the mean proportionals re¬
quired.
Required two proportionals betrveen 2 and l6,
2 X 2 X 16:^164, and ^■y/64 — 4. Again,
3 v/2 X i6*—3^512 = 8. 4 and 8 therefore are th#
tw'O proportionals fought.
MEARNSSHIRE, a county of Scotland. See Kin¬
cardineshire.
MEASLES, a cutaneous difeafe attended with a
fever, in which there is an appearance of eruptions
that do not tend to a flippuration. See Medicine
Index.
MEASURE of an angle, is an arch deferibed from
the vertex in any place between its legs. Hence
angles are dillinguilhed by the ratio of the arches, de¬
feribed from the vertex between the legs to the peri¬
pheries. Angles then are diftinguiihed by thofe arches j.
and the arches are diflinguiflied by their ratio to the
periphery. Thus an angle is faid to be fo many degrees
as there are in the faid arch.
Measure of a folid, is a cube whofe fide is an inch,
a foot, or a yard, or any other determinate length. In
geometry it is a cubic perch, divided into cubic feet,
digits, &c.
Measure of velocity, in Mechanics, is the fpace paff-
ed over by a moving body in a given time. To mea-
fure a velocity, therefore, the fpace mufi: be divided into
as many equal parts as the time is conceived to be
divided into ; the quantity of fpace anfwering to fuch a
part of time is the meafure of the velocity.
Measure, in Geometry, denotes any quantity affumed
as one, or unity, to which the ratio of the other homoge¬
neous or fimilar quantities is expreffed.
Measure, in a legal and commercial fenfe, denotes
a certain quantity or proportion of any thing bought,
fold, valued, or the like.
It is neceflary, for the convenience of commerce,
that an uniformity Ihould be obferved in weights and
meafures, and regulated by proper ftandards. A foot-
rule may be ufed as a flandard for meafures of length,
a bufliel for meafures of capacity, and a pound for
weights. There Ihould be only one authentic ftan-
dard of each kind, formed of the molt durable ma¬
terials, and kept with all poflible care. A fufficient
number of copies, exadtly correfponding to the prin¬
cipal fhmdard, may be diflributed for adjufling the
weights and meafures that are made for common
ufe. There arc feveral ftaudards-of this kind both in
England.
'M E A L 32 ] M E A
•Meafure. England and Scotland. See the article Weights and
“ v Mrafurcs.
If any one of'the flandards abo're mentioned be
juflly pr ferved, it will ferve as a foundation for the
others, by which they may be correfted if inaccurate,
or restored if entirely loft. For inftance, if we have a
ftandard foot, nve can ealily obtain an inch, and can
make a box which fhall contain a cubical inch, and
may ferve as a ftandard for mcaiures of capacity. If
it be known that a pint contains 100 cubical inches,
we may make a veflel five inches fquare, and four
inches deep, which will contain a pint. If the llan-
d«vd oe required in any other form, we may fill this
vellel xvith water, and regulate another to contain an
equal quantity. Standards for weights may be obtain¬
ed from the fame foundation ; for if we know how
many inches of water it takes to weigh a pound, we
have on'y to meafure that quantity, and the weight
which balances it may be aiTumed as the ftandard of a
pound.
Again, If the flandard of a pound be given, the
meafure of an inch may be obtained from it •, for we
may weigh a cubical inch of water, and pour it into a
regular veiTel -, and having noticed how far it is filled,
we may make another veffel of like capacity in the
form -of a cube. The fide of this vefftl may be ai-
fiirned as the ftandard for an inch ; and ftandards for
a foot, a pint, or a buftiel, may be obtained from it.
Water is the molt proper fubftance for regulating
ftandards ; for all other bodies differ in weight from
others of the fame kind •, whereas it is found by expe¬
rience that fpring and river water, rain, and melted
fnow, and all other kinds, have the fame weight ; and
this uniformly holds in all countries when the water is
pure, alike warm, and free from fait and minerals.
t hus, any one ftandard is fufficient for reftoring all
the reft. It may further be defired to hit on feme ex¬
pedient, if poffible, for reftoring the ftandards, in cafe
that all of them Ihould ever fall into diforder, or (hould
be forgotten, through the length of time, and the vi-
ciffitudes of human affairs. This feems difficult, as no
words can convey a precife idea of a foot-rule, or a
pound weight. Meafures, affumed from the dimen-
lions of the human body, as a foot, a hand-breadth,
or a pace, muft nearly be the fame in all ages, unlefs
the fize of the human race undergo fome change ; and
therefore, if we know how many fquare feet a Roman
acre contained, we may form fome judgement of the
nature of the law which reft rifted the property of a
Roman citizen to feven acres •, and this is lufficient to
render hiftory intelligible •, but it is too inaccurate to
regulate meafirres for commercial purpofes. The fame
may be faid of ftandards, deduced from the meafure of
a barley-corn, or the weight of a grain of wheat. If
the diftance of two mountains be accurately meafured
and recorded, the nature of the meafure ufed will be
preferved in a more permanent manner than by any
ftandard •, for if ever that meafure fall into di'uie, and
another be fubftituted in its place, the diftance may be
meafured again, and the proportion of the tlandards
may be afeertained by comparing the new and ancient
didances.
But the moft accurate and unchangeable manner of
cflablififing ftandards is, by comparing them with the
length of pendulums. The longer a pendulum is, it
1
vibrates the flower ) and it muft have one precife length Meafure.
in order to vibrate in a fecond. The ilighteft differ- --"v-**—
ence in length will occafion a difference in the time ;
which will become abundantly fenfible after a number
of vibrations, and wall be eafily obferved if the pendu¬
lum be applied to regulate the motion of a clock. The
length of a pendulum which vibrates feconds in Lon¬
don is about 39-g- inches, is conftantly the fame at the
fame place, but it varies a little with the latitude of
the place, being ihorter as the latitude is lefs. There¬
fore, though all ftandards of weights and meafures
rvere loft, the length of a fecond pendulum might be
found by repeated trials : and if the pendulum be pro¬
perly divided, the juft meafure ,of an inch will be ob¬
tained ; and from this all other ftandar is may be re-
ftored. See WJiitehurJl on Invariable Measures.
Meafures are various, according to the various kinds
and dimenfions of the things meafured.—Hence arife
lineal or longitudinal meafures, for lines or lengths j
fquare meafufes, for areas or fuperfices ; and folia or
cubic meafures, for bodies and their capacities ; all
which again are very different in different countries and
in different ages, and even many of them for different
commodities. Whence arife other divifions of ancient
and modern meafures, domeftic and foreign ones, dry
meafures, liquid meafures, &c.
1. Long Meafures, or Meafures of Application.
i.J The Englifh and Scotch Standards.
The Englilh lineal ftandard is the yard, containing
3 Englifn feet •, equal to 3 Paris feet 1 inch and TJT
of an inch, or ^ of a Paris ell. The ufe of this mea¬
fure was eftablidied by Henry I. of England, and the
ftandard taken from the length of his own arm. It
is divided into 36 inches, and each inch is fuppofed
equal to 3 barleycorns. When ufed for meafuring
cloth, it is divided into four quarters, and each quar¬
ter fubdivided into 4 nails. The Engliffi ell is equal
to a yard and a quarter, or 45 inches, and is ufisd in
meafuring linens imported from Germany and the Low
Countries.
The Scots elwand was eftabliffied by King David I.
and divided into 37 inches. The ftandard is kept in
the council chamber of Edinburgh, and being compar¬
ed with the Engliffi yard, is found to meafure 373-
inches •, and therefore the Scots inch and foot are lar¬
ger than the Engliffi, in the proportion of 1 80 to 185 5
but this difference being fo inconfiderable, is feldom
attended to in practice. The Scots ell, though for¬
bidden by law, is ftill ufed for meafuring fome coarfe
commodities, and is the foundation of the land meafure
of Scotland. •
Itinerary meafure is'the fame both in England and
Scotland. The length of the chain is 4 poles, or 22
yards; 8o chains make a mile. The old Scots com¬
puted miles were generally about a mile and a half
each.
The reel for yarn is 2\ yards, or 10 quarters, in
circuit ; 1 20 threads make a cut, 12 cuts make a hafp
or hank, and 4 hanks make a ipindle.
2. ] The French ftandard was formerly the aune or
ell, containing 3 Paris feet 7 inches 8 lines, or 1 yard \
Englilh ; the Paris foot royal exceeding the Engliffi by
tIIo parts, as in one of the following tables. This
ell
Meafure-
M E A t .33 ] M E A
ell is divided two ways: viz. into halves, thirds, fixths, Xhe French, however, have alfo formed an entirely Meature.
and twelfths j and into quarters, half-quarters, and new fyftem of weights and meafures, according to the ' 
fixteenths. following table.
Proportions of the
meafures of each fpe-
cies to its principal
meafure or unity.
10,000
1,000
IOO
10
o
0.1
0.01
O.OOX
Firil part of the name
which indicates the
proportion to the
principal meafure or
unity.
Myria
Kilo
Hedto
Deca
Deci
Centi
Mini
Proportion of the principal meafures f
between themfelves and the length
of the meridian.
Value of the principal meafures in the!
ancient French meafures. \
Value in Englifh meafures.
Length.
Metre.
1 0,000,cooth
part of the di-
ilance from the
pole to the e-
quator.
3 feet 11 lines
and nearly
1^116839.383.
Capacity.
Litre.
A decimetre
cube.
i pint and TV
or i litron and
T nearly.
6i .083 inches,
which is more
than the wine,
and lefs than
the beer quart.
Weight.
Agrarian.
For firewood,
Gramme.
Are.
Stere.
Weight of a
centimetre
cube of di¬
ddled water.
l 8 grains and
841,000
parts.
100 fquare
metres.
Two fquare
perches des
eaux et foie;.
22,966
grains.
11.968
fquare yards,
One cubic
metre.
demi-voie,
or -J. of a cord
des eaux et
foret.
The Englifh avoirdupois pound weighs troy grain?
7004; whence the avoirdupois ounce, whereof 16
make a pound, is found equal to 437.75 troy grains.
—And it follows that the troy pound is to the avoir¬
dupois pound as 88 to 107 nearly; for as 88 to
10 fo is 5760 to 7003.636 : that the troy ounce
is to the avoirdupois ounce, as 80 to 73 nearly ; for
as 80 to 73,_fo is 480 to 438. And, laftly, That
the avoirdupois pound and ounce is to the Paris two
marc weight and ounce, as 63 to 68 nearly ; for as
63 to 68, fo is 7004 to 7559.873. See Weight.
The Paris foot exprefled in decimals, is equal to
I.o654of the Englifh foot, or contains 12.785 Englifh
inches. See Foot.
3.] The ftandard in Holland, Flanders, Sweden, a
good part of Germany, many of what were formerly
called the Hans Jowns, as Dant%ich and Hamburgh,
and at Geneva, Franchfort, &c. is likewife the ell : but
the ell, in all thefe places, differs from the Paris ell. In
.Holland, it contains one Paris foot eleven lines, or four-
fevenths of the Paris ell. The Flanders ell contains
two feet one inch five lines and half a line ; or feven-
twelfths of the Paris ell. The ell of Germany, Bra¬
bant, &c. is equal to that of Flanders.
4.3 The Italian meafure is the branchio, brace, or
fathom. I his obtains in the ftates of Modena, Ve¬
nice, florence, Lucca, Milan, Mantua, Bologna,
Vol. XIII. Part I. 6
&.c. but is of different lengths. At Venice, it con¬
tains one Paris foot eleven inches three lines, or eight
fifteenths of the Paris ell. At Bologna, Modena,
and Mantua, the brace is the fame as at Venice. At
Lucca it contains one Paris foot nine inches ten lines
or half a Paris ell. At Florence, it contains one foot
nine inches four lines, or forty-nine hundredths of a
Paris ell. At Milan, the brace for meafuring of filks
is one Paris foot feven inches four lines, or four-ninths
of a Paris ell : that for woollen cloths is the fame
with the ell of Holland. Laftly, at Bergama, the
brace is one foot feven inches fix lines, or five-ninths
of a Paris ell. The ufual meafure at Naples, however
is the canna, containing fix feet ten inches and two
lines, or one Paris ell and fifteen feventeenths.
5. ] The Spanijh meafure is the vara or yard, in
fome places called the barra ; containing feventeen
twenty-fourths of the Paris ell. But the meafure in
Caftile and Valencia is the pan, fpan, or palm ; which
is ufed, together with the canna, at Genoa. In Ar-
ragon, the vara is equal to a Paris ell and a half, or
five feet five inches fix lines.
6. ] The Portugucfe meafure is the cavedos, contain¬
ing two feet eleven lines, or four-fevenths of a Paris
ell; and the vara, an hundred and fix whereof make an
hundred Paris ells.
7. J The Fkdmontefe meafure is the ras, containing
one
_M E A [ 34 ]
Meafure. one Paris foot nine inches ten lines, or half a Paris eli. gueze
' v l'’1"11 in Sicily, their meafure is the canna, the fame with that
of Naples.
8. ] The Mufcovy meafures are the cubit, equal to
one Paris foot four inches two lines j and the arcin,
two whereof are equal to three cubits.
9. ] The Turhijh and Levant meafures are the picq,
containing two feet two inches and twm lines, or three-
fifths of the Paris ell. The Chinefe meafure, the
cobre ; ten whereof are equal to three Paris ells. In
Perfia, and fome parts of the Indies, the gueze, where¬
of there are two kinds ; the royal gueze, called alfo the
gue%e monkelfer, containing two Paris feet ten inches
eleven lines, or four fifths of the Paris ell j and the ftiorter
M E A
, called fimply only two thirds of the for-
  At Goa and Ormuz, the meafure is the vara, the
fame with that of the Portuguefe, having been intro¬
duced by them. In Pegu, and fome other parts of the
Indies, the cando or candi, equal to the ell of Venice.
At Goa, and other parts, they ufe a larger cando, equal
to feventeen Dutch ells j exceeding that of Babel and
Balfora by ^ per cent, and the vera by In Siam,
they ufe the ken, fliort of three Paris feet by one inch.
The ken contains two foks, the fok two keubs, the keub
twTelve nious or inches, the niou to be equal to eight
grains of rice, i. e. to about nine lines. At Camboia,
they ufe the halier ; in Japan, the tatam ; and the fpan
on fome of the coafts of Guinea.
Meafure,
Tables of Long Meafurc.
1. English.
Barley-corn
Inch
9
27
36
54
12
18
108 36
Palm
3|Span
qj i-fFoot
6! 2
4
12
18o| 60
216
72
594j 198
23760'; 7920
20 (0
24j 8
66i 22
26401
880
I9008063360 21 l 2O.704O
Cubit
2 lYard
6
16
660
5280
 ll\ 
4 j 2
11 | 54
440 j 220
3520
Pace
1760
3tu
132
Fathom
2! Pole
no
40
1056 j88o 320
Furlong
Mile.
2. Scripture Meafures reduced into Englijh.
Digit
Palm
1 2
96
144
192
1920
Span
Cubit
24
361 12
48, 16
Fathom
Ezekiel’s reed
Arabian pole
480 160 80 j 20
i4
i3y 10 Schcenus, or meafuring line
?f Dec.
feet. p-
o 0.912
o 3-648
o 10.944
1 9.888
7 3’SS2
10 11-328
14 7.104
145 11.04
3. m
Mcafure.
M E A
[ 35 3
3. The Scripture Itinerary Meafures.
M E A
Cubit
400
2000
4000
I 2000
96JOO
Stadium
5 Sabbatb day’s journey
io 2 jEaftern mile
3°
240 ', 48
24
Parafan
A day’s journey
Da&ylus, digit
Doron, dochme
4. Grecian.
1 2
16
18
20
24
96
9600
76800
^il-Lichas
24
2400
19200
i^-jOrtbodoron
1 T1
A 1 c
Iti
Spitbame
Foot
i4
14
960
7680
2-rri
14
1
8
Syarri 800 i 600
Cubit
14
I T
5t
?33t
Pygon
4
480
6981^6400 6800 4266-7-I3840
Eng. Miles. Paces. Feet.
o o 1.824
o 145 4.6
o 729 3.000
I 403 1.000
4 I53 S-00^
33 172 4.00®
ubit larger
Pace
Furlong
400
3200
100
800
Mile
Paces. Feet.
o o
o o
o o
o o
o o
o
o
- o
o
o
100 4
805 5
Dec.
0,7554t£
3.0218 |
7-5546 i
8.3101.^
9.0656 |
0.0875
i-5984 1
3- I09 1
6.13125
o525
4- 5
o
Meafure.
Digitus
i4
16
20
24
40
80
10000
80000
tranfverfus
Uncia
Palmus minor
Pes
5. Roman.
1 2
I5
18
40
60
75oo
60000
10
20
24
2500
625
Palmipes
Cubitus
lyjGradus
3t|
2Taffus
500
20000
5000
4000
4164
33331
25°: I25
2000:1000
Stadium
Milliare
E 2
Paces. Feet. Dec.
o o 0.7254
o o 0.967
o o 2.901
o o 11.604
O I 2.505
o I 5.406
0 2 5.01
o 4 10.02
120 4 4-5
967 O o.
6. Proportion
M E A
Meafure.
[ 36 ]
M E A
6. Proportion of feveral Long Meafures to each other, brj
M. Picard.
The Rhinland or Leyden foot (12 whereof
make the Rhinland perch) fuppoled
The Englifh foot
The Paris foot
The Amfterdam foot, from that of Leyden, by
Snellius - - -
The Danifli foot (two whereof make the Da-
nifh ell) - - *
The Swedifh foot
The Bruffels foot
The Dantzick foot, from Hevelius’s Selenogra-
phia -
T’ae Lyons foot, by M. Auzout
The Bologna foot, by the fame
The braccio of Florence, by the fame, and Fa¬
ther Marfenne
The palm of the archite&s at Rome, accord¬
ing to the obfervations of Meffrs Picard and
Auzout -
The Roman foot in the Capitol, examined by
Mefffs Picard and Auzout - 653 or 6 $34-
696
67 54
720
629
6584
609 f
636
757r
843
1290
4944
The fame from the Greek foot
From the vineyard Mattei
From the palm -
From the pavement of the Pantheon, fuppofed
to contain 10 Roman feet
From a flip of marble in the fame pavement,
fuppofed to contain three Roman feet
From the pyramid of Ceftius, fuppofed to con¬
tain 9 ^ Roman feet
From the diameters of the columns in the arch
of Septimius Severus.
From a flip of porphyry in the pavement of the
Pantheon - -
See on this fubjedl Phil. Tranf. vol. iy. art
P- 774-
652
6574
6584
653
650
6534
653t
653t
. 69.
7. Proportions of the Long Meafures of federal nations to
the Englijh foot, taken fror?i Meffrs Greaves, Au^out,
Picard, and Eifcncbmid. See Foot.
The Englifh ftandard foot being divided into 1000
equal parts, the other meafures will have the proportions
to it, which follow.
Englifh foot •
Paris foot
Venetian foot
Rhinland foot
Strafburgh foot
Norim berg foot
Eantzick foot
Danifh foot
Swedifh foot
Derahor cubit of Cairo
Perfian arifh
Greater Turkifh pike
Feet.
IOOO
1068
1161
1033
952
1000
944
1042
9774
1824
2200
Inches.
I 2
I 2.8l6
I3-944
12.396
14.424
12
11.328
12.504
II 733
12.888
38.364
26.4
Leffer Turkifh pike
Braccio at Florence
Braccio for woollen at Sienna
Braccio for linen at Sienna
Canna at Naples
Vera at Almaria and Gibraltar
Palmo di Archtetti at Rome
Canna di Archtetti
Palmo di braccio di mercantia
Genoa palm
Bolognian foot
Antwerp ell
Amflerdam ell
Leyden ell
Paris draper’s ell
Paris mercer’s ell
Feet,
213 I
I9f 3
1242
J974
6880
2760
732
73 20
6954
815
1250
2283
2268
2260
3929
3937
Inches.
25-572
22.956
14.904
23.688
82.56
SS-12
87.84
87.84
83.46
9.78
15
27.396
27.216
27.12
47-h8
47.244
Meafure,
8. Different Itinerary Meafures.
A French league is about
A German mile
A Dutch mile
An Italian mile
A Spanilh league
A Ruffian verfl
Englifh miles
ditto
ditto
ditto
34 ditto
1- ditto.
24
4
34
x 1
TT
II. Square, Superficial, or Land Meafure.
1. Englifh fquare meafures are raifed from the yard
of 36 inches multiplied into itfelf, and thus produ¬
cing 1296 fquare inches in the fquare yard; the divi-
vifions of this are fquare feet and inches ; and the mul¬
tiples, poles, roods, and acres. Becaufe the length
of a pole is 5! yards, the fquare of the fame contains
3°4 fqtiare yards. A fquare mile contains 640 fquare
acres. In meafuring fens and woodlands, 18 feet are
generally allowed to the pole, and 21 feet in forefl
lands.
A hide of land, frequently mentioned in the earlier
part of the Englifh hiftory, contained about 100 arable
acres ; and 5 hides were efteemed a knight’s fee. At
the time of the Norman conquefl, there were 243,600
hides in England.
2. Scotch fquare or land meafure is regulated by
the Scotch ell: 36 fquare ells — 1 fall, 40 falls = 1
rood, 4 roods — 1 acre.—The proportion between
the Scotch and Englifh acre, fuppofing the feet in
both meafures alike, is as 1369 to 1089, or nearly as
5 to 4. If the difference of the feet be regarded, the
proportion is as 10,000 to 7869. The length of the
chain for meafuring land in Scotland is 24 ells, or 74
feet —A hufhand-land contains 6 acres of fock and
fcythe land, that is, of land that may be tilled with a
plough or mown with a fcythe ; 13 acres of arable land
make one ox-gang, and four ox-gangs make a pound-
land of old extent.
3. French fquare meafures are regulated by 12
fquare lines in the inch fquare ; 12 inches in the foot,
22 feet in the perch, and 100 perches in the arpent
or acre.
TdlLi$
Meafure.
M E A [
Tables of Square Meafure.
i. English.
2. Grecian (quare meafures were the plethron or acre,
by fome faid to contain 1444, by others 10,000 fquare
feet j and aroura, the half of the plethron. Tl»e aroura
of the Egyptians was the fquare 100 cubits.
3. Roman fquare meafure reduced to Engliih. The
integer was the jugerum or acre, which the Romans
divided like the libra or as: thus the jugerum con¬
tained
/
As
Deunx
Dextans
Dodrans
Bes
Septunx
Semis
Quincunx
Triens
Quadrans
Sextans
Uncia
Square
feet.
19200
16800
14400
12000
9600
7200
4800
2400
28800 288
26400 j 264
24000 240
21600 216
192
168
5 44
1 20
96
72
48
24
2 3
8 w
as
18
10
2
34
25
*7
9
1
32
24
16
8
Square
feet.
250.05
183-85
117-64
51-42
257.46
191.25
1 25.02
58.82
264.85
198 64
13 2-43
66.21
Note, Adhis major was 14,400 fquare feet, equal to
a femis j clima, 3600 fquare feet, equal to fefcuncia j
and a£lus minimus equal to a fextans.
III. Cubical Meafures, or Meafures of Capacity, for
Liquids.
I. The Eng’lifh meafures were originally raifed from
troy weight: it being enafted by feveral ilatutes, that
eight pounds troy of wheat, gathered from the middle
of the ear, and well dried, fhould weigh a gallon of
wine meafure, the divifions and multiples whereof were
to form the other meafures at the fame time it was
alfo ordered, that there Ihould be but one liquid mea¬
fure in the kingdom : yet cuflom has prevailed ; and
there having been introduced a new weight, viz. the
avoirdupois, we have now a fecond itandard gallon ad-
3*7 ] M E A
juded thereto, and therefore exceeding the former in
the proportion of the avoirdupois weight to troy
weight. From this latter ftandard are raifed two fe¬
veral meafures, the one for ale, the other for beer.
The fealed gallon at Guildhall, which is the ftandard
for wines, fpirits, oils, &c. is fuppofed to contain 231
cubic inches ; and on this fuppofition the other mea¬
fures raifed therefrom will contain as in the table un¬
derneath : yet, by adhual experiment, made in 1688,
before the lord mayor and the commiffioners of excife,
this gallon was found to contain only 224 cubic inches:
it was, however, agreed to continue the common ftip-
pofed contents of 231 cubic inches : fo that all com¬
putations (land on their old footing. Hence, as 12 is
to 231, fo is 1444 to 2814 the cubic inches in the ale
gallon : but in effeOf the ale quart contains 704 cubic
inches, on which principle the ale and beer gallon will
be 282 cubic inches. The feveral diviftons and mul¬
tiples of thefe meafures, and their proportions, are ex¬
hibited in the tables underneath.
The barrel for ale in London is 32 gallons, and the
barrel for beer 36 gallons. In all other places of
England, the barrel, both for ale and beer, is 34
gallons.
2. Scotch liquid meafure is founded on the pint.
The Scotch pint was formerly regulated by a ftandard
jug of cart metal, the cuftody of which was committed
to the borough of Stirling. This jug was fuppofed
to contain 105 cubic inches-, and though, after feveral
careful trials, it has been found to contain only about
1034 inches-, yet, in compliance with eftablithed cu-
ftom, founded on that opinion, the pint foups are ftill
regulated to contain 105 inches, and the cuftomary
ale meafures are about T? above that ftandard. It was
enadled by James I. of Scotland, that the pint ftiould
contain 41 ounces trone weight of the clear w’ater of
Tay, and by James VI. that it ihould contain 55 Scots
troy ounces of the clear water of Leith. This affords
another method of regulating the pint, and alfo afcer-
tains the ancient ftandard of the trone weight. As the
water of Tay and Leith are alike, the trone weight
muft have been to the Scots troy weight as 55 to 41 5
and therefore the pound trone muft; have contained
about 21| ounces Scots troy.
4 gills = 1 mutchkin.
2 mutchkins = 1 chopin.
2 chopins ~ 1 pint.
2 pints — I quart.
4 quarts — I gallon.
The Scotch quart contains 210 inches j and is, there¬
fore, about -A- lefs than the Engliih wine gallon, and
about 4 lefs than the ale gallon.
3. As to the liquid raeafures of foreign nations, it
is to be obferved, that their feveral veffels for wine, vi¬
negar, &c. have alfo various denominations accord¬
ing to their different fizes and the places wherein
they are ufed. The woeders of Germany, for hold¬
ing Rhenifh and Mofelle wines, are different in their
gauges 5 feme containing 14 aumes of Amfterdam
meafure, and others more or lefs. The aume is reckon¬
ed at Amflerdam for 8 fteckans, or 20 verges, or for
4 of a tun of 2 pipes, or 4 barrels, of French or Bour-
deaux, which 4 at this latter place is called tierforr,
becaufe
Meafure.
1
M E A
Mgaiurc. hecaufe 3 of tliera make a pipe or 2 barrels, and 6 the
'""~v ihid tun. The fteckan is fixteen mingles, or 32 pints;
and the verge is, in refpeft of the faid Rhenith and
Mofelle, and fome other forts of wine, 6 mingles;
but, in meafuring brandy it confifts of 6^ mingles.
The aume is divided into 4 anckers, and the ancker
into 2 fteckans, or 32 mingles. The ancker is taken
fometimes for ^ of a tun, or 4 barrels ; on which
footing the Bourdeaux barrel ought to contain at
Amflerdam (when the calk is made according to the
juft gauge) 12^ fteckans, or 200 mingles, wine and
Ices; or 12 fteckans, or 192 mingles, racked wine;
lo that the Bourdeaux tun of wine contains ;o fteckans,
or 800 mingles, wine and lees; and 48 fteckans, or
768 mingles, of pure wine. The barrels or poingons
of Nantes and other places on the river .Loire, con¬
tain only 1 2 fteckans, Amfterdam mealure. The wine
tun of Rochelle, Cogniac, Charente, and the ille of
Rhe, differs very little from the tun of Bourdeaux,
and confequently from, the barrels and pipes. A tun
of wine of Chaloffe, Bayonne, and the neighbouring
places, is reckoned 60 fteckans, and the barrel 15,
Amfterdam me a fire.
The muid of Pans contains 150 quarts or 300 pints,
wine and lees ; or 280 pints clear wane ; of which
muids 3 make a tun, and the fradlions are,
M E A
At Rochelle, Cogniac, the ifle of Rhe,
and the country of Aunis, - 27 Veertels
At Nantes, and feveral places of Bre¬
tagne and Anjou - - 29 Veertels
At Bourdeaux, and different parts of
Guienne - - 32 Verges
At Amfterdam, and other cities of
Holland - - 30 Veertels
At Hamburgh and Lubeck - 30 Verges
At Emfeden - - 27 Verges
In Provence and Languedoc, brandy is fold by the
quintal, the calks included ; and at Bruges in Flan¬
ders, the verges are called fejlers of 16 flops each, and
the fpirits is fold at fo much per flop.
Olive oil is alfo (hipped in calks of various ffzes,
according to the cuftom of the places where it is em¬
barked, and the conveniency of ftowage. In England
it is fold by the tun of 236 gallons ; and at Amfter¬
dam by the tun of 717 mingles, or 1434 pints. In
Provence it is fold by milleroles of 66 Paris pints;
from Spain and Portugal it is brought in pipes or
butts, of different gauges; at the firlt place it is fold
by roves, where 40 go to the butt ; and at the latter
place by almoudas, whereof 26 make a pipe. Train
oil is fold in England by the tun, at Amfterdam by
the barrel.
[ 38 ]
Meafure.
a.
The muid
The fetier ,
The quart
The pint
The chopin
The demi-fetier
The muid is aifo compofed of pipes or pompons,
quarteaux, queves, and demiqueves; thofe poin^ons
of Paris and Orleans contain about 15 fteckans Am¬
fterdam meafure, and ought to weigh with the calk
665'b. a little more or lefs. In Provence they reckon
by milleroles, and the millerole of Toulon contains 66
Paris pints, or too pints of Amfterdam nearly, and
the Paris pint is nearly equal to the Englilh wine
quart (a).
The butts or pipes from Cadiz, Malaga, Alicant,
Benecarlo, S loe, and Mataro, and from the Canaries,
from L'lbon, Oporto, and Fayal, are very different
in their gauges, though in affreightments they are all
reckoned two to the tun.
Vinegar is meafured in the fame manner as wine ;
but the meafures for brandies are different : thefe
fpirits from France, Spain, Portugal, &c. are gene¬
rally (hipped in large calks called pipes, butts, and
pieces, according to the places from whence they are
, imported, &c. In France, brandy is (hipped in calks
called pieces at Bourdeaux, and pipes at Rochelle,
Cogniac, the hie of Rhe, and other neighbouring
places, which contain fome more and fome lefs, even
from 60 to 90 Amfterdam verges or veertels, accord¬
ing to the capacity of the veffels, and the places they
come from, which, being reduced into barrels, will
ftand as follows, viz.
Tables of Lifyuw Meafure.
1. English.
Solid inches
be
>■§ <|
c I
(36 letiers
j 4 quarts
2 pints
2 chopins
2 demi-fetiers
2 poiffons
(a) Ihefe are the old meafures of France, the account of which, for the fake of companion, is here retained.
— 3
ffl'eafure.
M E A [ 39 ]
2. Jewish reduced to Englifti Wine Meafure.
Caph
Log
5t
16
32
96
960
4 Cab
1 2
24
72 18
720. 180
Hln
2 Seah
Batb, or Epha
Cor on, or Chomer
6030
10
3. Attic reduced to Englilh Wine Meafure.
Cochliarion
2 Cheme
2t
10
7^
60
3°
120
60
720 : 360
My drone
2 Conche
Cyathos
14 Oxybaphon
24; 12
48
288
8640 4320 3456
144
12
72
6 j 4Cotyle
8| zJXeftes
6iChous
12
1728^64 576
J4472
1 2 Metretes
4. Roman reduced to Englidi Wine Meafure.
Ligula
4 Cyathus
I 2
24
48
288
II52
2304
li
Acetabulum
2,Q^uartarius
6 4I 2Hemina
12
8!
2 Sextarius
72
48 24 12
288 192! 96' 48; 24
384
192
96' 48
vongius
 !
4 Urna
46080 11520 7680I3840 I92oj96oji6o
2 Amphora
Culeus
40^0
M E A
r- 11 S Solid
Grail. 3 . 1
£ inches.
o o| 0.177
o o£ 0.211
0 St °-844
1 2 2-533
2 4 5.067
7 4 iJ-2
75 5 7-625
Gal. Pints, g* Dec.
n
s-
0 TTro- 0.0356-/-JJ
re- 0.0712 4
0.089
tre
I
I
'4?
0.17844
o A 0.35644
t °-535 4
o 4 2.141 4
O I 4-283
o 6 25.698
10 2 19.629
Gal. Pints. g-Dec.
0 o-pV 0.117-rV
o
o
o
o
o
o
3
7
I43
oA 0.469 4
o 4 0.704 -4
04 1.40
o 4 2.818
1 5.636
7 4-942
4 4 5-33
1 10.66
Meafure.
II.095
IV. Meafurs?^
M E A
r 40 ] M E A
‘Meafure.
v " IV. Meafures of Capacity for things Dry.
1. ] Eng/ifh dry or corn meafure. The ftandard for
meafuring corn, fait, coals, and other dry goods, in
England, is the Winchefter gallon, which contains
cubic inches. The bufhel contains 8 gallons, or
2178 inches. A cylindrical vcffel, x81-inches diame¬
ter, and 8 inches deep, is appointed to be ufed as a
bufhel in levying the malt tax. A velfel of thefe di-
menfions is rather lefs than the Winchefter bulhel of
8 gallons, for it contains only 2150 inches; though
probably there was no difference intended. The deno¬
minations of dry meafure commonly ufed, are given
in the firft: of the fubjoined tables. Four quarters corn
make a chaldron, 5 quarters make a xvey or load, and
10 quarters make a ton. In meafuring feacoal, 5 pecks
make a bufhel, 9 bufhels made a quarter or vatt, 4
quarters make a chaldron, and 21 chaldrons make a
fcore.
40 feet hewn timber make a load.
50 feet unhewn timber make a load.
32 gallons make a herring barrel.
42 gallons make a falmon barrel,
i cwt. gunpowder makes a barrel.
2;6 lbs. foap make a barrel.
10 dozen candles make a barrel.
1 2 barrels make a laft.
2. ] Scotch dry meafure. There was formerly only
«ne meafure of capacity in Scotland ; and fome com¬
modities were heaped, others fraihed, or meafured ex-
a£lly to the capacity of the ftandard. The method of
heaping was afterwards forbidden as unequal, and a
larger meafure appointed for fuch commodities as that
cuftom had been extended to.
The wheat firlot, ufed alfo for rye, peafe, beans, fait,
and grafs feeds, contains 21 pints 1 mutchkin, meafured
by the Stirling jug. The barley firlot, ufed alfo for
oats, fruit, and potatoes, contains 31 pints. A difter-
ent method of regulating the firlot was appointed from
the dimenfions of a cylindrical veffel. The diameter
for both meafures was fixed at 19^ inches, the depth
7-f inches for the wheat firlot, and io£ for the barley
firlot. A ftandard conftrufled by thefe meafures is
rather lefs than when regulated by the pint ; and as it
is difficult to make veffels exaftly cylindrical, the regu¬
lation by the pint has prevailed, and the other method
gone into difufe.
If the Stirling jug contains 103!- inches, the wheat
firlot will contain 2109 inches ; which is more than 2
per cent, larger than the legal malt bufhel of England,
and about 1 per cent, larger than the Winchefter buthel:
and the barley firlot will contain 3208 inches. The
barley boll is nearly equal to fix legal malt bufhels.
In Stirlingfhire, 17 pecks are reckoned to the boll :
in Invernefsfhire, 18 pecks : in Ayr (hire, the boll is the
fame as the Englifh quarter. And the firlots, in many
places, are larger than the Linlithgow ftandard.
3. ] Trench dry, are, the lition, bufhel, minot, mine,
feptier, muid, and tun. The litrou is divided into two
demilitrons, and four quarter litrons, and contains 36
, cubic inches of Paris. By ordonnance, the litron is
to be three inches and a half high, and three inches
Ip lines broad. The litron for fait is larger, and is
divided into two halves, four quarters, eight demi- Meafure.
quarters, and 16 mefurettes. The French bufhel is
different in different jurifdicb'ons. At Paris it is di¬
vided into demibufhels ; each demihufhel into two
quarts ; the quart into two half quarts ; and the half
quart into two litrons : fo that the bufhel contains 16
litrons. By ordonnance the Paris bulhel is to be eight
inches twro lines and a half high, and ten inches
broad, or in diameter within-fide. The minot con-
fifts of three bufhels, the mine of two minots or fix
bufhels, the feptier of two mines or 12 bufhels, and '
the muid of 12 feptiers or 144 bufhels. The bu¬
fhel of oats is eftimated double that of any other grain ;
fo that there go 24 bufhels to make the feptier, and
288 to make the muid. It is divided into four pico-
tins, tbre picotin containing two quarts, or four litrons.
The bufhel forfait is divided into two half bufhels, four
quarters, eight half quarters, and 16 litrons ; four bu¬
fhels make a minot, 16 a feptier, and 192 a muid.
The bufhel for wrood is divided into halves, quarters,
and half quarters. Eight bufhels make the minot, 16
a mine; 20 mines or 320 bufhels, the muid. For
plafter, 12 bulhels make a fack, and 36 lacks a muid.
For lime, three bufhels make a minot, and 48 minots
a muid. The minot is by ordonnance to be 11 inches
9 lines high, and 14 inches 8 lines in diameter. The
minot is compofed of three bufhels, or 16 litrons i
four minots make a feptier, and 48 a muid. The
French mine is no real veffel, but an eftimation of fe-
veral others. At Paris the mine contains fix bufhels,
and 24 make the muid ; at Rouen the mine is four bu¬
fhels; and at Dieppe 18 mines make a Paris muid.
The feptier differs in different places: at Paris it con¬
tains two mines, or eight bufhels, and 12 feptiers the
muid. At Rouen the feptier contains two mines or
1 2 bulhels. Twelve feptiers make a muid at Rouen
as well as at Paris ; but 12 of the latter are equal to 14
of the former. At Toulon the feptier contains a mine
and a half; three of which mines make the feptier of
Pa ris. The muid or muy of Paris confifts of 1 2 feptiers;
and is divided into mines, minots, bufhels, &c. That
for oats is double that for other grain, i. e. contains
twice the number of bulhels. At Orleans the muid is
divided into mines, but thofe mines only contain two
Paris feptiers and a half. In fome places they ufe the
tun in lieu of the muid ; particularly at Nantes, where
it contains 10 feptiers of 16 bulhels each, and weighs
between 2200 and 2250 pounds. Three of thefe tuns
make 28 Paris feptiers. At Rochelle, &c. the tun con¬
tains 42 bufhels, and weighs two per cent, lefs than that
of Nantes. At Breft it contains 20 bufhels, is equal
to 10 Paris feptiers, and weighs about 2240 pounds.
See Tun.
4.3 Dutch, Swedifj, Po/i/7j, Pruffian, and Mufcovite.
In thefe places, they eftimate their dry things on the
foot of the la/l, lefl, leth, or /edit; fo called according to
the various pronunciations of the people who ufe it. In
Holland, the laft is equal to 19 Paris feptiers, or 38
Bourdeaux bufhels, and weighs about 4560 pounds ; the
laft: they divide into 27 mudes, and the mude into four
fcheples. In Poland, the laft is 40 Bourdeaux bufhels,
and weighs about 4800 Paris pounds. In Pruffia, the
laft is 133 Paris feptiers. In Sweden and Mufcovy
they meafure by the great and little laft ; the firft con¬
taining 12 barrels, and the fecond half as many. See
Last.
-MEA [41] ME
^u'"c?v^1 t)le)r likewife ufe the cliefford, fevcnths, or I y I tomoli and three
Yvhicn is different in various places : that of Archangel
A
fevenths, make the Me a fare.
is equal to three Rouen bufhels.
5.] Italian. At Venice, Leghorn, and Lucca, they
eflimate their dry things on the foot of the ftaro or
ifaio 5 the ftaro of Leghorn weighs 54 pounds: 112
ftaros and feven-eighths are equal to the Amfterdam
laft. At Lucca, 119 ftaros make the laft of Amfterdam.
The Venetian ftaro weighs 1 28 Paris pounds: the ftaro
is divided into four quarters. T hirty-five ftaros and
one-fifth, or 140 quarters and four-fifths, make the laft
of Amfterdam. At Naples and other parts, they ufe the
tomolo or tomalo, equal to one-third of the Paris fep-
tier. Thirty-fix tomoli and a half make the carro, and
a carro and a half, or 54 tomoli, make the laft of Am¬
fterdam. At Palermo, 16 tomoli make the falma, and
four mondili the tomolo* Ten falmas and three-
laft of Amfterdam.
_ 6.] Flemijh. At Antwerp, &c. they meafure by the
viertel; 3 2 and one-half whereof make 19 Paris fep-
tiers. At Hamburgh, the fchepel j 90 whereof make
19 Paris feptiers.
7.] Spanifh and Portuguefe. At Cadiz, Bilboa, and
St Sebaftian, they ufe the fanega; 23 whereof make
the Nantes or Rochelle tun, or nine Paris feptiers and
a half: though the Bilboa fanega is fomewhat larger,
infomuch that 21 fanegas make a Nantes tun. At Se¬
ville, &c. they ufe the anagoras, containing a little more
than the Paris mine j 36 anagoras make J9 Paris fep¬
tiers. At Bayonne, &c. the concha j 30 whereof are
equal to nine Paris feptiers and a half. At Lifbon, the
alquiver, p very fmall meafure, 240 whereof make 19
Paris fepliers, 60 the Lifbon muid.
Tables of Dry Meafure.
1. English.
2. Scripture Dry, reduced to Englifh.
fT
O
o
o
O ►d
^ 5*
0
024
0 5 tV
I O I
303
16 o o
32 o I
«
0.031
0.073
1.211
4.O36
12.107
26.5OO
28.969
Vol. XIII. Parti.
F
3. Attic
Meafure.
M E A
[ 42 ]
M E A
3. Attic Meafures of Capacity for Things dry, reduced to EnglKh
Corn Meafure.
Cochliarion
xoCyathos
60
120
180
i Oxybaphon
12
4|Cotyle
21Xeft.es
8
18
12
8640
864! 576
i4
144
72
Choenix
Medimnos
48
4. Roman Meafures of Capacity for Things dry, reduced to Englifh
Corn meafure.
Ligula
Cyathus "
1-ij Acetabulum - " *
Hemina
24
48
384
768
96
192
64
128
16
32
Sextarius
Semimodius
2 Modius
16
n
o
f’T'
O
o
o
o
o
o ^
EL p
g5
O ^
o £L 3*
r- r
( :
o o o^-
o o 0TXT
O O O -g-
O 08-!-
OOI
OIO
IOO
0.276x3-
2.763 i
4.144 {
16-579
I5-7°5 i
3-Soi
C/3
•£'0
. o
D O
O *
pr
O.OI
O.04
O.06
O.24
O.48
3-84
7.68
Meafure.
Measure of Wood for Firing, is ufually the cord
four feet high, and as many broad, and eight long
this is divided into two half cords, called ways, and
by the French membrures, from the pieces ftuck up¬
right to bound them ; or mijes, as being fuppofed half
a waggon load.
Measure for Horfes, is the hand, which by ftatute
contains four inches.
Measure, among Botanifs. In defcribing the parts
of plants, Tournefort introduced a geometrical fcale,
which many of his followers have retained. They mea-
fured every part of the plant 5 and the effence of the
defcription conftfted in an accurate menfuration of the
whole. T
As the parts of plants, however, are liable to va¬
riation in no circumftance fo much as that of dimen-
fion, Linnaeus very rarely admits any other raenfura-
tion than that arihng from the refpeftive length and
breadth of the parts compared together. In cafes
that require adlual menfuration, the fame author re¬
commends, in lieu of Tournefort’s artificial fcale, the
following natural fcale of the human body, which
he thinks is much more convenient, and equally ac¬
curate.
The fcale in queftion confifts of 11 degrees, which
are as follow : 1. A hair’s breadth, or the diameter
of a hair, [capi/lus'). 2. A line, {lined), the breadth
©f the crelcent or white appearance at the root of the.
finger (not thumb), meafured from the fkin towards'
the body of the nail 5 a line is equal to 12 hair¬
breadths, and is the I2th part of a Parifian inch. 3. A
nail {unguis), the length of a finger nail j equal to
fix lines, or half a Parifian inch. 4. A thumb {pol-
lex), the length of the firft or outermoft joint of the
thumb equal to a Parifian inch. 5. A palm (pal-
snus), the breadth of the palm exclufive of the thumb
equal to three Parifian inches. 6. A fpan (fpithama)
the diftance between the extremity of the thumb and
that of the firft finger when extended equal to feven
Parifian inches. 7. A great fpan (dodrans), the di¬
ftance between the extremity of the thumb and that
of the little finger, when extended j equal to nine
inches. 8. A foot (pel), meafuring from the elbow
to the bafis of the thumb j equal to i 2 Parifian inches.
9. A cubit (cubitus), from the elbow to the extre¬
mity of the middle finger j equal to 17 inches. 10. An
arm length (brachium), from the armpit to the extre¬
mity of the middle finger 5 equal to 24 Parifian inches,
or two feet. 11. A fathom (orgya), the meafure of the
human ftature ; the diftance between the extremities of
the two middle fingers, wdten the arms arc extended j
equal, where greateft, to fix feet.
Measure is alfo ufed to fignify the cadence and
time obferved in poetry, dancing, and mufic, to render
them regular and agreeable.
The different meafures or metres in poetry, are the
different
M E A [ 43 ] M E A
Meafm-e. different manners of ordering and combining tlie quan-
—-v  tides, or the long and ffiort fyllables. Thus, hexame¬
ter, pentameter, iambic, fapphic verfes, &c. conhft of
different meafures.
In Englith verfes, the meafures' are extremely vari¬
ous and arbitrary, every poet being at liberty to intro¬
duce any new form that he pleafes. The moft ufual
are the heroic, generally confifting of five long and
five fhort fyllables *, and verfes of four feet j and of
three feet and a caefura, or fingle fyllable.
The ancients, by varioufly combining and tranfpof-
ing their quantities, made a vaft variety of different
meafures. Of words, or rather feet of two fyllables,
they formed a fpondee, confifting of two long fyllables j
a pyrrhic, of two fhort fyllables •, a trochee, of a long
and a ftiort fyllable ; and an iambic, of a fhort and a
long fyllable.
Of their feet of three fyHables they formed a mo-
loffus, confifting of three long fyllables ; a tribrach, of
three fhort fyllables •, a dadtyl, of one long and two
fhort fyllables *, and an anepEeft, of two ftiort and one
long fyllable. The Greek poets contrived 124 dif¬
ferent combinations or meafures, under as many dif¬
ferent names, from feet of two fyllables to thofe of
fix.
Measure, in Mujtc, the interval or fpace of time
which the perfon who beats time takes between the
rifing and falling of his hand or foot, in order to con-
dudt the movement, fometimes quicker, and fometimes
flower, according to the kind of mufic, or the fubjedl
that is fung or played.
The meafure is that which regulates the time we are
to dwell on each note. See Time.
The ordinary or common meafure is one fecond, or
60th part of a minute, which is nearly the fpace be¬
tween the beats of the pulfe or heart; the fyftole, or
contraction of the heart, anfwering to the elevation of
the hand 5 and its diaftole, or dilatation, to the letting
it fall. The meafure ufually takes up the fpace that
a pendulum of two feet and a half long employs in
making a fwing or vibration. The meafure is regu¬
lated according to the different quality or value of
the notes in the piece by which the time that each
note is to take up is expreffed. The femibreve, for
inftance, holds one rife and one fall; and this is called
the meafure or ’whole mca/ure, fometimes the meafure
note, or time note; the minim, one rife, or one fall \
and the crotchet, half a rife, or half a fall, there being
four crotchets in a full meafure.
Measure Binary, or Double, is that wherein the rife
and fall of the hand are equal.
Measure Ternary, or Triple, is that wherein the fall
is double to the rife j or where two minims are played
during a fall, and but one in the rife. To this pur-
pofe, the number 3 is placed at the beginning of
the lines, when the meafure is intended to be triple 5
and a C, when the meafure is to be common or
double. This rifing and falling of the hands was
called by the Greeks and 9-e«f. St Auguftine
calls it plaufus, and the Spaniards compos. See Arsis
and Thesis.
Powder Measures in Artillery, are made of copper,
and contain from an ounce to 12 pounds : thefe are
very convenient in a fiege, when guns or mortars are
loaded with loofe powder, efpecially in ricochet firing, Meafunng,
&c. , Meat- ,
MEASURING, or Mensuration, is the ufing ~v'~’
a certain known meafure, and determining thereby the
precife extent, quantity, or capacity of any thing.
Measuring, in general, includes the praCHcal part /
of geometry. From the various fubjeCts on which it is
employed, it acquires various names, and conftitutes
various arts. See Geometry, Levelling, Mensu¬
ration, Trigonometry, &c.
MEAT. See Food, Diet, Drink, &c.
Amongft the Jews, feveral kinds of animals wrere
forbidden to be ufed as food. The flcfti with the
blood, and the blood without the, flefh, were prohibit¬
ed ; the fat alfo of facrificed animals was not to be
eaten. Roaft meat, boiled meat, and ragouts, were in
ufe among the Hebrews, but w^e meet wfith no kind
of feafoning except fait, bitter herbs, and honey.—
They never mingled milk in any ragout or hafh, and
never ate at the fame meal both meat and milk, butter,
or cheefe. The daily provifion for Solomon’s table
wTas 30 meafuies of fine wheat flour, 60 of common
flour, 10 fat oxen, 20 pafture oxen, 100 ftieep, be-
fides venifon and wildfowd. See Luxury.
The principal and moft neceffary food among the
ancient Greeks, was bread, which they called
and produced in a wicker bafket called r.anov. Their
loaves w7ere fometimes baked under the allies, and
fometimes in an oven. They alfo u!ed a fort of bread
called ma%a. Barley meal w'as ufed amongft the
Greeks, which they called xytpflov. They had a fre¬
quent difti called fJ^uv, wffich was a compofition of
rice, cheefe, eggs, and honey, wrapped in fig-leaves.
The MvrrdJoy was made of cheefe, garlic, and eggs,
beaten and mixed together. Their bread, and other
fubftitutes for bread, were baked in the form of hol¬
low plates, into w'hich they poured a fauce. Garlic,
onions, and figs, feem to have been a very common
food amongft the poorer Athenians. The Greeks,
cfpecially in the heroical times, ate flefli roafted ; boil¬
ed meat feldom wyas ufed. Fifti feems not to have
been ufed for food in the early ages of Greece. The
young people only, amongft the Lacedemonians, ate
animal food j the men and the old men were fupport-
ed by a black foup called ftsyx which to people of
other nations was always a difagreeable mefs. Grafs-
hoppers and the extremities or tender fhoots of trees
w^ere frequently eaten by the poor among the Greeks.
Eels dreffed with beet root were efteemed a delicate
dilh, and they were fond of the jowd and belly of falt-
fifh. Neither were they without their fweet-meats j
the deffert confifted frequently of fruits, almonds, nuts,
figs, peaches, &c. In every kind of food we find
fait to have been ufed.
The diet of the firft Romans confifted wholly of
milk, herbs, and roots, which they cultivated and.
dreffed with their own hands j they alfo had a kind of
gruel, or coarfe grofs pap, compofed of meal and
boiling water ; this ferved for bread : And when they
began to ufe bread, they had none for a great while
but of unmixed rye. Barley-meal was eaten by them,
w'hich they called Polenta. When they began to eat
animal food, it was efteemed a piece of luxury, and
an indulgence not to be juftified but by fome particu-
F 2 Jar
M E A [ 44 ] ‘ M E A
lar occafion. After animal food had grown into com¬
mon ufe, the meat which they moft frequently produced
upon their tables was pork.
Method of Prefsrvitig F/eJh-MEAT without fpices,
ttnd with venj little fait. Jones, in his Mifcellanea
__ Cunofa, gives us the following defcription of the
Moorilh Elcholle, which is made of beef, mutton, or
camel’s flelh, but chiefly beef, which is cut in
long flices, and laid for 24 hours in a pickle. They
then remove it out of thofe jars or tubs into others
with water; and when it has lain a night, they
take it out, and put it on ropes in the fun and air
to dry. When it is thoroughly dried and hard, they
cut it into pieces of two or three inches long, and
throw it into a pan or caldron, which is ready with
boiling oil and fuet fufficient to hold it, where it boils
till it be very clear and red wdien cut. After this they
take it out, and fet it to drain $ and when all is thus
done it Hands to cool, and jars are prepared to put it
up in, pouring upon it the liquor in which it was fried 5
and as foon as it is thoroughly cold, they Hop it up
clofe. It will keep two years ; will be hard, and the
hardeft they look upon to be the befl: done. This they
dilh up cold, fometimes fried with eggs and garlic,
fometimes Hewed, and lemon fqueezed on it. It is
very good any way, cither hot or cold.
MEATH, commonly fo^ called, or otherwife Eajl
Meath, to diftinguifli it from the county called Wejl
Meath : A county of Ireland, in the province of
Leinfler, bounded by the counties of Cavan and Louth
on the north, the Irifh channel on the eafl, Kildare
and Dublin on the fouth, and WeH Meath and Long¬
ford on the wefl. It is a fine champaign country,
abounding with corn, and well inhabited. It returns
14 members to parliament 5 and gives title of earl to
the family of Brabazan. It contains 326,480 Irifii
plantation acres, 139 pariflies, 12 baronies, and fix
boroughs ; chief town, Trim. This diflria being the
moH ancient fettlement of the Belgians in Ireland, the
inhabitants were efieemed the eldefi and moH honour¬
able tribe : from which feniority their chieftans were
eledled monarchs of all the Belgse ; a dignity that was
continued in the Hy-n-Faillian without intermiflion.
until the arrival of the Caledonian colonies, under the
name of Tuath de Danan, when Conor-Mor, chief-
tan of thefe people, obtained, or rather ufurpecl, the
monarchial throne, obliged Eochy Failloch, with fe-
veral of his. people, to crofs the Shannon, and eflablifli
themfelves in the prefent county of Rofcommon, where
Crothar founded the palace of Atha or Croghan, a
circumHance which brought on a long and bloody war
between the Belgian and Caledonian races, which was
not finally terminated until the clofe of the 4th cen¬
tury, w'hen the Belgian line was rcHored in the perfon
of O’Nial the Great, and continued until Briam Bo-
romh ufurped the monarchial dignity, by depofing
Malachy O’Malachlin, about the year 1001. Tuathal
Tet&homar, by a decree of the Tarah affembly, fepa-
rated certain large trails of land fr om each of the four
provinces, where the borders joined together 5 whence
under the notion of adopting this fpot for demefne
lands to fupport the royal houfehold, he formed the
county or kingdom of Meath, which afterwards be¬
came the peculiar inheritance of the monarchs of Ire¬
land. In each of the portions thus feparated from
the four provinces, Tuathal caufed palaces to be ereff- Meath,
ed, which might adorn them, and commemorate the v~~
name in which they had been added to the royal do¬
main. In the traft taken out of Munfier, he built
the palace called Fkchtaga, where the facred fire, fo
cabed, w’as kindled, and w here all the priefls and druids
annually met on the lafi day of October j on the evening
of which day it was enaded, that no other fire flrould
be ufed throughout the kingdom, in order that all the
fires might be derived from this, which being lighted
up as a fire of facrifice, their fuperflition led them to
believe would render all the reit propitious and holy j
and for this privilege every family wTas to pay three¬
pence, by way of acknowledgment to the king of
MunHer. The fecond royal palace was ereded in the
proportion taken out of Connaught, and was built for
the affembly called the convocation of Vifneach, at
w'hich all the inhabitants were fummoned to appear on
the iH day of May, to offer facrifice to Beal, or Bel,
the god of fire, in whore honour two large fires being
kindled, the natives ufed to drive their cattle between
them, which w’as fuppofed to be a prefervative for
them againfi accidents and diflempers, and this was
called Beal-Tinne, or Bel-Tine, or the feffival of the
god of fire. The king of Connaught at this meeting
claimed a horfe and arms from every lord of a manor
or chieftan, as an acknowledgement for the lands ta¬
ken from that province, to add to the territory of
Meath. *1 he third was that which 1 ailtean ereded in
the part taken from Ulfler, where the fair of that
name was held, w’hich w’as remarkable for this parti¬
cular circumHance, that the inhabitants brought their
children thither, males and females, and contraded
them in marriage, where the parents having agreed
upon articles, the young people were joined according¬
ly 5 every couple contraded at this meeting paid the
king of Ulfler an ounce of filver by way of acknow'-
ledgement. The royal manfion of Tarah, formerly
deflroyed. by fire, being rebuilt by Tuathal, on the
lands originally belonging to the king of Leinfler, was
reckoned as the fourth of thefe palaces ; but as a fa¬
bric of that name had flood there before, we do not
find that any acknowledgement was made for it to the
king of Leinfter.
Meath, with Clonmacnois, is a bi(hop’s fee, valued in
the king’s books at 3731. 7s. o^d. fterling, by an ex¬
tent returned anno 28th Elizabeth ; but," by a former
extent taken anno 30th Henry VIII. the valuation a-
mounts to 373I. 12s. which being the largeft and
moft profitable for the king, is the meafure of the firft
fruits at tnis day. This lee is reputed to be worth
annually 3400!. 1 here w^ere formerly many Epif-
copal fees in Meath, as Clonard, Duleek, Kells,
Trim, Ardbraccan, Donlhaghlin, Slaine, and Foure,
befides other* of lefs note 5 all thefe, except Duleek
and Kells, were confolidated, and their common fee
was fixed at Clonard, before the year 1152 ; at which
time the divifions of the bilhoprics in Ireland were made
by John Paparo, cardinal prieft, entitled Cardinal of
St Lawrence in Damafo, then legate from Pope Eu¬
gene III. to the Irith. This divifion was made in a
lynod held on the 6th of March in the abbey of Mel-
lifont, or, as fome fay, at Kells : and the two fees of
Duleek and Kells afterwards fubmitted to the fame
fate. The conftitution of this diocefe is Angular, hav-
tng
M E C [ 45 ] MEG
Meath ing no dean nor chapter, cathedral, or economy.—
H Under the bifliop, the archdeacon is the head officer, to
,Meca;nas. ^ w],orn> anej to tJie dergy in general, the conge d"1 ehre
iffued while biffiops were elective. The affairs of the
diocefe are tranfafled by a fynod, in the nature of a
chapter, who have a common feal, which is annually
lodged in the hands of one of the body, by the ap¬
pointment and vote of the majority. The diocefe is
divided into twelve rural deaneries.
Of Clonmacnojs, now annexed to Meath : There is
no valuation of this fee in the king’s books j but it
is fuppofed to be included in the extent of the fee of
Meath, taken anno 30th Henry VIII. The chapter
of this fee conliffed anciently of dean, chanter, chan¬
cellor, treafurer, archdeacon, and twelve prebendaries,
but tnoft of their poffeffions have fallen into lay
hands. At prefent the deanery is the only part of
the chapter which fublifts, to which the prebend of
Cloghran is annexed, and he hath a feal of office, which
appears to have been the ancient epifcopal feal of this
fee. This fee was founded by St Kiaran, or Ciaran,
the younger, in 548 or 549 5 and Dermod, the fon of
Ceronill, king of Ireland, granted the lite on which
the church was built.
Wef Meath. See Westmeith.
MEATUS auditorius. See Anatomy, N° 144.
MEAUX, an ancient town of France, in the de¬
partment of the Seine and Marne, with a biffiop’s fee,
feated in a place abounding in corn and cattle, on the
river Marne, which divides it into two parts j and its
trade confifts in com, wtoo1, and cheefe. It fuftained
a liege of three months againft the Engliffi in 1421.
E. Long. 2. 58. N. Lat. 48. 58.
MECAiNAS, or Mecoenas, C Cilnius, a cele¬
brated Roman knight, defcended from the kings of
Etruria. He has rendered himfelf immortal by his
liberal patronage of learned men and of letters ; and to
his prudence and advice Auguftus acknowledged him¬
felf indebted for the fecurity he enjoyed. His fond-
nefs for pleafure removed him from the reach of ambi¬
tion $ and he preferred dying, as he was born, a Ro¬
man knight, to all the honours and dignities which
either the friendthip of Auguflus or his own popularity
could heap upon him. To the interference of Mecaenas,
Virgil owed the retribution of his lands ■, and Horace
was proud to boall that his learned friend had obtain¬
ed his forgivenefs from the emperor, for joining the
caufe of Brutus at the battle of Philippi. Mecaenas
was himfelf fond of literature : and, according to the
mod received opinion, he wmote a hiftory of animals,
a journal of the life of Auguitus, a treatile on the
different natures and kinds of precious ftones, belides
the tw'o tragedies of Oftavia and Prometheus, and
other things, all now loft. He died eight years be¬
fore Chrift •, and on his deathbed he particularly re¬
commended his poetical friend Horace to the care and
confidence of Auguftus. Seneca, who has liberally
commended the genius and abilities of Mecaenas, has
not withheld his cenfure from his diffipation, indolence,
and effeminate luxury. From the patronage and en¬
couragement which the princes of heroic and lyric
poetry among the Latins received from the favourite of
Auguftus, all patrons of literature have ever fince been
called Mecccnates. Virgil dedicated to him his Geor¬
gies, and Horace his Odes.
MECCA, an ancient and very famous town of Afia, Mecca.,
in Arabia Felix j feated on a barren fpot, in a
valley furrounded with little hills, about a day’s jour¬
ney from the Red fea. It is a place of no ftrength,
having neither walls nor gates *, and the buildings are
very mean. That which lupports it is the refort of a
great many thoufand pilgrims annually, for the ffiops
are fcarcely open all the year befides. The inhabitants
are poor, very thin, lean, and fwarthy. The hills
about the town are very numerous; and confift of a
blackiih rock, feme of them half a mile in circumfe¬
rence. On the top of one of them is a cave, where
they pretend Mahomet ulually retired to perform his
devotions, and hither they affirm the greateft part of
the Alcoran was brought him by the angel Gabriel.
The town has plenty of water, and yet little garden-
fluff ; but there are feveral forts of good fruits to be
had, fuch as grapes, melons, w ater melons, and cucum¬
bers. There are alfo plenty of ftreep brought thither
to the fold to the pilgrims. It ftands in a very hot cli¬
mate ; and the inhabitants ufually fleep on the tops of
their houfes for the fake of coolneis. In order to pro¬
tect themlelves from the heat through the day, they
carefully ftmt the windows, and water the ftreets to re-
frelh the air. There have been inftanees of perfons fuf-
focated in the middle of the town by the burning wind
called Simoom.
As a great number of the people of diftindlion in
the province of Hedsjas flay in the city, it is better
built than any other in Arabia. Arnongft the beauti¬
ful edifices it contains, the moft remarkable is the fa¬
mous Kaba or Caaba, “ The houfe of God,” which
was held in great veneration by the Arabs even before
Mahomet’s time.
No Chriflian dare go to Mecca ; not that the ap¬
proach to it is prohibited by any exprefs lawr, or that
the fenfible part of the Mahometans have any thing
to objeifl: to it ; but on account of the prejudices of
the people, who regarding this ground as facred, think
Chriflians unworthy of fetting their foot on it; it
would be profaned, in the opinion ©f the fuperftiti-
ous, if it wTas trod upon by infidels. The people even
believe, that Chriftians are prevented from approach-
ing by fome fupernatural power; and they tell tire
ftory of an infidel, who having got fo far as the hills
that furround Mecca, all the dogs of the city came
out, and fell upon him ; and who, being flruck with
this miracle, and the auguft appearance of the Kaba,
immediately became a muffulman. It is therefore to
be prefumed that all the Europeans who deferibe
Mecca as eye-witneffes, have been renegadoes efcaped
from Turkey. A recent example confirms this fuppo-
fiticn. On the promife of being allowed to preferve
his religion, a French furgeon was prevailed on to ac¬
company the Emir Hadsji to Mecca, in quality of phy-
fician ; but at the very firft ftation, he was forced to
fubmit to circumcifion, and then he was permitted to
continue his journey. .
Although the Mahometans do not allovr Europeans
to go to Mecca, they do not refufe to give them de-
feriptions-of the Kaba, and information with regard to
that building •, and there are perfons who gain their
bread by making defigns and little piftures of the Kaba,
and felling them to pilgrims. See Caaba.
The Mahometans have fo high an opinion of the
fanftity y
M EC [ 46 1 M E C
'Mecca, fan&ity of Mecca, that they extend it to the places
v * in the neighbourhood. The territory of that city is
held facred to certain diftances, which are indicated by
particular marks. Every caravan finds in its road a
fimilar mark, which gives notice to the pilgrims when
they are to put on the modeft garb in which they mult
appear in thole facred regions. Every muflulman is
• obliged to go once in his life, at lealt, to Mecca, to
perform his devotions there. If that law was rigour-
oufiy enforced, the concourfe of pilgrims wTould be
prodigious, and the city would never be able to con¬
tain the multitudes from all the countries where the
Mahometan religion prevails. We mull therefore,
fuppofe, that devotees alone perform this duty, and
that the others can eafily difpenfe with it. Thofe
whofe circumftances do not permit a long abfence,
have the liberty of going to Mecca by a fubftitute.—
A hired pilgrim, however, cannot go for more than
one perfon at a time ; and he muft, to prevent frauds,
bring an atteftation in proper form, from an Imam of
Mecca, that he has performed the requifite devotions
on behalf of fuch a perfon, either alive or dead 5 for,
after the deceafe of a perfon who has not obeyed the
law7 during his life, he is Hill obliged to perform the
journey by proxy.
The caravans, which are not numerous, when we
-confider the immenfe multitude of the faithful, are
compofed of many people who do not make the jour¬
ney from purpofes of devotion. Thefe are merchants,
w?ho think they can tranfport their merchandifes with
more fafety, and difpofe of them more eafily; and
contratlors of every kind, w7ho furnilh the pilgrims
and the foldiers w'ho efcort the caravans, with necefla-
ries. Thus it happens, that many people have gone
often to Mecca, folely from views of intereft. The
■noil confiderable of thofe caravans is that of Syria,
commanded by the pacha of Damafcus. It joins at
fome diftance the fecond from Egypt, which is con¬
duced by a bey, who takes the title of Emir Hadsji.
One comes from Yemen, and another, lefs numerous,
from the country of Lachfa. Some fcattered pilgrims
arrived by the Red fea from the Indies, and from the
Arabian eftablilhments on the coaits of Africa. The
Perfians come in that which departs from Bagdad 5 the
place of conduCor to this lalt is bellowed by the pacha,
and is very lucrative, for he receives the ranfoms of the
heretical Perfians.
It is of confequence to a pilgrim to arrive early at
the holy places. Without having been prefent from
the beginning at all the ceremonies, and without hav¬
ing performed every particular aC of devotion, a man
cannot acquire the title of Hadsji : this is an honour
very much coveted by the Turks, for it confers real
advantages, and makes thofe who attain it to be much
refpeCed. Its infrequency, however, in the Maho¬
metan dominions, (hows how much the obfervation of
the law commanding pilgrimages is negleCed. A fi¬
milar cuftom prevails among the Oriental Chriftians,
who are alfo exceedingly emulous ot the title of Hadsji,
or Mokdafi, which is given to pilgrims of their com¬
munion. In order to acquire this title, it is not fuffi-
cient that the perfon has made the journey to Jerufa-
lem *, he mult alfo have kept the paffover in that city,
and have alfilted at all the ceremonies of the holy wTeeks.
After all the eflential ceremonies are over, the pil- Mecliani-
grims next morning move to a place where they fay cal-
Abraham went to olier up his fon Ifaac, which is "
about tw7o or three miles from Mecca : here they pitch
their tents, and then throw feven fmall Hones againft
a little fquare Hone building. This, as they affirm, is
performed in defiance of the devil. Every one then
purchafes a Iheep, which is brought for that purpofe,
eating fome of it themfelves, and giving the reit to the
poor people who attend upon that occafion. Indeed
thefe are miferable objefts, and iuch ftarved creatures,
that they feem ready to devour each other. After all,
one would imagine that this was a very fandlified place j
and yet a renegado who w7ent in pilgrimage thither,
affirms there is as much debauchery pradtifed here as
in any part of the Turkilh dominions. It is 25 miles
from Jodda, the lea port town of Mecca, and 220
fouth-eaft of Medina. E. Long. 40. 55. N. Lat.
21. 45.
MECHANICAL, an epithet applied to whatever
relates to mechanics : Thus we fay, mechanical powers,
caufes, &c. See the articles Power, Cause, &c.
The mechanical philofophy is the fame with what is
otherwife called corpufcular philofophy^ which explains
the phenomena of nature, and the operations of corpo¬
real things, on the principles of mechanics, viz.; the
motion, gravity, arrangement, difpofition, greatnefs or
fmallneis, of the parts which compofe natural bodies.
See Corpuscular.
This manner of reafoning is much ufed in medicine ;
and, according to Dr Quincy, is the refult of a tho¬
rough acquaintance with the ftructure of animal bo¬
dies : for confidering an animal body as a compofition
out of the fame matter from which all other bodies are
formed, and to have all thofe properties which concern
a phyfician’s regard, only by virtue of its peculiar con-
ftrudion ; it naturally leads a perfon to confider the
feveral parts, according to their figures, contexture,
and ufe, either as wheels, pulleys, w7edges, levers,
fcrew'S, cords, canals, llrainers &c. For which pur¬
pofe, continues he, it is frequently found helpful to
defign in diagrams, wffiatfoever of that kind is under
conlideration, as is cuftomary in geometrical demonftra-
tions.
For the application of this dodrine to the human
body, fee the article Medicine.
Mechanical, in mathematics, denotes a conftruc-
tion of fome problem, by the affilfance of indruments, as
the duplicature of the cube and quadrature of the cir¬
cle, in contfadiftindion to that which is done in an ac¬
curate and geometrical manner.
Mechanical Curve, is a curve, according to Defcartes,
which cannot be defined by any algebraic equation \
and fo Hands contradiHinguiHied from algebraic or geo¬
metrical curves. ‘
Leibnitz and others call thefe mechanical curves
tranfcendental, and diffent from Defcartes, in excluding
them out of geometry. Leibnitz found a new kind of
tranfcendental equations, whereby thefe curves are de¬
fined : but they do not continue conHantly the fame
in all points of the curve, as algebraic ones do. See
the article Transcendental.
Mechanical Solution of a problem is either when
the thing is done by repeated trials, or when lines ufed
in
V.
MEC [47] MEC
Meeliant- in the folution are not truly geometrical, or by organ!- which are tiled for raifmg greater Weights, or over- Meeham.
cal- cal conftru£tion. coming greater refiftances, than could be elxeaed by, ^ ' ,
1 ^ ' Mechanical Powers, are certain Ample machines, the natural ftrength without them. See Mechanics.
MECHANICS.
Definition, i. TV TECHANICS is the fcience which enquires into
1-Vx t]le iaws 0f the equilibrium and motion of folid
bodies j into the forces by which bodies, whether ani¬
mate or inanimate, may be made to a£l upon one ano¬
ther ; and into the means by which thefe may be in-
creafed fo as to overcome fuch as are more powerful.—
The term mechanics was originally applied to. the doc¬
trine of equilibrium. It has by feme late writers been
extended to the motion and equilibrium of all bodies,
whether, folid, fluid, or aeriform ; and has been employ¬
ed to comprehend the fciences of hydrodynamics and
pneumatics.
EIISTORY.
Proorefsof 2* -^s t^e k^ence mec^anics *s intimately con-
praftical netted with the arts of life, and particularly with thofe
mechanics which exift even in the rudeft ages of fociety, the con-
among the ftruction 0f machines mull have arrived at conliderable
ancients. perfe&ion before the theory of equilibrium, or the
limpled properties of the mechanical powers, had en¬
gaged the attention of philofophers. We accordingly
find that the lever, the pulley, the crane, the capftan,
and other Ample machines, w'ere employed by the an¬
cient architects in elevating the materials of their
buildings, long before the dawn of mechanical fcience ;
and the military engines of the Greeks and Romans,
fuch as the catapultce and baliftce, exhibit an extenfive
acquaintance with the conftruftion of compound ma¬
chinery. In the fplendid remains of Egyptian architec¬
ture, which in every age have excited the admiration
of the world, we perceive the moft furpriAng marks of
mechanical genius. The elevation of immenfe maffes
of ftone to the tops of their ftupendous fabrics mult
have required an accumulation of mechanical power
which is not in the pofteffion of modern architefts.
Ariftotle 3* The earlieft traces of any thing like the theory of
the firft mechanics are to be found in the waitings of Ariftotle.
who at- ln fome 0f fiis works we difeover a few erroneous and
the^tlf1 r r °bfcure opinions, refpe&ing the doclrine of motion, and
ofmecha- tf16 nature of equilibrium *, and in his 7.8th mechanical
nics. queftion he has given fome vague obfervations on the
JB. C. 32c. force of impulfe, tending to point out the difference be¬
tween impulfe and preflure. Ele maintained that there
cannot be two circular meftions oppolite to one another •,
that heavy bodies defeended to the centre of the uni-
verfe, and that the velocities of their defeent were pro¬
portional to their weights.
4. The notions of Ariftotle, however, were fo con-
hr-s tl™6 eSfu^ed and erroneous, that the honour of laying the foun-
foundation dation of theoretical mechanics is excluftvely due to the
of theoreti- celebrated Archimedes, w'ho, in addition to his inven-
cal media- t;ons jn geometry, difeovered the general principles of
"1CS‘ 2,q hydroftaties. In his two books, De Equiponcierantibus,
J he has demonftrated that when a balance with unequal
arms, is in equilibrio, by means of two weights in- its
oppofite feales, thefe weights muft be reciprocally pro¬
portional to the arms of the balance. From this gene¬
ral principle, all the other properties of the lever, and
of machines referable to the lever, might have been
deduced as corollaries •, but Archimedes did not follow
the difeovery through all its confequerices. In de- f
monftrating the leading property of the lever, he lays
it down as an axiom, that if the two arms of the ba¬
lance are equal, the two weights muft alfo be equal
when an equilibrium takes place j and then (hows that
if one of the arms be increafed, and the equilibrium
ftill continue, the weight appended to that arm muft be
proportionally diminilhed. This important difeovery
condudled the Syracufan philofopher to another equally
ufeful in mechanics. Reflefting on the conftruftion of
his balance, which moved upon a fulcrum, he perceived
that the two weights exerted the fame preffure on the
fulcrum as if they had both refted upon it. He then
conftdered the fum of thefe two weights as combined
with a third, and the fum of thefe three as combined
with a fourth 5 and faw that in every fuch combination
the fulcrum muft fupport their united weight, and there¬
fore that there is in every combination of bodies, and
in every Angle body which may be conceived as made
up of a number of leffer bodies, a centre of prejfure or
gravity. This difeovery Archimedes applied to par¬
ticular cafes, and pointed out the method of Anding the
centre of gravity of plane furfaces, whether bounded by
a parallelogram, a triangle, a trapezium or a parabola.
The theory of the inclined plane, the pulley, the axis
in peritrochio, the ferew, and the wedge, which was Arft
publilhed in the eighth book of Pappus’s mathematical
colledtions, is generally attributed to Archimedes. It
appears alfo from Plutarch and other ancient authors,
that a greater number of machines which have not
reached our times was invented by this philofopher.
The military engines which he employed in the Aege
of Syracufe againft: tbofe of the Roman engineer Ap-
pius, are faid to have difplayed the greateft mechanical
genius, and to have retarded the capture of his native
city.
5. Among the various inventions which we have re-invent;ofi
ceived from antiquity, that of water mills is entitled to of water
the higheft place, whether we conAder the ingenuitynu'-1 HtKj
which they difplay, or the ufeful purpofes to which w‘rcl
they are fubfervient. In the infancy of the Roman re¬
public the corn was ground by hand-mills conAftlng of
two millrtones, one of which was moveable, and the
other at reft. The upper millftone was made to revolve
either by the hand applied direftly to a winch, or by
means of a rope winding round a capftan. The precife
time when the irnpulfe or the weight of water 'was fub-
ftituted in'the place of animal labour, is not exaflly
known. From an epigram in the Anihologia Grceca
there is reafon to believe that water mills were invented
during the reign of Auguftus-j but it is ftrange that in
the-
45
Hifiorv.
PtevimiS
d fcovers
the paral-
leiogram of
forces.
Died in
^3S-
tl>e description given of them by Vitruvius, who lived
under that emperor, they are not mentioned as of re¬
cent origin. The invention of wind mills is of a later
date. According to fome authors, they were firll ufed
in trance in the lixth century j while others maintain
that they were brought to Europe in the time of the
crufades, and that they had long been employed in the
eaft, where the icarcity of water precluded the applica¬
tion of that agent to machinery.
6. ihe fcience of mechanics feems to have been fta-
tionary till the end of the i6th century. In 1577 a
■treatile on mechanics was publifhed by Guidus Ubal-
,dus, but it contained merely the difeoveries of Archi¬
medes. Simon Stevinus, however, a Dutch mathe¬
matician, contributed greatly to the progrefs of the
fcience. Ele difeovered the parallelogram of forces ;
and has demonilrated in his Statics, publilhed in 1386,
that ir a body is urged by two forces in the direction of
the fides of a parallelogram, and proportional to thefe
fides, the combined a£!ion of thefe two forces is equi¬
valent to a third force afling in the dire&ion of the
diagonal of the parallelogram, and having its intenlity
proportional to that diagonal. This important dif-
ccvery, which has been of fuch fervice in the different
departments of phyfics, fhould have conferred upon its
author a greater degree of celebrity than he has actual¬
ly enjoyed. His name has fcarcely been enrolled in
the temple of fame, but jutlice may yet be done to the
memory of fuch an ingenious man. He bad likewife
the merit of illuflrating other parts of ftatics; and he
appears to have been the firff who, without the aid of
the properties of the lever, difeovered the laws of equi¬
librium in bodies placed on an inclined plane. His
works were reprinted in the Dutch language in 1605.
They were tranflated into Latin in 1608, and into
trench in 1634 ; and in thefe editions of his works his
Statics w'ere enlarged by an appendix, in which he
treats of the rope machine, and on pulleys adfing ob-
Lucas Va- I’Tiely.
'lerimwrites 7* doctrine of tire centre of gravity, wdiich had
on the cen-been applied by Archimedes only to plane furfaces,
treot gra- was' now extended by Lucas Valerius to folid bodies.
In his work entitled De Centro Graviton's Solidorum
Liber, publifhed at Bologna in 1661, he has difeufled
this fubjeCI with fuch ability, as to receive from Gali¬
leo the honourable appellation of the Novus nojlrce
Difeoveries <£tat^s Archimedes.
of Galileo. 8. In the hands of Galileo the fcience of mechanics
Born 15154. affumed a new form. In 1572 he wrote a fmall treatife
Died xCiqa. on which he reduced to this principle, that it
requires an equal power to raife two different bodies to
altitudes in the inverfe ratio of their weights, or that
the fame power is requifite to raife 10 pounds to the
height of 100 feet, and 20 pounds to the height of 50
feet. This fertile principle was not purfued by Galileo
to its different confequences. It wTas left to Defcartes
to apply it to the determination of the'equilibrium of
machines, which he did in his explanation of machines
and engines, without acknowledging his obligations to
the Tufcan philofopher. In addition to this new prin¬
ciple, Galileo enriched mechanics with his theory of lo¬
cal motion. E his great difeovery has immortalized its
author j and w'hether we confider its intrinfic value, or
the change which it produced on the pbyfical fciences,
we are led to regard it as nearly of equally importance
3
M E C H A N 1 C S.
Hi ft of v<
vity of fo-
lids.
J66x.
with the theory of univeral gravitation, to which it
paved the way, The firii hints of this new theory
were given in his SYSTEMA CoSMICUM, Dialogus II.
The fubjeft was afterwards fully difeuffed in another,
entitled Difcurfus ct Dcmonjlraticnes Mathematicce cir- i638"
ca duas novas Scientias pertinences ad Mechanicam et
Motum Localcm, and publifhed in 1638. This work is
divided into four dialogues 5 the firft of which treats of
the refiilance of folid bodies before they are broken :
The fecond points out the caufe of the cohefxon of folids.
In the third he difeuffes his theory of local motions,
comprehending thofe which are equable, and thofe
which are uniformly accelerated. In the fourth he
treats of violent motion, or the motion of proje£liles ;
and in an appendix to the work he demonftrates feveral
propolitions relative to the centre of gravity of folid
bodies. In the firtt of thefe dialogues he has founded his
reafoning on principles which are far from being correbf,
but he has been more fuccefsful in the other three. In
the third dialogue, which contains his celebrated
theory, he difeuffes the doftrine of equable motions in
fix theorems, containing the different relations between
the velocity of the moving body, the Ipace which it
deferibes, and the time employed in its defeription.
In the fecond part of the dialogue, which treats of ac¬
celerated motion, he confiders all bodies as heavy, and
compofed of a number of parts which are alfo heavy. »
, Hence he concludes that the total weight of the body
is proportional to the number of the material particles
of which it is compofed, and then reafons in the follow-
ing manner. As the weight of a body is a power al¬
ways the fame in quantity, and as it conftantly afts
without interruption, the body muff be continually re¬
ceiving from it equal impulfes in equal and fuccellive
inftants of time. When the body is prevented from
falling by being placed on a table, its weight is in-
ceffantly impelling it downwards, but thefe impulfes
are inceffantly deltroyed by the refiitance of the table
which prevents it from yielding to them. But where
the body falls freely, the impulfes which it perpetually
receives are perpetually accumulating, and remain in
the body unchanged in every refped excepting the di¬
minution which they experience from the refiftance of
air. It therefore follows, that a body falling freely
is uniformly accelerated, or receives equal increments
of velocity in equal times. Having eftablifhed this as a
definition, he then demonftrates, that the time in which
any fpace is deferibed by a motion uniformly accelerat¬
ed from reft, is equal to the time in which the fame
fpace would be deicribed by an uniform equable motion '
with half the final velocity of the accelerated motion j
and that in every motion uniformly accelerated from
reft, the fpaces deferibed are in the duplicate ratio of
the times of defeription. After having proved thefe
theorems, he applies the doeftrine with great fuccefs to
the afeent and defeent of bodies on inclined planes.
9. The theory of Galileo wras embraced by his pu- Labours of
pil Toricelli, who illuftrated and extended it in his ^°ncelIi*
excellent work entitled De motu gravium naturaliter 1 44‘
accelerato, publifhed in 1644. In his treatife De motu
projedlorum, publifhed in the Florentine edition of his
wmrks, in 1664, he has added feveral new and import¬
ant propofitions to thofe wdiich were given by his mafter
on the motion of projeftiles. I t' f
10. It was sft>out this time that fteam began to be the^fteam
employed engine.
M E C H
Hiftory. employed as the firft mover of machinery. This great
v difcoverv has been afcribed by the Englilh to the mar¬
quis of Worcefter, and to Papin by the French 5 but
it is almol! certain, that about 34 years before the date
of the marquis’s invention, and about 61 years before
the conrtru£lion of Papin’s digefter, fleam was employ¬
ed as the impelling power of a ftamping engine by one
Brancas an Italian, who publifhed an account of his
invention in 1629. It is extremely probable, however,
that the marquis of Worcefter had never feen the w7ork
of Brancas, and that the fire-engine w7hich he mentions
in his Century of Inventions wTas the refult of his own
ingenuity. The advantages of fleam as an impel¬
ling power being thus knowm, the ingenious Captain
Savary invented an engine which raifed w'ater by the
expanfion and condenfation of fleam. Several engines of
this conftruftion were a£lually ere£led in England and
France, but they wrere incapable of railing water from
depths which exceeded 35 feet. The fleam-engine re¬
ceived great improvements from our countrymen New¬
comen, Brighton, and Blakey j but it was brought to
its prefent ftate of perfeflion by Mr Watt of Birming¬
ham, one of the moft accomplifhed engineers of the
prefent age. Hitherto it had been employed merely as
a hydraulic machine for draining mines or railing wa¬
ter, but in confequence of Mr Watt’s improvements it
has long been ufed as the impelling pow7er of almoft
every fpecies of machinery. It is a curious circum-
flance, that the fleam-engine was not only invented,
but has received all its improvements, in our own
country.
D'fc ver'es II* ^ucce^s Galileo in inveftigating the doc-
of Huygens. tr^ne rectilineal motion, induced the illuftrious Huy-
167$. gens to turn his attention to curvilineal motion. In
his celebrated work De Horologia Ofcillatorio, publilh-
ed in 1673, he has Ihown that the velocity of a heavy
body defeending along any curve, is the fame at every
inftant in the direction of the tangent, as it would have
been if it had fallen through a height equal to the cor-
refponding vertical abfeifs; and from the application of
this principle to the reverfed cycloid with its axis verti¬
cal, he difeovered the ifochronifm of the cycloid, or
that a heavy body, from whatever part of the cycloid
it begins to fall, always arrives at the lowrer point of
the curve in the fame fpace of time. By thefe difeuf-
fions, Huygens was gradually led to his beautiful theo¬
ry of central forces in the circle. This theory may be
applied to the motion of a body in any curve, by con-
fidering all curves as compofed of an infinite number of
fmall arcs of circles of different radii, which Huygens
had already done in his theory of evolutes. The theo¬
rems of Huygens concerning the centrifugal force and
circular motions, were publiihed without demonftrations.
They were firft demonftrated by Dr Keill at the end of
his Introdu&ion to Natural Philofophy. The demon-
ftrations of Huygens, however, which w7ere more prolix
than thofe of the Englilh philofopher, were afterwards
given in his polthumous works.
12. About this time the true laws of collifion or per-
cuflion w7ere feparately difeovered by Wallis, Huygens,
and Sir Chriftopher Wren in 1661, without having the
leaft communication with each other. They were
tranfmitted to the Royal Society of London in
1668, and appeared in the 43d and 46th numbers of
their Tranfaftions. The rules given by Wallis and
Vol. XIII. Part I.
1700.
The laws of
collifion
fi! [covered
by Wallis,
Huygens,
and Wren.
1661.
A N I C S.
Wren are publilhed in N° 43, pp. 864 and S67, and
thofe of Huygens in N° 46, p. 927. The founda¬
tion of all their folutions is, that in the mutual collifion
of bodies, the abfolute quantity of motion of the centre
of gravity is the fame after impaft as before it, and that
when the bodies are elaftic, the refpeftive velocity is the
fame after as before the Ihock.—We are indebted like-
*wife to Sir Chriftopher Wren for an ingenious method
of demonftrating the laws of impulfion by experiment.
He fufpended the impinging bodies by threads of equal
length, fo that they might touch each other when at
reft. When the two bodies were feparated from one
another, and then allowed to approach by their own
gravity, they impinged againft each other when they
arrived at the pofitions w7hich they had when at reft,
and their velocities w7ere proportional to the chords of
the arches through which they had fallen. Their ve¬
locities after impact were alfo meafured by the chords
of the arches through which the ftroke Vad forced
them to afeend, and the refults of the experiments coin¬
cided exactly w ith the deduftions of theory. The laws
of percuflion w7ere afterwards more fully inveftigated by
Huygens, in his pofthumous work De Motu Corporum
ex Percufjione, and by Wallis in his Mechanica, pub-
liflied in 1670.
13. The attention of philofophers was at this time di-Mechanical
refled to the tw7o mechanical problems propofed by problems
Merfennus in 1635* The firft of thefe problems w7as Propcfeil by
to determine the centre of ofcillation in a compound ^er!ennus*
pendulum, and the fecond to find the centre of percuf-
fion of a fingle body, or a fyftem of bodies turning
round a fixed axis. The centre of ofcillation is that
point in a compound pendulum, or a fyftem of bodies
moving round a centre, ,in which, if a fmall body were
placed and made to move round the fame centre, it
would perform its ofcillations in the fame time as the
fyftem of bodies. The centre of percuflion, which is
fituated in the fame point of the fyftem as the centre of
ofcillation, is that point of a body revolving or vibrat¬
ing about an axis, w7hfch being ftruck by an immove¬
able obftacle, the whole of its motion is deitroyed.
Thefe two problems were at firft difeuffed by Defcartes ip;yg.cns
and Roberval, but the methods which they employed f0.ves the
w7ere far from being correft. The firft folution of the problem of
problem on the centre of ofcillation was given by Huy-tfie tre
gens. He affumed as a principle, that if feveral weights °fo“lcllla"
attached to a pendulum ddeended by the force of gra¬
vity, and if at any inftant the bodies w7ere detached
from one another, and each afeended with the velocitv
it had acquired by its fall, they would rife to fuch a
height that the centre of gravity of the fyftem in that
ftate would defeend to the fame height as that from
which the centre of gravity of the pendulum had de-
feended. The folution founded on this principle, which
was not derived from the fundamental laws of mecha¬
nics, did not at firft meet with the approbation of phi-
lolophers j but it was afterwards demonftrated in the
cleareft manner, and now forms the principle of the
confervation of aftive forces.—The problem of the
centre of percuflion was not attended with fuch difficul¬
ties. Several incomplete folutions of it w7ere given by
different geometers ; but it w7as at laft refolved in an
accurate and general manner by James Bernouilli by
the principle of the lever. Works of
14. In 1666, a treatife De Vi PercuJRonis, was pub-Bt ell!-
G lifted
MECHANICS.
1-6 S 6.
Labours of
’Varignou.
Parent on
the maxi¬
mum effedt
cfmachines.
* Mem. de
VAcad^
*7°4'
De la Hire
writes on
the teeth of
wheels.
lidied by J. Alpbonfo Borelli, and in 1686, another work,
De Motionibus Naturalibus a Gravitate Pendentibus; but
he added nothing to the fcience of mechanics. His in¬
genious work, De Motu Animalium, however, is en¬
titled to great praife, for the beautiful application which
it contains of the laws of Katies to explain the various
motions of living agents.
15. The application of Katies to the equilibrium of
machines, was firK made by Varignon in his Project of
a new SyKem of Mechanics, publilhed in 1687. The
fubjedt was afterwards completely difeufled in his Nou-
velle Mecanique, a pcKhumous work publilhed in 1725-
In this work are given the firK notions of the celebrated
principle of virtual velocities, from a letter of John
Bernouilli’s to Varignon in 1717. The virtual velo¬
city of a body is the infinitely fmall fpace, through
which the body excited to move has a tendency to
deferibe in one inKant of time. This principle has
been fuccirsfully applied by Varignon to the equilibri¬
um of all the fimple machines. The refiKance of folids,
which was firK treated by Galileo, was difeufled more
corre£Hy by Leibnitz in the Adla Eruditorum for 1687.
In the Memoirs of the Academy for 1702, Varignon
has taken up the fubjedt, and rendered the theory much
more univerfal.
16. An important flep in the conflrudtion of machin¬
ery was about this time made by Parent. He remark¬
ed in general that if the parts of a machine, are fo arran¬
ged, that the velocity of the impelling pow7er becomes
greater or lefs according as the weight put in motion
becomes greater or lefs, there is a certain propor¬
tion between the velocity of the impelling power, and
that of the weight to be moved, which renders the ef-
fedl of the machine a maximum or a minimum *. He
then applies this principle to underlhot wheels, and
Ihorvs that a maximum effedf wdll be produced when
the velocity of the Kream is equal to thrice the velocity
of the wheel. In obtaining this conelufion, Parent fup-
pofed that the force of the current upon the wheel is in
the duplicate ratio of the relative velocity, which is
true only when a Angle floatboard is impelled by the
W’ater. But when more floatboards than one are added
upon at the fame time, it is obvious that the momentum
of the water is diredlly as the relative velocity ; and by
making this fubKitution in Parent’s demonflration, it
will be found that a maximum effedf is produced wdien
the velocity of the current is double that of the wheel.
This refult was firK obtained by the Chevalier Borda,
and has been amply confirmed by the experiments of
Smeaton. (See Hydrodynamics, $. 279, 280, 281)
The principle of Parent was alfo applied by him to the
conKrudtion of windmills. It had been generally fup-
pofed that the moK efficacious angle of wreather was
45°j but it was demonKrated by the French philofo-
pher that a maximum efledf is produced when the fails
are inclined 54-y degrees to the axis of rotation, or,
when the angle of wreather is 35degrees. This con-
clufion, however, is fubjedl to modifications which will
be pointed out in a fubfequent part of this article.
17. The Trade de Mecanique of De la Hire, publifh-
ed feparately in 1695, and in the 9th volume of the
Memoirs of the French Academy from 1666 to 1699,
contains the general properties of the mechanical powers,
and the defeription of feveral ingenious and ufeful ma¬
chines. But it is chiefly remarkable for the Trade
dcs Epicycloides, which is added to the edition publiffi- Hiflory.
ed in the Memoirs ol the Academy. In his intereKing
treatife, De la Hire confiders the genefis and properties
of exterior and interior epicycloids, and demonKrates,
that when one wheel is employed to drive another, the
one will move fometimes w'ith greater and fometimes with
lefs force, and the other wdll move fometimes with
greater and fometimes with lefs velocity, unleis the teeth
of one or both of the wheels be parts of a curve gener¬
ated like an epicycloid. The fame truth is applicable
to the formation of the teeth of rackwork, the arms of
levers, the wipers of Hampers, and the lifting cogs of
forge hammers; and as the epicycloidal teeth when pro¬
perly formed roll upon one another without much fric¬
tion, the motion of the machine will be uniform and
pleafant, its communicating parts will be prevented from
wearing, and there will be no unneceflary wade of the
impelling power. Although De la Hire wTas the firft
who publiffied this important difeovery, yet the honour ^i!c0T
• • ■ ^ j • j yery op cDi1®
of it is certainly due to Olaus Roemer, the celebrated
Danifh aKronomer, who difeovered the fucceffive pro- teeth firft
pagation of light. It is exprefsly Kated by Leibnitz *,made by
in his letters to John Bernouilli, that Roemer commu-K‘oemer‘
nicated to him the difeovery 20 years before the pub- * Mfcel-
lication of De la Hire’s work ; but Kill we have no
ground for believing that De la Hire was guilty of pla-p. ^15 ^IC*
giarifm. Roemer’s refearches were not publiihed ; and
from the complete difeuffion which the fubjeCt has re¬
ceived from the French philofopher, it is not unlikely
that he had the merit of being the lecond inventor.
Even Camus f, who about 40 years afterwards gave z^Cot/rs~dc
complete and accurate theory of the teeth of wheels, Mathema-
was unacquainted with the pretenfions of Roemer, and tiyue, Liv.
aferibes the difeovery to De la Hire. x- et X1,
18. The publication of Newton’s Principia contri-DKcovenes
buted greatly to the progrefs of mechanics. His dif-0^ ^,ewt011*
coveries concerning the curvilineal motion of bodies,
combined with the theory of univerfal gravitation, ena¬
bled philofophers to apply the icience ot mechanics to
the phenomena of the heavens, to afeertain the law of
the force by which the planets are held in their orbits,
and to compute the various irregularities in the folar
fyHem, which arife from the mutual a6tion of the bo¬
dies which compofe it. The Mecanique Celejle of Ea
Place will be a Handing monument of the extenfion
which mechanics has received front, the theory of gravity.
The important mechanical principle of the confervation
of the motion of the centre of gravity is alio due to
Newton. He has demonftrated in his Principia, that
the Kate of the centre of gravity of feveral bodies, whe¬
ther in a Kate of reK or motion, is not affedfed by the
reciprocal a6tion of thefe bodies, whatever it may be, fo
that the centre of gravity of the bodies which a6t upon
one another, either by the intervention of levers, or by
the laws of attraction, will either remain at reK, or
move uniformly in a right line.
19. We have already feen that the principle of theprjnc;p|e 0f
confervation of aCtive forces was difeovered by Huygens the confer-
when he folved the problem of the centre of ofcillation. vat|on
The principle alluded to, confiKs in this that in all the
adtions of bodies upon each other, whether that aCtion covered by-
con frits in the percuffion of elaKic bodies, or is commu- Huygens,
nicated from one body to another by threads or inflexi¬
ble rods, the fums of the mafles multiplied by the fquares
of the abfolute velocities remain always the fame.
This
MECHANICS.
51
* Mem. de
A' Acad.
Berlin,
1748.
Hlftoiy. This important law is eafily deducible from two limpler
jaws admitted in mechanics. 1. That in the collifion
of elaftic bodies, their refpedlive velocities remain the
fame after impa£t as they were before it; and 2. That
the quantity of a61ion, or the produff of the mafles of
the impinging bodies, multiplied by the velocity of their
centre of gravity, is the fame after as before impaff.
The principle of the confervation of aflive forces, was
regarded by its inventor only as a limple mechanical
Rendered theorem. John Bernouilli, however, confiidered it as a
general by general law of nature, and applied it to the folution of
Daniel Ber-j’gygj-ft’ problems which could not be refolved by direfl
nouilli. roethods ; but his fon Daniel deduced from it the laws
of the motion of fluids from veflels, a fubjeft which had
been formerly treated in a very vague manner. He
afterwards rendered the principle more general *, and
{bowed how it could be applied to the motion of bodies
influenced by their mutual attraffions, or folicited to¬
wards fixed centres by forces proportional to any func¬
tion of the diftance.
Daniel Ber- 2o. After the parallelogram of forces had been in-
other philo tr°duced into ftatics by Stevinus, it was generally ad-
fophers de- fitted upon the fame demonftration which was given for
monftrate the compofition of motion. The firfi: complete demon-
the paral- ftration was given by Daniel Bernouilli in the Commen-
^°^am taries of Peterlhurgh for 1726, independent of the con-
fideration of compound motion. This demonftration,
W'hich was both long and abftrufe, was greatly fimpli-
fied by D’Alembert in the Memoirs of the Academy
for 1769. Fonfeneix and Riccati have given a very in¬
genious one in the Memoirs of the Academy of Turin
for 1761. This was alfo improved by D’Alembert,
who gave another in the fame Memoirs, and a third in
his Traite de Dynamique, publifhed in 1743. Dr Ro-
bifon * has combined the demonftrations of Bernouilli
and D’Alembert with one by Frifi, and produced one
that is more expeditious and Ample. La Place has
likewife given a demonftration of the parallelogram of
forces in his Mecanique Selejle.
Difpute 21. About the beginning of the 18th century, the
nieafure'of ce^e^rate<^ difpute about the meafure of active forces
active was keenly agitated among philofophers. The firft
forces. fpark of this war, which for 40 years England main¬
tained fingle-handed againft all the genius of the conti¬
nent, was excited by Leibnitz. In the Leipfic a<5ts
for 1686, he aflerted that Defcartes was miftaken in
making the force of bodies proportional to their Ample
velocity, and maintained that it followed the ratio of
the fquare of the velocity. He fhewed, that a body,
with a velocity of two feet, acquires the power of rai-
fing itfelf to a height four times as great as that to
which a body could rife with a velocity of only one
foot ; and hence he concludes, that the force of that
body is as the fquare of its velocity. The abbe de Co-
tilon, a zealous Cartefian, allowed the premifes of
Leibnitz, but denied his conclufion. The body, faid
he, which moves with a velocity of two feet, will cer¬
tainly rife to quadruple the height of another body that
has only the velocity of one foot j but it will take
twice the time to rife to that height, and a quadruple
effeft, in a double time, is not a quadruple force, but
only a double one. The theory of Leibnitz was fup-
ported by John Bernouilli, Herman, Gravefende, Muf-
c.henbroeck, Poleni, Wolff, and Bulfingerj and the opi¬
nion of Defcartes by Maclaurin, Stirling, Clarke, De-
* Si/p.En
tycl. §
’namics.
faguliers, and other Englifti philofophers. The quef- Hiftory.
tion was at laft involved in metapbyfical reafoning; and
if the difpute did terminate in favour of either party,
the Englilh philofophers were certainly viilorious. It
appears, in the cleared: manner, that the force of a
moving body, indicated by the fpace which it defcribes,
is as the Ample velocity, if we conAder the fpace as de-
fcribed in a determinate time j but it is as the fquare of
the velocity, if we do not eonfider the time in which the
fpace is defcribed. The queftion, therefore, comes to
be this : In eftimating the forces of bodies in motion,
ought we to take time into confideration ? If, with the
followers of Leibnitz, we rejedt this element, then we
may maintain that the force of a child is equal to that
of a man carrying a load, becaule the child is alfo ca¬
pable of carrying the fame load, though in fmall parts
and in a greater length of time.
22. In 1743, D’Alembert publifhed his Traite' deQ'Alem-
Dynamique, founded upon a new principle in mecha-bsrt’s prin-
nics. This principle was firft employed by James Ber-cipk of ^7-
nouilli in his folution of the problem of the centre of <1
ofcillation 5 but D’Alembert had the honour of genera-
lifing it, and giving it all that fimplicity and fertility
of which it was fufceptible. He fhowed, that in what¬
ever manner the bodies of one fyftem adl upon another,
their motions may always be decompofed into two
others at every inftant, thofe of the one being deftroy-
ed the inftant following, and thofe of the other retain¬
ed, and that the motions retained are neceffarily known
from the conditions of equilibrium between thofe which
are deftroyed. This principle is evidently a confe-
quence of the laws of motion and equilibrium, and has
the advantage of reducing all the problems of dynamics
to pure geometry and the principles of ftatics. By
means of it D’Alembert has refolved a number of beau¬
tiful problems which had efcaped his predeceffors, and
particularly that of the preceflion of the equinoxes,
which had occupied the attention of Newton. In his
Traite de Dynamique, D’Alembert has likewife reduced
the whole of mechanics to three principles, the force of
inertia, compound motion, and equilibrium 5 and has il-
luftrated his views on this fubject by that profound and
luminous reafoning which charadlerifes all his writ-
ingS*
23. Another general principle in dynamics was Euler,
about this time difcovered feparately by Euler, Daniel
Bernouilli, and the chevalier D’Arcy, and received the ™ArCy &di{-
name of the confervation of the momentum of rotatory cover the
motion. According to the two firft philofophers, the conferva-
principle may be thus defined : In the motion of feve-tlon 0* ft16
ral bodies round a fixed centre, the fum of the products
of the mafs of each body multiplied by the velocity of motion. *
its motion round the centre, and by its diftance from
that centre, is always independent of the mutual adlion 174(7.
which the bodies may exert upon each other, and al¬
ways preferves itfelf the fame, provided the bodies are
not influenced by any external caule. This principle
was given by Daniel Bernouilli in the Memoirs of the
Academy of Berlin for 1746 5 and in the fame year by
Euler in the firft: volume of his works. They were
both led to the difcovery, while inveftigating the mo¬
tion of feveral bodies in a tube of a given form, and
which can only turn round a fixed point. The princi¬
ple difcovered by the chevalier D’Arcy was given in a
memoir dated 1746, and publiftied in the Memoirs of
G 2 tbf
5 2
M E C H A N I C S,
Hiftory.
The prin-
ciple of
lea ft a<fllon
propofetl by
Mauper-
tuis.
* Mem. A-
cad. Paris
1744, and
Mem. A-
cad Berlin
1746.
guler and
Lagrange
generalize
the prin¬
ciple of
^daupertms
•f* Me ra¬
ni ave A-
nalytique,
p. z?p,
1788.
Labours of
Segner.
3765,
the xicademy for 1747. He fnewed, that the fum of the
produ&s of the mafs of each body by the area which its
radius ve&or defcribes round a fixed point, is always
proportional to the times. The identity of this princi¬
ple, which is a generalifation of Newton’s theorem
about the areas defcribed by the planetary bodies, with
that of Euler and Bernouilli, will be eafily perceived,
if we confider that the element of the circular arc, di¬
vided by the element of the time, expreiTes the velocity
of circulation, and that the element of the circular arc,
multiplied by the didance from the centre, gives the
element of the area defcribed round that centre j fo
that the principle of Euler is only a differential expref-
fion of the principle of D’Arcy, which he afterwards
expreffed in this form, that the fum of the produfts of
the maflfes of each body by their velocities, and by the
perpendiculars drawn from the centre to their lines of
dire£lion, is a conftant quantity.
24. The principle of leaf! adiion, which was firfl:
propofed by Maupertuis in 1744, confifts in this, that
when feveral bodies, acting upon one another, experi¬
ence any change in their motion, this change is always
fuch, that the quantity of adtion (or the produdt of the
mafs by the fpace and the velocity) employed by na¬
ture to produce it, is the leaft poflible. From this
principle Maupertuis deduced the laws of the refledtion
and refraction of light, and thofe of the collifion of bo¬
dies *. He afterwards extended its application to the
laws of motion, and made the principle fo general as to
comprehend the law's of equilibrium, the uniform mo¬
tion of the centre of gravity in the percuffion of bodies,
and the confervation of adtive forces. This celebrated
principle w'as attacked by Koenig, profeffor of mathe¬
matics at the Hague, in the Leipfic adls for 1751,
who not only attempted to (hew its falfity, but afferted
that Leibnitz bad firft defcribed it in 1707 in a letter
to Herman. The paper of Koenig gave rife to a long
and violent difpute about the accuracy of the principle,
and the authenticity of the letter of Leibnitz. The
academy of Berlin interfered in behalf of their prefi-
dent, and gave importance to a controverfy which
was too perfonal to merit the attention which it re¬
ceived.
25. In his Traite des If'jperimetries, printed at Lau-
fanne in I744> Euler extended the principle of leaft
adlion, and ftiewed, “ that in the trajedlories defcribed
by means of central forces, the integral of the velocity
multiplied by the element of the curve, is either a
maximum or a minimum.'1' This remarkable property,
which Euler recognifed only in the cafe of infulated
bodies, was generalifed by Lagrange into this new
principle, “ that the fum of the produdhs of the maffes
by the integrals of the velocities, multiplied by the ele¬
ments of the fpaces defcribed, is always a maximum or
a minimum.” In the memoirs of Turin, Lagrange has
employed this principle to refolve feveral difficult pro¬
blems in dynamics ; and he has ffiewn f, that when it
is combined with the conlervation of adtive forces, and
developed according to the rules of his method of varia¬
tions, it furnifties diredlly all the equations neceffary for
the folution of each problem, and gives rife to a fimple
and general method of treating the various problems
concerning the motion of bodies.
26. An important difcovery in rotatory motion, w7as
at this time made by Profeffor Segner. In a paper,
entitled Specimen '1 neorice Turiinum, he demonHrated, Hiftory.
that if a body of any form or magnitude, after it has
received rotatory motions in all diredtions, be left en¬
tirely to itfelf, it will always have three principal axes of
of rotation j or, in other words, all the rotatory motions
with which it is aftedied, may be reduced "to three,
which are performed round three axes, perpendicular to
each, palling through the centre of gravity of the re¬
volving body, and preFerving the fame polition in abfo-
lute fpace, while the centre of gravity is either at reft
or moving uniformly in a flraigbt line.
27. The force of torfion began at this time to be in-r ,
veftigated by Coulomb, who publilhed tw'o ingenious
papers on the fubjedf, in the Memoirs of the French into the
Academy. He has fuccefsfully employed this principle f°rce
in feveral phyfical refearches, but particularly in deter-torfion'
mining the law of magnetic adHon, and in finding the
laws of the refiftance of fluids when the motions are ex¬
tremely flow *. It was by means of an elegant experi- ^
ment on the principle of torfion that Mr Cavendiffi dl,
determined the mutual attraction of two maffes of lead, Nat.
and thence deduced the mean denfity of the earth.— tom. iii.p.
We are alfo indebted to Coulomb for a complete fet of
experiments oh the nature and effedls of fridtion. By
employing large bodies and ponderous weights, andAnc,.‘nto
conducting his experiments on a large fcale, he has^
corredted errors wffiich neceffarily arofe from the limit-0 n 1 ^
ed experiments of preceding writers; he has brought
to light many new and interefting fadts, and confirmed
others which had hitherto been partially eftablifhed.
The moft curious refult of thefe experiments Ts the ef-
fedt of time in increafing the fridtion between twro fur-
faces. In fome cafes the fridtion reaches its maximum
after the rubbing furfaces have remained in contadt for
one minute $ and in other cafes five or fix days wTere
neceffary before this effedt was produced. The in-
creafc of fridtion, which is generated by prolonging
the time of contadt, is fo great, that a body, weighing
1650 pounds, was moved with a force of 64 pounds
when firft laid upon the correfponding furface. After
remaining in contadt: for the fpace of three feconds,
100 pounds were neceffary to put it in motion ; and
when the time was prolonged to fix days, it could
fcarcely be moved with a power of 622 pounds f. p^Nenteis^
28. One of the moft important treaties on the fei-
ence of motion is the Mechanics of the celebrated Eu¬
ler, publilhed in 1736. It contains the whole theory Works on
of redtilineal and curvilineal motion in an infulated mechanics,
body, affedted by any accelerating forces, either in va¬
cuo or in a refilling medium. He uniformly ufes
the analytical method, and has employed the principle
of the vis inertice, and that of compdund motion, for
putting his problems into equations. By the vis iner-
tice, motion is at every moment of time redlilineal and Euler’s me-
uniformj and by the principle of compound motion, achanics'
body, expofed to the adtion of any number of forces,
tending to alter the quantity and the diredlion of its
motion, will move in fuch a diredtion as to reach the
very point at which it would have arrived, had it
obeyed fucceffively each of the forces which adt upon
it.— In the Mecanique Anahjtique of Lagrange, pub-Lagrange’s
lilhed in 1788, all the mechanical problems are redu-Meca'
ced to general formulae, which, being developed, fur-fytigue.^"
niffi us with the equations that are neceffary for the fo- "
lution of each problem j and the different principles
which ^
Theory.
Prony’s
Architec¬
ture Hy-
draultque
and Meca
nique Phi
lojopkique
which have been difcoveved for facilitating the folutions
of mechanical quedions, are brought under one point
of view, and their conneaion and dependence clearly
pointed out. The Architeciure Hy dr antique, by M.
Prony, publUhed in 1790, and t\iz Mecanique l/nto-
fophique, of the fame author, publUhed in 1799) c^n'
tains all the late improvements in mechanics, and a
complete view both of the theory and application of
that fcience. The firft: of thefe works is intended
chiefly for the ufe of the engineer, though an exten-
' five acquaintance with the higher geometry is nece.-
fary for perufing it with advantage. _ His Mecamque
Philofophique is a profound work, in which, without the
aid of a fingle diagram, he gives all the formulae, and
the various theorems and problems which belong to the
fcknces of mechanics and hydrodynamics. Every al-
mechanics. . . . , -,
ternate page contains a methodical table of tne relults
obtained in the preceding page, the defcription of the
fymbols, and the theorems, problems, and formulae
which may have been obtained.— 1 he Iraite de Me-
canique Elcmentaire, by M. Franceur, publiflied in
1802 in one volume octavo, is an excellent abridge-
ment of the works of Prony, and is intended as an in¬
troduction to the Mecanique Philofaphique of that au¬
thor, to the Mecanique Analytique of Lagrange, and
to the Mecanique Celejie of Laplace. None ot thele
works have been tranilated into Englilh *, but their
place is well fupplied by a Treatife on Mechanics
Theoretical, Pra&ical, and Defcriptive, by Ountnus
Gregory, A. M. publiflied in 1806, and containing a
complete view of the latell improvements, both in the
theory and practice of mechanics.
PART I. THEORY OF MECHANICS.
_ , r 20. the theory of mechanics properly compre-
theorftkal. hends, 1. Dynamics. 2. The motion of projeftiles.
mechanics. 1. The theory of ample machines, or the mechanical
powers. 4. The theory of compound machines, and
their maximum effbas. 5. The doctrine of the centre
of gravity. 6. The centre of ofeiliation, gyration, etc.
7. 'The collifion of bodies. 8. The theory of rotation.
9. The theory of torfion. 10. The ftrength of materi¬
als j and, xi. The equilibrium of arche-, domes.— 1 he
fubjeds of Dynamics, Projectiles, Rotation, and
Strength of Materials having been already a > y
treated by Dr Robifon, under their refpeftive heads,
we {hall now dired the attention of the reader to the
other branches of theoretical mechanics.
Chap. I. On Simple Machines, or the Mechanical
Powers.
Divifion of
machines
into Ample
and com¬
pound.
ao. The fimple machines have been generally rec¬
koned fix in number. 1. The lever ; 2. The wheel
and axle, or axis in peritrocluo ; 3. The puney 5 4.
The inclined plane •, 5. The wedge j and, 6. i he
ferew : to which fome writers on mechanics have added
the balance, and others the rope-machine. It is evi¬
dent, however, that all thefe machines may be reduced
to three, the lever, the inclined plane, and the rope-
machine. The pulley, and the wheel and axle, are ob-
vioufly compofed of an affemblage of levers ; the ba¬
lance is a lever with equal arms ; the wedge, is compo¬
fed of two inclined planes, with their bafes in contact j
and the [crew is either a wedge or an inclined plane,
wrapped round a cylinder.—Under the head of fimple
machines, therefore, we cannot, in Itridt propriety, in¬
clude any of the mechanical powers, excepting the le¬
ver, the inclined plane, and the rope-machine. \
Definitions.
31. Def. I. When two forces aa againfi each other
Definitions, by the intervention of a machine, the one force is call¬
ed the power, and the other the weight. The weight
is the refiltance to be overcome, or the effea to be pro¬
duced. The power is the force, whether animate or
inanimate, which is employed to overcome that refift-
ance, or to produce the required effea.
3 2. Def. 2. The power and weight are faid to ba¬
lance each Other, or to be in equilibrio, when the ef¬
fort of the one to produce motion in one direaion, is
equal to the effort of the other to produce motion in
the oppofite direaion ;—or when the. weight oppoies
that degree of refiflance which is precifely required to
deftroy the aaion of the power.
Sect. I. On the Lever.
22. Definition. A lever is an inflexible bar or Levers di
rod moving freely round a point called its fulcrum, °r vided into ^
centre of motion. ... . , , • 1
Levers have been generally divided into three kinds.
In levers of the firft kind the fulcrum is fituated be¬
tween the power and the weight, as in fteelyards, foit-
fars, pincers, &c. Levers of the fecond kind have
the weight between the power and the fulcrum, as^n
cuttino- knives faftened at the point of the blade, and
in the oars of a boat where the water is regarded as the
fulcrum. In levers of the third kind, the power is be¬
tween the weight and the fulcrum, as in tongs, fneers
for fheep, &c. The bones of animals are generally
confidered as levers of the third kind, for the. muLies,
by the contra&ion of which the power or moving force
is generated, are fixed much nearer to the joints or cen¬
tred of motion than the centre of gravity of the weight
to be raffed. On this fubjeft, fee Paiey’s Natural
Theology, chap. 7, 8. and Borelli de Motu Amma-
lium.
Axioms.
24. Axiom i. Equal weights aSling at the eptremi- ..
ties of equal arms of a freight lever, and having the
lines of the direBion in which they a® at equal angles to
thefe arms, will exert the fame effort to turn the lever
round its fulcrum. This axiom has been generally re-
ftrifled to the particular cafe when the weights aft per¬
pendicularly to the arms of the lever •, but no reafon
can be affigned for fuch a limitation. The truth m the
axiom is 35°felt-evident when the angles formed by the
arms of the lever and the dinf&ion of the forces are 80%
as when they are 90°, for in each ca!e the two weights
* exert t
M E C H
cxeit their imluence upon the lever in precifely the
fame circumftances.
35. Axiom 2. If two equal weights are placed at
the extrem'ties of a lever fupported by two fulcra ; and
if thefe fulcra are at equal di/lances from the weights, or
the extrernities of the lever ; the preffure upon the fulcra
will be equal to the fum of the weights, and the preffure
upon each Julcrnm will be equal to one of the weights.
I he lever being fuppofed devoid of weight, it is ob¬
vious, that as each fulcrum is fimilarly fituated with re-
fpedt to both the weights, the preflure upon each mull
be equal $ and as the fulcra fupport both the equal
weights, the preffure upon each mull be equal to one of
the weights.
Proposition I.
35. If two weights or forces a&ing at equal angles
upon a ftraight lever, devoid of weight, are in
equilibrio, they are reciprocally proportional to
their diftances from the fulcrum.
37- Case i. When the weights act on contrary fides
of the fulcrum.
Let AB be a lever devoid of weight, and let it be
Plate fupported upon the two fulcra f F, fituated in fuch a
CCCXVI. manner that A/=/F=FB. Then if two equal
Jig. 1. weights C, D of one pound each are fufpended at the
extremities A, B, fo as to ad in the direftions AC,
ED, making the angles CAB, DBA equal, thefe rveights
will be in equilibrio, for fmce A/=rFB (Axiom 1.)
the effort^of the weight D to turn the lever round the
fulcrum F, will be equal to the effort of the weight C
to turn it round the fulcrum/i Now (Axiom 2.) the
preffure upon the fulcrum f is equal to one pound,
therefore if that fulcrum be removed, and a weight E
of one pound be made to aft upward at the point F,
the weights C and D will continue in equilibrio. Then
it is obvious that fmce FB=Ff the weight E of one
pound afting upwards at the point f fo that the angle
D/FrrDBA, will have the fame effeft as an equal
weight afting downwards at B. By removing the
weight E, therefore, and fufpending its equal C at the
extremity B, the equilibrium will flill be preferved.
But the weights D, C, fufpended at B, are equal to
two pounds, and the weight C is only one pound j and
as FA is double of FB, it follows that a weight of two
pounds, placed at the end of one arm of a lever, will
be .in equilibrio with a weight of one pound placed at
twice the diftance of the former from the fulcrum.
But 2 : 1=2 FB or AF ; FB, that is, when the di¬
ftances are as 2 to 1, an equilibrium takes place if
the weights are reciprocally proportional to thefe di¬
ftances.
38. Case 2. When the weights aft on the fame fide
of the fulcrum.
Fig. a. Let AB be a lever in equilibrio upon the ful¬
crum F, and let FA be equal to FB, confequently
(cafe 1.) we muft have CnDrzri pound. Now as the
fulcrum F fupports a weight equal to C-f-D=2 pounds,
the equilibrium will continue if a weight £ of two*
pounds is made to aft upwards at the point F, for in
this cafe it fupplies the place of the fulcrum. It is ob-
xious alfo that a fulcrum placed at A or B will fupply
Jfie place of the weights at thefe parts without aftefting
4
A N I C S.
the equilibrium. Let, therefore, the weight D be rfi- Theory,
moved, and let the extremity B reft upon a fulcrum ; ' "" v “
then fince the lever is in equilibrio, we have a weight
ErrC-}-D—2 pounds afting at F, and balancing a
weight C of one pound afting at A. But 2 : iznAB :
FB, confequently when there is an equilibrium between
two weights C, D afting at the diftances 2 and 1 from
the fulcrum, and on the fame fide of the fulcrum, the
weights are.reciprocally proportional to thefe diftances.
39. Again, let AB be the fame lever fupported by Fiv 1
the fulcra/ F, and let A/=FB and/F—2FB. Then *
if two weights C, D of one pound each be fufpended at
the extremities A, B, they will be in equilibrio as be¬
fore. But fince the fulcrum / fupports a preffure of
one pound (Axiom 2.), the equilibrium will ftill con¬
tinue when that fulcrum is removed and a weight of
one pound made to aft in a contrary direftion fP at
the point f fo that the angle P/F may be equal to
DBA. Now, (Axiom 1.) a weight E of one pound
afting upward at/.will be in equilibrio with a weight
E' of one pound afting downwards at/'; F/being equal
t0 L/', and therefore by removing E from the point/
and fubftituting E at the point /', an equilibrium will
ftdl obtain. But fin.ce F/—2FB a weight of one pound
fufpended from/will have the fame influence in turn¬
ing the lever round F as a weight of two pounds fuf¬
pended at B (Cafe 2.). Let us remove, therefore, the
weight E' from/', and fubftitute a weight Gr=2E', fo as
to aft at B. Then fince the equilibrium is not deftroy-
ed, we have a weight C of one pound afting at the di¬
ftance FA, and the weights D-f-G~3 pounds afting
at the diftance FB. But FAz=3FB and D + G=r3C
confequently C : D-J-G~f B : FA : That is, when the
diftances from the fulcrum are as 3 to 1, and when an
equilibrium exifts, the weights are reciprocally propor¬
tional to thefe diftances.
40. By making FA in fig. 2. equal to 2FB it may Fig- V
be fhewn, as in Cafe 2. that the weights are reciprocally
proportional to their diftances from the fulcrum, when
they aft on the fame fide of the fulcrum, and when the
diftances are as 3 to 1.
41. In the fame w'ay the demonftration maybe ex-Fig. 3.
tended to any commenfurable proportion of the arms
b7 making EA to FB in that proportion, and keeping
/A always equal to FB. Hence we may conclude in
general, that when twm weights afting at equal angles
upon a ftraight lever devoid of weight, are in equilibrio,
they are reciprocally proportional to their diftances from
the centre of motion. £. £. D.
42. Cor. 1. If two weights afting at equal angles Corollarfe*
upon the arms or a ftraight lever devoid of weight are
reciprocally proportional to their diftances from the ful¬
crum, they will be in equilibrio.
For if an equilibrium does not take place, the pro¬
portion of the weights muft be altered to procure an
equilibrium, and then, contrary to the propofition, the
weights would balance each other when they were not
reciprocally proportional to their diftances from the
fulcrum.
43. Cor. 2. If a weight W be fupported by a hori¬
zontal.lever refting on the fulcra A, B, the preffure up-Fi? d
on A is to the preffure upon B in the inverfe ratio of *
their diftances from the point where the weight is fuf¬
pended, that is, as BF to FA.
For if we fuppofe B to be the fulcrum, and if removing
the
Theory.
Fig- 5-
Fig. tf.
M E C H
the fulcrum A, we fupport the extremity A of the lever
by a weight E equivalent to the weight fuftained by
the fulcrum A, and afting upwards over the pulley P,
then the weight E or that fuftained by A : WrrBF :
BA (Prop, i.) 5 and if we conceive A to be the ful¬
crum, and fupport the extremity B by a weight F e-
qual to that which was fupported by the fulcrum B, we
ihall have the weight F or the weight fuftained by
B : W=AF : AB. Hence ex ccquo the w-eight fuf¬
tained by A is to the weight fuftained by B as BF is
to FA.
44. Cor. 3. We may now call the two weights P
and W, the power and the weight, as in fig. 5, and
fince P : W—FB : FA, we have (Geometry, Seft.
iv. Theor. 8.) PxFA=WxEB, when an equilibrium
takes place,
W x FB „T P X FA
confequently P:
FA
FA-
W=
W x FB
FB
FB=
P
P X F A
W
45. Cor. 4. We have already feen (Axiom 2.)
that when the power and the weight are on contrary
fides of the fulcrum, the preffure upon_ the fulcrum is
equal to P-f-W or the fum of the weights ; but it is
obvious that when they a<5t on the fame fide of the ful¬
crum, the preffure which it lupports will be P W", or
the difference of their weights.
46. Cor. 5. If a weight P be ftrifted along the arm
of a lever AD, the weight W, which it is capable of
balancing at A, will be proportional EA.
When the weights are in equilibrio (Cor. 3.)
W : P=FA : FB, or by alternation W : FArrP : FB,
and if w be another value of W and^'n another value
of FA, we (hall alfo have tu : V—fa : FB or w -.fa—
P : FB, confequently (Euclid, Book v. Prop. xi. and
xvi.) W’ : iu=FA :/tf, that is, W varies as FA.
Cor. 6. It is obvious that the truths in the preced¬
ing propofition and corollaries, alfo hold when the lever
has the form reprefented in figure 6. only the ftraight
lines AF, FB are in that cafe the length of the arm.
Defcription a*]. Cor. 7. Since by the laft corollary b A .fa—.
of the fteel-\y'. Wf it follows that in the Roman fat era or fee In ard,
yard or fta- js mereiy a lever with a long and (hort arm, hav¬
ing a weight moveable upon the long one, the diltances
at which the conftant weight rruft be hung are as the
weights fufpendcd from the ftiorter arm. The fteelyard
is reprerented in fig. 7. where AB is the lever with un¬
equal arms AF, FB, and F the centre of motion. The
body W, whofe w-eight is to be found, is fufpended at
the extremity B of the lever, and the conftant weight
P is moved along the divided arm FB till an equili¬
brium takes place. As foon as this happens, the num¬
ber placed at the point of fufpenfion D, indicates the
weight of the body. If the lever is devoid of weight,
it is obvious that the fcale EB wall be a fcale of equal
parts of which EB is the unit, and that the weight of
the body W will be always equal to the conftant weight
P multiplied by the number of divifions between. P and
F. Thus if the equilibrium takes place when P is pull¬
ed out to the 1 2 divifion, we ftiall have =12 P, and
if P“1 pound, W=i 2 pounds. But when the gravity
Fi£- 7-
A N I C S. 55
of the lever is confidercd, which muft be done in the Tieory. ^
real fteelyard, its arms are generally of unequal weight, J "v
and therefore the divifions of the fcale muft be afeer-
tained by experiment. In order to do this, remove the
weight P, and find the point C, at which a weight P7
equal to P being ftffpended, will keep the unequal arms
in equilibrio, C will then be the point at which the
equal divifions muft commence. For when W and P
are placed upon the fteelyard and are in equilibrio, W
balances P along with a weight which, placed at D,
would funport P placed at C: iherefore Wx BF=r
PxDF+PxCF; but PxDF+PxCF=Px DC,
confequently Wx BF=P X DC,and (Geometry, Sed.
iv. Theor. 8.) W : DCzrzP : BF. By taking different
values of the variable quantities W and DC as w and
dc, we Ihall have w : dc~V : BF, confequently
(Euclid, B. V. Prop. xi. and xvi.) W : m^:DC : dc,
that is, the weight of W varies as DC, and there¬
fore the diviftons muft commence at C. If the arm BF
had been heavier than FA, which, however, can fcarce-
ly happen in pradlice, the point C would have been
on the other fide of F. In conftru&ing fteelyards,
it might be advifable to make the unequal arms
balance each other by placing a weight M at the
extremity of the lighter arm, in which cafe the
fcale will begin at F. In the Danifh and Swedish Danifti and
fteelyard the body to be weighed and the conftant Su-dlfh
weight are fixed at the extremities of the fteelyard, butftee'Jar<h
the point of fufpenfion or centre of* motion F moves
along the lever till the equilibrium takes place. Ti e
point F then indicates the weight of the body required.—
There are fome fteelyards in which the conftant weight
is fixed to the ftrorter arm, while the body to be weigh¬
ed moves upon the longer arm. The method of divid¬
ing this and the preceding fteelyard may be feen in De
la Hire’s Traitc de Mecanique, Prop. 36, 37, 38.
Prop. II.
48. To find the condition of equilibrium on a
ftraight lever when its gravity is taken into the
account.
49. Let us fuppofe the lever to be of uniform thick-Fig. 8.
nefs and denlity, as AB, fig. 7. and let it be fufpended
by the points c, d to another lever a Z>, confidered as
without weight, fo that a cz=.cf—fd—db. Then if/
be the centre of motion or point of fufpenfion, the cy¬
linder AB will be in equilibrio ; for the weight AB
may be regarded as compofed of a number of pairs of
equal weights, equally diftant from the centre of mo¬
tion. For the fame reafon, if we conceive the cylinder
to be cut through at F the equilibrium will continue,
c, d being now the points at which the weights AF,
FB ad, and their diftances c/, d/from the centre of
motion being equal. Confequently the arms AF, FB
have the fame energy in turning the lever round/as if
weights equal to AF, FB were iufpended at the diftance
of their middle points c, d from the fulcrum.
Let P therefore, in fig. 5. be the power, W.the^.
weight, m the weight of the arm AF, and ff the weight lg‘ -
of FB. Then when there is an equilibrium we ftiall
have (Prop. I. Cor. 3.) PX AF-fX |AF=WX FB
+ « X J-FB anci fince the weight m ading at half the
diftance AF is the fame as half the weight m, ading at
Theory, the whole diflance AF, we may fubftitutew x AF
— jnftead of m X 4 AF, and the equation becomes
iM-1 m'x AF—W:X FB. Hence
W+4« X FB
P"" AF '
W:
P4-i« X AF ,
-      ~Z 71
FB
MECHANICS:
Hence AE x F/« = BK X F/i, and AE: BK or P : W Theory.
~F«: Ffw. E. D. .
53. Cor. 1. The forces P and W are reciprocally
proportional to the fines of the angles which their di-FlS- 1- & 2-
redlions make with the arms of the lever, for 1 m is
evidently the line of the angle FA wz, and F n the fine
of the angle FB«, FA, FB being made the radii ;—
therefore P : W — Sm. FB n : Sm. FA or I : W
, m
W + i» X 'iFB
m=:
— 2P
 AF
x ?AF _2tvV
FB
AF=
W+4« XFB
FB:
Sin. FA»z ’ Sin. FB«
Sin. FA77?, we have Ymzz:
Since F A : F /» zz Rad.
FA X Sin. FA777
Rati.
and lince
FB X Sin.FErz’
Rad.
P-j-4"z
P-f l/TZ X ^F
W
50. Cor. If the arms of the lever are not of uniform
deniity and thicknefs, inftead of the diftar.ee of their
middle points, we muft take the diftance of their centre
of gravity from the fulcrum.
Prop. III.
r j, If two forces a£Ung in any dire&ion, and in
the fame plane, upon a lever of any form, are
in equilibrio, they will be reciprocally propor¬
tional to the perpendiculars let fall from the
fulcrum upon the dire£tions in which they aft.
52. Let AFB be a lever of any form, F its fulcrum,
Plate ^ points to which the forces, or the power P and
CCGXVIL w ’ t are and AE, BK the direftions in
*‘S' which thefe forces aa. Make AE to BK as P is to
W, and they will therefore reprefent the forces applied
at A and B. Draw AC perpendicular to AF and
EC parallel to it, and complete the parallelogram
ADEC. In the fame way form the parallelogram
BGKH. Produce EA and KB towards m and n if
neceffary, and let fall F m, F n perpendicular to AE,
BK produced. Then P (hall be to W as En is to Fm.
By the refolution of forces (Dynamics, 140.) the
force AE is equivalent to forces reprefented by AD and
AC, and afting in thefe dire&ions. But as AD afts
in the dire&ion of the arm AF, it can have no influ¬
ence in turning the lever round F, and therefore AC
reprefents the portion of the force AD which contri¬
butes to produce an angular motion round F. In the
fame way it may be fhewn that EG is the part of the
force BK which tends to move the lever round E.
Now fuppofe AF produced to B, FB, being made equal
to FB and B'G'zziBG. Then by Prop. I. AC : B'G'
zzFB' : FA i but by Axiom 1. the effort of BG to
turn the lever round F is equal to the effort of the
equal force B' G' to turn the lever round F 5 therefore
AC : BGzzFB : FA and AC X FAzzBG X FB. Now
the triangles ACE, AE 777 are fimilar, becaufe the
angles at F and M are both right, and on account of
the parallels DF, AC, MACzr ADF; theretore AC :
A.EzzF777: FA, and AC X FA=z AE X F777. For the
fame reafon in the fimilar triangles BGK, Bb 77 we
have BG : BK=Fn : FB, and BK xF« zz BG xFB.
FB: F77zzRad. : Sin. FB;/, tve have F777:
but in the cafe of an equilibrium P : W=F/2 : Ftt/, con
, , ^ FB X Sin. FB v FA x Sin.FA777
fequently P : W rz
Rad. ' Rad.
and fince magnitudes have the fame ratio as their equi¬
multiples, P : WzzEB X Sin, EB« : FA X Sin. FA777.
^4. Cor. 2. The energies of the forces P, W to
turn the lever round the fulcrum F is the fame at what¬
ever point in the ditecHons 777 E, 77 K they are applied,
for the perpendiculars to which thefe energies are pro¬
portional remain the fame.—The truth of this corollary
has been affumed as an axiom by fome writers on me¬
chanics, who have very readily deduced from it the
preceding propofition. But it is very obvious that the
truth affuraed as felf-evident is nearly equivalent to the
truth which it is employed to prove. Thofe who have
adopted this mode of demonftration illuftrate their
axiom by the cafe of a folid body that is either puftied
in one dire&ion with a ftraight rod, or drawn by a
cord ; in both of which cafes it is manifeft that the
effeft of the force employed is the fame, at whatever
part of the rod or firing it is applied : But thefe cafes
are completely different from that of a body moving
round a fixed centre.
55. Cor. 3. If AE and BK the dire£lions in which
•the forces P, W are exerted be produced till they meet
at L ; and if from the fulcrum Ethe line FS be drawn
parallel to the direction AL of one force till it meets B L,
the direftion of the other } then LS, SF will reprefent
the two forces. For as the fides of any triangle are as
the fines of the oppofite angles LS : SFzz fin. Li'S : fin.
FLS \ but on account of the parallels FS, AL the
angle LFSzzFLA, and FL being radius Ym is the
fine of FLA or LFS, and F77 the fine of FLS, there¬
fore by fubftitution LS : SY=Ym : F//, that is as the
force W : P.
56. Cor. 4. If feveral forces aft upon a lever, and
keep it in equilibrio, the fum of the produfts -of-the
forces and the perpendiculars from the fulcrum to the
direftion of the different forces on one fide is equal to
the fum of the produfts on the other. For fince the
energy of each force to turn the lever is equal to the
produft of the force and the perpendicular from the
fulcrum on the line of its direftion ; and fince in the
cafe of an equilibrium, the energy of all the forces on
one fide of the fulcrum muft be equal to the energy of
all the forces on the other fide, the produfts proportion¬
al to their energies muft alfo be equal.
57. Cor. 5. If two forces aft in a parallel direftiotv
upon an angular lever whofe fulcrum is its angular
point,
#
MECHANIC
Theory.
Fig- 3*
Fig. 4-
Fig- 5-
Fig. 5.
Fig 7.
point, tliefe forces will be in equllibiio when a line drawn
from the fulcrum upon the line which joins the two
points where the forces are applied, and parallel to the di-
re&ion of the forces, cuts it in fuch a manna that the two
parts are reciprocally proportional to the forces applied.
Let AFB be the angular lever, whole fulcrum is F,
and let the forces P, W be applied at A and B in the
parallel directions P w, W n •, then if the line l D, pa¬
rallel to P fTi or W w, cut AB in fuch a manner that
DB : DA=rP : W, the forces will be in equilibrio.
Draw F m perpendicular to P m, and produce it to « j
then fmce Aw, B« are parallel, mn vn\\ alfo be
perpendicular to B «, and by the propolition (Art. J1-)
F w : F w = P : W. Now, if through F, there be
drawn m' n' parallel to AB, the triangles F m F n n'
will be fimilar, and we (hall have F« : F m~Yn' : b m',
but on account of the parallels AB, m' n'; F n' : Y m'
rrDB : DA, therefore DB : DAr=P : W.
58. Cor. 6. Let CB be a body moveable round
its centre of gravity F, and let two forces P, W aft
upon it at the points A, B in the plane AbB, in the
directions AP, BW j then fince this body may be re¬
garded as a lever whofe fulcrum is F, the forces will be
in equilibrio w’hen P : W —F n : F m the perpendicu¬
lars on the direftions in which the forces aft.
59. Cor. 7. If AB be an inflexible rod moveable
round F as a fulcrum, and aCted upon by two forces
P, W in the directions A m, A n, thefe forces will be
in equilibrio when they are to one another as the per¬
pendiculars F F w.—For by cor. 2. the forces may
be confidered as applied at 111 and », and w b may be
regarded as the lever j but by the propofition (Art. 51.)
p ; W=F«:Fw,- Fw, Y n being perpendiculars upon
Aw, Aff. , , 1 xfr'
60. Cor. 8. Let DE be a heavy wheel, and btr
an obftacle over which it is to be moved, by a lorce P,
aCting in the direction AH. Join Ab and draw F w,
F n perpendicular to CA and' AH. 1 he weight of the
wheel is evidently the weight to be raifed, and may be
reprefented by W aCting at the point A in the vertical
direction AC. We may now confider AF as a lever
whofe fulcrum is F, and by cor. 7* there wid be aa
equilibrium when P : WrrF n \Y ru. Since b ni re-
prefents the mechanical energy of the power P to turn
the wheel round F, it is obvious that when FG is
equal to the radius of the wheel, the weight P, however
great, has no power to move it over the ooltacle ; .or
when FG—AC, Ym =0, and Fw><P—o..
61. Cor. 9. If a man be placed in a pair or males
hung at the extremities of a lever, and is in equilibrio
with a weight in the oppofite fcale, then if he preffes
againft any point in the lever, except that point from
which the fcale is fufpended, the equilibrium will be
deflroyed. Let CB be the lever in equilibrio, b
its fulcrum, and let the feales be fufpended from A
and B, AP being the fcale in which the man is
placed. Then if he preffes with his hand or with
a rod againft D, a point nearer the centre t.;an A,
the fcale will take the pofition AI and the .ame
effefl will be produced as if AD were a- fohd mais
aCting upon the lever in the direClion of gravity.
Confequently if P> be drawn perpendicular from the
point P' to FC, Y f> will be the lever with which the
man in the fcale tends to turn the lever ^ round the
fulcrum •, and as Fp is greater than F A, tne man .Wt
Vol. XIII. Part I.
s. 57
preponderate. In the fame way it may be fliovvn, that Theory,
if the man in the fcale AP prefles upwards againft x
point C, more remote from the fulcrum than A, he
will diminifti his relative weight, and the fcale W will
preponderate, for in this cafe the fcale affumes the
pofition AP", and Yp/ becomes the lever by which it
ads.
62. Cor. xo. If a weight W be fupported by an Tig. S.
inclined lever "refting on the fulcra A, B, the pref-
fure upon A is to that upon B inverfely, as A f is to
f b, the fe&ions of a horizontal line by the vertical di¬
rection of the w-eight W.
Remove the fulcrum A, and fupport the extremity
A by a weight P, equal to the preflure upon A 5 then
B being the centre of motion, and m n being drawn
through F perpendicular to the directions of the forces
A wz, Ey, and confequently parallel to A b, we have
(Art. 51.) P : W=F n : Y m-=z fb : f A. that is, the
preffure upon A is to the preffure upon B inverfely as
A f is tofb. -
Scholium.
63. Various attempts have been made by different wai¬
ters on mechanics to give a complete and fatisfaClory
demonftration of the fundamental property of the lever.
The firft of thefe attempts wTas made by Archimedes,
wTho affumes as an axiom, that if twro equal bodies be
placed upon a lever, they will have the fame influence
in giving it a rotatory motion as if they were both
placed in the middle part between them. This truth,
how7ever, is far from being felf-evident, and on this
account Mr Vince * has completed the demonflration
by making this axiom a preliminary propofition. The p 3.
demonftration of Galileo f is both fiiiiple and elegant, , y
and does not feem to have attraCled much notice, 'et E)em'(m,
though in principle it is exaftly the fame as that ofjirationes
Archimedes completed by Mr Vince. Galileo fufpends
a folid cylinder or prifm from a lever by feveral ^al;
threads. When the lever is hung by its centre, the1’'5 *
whole is in equilibrio. Fie then fuppofes^the cylinder
to be cut into two unequal parts, which from their
mode of fufpenfion ftill retain their pofition, and then
imagines each part of the cylinder to be fufpended by
its centre from the lever. Here then we have two
unequal weights hanging at unequal diftances from the
centre of fufpenfion, and it follows from the conftruc-
tion, that thefe weights are in the reciprocal ratio of
their diftances from that centre. Mr Vince, on the
other hand, employs a cylinder balanced on a fulcrum;
He fuppofes this cylinder divided into unequal parts,
and thus concludes from his preliminary propofition,
that thefe unequal parts have the fame effesft in turning
the lever as if the weight of thefe parts was placed in
their centres ; which is done by Galileo by fufpending
them from their centres. From this the fundamen¬
tal property of the lever is eafily deduced.— T he next
demonftration was given by Huygens, who affumes as
an axiom, that if any weight placed upon a lever is
removed to a greater diftance from the fulcrum, its ef¬
fort to turn the lever will be increafed. This axiom
he might have demenftrated thus, and his demonftra¬
tion would have been completely fatisfadlory, though it
applies only to cafes where the arms of the lever pjate
are commenfurable. Let AB. be a lever .with equal CCCXVI.
weights C, D, (imported on the fulcra /, F, fo that kg. 1.
e H A/=
MECHANICS.
'*• Account
of New-
toiis Dif-
t emeries
Plate
Theory. A /rrFB ; then, as was fliown in Prop. I. the weights
■ '"'V— ' will be in equilibrio, and each fulcrum will fupport
a weight equal to C or D. By removing the fulcrum
f, the weight C muft defeend, as the equilibrium is de-
"ftroyed by a weight equal to C a&ing at f; therefore
the weight C, at the diltance AF, has a greater eftea
in turning the lever than an equal weight D placed at
a lefs diftance FB.—In Sir Ifaac Newton’s demonflra-
tion, it is fuppofed that if a given weight aft in any
dire&ion, and if feveral radii be drawn from the ful¬
crum to the line of diredlion, the effort of that weight
to turn the lever will be the fame to whatever of thefe
radii it is applied. It appears, however, from Art. 54.
that this principle is far from being leif-evident, and
therefore the demonftration which is founded upon it
cannot be admitted as fatisfaclory. The demondration
given by Maclaurin * is fimple and convincing, and
has been highly approved of by Dr F.Young, and other
■writers on mechanics, though it extends only to any
commenfurable proportion of the arms. Fie luppoles
the lever AB with equal arms to be in equilibrio upon
CCX X VII. j.}le fuicrum Fj by means of the equal forces P, W, in
which cafe the fulcrum F will evidently be preffed
dowm with a weight equal to 2 P~P-J-AY Fie then
fubditutes, indead of the weight P, a fixed obdacle O,
which will not dedroy the equilibrium, and conjiders
the fulcrum as fill loaded with a weight equal to P-f- vV.
The preffure on F being therefore equal to 2 P or
P_l_W, a weight E equal to 2 P, and a&ing upwards,
is lubdituted in the room of that preffure, fo that the
equilibrium will dill continue. He: e then we have a
lever AB of the fecond kind, influenced by two forces
E and W a fling at different didances from the fulcrum
A; and fince E=2P=2W, and ABrrlAF, we
have E : WrzAB : AF, wdrich expreffes the funda¬
mental property of the lever. Without objefling to
the circumdance that this demondration applies only
to the lever of the fecond kind, we may be allowed to
obferve, that it involves an axiom which cannot be
called felf evident. It is certainly manifed that when
P and W are in equilibrio, the preffure upon the ful¬
crum is — 2 P=rP-j~W; but it by no means follows that
this preffure remains the fame when the fixed obdacle O
is fubdituted in the room of P. On the contrary, the
axiom affirmed is a refult of the propofition which it is
employed to prove, or rather it is the propofition itfelf.
For if, when the extremity A bears againd the ob¬
dacle O, the preffure upon F is equal to 2 W, the
force W obvioufly produces a preffure rr 2W at half the
didance AB, which is the property to be demondrated.
-—The demondrations given by Mr Landen and Dr
Hamilton, the former in his Memoirs, and the latter
f See alfo in his Effays f, though in a great meafure fatisfaflory,
Mil. Tianf.^xt long and tedious. In the demondration of Dr Ha-
vol. xciii. nulton, he employs the following propofition 3 that
when a body is at red, and afted upon by three forces,
they will be to one another as the three fides of a tri¬
angle parallel to the direflion in which the forces aft.
When the three Forces aft on one point of a body, the
propofition is true, but it is not applicable to the cafe
jj>f a lever where the forces are applied to three different
points, and at all events the demondration does not
hold when any two of the forces aft in parallel direc- Theory,
tions. The demondration which we have given in ~ v f
Prop. I. is new, and different from any that have been
noticed. The truths on which it is founded are per-
feftly axiomatic ; and the only objeftion to which it
feems liable is, that the demondration extends only to
a commenfurate proportion of the arms of the lever.—
An analytical demondration of the fundamental pro¬
perty of the lever was given by Fonceneix in the Mif-
cellan. Jour. tom. ii. p. 321. which was afterwards im¬
proved by D’Alembert in the Mem. de I’Acad. 1769.
p. 283.
Prop. IV.
64. When feveral levers AB, a a fly whofe fulcra Plate
are F,^ <p, are fo combined as to a£l: perpendi- CCCXVUfr
cularly upon each other, or at equal angles ;s'1*
and if the dire£lions in which the power and
weight are applied, be alfo perpendicular to the
arms, or at the fame angles with them as thofe
at which the levers a£t upon each other, there
is an equilibrium when P : WrcBF X bf XP <? •
AF xafx*<P‘
Let M be the force which is exerted by the fird le¬
ver AB upon the lecond a b, and N the force which is
excited by the fecond lever a b upon the third u /3, then
by Prop. I.
P : M=BF- AF
M : N =/>/:«/
N : W—/3 (p :a<P
Confequently by compofition
PrW = BFXbfxP <? :AFxofX»<P>
Prop. V.
65. To explain the new property of the lever dis¬
covered by M. iEpuius, and extended by Van
Swinden.
Let AFB be any lever whofe fulcrum is F, and to ^
whofe extremities A, B are applied the forces P, W
in the direftions AY, BO. Join AB, and produce it
on both fides towards E and I. Produce alfo the lines
YA,VB till they met in H, and from H, through the
fulcrum F, draw HFf dividing AB into two parts Af
B f Let UM be a line given in pofition, and let «, p
reprefent the angles which the direftion of the forces
YA, VB make with that line. Let YA and AB like-
wife reprefent the intenfity of the forces P, AA, and let
VA be refolved into AE and YF 3 and the force VB
into BI and VI.—Then the lever cannot be in equili¬
brium till
I. EAx/A-flBx/B is a maximum.
II. Or pitting <p for the angles formed by the lines
AB, UT, which the lever, when in equilibrio, makes
with the line UM given in pofition, there cannot be an
equilibrium till
Tang, f X PXA/ X Cof, «-}-Tang. <p X W X B/x Col. p =\V X B/X Sin. ^—P x A/
III. And
MECHANICS. .59
Theory. III. And putting a> b for tlie arms AF, BF, and n for the angles EAB, EBA, there cannot be an , If^orv- t
——V—' equilibrium unlefs
i'-’g- 3-
Tang.
W. b (Sin. (I X Cof. n—Sin. n X Cof. /3)— P. a (Sm. * X Coi. m—Sin, w x Co(».')
P. a (Col. as x Col. to-(-Sin. » X Sin. to) -}-W. b (Cof. p X Cof. w-j-Sin. p x Sin. «.)
As the demonftrations of thefe different cafes are far
from being elementary, we lhall only refer the reader
to the memoir upon this fubjeft given by iEpinus in
the Nov. Comment. Fetropol. tom. viii. p. 271.
Scholium.
66. This property of the lever was only confidered by
iEpinus in the cafe of a re£H!ineal lever with equal
arms •, but was extended by J. H. Van Swinden. When
the lever is redlilineal and with equal arms, we have
AF=FB=Ayi=B /^ and alfo m~n~o, fo that, if the
laft formula is fuited to thefe conditions, we lhall have
the formula of iEpinus*
Prop. VI.
67. If a power and weight a£Hng upon the arms of
any lever be in equilibrio, and if the whole be
put in motion, the velocity of the power is to
the velocity of the weight as the weight is to
the power.
Let AFB be any lever whofe fulcrum is F, and let
the power P and weight W be applied to its extremi¬
ties A, B, fo as to be in equilibrio. Draw F to, F«
perpendicular to AD, BE the direftion of the forces
P, W. Then hippofe an uniform angular motion to be
given to the lever, fo as to make it defcribe the fmall
angle AFA', the pofition of the lever will now be
A'FB', and the dire&ions of the forces P, W will be
A'D', B'E' parallel to AD, BE refpedtively, fince the
angle AEF is exceedingly fmall. Join AA', BB', and
from A' and B' draw A'x, B'z perpendicular to AD
and BE. Now it is obvious, that though the point A
has moved through the fpace AA7 in the fame time
that the point B has defcribed the fpace .BB', yet A x
is the fpace defcribed by A in the diredlion AD, and
B 2; the fpace defcribed by B in the direftion BE.
For if we fuppofe a plane paffing through A at right
angles to AD, and another through P parallel to the
former plane, it is manifeft that A x meafures the ap¬
proach of the point A to the plane paffing through P $
and for the fame reafon B 55 meafures the approach of
the point B to a plane paffing through W at right
angles to WB. Therefore Ax, B« reprefent the
(paces uniformly and fimultaneoufly defcribed by the
points A, B, and may therefore be taken to denote the
velocities of thefe points (Dynamics, § 14.); confe-
quently the velocity of A : the velocity of B=A*: B ss.
Isiow, in the triangles A x A', F to A, the exterior an¬
gle x AF= A to F+w F, A (Euclid. B. I. Prop. 32.)
and A'AF=AtoF, becaufe AFA' is fo exceedingly
fmall that A'A is fenfibly perpendicular to AF-, confe-
quently x AA'rr AE to : and as the angles at w and to
are right, the triangles A x A', A to F are fimilar
(Geometry, Theor. XX. Se£L IV.).
Therefore, Ax: AA'—Fto : FA, and in the fimilar tri¬
angles AFA', BFB' A A': BB'rrFA : FB, and in the
fimilar triangles BB'iZ, BF w, BB' : B 25=rFB : F
therefore by compofition we have A x : B ;s=F to ; Fn.
But by Propofition II. P : WrzF « : F to, confequent-
lj A x : B 2=W : P, that is, the velocity of the power
is to the velocity of the weight as the weight is to the
power. £L E. D.
68. Cor. Since Ax : B 3=W : P we have AarxP
rrBzxW, that is, the momenta of the power and
weight are equal.
Sect. II. On the Inclined Plane.
69. Definition. An inclined plane is a plane fur- Cf cxvilt
face AB, fupported at any angle ABC formed with Fig. 4-
the horizontal plane BC. The inclination of the plane
is the angle which one line in the plane AB forms with
another in the horizontal plane BC, both thefe lines
being at right angles to the common interfeflion of the^
two planes.—The line BA is called the length of the
plane, AC its height, and BC the length of its bafe.
70. In order to underhand how the inclined plane
a£fs as a mechanical power, let us fuppofe it neceffary
to elevate the weight D from C to A. If this weight
is lifted by the arms of a man to the point A, he muff
fupport the whole of the load j but when it is rolled up
the inclined plane, a confiderable part of its weight is
fupported upon the plane, and therefore a much fmaller
force is capable of raifing it to A.
Prop. I.
71^ When any weight W is kept in equilibrio up-Fig. 5.
on an inclined plane by a power P, the power is
to the weight as the fine of the plane’s inclina¬
tion is to the fine of the angle which the direc¬
tion of the power makes with a line at right
angles to the plane.
Let MN be the inclined plane, NO a horizontal
line, and MNO the inclination of the plane, and let
the weight W be fuftained upon MN by means of the
power P afling in the diredlion AE. From the point
A, the centre of gravity of the weighs draw AB per¬
pendicular to the horizontal plane ND, and AF per¬
pendicular to MN 5 produce EA till it meets the plane
in C, and from the point F where the body touches the
plane draw F to at right angles to AC, and F « at right
angles to AB. Then, fince the whole body may be
confidered as colle&ed in the centre of gravity A, AB
will be the dire&ion in which it tends to fall, or the di-
redlion of the weight, and EA is the dire&ion of the
power •, but AF is a lever whofe fulcrum is F, and fince it
is a died upon by two forces which are in equilibrio, we
lhall have (Art. 59.) P : W=F n :¥ m, that is,, as the
perpendiculars drawn from the fulcrum to the direction
in which the forces aft. Now FA being radius, F n
is the fine of the angle FAB, and F to is the fine of
the angle FAC ; but FAB is equal to MNO the angle
of the plane’s inclination, on account of the right angles
at F and B and the vertical angles at D; and FAC is
the angle which the diredlion of the power makes with v
a line perpendicular to the plane j therefore P; W
H 2 as
6o
MECHANICS. •
Theory, as the fine of the plane’s inclination, is to the fine of the
angle formed by the direction of the power with a line
at right angles to the plane.
72. Cor. 1. When the power a&s parallel to the
plane in the direction AE', P is to W as EA to E «,
that is, as radius is to the fine of the plane’s inclination,
or, on account of the fimilar triangles FA n, MNO, as
the length of the plane is to its height. In this cafe
the power acts to the greateft advantage.
73. Cor. 2. When the power a£ls in a vertical line
A t, F w becomes equal to or coincides with F «, and
W’e have P : W—F « : F that is, the power in this
cafe fuftains the whole weight,
74. Cor. 3. When the power a&s parallel to the
bafe of the plane in the direction Ac, PiW^FwiFy*
~F n \ A n.
7 5. Cor. 4. When the power adls in the direftion
AF e' perpendicular to the plane, it has no power to
refill the gravity of the weight j for the perpendicular
from the fulcrum F, to which its energy is proportional,
vanifiies.
fpherical body which they fupport. The whole of its
matter being fuppofed to be colledled in its centre of
gravity F, its tendency downwards will be in the ver¬
tical line FO. The readtion of the planes upon F is
evidently in the diredtion MF, NF perpendicular to
the iurface of thefe planes, and therefore wTe may con-
fider the body F as influenced by three forces adling in
the diredlions FC, FM, FN j but thefe forces are re-
prefented by the fides of the triangle ABC perpendicu¬
lar to their diredtions, (£> YNAMICS, §. 144.), confe-
quently the abfolute weight of the body F, the preflure,.
upon the plane AC, and the preflhre upon the plane
EC, are refpedtively as AB, AC, and EC, that is, a*
the fines of the angles ACD, ABC, BAG, for in every
triangle the fides are as the lines of the oppofite angles,
or, to exprefs it in fymbols, W being the abfolute
weight of the body, vj the preffure on AC, and w' the
prefl'ure on BC,
Theory.
W : 10 : wr=AB : AC : BC, or
W : w : "u/r^fin. ACB : fin. ABC : fin. BAG'.
76. Cor. 5. Since the body W adts upon the plane
in a direction AF perpendicular to the plane’s furface,
(for its force dowmwards may be refolved into two, one
parallel to the plane, and the other perpendicular to it),
and fince the readtion of the plane mult alfo be perpen¬
dicular to its furface (Dynamics, § 149.), that is, in
the diredtion FA, then, when the diredtion of the power
is A c parallel to the horizon, the power, the wreight,
and the preffure upon the plane, will be refpedtively as
the height, the bafe, and the length of the plane. The
weight W is adted upon by three forces •, by its oivn
gravity in the diredtion A n, by the readtion of the
plane in the diredtion AF, and by the power P in the
diredtion AF. Therefore, fince thefe forces are in
equilibrio, and fince A jf is parallel to « F, and Fy to
A«, the three fides AF, Ay Yf, will reprefent the
three forces (Dynamics, §. 144.)* Eut the triangle
AFy is fimilar to A « F, that is, to MNO, for it wras
already Pnewn that the angle n AF is equal to MNO,
therefore, fince in the triangle AFy AF reprefents
the prefibre on the plane, A f the weight of the body,
and F f the energy of the power, thefe magnitudes will
alfo be reprefented in the fimilar triangle MNO by the
fides MN, MO, NO.
77. CoR.. 6. If a power P and weight W are in
equilibrio upon two inclined planes AB, AC; P : W~
Fig 6. AB : AC. Let p be the power, which adling on the
weight W in a diredlion parallel to the plane w’ould
keep it in equilibrio, then we have p \ Wz=AD : AC ;
but fince the firing is equally firetched at every point,
the fame powerp wall alfo fufiain the power P, con-
fequently P :/>—AB : AD, and by compofition P : W
= AB : AC.
Prop. II.
78 If a fpherical body is fupported upon two in¬
clined planes, the preflures upon thefe planes
will be inverfely as the fines of their inclination,
while the abfolute weight of the body is repre¬
fented by the fine of the angle formed by the
two planes.
Let AC, BC be the two inclined plane-, and F the
But on account of the parallels AB, DF, the angle
ABC~BCF, and BACizrACD, therefore the pref-
fures upon the planes are inverfely as the fines of their
inclination^ the abfolute weight of the body being re¬
prefented by the fine of the angle formed by the fur-
faces of the two planes.
79. Cor. I. Since the two fides of a triangle are Corollaries,
greater than the third, the fum of the relative weights
lupported by the two planes is greater than the abfolute
weight of the body..
80. Cor. 2. If the inclination of each plane is 6o°,
then ACB mull alfo be 6o°, and the triangle ABC
equilateral, confequently the prefl'ure upon each plane
is equal to the abfolute weight of the body.
81. Cor. 3. When the inclination of each plane
increafes, the prefl'ure which each fuftains is alfo in-
creafed ; and when their inclination diminifhes till it
almoft vanifties, the piefiure upon each plane is one
half of the abfolute weight of the body F,
Prop. III.
82. If a body is raifed with an uniform motion
along an inclined plane, the velocity of the
power is to the velocity of the weight as the
weight is to the power.
Let the weight W be drawn uniformly up the in- Fig. 8.
dined plane AB, from B to D, by a power whofe di¬
rection is parallel to DH. Upon DB defcribe the
circle BFEDN, cutting BC in E, and having pro¬
duced HD to F, join FP, FB, FE, and draw DC per¬
pendicular to BD. Now the angles BED, BED are
right (Geometry, Seft. II. Theor. 17.), and there¬
fore, though the power moves through a fpace equal to
BD, yet its velocity in the direction DH is meafured
by the fpace ED uniformly delcribed ; and lor the fame
reafon, though the weight W defcribes the fpace BD,
yet its velocity in the direClion in which it aCts, that is,
in a vertical direction, is evidently meafured by the fpace
DE uniformly defcribed. Then becaufe |the triangle
DEE is equal to DFE, (Geometry, SeCt. II. Theor.
15.) and DBErrDCH, (Geometry, SeCt. iV. Theor.
23.) and FDE—DHC, (Geometry, SeCt. I. Theor.
21.)
Fig. 7.
M E C H A N
Theory. 2i.) tKe triangles DFE, DHC are fimilar, and (Geo-
—y metry. Sea IV. Theor. 20.) DF : DErrDH :HC.
But DH : HC=(in. DCH : fin. HDC, that is, (art,
71.) DF : DE, or the velocity of the power to the ve¬
locity of the weight, as W : P. $)• E. D.
Scholium.
82. The inclined plane, when combined with ether
machinery, is often of great ufe in the elevation of
weights. It has been the opinion of fome writers, that
the^huge maffes of done which are found at great alti¬
tudes in the fplendid remains of Egyptian architeaure,
were raifed upon inclined planes of earth, with the aid
®f other mechanical powers. This fuppofition, how¬
ever, is not probable, as the immenfe blocks of granite
which compofe the pyramids of Egypt-could not pof-
fibly have been raifed into their prefent fituation by
any combination of the mechanical powers with which
we are acquainted.—dhe inclined plane has. been very
advantageoufly employed in the duke of Bridgewater s
canal. After this canal has extended 40 miles on the
fame level, it is joined to a fubterraneous. navigation
about 12 miles long by means of an inclined plane,
and this fubterraneous portion is again connefted by an
inclined plane with another fubterraneous portion aoout
106 feet above if. This inclined plane is a ftratum of
done which (lopes one foot in four, and is about 453
feet long. The boats are conveyed from one portion
of the canal to another by means of a w'indlafs, fo that
a loaded boat defending along the plane turns the. axis
of the windlafs, and raifes an empty boat—A pair of
flairs, and a road that is not level, may be regarded as
inclined planes-, and hence it is a matter of great
importance in carrying a road to the top of a hill, to
choofe fuch a line that the declivity may be the leatt
poffible. The additional length, which, in order to
effea this purpofe muft fometimes be given to tne.lineot
road is a trifling inconvenience, wdien compared with the
advantages of a gentle declivity.
Fig. 9.
I c s.
DE : BE= fin. DBF : fin. BDE, and on account of
the parallels DE, AB, the angle BDE= ABD, con-
fequently P : />=fin. DBE : fin. BDE.
86 Cor. 1. When the line joining the pulleys is
horizontal, as AC, then P ■ : f°r
FA are evidently the lines of the angles DBE, BDE.
87. Cor. 2. Any of the powers is to the weight, as
the fine of the angle which the other makes with the
direftion of the weight, is to the fine of the angles
which the power makes with one another, for hnce
DB reprefents the weight, and BE the power P, we.
have BE: BD=fm. BDE. :fin. BED j but on account
of the parallels DE, AB, the angle DEB—ABC, the
angle made by the diredlion of the powers, confequent-
ly BE : BD, that is, fi : W=fin. ABF : fin. ABC.
In the fame way it may be ihown that P : W —mn
CBF : fin. ABC. Hence we have I : W —
fin. CBFfl-fin• ABF7fin. ABC, that is, the fum,
of the powers is to the weight, as the fum of the.
fines of the angles which the powers make with the
Sect. III. On the R^e Machine.
84. Definition. When a body fufpended by two or
more ropes, is fuftained by powers which ad. by the
afliftance of thefe ropes, this affemblage of ropes is called
a rope machine.
Prop. I.
8 c If a weight is in equilibrium with two powers
acting on a rope machine, thefe powers are
verfely as the fines of the angles which the
ropes form with the dire£tion of the weig it.
Let the weight W be fufpended. from the point B,
where the ropes AB, BC are joined,, and let the
powers P, p afting at the other extremities of the ropes
which pais over the pulleys A, C, k«P‘his.we1^'J1
equilibrio, we (hall have P :/=fin. CBD : fin. ABD.
Produce WB to F, and let BD reprefent the force
exerted by W then by drawing DE parallel to AB,
the fides of the triangle BDE will reprefent the three
forces by which the point B is foliated (Dynamics,
144 ), for AB. CB are the directions of the forces
P and p. We have therefore P :/>erDE:BE; but
lines Ui tut    - r , 1 • V
diretion of the weight is to the (me of the angle which,
the powers make with one another.
88. Cor. 3. The two powers P, />, are alio diretly
proportional to the cofecants of the angles formed oy
the diretion of the powers with the di ret ion of the
weight. For fince P :/>=fin. DBE : fin. BDE, and
by the principles of trigonometry, (in. DBE : fin. DBE
— cofec. BD E : cofec. DBE, we have P :/> — coiec.
ABF ■ cofec. CBF. It is alfo obvious that P :/> as
the fecants of the angles which thele powers form with,
the horizon, fince the angles which they make with
the horizon are the complements of . the angles which.
they form with the diretion of the weight, and the coie-
cant of any angle is juft the fecant of its complement,
therefore P : />=rfec. BAF : iec. LCF.
Chap. II. On Compound Machines.
80 Definition. Compound machines are thole
which are compofed of two or more Ample machines,
either of the fame or of different, kinds. I be numoer
of compound machines is unlimited, but thofe which
properly belong to this chapter, are, 1. I he wheel and
axle; 2. The pulley; 3. The wedge; 4. I he ferew ;
and 5. The balance.
Sect. I. On the Wheel and Axle.
00. The wheel and axle, or the axis in peritrochio, Fig. i«
is reprefented in fig. 9. and confifts of a wheel AB, and
cylinder CD having the fame axis, and moving upon
pivots E, F placed at the extremity of the cylinder.
The power P is moft commonly applied to the circum¬
ference of the wheel, and aa* in the direaion o* the
tangent, while the weight W is elevated by a rope-
which coils round the cylinder CD in a p ane perpen¬
dicular to its axis—In this machine a mnch or handle -
EH is fometimes fubftituted mflead of the wheel, and
fometimes the power is applied to the levers S S hxec
in the periphery of the wheel ; but in all thefe forms
the principle of the machine remains unaltered---
That the wheel and axle is an affemblage o. levers vnil
be obvious, by confidering that the very lame efleft
would be produced.if a number of levers v.ere to ra*:-
cUjuti.
6*2
MECHANICS.
Theory, diate from the centre C, and if a rope carrying the
v power P were to pafs over their extremities, and extri¬
cate itfelf from the defcending levers when they come
into a horizontal pofition.
91. Axiom. The effeft of the power to turn the
cylinder round its axis, is the fame at whatever point
in the axle it is fixed.
Prop. I.
92. In the wheel and axle the power and weight
will be in equilibrium, when they are to one
another reciprocally as the radii of the circles
to which they are applied, or when the power
is to the weight as the radius of the axle is
to the radius of the wheel.
Tig. 11. Let AD be a fedlion of the wheel, and BE a fec-
tion of the axle or cylinder, and let the power P and
weight W aft in the direftions AP, WP, tangents to
the circumferences of the axle and wheel in the points
A, B, by means of ropes winding round thefe circum¬
ferences. As the effeft is the fame according to the
axiom, let the power and weight aft in the fame plane
as they appear to do in the figure, then it is obvious
that the effort of the power P and weight W wall be
the fame as if they were fufpended at the points A, B ;
confequently the machine may be regarded as a lever
AFB, whole centre of motion is F. But fince the di¬
reftions of the power and weight make equal angles
with the arms of the lever, we have (Art. 36.) P : W
= FB : FA, that is, the power is to the weight as the
radius of the axle is to the radius of the wheel.
Corollaries. 93* Cor. 1. If the power and weight aft obliquely
to the arms of the lever in the direftions A/>, B iu,
draw Ym Yn perpendicular to A /» and B w, and as in
the cafe of the lever (Art. 51.) there will be an equili¬
brium when P : W—F« : Ym. Hence the tangential
direftion is the moll advantageous one in which the
power can be applied, for FA is always greater than
Ym, and the lead advantageous direftion in which the
weight can be applied, for it then oppofes the greateft
refinance to the power.
94. Cor. 2. If the plane of the wheel is inclined to
the axle at any angle x, there will be an equilibrium
when P : Wr= femidiameter of the axle : fin. x.
95. Cor. 3. When the thicknefs of the rope is of a
fenfible magnitude, there will be an equilibrium when
the power is to the weight as the fum of the radius
of the axle, and half the thicknefs of its rope, is to
the fum of the radius of the wheel and half the thick¬
nefs of its rope ; that is, if T be the thicknefs of the
rope of the wheel, and t the thicknefs of the rope of the
axle, there will be an equilibrium when P:W—FB-fTl
; FA-j-TT.
96. Cor. 4. If a number of wheels and axles are fo
combined that the periphery of the firff axle may aft
on the periphery of the fecond wheel, either by means
of a firing or by teeth fixed in the peripheries of each,
and the periphery of the fecond axle on the periphery
of the third wheel, there will be an equilibrium when
the power is to the weight as the produft of the radii
of all the axles is to the produft of the radii of all the
the wheels. This corollary may be demonftrated by
k 2 .
the fame reafoning which is ufed in Art. 63. for the Tftrory.
combination of Levers.
97. Cor. 5. In a combination of wheels, where the
motion is communicated by means of teeth, the axle is
called the pinion. Since the teeth therefore muft be
nearly of the fame fize, both in the wheel and pinion,
the number of teeth in each will be as their circum¬
ferences, or as their radii 5 and confequently in the com¬
bination mentioned in the preceding corollary, the
power will be to the weight, in the cafe of an equili¬
brium, as the produft of the number of tew'd in all the
pinions is to the produft of the number of teeth in all
the wheels.
Prop. II. *
98. In the wheel and axle the velocity of the
weight is to the velocity of the powei’ as the
power is to the weight.
If the power is made to rife through a fpace equal
to the circumference of the wheel, the weight will
evidently deferibe a fpace equal to the circumference of
the axle. Hence, calling V the velocity of the power,
v that of the weight, C the circumference of the wheel,
and c that of the axle, we have V: v~Q, : c. But by
the propofition P: Wzrc: G, therefore P : W : V.
Scholium.
99. The conftruftion of the main-fpring box of the Onthefufee
fufee of a watch round which the chain is coiled, is a of a watcli.
beautiful illuftration of the principle of the wheel and
axle. The fpring-box may be confidered as the wheel,
and the fufee the axle or pinion to which the chain
communicates the motion of the box. The power re-
fides in the fpring wound round an axis in the centre
of the box, and the weight is applied to the lower cir¬
cumference of the fufee. As the force of the fpring is
greateft when it is newly wound up, and gradually de-
creafes as it unwinds itfelf, it is neceffary that the fufee
fhould have different radii, fo that the chain may aft
upon the fmalleft part of the fufee when its force k
greatefi, and upon the largeft part of the fufee when
its force is leaft, for the equable motion of the watch
requires that the inequality in the aftion of the fpring
fhould be counterafted fo as to produce an uniform ef¬
feft. In order to faccomplifii this, the general outline
of the furface of the fufee mufi be an Apollonian hyper¬
bola in which the ordinates are inverfely as their re-
fpeftive abfeiffae. For further information on this fub-
jeft, fee Rec/ierc/tes des Mat hem at. par M. Parent.
tom. ii. p. 678. ; Traite d'Hor/ogerie, par, M. Berthoud,
tom. i. chap. 26. $ and Traite de Mecanique, par M. de
la Hire, prop. 72.
Sect. II. On the Pulley.
100. Definition.—The pulley is a machine cora-Qnt[:)<.
pofed of a wheel with a groove in its circumference, pUiiey.
and a rope which paffes round this groove. The wheel
moves on an axis whofe extremities are fupported on a
kind of frame called the block, to which is generally
fufpended the weight to be raifed. A fyfiem of pulleys
is called a muffle, which is either fixed or moveable ac¬
cording as the block which contains the pulleys is fixed
or moveable.
Prop*
MECHANICS.
Theory.
Prop. I.
ioi. In a Tingle pulley, or fyftem of pulleys where
the different portions of the rope are parallel to
each other, and where one extremity ol it is
fixed, there is an equilibrium when the power
is to the weight as unity is to the number of
the portions of the rope which fupport the
weight.
'igv 12. 10 2. Case i. In the fingle faxed pulley A A let the
power P and weight W be equal, and a£t againft each
other by means of the rope PBAW, palling over the
pulley AA ; then it is obvious that whatever force is
exerted by P in the dire£fion PBA, the fame force
mull be exerted in the oppofite direftion WBA, con-
fequently thefe equal and oppofite forces mull be in
equilibria •, and as the weight is fupperted only by one
rope, the propofition is demonftrated, for P:W=ri : I.
Pig, I3. 103. Case. 2. In the fingle moveable pulley, where
0 the rope, fafiened at H, goes beneath the moveable pulley
D and over the fixed pulley C, the weight to be raifed is
fufpended from the centre of the pulley D by the
block />, and the power is applied at P in the direftion
PE. Now it is evident that the portions CF/>, HGD
of the rope fuftain the weight W, and as they are
equally firetched in every point, each muft fuftain one
half of W •, but (Cafe I.) in the fingle pulley C the
rope CEP fuftains a weight equal to what the rope
CF/> fuftains 5 that is, it fuftains one-half of W. Con-
fequently P=^W, or W= 2P, when there is an equi¬
librium ; and fince the weight W is fupported by two
firings, we have P : W =1:2.
TV. 14- 15. 104- Case 3* When the fame rope paffes round a
10? ^ number of pulleys, the ropes which fupport the weight W
are evidently equally ftretched in every part, and therefore
each of them fuflains the fame weight. Confequently
if there be ten ropes fupporting the weight, each fuftains
-.yh part of the weight, and therefore P=1^W, or
W=.io P, which gives us P : W=i t 10.—The pulley
in fig. 15. is the patent pulley invented by Mr White,
in wdiich the lateral fri&ion and ihaking motion is con-
fiderably removed.
Prop. II.
105. In a fyftem of ti moveable pulleys fufpended
by feparate and parallel ropes, there is an equi¬
librium when P :W=i: 2W; that is, if there are
4 pulleys «—4, and P : W= 1 : 2 x 2 X 2 X 2, or
P :W=i : 16.
‘ w This fyftem is reprefented in fig. 17. where the rope
,7’ which carries the power P paffes over the fixed pulley
M, and beneath the moveable pulley A, to the hook E
where it is fixed. Another rope fixed at A prffes over
B and is fixed at F, and fo on with the reft. Then by
Art. 103.
P : the weight at A—J : 2
The weight at A : the weight at Bzrri : 2
The weight at B : the weight at C= 1 : 2
The weight at C : the wreight at D or W = 1 : 2 j and
therefore by compofition
P: W—1 : 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 or P; W=i : 16. O. E. D.
63
Prop. III.
Tiieoiy.
io<5. In a fyftem of moveable pulleys whofe num¬
ber is «, fufpended by feparate and parallel
ropes, whofe extremities are fixed to the weight
W, there is an equilibrium when P : W : 1 : 2" Fig. 18.
—1.
In this fyftem of pulleys, the rope which fuftains the
power P paffes over the pulley C, and is fixed to the
weight at D. Another rope attached to the pulley C
paffes over the pulley B and is fixed to the weight at
E, and a third rope faftened to B paffes over A and is
fixed at F. Then it is manifeft that the rope CD
fuftains a weight equal to P and fince the pulley C is
pulled downward wdth a weight equal to 2 P, the rope
BC muft fupport a weight equal to 2 P, and the rope B
the fame weight) confequently the rope AB fuftains
4 P. The whole weight therefore is P4-2P-I-4P,
and hence P : W=P : P-f 2P+4P, or P;W=i:t
_}_2-F4 &c. to « terms, fo that P : W^i : 27<—1.
Prop. IV.
107. In the fyftem of pulleys reprefented in pig.
fig. 19. and called a Spaniih barton, in which
two pulleys are fupported by one rope, there is.
an equilibrium when P : W = 1 '.4.
In this combination of pulleys, the rope AB which
fupports the power P paffes over the moveable pulley-
A, and beneath C towards H, where it is fixed. Ano¬
ther rope, attached to the pulley A, paffes over the fixed
pulley B, and is faftened at E to the pulley C, which ‘
fupports the weight W. Then, fince the rope AP fup-
perts 1 pound, the rope AC alfo fupports I pound,
and therefore the pulley A, or the rope BA, is pulled?
down with a force of 2 pounds. But the rope BDE
is equally ftretched with BA, confequently the pulley
C to which DE is attached, is pulled upwards with a
force of 2 pounds. Now the rope AC fupporting 1
pound, the rope GH muft likewife fupport 1 pound,
confeauently, fince DE fuftains 2 pounds, AC 1 pound,
and HG 1 pound, they will together fuftain Wr^
pounds, and therefore P : W=ri : 4.
Prop. V.
108. In the fyftem of pulleys reprefented in fig. Flg> 20_
20. called a Spaniih barton, where two pulleys
are fupported by one rope, there is an equili¬
brium when P : W= 1 ‘.5.
In this fyftem the rope PB paffes over B round C,
and is fixed at E. Another rope attached to B paffes
round AF and is fixed at I to the pulley CD, which
carries the weight W. Now the rope BP being ftretched
with a force of I pound, the ropes BGC, CDE art
alfo ftretched with a force of 1 pound each, and the
pulley CD is pulled upwards with a force of 2 pounds.
But fince the three ropes BP, ED, and GC, are each
ftretched with a force of 1 pound, the pulley B and the
rope BA, upon which they all aft in one direction, muft
be pulled down with a force of 3 pounds. Now the
rope FI is equally ftretched with BA, confequentiy it
will draw the pulley CD upwards with a force of 3
pounds^,
Theory.
r
64 M K G H
Theory. pounc!«, nnd fince it Is drawn upwards by the ropes
-v CG. DF with a force of two pounds, the whole force
will fudain W—5 pounds ; but this force of 5 pounds
is by the hypothefis in equilibrio with P or 1 pound,
confequently P : AV— 1 : 5.
Plate Prof. VI.
Fig. r. 109. V/hen the ropes are not parallel, and when
two powers are in equilibrio with a weight by-
means of a puiley, and have their directions at
equal angles to the direction of the weight,
each of thefe powers is to the weight as the
radius of the pulley is to the chord of that por¬
tion of the pulley’s circumference with wdiich
the rope is in contact.
Let the weight W fufpended from C be fuftained in
equilibrio by two powers P, />, which a£i by a rope
PCF.E/ pafling over the pulley CHEF, and touching
the arch CFE of its circumference. Then lince the
angles PWD, /> WF) are equal, and the powers P,in
equilibrio, P muft be equal to p; and making WA
=WB, and drawing AI parallel to PW, and BI pa¬
rallel to/>W j WB, BI, WI will refpedtively repre-
fent the forces P, /», W or P : : WrFWB : BI: WI,
Dynamics Art. 144. Now the triangles WBI, CDE
having their refpedlive fides at right angles to each
other/are fimilar; confequently WB : BI : WJ =:CD :
DE : EC, that is, P : />: W = CD : DE : EC ; but
CD, DE are equal to radius, and EC is obvioully the
chord of the arch CFE, therefore P : W or p : W as
radius is to the chord of the arch with which the rope is
in contaff.
110. Cor. 1. Any of the powers is alfo to the
weight as radius is to twice the cofine of the angle
wdn'ch either rope makes wdth the direclion of the
weight. For fince CG is the cofine of DCG, and fince
CE is double of CG, CE is equal to 2 cofine DCG
— 2 Cos PWD ; but P : W=CD : CE, hence we have
by fubftituting the preceding value of CE, P : W~CD
or radius : z Cof. PWD.
Scholium.
hi. By means of this propofition and corollary, the
proportion between the powers and the weight in the
various fyftems of pulleys, repfefented in fig. 12, 13,
14, 15, 16. 17, 18, 19, 20. when the ropes are not
parallel, may be eafily found.
Prop. VII.
112. In a fyftem of moveable pulleys, where each
has a feparate rope, and where the ropes are
not parallel, there is an equilibrium when the
power is to the weight as radius is to the cofmes
of half the angles made by the rope of each
pulley, multiplied into that power of 2 whofe
exponent is the number of pulleys.
Let the power P fuflain the weight W by means of
the pulleys A, B, C j let P, />, 55- be the different powers
which fupport the pulleys A, B, C, and let MAP,
NBA, RGB be the angles formed by the ropes. Then,
by the laft propcfition,
A N I C S.
P : /Srrrad. ; 2 cof. MAP
p : : 2 cof. NB A
7r:Wrrrad. : 2 cof. RGB, confequemly
P :W—rad. : 2 cof. M A P x 2 cof. NBA x 2 coi. RGB,
or, which is the fame thing,
P : W—rad. : 2x2x2 X cof. MAP X cof. NBAx
cof. RGB.
Prop. VIII.
113. In a fmgle pulley, or in a combination of
pulleys, the velocity of the power is to the ve¬
locity of the weight as the weight is to the
power.
114. Case i. In the fingle fixed pulley, it is ob-Fig. 1:
vious, that if the weight W is raifed uniformly one
inch, the power D will alio defcribe one inch, confe¬
quently velocity of P : velocity of WrzW : P.
115. Case 2. In the fingle moveable pulley, wFenpio-. ij,
the weight W is raifed one inch, the ropes become
one inch ihorter •, and lince the rope has alw’ays the
fame weight, the powrer mult defcribe twTo inches,
therefore velocity P : velocity W“ W : P.
116. Case 3. In the combination of pulleys, in Figs. 14,15,
figs. 14, 13, 16, when the weight rifes one inch, each II5*
of the four firings becomes an inch Ihorter, fo that P
muff delcribe four inches, as the length of the rope is
invariable j confequently velocity P : velocity W =:
W : P.
11 7. Case 4. In the fyftem exhibited in fig. 17. it Fig. r?.
is evident, that wrhen the weight W rifes one inch,
the rope DC is lengthened twm inches, the rope CB
four inches, the rope BA eight inches, and the rope
AFP, to which the pow'er is fufpended, 16 inches 5 fo
that fince the powder of this pulley is as 16 to 1, we
have velocity P: velocity W—W : P.
118. Case 5. In the combination of pulleys, repre-Fig. iS,
fented in fig. 1 8. when the weight W rifes one inch,
all the three ropes CD, BE, AF are each Ihortened
one inch. But while CD ihortens one inch, CP be¬
comes one inch longer ; while BE ftiortens one inch, BC
becomes one inch longer, and CP two inches longer
(art. 110.) ; and while AF ftiortens one inch, AB be¬
comes one inch longer, BC two inches longer, and
QV four inches longer 5 therefore CP is lengthened al¬
together feven inches, and as the power of the pulley
is as 7 to 1, we have, as before, velocity P velocity
WrrW : P.
119. Case 5. In the fyfiem of pulleys, called the Fig. 1^.
Spanilh barton, fig. 19. when the weight W rifes one
inch, the three ropes AC, DE, FIG are each fhorten-
ed one inch. By the fhortening of HG, CA one inch
each, the rope AP is lengthened two inches ; and by
the fhortening of DE one inch, BA is lengthened one
inch, and AP two inches (art. 115.) ; confequently,
fince AP is lengthened in all four inches, and fince the
power of the pulleys is four, we have velocity P : velo¬
city W—W : P.
120. Case 6. In the other Spanifh barton, in fig. 20. Fig. 2».
when the weight is elevated one inch, the three ropes
DE, IF, CG are each one inch fhorter. While ED,
and CG fhorten one inch each, BP is lengthened two
inches,
J
M E C H
Theory. inches, and while IF becomes one inch fhorter, AB be-
—v—comes one inch longer \ but when AB is lengthened
one inch, BP becomes one inch longer, and ED, CG
one inch {hotter each, and by this ihortening of ED,
CG, the rope B is lengthened two inches, therefore,
fince the rope BP is lengthened altogether five inches,
and fince the pulleys have a power of five, we have, as
formerly, velocity P : velocity W— Yv : P.
Sect. III. On the Wedge.
j2i. Definition. A.wedge is a machine compofed
of two inclined planes with their bafes in contact 5 or,
more properly, it is a triangular prifm, generated by
the motion of a triangle, parallel to itfelf, along a
ft might lice pafting through the vertex of one of its
angles. The wedge is called ifofcelcs, reel angular,
Plate or fealene, according as the triangle ABC by which
CCXIX. the wedge is generated, is an ifofceles, a re&angular
' fig. 3. or a fealene triangle. The part AB is called the
head or back of the wedge, DC its altitude, and AC,
BC its faces.—The wedge is generally employed for
cleaving wood, or for quarrying llones; but all cutting
inftruments, fuch as knives, fwords, chifels, teeth, S^c.
properly belong to this mechanical power, when they
aft in a direftion at right angles to the cutting fiirface ;
for when they aft obliquely, in which cafe their power
is increafed, their operation refembles mojre the aftion
of a faw.
Fig. 3-
Prop. I.
122. If each of the faces of an ifofceles wedge,
which are perfe&ly fmooth, meet with' an equal
reft fiance from forces a£ling at equal angles of
inclination to their faces, and if a power aft;
perpendicularly upon the back, thefe forces will
be in equilibrio, when the power upon the
back is to the fum of the refiftances upon the
fules, as the fine of half the angle of the wedge,
multiplied by the fine of the angle at which
the refilling forces aft; upon its faces, is to the
fquare of radius.
Let ABC be the wedge, AC, BC its aft mg faces,
and MD, ND the direftions in which the refilling forces
aft upon thde faces, forming with them the equal angles
DMA, DNB. Draw CD, DF, DE at right angles
to three fides of the wedge, and join F, E meeting CD
in G, On account of the equal triangles CAD, CDB
f Euclid, Book i. Prop. 26.) AD DB ; and in the
equal triangles ADM, BDN, MD = ND. In the
fame way DFrrDE and AF—BE, therefore CF=CE.
But in the triangles CFG, CFG there are two fides IT ,
CG equal to EC, CG, and the angle FCG = ECG, con-
fequently FG-GE, and FGC, ABC are both right an-
aks, therefore FE is parallel to AB.—Now the force MD
fs refolvable into DF, FM, of which FM has no effeft
upon the wedge. But, as the effeftive force FD is not m
direft oppofition to the perpendicular force exerted on
the back of the wedge, we may refolve it into the two
forces EG, GD, of which GD afts in direft oppofition
to the power, while I G afts in a direftion parallel to the
back of the wedge. In the fame way it may be {hewn
that EG, GD are the only effeftive forces which refult
VOL. XIII. Part I.
A N I C S. G
from the force ND. But the forces FG, EG being ^ j
equal and oppofite, deftroy each other j coniequentiy
2 GD is the force which oppofes that which is exerted
upon the back of the wedge, and the wedge will be
kept at reft if the force upon the back is equal to
2 GD, that is, when the force upon the back is to the
fum of the refiftances upon the faces as 2GD is to
MD + ND, 01 as 2 GD : 2 DM, or as GD is to DM.
Now
DG : DF — fin. DFG : radius, or as (Euclid, vt. 8. j
fin. DCF : radius, and
DF : MD~fin. DMF : radius-, therefore by compofi-
fition,
DG : MD = fin. DCF X fin. DMF : rad. X rad. or
radTjk But, DG : MD as the force upon the back
is to the fum of the refiftances, therefore the force up¬
on the back is to the fum of the refiftances as fin. DCL
X fin. DMF is to the fquare of the radius.
123. Cor. I. If the direftion of the refilling forces Corollaries,
is perpendicular to the faces of the wedge, DMF be¬
comes a right angle, and therefore its fine is equal to
radius. Confequently we have, in this cafe, the force
upon the back to the lum of the refiftances, as fin, DCl
X rad. is to radms|\ that is, as fin. DCF is to radius,
of as AD half the back of the wedge is to AC the
length of the wedge.
1 24. Cor. 2. In the particular cafe in the propoft-
tion, it is obvious that the forces MF, NF are not op-
pofed by any other forces, and therefore the force upon
the back will not fuftain the refilling forces; but in the
cafe in cor'. 2. the forces MF, NE vanilh, and there¬
fore the other forces will fuftafti each other.
125. Cor. 3. If the refilling forces aft in a direc¬
tion perpendicular to AB, the angle DMI1 becomes
equal to ACD, and therefore the force upon the back
to the fum of the refiftances as iiu. ACD|J is to
radiusj*, that is, as the fquare of AD half the back of
the wedge is to the fquave of AC the length of the
wedge.
126. Cor. 4. When the direftion of the refiftances
is parallel to the back of the wedge, the angle of in¬
clination DMC becomes the complement of the feml-
angle of the wedge, and therefore the force upon the
back is to the fum of the refiftances as the fin. ACD
X cof. ACD is to the fquare of the radius, that is, as
DA X DC is to AC2. But in the fimilar triangles
DAF, DAC, we have DF : DA—DC : AC, and Db
X AC—DA X DC, confequently the force upon the
back of the wedge is to the lum of the refiftances as
DF X AC is to AC*, that is, as DF : AC.
Prop. II.
127. If, on account of the friaion of the wedge,
or any other caufe, the refiftances are wholly
effeclive, that is, if the refilling furfaces adhere
to the places to which they are applied without
Hiding, there will be an equilibrium, when the
force upon the hack is to the fum of the refin¬
ances, as the fine of the acute angle which the
dire£lion of the refilling forces makes with the
back of the wedge is to radius.
Join MN, which will cut DC perpendicularly at the
p point
Fig.
66
MECHANIC S.
Theory. point H. Then, fince the forces MD, ND are refolvable
1" v into MH, HD and into-NH, HD, and fince MH, HN
deftroy each other, the force upon the back is futlained
by 2 HD. Confequently, the force upon the back is
to the fum of the refirtances as 2 HD is to 2 MD, or as
HD is to MD. Bat the angle ADM, which the direc¬
tion of the forces makes with the back of the wedge, is
equal to DMN, and HD is the fine of that angle, MD
being radius, therefore the force upon the back is
to the fum of the refiflances as fin. ADM : radius.
Q. E. D.
Corollaries. i 28. Cor. I. Since the angle AMD—MDC -{-MCD,
the angle MDC is the difference between MCD the fe-
miangle of the wedge, and AMD the angle which the
direciion of the refilling forces makeswTith the face ofthe
wedge, and fince HD is the cofine of that angle, MD
being radius, we have the force upon the back to the
fum of the refinances, as the cofine of the difference be¬
tween the femiangle of the wedge and the angle which
the direction of the refilling forces makes with the Hoe
of the wedge, is to radius.
Prop. III.
129. When there is an equilibrium between three
forces adling perpendicularly upon the Tides of
a wedge of any form, the forces are to one an¬
other as the Tides of the wedge.^
This is obvious from Dynamics, §. 144. Cor. 2.
where it is ffiewn that when three forces are in equilibrio,
they are proportional to the fides of a triangle, wdiich
are refpedlively perpendicular to their directions.
Prop. IV.
130. When the power adting upon the back of a
wedge is in equilibrio with the refiftances op-
pofed to it, the velocity of the power is to the
velocity of the refiftance as the refiftance is' to
^ the powder.
Fjg. 3. Produce DM to K, and draw CK perpendicular to
DK. Then, by Art. 1 22. the power is to the refin¬
ance as MD : DH. Let the wedge be moved uni¬
formly from D to C, and DK is the fpace uniformly
defcrihed by the refilling force in the direction in which
it aCts j therefore, the velocity of the power is to the ve¬
locity of the refillance as DC : DK ; that is, on ac¬
count of the equiangular triangles DHM, DKC, as
MD : DH $ that is, as the refinance is to the power.
Sect. IV. On the Screw.
131. Definition. A fcrewHs a cylinder with an
inclined plane w rapped round it, in fuch a manner, that
the furface of the plane is oblique to the axis of the cy¬
linder, and forms the fame angle with it in every part
of the cylindrical furface. When the inclined plane
winds round the exterior furface of a folid cylinder, it
is called a male fcrew 5 but when it is fixed on the in¬
terior circumference of a cylindrical tube, it is called
a female fcrew. In the female fcrew, the fpiral grooves
formed by the inclined plane on the furface of the cy¬
lindrical tube, muff be equal in breadth to the inclined
plane in the male fcrew, in order that the one may Theory,
move freely in the other. By attending to the mode v~*~
in which the fpiral threads are formed by the circum¬
volution of the inclined plane, it will appear, that if
one complete revolution of the inclined plane is deve¬
loped, its altitude will be to its bafe as the diftance be¬
tween the threads is to the circumference of the fcrew.
Thus, ItX. a b c (fig. 4.) be the inclined plane, whofe 4
bafe is # c and altitude b c, and let it be wrapped round
the cylinder MN (fig. 5.) of fuch a fize that the points
a, c may coincide. The furface ab oi the plane (fig. 4.)
will evidently form the fpiral thread 0 c £ (fig. 5.),
and a b the difiance between the threads will be equal to
b c (fig. 4.) the altitude of the plane, and the circumfer¬
ence ofthe fcrew MN will be equal to aciYit bafe of the
plane. If any body, therefore, is made to rife' along
the plane a de b in fig. 5. or along the fpiral thread of
the fcrew, by a force adting in a direftion parallel to
a dc b, there will be the fame proportion between the
power and the refiftance as if the body afeended the
plane a b c (fig. 4.).
132. A male fcrew with triangular threads is repre-pjT 5 ^
fented by AB (fig. 6.), and its correfponding female
fcrew by AB (fig. ’y.'). A male fcrew with quadrangu¬
lar threads is exhibited in fig. 8. and the female fcrew pj0. 8
in which it works in fig. 9. The friclion is confidera- °
bly lefs in quadrangular than in triangular threads,
though, when the fcrew is made of wood, the triangular
threads fhotdd be preferred. When the ferews are me¬
tallic and large, the threads ftiould be quadrangular; but
the triangular form is preferable in fmall ferews. When
the fcrew is employed in pra£lice, the power is always
applied to the extremity of a lever fixed in its head.
This is fhewn in fig. 10. where AB is the lever a£ling Fig- IO<
upon the fcrew1 BC, which works in a female fcrew7 in
the block F, and exerts its force in bending the fpring
CD.
Prop. I.
133. If the fcrew is employed to overcome any
refiftance, there will be an equilibrium when
the power is to the refiftance as the diftance be¬
tween two adjacent threads is to the circum¬
ference deferibed by the power.
Let FAKbe a feddion of the fcrew reprefented in fig. pig. u.
8.perpendicular to its axis; CD a portion ofthe inclined
plane which forms the fpiral thread, and P the power,
which, when applied at C in the plane ACF, will be
in equilibrium with a weight upon the inclined plane
CD. Then, in the inclined plane, when the direction
of the power is parallel to the bafe, we have (Art. 72.)
P: W, as the altitude of the plane is to the bafe, or (Art.
131.) as the diftance between two threads is to the whole
circumference FKCF. If we fuppofe another power P' to
afl at the end of the lever AB, and deferibe the arch
HBG, and that this power produces the fame effeft at
B as the power P did at C, then (Art. 36.), we have
P;: P—CA : BA, that is, as FKCF is to the circumfe¬
rence HBG ; but it was fhewn before, that P : W— as
the diftance between two contiguous threads is to
FKCF; therefore, by compofition, P' : W as the diftance
between two threads is to HBG or the circumference
of a circle wftiofe radius is AB. E. D.
134. Cor.. I. It is evident from the propofition that
the
mechanics.
67
Theory.
Fig. 12.
the power does not In the leaft depend upon the fize of
' the cylinder FCK, but that it increafes with the di-
ftance of that point from the centre A, to which the
power is applied, and alfo with the Ihortnefs of the di-
ftance between the threads. Therefore, if P,/> be the
powers applied to two different fcrews, D,« the di-
ftances of thefe powers from the axis, and. 1, t the di-
llances between the threads 5 their energy in overcom¬
ing a given refinance will be direftly as their diftances
from the axis, and inverfely as the diftances of their
threads, that is, P : p—~r^ • -T"* 01‘ ^ vanes as .
Prop. II.
135. In the endlefs fcrew, there will be an equi¬
librium when the power is to the weight, as the
diftance of the threads multiplied by the radius
of the axle, is to the diftance of the power from
the axis of the fcrew multiplied by the radius
of the wheel.
The endlefs fcrew, which is reprefented in fig. 12.
confifts of a fcrew EF, fo combined with the wheel and
axle ABC, that the threads of the fcrew may work in
teeth fixed in the periphery of the wheel, and thus com¬
municate the power exerted at the handles or winches
P,/>. Let W reprefent the power produced by the
fcrew at the circumference of the wheel $ then, by the
laft propofition, P : W/ as the diflance between the
threads is to the diflance of P from the axis of the
fcrew\ but (Art. 92.) in the wheel and axle W': W as
the radius of the axle is to the radius of the wheel ;
therefore, by compofition, P : W as the diftances of the
threads multiplied by the radius of the axle C, is to the
diftance of the power P from the axis multiplied by the
radius of the wheel AB.
Prop. III.
136. When there is an equilibrium in the fcrew,
the velocity of the weight is to the velocity of
the power, as the power is to the weight.
It is obvious from fig. 11. that while the power de-
fcribes the circumference of the circle HBG uniformly,
the weight uniformly riles through a fpace equal to the
diftance°between two adjacent threads j therefore, the
velocity of the power is to the velocity of the weight as
the diftance between the threads is to the arch dejciibe.d
by the power, that is, (by Art. 133.), as the weight is
to the power.
Prop. IV.
137. To explain the conftru&ion and advantages
* See ?bii. of Mr Hunter’s double fcrew *.
Tranf vol. . f 1 t> a
Ixxi. p. 58. Let the fcrew CD work m the plate of metal J5 A,
13. and have n threads in an inch : the cylinder CD, ot
which this fcrew is formed, is a hollow tube, which is
alfo formed into a fcrew, having «-j-i threads in an
inch, and into this female fcrew is introduced a male
fcrew DE, having, of courfe, n-J-1 threads in an inch.
The fcrew DE is prevented from moving round with
CD by the frame ABGF and the crofs bar aby but is
Fig. ir.
permitted to afcend and defcend without a motion of, -theory
rotation. Then, by a revolution of the fcrew CD,
the other fcrew DE will rife through a fpace equal to
-, and if the circumference defcribed by the
« + i X«
lever CK be tn inches, we fhall have P:W== :
  ra-MX*
m; or P : W=ri winy^n-\-\.
138. This reafoning will be more perfpicuouS by fup-
pofing /?, or the number of threads in CD, to be 1 2,
and, »-|-l or the number of threads in DE will confe-
quently be x3. Let us fuppofe that the handle CK is
turned round 12 times, the fcrew CD will evidently
afcend through the fpace of an inch, and if the fcrew
DE is permitted to have a motion of rotation along
with CD, it will alfo advance an inch. Let the fcrew
DE be now moved backwards by 12 revolutions, it
will evidently defcribe a fpace of 4't °f inch, and
the confequence of both thefe motions will be that the
point £ is advanced xy of an inch. But, fince DE is
prevented from moving round with CD, the fame effect
will be produced as if it "had moved 12 times round
with CD, and had been turned 12 times backwards j
that is, it will in both cafes have advanced Ty an
inch. Since, therefore, it has advanced Ty of an inch
in X 2 turns, it will defcribe only t*t °f tt> or yhs °f
an inch uniformly at one turn \ but if the length of the
lever CK is 8 inches, its extremity K will defcribe, in
the fame time, a fpace equal to i6X3'J^}^= S°-2^5^
Inches, the circumference of the circle defcribed by K }
•thertiore the velocity of the weight is to the velocity
of the power, as T-fyr of an inch is to 50.2656 inches,
or as 1 is to 7841.433^’ that is, (Art. :
— 1 : 7841.4336. Hence the force of this double
fcrew is much greater than that of the common fcrew,
for a common one with a lever 8 inches long mull have
156 threads in an inch to give the fame power, which
would render it too weak to overcome any confiderable
refiftance. .
139. Mr Hunter propofes * to conned with his *
double fcrews, a wheel and a lantern, which are .put Jn Aw*/v5L
motion by a winch or handle. The power of this com- P
pound machine is fo great, that a man, by exerting a
force of 32 pounds at the winch, will produce an effect
of 1 72 100 pounds 5 and if we fuppofe this effect
to be deftroyed by fridion, there will remain an efftd
of 57600 pounds.—In fome fcrews it would be advan¬
tageous, infte«d of perforating the male fcrew CD, to
have two cylindrical fcrews of different kinds at d.iT-
rent parts of the fame axis.
Scholium.
140. The fcrew is of extenfive ufe as a mechanical
power, when a very great preflure is required, and is very
fuccefsfully employed in the printing prefs. In the prefs
which is ufed for coining money, the power ox the fcrew
is advantageoufly combined with an impuhive force,
which is conveyed to the fcrew by the intervention of
a lever. The fcrew is alfo employed for raifing water,
in which form it is called the fcrew of Archimedes;
(Hydrodynamics, $. 328) j and it has been lately
employed in the fiour mills in America for pufhing the
flour which comes from the millftones, to the end of a
long trough, from which it is conveyed to other parts
t
63
M ECU
Theory.
of tlic machinery, in order to undergo the remaining
' proceffes. In this cafe, the fpiral threads are very
large in proportion to the cylinder on which they are
fixed.
141. As the Icvdr attached to the extremity of the
fcrew moves through a very great fpace when compared
with the velocity of its other extremity, or of any body
which it puts in motion •, the fcrew is of immenfe ufc
in fubdividing any fpace into a great number of minute
parts. Hence it is employed in the engines for dividing
mathematical inftruments, and in tho/e which have been
recently ufed in the art of engraving. It is likewife
of great ufe in the common wire micrometer, and in the
divided objedl-glafs micrometer, hiftruments to which
the fcience of adronomy has been under great obliga¬
tions. See Micrometer.
Sect. V. the Balance.
Kate 142. DEFINITION. The balance, in a mathematical
-.CCXX. fenfe, is a lever of equal arms, for determining the
'r' weights of bodies.—-The phyfical balance is represented
in fig. 1. where FA, FB are the equal arms of the ba¬
lance, F its centre of motion fituated a little above the
centre of gravity of the arms, FD the handle which al¬
ways retains a vertical pofition, P, W the feales fuf-
pended from the points A, B, and CF the tongue or
index of the balance, -which is exaflly perpendicular to
the beam A3, and is continued below the centre of
motion, fo that the momentum of the part below F is
equal and oppofite to the momentum of that part which
is above it. Since the handle FD, fufpended by the
hook, H, mud hang in ;? vertical line, the tongue CF will
alfo be vertical when its pofition coincides v^ith that of
' FD, and confequently the beam AB, which is perpen-
A N I C S.
dicular to Cb, mud be horizontal. When this happens, Theory,
the weights in the fcale are evidently equal. '  v—
Prop. I.
143. fo determine the conditions of equilibrium in Fig. 2.
a phyfical balance.
I.et AOB be the beam, whofe weight is S, and let
P, Q be equal weights expreffed by the letter /«, and
placed in the feales, whole weights are L and /. Let
O he the centre of motion, and g the centre of gravity
of the whole beam, when unloaded, we dnll have in the
cafe of an equilibrium,
^ I- /’-fl-X AC~/>-f/xBC-j-Sx Cc; for fince S is
the weight of the beam and ^ its centre of gravity, its
mechanical energy in aiding againd the weights
is zzryxCe, the didance of its centre of gravity fiotn
the vertical line palling through the centre of mo¬
tion O.
f < II- fince AC~ EC ; AC—/> x BC = o.
Then, after tranfpofition, take this from the equation
in N° I. and we (hall have,
HI. /xBC-Lx AC +SxCc; or L—
Let us now fuppofe that a fmall weight w is
placed in the fcale L, the line AB which joins the
points of fufpenfion will be no longer horizontal, but
will afiume an inclined pofition. Let BA Arrp be the
angle which the beam makes with the direftion of gra¬
vity. Then by refolving the weight of the beam which
OGr Ct t
a£ts in the direction O the parts —— and will be
. Vg
in eqmlibno, and we (hall have,
IV. />-}-L X AO X sin. a VO-f S x OG X Sin. /.+/+iu X BO X Sin. ABO-f S x C ex Cof. <p.
But fince the fines and cofines of any angles, are the fame as the fines and cofines of their fupplement, we have,
V. f JLx AC X Col. —O c X Sin. f S X OG X Sin.
Hence by N° III. we have,
■u; X AC
OC-|- SxOG
But the force v, with which the balance at¬
tempts to recover its horizontal fituation, is the excefs
of the momenta with which one arm is moved, above
the momenta with which the other arm is moved,
therefore
V— 2y>-[-L-\-lX OC x Sin. X OG x Sin <p.
144. A more extended illudration of thefe conditions
of equilibrium will be found in an excellent paper by
Euler, publidied in the Comment. Petropol. tom. x. p. i.
and in another memoir upon the fame fubjeft by Kuhne
in the Verfuche der naturforchende gefelledihaft in Dant-
aig, tom. i. p. 1.—See alfo Hennert’s Curfus Mathefeos
applicate?, tom. 5. §. 123. From the preceding for¬
mulas, the following practical corollaries may be de¬
duced.
145. Cor 1, The arms of the balance mud be ex-
VI. Tang. q>
<p—p\-l-\-w X AC X Cof. p-rOCxSin. (pLSxC cxCof. <p.
adfly equal in length, which is known by changing the
weights in the feales; for if the equilibrium continues,
the arms mud be equal.
146. Cor. 2. The fenfibility of the balance increafes
with the length of the arms.
147. Cor. 3. If the centre @f motion coincides with
the point C and the centre of gravity, the balance will
be in equilibrio in any pofition, and the fmalled weight
added to one of the feales will bring the beam into a
horizontal pofition. The centre of motion, therefore,
diould not coincide with the centre of gravity.
148. Cor. 4. If the centre of motion is in the line
which joins the points of fufpenfion, the accuracy of the
balance will be increafed. The excefs of the weights
may be eafily determined by the inclination of the
beam, pointed out by the tongue or index upon a cir¬
cular arch fixed to the handle, or more accurately by
means of two divided arches fixed near the points of
fufpenfion, on a dand independent of the balance.
When the value of one of thefe divifions is* determined
experimentally, the red are eafily found, being propor¬
tional to the tangents of the inclination of the beam.
149.
MECHANICS.
I’heory. 149. Cor. 5. The fenfibility of the balance will in-
create, the nearer that the centre of gravity approaches
69
Theory.
Kubne’s
■b.Uance.
balance.
to the centre of motion.
j 50. Cor. 6. If the centre of gravity is above the
centre of motion, the balance is ufelefs.
Scholium.
141. A balance with all the properties mentioned in
the preceding corollaries, has been invented by M.
Kuhne, and defcribed in the work already quoted (Art.
144.). It is fo contrived that the points of fuipenfion
may be placed either above the centre of motion or be¬
low it, or in the line of its axis ; the beam is furnithed
with an index, which points out the proportion of the
weights upon a divided fcale, and the fridtion of the
axis is diminiihed by the application of friction wheels. 4
152. In order to get rid of the difficulties which at¬
tend the conftrufticn of the tongue, the handle, and the
_ ,e;;an’s arms of the balance, M. Magellan invented a very ac¬
curate and moveable one, in which there is no hanole,
and where one of the arms acts as a tongue. The.body
to be weighed and the counterpoife are placed in the
fame fcale, fo that it is of little confequence whether
the arms of the balance are equal or not. In this ba¬
lance the centre of motion can be moved to the imalleit
diftance from the centre of gravity. See Journal de
Fhyjique, Jan. 1781. tom. xvii. p. 43.
j - ’ 'The balance invented by Ludlam, and defcnbed
in the Philofophical Tranfadhons for I7^5> 5.5* ^e"
pends upon ./Epinus’s property of the lever, winch we
GCCXVHl.^ve explained in Art. 65* The angular lever Ah B,
l,g' ^ in which AFrzFB, is moveable roundwhich is equi-
difiant from A and B. The weight P is fufpended by
a thread from A, and the body W, wb ch is to oe
weighed, is fufpended by a thread from B. Hence it
is obvious, that with different bodies the lever AT B
will have different degrees of inclination, and tne index
■ or tongue LF/, which is perpendicular to AB, wall
form different angles ZFL, b\ f with the line of direc¬
tion ZF b. Now, by Art. 57. and by fubftituting for
b B, b A the fines of the angles F b B, Yb A, to which
they are proportional, and alio by taking inftead .of
Y b B the difference of the angles^i B,jfF b, and in¬
ftead of AF by the fum of thefe angles, we fhall have
Ludlam’s
balance.
Plate
Tang./F b~
P—W
X Tang.
AFB
Fig. 4.
■p+W
whence, by tranfpofition, and by Geomeirv, iheor.
YIII. Sea. IV.
P_|-W : P—W- fang. —4— : Tang./F^.
Hence, when the angle formed by the arms of the ba¬
lance, and the angle of aberration/F £ or ZFL, are
known, the weights may be found, and vice verfa.
Chap. IV. On the Centre oj Inertia, or Gravity.
! 54. Definition.—The centre ofinertia, or the centre
of gravity, of any body or fyftem of bodies, is that point
upon which the body or fyftem of bodies,. when.influ¬
enced only by the force of gravity, will.be in equilibrio
in every pofttion. The centre of inertia of plane, fur-
faces bounded by right lines, and alfo of fome folids
may be eaftly determined by the common geometry.
The application of the method of fluxions, however, to
this branch of mechanics is fo fimple and beautiful, that
we fhall alfo avail ourfelves of its affiftancc. The cents"?
of gravity has been called, by fome writers, the centre
of poftlion, and by others, the centre of mean diftances.
Prop. I.
155. To find the centre of inertia of any number
of bodies, whatever be their pofition.
Let AFfCD be any number of bodies influenced by
the force of gravity. Suppofe the bodies A, B conne&ed
by the inflexible line AB confidered as devoid of
weight, then find a point F, fo that the weight of A :
the weight of ErrBF : FA. The bodies A, B will
therefore be in equjUbrio about the point F in every
pofition (Art. 36.), and the preffure upon F will be e-
qual to Aff-B. Join FC, and find the point/, lo that
A-j-B : C~C f: fY ; the bodies A, B, C will confe-
quently be in equilibrio, upon the point//which will
fuftain a preffure equal to A-rE«j- C. Join D/ and
take the point p, fo that A+B-f-C : D~y> i) : £>/}
the bodies A, B, C, D wall therefore be in equilibria
about the point 4>, which will be their common centre
of inertia, and which fupports a weight equal to A-j-B
-j-C-f-D. In the fame manner we may find the centre
of inertia of any fyftem o? bodies, by merely connecting
the laft fulcrum with the next body by an inflexible
right line, and finding a new fulcrum from the magni¬
tude of the oppofite weights which it is to fuftain.
156. Cor. 1. If the weights of the bodies A, B, C, D
be increafed or diminished in a given ratio, the centre of
inertia of the fyftem will not be changed, for the pofi-
tions of the points F,/ <Z> are determined by the rela¬
tive and not by the abfolute weights of the bodies.
157. Cop.. 2. A motion of rotation cannot be commu¬
nicated to a body by means of a force adding upon its
centre of inertia j for the refiftances which the inertia
of each particle oppofes to the communication of motion
adt in parallel diredlions, and as they are proportional
to the weights of the particles, they will be in equili-
brio about the centre of gravity.
Prop. II.
158. To find the centre of inertia of any number of
bodies placed in a ftraight line.
Let A, B, C, D, L be any number of bodies whofe Fig. 5.
common centre of gravity is ;p. In the ftraight line AE
take any point X. Then fince all the bodies are in equili¬
brio about their common centre of gravity <p, we have by
by the property of the lever (Art. 36.) AxAp 4-
B X B <p=CxC p-f-D-j-D^-J-E X E but fince X <p
 XA=Aip, and X®—XBrrB <p,-and fo on with the
reft, we have by fubftitntion A X X <p— A A -j- B x
cxW
XC + Dx X <p—XT) -j- E x
 XE. Hence by multiplying and tranfpofing,
x tp—Xb
Xcp
we obtain A X X -j- B x X ft-j-C X X<p -j- D X X -j-
E x X p-AxXA+BxXB -f C xXC-f-Dx XD -f
ExXE? then dividing by A-fiB-fC-f-D-fE, we
have
Xp.
MECHANICS!
70
Theory.
AxXA + BxXB-f CxXC-fDxXD+ExXS
A+B+C-f-D+E ‘
Theorj'
Now A X XA ; B X XB, Sec. are Evidently the mo¬
menta of the bodies A, B, &c. and the divifor A-j-B
-[-C-f-D + E is the fum of the weights of all the bodies 5
therefore the diftance of the point X from the centre of
gravity <p is equal to the fum of the momenta of all the
weights divided by the fum of the weights.
159. Cor. I. If the point X had been taken between
A and E, at x for example, then the quantity A X XA
would have been reckoned negative, as lying on a dif¬
ferent fide of the point X.
160. Cor. 2. From this propofition we may deduce a
general rule for finding the centre of gravity in any body
or fyftem of bodies. Let any point be -affumed at the
extremity of the fyftem, then the prodnft of the mo¬
menta of all the bodies, (or the produfl arifing from
the continual multiplication of each body by its diftance
from the point), divided by the fum of the weights of
all the bodies, will be a quotient which expreifes the
diftance of the centre of gravity from the point affumed.
Prop. III.
161. If, in a fyftem of bodies, a perpendicular be
let fall from each upon a given plane, the fum
of the produ£ts of each body multiplied by its
perpendicular diftance from the plane, is equal
to the fum of all the bodies multiplied by the
perpendicular diftance of their common centre
of inertia from the given plane.
Let A, B, C be the bodies which compofe the fyf-
tem, and MN the given plane •, by Art. 155. find F
the centre of inertia of A and B, and G the centre of
gravity of the three bodies ; and from A, F, B, G, C
draw- A <7, F/, B G^, C c perpendicular to the plane
MN. Through F draw x Fy, meeting A a produced
in x, and B £ in y, then in the fimilar triangles A x F,
B y F, we have A .v : B ?/~ AF : BF, that is, (Art.
15^.) as B : A, hence AxA,t=BxBy, that is,
Ax^tf—AtfrrBxB^—y£, or on account of the e-
quality of the lines a, B $ AxF/1—Aa=:B
XB/?>—Yf, therefore, by multiplying and tranfpofing,
we have A-j-B xF/rrAx Atf-)-B X B £. Inthevery
fame way, by drawing wG % parallel to the plane, it
may be ftiewn that A-f-B-j-C X G.f—A. x A tf-j-B
X B Z'-j-C x C c. Q- E- D.
116. Cor. By dividing by A-j-B-f-C we have
„ Ax A^ + BxBT-f-CxC c
” A+B+C
Prop. IV.
163. To find the centre of inertia of a ftraight
line, compofed of material particles.
If we confider the ftraight line as compofed of a
number of material particles of the fame fize and den-
fity, it is evident that its centre of inertia will be a
point in the line equidiftant from its extremities. For
if we regard the line as a lever fupported upon its mid¬
dle point as a fulcrum, it will evidently be in equilibrio
in every pofition, as the number of particles or weights
on each fide of the fulcrum is equal.
Prop. V.
164. To find the centre of inertia of a parallelo-
gram.
Let A BCD be a parallelogram of uniform denfity,
b;fe<ft AB in F, and having drawn Ff parallel to AC ^
or BD, bife<51 it in (p ; the point <p will be the centre of
inertia or the parallelogram. The parallelogram may
be regarded as compofed of lines AB, a b parallel to
one another, and confiding of material particles of the
fame fize and denfity. Now, by Art. 155. the centre of
inertia of AB is F, and the centre of inertia of 77 £ is c j
and. in the fame way it may be ftiewn that the centre
of inertia, of every line of which the furface is com¬
pofed, lies in the line Ff. But F/ may be coniidered
as compofed of a number of material particles of uni¬
form denfity, each being equal in weight to the par¬
ticles in the line AB, therefore, by Art. 165. its centre
of inertia will be in <p, its middle point.
Prop. VI.
165. To find the centre of inertia of a triangle.
Let ABC be a triangle of uniform denfity, and let
AB, EC be bifedled in the points E, D. Join CE,
AD, and the point of interfe&ion F fhall be the cen¬
tre of inertia of the triangle ABC. The triangle
may be Confidered as compofed of a number o^parallel
lines of material particles BC, be, /3 but in the
fimilar triangles ADC, Aec; AD : DC=A c : e c,
and in the triangles ADC, ADB, A e b •, BD : DA=
be : e A-, hence by compofition BD : Y)Q.—be : ec;
but BD and DC are equal $ therefore, b e—e c, and
the line b c, fuppofed to confift of material particles,
will be in equilibrio about e. In the lame way it may
be {hewn that every other line /3 * will be in equilibrio
about a point fituated in^the line AD ; confequently
the centre of gravity is in that line. For the fame rea-
fon it follows, that the centre of gravity is in the line
CE, that is, it will be in F, the point of interfe&ion of
thefe two lines. In order to determine the relation be¬
tween FA and FD, join ED ; then, fince BErrEA,
and BDzrDC, BE : EAdBD : DC, and, confequent¬
ly, (Geometry, Sedh IV. Theor. 18.) ED is pa¬
rallel to AC, and the triangles BED, BAC fimilar.
We have, therefore, CA : CB=DE : DB, and by al¬
ternation CA : DErzCB : DB, that is, CA : DErz
2 : 1. In the fimilar triangles CFA, DFE, AF : AC~
DF : DE, and by alternation AF : DF — AC : DE,
that is, AF : DF=2 : 1, or AFrr-fAD.
166. Cor. 1. By Geometry, Theor. 16. Se£h IV.
we have
AB’-f AC,=2BDs+2 AB^^BC’-j-f AF*
ABJ-j-BC3=2CC2+2BG2=riACJ-f# (IF
AC2 -{- BC2-2 AF2-f- 2 EC2 AB2-f | EFT
Theory. Hy adding tliefe three equations, and removing the
  V fractions, we have AI^-f-BC*AF*+ 3 ^ ^
-}-q BF% or in any plane triangle, the fum of the fquares
of "the three fides is equal to thrice the fum of the
fquares of the diftances of the centre of gravity from
each of the angular points.
167. Cor. 2. By rtfolving the three quadratic equa¬
tions in the preceding corollary, we obtain AF~F
^2 AB* + 2 AC»—BC3; CF=:4V2 BAa+2BC»—
AC2 ; and BF —\y 2 BC3 + 2 AC3—AB*, formula
which expreis the diflances of the centre of gravity from
each of the angular points.
Prop. VII.
168. To find the centre of inertia of a trapezium
or any rectilineal figure.
FIS- 9* Let ABCDE be the trapezium, and let it be divid¬
ed into the triangles ABC, ACE, ECD by the lines
AC, EC. By the laft propofition find m, n, 0, the
centres of gravity of the triangles, and take the point
F in the line mn, fo that F« : F wirtriangle ABC :
triangle ACE, then F will be the centre of gravity of
thefe triangles, .loin F 0, and find a point fo that
fo : F/= triangle ABC + triangle ACE : triangle
CED, then all the triangles will be in equilibrio about
f that is, /is the centre of gravity of the reCfilineal
'figure ABCDE. The fame method may be employed
in finding the centre of gravity of a trapezium, what¬
ever be the number of its fides.
Prop. VIII.
169. To find the centre of inertia of a pyramid
with a polygonal bafe.
Fig. to. Let the pyramid be triangular, as ABCD, fig. 10.
Bifea BD in F, and join CF and FA. Make F f=
4 of FC, and F <p=\ of FA, and draw/p. It is evi¬
dent, from Art. 159. that/is the centre of gravity of
the triangular bale BLD, and that the line AF, which
joins the vertex and the point/ will pafs through tne
centre of gravity of all the triangular laimnas 01 fic¬
tions of the pyramid parallel to its bafe ABC ; .or, by
taking any feftion bef and joining c/x, it may be
eafily fhewn, that b m~m d, and m n—\m c, fi> tnat n
is the centre of gravity of the fiction b c d. It fol¬
low's, therefore, that A/ will pafs through the centre
of gravity of the pyramid. In the fame wray it may be
fhewn, by confidering ABD as the bafe, and D the
vertex, and making F <p=:^FA, that the centre of gra¬
vity lies in the line ty C. But, as the lines A/ C lie
in he plane of the triangle AFC, they muft interfedl
each other ; and therefore the point of interfifhon
LI will be the centre or inertia of the triangular pyra¬
mid. Now', fince F/=|FC, and F ^).=|FA, we have
F : FA —F/: FC, therefore (Geometry, Theor. 8.
Sea. IV.) <p/ is parallel to AC. ' The triangle <p / !i
will confequently be fimilar to AHC, and Hip : HC
—H/: HA—/-p : AC=t : 3 ; therefore HiprrjHC
—^C, and/H—|AH=JA/. , r .
170. When the pyramid has a polygonal bale, it
mav be conceived to be formed of a numoer of triangular
pyramids, whole centres of inertia will be in one plane
parallel to the bafe. Their common centre of gravity
will therefore be in the fame plane, and in the line
MECHANICS.
drawn from the vertex to the centre of gravity of all
the triangles which compofe the bale ; the diftance of
the centre of gravity, therefore, from the vertex, will
be equal to three-fourths of the altitude of the py¬
ramid.
171. Cor. 1. Hence it is obvious, that the centre of
gravity of a right cone is a point in its axis, whole di-
Ilance from the vertex is equal to three-fourths ot the^
length of the axis; for as this may be demonitrated of
a pyramid whofe bale is a polygon, with ^n infinite
number of fides, it muff hold alio of a right cone
which may be coniidered as a pyramid ot this deierip-
tion.
172. CoR. 2. By proceeding as-in Art* 160. it
will be found, that in 'a triangular pyramid, the di-
ilancc of any of the vertices from Us centre of iner¬
tia, is equal to one-fourth of the fquare root of the
difference of thrice the fum of the fquares of the three
edges which meet at that vertex, and the fum of the
fquares of the other three edges ;—and likewife, that
the fum of the fquares of the diitances of the centre of
inertia from the vertices of any triangular pyramid,
is equal to one-fourth of the ium of the Iquaies of the
fix edges of the pyramids. A demonilration of thefe
theorems may be ieen in Gregory’s Mechanics, vol. i»
p. 59, 60.
172' order to fhew the application of the doc¬
trine of fluxions to the determination of the centre of
inertia of curve lines, areas, folids, and the furfaces Fig. 11
of folids, let ABC be any curve line whole axis is BR.
Then, fince the axis bife&s all the ordinates DG, AC,
each of the ordinates, confidered as compofed of mate¬
rial particles, will be in equilibrio about their points ot
bifetfion E, R ; and therefore the centre of inertia of
the body will lie in the axis. But, if we confider the
body as compofed of a number of fmall w’eights D dg G,
we lhall find its centre of inertia by multiplying each
weight by its diftance from any line mn parallel to the or¬
dinates, and dividing the fum of all theie produ£ts by the
fum of all the particles, Art. ^ bus, let x denote the
diftance EB, then its fluxion x wflil be tne breadth of
the element or fmall weight D^/^G, and.vxHG^ will
reprefent the weight, and the fluent ol thisquantity will be
the fum of all the weights. Again, if we multiply the weight
X x DG by y—EB its diftance from the point B, we (hall
have the momentum of that weight —yX *XDG, and
the fluent of this quantity will exprels the fum of the mo¬
menta of all the weights into which the body is divid¬
ed. But, by Art. 158. the diftance of the centre of
gravity from a given point B is equal to the fum of all
the momenta divided by the fum of all the weights or
bodies, that is, if F be the centre of gravity of the
, fluent of x X * X F)G
body ABC, we have FB:
or
fluent ot x X F)G
calling y the ordinate DE, we have DG=:2 y., and FB
 flurnt of x 2 yx , or FE_fluent of jn the cafe
fluent oi 2 y x fluent yx
of areas.
174. In the cafe of folids generated by rotation, the
element or fmall weight F x X E>G will be a circular
fe&ion.
/
M E C H
Theory. fe£l!on, whole diameter is 2DErr2y, and fince the
v " srea of a circle is equal to its circumference multiplied
by its diameter, we have (making tt—j.i 416) 2 fry'1 x,
“the circular fection whofe diameter is DGj and fince
a.-X 2 7ry*x, or 2 frxy'x, will reprefentthe momentum
^ n n i -r-n duentof
ot the weight, we mail have FB— ^—r-,
fluent of 2 7T ifx
fluent of yxx
ana dividing by 2 x y, we have i1 B=r  —^—1-.
fluent of yx
1 75. In finding the centre of inertia of the furfaces
of folids, the elements or fmall weights are the circum¬
ferences of circles, whofe radii are the ordinates of the
curve by whofe revolution the folid is-generated. Now,
the furface of the folid may be conceived to be gene¬
rated by the circumference of a circle increafing gra¬
dually from B towards A and C ; making % therefore
equal to BD, its fluxion s multiplied into the peri-
phery of the circle whofe diameter is DG, that is,
2 tt y 2; will exprefs the elementary furface or fmall
weight whofe diameter is DG. Then, fince x X 2 wy 2,
or ifcxy^ will be the momentum of the elementary
weight, we fliall have FB—■—U--rit^ and di¬
fluent of 2fr y %
.. „„ fluent of xy %
t iding by 2 tt we obtain 1 B~ d__.
fluent of y 2;
176. If the body, w’hofe centre of inertia is to be
found, be a curve line, as GBD, then it is manifeft that
the fmall weights will be expreffed by the fluxion of
GBD, that is, by 22;, fince GBD=:2 BD—22;; con-
fequently their momenta will be 2x%, and we fliall
fluent 2 x z fluent x % fluent x 2;
Fig. 12,
A N I C S.
vinculum) its ralue R-
(R—x) x( 2 R x—x1)
Fig. 11.
have FB—-
fluent 2 z fluent %
Prop. IX.
177. To find the centre of inertia of a circular
fegment.
Let AE—v, FC—y, and AD the radius of the cir¬
cle = R, confequently ME— 2 R—EA. Then, fince
by th$ property of the circle (Geometry, Theor. 28.
Sedt. IV.") MExEA—BE% we have, by fubftitution,
BE2 = 2 R X EA— EA x EA, or y2 =: 2 R x — x2 j
hence y—\/,2 R at—x2. Now, by Art. 174. we have
the diliance of the centre of gravity from A, that is,
. „ fluent x y x •
AG— 1—7“ } but the fluent or y x or the fum of
fluent y x
all the weights, is equal to the area of half the feg¬
ment ABEC ; therefore AG=^AAfA Then, by
JLX D JL-J
fubftituting inftead of y, in this equation, the value of
it deduced from the property of the circle, wre have
fluent of xx V lRx
AG—-
or, in order to find
ABEC
GD the diflance of the centre of gravity from the cen¬
tre, we muft fubilitute inftead of x (without ^he
-x, and we have GD—'fluent
. , , . Now, in omier to find the
4-ABLE
fluxion of the numerator of the preceding fraction, af-
fume z— 2 R x—x2, and "z^f— 2 R x—xs, and by tak¬
ing the fluxion, we have 2;—2 R x—2xxz=. 2 R—2X Xx j
but this quantity is double of the firft term of the nu¬
values in the fradlional formula, we obtain GD
vAr x-
55 4 • z}
2 3
j but fince y=r2Rx-
we have, by raifing both fides to the third power, p3~
_ A X 8 y*
2 Rx-
14 ; therefore G D;
4 V*
4 ABEC 4ABEC
T_(2 y)* '
— ~ a ^S» t1ae diftance of the centre of gra-
AbiiL
vity of a circular fegment from the centre of the circle,
is equal to the twelfth part of the cube oPtwice the or¬
dinate, (or the chord of the fegment) divided by the
area of the fegment.
178. Cor. When the fegment becomes a femicircle
we have 2y“2r*, and therefore = GD—‘ ^ ;
(2r)3
8 x^3
r3
ABEC “
12 ABEC 12 ABEC lyAtiEC* t,Wt “• ,he ^
tance of the centre of gravity of a femicircle from the
centre of the femicircle, is equal to the cube of the ra¬
dius, divided by one and a half times the area oi the
fegment.
Prop. X.
179. To find the centre of inertia of the feflcr of
a circle.
Let ABDCbe the fe£lor of the circle. By Art. 157.
find m the centre of inertia of the triangle BCD, and
by the laft propofition find G the centre of inertia of
the fegment *, then take a point ?i fo fituated bettveen
G and m, that ABEC : BCRzzm/i : G//, then the
point n will be the centre of gravity of the fedlor.—
By proceeding in this way, it will be found that D /?,
or the diftance of the centre of gravity of the fedfor
from the centre of the circle, is a fourth proportional
to the femiarc, to the femichord, and to two-thirds of
the radius.
Prop. XL
180. To find the centre of inertia of a plane fur¬
face bounded by a parabola whofe equation is
y—<7 x”.
Since y—axn, multiply both terms by xx, and x fe-
parately, and we have y x x — a x +2x, and y x—axnx.
But, by Art. 174. we have FBrz
fluent of x
!/:
,tht
fluent yx
fore, by fubftituting the preceding values of xy
yx in the formula, we obtain FBnr;
and
fluent of a xwTtx
fluent of a xnx
and
'i heory.
merator, therefore — z=R—x X x. By fubflituUng thefe
fluent
2
MECHANICS.
Theory. and by taking the fluents it becomes
a
w “f-1 .,R .r .v
Fig. 13.
in this formula, we obtain FB —^Uent f for
fluent of R .v
FB:
«-{-2
a xtl+'1
11 -{- X
Xv.
If//, therefore, be equal to then y—ax\, and,
fquaring both fides, if—cfx, which is the equation of
the common or Apollonian parabola. Hence, FB=r
that is, the diftance of the centre of gravity from
the vertex is 3-ths of the axis.
When n is equal to I, then y=ra,v, and the para¬
bola degenerates into a triangle, in which cafe FB
—jX, as in Art. 165.
Prop. XII.
181. To find the centre of inertia of a folid, ge¬
nerated by the revolution of the preceding curve
round its axis.
Smce ijzza xn, fquare both Tides, and we have y*=:
a%x>n; then multiply both fides by.rw, and at feparate-
ly, we obtain y1xx=a2xln+'x, and y*x=a2xtnx. But,
, _ fluent of ifxx ,
by Art. 174. we have FBrr  —— J therefore,
fluent of y*x
by fubftituting the preceding values of y*x x, and
. fluent of a2x*n+Tx
xn that formula, wTe obtain FBr=  ——> and
fluent of a2x2nx
by taking the fluents we (hall have
a2x* ”
2/?+ 1
FBzz
2 //+2
2//-P1 2 n -f- 2
y  R y x x %
R ^2; R y v 2;
(and dividing by yis):
Rv/c
R x
By
y
taking the fluents we obtain FB=r j
R x2
Rv
x, a fluent
2//-|-i
When n—^i the folid becomes a common parabo¬
loid, and we obtain FBrrr-hv.
When n— 1, the folid becomes a cone, and FB
as in Art. 171.
Prop. XIII.
182. To find the centre of gravity of a fpherical
furface or zone, comprehended between two
parallel planes, or of the fpherical furface of
any fpherical fegment.
Let BMNC be a feflion pf the fpherical furface
comprehended between the planes BC, MN, and let
EP=a?, ECzzy, DCzrR, and 2= the arc CN. Sup-
pofe the abfeifla EP to increafe by the fmall quantity
E 0, draw 0 r parallel to EC, C s parallel to E 0, and
C r perpendicular to DC ; then it is evident, that in
the fimilar triangles CDE, C s r, EC : DC = C J1 :
C r, that is, y : R= C r : C r j but C r is the flux¬
ion of the arc NC, and C s the fluxion of the abfeif-
fa PE •, therefore y : R ~ a? : 2;, and szymR x, and z
R v , , „„ fluent of x 1/ z
~ . Now, by Art. 175. FB— ;——,
y fluent of x y z
therefore, by fubftituting the preceding value of z
VOL. XIII. Part I.
which requires no corredlion, as the other quantities
vanith at the fame time with x.
183. When DP is equal to DC, the folid becomes
a fpherical fegment, and EA becomes the altitude
of the fegment, fo that univerfally the centre of gra¬
vity of the fpherical furface of a fpherical fegment
is in the middle of the line which is the altitude of the
fegment, or in the middle of the line which joins the
centres of the two circles that bound the fpherical
fegment.
184. When the fpherical fegment is a hemifpheroid,
the centre of gravity of its hemifpherical furface is ob-
vioufly at the diftance of one-half the radius from its
centre.
Prop. XIV.
185. To find the centre of gravity of a circular
arc.
Let BAG be the circular arc, it is required toy^
find its centre of inertia, or the diftance of the cen¬
tre of inertia of the half arc AC from the diameter
HG } for it is evident, that the line which joins the
centres of gravity of each of the femiarcs AB, AC
mull be parallel to PIG, and therefore the diftance of
their common centre of gravity, which muft be in that
line, from the line HG, will be equal to the diftance of
the centre of gravity of the femiarc from the fame line.
Make PCrzDE—v; EC—y; DC—DA —R, and AC
= 2;, then it may be Ihewn, as in the laft propofition,
that y : R—a? : 2; ; hence zyzzfLx. But, by Art. 176.
. fluent of y x . . . , . r
we have FB—  —, y being in this cale equal
to x in the formula in Art. 176. and fubftituting the
, r • . , fluent of R a;
preceding value or y z, it becomes fU—  ,
R x
and, taking the fluent, we have FB—, which re¬
quires no eorreftion, as the fluent of y 2; vaniihes at the
fame time with x. Calling //, therefore, the diftance
of the centre of inertia of the arc BAG from the cen¬
tre D, we have cl———, and //z = R a; : hence 2; : x
x
zrR : //, or 2 Z : 2 v—R : d, that is, the diftance of
the centre of inertia of a circular arc from the centre
of the circle is a fourth proportional to the arc, the
chord of the arc, and radius.
186. When the arc BAG becomes a femicircle, PC
or X is equal, to DG or radius, fo that we have
2 2; : 2 R =z R : </, or 4 Z : 4 R zz R : //; but 4 2; is
equal to the whole circumference of the circle, and 4
K is -
-*■ Mathe¬
matical
1 ijerta-
i ions,
r
MECHANIC S.
is equal to twice the diameter j therefore, 3.141 593 : 2
~R. : d\ hence  nz.63662 R.
iSq. When %j is equal to 2 R, or when the arc ABC
becomes equal to the whole circumference of the circle,
x vanilhes, and is — o, and therefore =.0, which
S3
(hews, that the centre of inertia coincides with the cen¬
tre of the circle.
Scholium I.
183. From the fpecimens which the preceding pro-
pofitions contain of the application of the formulas in
Articles 173, 174, 173', l 76, the reader will find no
difficulty in determining the centre of inertia of other
fnrfaces and folids, when he is acquainted with the equa¬
tion of the curves by w-hich the furfaces are bounded,
and by whofe revolution the folids are generated.
A knowledge of the nature of thefe curves, how¬
ever, is not abfolutely neceffary for the determina¬
tion of the centres of Inertia of furfaces and folids. A
method of finding the centre of gravity, without employ¬
ing the equation of the bounding curves, was difeover-
ed by our countryman, Mr Thomas Simfon *. It was
aftervtfards more fully illufirated by Mr Chapman, in
his work on the Confiruflion of Ships •, by M. Le-
veque, in his tranflation of Don George Juan’s Trea-
tife on the Conllrudlion and Management of Vefiels *,
and by M. Prony, in his Prelate Bure Hydraulique,
tom. i. p. 93a to which we mufl refer fuch readers as
>yi(h to profecute the fubjefl.
9. In the fedlor of a circle, the centre of inertia is TU
diilant from the centre of the circle, by a quantity
which is a fourth proportional to the femiarc, the femi-
chord, and two-thirds of the radius.
10. In a fpherical furface or zone, comprehended
between two planes, the centre of inertia is in the mid¬
dle of the line which joins the centres of the two circu-
lai planes by which it is bounded. When one of the
circular planes vanilhes, the Ipherical zone becomes
the fpherical furface of a fpherical fegme.nt j there¬
fore,
11. In a fpherical furface of a fpherical fegment, the
centre of inertia is in the middle of its altitude or ver-
fed fine 1 confequent-ly,
1 2. The centre of inertia of the fuvface of a com¬
plete fphere coincides with the centre of the fphere.
13. In a fpherical fegment, the centre of inertia
is diilant from the vertex by a quantity equal to
tX x, where a is the diameter of the fphere,
6 ci—4.V
and x the altitude or verfed line of the fegment.
Hence,
14. The centre of inertia of a hemifphere is dillant
from its vertex by a quantity equal to five-eighths of
the radius, or it is three-eighths of the radius diilant
from the hemifphere ; and,
15. The centre of inertia of a complete fphere coin¬
cides with the centre of the fphere.
16. In a circular arc the centre of inertia is diftant
• 1^. X
from its centre by a quantity equal to , where R is
Scholium II.
Pofitianof jgp, it is frequently of great ufe to know the po-
tp" centre f]tjon tp,e of inertia in bodies of all forms, we
feoTes^of infha!l collsdl all the leading refults which might have
various been obtained, by the method given in the preceding
forms. propolitions.
1. The centre of inertia of a flraight line is in its
middle point.
2. The centre of inertia of a parallelogram is in the
interfe&ion of its diagonals.
3. The centre of inertia of a triangle is diilant from
its vertex two-thirds of a line drawn from the vertex
to the middle of the oppofite fide,
4. The centre of inertia of a circle, and of a regular
polygon, coincides with the centres of thefe figures.
5. The centre of inertia of a parallelepiped is in
the interfedlion of the diagonals joining its oppofite
angles.
6 The centre of inertia of a pyramid is dillant from
its vertex three-fourths of the axis.
7. The centre of inertia of a right cone is in a point
'in its axis vvhofe diitance from the vertex is three-fourths
of the axis.
8. In the fegment of a circle, the centre of inertia is
diilant from the centre of the circle a twelfth pa;t of
the cube of the chord of the fegment divided by the
area of the fegment, or dz
L C3
:1T’
where d — the dif-
tance of the centre of inertia from the centre of the
circle, C = the chord of the fegment, and A its
axis.
the radius, x the femichord, and z the femiarc.
Hence,
17. In a femicircular arc the centre of inertia is dif¬
tant from its centre .63662 R, and,
1 8. The centre of inertia of the circumference of a
circle coincides with the centre of the circle.
19. In a circular iedlor the centre of inertia is dif-
2 ^ R # T
tant from the centre of the circle , where R i§ the
radius, a the arc, and c its chord.
20. In a fpherical ledlor, compofed of a cone and
a fpherical fegment, the centre ol inertia is diilant
from the vertex of the fegment by a quantity equal to
2 R -}- 3 ^
8
■, where R is radius, and x the altitude or
verfed fine of the fegment.
21. In an ellipfis the centre of inertia coincides with
the centre of the figure.
22. The centre of inertia of an oblate and prolate
fpheroid, folids generated by the revolution of an el-
lipfe round its leffer and its greater axis refpectivtiy,
coincides with the centres of the figures.
23. In the fegnient of an oblate fpheroid the centre
of inertia is diilapt from its vertex by a quantity equal to
^ f?] - 'lx • • •
   — x x, where m is the leffer axis, cr axis of rota-
6 ru—4 A.’
tion, and x the altitude of the fegment. Hence,
24. In a hemifpheroid the centre of inertia is dillant
from its vertex five-eighths of the radius.
23. The centre of inertia of the fegment of a prolate
fpheroid
M E CH
Tncwy. fplieroid is diftant from its vertex by a quantity equal to
4 n 3 where n is the greater axis, or axis of rc-
6 m—4 x
tation. .
26. In the common or Apollonian parabola, the di-
flance of the centre of inertia from its vertex is three-
fifths of the axis.
27. In the cubical parabola the didance of the cen¬
tre of inertia from its vertex is four-fevenths of the axis,
in the biquadratic parabola five ninths of the axis, and
in the furfolid parabola fix-elevenths of the axis.
28. In the common femiparabola, the dlftance of its
centre of gravity from the centre of gravity of the
whole parabola, in the diredion of the ordinate paffing
through that centre, is -g- of the greateffc ordinate.
29. In the common paraboloid, the difiance of the
centre of inertia from its axis, is equal to 4 of the
axis.
30. In the common hyperboloid, the diffance @r the
X*)
4<7-|-3*
centre of inertia from the vertex is equal ^ x
where a is the tranfverfe axis of the generating hyper¬
bola, and a; the altitude of the folid. _
31. In the fruflura of a paraboloid, the didance of
the centre of inertia from the centre of die finalled:
circular end is
aR’-H
h
X b, where h is the didance
Ra+r* • 4
between the centres of the circles which contain the
paraboloidal fruftum, R the radius of the greater
circle, and r the radius of the leffer circle.
?2. In a conic fruftum or truncated cone, the cu-
ftance of the centre of inertia from the centre of the
. 3Rz-f-2R r-l-?'51 h , • , .
fmalleft circular end is _|_pq rX 4 W liC" ie‘
prefents the diftance between the centres oi tne circles
which contain the friiftum, and R, r tne rauii of the
circles.
33. The fame formula is applicable to ary regular
pyramid, R and r reprefenting the Ikies of the two
•polygons by which it is contained.
Prop. XIV.
190. If a quantity of motion be communicated to
a fyftem of bodies, the centre of gravity of the
fyftem will move in the fame direction, and
with the fame velocity, as if all the bodies were
collected in that centre, and received the fame
quantity of motion in the fame direction.
fK 14. Let A, B, C be the bodies which compofe the
fvftem, and let F be the centre of gravity of the bodies
B C, * and / the centre of gravity of the whole fyftem,
as determined by Art. 155. 1 ben if tne oody A re¬
ceives fuch a momentum as to make it move to a m a
fecend, join Fa, and take a point !p lo that F<p: <p a ~
F f: fa, <? will now be the centre of gravity ot the
fvftem, f<p the the path of that centre will be parallel
to A tf, and /$ will be to A a as B is to A -f-B-ftC.
Let the fame quantity of motion be now communicated
lo B, i'o as to make it deferibe the fpace F> b in a fe-
cond ; and having drawn ^>G parallel to h b, tah£ 2-
point G, fo that <p G : B B : A-j-B + C, and G
will be the centre of gravity of the bodies after L has
A N I C S.
moved to b. In the fame it may be found, that H
will be the common Centre of gravity of the bodies
after the fame quantity of motion has been communi¬
cated to C in the dire&ion C c. Now if the quantity of
motion which was communicated to A, B, C feparately
had been communicated to them at the fame inftant,
they would have been found at the end of a fecond in
the points a,b,c, and their centre of gravity would have
been the point H. Let us now fuppofe the three
bodies collefled in their common centre of gravity/,
the body at F will be equal to A-j-B-j-C, and if the
fame quantity of motion which made A move to a
in a fecond be communicated to the body at /and in
the fame direftion, it will be found fomewhere in the
line/<? at the end of a fecond. But as the quantity of
motion is equal to the produft of the velocity of the
body multiplied by its quantity of matter, the velo¬
cities are inverfely as the quantities of matter, and con-
fequently the velocity of the body at / is to A’s velo¬
city as A is to A-S-B-j-C, that is, as /<p is to A. a ;
therefore A a and /<p are deferibed by A and by the
body at /in equal times, and the'body at /wall be
found at <p at the end of a fecond. In the fame way it
may be fhewn, that the body at / will be found at G
if it receives the fame momentum that was given to B,
and in the fame direction, and that it will be found at
II after it has received the momentum that was com¬
municated to C, confequently if it received all thefe
momenta at the fame inftant, it would nave deferibed
/H in a fecond. (/ E. D.
191. Cor. 1. If the bodies of a fyftem move uni¬
formly in right lines, their common centre of gravity will
either be at reft, or move uniformly in a right line. For
if the momenta communicated to the bodies A, B, C
were communicated to a body at/m A-f-B-f-C, it will
either remain at reft or move uniformly in a ftraight
line. See Newton's Pnnci/na, I. Se6h III. Cor. 1.
192. Cor. 2. The centre of gravity of any fyftem isFig- m’-'
not affefled by the mutual aclion of the bodies which
compofe it. For let B and C be two bodies vvnof©
common centre of gravity is I and let the points
be taken fo that B/3 : C >c=rC : B, the fpaces B/3,
C * will reprefent the mutual a£licn of the bodies 13,
C, that is B /3 will reprelent the action of C upon B,
or the motion which is the refult of that action, and Cx
the aclion of B upon C, or the motion which rcfuits
from it. Then, fince F is the common centre of gra¬
vity, of B and C, we have (Art. 155") • CrrfC :
FB, but B : C=C» : B/3, therefore FC : FB—Cx :
P & ; but C * is a magnitude taken from FC, and B /3
is a magnitude taken from FB, confequently (Playfair’s
Euclid, Book V. Prop. 19.) the remainder x¥ : /2 F
— FC : F B, that is, xF : ft F=B : C, that is (Art.
155.) ft.re point F continues to be the centre of gra¬
vity notwithlfanding the adtion of the bodies B, C. If
the fyftem is compoftd ©f leveral bodies, tne fame thing
may be proved of every two of the bodies, and confe-
quently of the whole fyftem. See INN!embert ,r I)yna~
nnque, A.rt. 7^* a''‘4 Newton's Pvincipia, I. oe£t. III.
Cor. 4.
Prop. XV.
193. If a body is placed upon a horizontal plane,
or fufpended by two threads, it cannot be in
K 3
equilibno
M E C H
equilibrio unlefs a perpendicular drawn from
the centre of gravity to the horizontal plane,
or to a horizontal line palling through the two
threads, fall within the bafe of the body, or
upon that part of the horizontal line which lies
between the threads.
194. 1. Let ABCD be a body placed in the horizon¬
tal plane CD, G its centre of gravity, and GE a per¬
pendicular drawn to the horizontal line DE. Then the
whole matter of the body ABCD may be conceived
as united in its centre of gravity G, and as its tendency
downwards is in the vertical line GE, it can defcend
only by turning round the point C as a centre. Here
then we have a body G placed at the end of a lever
GC whofe fulcrum is C, and its power to turn round
C is reprefented by the quantity of matter in G multi¬
plied by the perpendicular CE, let fall from the ful¬
crum upon its line of direblion 5 and as there is no
force to counterbalance this, the body G, and confe-
quently the body ABCD, will fall by turning round C.
When the vertical line GE coincides with GC, EC
vanishes, and the weight of the body concentrated at
G has no power to turn the lever round C, but is fup-
ported upon the fulcrum C. When the vertical line
GE, (by fome writers called the line of direSlion), falls
within the bafe CD, it is obvious that the weight at
G has no influence in producing a motion round C or
D, 1 mt is employed in preffing the body upon the ho¬
rizontal plane ED.
Fig. 16. ipy. 2. Let the body AGED be fufpended at the
points /, by the threads h f h' Q, and let G be the cen¬
tre of gravity of the body. Join G (p, Gf draw/ip paral¬
lel to the horizon, and through G draw no parallel to
f (p. Continue h f h'(p to 0 and «, and draw G i perpen¬
dicular to /'<p, the body AB cannot be in equilibrio un¬
lefs the point i falls upon the horizontal line f <p which
paffes through the threads. It is obvious that the centre
of gravity can never change its diftance from the fixed
points of fufpenfionyi ; if therefore the body is not in
• equilibrio, its centre of gravity mufi defcend either to¬
wards/?; or ?/; let it defcend towards tn till it reffs at the
point y, then yf—f G •, but y Q is greater than G<p (Eu¬
clid, Book I. Prop. 7.) which is abfurd, therefore the
point G cannot defcend, that is, the body is in equili¬
brio. It may be (hewn in the fame way, that it will
be in equilibrio when G is any where between n and 0,
that is, when the perpendicular let fall from G cuts the
horizontal line f (p that lies between die threads. If
the body be fufpended by the twro threads HE, hf fo
that the perpendicular G i falls without the line /F,
the body is not in equilibrio, for the centre of gravity
G adding at the end of the lever GF tends to turn round
F with a power equal to G X G /??, it will therefore de¬
fcend, and as its diftance from f cannot change, the
pointi/' will rife, and the thread fh will be relaxed.
When G arrives at m the perpendicular G m vanilhes,
and G has no power to turn round F. The body AB
therefore cannot be in equilibrio till the perpendicular
G i falls within yF, which it does as foon as it arrives
at m.
196. Cor. 1. If a body is placed upon an inclined
plane, fuppofed without friddion, it will Hide down the
plane when the line of direddion falls within its bafe,
and will roll down when this line falls without the bafe.
A NT C S.
This is the reafqn why a fphere or cylinder rolls down Theory,
an inclined plane ; for as they touch the plane only in
one point or line, the line of dirtddion muit always fall
without the bafe.
197. Cor. 2. The higher the centre of gravity of Fig- 17.
a body is, the more eafily will it be overturned. For
if ABCD be the body whole centre of gravity is F,
and if any force be employed to move it round C as a
fulcrum, the power with which it will refill this force
is inverfely as FC 5 then, if the centre of gravity is
railed toy, yC will be greater than FC, and the
power with which it refills being overturned is dimi-
nilhed, that is, the body is the more eafily overturned
the higher that its centre of gravity is placed.
198. Cor. 3. If a body be fufpended by one thread,
it will not be at reft unlefs its centre of gravity is ‘in
the direddion of the thread produced, for when the
two threads h f, h' (p approach lo near each other as to
coincide with the fingle thread HE, the point i mull
in the cafe of an equilibriurri fall uoon F, and the lines
G i, GF mull coincide with m F ; but HF and m F
are both perpendicular to the horizontal line f <p, there¬
fore the centre of gravity G is in the direblion of the
thread HF.
199. Cor. 4. If the bodies A, B, C, fig. 18. be fu-Fig. iSv
fpended by any point F from thfe hook H, they will
not be in equilibrio unlefs their common centre of gra¬
vity G is in the vertical line FG pafting through tiie
point of fufpenfion 5 and in fig. 19. the bodies A, B Fig. 19,
connedded by the bent rod AFB will not be in equi¬
librio unlefs their common centre of gravity G is in a
vertical line palling through F, the point in which the
fyftem refts upon the plane CD.
Scholium.
200. We have feen in the preceding propofition and 1/lFrent
corollaries, the pofition which mull be given to the centre k!IK?j’.eJ
of gravity in order to procure an equilibrium. It is bniim.
evident, however, that though the bodies are neceffari-
ly at reft, yet they have different degrees of liability,
depending cn the pofition of the centre of gravity with
regard to the centre of motion. Hence bodies are faid
to have a liable equilibrium when their centre of gra¬
vity cannot move without afeendin^, or when the path
deicribed by their centre of gravity has its concavity
upwards ;—a tottering equilibrium when the centre of
gravity cannot move without defeending, or when the
path which it deferibes has its concavity downwards,—
and a neutral equilibrium when the body will reft in any
pofition. Thus in fig. 20. if the veffels A, B have their FR 2p.
handles fo placed that in the one the handle A is fixed
above the centre of gravity^, and in the other the handle
B is fixed below the centre of gravity g, then the equi¬
librium of A will be liable, and that of B tottering j
for if A is held by the handle it will require a conftder-
able force to make its centre of gravity deferibe the path
m whereas the fmalleft force will deftroy the equili¬
brium of B. The veffel A, too, has a conllant tenden¬
cy to recover its equilibrium, and always recovers it
as foon as the dillurbing force is removed, but the vef¬
fel B has no tendency to d® this even when its equili¬
brium is affecled in the i'malleft _degree. For the fame pig
reafon the elliptical body A, when refting on the extre¬
mity of its conjugate axis, has a liable equilibrium, but
when retting on its tranfverfe axis as at B, its equilibri¬
um
Iheory.
fig. 2 2.
Mechanical
method of
finding the
centre of
gravity.
Centro-
baryc me¬
thod of
Ciuldmus.
Fig.
M ECHANICS. 77
utu tottering. The equilibrium of a circle or (phere
is always neutral, for when it is difturbed, the body has
neither a tendency to fall nor to refume its former fitua-
tion.—A Hat body A fupported by a fphere Id will
have its equilibrium liable when its centre ot gravity is
nearer the point of contadt than the centre of the fphere
is, and the equilibrium of C will be tottering when its
centre of gravity is farther diflant from the furface
of the fphere D than the centre of the fphere is.
Prop. XVI.
i. To find the centre of inertia mechanically.
201. If the body whofe centre of inertia is to be
found can be fufpended by a thread, then when the bo¬
dy is in equilibrio, the centre of gravity will be fome-
where in the line, prolonged if neceflary, that is form¬
ed by the thread upon the furface of the body. Let a
body be again fufpended from another part of its fur-
face, fo that the diredlion of the thread may be nearly
at right angles to its former direfl ion, then as the centre
of gravity mull alfo be in the new diredlion of the
thread prolonged, it will be in the point where thefe
two lines interfedl each other.
20 2. 2. If the body is of fuch a kind that it cannot
be conveniently fufpended, balance it upon two fliarp
point®, and its centre of motion will be fomewhere in
the line which joins thefe points. Balance it a fecond
time upon the fliarp points, fo that the line which joins
the points may be nearly at right angles to the. former
line. The iiiterfeftion of thefe two lines will be the
centre of inertia of the body.
203. 3. If the body is fo flexible that it can neither
be fufpended by a thread nor balanced upon points, then
let a thin board be balanced upon the points as be¬
fore, and let the body be fo placed upon this board
when balanced, that the equilibrium may flill continue;
then, having found the centre of gravity of the board
when loaded with the body, the centre of gravity of
the body will be a point on its furface exactly oppofite
to that centre.
204. The preceding method, however, only gives us
the centre of gravity when the body has no fenfible
thicknefs, for when it is of three dimenfions, the centre
of gravity mutt be fomewhere between the two oppofite
furfaces.
205. Definition.—The centro-bmryc method is the me¬
thod of determining the areas of (urfaces, and the con¬
tents of folids, by confidering them as generated by mo¬
tion, and by employing the laws of the centre of gravity.
Prop. XVII.
206. If any flraight or curve line, or any plane
furface bounded by ftraight or curve lines re¬
volve round an axis fituated in the fame plane
with the lines or furfaces, the iurface or folid
thus generated will be refpeclively equal to a
furface or folid whofe bafe is equal to the
given line or furface, and whofe height is equal
to the arc deferibed by the centre of gravity of
of the generating line or furface.
Let ABCD be the plane furface by whofe revolu¬
tion round the axis MPN is generated the folid a D,
contained by the parallelograms ABCD, <7 £ c */, and 1 heory.
by the areas a AC r, b BD d, and a AB b, c CD d; let ""
G be the centre of gravity of ABCD, then the folid
a D (hall be equal to a folid whofe bafe is ABCD, and
whofe altitude is a line equal to G^, the fpace deferib¬
ed by its centre of gravity G. It is evident from
Art. 161. that the fum of the produfts of all the
particles of the lurface ABCD, multiplied by their
refpe£live diftances from any given point P, is equal
to the fum of all the particles multiplied by the
dittance of their common centre of gravity G from the
fame point P. Now every particle of the furface
ABCD, during its revolution round the point P, will
obvioufly deferibe the arch of a circle proportional to
the diftance of that particle from the point P, which is
the centre of all the arches ; therefore the fum of the
produ£f of all the particles multiplied by the arch de-
Icribed by each of them, will be equal to the fum of
the particles multiplied by the arch which their com¬
mon centre of gravity deferibes; that is, the iolid a D
will be equal to the area of the lurface multiplied by
the path of its centre of gravity. In order to have
a clearer illuftration of this reafoning, let P,/>, tt, &c.
be the particles of the furface ABCD; D, r/, ^ their
dittance from the centre of rotation P, and A, a,
the arches which they deferibe, whde GP is the dittance
of the centre of gravity of the furface ABCD from the
centre P, and Gg the arch defenbed by it. Then
by Art. 161. P X D -\-f> X r/-f 7T X P -f-/1+7r X GP,
but D: d\ 'h :G P=: A.:a:x\ G^-, therefore P X A-[-/> X
7rX«= P-f-/,+7r X G^-. But P X A-]-/ X a + X
&c. make up the whole folid n D, and P-j-/,-|~^', &c.
make up the whole furface ABCD ; therefore the fo¬
lid a D is equal to the generating furface ABCD mul¬
tiplied by the path of its centre of gravity. O. E. D.
207. Cor. 1. Let us fuppofe the circle BACO to be I;V
generated by the revolution of the line DA round the
point D ; then fince the centre of gravity of the line
DA is in its middle point G, the path of this centre
will be a circumference whofe radius is DG, or a line
equal to half the circumference BONAB, therefore,
by the theorem, the area of the circle BONB will be
equal to the radius DA multiplied by the femicircumfe-
rence, which coincides with the refult obtained from the
principles of geometry. See Playfair’s Geometry,
Supp. B. I. Prop. 5. In the fame way, by means of
the preceding theorem, we may readily determine the-
area of any furface, or the content of any folid that is
generated by motion.
Scholium.
208. The centro-baryc method, which is one of the
fineft inventions of geometry, was firft noticed by Pap¬
pus in the preface to the feventh book of his matnema-
tical colleftiops, but it is to Father Guldinus that we
are indebted for a more complete difeufhon of the fuo-
]e£L He publilhed an account of his difeovery partly
in 1631;, and partly in 1640, in his work entitled De
Centro Gravitatis, lib. ii. cap. 8. prop. 3. and gave an in-
direttt demonttration of the theorem, by (bowing the con¬
formity of its refults with thofe which were obtained by
other means. Leibnitz demonftrated the theorem in the
cafe of fuperficies generated by the revolution of curves,
but concealed his demonltration (Aft. Leipf. 1693, p.
493-
MECHANICS.
Theory. ,493., The theorem of Leibnitz, however, as well as that
  rof Guklinus, was demonflrated by Varignon in the Me¬
moirs of the Academy for 1714, p. 7 3. Leibnitz ob-
lerves that the method will Hill hold, even if the centre
round which the revolution is performed be continually
changed during the generating motion. For further
information on this fubjedl, the reader is referred to
Dr Wall is’s work, De Calculo Centri Gravitatis, Hut¬
ton’s Mensuration, Prony’s Architedlure Hydraulique,
vol. i. p. 83, and Gregory’s Mechanics, vol. i. p. 64.
Prop. XVIII.
209. To Ihow the ufe of the doctrine of the centre
of gravity in the explanation of fome mechanical
phenomena.
On the mo- t^e equilibrium and motion of animals, we per-
tion of ani- ceive many phenomena deducible from the properties of
nrals. the centre of gravity. When we endeavour to rife
from a chair, we naturally draw our feet inwards, and
reil upon their extremities, in order to bring the centre of
gravity dire&ly below our feet, and we put the body into
that polition in which its equilibrium is tottering, a po-
lition which renders the fmalleit force capable of pro¬
ducing motion, or of overturning the body. In this
fiiuation, in order to prevent ourfelyes from falling
backwards, we thruft forward the upper part of the
body for the purpofe of throwing the centre of gravity
beyond our feet ; and when the equilibrium is thus de-
flroyed, we throw out one of our feet, and gradually
raife the centre of gravity till the poiition of the body
is eredf.—When we walk, the body is thrown into
the polition of tottering equilibrium by reding it on
one foot; this equilibrium is dedroyed by puihing for¬
ward the centre or gravity, and the body again affumes
the pontion of tottering equilibrium by reding it on the
■other foot. During this alternate proccfs of creating
and dpdroying a tottering equilibrium, the one foot is
placed upon the ground, and the other is railed from
it 5 but in running, which is performed in exactly the
fame way, both the feet are never on the ground at the
fame time : At every ftep there is a thort interval,
during which the runner does not touch the ground
at all.
210. W'hen we afeend an inclined plane the body is
thrown farther forward than when we walk on a hori¬
zontal one, in order that the line of dirediion may fall
without our feet 5 and in defeending an inclined plane,
♦ the body is thrdwn backward, in order to prevent the
line of diredfion from falling too fuddenly without the
bafe. In carrying a burden, the centre of gravity is
brought nearer to the burden, fo that the line of direc¬
tion would fall without our feet if we did not naturally
lean towards the fids op polite to the burden, in order to
keep the line of 'direction within our feet. When the
burden is therefore/ carried on the back, we lean for¬
ward ; when it is carried in the right arm, we lean to¬
wards the left ; when it is carried in the left arm, wre
lean towards the right ; and when it is carried before
the body, we throw the head backwards.
211. When a horfe walks, he firft lets cut one of
his fore feet and one of his hind feet, fuppofe the right
foot; then at the fame inffant he throws out bis left fore
foot and his left hind foot, fo as to be fupported only
by the two right feet. His trvo right feet are then Theory,
brought up at the fame inflant, and he is fupported on- v
ly by his two left feet.—When a horfe pulls at a load
which he can fcarcely overcome, he raifes both his fore
feet, his hind feet become the fulcrum of a lever, and
the weight of the horfe colledled in his centre of gravi¬
ty aids as a weight upon this lever, and enables him to
furmount the obfiacle. (See Appendix to Fergufon’s
Leflures, vol. ii.)
212. When a rope-dancer balances bimfelf upon the Method in
fore part of one foot, he preferves his equilibrium in two w^‘ch a
ways, either by throwing one of his arms or his elevated
foot, or his balancing pole, to the fide oppofite to that to- equili-
wards which he is beginning to fall, or by (hifting thebrium.
point of his foot, on which he rells, to the fame fide to¬
wards which he is apt to fall ; for it amounts to the
fame thing whether he brings the centre of gravity
diredlly above the point of fupport, or brings the point
of fupport direclly below the centre of gravity. For
this purpofe the convex form of the foot is of great
ufe, for if it had been perfectly llat, the point of fup¬
port could not have admitted of fmall variations in its
petition *. * See Dr
213. We have already feen (Art. 197.) that any body Young’s
is more eafily overturned in proportion to the height o£^'at.u>?1
its centre of gravity. Hence it is a matter of great V0JZ; p/’
importance that the centre of gravity of all carriages
fhould be placed as low as pcffible. This may often
be effedled by a judicious difpofition of the load, of
which the heaviest materials fhould always have the
lowed: place. The prefect conflrmSHcn of our mail The con.
and poft coaches is therefore adverfe to every principle ftrudlion of
of fcience, and the caufe of many of thofe accidents in
which the lives of individuals have been loft. The
elevated pofition of the guard, the driver, and the
out fide paffengers, and the two boots which contain
the baggage, raifes the centre of gravity of the load¬
ed vehicle to a very great height, and renders it much
more eafi’y overturned than it would other-wife have
been. When any accident of this kind is likely to hap¬
pen, the paiTengers ftiould bend as low as poffible, and
endeavour to throw themfelves to the elevated fide of the
carriage.— In two wheeled carriages where the horfe
bears part of the load upon its back, the elevation of
the centre of gravity renders the draught more difficulty
by throwijig a greater proportion of the load upon the
horfe’s back when he is going down hill, and when
he has the legit occafion for it ; and taking the load
from the back of the horfe when he Is going up hill,
and requires to be preffed to the ground.
214. A knowledge of the laws of the centre of gra-Fig. 24-
vity enables us to explain the experiment reprefented in
fig. 24. where the veflel of water CG is fufpended on a
rod AB, pafling below its handle, and refting on the
end E of the beam DE. The extremity B of the rod
AB is fupported by another rod BF, which bears a-
gainft the bottom of the veflel ; fo that the veftel and
the two rods become, as it were, one body, which, by
Art. 199. will be in equilibrio when their common
centre of gravity C is in the fame vertical line with the A loaded
point of funport E. cylinder
215. The cylinder G may be made to afeend the in-may be
dined plane ABC by putting a piece of lead or any
heavy fubftance on one fide of its axis, fo that the cen-dined plane
ti e of gravity may be moved from G towards g. Hence by its owa
it
mail coach¬
es errone¬
ous.
MECHANIC S.
7#
A double
cone may
be made to
afcend an
inclined
plane by
its own
weight.
Fig. ad.
Theory, it is obvious, that the centre of gravity £ will defcend, and
——v-~~ by its defcent the body will rife towards A. The inclina¬
tion of the plane, however, muft be fuch, that before
the motion commences, the angles formed by a vertical
line drawn from g with a line drawn from G perpenui-
cularly to AB, mult be kfs than the angle of inclina¬
tion ABC, or, which is the fame thing, when the ver¬
tical line drawn from g does not cut the line which lies
between the point of contact and the centre oi the cy¬
linder. When the vertical line, let fall from g, meets
the perpendicular line drawn from G to the plane in tne
point of contaft, the cylinder will be in equilibrio on
the inclined plane.
216. Upon the fame principle, a double fcalene cone
may be made to afcend an inclined plane without being
loaded with a weight. In fig. 26. let ABc- be the
feSion of a double inclined plane, AB, BC being Ac¬
tions of its furfaces perpendicular to tne line in which
the double fcalene cone ALiEFC moves. Fnen, once
the centre of gravity of a cone is in the line joining, the
vertex and the centre of its bafe, and fince the axis of
a fcalene cone is not perpendicular to its bale, the line
which joins the centres of both tne cones, when m the
pofition reprefented in the figure, vviil he above the line
which joins the centres of their bafes. If the cncie,
Fig. 27. therefore, in fig. 2 7 reprefents the bafe of one of Te
cones, and C its centre, the line which joins the cen¬
tres of gravity of the two cones w'ill terminate in fome
point G at a difiance from the centre, and therefore the
double cone will afcend the plane upon the fame prin¬
ciples, and under the lame conditions, as thoie men¬
tioned in the latl paragraph.
Chap. V. On the Motion of Bodies along inclined
Planes and Curves, on the Curve of fwftejl defcent,
and on the Ofctllations of Pendulums.
Prop. L
217. When a body moves along an inclined plane,
the force which accelerates or retards its motion,
is to the whole force of gravity as the height of
the plane is to its length, or as the fine of its
inclination is to radius.
Let ABC be the inclined plane, A the place of the
body, and let AB reprefent the whole force of gravi¬
ty t The force AB is equivalent to the lwo ton.es
AD, DB or AE, AD, of which AD is the force
nhat accelerates the motion cf the body down the
plane, while AE is deftroyed by the refifiance or.re¬
action of the plane. i he part of the force of .gravity,
therefore, which makes the body arrive at C is repie-
fented by AD, while the whole force of gravity is re¬
prefented by AB * hut the triangle ABD is equiangu¬
lar to ABC, and AD : A B~AB : AC, that is the
accelerating force which makes the body de.fcend the
inclined plane, is to the whole force of gravity as r e
height of the plane is touts length, or as the fine of the
plane’s inclination is to radius for when AC is ramus,
AB becomes the fine of the angle ACB. .
2t 8. Cor. I. Since the force of gravity, which is
uniform, has a given ratio to the accelerating force, the
accelerating force is al!o uniform *, confeqm ntly the
law’s of accelerated and retarded motions, as exhibited
in the article Dtt NAMICS, are alfo Hue when the bodies
move along inclined planes. If H, therefore, repre- Theory.
fent the height AB ot the plane, L its length AC, g *
the force of gravity, and A the accelerating force, we
(hall have, by the propofition, L : H~y : A, hence
El
Plate
eccxxi.
■ %• 1.
A—o-X—-j or> fince ^ : A~radius: fin. ACB, and A
E
— g x fin. ACB. Now, from the principles of
Dynamics, s — \ gd,v
■.gt—\/2gS,
and t —
g
Jwhere s is the fpace deferibed, g the force of
g
gravity, or 32^ feet, v the velocity, and t tne time.
Making <p, therefore, equal to ACB, and fubllituting
the value cf A inifead of> in the preceding equation,
we avail have /r=fin. c? X v'—g fin.^/rr V 2g s'irn.tp,
and t= 
g. 1m. <p g' hn* P
219. Cor. 2. If one body begins to defcend through
the veitical AB at the fame time that another body
delcends along the plane AC, when the one is at any
point m, the pofition ot the oiher will be n, which is
determined by drawing m n perpendicular to AC.
The forces by which tpe two bodies are ailuated, are
as AB : to AD, that is, as A m to . A 77; but forces
are meafured by the fpaces deferibed in the fame time 5
therefore, the fpaces deferibed in the fame time, are as
A m, A 77, that is, as the length of the plane is to its
height j for A 7/7 : A tjcc: AC : AB 5 confequmtly, when
the body that defeends along the vertical line AB is at
m, the other body will be at n.— Ihrough the three
points A, /;/, n deferibe the femicircle A77/ 77/ then, finee
A 77777 is a right angle, the centre of the femicircle will
be in the line A ni (Playiair’s Euclid, Book iv.
Prop. 5.) ; confequently, if two'oodles defcend from the
point A. at the fame tune, the one through the diameter
of a circle A m, and the other through any chord A n,
they Will arrive at the points mn, the extremities oj the
diameter and of the chord at the fame infant. It aifo
follows from this corollary, that it from the point A.
there be drawn any number of lures making different
angles with the diameter A m, and if bodies be ret fall
from A, fo as to move along thefe lines, they win, at
tlie end of any given time, be found in the circumfe¬
rences ot circles which touch one another in the point
A. If the lines are not 5i» the fame plane, the bodies'
will be in the circumferences of fpheres which touch
each other in the point A.
220. Cor. 3. If any number of bodies defcend from
the fame point A along any number of inclined pianes
AC, AF. their velocities at the points C, F will be
equal. By Cor. 1. the velocity of a body defeending-
the plane AC, is v=\/2gs. fin. <p, and the velocity
of a body falling in the vertical line AB is v':
But, fince 11=tr', we have Vz t§wr. Irn <?:
2g s fin. q> — 2 g s', and dividing by 2g ; s fin. <p=c,
confequently j-:Pzrfin <p : 1, or AB : AC=.m. DaB :
radius. Therefore, when v—v', th t is, when the veloci¬
ties of the two bodies are equal, the 1 paces deferibed ate
as fin. DAB : radius which can only happen when BC
is perpendicular to AB. In the fame way k may be
(hewn that tire velocity at F is equal to the veiociiv at C,
therefore the velocity at C is equal io the veiocns a-. I.
221. COR. 4. The time oi deicending along AC is.
to
: 2 g s\
MECHANICS.
to tne time of defcending along AB, as AC is to AB.
From the values of r, s' in Cor. i. we obtain t1 : tn—
s i a t> -n r i r
 :  : AB. But-r-^rr iin. : therefore,
hn. (p fin. <p AC
ACS
t* : /'s—AB, and taking equal multiples of thefe
two laft terms, that is, multiplying them by AB, we have
/3 : /*—AC* : AE% or t : tr—AC : AB. Flence the
time of defcending along AF and AC, are as AF and
AC.
222. Cor. 5. The velocities acquired by defcending
any planes AC, AF, are as the fquare roots of their al¬
titudes AB. The velocity acquired by falling through
AB is, by the principles of Dynamics, as the fquare
root of AB ; and as the velocities at F, C, are equal to
that at B, they will alfo be as the fquare root of
AB.
Prop. II.
223. If a body defcend from any point along a
number of inclined planes to a horizontal line,
its velocity, when it reaches the horizontal
line, will be equal to that which it would have
acquired by falling in a vertical dire£tion from
the given point to the horizontal line.
Let AB, BC, CD be a number of planes differently
inclined to a horizontal line DN, and let the body be let
fall from the point A fo as to move along thefe planes,
without lofing any of its velocity at the angular points 5
it will have the fame velocity when it reaches the hori¬
zontal plane at D, which it would have acquired by
falling freely from A to F. It is maniteft, from
Art. 220. that the velocity of the body when at B will
be the fame as that of another body which had fallen
freely from A to c in a vertical line. The two' bodies
let out from B and c with the fame velocity, and will
therefore continue to have the fame velocity when they
reach the points C, G, becaufe c Gr=B d. The Uvo bo¬
dies again fet off from the points C, G with the fame
celerity, and fince GFrzC e, their refpetdive velocities
will be equal when they arrive at the points D, F in
the horizontal plane. The velocity, therefore, acquir¬
ed by the body falling along the planes AB, BC, CD
is equal to that which is acquired by the fame body
falling through the vertical line AF.
224. Cor. 1. As the preceding propofition holds
true, whatever be the number of inclined planes which
lie between the point A and the horizontal line, it will Theory,
hold true alfo of any curve line which may be confider-
ed as made up of an infinite number of ftraight lines.
And, fince the fmall planes are diminifhed without li¬
mit, the radius is diminifhed without limit, and there¬
fore the verfed fine, or the velocity loft in palling from
one plane to another, is diminifhed without limit (a),
confequently, abftrafting from friflion, a body will
attend or defcend a curve furface without lofing any
of its velocity from the curvature of the furface.
225. Cor. 2. If a body be made to afcend a curve
furface, or a fyftem of inclined planes, the vertical
height to wThich it will rife, is equal to that through
which it muft fall in order to acquire the velocity with
which it afcended, abftratling from the eftetls of fric¬
tion, and the velocity which is loft in paffing from one
plane to another. This is obvious, from Dynamics,
§ 26, 51 ; for the body experiences the fame decre¬
ments of velocity in its afcent, as it received increments
in its defcent.
226. Cor. 3. The fame thing will hold if the body
is kept in the curve by a firing perpendicular to the
curve, for the firing fuftains that part of the weight
which was fuftained by the curve, fince the reaction of
the curve furface is in a line perpendicular to the curve.
Scholium.
227. It is obvious, that the body which moves along
the fyftem of inclined planes muft lofe a part of its ve¬
locity in parting from one plane to another. By the re-
folution of motion it will be found that the velocity ac¬
quired by falling through any of the planes, is to the
velocity loft in pafling to the fucceeding one, as radius
is to the verfed fine of the angle formed by the two
planes. Or the velocity with which the body enters
upon one plane is as the cofine of the angle made by
the contiguous planes, divided by the velocity which the
body had when it left the preceding plane.
Prop. III.
223. The times of defcending two fyftems of in¬
clined planes fimilar and fimilarly fituated, are
in the fubduplicate ratio of their lengths.
Let AB, BC, CD, and a b, b c, c d be the fimilar Fig. s,
fyftems of inclined planes, and let T be the time of h
defcending ABCD, and t the time of defcending
abed.
By Cor. 4. Prop. 1. we have
Time along AB : Time along A c—AB : Ac,
Time along a b : Time along u $z=.a Z> : «/3,
But, on account of the fimilar triangles ABc, ab (i, we have,
AB : Aczza b : a fi.
Hence (Euclid, Book v. Prop. 11. 16.)
Time along AB : Time along cZ'—Time along Ac : Time along ct$.
(a) See Wood’s Principles of Mechanics, p. 58. note; and alfo Gregory’s Mechanics, vol. i. p. 112. where
ibis corollary is demonftrated by the method of fluxions.
3
MECHANICS.
Theory. In the fame way it may be (hewn, that
Time along EC : Time along b c=z:Time along c G ! Time along /3 «,
Time along CD : Time along c</=Time along GF : Time along xf
Then, by Geometry, SefiL III. Theorem VIII.
Fig. 4.
Time along AB + BC-f-CD: Time along a b+bc+c dzzTimt along A t + cG+GF : Time along tf/3+/3
that is,         
Time along AB-J-BC-f-CD ; Time along a b-\-b c-\-c along AF : lime along af.
But by Dynamics 37, 2.    ^
Time along AF : Time along af=zVAF : ^a f,
Therefore, Euclid, B. V. Prop. 11.
Time along AB + BC-f-CD: Time along a b-\-b c-\-cd—VAY : ‘s/af. Q. E. D.
But by fimilar triangles, &c.
Therefore,
VAF : 4/a jzz. f AB-p BC-f- CID : f a b-\-b c-\-c d.
Time along AB-f-BC-f-CD : Time along a b-\-b c-\-cd—f AB-fBC+CD : a b-\-b c-\-c d. O. E. D.
229. Cor. 1. This propofition holds true of curves,
for the reafons mentioned in Prop. 2. Cor. 1.
230. Cor. 2. The times of defcent along fimilar arcs
of a circle are as their radii ; for by the preceding corol¬
lary the times are as the arcs, and the arcs are as the
radii, therefore the times are as the radii.
Prop. IV.
231. An inverted femi-cycloid is the curve of quick-
eft defcent, or the curve along which a body muft
defeend in order to move between two points
not in a vertical line, in the leall time pof-
fible.
Let q FZ be a femicycloid, and A'D', C'F' two pa¬
rallel and vertical ordinates at an infinitely frtiall dif-
tance. Draw the ordinate B'E' an arithmetical mean
between the ordinates AD' and C'F', and from F',E'
draw F'-v, Y'u perpendicular to B'F', C'E'. Make
C'F=<7, B'E'rrl-, YJv—C, C'Yi'—m, B'A'rntf. Then
fince F'E' may be confidered as a ftraight line,
and fince B'C'=F'^, we have (Euclid, B. I. Prop.
47.) FE'rr f nffd*, and fince Y'v—Y'u, Y'Df^V«SL c\
Now the velocities at F' and E' vary as V a and V b,
and F'E', E'D' are the elementary fpaces deferibed
with thefe velocities *, but the times are dire&ly as^ the
fquare root of the fpaces, and inverfely as the velocities,
\m2 -j-c*
and
therefore the time of deferibing FE' is -=
V a
. a/,
the time of deferibing E'D' is —77=-, confequently,
V b
the time of deferibing FD muft be
2 m m
7. n n
iJ a
2V ay.mm-\-cx
VOL. XIII. Part I.
2*7bx
to.
But fince CA is invariable m + ti is invariable, and
therefore its fluxion or ni——n and n——//z,
therefore by tranfpofing the fecond member of the
preceding equation, and fubftituting thefe values of
. . , tn n
m and n. it becomes •■■■ . ■ - --r=—
Vzz Xm2-ft2 V Z? x
Let us now call the variable abfcils q C'=x, the or¬
dinate C'F'—y, and the arc q F'=is, then m and n
are fluxions of A?, and FE' is the increment of y F or 2,
when y is equal to a, and E'D' the increment of
7 F or 55, when y is equal to b, therefore by fubfti¬
tuting thefe values in the preceding equation, we ob¬
tain which Ihews that this quantity is
fy*' \/y%'
conftant, and gives us the following analogy, z': x'
— \\»fy. Now in the cycloid y is always
the chord of the generating circle when the dia¬
meter isy (for by Euclid, Book. I. Prop. 47, Book. II. ^
Prop. 8. and Book III. Prop. 35.) AF— AD x AO, ‘
and fince AO—1 and AD^y, we have AF—y'y.
But fince the arc of the cycloid at F is perpendicular
to the chord AF, the elementary triangle FE-o is fimi¬
lar to EDO, (for BE is parallel to AO) and confe¬
quently to AFO (Euclid. B. VI. Prop. 8.), therefore,
we have FE : E' z'—AO : AF j but FE—v', E v~vy
AO—\ and AF=v/y, confequently %’ \x'—\ : f y,
which coincides with the analogy already obtained, and
being the property of the cycloid {hews that the curve
of quickeft defcent is an inverted cycloidal arc.
Properties of the Cycloid.
Fig
b\ ‘
But the propofition requires that this time.fhould be the
leaft poflible or a minimum, therefore taking its fluxion
and making it equal to o, we have
Definition.—If a circle NOP be fo placed as Properties
to be in contaft with the line AD, and be made to of the cy-
roll along that line from D towards A, till the famecloict<
point D of the circle touches the other extremity A,
the point D will deferibe a curve DBA, called a
cycloid.
The line AD is called the bafe of the cycloid; the
line CB, which bifeas AD at right angles and meets
the curve in B, is called the axis, and B the vertex.
The circle NOP is called the generating circle.
L 232. 1. The
82 M E C H
Theory. 232. I. The bafe AD is equal to the circumference
' v of the generating circle, and AC is equal to half that
circumference.
2. The axis CB is equal to the diameter of the ge¬
nerating circle.
3. It from any point G of the cycloid, there be
drawn a ftraight line GM parallel to AD, and meet¬
ing the circle BLC in L, the circular arc BL is equal
to the line GL.
4. If the points L, B be joined, and a tangent drawn
to the cycloid at the point G, the tangent will be pa¬
rallel to the chord LB, and the tangent is found by
joining G, E, for GE is parallel to LB.
5. The arc BG of the cycloid is double of the chord
BL, and the arc BA or BD is equal to twice the
axis BC.
6. If the two portions AB, DB of the cycloid in
fig. 3. be placed in the inverted pofition AB, DB (fig.
^ 4.), and if a firing BP equal in length to BA be made
to coincide with BA, and then be evolved from it, its
extremity P will deferibe a femicycloid AF, fimilar
and equal to BA. In the fame way the femicycloid
DF, produced by the evolution of the firing BP from
the femicycloid BD, is equal and fimilar to BD and to
AF. Therefore, if BP be a pendulum or weight at¬
tached to the extremity of a flexible line BP, which
vibrates between the cycloidal cheeks BA, BD, its ex¬
tremity D will deferibe a cycloid AFD, equal to that
which is compofed of the two halves BA, BD.
7. The chord CN is parallel to MP, and MP is
perpendicular to the cycloid AFD, at the point P.
8. If P/> be an infinitely fmall arc, the perpendicu¬
lar to the curve drawn from the points P/> will meet at
M, and Pp may be regarded as a circular arc, wdiofe
radius is MP. An infinitely fmall cycloidal arc at F
may likewife be confidered as a circular arc whofe ra¬
dius is BF.
As thefe properties of the cycloid are demon-
ftrated in almofl every treatife on mechanics, arid as
their demonflrations more properly belong to geometry
than to mechanics, they are purpofely omitted to make
room for more important matter.
233. Definition.—If a body defeend from any
point of a curve, and afeend in the fame curve till its
velocity is deftroyed, the body is faid to ofcillate in
that curve, and the time in wTich this defeent and af-
cent are performed is called the time of an ofcillation
or vibration.
234. Definition.—A cycloidal pendulum is a pen¬
dulum which ofcillates or vibrates in the arch of a cy¬
cloid.
235. Definition.—Ofcillations which are perform¬
ed in equal times are faid to be ifochronous.
Prop. V.
Fig. 4. 236. The velocity of a cycloidal pendulum BP at
the point F, varies as the arch which it de-
feribes.
The velocity of the pendulum at F is that which it
would have acquired by falling through EF (Prop. 2.
and Cor 3. Prop. 2.), and the velocity of a falling bo¬
dy is as the fquare root of the fpace which it deferibes
A N I C S.
(D ynamics, §. 37.), therefore the velocity of the pen- Theory,
dulum P, when it reaches F, varies as V EF. But v
(Geometry*, Se£t. IV. Theor. 23. and 8.) FE varies as
FN2
and flnee IC is a con Rant quantity, FE will vary sts
FN2 varies, or, to adopt the notation ufed in the article
Dynamics, FErAFN2, or vTEriiFN, but the ve¬
locity acquired by falling through EF varies as V^FE,
therefore the velocity ol the pendulum at F varies as
FN, that is, as FP, for (Art. 232. N° 5.) FN is equal
to half FP. £. E. D.
Prop. VI.
237. If the pendulum begins its ofcillation from
the point P, the velocity of the pendulum at
any point R varies as the fine of a circular
arc whofe radius is FP, and whofe verfed fine
is PR.
Through F draw /> F y parallel to AD, and with a Fig. 4.
radius equal to the cycloidal arc FP, deferibe the femi-
circle /> 0 y. Make p r equal to the arc PR of the cy¬
cloid, and through r draw r m perpendicular to p F.
Through the points P, R draw' PE, RT parallel to
AD, and cutting the generating circle CNF in the
points N, S.—By Prop. 4. the velocity at R varies as
VET, that is, as VEF—TF, or fince CF is conftant,
as VCFxEF—CFxTF, that is, as VeN2—FS%
(For, Playfair’s Euclid, Book. I. Prop. 47, Book II.
Prop. 7. and Book. III. Prop. 35; FN2=;CFxEF,
and F3—CFxTF), that is, as V4FN2—4FS2, that
is (Art. 232. N° 5.) as VFP2—FR\ But F/> or
F m was made equal to FP, and,/> r being made
equal to PR, the remainder F r mull be equal to FR,
therefore, the velocity at R varies as m1—Fr2, but
(Euclid 47. 1.) r m—^Fm*—Fr2, and rm is by con-
flru£lion equal to the fine of a circular arc, whofe ra¬
dius is FP, and verfed fine PR, confequently, the ve¬
locity at R varies as the fine of that arc. Q. E. D.
238. Corollary. The velocity of the pendulum
at F is to the velocity of the pendulum at R, as
F m :r m, for the verfed fine is in this cafe equal to
radius, and therefore the correfponding arc mull be a
quadrant whofe fine is alfo equal to radius or F m.
Prop. VII.
239. The time in which the pendulum performs ^
one complete ofcillation from P to O, is equal
to the time in which a body would deferibe
the femicircle po q, uniformly with the velo¬
city which the pendulum acquires at the point F.
Take any infinitely fmall arc RV, and making r v
equal to it, draw vo parallel to r w, and mn to r v.
Now, by the laft propofition, and by Dynamics, Art.
28. } the velocity with which RV is deferibed is to the
velocity with which mo is deferibed as rm is to Fm,
that
MECHANICS.
83
llieovy.
R V m 0
m n >n 9
that is as— : or as: '-i for mn—rv—TLV.
rm Y m r m Y m
But in the fimilar triangles Y mr, m n 0, Y m :r mtz.m 0
: m «, confequently , therefore the velocity
r m r tn
M-ith which RV is defcribed is equal to the velocity
with which w 0 is defcribed, and the times in which
thefe equal fpaces are defcribed muft likewnfe be equal.
The fame thing may be demonftrated of all the other
correfponding arcs of the cycloid and circle, and there¬
fore it follows that the time in which the pendulum
performs one complete ofcillation is equal to the time
in which the feaiicircle po q\% uniformly defcribed with
the velocity acquired at F.
Prop. VIII.
240. The time in which a cycloidal pendulum
performs a complete ofcillation is to the time
in which a body would fall freely through the
axis of the cycloid, as the circumference of a
circle is to its diameter.
Tig. 4. Since FP=2FN, and fince the velocity acquired by
falling down NF is equal to the velocity acquired by
falling down PF, the body, if it continued to move
uniformly with this velocity, would defcribe a fpace
equal to 2PF (Dynamics, § 37* N® 6.) in the fame
time that it would defeend NF or CF (Art. 219).
Calling T therefore the time of an ofcillation, and t the
time of defeent along the axis, we have, by the preced¬
ing propofition,
Tzrrtime along p 0 q, with the velocity at F,
and by the preceding paragraph,
/urtime along F/>, with the fame velocity j therefore
T: Amtime alongp oq with velocity at V : time along
Fp with the fame velocity; that is, T : t—p 0 q :Yp
— 2/> oq \ 2 F/irrthe circumference of a circle : its di¬
ameter.
241. Cor. 1. The ofcillations in a cycloid are
ifochronous, that is, they are performed in equal times
whatever be the lize of the arc which the pendulum
deferibes. For the time of an ofcillation has a conftant
ratio to the time of defeent along the axis, and is there¬
fore an invariable quantity.
242. Cor. 2. The ofcillations in a fmall circular arc
whole radius is BF, and in an equal arc of the cycloid,
being ifochronous (Art. 232. N° 8.), the time of an ofcil¬
lation in a fmall circular arc wall alfo be to the time of
defeent along the axis, as the circumference of a circle
is to its diameter.
243. Cor 3. Since the length BF of the pendulum
k double of the axis CF, the time of an ofcillation in a
cycloid or fmall circular arc varies as the time of de-
feending along CF, half the length of the pendulum,
the force of gravity being conftant. But the time of
defeent along CF varies as \/CY, therefore the time
of an ofcillation in a fmall circular or cycloidal arc
varies as the fquare root of half the length of the pen¬
dulum, or as the fquare root of its whole length. If T, t
therefore be the times of ofcillations of two pendulums,
T =
and L
and L, / their refpedftive lengths, wre have by this co¬
rollary T : \/ L : vV, and T X \/I—t X -v/h. ; hence
 Tx \// /'X\/L
y7 5 v^L ’ v —T ’
—- fr°m which we may find the time in
wThich a pendulum of any length will vibrate ; a pen¬
dulum of 39.2 inches vibrating in one fecond.
244. Cor. 4. When the force of gravity variec,
which it does in going from the poles to the equator,
the time of an ofcillation is diredlly as the fquare root
of the length of the pendulum, and inverfely as the
fquare root of the force of gravity. The time of an
ofcillation varies as the time of defeent along half the
length of the pendulum, and the time of defeent
through any fpace varies as where r is the fpace de¬
fcribed and g the force of gravity ; but in the prefent
cafe x = — ; therefore, by fubftitution, the time of
defeent along half the length of the pendulum, or the
• c r mi • • vTL \/h«
time of an oiculation, vanes as —-—, oras—r—„
x'g Vg
Hence T : J -^-7- '■ -^7-, from which it is eafy to de-
Yg Vg
duce equations fimilar to thofe given in the preceding
corollary.
245. Cor. 5. Since T ^xTrii V/L ; and if
the time of ofcillation is 1 fecond, we have \/§'— VT,
or gtizh, that is, the force of gravity in different lati¬
tudes varies as the length of a pendulum that vibrates
feconds.
246. Cor. 6. The number of ofcillations which a
pendulum makes in a given time, and in a given la¬
titude, are in the inverfe fubduplicate ratio of its length.
The number of ofcillations n made in a given time
are evidently in the inverfe ratio of t, the time of each
Theory.
ofcillation j that is rrzp. — \ but by Corollary 3.
yV, therefore n ~ -77-, and /:
from which it is
egfy to find the length of a pendulum which will vi¬
brate any number of times in a given time, or the
number of vibrations which a pendulum of a give»
length will perform in a given time.
Prop. IX.
2.47. To find the fpace through which a heavy
body will fall in one fecond by the force of
gravity.
Since by Propofition 8. the time of an ofcillation
: time along half the length of the pendulum as
3.14159 is to i, and fince the fpaces are as the fquares
of the times, the fpaces defcribed by a heavy body in
the time of an ofcillation will be to half the length of
the pendulum as 3.141 59I* is to 1. Now it appears
from the experiments of Mr Whitehurft, that the length
of a pendulum which vibrates feconds at London at
113 feet above the level of the fea, in a temperature of
• ' * ’ L 2 ' j6o°
M E C H A N I C S!
6o° of Fahrtnlieit, and when the barometer is 30 inches, have 2V, or B'
39.1196 inches 5 hence iz : 3.14159I
- -^9.1196,
2B'=V : 2V ; but 2V
is the velocity of B', and V is the velocity of 2B',
therefore when one body is double of the other, they
  r . j will remain at reft vrhen the maffes of the bodies are in-
i9:5598 X 3.«4i59f=^;o87 feet the fpace required. ^ ^ velocities>
I he methods of determining the centre of olcillation, In (he farae wa the prOp0riti0n tnay be demonftrated
gyration, and percuffion, properly belong to this chap- tlje bodieg are tQ one another In COmmen-
ter, but they have been already given in the article furabI tion.
Rotation, to which we muft
wifties to profecute the fubjebl.
refer the reader who
Prop. II.
Theory.
Chap. VI. On the Collifion or Impuljion of Bodies.
248. Def. 1. When a body moving with a cer¬
tain velocity ftrikes another body, either at reft or
in motion, the one is faid to impinge againft, or to im-
pell the other. This effect has been diftinguiftied by
the names colliiion, impulfion or impulfe, percuflion,
and impaft.
249. Def. 2. The collifion or impulfion of two
bodies is faid to be direB when the bodies move in the
fame ftraight line, or when the point in which they
ilrike each other is in the ftraight line which joins their
centres of gravity. When this is not the cafe, the im¬
pulfe is faid to be oblique.
250. Def. 3. A hard body is one which rs not fuf-
ceptible of compreffion by any finite force. An elafic
body is one fufceptible of compreftion, which recovers
its figure with a force equal to that which comprefles it.
A foft body is one which does not recover its form
after compreffion. There does not exift in nature any
body which is either perfedlly hard, perfedftly elaftic or
perfeblly foft. Every body with which we are ac¬
quainted poffeffes elafticity in fome degree or other.
Diamond, cryftal, agate, &c. though among the bard-
eft bodies, are highly elaftic \ and even clay itfelf will
in fome degree recover its figure after compreffion. It
is necefiary, however, t© confider bodies as hard, foft,
or elaftic, in order to obtain the limits between which
the required refults muft be contained.
251. Def. 4. The mafs of a body is the fum of the
material particles of which it is compofedj-,* and the
momentum, or moving force, or quantity of motion of any
body is the product arifing from multiplying its mafs
by its velocity.
Prop. I.
252. Two hard bodies B, Br with velocities VjV'
ftriking each other perpendicularly, will be at
reft: after impulfe, if their velocities are inverfe-
ly as their maffes.
1. When the two bodies are equal, their velocities
muff be equal in the cafe of an equilibrium after im¬
pulfe, ana therefore B : B'=:V' : V, or BV — B'V' j
for if they are not at reft after impulfe, the one muft
carry the other along with it : But as their mafles and
velocities are equal, there can be no reafon why the one
ffiould carry the other along with it.
2. If the one body is double of the other, or B~2B',
we Ihould have V'zrlV7. Now infteadof B we may fub-
ftimte two bodies equal to B', and inilead of V' we may
fubftitute two velocities equal to V, with which the
bodies B' may be conceived to move 5 confequently we
253. To find the common velocity v of two hard
bodies B, B' whole velocities are V, V', after
ftriking each other perpendicularly.
If the bodies have not equal quantities of motion
they cannot be in equilibrio after impulfe. The one
will carry the other along with it, and in confequence
of their hardnefs, they will remain in contact, and move
with a common velocity v.
1. In order to find this, let us firrt fuppofe B' to be at
reft and to be ftruck by B in motion. The quantity
of motion which exifts in B before impulfe is BV, and
as this is divided between the two bodies after impulfe,
it muft be equal to the quantity of motion after impulfe.
But Z'XB-I-B' is the quantity of motion after impulfe,
'  BV
therefore v X B + B'nBV, and •y—,.
2. Let us now fuppofe that both the bodies are
in motion in the fame direflion that B follows B’.
In order that B may impel B', we muft have V greater
than V'. Now we may conceive both the bodies pla¬
ced upon a plane moving with the velocity V'. The
body B', therefore, whole velocity is V' equal to that
of the plane, will be at reft upon the plane, while the
velocity of B with regard to B', or the plane, will be
V—V'} confequently, the bodies are in the fame cir-
cumftances as if Br u'ere at reft, and B moving with
the velocity V—V'. Therefore, by the lail cafe, we
have the common velocity of the bodies in the move-
Bv BV'
able plane - - > ancl by adding to this V', the
velocity of the plane, we lhall have v, or the abfolute
BV-f-B'V'
velocity of the bodies after impulfe, v——
Hence the quantity of motion, after impadf, is equal to
the fum of the quantities of motion before impaft.
3. If the impinging bodies mutually approach
each other, we may conceive, as before, that the body
B' is at reft upon a plane which moves with a velocity
V' in an oppofite direftion to V, and that B moves on
this plane with the velocity V +V'. Then, by Cafe I.
will be the common velocity upon the plane
after impulfe j and adding to this V', or the velocity
of the plane, we (hall have v, or the abfolute velocity
, • ^ BV—B'V' TT
of the bodies after impact, v~——• Hence the
quantity of motion after impadt is equal to the differ¬
ence of the quantities of motion before impaft. It is
obvious that v is pofitive or negative, according as BV
is greater or lefs than B'V', fo that when BV is great¬
er than B'V', the bodies will move in the diredtion of
B’s
Thecy.
■urzV ; for in this cafe there can be no
M E
B’s motion •, and when BV is lefs than B \
dies will m< ve in the direftion of A’s motion.
2''4 AH the three formulae which we have given,
may be comprehended in the following general formu¬
la • for when B' is at reft, V'-O, and
la, v — B-j-A'
the formula affutnes the form which it has in Cafe x.
2^r. Cor. I. If B=rB', and the bodies mutually
approach each other, the equation in Cafe 3. becomes
^ V—-V<? or the bodies will move in the direction
of the quickeft body, with a velocity equal to one half
of the difference of their velocities.
2c6 Cop. 2. If V=V', and the bodies move in the
fame direaion, the laft formula will become =
B+B'
V X B'+B* . , , .
impulfion, the one body merely followiag the other in
comaft with it. When the bodies mutually ap¬
proach each other, and when V_\ , we have ‘P-
B—B'
X B 4- B *
?cT Cor 2. When the bodies move in the fame di-
257 d _BV + BV'
region, we have, by Cafe 2.
. •, 1 tt; BV+PPV/ ,
velocity gained by B' is evidently v v »or Bq.E/
_ BVrrBV' e + B' :
” B+B' ’ . . J ^
but this laft term is the velocity gamed by B and
y V' Js the relative velocity of the twTo bodies.
Therefore, in the impaB «f two hard buhes mowny n
the fame direaion, B + B’ : B o* the re ettme velocity
of the two bodies is to the velocity gained by B . It is
obvious alfo, that the velocity loft by h is V-V—
BV-j-BW B'V—B'V'
B-r-B'
-or
B + B'
hence B + B’ : B —
Y—V'
B\-^B but tllis laft term is the velocity
loft by B, and V—V' is the relative velocity of the bo¬
dies, therefore in the impaB of two hard bodies
B-*-B' : B' as their relative velocity is to the velocity
loft by B. The fame thing may be (hewn when the
bodies move in oppofite direftions, in which cafe their
relative velocity is V + V'.
Prop. III.
To determine the velocities of two elaftic
’ bodies after impulfe.
If an elaftic body ftrikes a hard and immoveable
plane, it will, at the inftant of colhfion, be. cotnprefted
at the place of contact. But as the elaftic body m-
ftantaneoufty endeavours to recover its figure, and as
this force of reftitution is equal and oppofite to the
force of compreflion, it will move backwards trom the
plane in the fame direftion in which it advanced. 1
two elaftic bodies, with equal momenta, impinge a-
galnft each other, the effeft of their mutual compre -
fion is to deftroy their relative velocity, ^and make
them move with a common velocity, as. m tue cale ot
C H A N I C S.
the bo- hard bodies. But by the force of reftitution, equal
to that of compreflion, the bodies begin to recover
their figure,—the parts in contaft ferve mutually as
points of fupport, and the bodies recede from each
other. Now, before the force cf reftitution began to
exert itfelf, the bodies had a tendency to move in one
direftion with a common momentum } therefore, the
bodv whofe effort to recover its figure was in the lame
direftion with that of the common momentum, will
move on in that direaion, with a momentum or moving
force equal to the fum of the force of reftitution and
the common momentum •, while the other bo y, w o e
effort to recover from compreffion is in a direction op¬
pofite to that of the common momentum, will move
with a momentum equal to the difference between its
force of reftitution and the common momentum, and
in the direaion of the greateft of thefe momenta : Al¬
ter impulfe, therefore, it either moves m the diredion
oppofite to that of the common momentum, or its mo¬
tion in the fame diredion as that of the common mo¬
mentum is diminilhed, or it is Hopped altogether, ac¬
cording as the force of reftitution is greater, lets, or
equal to the common momentum. . .
2eg. In order to apply thefe preliminary onerva¬
tions, let us adopt the notation in the two preceding
propofitions, and let 11 be the common velocity which
the bodies would have received after impulle, it they
had been hard, and v', v" the_velocities which the elas¬
tic bodies B, B' receive after impad.
260. 1. If B follows B', then V is greater than V,
and when B has reached B\ they are both comprdled
at the point of impad. Hence, fince n is the common
velocity with which they would advance if the torce o
reftitution were not exerted, we have V-vrzthe velocity
loft by B, and i>—V'=the velocity gamed by B in conte-
quence of compreflion.—But, when the bodies llr.ve to
recover their form by the force of reftitution, the oody B
will move backwards in confequer.ee of this torce, while
B' will move onward in its former diredion with an acce¬
lerated velocity. Hence, from the force of reftitution, h
will again lofe the velocity V—v, and B will, a lecond
time, gain the velocity ^-V' 5 confequently, the whole
velocity loft by B is 2 V—and the whole velocity-
gained by B'is 2ti—2 V'. Now, fubtrading this jols
from the original velocity of B, we have J —2 V 2 vi
for the velocity of B after impad, and adding the ve¬
locity gained by B to its original velocity, we have
y/+2 2'V7 for the velocity of B' after impad;
Now the
hence we have
■ 2 v
—. 2 v—V
—V—2 V-
■y" = V'+ 2 v—2 V'rr 2V—V.
Now, fubftituting in thefe equations, the value ot v ar
found in Cafe 2. Prop. 2. we obtain
BV—B'V+2 B'V'
v - B+B'
BV'—B'V' + 2BV
*'"= B+B'” *
261 2 When the bodies move in oppofite diredions'
or mutually approach each other, the body B is in pre-
cifely the fame circumftances as in the preceding . ^
Theory.
but the body B' lofes a part of Its velocity equal to
_2 u-f- 2 V'—V'. Hence wejiave, by the fame reafon-
mg that was employed in the preceding cafe,
vr ~2v V'
‘1>"=2V+V,
and by fubftituting inftead of v its value, as determined
m Cafe 3. Prop. 2. or by merely changing the fign of
V' in the two laft equations in the preceding corollary,
we obtain the two following equations, which will an-
Iwer for both cafes, by ufing the upper fign when the
bodies move in the fame direftion, and the under fign
b'hen they move in oppofite direftiotis.
 ~ s.
and V_V'> both the bodies will recoil or move back¬
wards after impart with the fame velocities which they
had before impart. For in the formula in Cafe 2. with
the inferior figns, when B—B' and V—V', we have
270. Cor. 9. If the bodies move in oppofite direc-
B—3 B'
tions, and Vr: V', wTe have v'—V x
,3 B—B'
and v"
=vx
B-f-B'
B-}-B'
Hence it is obvious, that if Brrj B',
‘V
BV—TFV—*—? B'V'
B'-j-B'
/,_.±:BV,=frB/V'-f 2 BV
B+B'
From the preceding equation the following corol¬
laries may be deduced.
„ 26z. Cor. t. The velocity gained by the body that
is ft ruck, and the velocity loft by the impinging body,
are twice as great in elaftic as they are in hard bodies;
for in hard bodies the velocities gained and loft were
V', and V—v 5 whereas in elaftic bodies the velo¬
cities gained and loft were 2v—2 V', and 2 V 2 v.
. 26 3- Cor. If one of the bodies, fuppofe B', is at ref,
its velocity V'rzo, and the preceding equation be¬
comes
VB—VB'
B + B'
2 VB
:B+B'
264. Cor. 3. If one of the bodies B' is at reft, and
their maffes equal, we have BrrB', and V'=o, by
fubftituting which in the preceding formulae, we’ ob¬
tain v'~o, and v'f—'V j that is, the impinging body
-B remains at reft after impart, and the body B' that
is ftruck when at reft moves on with the velocity of the
body B that ftruck it, fo that there is a complete
transfer of B’s velocity to B'.
265. Cor. 4. If B' is at reft and B greater than B',
both the bodies will move forward in the dirertion of
B s motion j for it is obvious from the equations in
Cor. 2. that when B is greater than B', v1 and v" are
both pofitive.
266. Cor. 5. If B' is at reft, and B lefs than B',
the impinging body B will return backwards, and the
body B' which is ftruck will move forward in the direc¬
tion in which B moved before the ftroke. For it is evi¬
dent that when B is lefs than B', v’ is negative, and v"
pofitive.
267. Cor. 6. If both the bodies move in the fame di-
re&ion, the body B' that is ftruck will after impart
move with greater velocity than it had before it. This
is obvious from the formula in Cafe 1. of this propofi-
tion.
268. Cor. 7. If the bodies move in the fame direc¬
tion, and if B~B', there will at the moment of im¬
part be a mutual transfer of velocities, that is, B will
move on with B'’s velocity, and B' will move on with
B’s velocity, For in the formulae in Cale 1. when B=:
B, we have v'—V and v"~V.
269. Cor. 8, r hen the bodies move in oppofte di-
reBions, or mutually approach other, and when B=B'
4
or if one of the impinging bodies is thrice as great as
the other the greateft will be flopped, and the fmalleft
will recoil with a velochy double of that which it had
before impart For fince 6 = 3 B', by fubftituting
this value of B m the preceding equations, we obtain
v —0, and v"~ 2 V.
271. Cor. 10. If the impinging bodies move in
oppofite dirertions, and if B—B', they will both recoil
alter a mutual exchange of velocities. For when
B__B', we have v’~—V', and t/'zttV.
272. Cor. 11. When the bodies move in oppofite
dirertmns the_ body which is ftruck, and the body
which ftnkes it, will flop, continue their motion or
return backwards according as BV—B'V is enual to
or greater or lefs than 2 B'V'. 1 ^ *
273. Cor. \ 2. The relative velocity of the bodies
alter impart, is equal to their relative velocity before
impart, or, which is the fame thing, at equal inftants be- -
lore and after impart, the diftance of the bodies from
each other is the fame. For in the different cafes we
have t/-2 V j v"~2 i;=pV'. But the relative ve¬
locity before impart is in the different cafes V—-V'y ancl
the relative velocity after impart is v'—71.'—V—yq
274. Cor. 13. By reafoning fimilar to that which
was employed in Prop; 2. Cor. 3. it may be {hewn
: 2 B as their relative velocity before im-
part is to the velocity gained by B' in the dirertion
of B s motion 5 and B-f-B' : 2 B' as their relative ve¬
locity before impart is to the velocity loft by B in the
dirertion of A’s motion.
I4‘ Tta vis viva, or the fum of the pro-
durts of each body multiplied by the fquare of its ve¬
locity, is the fame before and after impart, that is.
B vn + B' v"*=BV* + B'V', From the formula at
the end of Cafe 2. we obtain
P^g~BTxBW+B'V'»^
B+B'f*
,2_+BB'x"BV*+B'V'* , , .
B : , hence their fumB7/',xB'‘y''1
B + B'|*
__B—B'I’x BV» + B'V'2+4 BB'xBV^+’B'V'*
B + B'|2 ^
BV’+B'V'* X B—B'J + 4 B B'
 —   _— =BVJ-L B'V'*.
B+B'* ^
276. Cor. 14. If feveral equal elaftic bodies B, B'',
B'"? B"", &c. are in contart, and placed in the fame
ftraight line, and if another elaftic body of the fame
magnitude impinges againft B, they'will remain at
reft, except the laft body B"", which will move on
with the velocity of /3. By Art. 264. B will transfer
tp
M
E
C H A N I C S.
87
nieory
to B'7 all its velocity, and therefore B will be at reft,
in the fame way B" will transfer to B'" all its velocity,
and B" will remain at'reft, and fo on with the reft ;
bat when the laft body B"" is fet in motion, there
is no other body to which its velocity can be transferred,
and therefore it will move on with the velocity
which it received from B'", that is, with the veloci¬
ty of /3.
277. Cor, 1 If the bodies decreafe in fize from
B to B"", they will all move in the dire&bn of the
impinping body /3, and the velocity communicated to
each body will be greater than that which is communi¬
cated to the preceding body.
278. Cor, 16. If the bodies increafe in magnitude,
they will all recoil, or move in a diredlion oppoiite to
that of &, excepting the laft, and the velocity com¬
municated to each body wall be lefs than that which
is communicated to the preceding body.
Prop. IV.
279. To determine the velocities of two imperfectly
elaflic bodies after impulfe, the force of com-
preflion being in a given ratio to the force of
reftitution or elafticity.
Let B, B' be the two bodies, V, V their velocities
before compaft, 7/, ’v" their velocities after impadt, and
I : « as the force of compreftion is to that of reftitu¬
tion. It is evident from Cafe I. Prop. 8. that in con-
fequence of the force of compreffion alone we have,
V—v—velocity loft by B 7 froin compreflion.
velocity gamed by B 3
But the velocity which B lofes and B' gains by the
force of compreflion will be to the velocity which B
lofes and B' gains by the force or reftitution or elaftici¬
ty as 1 :» j hence
! : n—\ v :nV—«XI, the velocity loft by B^ from ela-
1: ti—V—V': n v-n V' the velocity gained by^B 3 fticity.
therefore by adding together the two portions of ve¬
locity loft by B, and alfo thofe gained by B', we ob¬
tain
I4.«V—the whole velocity loft by B,
X _|_« ^__i V', the whole velocity gained by B
Hence by fubtra&ing the velocity loft by B in confe-
quence of collifion from its velocity before impaa, we
ftiall have v' or the velocity of B after impad, and by
adding the velocity gained by B' after collifton to its
velocity before impad, we (hall find v" or the velocity
of B' after impad, thus
v>—\ x i-f-« v the velocity of B after impad.
7/'—V'+ 1 —1 -j-/zV/the velocity of B' after impad.
Now by fubftituting in the place of y its value as de¬
termined in Cafe 2. Prop. 2. we obtain
r+^BV-BV'.
E + E' .
^ - v T b+B'
280. Cor, I. Hence by converting the preceding e-
quation into analogies, B-}-B. ; i-j-i/xB as the relative
velocity of the bodies before impad is to the velocity
gained by B' in the divedion of B’s motion 5 and
B-f B' : i-j-z/xB' as the relative velocity of the
bodies before impad is to the velocity loft by B.
281. Cor. 2. The relative velocity before impad is
to the relative velocity after impsd as the force of com¬
preflion is to the force of reftitution, or as I :
The relative velocity after impad is v'—or tak¬
ing the preceding values of thefe quantities v''—v'~\7'
Theory.
i+nx BV— BV'l v_i-j-ftXB'V—B'V'
B + B'
B + B'
:V'.
y | 1 T” X dividing by B + B' we
have +_t/-V'—V+V—V'+« x Y—V'rr«XV-Tv;
the relative velocity after irapad. But the relative
velocity before impad is V—V', and V—V' : «X
V V'— i : n. Q. E. D. The quantity V' has evident¬
ly the negative lign when the bodies move in oppofite
diredions.
282. Cor. 3. Hence from the velocities before and
after impad we may determine the force of reftitution
or elafticity.
Prop. V.
283. To find the velocity of a body, and the di-
re£Hon in which it moves after impinging upon
a hard and immoveable plane.
284. Case i. JV/ien the impinging body is perfectly When the
hard. Let AB be the hard and immoveable plane, body is per-
and let the impinging body move towards AB in the fedtly hard,
diredion CD, and with a velocity reprefented by CD. Flg- 6-
Then the velocity CD may be refolved into the two
velocities CM, MD, or MD, FD j CM Dt being a
parallelogram. But the part of the velocity FD,
which carries the body in a line perpendicular to the
plane, is completely deftroyed by impad, while the o-
ther part of the velocity MD, which carries the body
in a line parallel to the plane, will not be affeded by,
the collifion, therefore the body will, after impad,
move along the plane with the velocity MD. Now,
CD : MDirradius : cof.^CDM, therefore fince MD*
= CF the,, fine of the angle of incidence CDF, the
velocity before impaB is to the velocity after impaB, as
radius is to the fine of the angle of incidence j and fince
AM=CD—MD, the velocity before impaB is to the-
velocity lojl by impaB, as radius is to the verfed fne of
the complement off the angle of incidence.
285. Case 2. When the impinging body is pcrfcBly- when the
elajlic. Let the body move in the diredion CD with body is per-
a velocity reprefented by CD, which, as formerly, may el:+
be refolved to MD, FD. The part of the velocityt,c-
MD remains after impad, and tends to carry the body
parallel to the plane. The other part of the velocity
FD is deftroyed by compreflion 5 but the force of refti¬
tution or elafticity will generate a velocity equal to
FD, but in the oppofite diredion DF. Confequently
the impinging body after irnpad is lolicited by two ve¬
locities, one of which would carry it uniformly from D
to F in the fame time that the other would carry it uni-
fermly from M to D, or from D to N j the body will^
therefore^
88
MECHANICS.
Theory.
When the
body is im-
perfectly
elaftic.
rig- 7-
tlierefore, move along DE, tlie diagonal of the paral¬
lelogram DFEN, which is equal to the parallelogram
DFCM. Hence the angle CDF is equal to the angle
EDF, therefore, when an clnjlic body impinges oblique¬
ly againjl an immoveable plane, it will be rejleRed from
the plane, fo that the angle of reflexion is equal to the
angle of incidence. Since CD, DE are equal (paces
deibiibed in equal times, the velocity of the body after
impadl will be equal to its velocity before impaft.
2 86 Case 3. When the impinging body is imperfeRly
elaflis* In DF take a point m, fo that DF is to D m
as the force of compreflion is to the force of reftitution
or elafticity, and having drawn m e parallel to DB, and
meeting NE in e, join D e j then, if the impinging bo¬
dy approach the plane in the direction CD, with a ve¬
locity repretented by CD, D e will be the direction in
which it will move after impaft. Immediately after
compreflion, the velocity DF is deflroyed as in the lafl
cafe, while the velocity MD tends to carry the body
parallel to the plane. But, by the force of reftitution,
the body would be carried uniformly along D m, per¬
pendicular to the plane, while, by the velocity MDrr
DNzrtfz ei it would be carried in the fame time along
m e, confequently, by means of thefe two velocities, the
body will deferibe D e, the diagonal of the parallelo¬
gram D e N. The velocity, therefore, before impaft
is to the velocity after impaft as DC : D e, or as
DE : D e, or as fin. D cE, fin. DE e, or as fin. Dem:
fin. DE e, or as fin. FD e : fin. FDE. Nowq by pro¬
ducing D £ fo as to meet the line CE produced in G,
we have, on account of the parallels FE, m e, D in: DF
—m e : FG j but, FD being radius, FE is the tangent
of FDE, or FDG the angle of incidence, and FDG is
the tangent of the angle of reflexion FDG : Therefore
D m : DF=tang.^CDF : tang. -^LFDG. Confe¬
quently, when an imperfeRly elaflic body impinges a-
gainfl a plane, it will be refledfed in fuch a manner that
the tangent of the angle of reflexion is to the tangent of
the angle of incidence, as the force of compreflion is to
the force of reflitution or elaflwity ; and the velocity be¬
fore incidence will be to the velocity after reflexion, as
the fine of the angle of reflexion is to the fine of the angle
of incidence.
Scholium.
287. When the furface againft which the body im¬
pinges is curved, wje muft conceive a plane touching the
furface at the place of incidence, and then apply the
rules in the preceding propofition. The doftrine of
the oblique collifion of bodies is of great ufe both in
acouftics and optics, where the material _ particles
which fuffer reflexion, are regarded as perfeftly elaf¬
tic bodies.
Trop. VI.
258. To find the point of an immoveable plane
which an elaftic body moving from a given
place muft ftrike, in order that it may, after re¬
flexion, either from one or two planes, im¬
pinge againft another body whofe pofition is
given.
289. Case i. When there is only one reflexion. Let
C be the place from which the impinging body is to
Theorv.
move, and let E be the body which is to be firuck af¬
ter reflexion from the plane AB. From C let fall y
CH perpendicular to AB, continue it towards C till
HG=rCH, and join G, E by the line GDE; the point
D where this line cuts the plane, is the place againft
which the body at C muff impinge in order that, after
reflexion, it may ftrike the body at E. ft he triangles
CDH,HDG aie equiangular, becaufe two fides and one
angle of each are relpectively equal, therefore the angles
DCH, DGH are equal. But on account of the parallels
FD, CG the angle EDF=rDGC~DCH, and DCH~
FDC, therefore the angle of incidence FDCrrFDE
tjie angle of reflexion ; confequently by Prop. 4. a
body moving from C and impinging on the plane at D
will, after reflexion, move in the line DE, and ftrike
the body at E.
290. Case 2. When there are two reflexions. Let Fig. 8.
AB, BL be the two immoveable planes, C the place
from which the impinging body is to move, and F the
body which it is to ftrike after reflexion from the two
planes, it is required to find the point of impaci D.
Draw CHG perpendicular to AB, fo that HG=CH.
Through G draw GMN parallel to AB, cutting LB
. produced in M, and make GMrrMN. Join N, F,
and from the point E, where NF cuts the plane BL,
draw EG, joining the points EG : the point D will be
the point of the plane, againft which the body at C
muft impinge, in order to ftrike the body at I. By
reafoning as in the preceding cafe, it may be (hewn,
that the angle CDHmEDB, therefore DE will be the
path of the body after the firft reflexion. Now, the
triangles GEM, EMN are equiangular, beaaufe GM
=MN, and the angles at M right, therefore DEB
= FEL, that is, the body after reflexion at E will
ftrike the body placed at F.
Prop. VII.
291. To determine the motions of two fpherical
bodies which impinge obliquely upon each
other, when their motion, quantities of matter,
and radii, are given.
Let A, B be the two bodies, and let CA, DB 'reFig.5.
the directions in which they move before impaft, and
let thefe lines reprefent their refpeCtive velocities. Join
A, B the centres of the bodies, and produce it both
ways to K and I. Draw LM perpendicular to IK,
and it will touch the bodies at the point of impa£t.
Now, the velocity CA may be refolved into the two
velocities Cl, I A, and the velocity DB into the velo¬
cities DK, KB, but CA and DB are given, and alfo
the angles GAI, DBK, confequently Cl and IA, and
DK and KB may be found. The velocities Cl, DK,
which are parallel to the plane, will not be altered by
collifion, therefore 1A, KB are the velocities with
which the bodies direftly impinge upon each other,
confequently their effefts or the velocities after impaft
may be found from Prop. 3. j let thefe velocities be re-
prefented by AN, BP. Take AFrrCI and BH—DM,
and having completed the parallelograms AFON,
BPQH, draw the diagonals AO,BQj Then, fince
the body A is carried parallel to the line LM with a
velocity CI=:AF, and bom the line LM by the velo¬
city AN, it will defer foe AO, the diagonal of the pa¬
rallelogram
M E C H A N I C S. So
r Theory, rallelogvam NFj and for tlie fame reafon the body
v—B will ddcribe the diagonal B£) of the parallelo¬
gram Pii.
292. Corollary. If A=B, and if the body which
is ft ruck moves in a given direction and with a given
velocity after impad, the dire&ion of the impinging
body, and the velocity of its motion, may be eafily
F- IC< found. Let the body D impinge againft the equal
body C, and let CB be the dire&ion in which C moves
after impadf, it is required to find the dire&ion in
which D will move. Draw D c, touching the ball C
at c, the place where the ball D impinges •, produce
BC to E, and through c draw A c F perpendicular to
EB, and complete the reclangle FE. The force D c
may be refolved into the forces E c, c F, of which E c
is employed to move the ball C in the diredlion CB
and with the velocity E c ; but the force c F has no
fhare in tire impulfe, and is wholly employed in making
the body D move in the direftton CA, and with the
velocity CF.
Scholium.
The pheno- 293. In the preceding propofition, we have endea-
mena of vours'd to give a fhort and perfpicuous view 01 the com-
impulficn mon tlieory of impulfion. The limits of this article
owing to| win not peiTnit us to enter upon thofe interefting fpecu-
fwces1 C lations to which this fubjed has given rife j but thofe
which pre- who are anxious to purfue them v/ill find ample aflift-
vent bodies ance jn the article IMPULSION, in the Supplement to
from com- ^ laq edition of this work, where Dr Robifon has
mathemati- treated the fubjeft with his ufual ability. It may be
cal contact, proper however to remark, that all the pnenomena ot
impulfe as well as preflure, are owing to the exiftence
cf forces which prevent the particles of matter from
coming into mathematical contail. I he body which
is ft ruck, in the cafe of collifion, is put in motion by
the mutual repulfion of the material particles at the
point of impaft, while the velocity of the impinging
body is diminiftied by the fame caufe. Hence we fee
the abfurdity of referring all motion to impulfe, or_ of
attempting to account for the phenomena of gravita¬
tion, ele.aricity, and magnetifm by the intervention of
any invifible fluid. Even if the fuppofition that fuch a
medium exifls w-ere not gratuitous, it would be _ impof-
ftble to ftiew that its particles, by means of whidi the
impulfe is conveyed, are in contaa with the particles of
the body to which that impulfe is communicated.
Bon Geor- 294. A phyfico-mathematical theory of percuflion, in
ges Juan’s which the impinging bodies are confidered as imper-
phyfico ma-fedly elaftic, has been lately given by Don Georges
thematical in his Examen Maritimo, a Spanifti work which
rercuffion has been tranflated with additions by M. L’Eveque, un¬
der the title of Examcn maritime, theonque et pratique,
on Traite de mecanique, applique a la conjlruchon, et a
la manceuvre des vaijjeaux et autres batwiens. dhis
theory has been embraced by many eminent French
philofophers, and may be feen in Prony’s ArchiteBure
Hijdrauhque, vol. i. p. 208, and in Gregory s Mechanics,
vol. 5. p. 291. We {hall endeavour, under the artic*e
Percussion, to give a fhort account of this interefting
theory, which has been found to accord with the moft
accurate experiments.
295. In fome cafes of collifion the refults of experi¬
ments are rather at variance with thofe of theory,, in
confequence of the communication of motion not being
Vol. XIII. Part I.
exa&ly inftantaneous. “ If an ivory ball (fays Mr Theory^
Lellie) ftrikes againft another of equal weight, there ““ v
fliould, according to the common theory, be an exact
transfer of motion. But if the velocity of the impin¬
ging ball be very confiderable, fo far from flopping iud*
denly, it will recoil back again with the fame force,
while the ball udiich is ftruck will remain at reft ; the
reafon is, that the fhock is fo momentary, as not to per¬
mit the communication of impulfe to the whole mafs
of the fecond ball ; a fmall fpot only is affedled, and
the confequence is therefore the fame as if the ball had
impinged againft an immoveable wall. On a perfect
acquaintance with fuch fads depends, in a great mea-
fure, the fkill of the billiard player. It is on a fimilar
principle that a bullet fired againft a door which hangs
freely on its hinges will perforate without agitating it
in the leaft. Nay, a pellet of clay, a bit of tallow, or
even a fmall bag of water, difeharged from a piftol
will produce the fame efteft. In all thefe inftances the
impreflion of the ftroke is confined to a fingle fpot, and
no fufficient time is allowed for diffufing its a<ftion over
the extent of the door. If a large Hone be thrown
with equal momentum, and confequently with fmaller
velocity, the effeft will be totally reverfed, the door
will turn on its hinges, and yet fcarcely a dent will
be made on its furface. Hence likewife the theory ot
moft of the tools, and their mode of application in the
the mechanical arts : the chifel, the faw, the file, the
fey the, the hedge bill, &c.—In the procefs of cutting,
the objedt is to concentrate the force in a very narrow
fpace, and this is effedted by giving the inftrument a
rapid motion. Hence, too, the reafon why only a
fmall hammer is ufed in rivetting, and why a mallet is
preferred for driving wedges.” Enquiry into the Na¬
ture of Heal, p. 127,8. . ' . , Succeffive ’
296. The fucceflive propagation of motion may be prjpa,.ation
illuftrated by a very fimple experiment. Take two balls 0f motion
A, B, of which B is very large when compared with illuftrated.
A, and conned! them by a firing S pa fling over the Fig. 11.
pulley P. If the hall B is lifted up towards S and al¬
lowed to fall by its own weight, inftead of bringing the
little ball A along with it, as might haye been expedl-
ed, the firing will break at P. Plere it is evident that
the motion is not propagated irtftantaneoufly, for the
firing is broken before the motion is communicated to
the portion of the firing between P and A.
297. An apparatus for making, experiments on the^PP^^
collifion of bodies is reprefented in fig. 12. The im- ment/on
pinging bodies are fufpended by threads like pendu- collifion.
lums, and as the velocities acquired by deftending ^ I2_
through the arches of circles are in the ratio of their
chords, the velocities of the impinging bodies may be
eafily afeertained. The apparatus is therefore furnifh*
ed with a graduated arch MN which is generally di¬
vided into equal parts, though it would be more con¬
venient to place the divifions at the extremities of arcs
whofe chords are expreffed by the correfponding num¬
bers. The balls that are not ufed may be placed be¬
hind the arc as at m and n\ and in order to give varie¬
ty to the experiments, the balls may be of different fizes.
Sometimes a difh like G is attached to the extre¬
mities of the firings, for the purpofe of holding argilla¬
ceous balls, and balls of wax foftened with a quantity of
oil equal to one fourth part of their weight.—See Smea-
ton's Experiments on the Collijion of Bodies.
M Chap,
MECHANICS.
Theory.
Chap. VII. On the Maximum Effects of Ma¬
chines.
298. We have already feen in fome of the preceding
chapters, that when two bodies a£l upon each other by the
intervention either of a limple or compound machine,
there is an equilibrium when the velocity of the power is to
the velocity of the weight as the wTeight is to the power.
In this fituation of equilibrium, therefore, the velocity of
the weight is nothing, and the power has no effeft in
railing the weight, or in other words, the machine per¬
forms no work'. When the weight to be railed is in¬
finitely fmall, the velocity is the greateft poflible ^ but
in this cafe likewife, the machine performs no work.
In every other cafe, however, between thefe two ex¬
tremes, fome work will be performed.—In order to il-
luftrate this more clearly, let us luppofe a man employ¬
ed in railing a weight by means of a lever with equal
arms •, and that he exerts a force upon the extremity of
the lever, equivalent to 50 pounds. If the weight to
be raifed is alfo 50 pounds, there will be an equilibri¬
um between the force of the man and the weight to be
xaifed, the machine will remain at reft, and no work
will be performed. It the man exert an additional
force of one pound, or if his whole force is 51 pounds,
the equilibrium will be deftroyed, the weight will rile
with a very flow motion, and the machine will therefore
perform fome work. When the motion of the machine
therefore is —o the work performed is alfo nothing,
and when the machine is in fuch a ftate that the power
preponderates, the work performed increafes. Let us
now fuppofe that the weight fufpended from the lever
is infinitely final], the motion of the machine will then
be the greateft poflible } but no work will be perform¬
ed. If the weight however is increafed, the motion of
the machine will be diminiftied, and work will be per¬
formed. Here then it is evident that the work per¬
formed increafes from nothing when the velocity is a
maximum, and decreafes to nothing when the velocity
is a minimum. There muff therefore be a particular
velocity when the work performed is a maximum, and
this particular velocity it is our prefent objebl to de¬
termine. Sometimes, indeed, the velocities of the
machine are determined by its ftru&ure, and there¬
fore it is out of the power of the mechanic to ob¬
tain a maximum effe£f by properly proportioning them.
The fame objedf however may be obtained, by making
the work to be performed, or the refiftance to be over¬
come, in a certain proportion to the power which is em¬
ployed to perform the work or overcome the refift¬
ance.
299. Def. I.—In a machine performing wmrk, the
powers employed to begin and continue the motion of the
machine, are called the/by? movers, the movers of powers ;
and thofe powers which oppofe the produftion and con¬
tinuance of motion are called reffances. Ihe fridftion
of the machine, the inertia of its parts, and the work
to be performed, all cppofe the produdftion and conti¬
nuance of motion, and are therefore the refiftances to
be overcome. When various powers a£I at the fame
time, and in different directions, the equivalent force which
•fl'ate refults from their combined action is called the moving
CCCXXII. force, and the force refulting from all the refilling forces,
fig*1- the reffance. If the machine, for example, is a lever
AB moving round the centre F, by means of which, Theory,
two men raife water out of two pump barrels by the
chains A.v, Cm attached to the piitons, and palling over
the arched heads or circular feftors M, N, for the pur-
pofe of giving the piftons and chains a vertical motion.
Let the force of the man at B, fix feet from F, be e-
qual to 50 pounds, or tt, his mechanical energy to turn
the lever is 6 X 50=300. Let the force of the other
man applied at E, four feet from F, be alfo equal to
50 pounds, or p. His mechanical energy will be
4X30=200, fo that the whole moving power is equal
to 300-1-200=500. But if the two forces of 50
pounds, inftead of being applied at two different dif-
tances from F, had been applied at the fame point
G, 5 feet from F, their energy to turn the lever would
have been the fame, for 5 X 504-50=500. In the pre¬
fent cafe, therefore, the moving force is equivalent to
P X GF, or a force of 100 pounds afting at a diftance of
five feet from the centre of motion. Now let us fuppofe that
each pifton Ku, Cw raifes 60 pounds of water equiva¬
lent to the weights u, w, and that CF = 2 feet, and
AF=3 feet, then'the mechanical energy of thefe
weights will be refpedtively 2x60=120, and 3 x6a
= 180, and the fum of their energies =300. But two
forces of 60 pounds each, acting at the diftances two
feet and three feet from F, are equivalent to their fum
= 120 pounds, acting at a diftance of two feet and a
half from F, for 24x120=300 j therefore, the refift¬
ance arifing from the work to be performed, or from
the water raifed in the pump barrels, is equal to a weight
P of 120 pounds adting at the diftance I>F=24 feet.
But in addition to the refiftance arifing from the work
to be performed, the two men have to overcome the re¬
fiftance arifing from the fri£tion of the pifton in the bar¬
rels, which we may fuppofe equivalent \.of,<p, each e-
qual to 10 pounds, adding at the points A, C j but
thefe forces are equivalent to 20 pounds, or f+<p act¬
ing at D, therefore the refiftance arifing from the work
and from friftion is equal to 140 pounds, afting at the
diftance DF= 2 feet and a half. While the two men
are employed in overcoming thefe refiftances, they have
alfo to contend againft the inertia of the beam AF,
and that of the chains and piftons, which we may fuppofe
equal to 20 pounds when colledted in their centre of
gravity g, whole diftance from F is 2.2 feet ; but a
weight of 20 pounds adding at the diftance of 2.2 feet
is equivalent to a weight of 194 pounds, aiding at
the diftance of 2.5 feet, or DF, confequently the fum
of all the refiftances when reduced to the fame point I>
of the lever is equal to 1594 pounds aiding at the dif-
tance of 2.5 feet from F. The mechanical energy, there¬
fore, of the fum of all the refiftances will be =2.5 X
1594=398.75, while the energy of the moving force,
or the fum of all the moving powers, is equal to 500.
300. Def. 2.—The impelled point of a machine is that
point to which the moving power is applied, if there is
only one power, or that point to which ail the moving
powers are reduced, or at which the moving force is fup-
pofed to aft. The working point of a machine is that
point at which the refiftance afts if it is fingle, or that
point to which all the refiftances are reduced, and at
which they are fuppofed to aft when combined. Thus
in fig. I. G is the impelled point of the machine, and Fig. t.
D the working point. Had a fingle force tt been ap¬
plied at the point B to raife a fingle weight a, aiding
M E C H
Theory, at the point A, then E would have been the impelled
 point, and A the working point of the machine. In the
■wheel and axle, the point of the wheel at which the
rope touches its circumference is the impelled point,
while the working point is that point in the circumfe¬
rence of the axle where the rope which carries the
weight is in contaft with it.
201. Def. 3.—The velocity of the moving power, and
the velocity of the refiftance, are refpe&ively the fame
as the velocity of the impelled point, and the velocity
of the working point.
002. Def. 4.—The eJeSi of a machine, or the work
performed, is equal to the refiftance multiplied by the velo¬
city of the working point 5 for when any machine raftes a
mafs of matter to a given height in a certain time, the
effeft produced is meafured by the produtl of the mals,
and the height through which it rifes, that is, by the
produa of the mafs by the velocity with which it moves.
20 2 Def c.—The momentum of impulfs is equal to the
moving force multiplied by the velocity of the impelled
point.
204. In any machine that has a motion of rotation, let
SxphHa- ^ ^ tlie veiocjty 0f the impelled point, and y the
velocity of the working point. When the machine is
a lever, x,y will exprefs the perpendiculars Jet fall
from the centre of motion upon the line of diredion
in which the forces aa 5 and if the machine is a whee
and axle, x,y will reprefent the diameters of the wheel
and the axle relpeftively. In compound machines
which may be regarded as compofed of levers, (Art. 90 )
* will reprefent the fum of all the levers by which the
power afts, and y the fum of all the levers by which
the refiftance afts. .. , ,
20 c. Let P be the real preffure which the moving
power exerts at the impelled point of the machine, and
R the aftual preffure which the mere refiftance of the
work to be performed exerts at the working point, or
which it direftly oppofes to the exertion of the power.
Let n be the inertia of the power P, or the mafs of
matter which the power P muft move with the ve¬
rity of the impelled point, in order that P may exert
its preffure at the impelled point j and let b be t e in¬
ertia of the refiftance R, or the mafs of matter which
muft be moved with the velocity of the working point
m qo^^inc^the'refiftance arhing from the friftion of
the communicating parts is an uniformly retarding
force it may be meafured by a weight <?> afting at the
working point of the machine, which wall oppofe the
fame refiftance to the moving power as the fnftion of
^^o^Let m be the inertia of tlm machine or rather
tha3t quantity of matter, which afting at the working
point of the machine will require the fame part of the
moving force to give it an angular motion, then fmce y
reprefents the arm of the lever by which the refiftance
afts or the diftance of the working point from the
centre of motion; and finee the momentum of inertia or
the momentum with which any mafs revo ving rou
centre refifts being put in motion is e<lua 0 ^ ^
ty of matter multiplied by the fquare of its diftance
f?om its centre of motion (fee article RoTAX^we
have m y* for the momentum of inertia oft _
1,1 obvious that ever, machine oppofes a certam ref.f-
A N I C S.
tance to any force that endeavours to give it an angu¬
lar motion, and that this refiftance will increafe with
the inertia of its parts. It is eafy, therefore, to find a
quantity of matter, which, when placed at any part of
the machine, will oppofe the fame refiftance to an angu¬
lar motion, as the combined inertia of th$ various parts
of the machine. This is the quantity oi matter
which we have called rn, and which we have fuppofed
to aft at the working point, becaufe to that point all
the other refinances have been reduced. Collefting
the fymbols, therefore, we have
.Tucdhe velocity of the impelled point or the ia" ^
dius of the wheel, or the length of the
lever by which the power afts.
y—the velocity of the working point, or the ra¬
dius of the axle, or the length of the le¬
ver by which the refiftance afts againft
the power.
P—the preffure exerted by the power at the im¬
pelled point of the machine.
R=the preffure which the refiftance arifing from
the work to be performed exerts at the
working point of the machine.
fl“the inertia of the power P, or the quantity
of matter to which it muft communicate
the velocity of the impelled point.
^zrthe inertia of the refiftance R, or the quan¬
tity of matter which it muft move with
the velocity of the working point before-
any wrork is performed.
<p—a quantity of matter which, if placed at the-
working point of the machine, would op¬
pofe the fame refiftance to the moving
power as that which arifes from the fric¬
tion of the communicating parts,
the quantity of matter which, if placed at
the working point of the machine, would
oppofe the fame refiftance to the produc¬
tion of an angular motion, that is oppo-
fed by the inertia of the various parts of
which the machine is compofed. Hence,
by the principles of rotation, we have
my2—the momentum of inertia of the machine.
We are now prepared for determining the conditions of
conftruftion, which will enable any machine to produce
a maximum effeft.
Prop. I.
308. To determine the velocities which^muft be
given to the impelled and working points of a
machine, or the ratio of the levers by which
the power and refiftance ought to a£t, in order
to obtain a maximum effect.
Let AB be a lever, whofe fulcrum is F, and toF;g
wbofe extremity B is applied the power P to over-
come the refiftance K, and let Ffc—x, anc^ FA_y.
Then by Art. 36. we fhall have, from the following
analogy, the weight which, placed at B, would be in
equifibrio with Rx : y=R : the weight which
will keep R in equifibrio, or the weight which is equal
M 2 to
MECHANICS.
to that part of the power P which balances the refin¬
ance R. Hence, P-
R ?/
will be the effe&ive force
exerted by the power P, which, multiplied by x, its di-
ftance from the centre of motion, gives P.r—Ry for
the force which is exerted in giving an angular motion
to the power and refiftance. But the refiftance of fric¬
tion was fuppofed equal to the weight Q ailing at the
working point or at the diitance FA or y ; confequently
(p y will be the refiftance w'hich friilion oppofes to the
force P x—R y, and therefore P x—R y—<p y is the mo¬
tive force exerted by P. Now, the momentum of the in¬
ertia of the power P, or the force with which it refifts be¬
ing put in motion, is ax1, and the momentum of inertia
of the refiftance R is b ?/% while the momentum of in¬
ertia of the machine is my'1. Therefore, the fum of thefe
momenta, viz. a x1-\-b y1-\-rn y1 is the mafs to*be put
in motion by the power P. But, by Dynamics, § i5“.
the velocity generated in a given time is direftly as the
motive force, and inverfely as the quantity of matter to
which that force is applied. Hence the angular velo¬
city, or the number of turns which the machine will
. . . . P x—R y—y
make in a given time, isr
But in eve-
a x1 -\-b y1-\-my1
ry rotatory machine the velocities of its diflerent parts
are as their diftance from the axis; hence, wre fliall
have the velocities of the impelled and working points
of the machine, by multiplying the angular velocity by
x, y the diftances of the impelled and working points
of the machine from the centre of motion. There¬
fore,
Pa1—R ^ v—(p x y , , . . , . n i • t
—  —; —- — ihe velocity of tae impelled point,
a x'+by'+nnf 1 r
and
P xy—R ?/*—(p y1
a x1 -j-Z'y1 my1
of the machine j and multiplying by R, we have from
Def. 4.
P R —R* y1—(p R y1
:the wTork performed.
ing the fluxion of the preceding formularro, we fliall Theory,
find that the performance of the machine is a maximum, “ '
when
r-
x R4-<p|J + P1 aXm-\-b
—aR—a
Pm + Pb
Xx-
When R~ov we have
a1®1 -i-P1 a X TO-f-Z’l1—a<p
u— ! !—!—:—I. v x.
Pm+Pb X
When <p~o, the firft formula becomes
<73Rz -f- P2a X m -\-b\^—<?R
y- p^+p^ — x^-
When both R and <P—0, we have, after reduction,
\/a
y=
X Y.
\^m-\-b
When b~o, the firft formula becomes
r-
tf2 X R + <p|2 4-P,rtwl—a R-
■aip
XY,
When R, <p and l~o, we have
\/ a
y~— / x y.
x'm
When a : b~P : R, we have, by fubftituting P and
R inftead of a and b,
P2xR+?’|l4-P3x^+Rl.^—PR—P«p
y- p7^Ppk~ x -v‘
When P m and <p=rO, the laft formula becomes
:the velocity of the working point ^
P2R2-f-P3R|r—PR /PlR2-f~p3R PR
PR X Y _ V PRx v
a x1 -{-v y1 -pm yl
309. But as forces are proportional to the velocities
generated by them in equal times (Dynamics, § 153.
Cor. 4. § t^le preceding quantities will reprefent
the accelerating forces. Now, the velocities are as the
forces and times jointly (Dynamics, § i53-)> that is,
vzkF/, or is = ^ / F 5 but F, the accelerating force,
which generates the velocity of the impelled point, is
r 11 1 r 1 P Y*—R x y—<p x y
reprefented by the xormula  ——— —. 1 here-
r J a x1-p b y1-\-m y1
fore, v, or the abfolute velocity of the impelled point, is
P a2—R x y—<p xy , . , r , , . .
 ;—  —Xgti and the abiolute velocity or
a x1-pb ij1-pm y1 ^ J
. . . .Pa y—R y1—<p ?/* a • ,
the working point Xf <• Again, by
Def. 4. the elfeft of a machine, or the w7ork performed,
is equal to the refiftance of the work multiplied by the
velocity \ confequently, fince R is the wrork, we have,
for the performance of the machine,
P xy R—R2;/2—(p R y2
a x1 ~pb ij1-pmy1
Now, confidering y as the variable quantity, and mak-
/P |
=y^/—+i|—!,
and when aizm, and Rz=r, we have
y—^/P-p^—1,
and when P—1, and a—1, we obtain
y=J
When a—1,
R
I.
=2*/ w +1!—i-
R
Thefe various formulae, the application of which
to particular cafes fliall be ftiown in the praftical part
of this article, give us values of y for almoft every fpe-
cies of machinery ; fo that the mechanic may eafily de¬
termine the velocities which muft be given to the im¬
pelled and working points of the machine in order to
produce a maximum efteft.
310. When the machine, however, is already con-
ftrufted, the velocities of the impelled and working
points cannot be changed, without altering the ftruc-
ture of the machine ; and therefore we muft find the
ratio between the power and refiftance, which will
enable
MECHANICS.
93
enable us to obtain a maximum effeft. The method of
determining this will be {hewn in the following propo-
lition.
Prop. II.
2i i. To determine the ratio between the power
and the refiftance of a machine when its per¬
formance is a maximum.
Since the ftrufture of the machine is given, the va¬
lues of x, y are known, and therefore we have to de¬
termine the relative values of P and R, when the effeft
of the machine is a maximum. This would be ealily
done, by making R variable in the formula which ex-
prefies the performance of the machine, and making its
fluxion equal to o, if none of the other quantities va¬
ried along with R. It often happens, however, that
while R varies, the mafs b fuffers a confiderable
change, though in other cafes the change induced up¬
on b is too unimportant to merit notice. This propo-
fltion, therefore, admits of two cafes, I. When, the
change upon b is fo fmall that it may be fafely omitted
in the invefligation 5 and, 2. When the change upon
b is fufficiently great to require attention.
31 2. Case i . When R is the only quantity which
is variable, the fluxion of the formula
by thefe fubfti tut ions in the formula which expreffes the -1 '‘cory.
R y—R*?/* - 1 r 1
effe£! of the machine, t or’ ’;or t‘ie
a fl- w -p " R y
of fimplicity, making we have for the per¬
formance of the machine -- ^\ then fince R is the
q + dry*
variable quantity, we (hall find, alter making the fluxion
of this formula rro, that the performance is a maximum
when R—
cl if
When £=:R then d *1, and tve fhall have
R _ 9a+f.y|r—?
if
When rtrr? and Pm, and when tn, the inertia of the
machine, x=o, we fhall have a-^Tnzzi~q, and then
the formula becomes
R
.y-MU-
y .
When y—x, then y—i, and
1 -f-114—1
R — —1 =0.4142
PxyR—R\^—4>Rya
a xz ~{-b tf-\-mif ’
which reprefents the work performed, is equal to the
fluxion of the numerator, becaufe the denominator is
conflant, that is, V xy R—2RR y*— <p Ry*=o, and,
dividing by Rj P-vy—zRyJ—Qy'—0) hence 2Ry ~
^ x y—(py1, and R= —I which, divided by y,
gives R—Now, according to the experi-
o 2 y
ments of Coulomb, the friftion is, in general, propor¬
tional to the refilling preffure, or a certain part of that
preflure, for example, -sVR } and calling |Z_T^-,
and, omitting <py,$we have for the refiftance Rfl-TTTR,
or4oR_I^Z£, or R=(—and making P
= 1, and x— 1, we have R= ^ rxj ^ a^*
ftrafling from the quotient 4t> wbich being little
oreater than 1, will not alter the refult, the refiftance
ftiould be one half of the force which would keep the
impelling power in equilibrio.
31 Case 2. When b varies at the fame time with
R, it will in moft cafes vary in the lame proportions,
and therefore may be reprefented by any multiple of
R, as </R, where d may be either an integer or a frac¬
tion. In order to Amplify the inveftigation, we may
confider the fraflion <p as a refiftance diminilhing the
impelling power, inftead of regarding it a^s a refiftance
to be added to the other refitting forces. Ihus the im-
pelling power P will become P—In the lame way
we may confider the momentum of the machine’s in¬
ertia applied to the impelled point, that is, inftead of
mif it may be made mx1. Now making P—<p. or the
impelling power =1, and making #=1, we lhall have
Scholium.
314. Thofe who wifh to profecute this interefting
fubjetf may confult the different papers of Euler in the
Comment. Fetropol. vol. x. p. 80, 1743, and in the
Comment. Nov. Fetropol. vol. iii. and viii.- In the article
Machinery in the Supplement to the laft edition of
this Work, the fubjed has been treated with great
ability by Dr Robifon, though he has omitted the va¬
rious fteps m the inveftigation which condud to the
leading formulae. I he fubjed has been alfo ably dif-
cuffed by Profeflbr Leftie in a paper publilhed in the
Appendix to Ferguffon’s Ledures, vol. ii. p. 355 3 an^
as the refults of his inveftigations may be of great ufe
in pradice, we (hall here prefent the reader with a
ftiort abftrad of them.
If the refiftance is equal to the power, is double, tri¬
ple, or quadruple, &c. a maximum effed will be pro¬
duced when the velocity of the power, or its diftance
from the centre of motion, isi-j-V1'2}
4—v/20 ; 5 +v/s0 3 G-j-vTa, that of the weight be¬
ing 1, Sec. If the refiftance is very great, compared
with the power, the velocity (hould at leaft be double
of that which would procure an equilibrium, in order
that the machine will produce a maximum effed.
315. If the velocity of the power, or its diftance from
the centre of motion, be equal to, double, tuple, qua¬
druple, &c. Sec. of the velocity of the. weight or re¬
fiftance, a maximum effed will be produced when the
power P is equal to R X 1 + V^2 3 R X i + vT 3
R X -f + Vfr j R X t + a/A,, R X ^ f
where R is the refiftance or weight to be railed. It the
velocity of the power be very large, a maximum efifed
will be produced when the power P is, at leaft, double
of that which would procure an equilibrium. It ap¬
pears alfo from Mr Leflie’s paper, that in whatever
way the maximum be procured, the force which impells
1
/
MECHANICS.
3*
IF;5?. 4.
Fig- 5-
Fig-
the weight can never amount to one-fourth part of the
direft a£lion of the power j and that in ry acbines where
the velocity ef the power is great, we may difregard
the momenta of the conne£fing parts, and confider the
force which ought to be employed as double of W'hat
is barely able to maintain the equilibrium.
Chap. VIII. On the Equilibrium of Archesy Piers,
and Domes.
316. Def. 1. An arch is reprefented in fig. 3. by
the affemblageof Hones ab, cd, e f &c. forming the mais
ABMN, whofe inferior furface is the portion of a
curve. The parts A, B are called the ffiring of the
arch, the line AB the ffiaji of the arch, C b its altitude,
b its crown, a b the keyf one, the curve or lower fur-
face A £ B the intrados, and the roadway TUV the
extrados *, PO, R.S, the filers when they Hand between
two arches, and the abutments when they are at the
extremities of the bridge.
317. Def. 2. A catenarian curve is the curve formed
by any line or cord perfectly flexible, and fufpended
by its extremities. Thus if the chain ACB be fufpend¬
ed by its extremities A, B, it will by the aftion of gra¬
vity upon all its parts affume the form ACB, which is
called the catenary or catenarian curve.
318. There are three modes of determining the con-
ftruflion of arches *, the firft of which is to confider the
arch as an inverted catenary ; the fecond is to eftablilh
an equilibrium between the vertical preffures of all
the materials between the intrados and extrados ; and
the third is to regard the different arch-ftones as por¬
tions of wedges without friflion, which, endeavour by
their own weight to force their way through the arch.
The firft of thefe methods w7as given by the ingenious
Dr Hook, and is contained in the following propofi-
tion.
Prop. I.
319. To determine the form of an arch by con-
fidering it as an inverted catenary, when its
fpan, its altitude, and the form of the roadway
or extrados are given.
Let a, b, c,d ht a number of fpheres or beads con-
nefted by a ftring, and fufpended by their extremities
A, B $ they will form a catenarian curve A a £ c B,
and be in equilibrio by the aftion of gravity. Each
fphere is afted upon by two forces 5 at its lower point by
the weight of the fpheres immediately below7 it, and at
its upper point by the weight of the fame fpheres added
to that of the fphere itfelfj that is, any fphere c is in
equilibrio from the refult of two forces, one of wThich
is produced by the weights oi c d e a£ling at the lower
point of b, while the other force arifes from the weight
of b c d e a<ffing at its upper point. The equilibrium
of this chain of fpheres is evidently of the liable kind,
as it will immediately recover its pofition when the
equilibrium is difturbed. Let us now fuppofe this
arch inverted, fo as to Hand in a vertical plane as in
fig. 6. It w’ill ftill preferve its equilibrium. For the
relative pofitions of the lines which mark the direflions
remain unchanged by inverting the curve, the force of
4
gravity continues the fame, and therefore the refult of Theory,
thefe forces wnll be the fame, and the arch wall be in *-*v—
equilibrio. The equilibrium, however, which the arch
now poffeffes is of the tottering kind, fo that the leaft
diiturbing force will deftroy it, and it will confequently
be unable to fupport any other weight but its own.
320. Let us now fuppofe that it is required to form
an equilibrated arch, whofe fpan is AB, W'hofe altitude
is D k, and which will fupport the materials of a road¬
way, whofe form TUV is given. It is obvious,
that if the fpheres a, b, c, d increafe in denfity from k
towards a, the catenarian curve wnll grow lefs concave at
its vertex e, and more concave towards its extremities
A,B. Let us then fuppofe that the denfities of the fpheres
a, b, c, d, e, &c. are refpeflively as a m, b n, co, dfi, e q,
&c. the. vertical diftances of their refpeflive centres
from the roadw'ay TUV, the arch will have a form
different from that which it would have affumed if the
fpheres were of equal denfity, and will be in equilibrio
when inverted as in fig. 6. , Now, in place of the
fpheres a, b,c, d, e, &c. of different denfities, let us fub-^'
ftitute fpheres of the fame denfity, and having the fame
pofition as thofe of different denfities ; let us then load
the fphere <7 with a weight which, when combined with,
the weight of a, will be equal to the weight of the cor-
refponding fphere a, that had a greater denfity j and
let us load the other fpheres b,c,d, &c. with weights
proportional to b n, c 0, dfi, &c. Then it is obvious
that the preffure of each fphere when thus loaded upon
that which is contiguous to it, is precifely equal to the
preflure of the fpheres of different denfities upon each
other, becaufe the denfity of thefe fpheres varied as
their diftances from the roadway. But the arch com-
pofed of fpheres of different denfities was in equilibrio
when inverted, therefore flnee the loaded fpheres of the
fame denfity have the fame pofition and exert the fame
preffures, the arch compofed of thefe fpheres and fup-
porting TUVB k A compofed of homogeneous materi¬
als, will be in equilibrio. Hence a roadway of a given
form, and comfiofed of homogeneous materials, will be fufi-.
ported by an arch whofe form is that of a catenary, each
of whofe points varies in denfty as their dijlance from
the furface of the roadway ; or, which is the fame
thing, A roadway of a given form, and comfiqfed of
homogeneous materials, will be fufifiorted by an arch
whofe form is that of a catenary, each of whofe points is
aBed upon by forces proportional to the di/lances of thefe
points from the furface of the roadway.
321. Hence we have the following pradlical method
of afeertaining the form of an equilibrated arch, whofe
fpan is AB, and altitude D h, and which is to fupport
a roadwray of the form T'U'V'. Let a chain Fig. 7.
Ka b c h^>, of uniform denfity, be fufpended from the
points A, B, fo that it forms a catenary whofe altitude
is D k, the required height of the 'arch. Divide AB
into any number of equal parts, fuppofe eight, and let
the vertical lines I m, 2 n, 30, drawn from thefe
points, interfeft the catenary in the points a, b, c. From
the points a, b, c k, r, s, t, fufpend pieces of chain of uni¬
form denfity, and form them of fuch a length, that
when the whole is in equilibrio, the extremities of the
chains may lie in the line T'U'V'$ then the form which
the catenary A £ B now affumes, will be the form of
an equilibrated arch, which, when inverted like AKB,
will fupport the roadway TUV, fimilar to T'U'V'.
This
Theory-
MECHANIC S.
This is obvious from tlie latl paragraph, for the pieces is parallel to it.
of chain a m, bn,co,k\J, &c. are forces afting upon
the points <7, b, c, k of the catenary, and are proportional
to a m, b n, c o, &c. the dillances of the points a, by c,
k, &c. from the roadway.
322. An arch of this conftruftion will evidently an-
fwer for a bridge, in which the weight of the materials
between the roadway and the arch Hones is to. the
weight of the arch Hones, as the weight of all the. pieces
of chain fufpended from a, b, c, &c. is to the weight of
the chain A k B. As the ratio, however, of the weight
of the arch Hones to the weight of the fuperincumbent
materials is not known, we may aflume a convenient
thicknefs for the arch Hones, and if from this ailumed
thicknefs their weight be computed, and be. found to
have the required ratio to the w7eight of the incumbent
mafs, the curve already found will be a proper form
for the arch. But if the ratio is different from that of
the wTeight of the whole chain to the wreight of the ful-
pended chains •, it may be eafrly computed how much
muff be added to or fubtraded from the pieces of
chain, in order to make the ratios equal, fhe new
curve which the catenary then affumes, in confequence
of the change upon the length of the fufpended chains,
will be the form of an equilibrated arch, the weight of
whofe arch Hones is equal to that which was affumed.
r  _ Let us now fuppofe that the lines
CD, D.E, EB, &c. can move round the angular points
D, E, B, F, &c. the extremities A, C being immoveabley
and that forces proportional to D^, Ee, B£, &c. are ex¬
erted upon the points D, E, B, F, &c. and in the direftion
Dt/, Ee, &c. Now, by the refolution of forces, the
force Dd, may be refolved into the forces Dc, T>p,
the force E e into the forces E y, E r, and the force
B b into the forces B j, B /, and fo on with the red.
The force D c produces no other effea. than to prefs
the point A on the plane on which it reds, and is
therefore deHroyed by the refiflance of that plane y but
the remaining force D /> tends to bring the point D to¬
wards E, and to enlarge the angle ADE y this force,
however, is deHroyed by the equal and oppofite force
E y, and in the fame w7ay the forces E r, B 7, Fa; are
deHroyed by the equal and oppofite forces, Br, F£, Gu,
while the remaining force G to is deHroyed by the re¬
finance of the plane which fupports the point C. When
the lines AD, DE, &c. therefore are adled upon by
vertical forces proportional to D </, E^, B h, &c. thefe
forces are all deHroyed by equal and oppofite ones, and
the lines will remain in equilibrio.
326. Now7 the force D c : D/> or E ^=fln. c dT) or-
d~Dp : fin. AE) d, that is, by taking the reciprocals
Scholium.
D c:E q—
fin. AD d ' fin. t/D />’
Fig. S.
323. In moH cafes the catenarian curve thus deter¬
mined w7ill approach very near to a circular arc equal
to 120 degrees, wdfich fprings from the piers fo as.to
form an angle of 60 degrees w7ith the horizon. 1 he
form of the arch, however, as determined in the pre¬
ceding propofition, is fuited only to thofe cafes in which
the fuperincumbent materials exert a vertical preffure.
A quantity of loofe earth and gravel exerts a pieffuie
in almofl every dire&ion, and therefore tends to defiroy
the equilibrium of a catenarian arch. T his tendency,
however, may be removed by giving the arch a greater
curvature towards the piers. This will make it approach
to the form of an ellipfis, and make it fpring more ver¬
tically from the piers or abutments.
324. We fhall now proceed to deduce the form of an
arch and its roadway, by eflablifliing an equilibrium a-
mong the weights of all the materials between the arch
and the roadway. T his method w7as given by Emerfon
in his Fluxions, publilhed in I742> an^ afterwards by
Dr Hutton in his excellent work on bridges.
Prop. II.
325. To determine the form of the roadway or
extrados, when the form of the arch or intrados
is given.
Let the lines AD, DE, EB, BF, FG, GH lie in
the fame plane, and let them be placed perpendicular
to the horizon. From the points D, E, B, &c. draw the
vertical lines D */, E f, B Z>, &c. and taking D/> of any
length, make E r equal to D/>, &c. and complete the
parallelogramsp c, q r. Again, make B and com¬
plete the parallelogram ts; in like manner make Ek=sb,
and complete the parallelogram Fy'j and fo on with all
the other lines, making the fide of each parallelogram
«qual to that fide of the preceding parallelogram which
and for. the fame reafon
E q :.B j:
Hence
’fin. E e q ' fin. £ B r
I
fin. E e q
Slow, fince E y : E crzfin. Eeq\ fin. E q cr. we have
E ^ ' ^ q C] that is, fince DE/wrrE q e, and
fin. E e q
^ E <7 xfin. DE m „ . 1
? EB=E eq\E e— — • But Eqz=:{
hi c . .. 11
fin. e EB
therefore, by fubflitution, we obtain
fin. DE m
E e~
"fin. Eeq
fin. E<?y xfin* e BB-
'Tow7, as the fame reafoning may be employed to find
[)</, B£, &c. we have obtained expreffions of the
orces which, when afting at the angular points
D, E, B, &c. keep the whole in equilibrio, and thele
ixpreHions are in terms of the angles which the lines
DE, EB, &c. form with the direftion [of the forces,
tf the lines AD, DE, &c. be increafed in number fo
;hat they may form a polygon with an infinite number
fides, which will not difter from a curve line, then
:he forces will aft at every point of the curve, and the
line tn E will be a tangent to the curve at the point E,
and DE m will be the angle of contaft.. J he line E q
being now infinitely fmall will coincide with E w, and
therefore the angles eEq and e EB or Eeq will be
equal to the angle eEm, and confequently their fines
will be equal. Therefore by making thefe fubfiitutior.s
in the lafi formula, we have an expreffion of the fores
at every point of the curve, thus
Ee
fin. DE m
fin. DE m
■ fin. e £> tw cE m ’ fin> e E wf”
But
1
MECHANIC S.
Fig-9.
Fig. IC.
But the angle of contaft D.E m varies with the
curvature at the point E, and the curvature varies as
the-reciprocal of the radius of curvature, therefore the
angle of contact varies as the reciprocal of the radius
of curvature ; hence by fubfutution,
E e±i :      
radius of curvature xe -- '»*
In order to get rid of the confufion in fig. 8. where the
arch is a polygon, let us fuppoie ABC, fig. 9. to be the
curve, m n a tangent to any point E, and E c a vertical
line ; then the prejjure at any point of the arch is reci¬
procally as the radius of curvature at that point, and the
fquare of the fine of the angle which the tangent to that
point of the curve forms with a vertical line.
327. Corollary Let us now fupjtofe that the arch
ABC fupports a mafs of homogeneous materials lying be¬
tween the roadway TUV and the arch AEBCj and the
whole being fuppofed in equilibrio, let us determine
the weight which preffes on the point E. The weight
of the fuperincumbent column Y. c h dvaries as ILcytgd,
hut. g d—Y dY.im. d Y g,Y d being radius, undid Yg
— E n B, on account of the parallels Yc, UB, there¬
fore the weight of the column Yc b d varies as E cX
E^xhri. E«B, that is, as E c X fin* E/z B, becaufe
E is a conftant quantity ; but the preffure at E was
proved to vary as :     there-
radius curvature X fin* e E nd
fore the weight of the column YcbdnxYcy. fin. E« B
varies alfo as this quantity, that is,
E c X fin* E n B~ 7 7: 
radius curvature x fin. e Y nd
But as the angle E « B is equal to the angle e E m, we
ftiall have, by fubftitution and divifion,
Ecrr-
-, that is,
of the arch, or R, therefore, E c=:
1
rJ
£3
Se£L IV. and Divifion, we have
by the notation R : BF : DF
R3__|BF3
b*
Tlieory.
=iBF3 DF3, hence
• R x fin* GE e
fubftitution, E cf=-~r-, that is, fince R is conftant,
E crz--1-* But when the point E coincides with B,
• b 3
the cofine b becomes equal to radius j therefore, in that
cafe E c~-~, and E c becomes BU =: m, hence
: Yc, and by Geometry, Theor, 8.
fide by m
therefore
have
DF3
772 R3 772 BF3
and multiplying each
£3 ~ DF3 7
the vertical diftance of tR
but
772 R3
-E c.
b*
furface of the
radius curvature xfin* e E m\l
When an arch fupports a roadway, the preffure ex¬
erted upon any point of it, is reciprocally as the radius
of curvature, and the cube of the fine of the angle which
the tangent to that point forms with a vertical line.
328. Flaving thus obtained an expreflion for Ec, we
fhall proceed to fhew the application of the formula to
the cafe when the arch is a portion of a circle.
Let EB be the arch of a circle whofe centre is
F. Let the radius — R, BD = verfed fine, BE=.v,
DF=cof. BErr/?, BUrz://;. Draw the tangent GE,
and through E the vertical line ce, which will be
parallel to BE. Then fince GEF is a right angle,
and eEF—EFB, the angle GEe is the complement
of EFB, therefore, fin. GE crrcof. EFBnrFD. But,
in the prefent cafe, the radius of curvature is the radius
1
» or by
f ^ T7 wish3 BUxBF3
roadway from the point r, or E -——,y rr-——^—.
When the point E coincides with B, BF—DF, and
E e=:BU. When E coincides with A, the cofine DF
vanifties, and therefore E c, or the diftance of the
point A from the extrados or roadway, is infinite. The
curve VUcT, therefore, will run up to an infinite
height, approaching continually to a vertical line,
drawn from A, which will be its afymptote. Such a
form of the extrados, however, is inadmiftible in prac¬
tice j and therefore a femicircular arch is not an arch
of equilibration. When the arch is lefs than a femi-
circle, as PBR, the curve terminates in the point p ;
and as it does not rife very much above a horizontal
line, palling through U when the arch is fmall, we
might produce a perfed! equilibrium, by making the
roadway horizontal as £ U “u, and making the denfity
of the fuperincumbent columns P 72, Yo, which prefs
upon the points P, E refpedlively, in the ratio of
P/>, E c, the diftances of thefe points from the curvili-’
neal roadway.
329. The inconvenience, however, arifing from the
inflexion of the extrados, may be conliderably removed
by throwing the point of contrary flexure to a greater
diftance, which may be done by diminiftiing BU, the
thicknefs of the incumbent mafs above the keyftone.
Thus, if BU is diminifhed to Yd, and if points a, b
are taken in the lines P/>, Yc, fo that P27 : Pp—Y b :
Yc—Yd : BU, and fo on with all the points in the
arcli 5 and if a new roadway v d b a t be, drawn through
thefe points, the equilibrium of the arch will ftill
continue, for the various preffures which it fuftained,
though they are diminilhed, preferve the fame proportion.
330. Let us fuppofe it neceffary to have the extrados
a horizontal line, and let it be required to find YU~m
when there is an equilibrium. In this cafe the point H
coincides with U •, or rather, when the curve U c T cuts
the horizontal line t U v, the point H coincides with U.
By fubftituting BF—BD inftead of DF in the value
of E c, formerly determined, and by putting BDrry,
772 R3
we have E c=~—r~~l,* But when H coincides with U,
. R—fI
c coincides writh 0, and therefore E 0—E c~ BD B U
772 R3
=:y-}-m, confequently, and multiplying
byJR.—y^, we have 7«R3=r?/ X R—yY -T ^ X R—y\*, or
772 R3-J-/72X R—yl3= y X R—yY, and, dividing by the
coefficients of 7/2, we have
-}-•> that is,
7/xR-
tnzz- —
R3_R_3,|3
The thichnefs of the roadway above the hey stone, when
the extrados is a fraight line, is equal to the quotient
arifing
MECHANICS. 97
Theory. ariRm from multiplying the verfaifme of half the arch may, therefore, conclude, that when the arch is to be
*—v—- by the cube of its cojine, and dividing this product by the circular with a horizontal roadway, an arch ojild de-
difference between the cube of the radius, and the cube of grees approaches nearejl to an arch of equilibration,
r r ... _1 nr,r.r.c th^ tlirlnplt nf 332. When the arch is elliptical, it will be ti
the cofine; or, to change the exprelTions, the thicknefs of
the roadway above the keystone, when the roadway is a
freight line, is equal to the quotient arifng from multi¬
plying the height of the arch, by the cube of the differ¬
ence between the radius of the arch and its height, and
dividing this produB by the difference between the cube
of the radius, and the cube of the difference between the
radius and the height of the arch.
331. When the arch is a femicircle R—y vanilhes,
and m becomes equal o, fo that the femicircular arch is
evidently inadmiflible. But when the arch is lefs than
a femicircle, the value of m will be finite. Thus, if
the arches are refpeftively
Arch.
6o°, we have m—\ the fpan,
90°, we have in—\ of the fpan, or
1 io°, we have of the fpan nearly.
The two fir ft arches of 60® and 90°, manifeftly give
too great a thicknefs to the part BU or m. In the
third arch of no0, the thicknefs of BD is nearly what
is given to it by good architeas, and is therefore the
beft in pradice •, for if the arch were made greater
than iio°, the thicknefs of BU or m would be too
fmall. It is obvious, however, that an arch of no is
not an arch of perfeB equilibration, for this can be the
cafe only when the roadway has the form U z r. \\ hen
the roadway, therefore, is horizontal, as U r, there is
1U/ uni, ILVyi ^    J 1 _n> . -
When the arch is elliptical, it will be found, ^pncal
as in the circle, that m
_ y x R—yj3
■R3_.R=73-
An elliptical PeriVr0
v circular
•c . arches
arch, however, has the advantage of a cncular one, wjien t{jeir
when the tranfverfe axis is horizontal ; for as it is tranfverfe _
much flatter, the point of contrary flexure in the extra- ^1S
dos is thrown at a greater diftance, and therefore it
will, with lefs inconvenience, admit of a horizontal
roadway. Elliptical arches have alfo the advantage of
being more elegant, and likewife require lefs labour
and materials.
333. The cycloidal arch is likewife fuperior to a circu¬
lar one, but inferior to thofe which are elliptical. Para¬
bolic, hyperbolic, and catenarian arches, may be em¬
ployed when the bridge has only one arch, and is to
rife high 5 but in other cafes they are inadmiflible.
The method of determining the roadway for all thefe
forms of arches, will be found in Dr Hutton s excellent
work on the Principles of Bridges, p. 3 - _ See aifo E-
merfon’s Mifcellanies, p. 156* j and his work on
Fluxions, publiftied in 1742,
1534. When the form of the roadway is given, theOntheme-
fhape of the intrados for an arch of equilibration may chanical
be determined. x\s the mveftigation is very difficult, equiilbra_
unlefs when the roadway is a horizontal line, we lhall tjon>
merely give the formula, which will enable any per-
fon to conftrua the curve. In all the other curves the
producefTb^the'weight'of^h^materials in ^^iSylhe^fonovving formas antrefof"pe"
by rials Mowg Z left e^Ubm.ion and has been called ,/« mMccl
lighter than thofe below U ; but the unbalanced pref- curve of equilibration.
fare is fo trifling, that it may be fafely negkaed. We
EDrrAFx
, , , BU-f-BD+x/lBUxBD-fBD1
Hyperbol. log ^ g-g 
Hyperbol. log.
BU +BF+x/2 BU x BF -f BFa
BU
for any other arch whofe fpan and thicknefs are as the
numbers 100, 40, 6 •, only the values of c U and c E
muft be increafed or diminiftied in the fame ratio as
thefe numbers.
From this formula, which correfpsnds with figure 11.
Dr Hutton has computed the following table, contain¬
ing the values of f U and f E, for an arch whofe fpan
AC is 100, whofe height BF is 40, and whofe th'ck‘
nefs at the crown or BU is 6. The table will anfwer
Tml* for couJlruOing,he Cun,'of Equilibration, when the fpan height, and thicUefs at the crown, are as the
numbers 100, 4°» anc*
Value of
c U.
Value of
cE.
o
2
4
6
8
10
12
13
6.000
6- 035
6.144
6.324
6.580
6.914
7- 330
7 S71
7-834
Value of
cU.
Value of
cE.
15
16
J7
18
J9
20
21
22
23
8.120
8.430
8.766
9 168
ig-sn
9-934
10.381
10.858
11.368
Value of
cU.
Value of
c E.
24
25
26
27
28
29
3°
31
32
Value of
cV.
11.911
12.489
13.106
13.761
14-4 5 7
15.196
1 c.980
16.811
i7-693
VaMie of
cE.
33
34
35
S6
37
38
39
40
41
Value of
cU.
1 8.627
19.617
20.665
21.774
22.948
24.190
25-5°5
26.894
28.364
Value :
cE.
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
5°
29.919
3**56
33.29
35-I3
37 °75
39-i?p
41.29-
43-^
46,0: b
Vol. XIII. Part I.
N
MECHANICS.
Theery. 335* The conftrucl!o$l of arches has alfo been dedu-
v ccd from confidering the arch-ftones as fruftums of po-
lifhed wedges without fridion, which endeavour to
force their way through the arch. This principle has
been adopted by Belidor, Parent, Boffut, Prony, and
other French philofophers, and likewife by our ingeni¬
ous countryman, the late Mr Atwood. This theory,
however, is more plaufible than ufeful. So far from the
arch-llones having liberty to Hide between thofe which
are contiguous to them, without fridlion, they are
bound together by the ftro'ngeft cement, and fometimes
connected by iron pins or wedges. The theory like-
M'ife requires, that the weight of the arch muft regular¬
ly increafe as the portion of the vertical tangent cut off
by lines drawn from a given point in a direction paral¬
lel to that of the joints, and therefore either the den-
iity or the magnitude of the arch-ftones muft be very
gre*at at the fpring of the arch, where the portion of
the vertical tangent is a maximum. Thofe who with
to be acquainted with the mode of inveftigation, by
which the equilibrium of arches is eftabliihed in this
theory, may ccnfult Prony’s Archkcclure Hijdrauhque,
tom. i. p. 152.
On the ConJIruBion of Piers and Abutments.
336. In the conftru&ion of piers and abutments,
there are two circumftances which claim our attention.
1. The ftrength that muft be given to them, in order
to refift the lateral thruft which they fuftain from the
adjacent femiarches, and which tend either to overfet
them, or make them Hide upon their bafe. 2. The
form which muft be given to their extremities, fo that
the force of the current may be a minimum.—The ad-
hefion of the pier to the place on which it refts is al¬
ways much greater than one-third of the preflure *, and
.as the lateral thruft of the arch which this adhefion re¬
fills, is oblique to the horizon, and may be refolved in¬
to two forces, one of which is horizontal, and the
other vertical, we have the vertical portion of the la¬
teral thruft, the weight of the pier, and the fridlion on
its bafe, combined in refifting the horizontal portion of
the lateral thruft, which tends to make the pier Aide
upon its bafe, fo that there is no danger of the pier
yielding to fuch a preflfure.—We do not here confider,
that the lateral thruft which tends to give a horizontal
motion to the pier, is completely counteradled by the
lateral thruft of the oppofite femiarch, becaufe it is ne-
ceflary that the pier ihould have fuffieient liability to
refill the lateral thruft of one femiarch, in cafe of the
failure of the oppofite one. Let us therefore conlider
the ftrength of the pier which will prevent it from be¬
ing overfet.
337. For this purpofe, let ABC be an arch, MHTO
the pier, and BUHA the loaded femiarch, whofe pref-
fure tends to overturn the pier. Let G be the centre
«f gravity of the mafs BUHA : Join GA, and from
G draw GK perpendicular to AC. Then, lince the
whole prefture of the arch is exerted at its fpring A j
and fince this preffure is the fame as if the whole
weight of the ajch were collefled into the point G,
GA will be the direflion in which the weight of the
arch and the fuperincumbent mafs a£ls upon the point
A. Now, by DyyAiyics, the force GA may be re¬
folved into the two forces GK, KA, one of which KA Theory,
endeavours to give the pier a motion of rotation about w—y——
the point O, while the other GK denotes the weight
of the loaded arch in the dire6iion GK. Putting W,
therefore, for the weight or area of the fuperincumbent
Wy KA
mafs, we have GK : KArrW : ——^—, the prelfure
Giv
upon A. Now, as this force tends to turn the pier
round O by means of the lever OA, and as ON=: AM
is the perpendicular from the centre of motion upon
WyKA
the line of dire£lion, we have AM X —---•— for the
GK
force which tends to overturn the pier. Now, the
force which is oppofed to this is the weight of the
pier MHTO collefted in its centre of gravity g, which
ads by the vertical lever O »z=GOM, becaufe g is in
the centre of the redangle TM (Art. 164.). But the
weight or area of the pier may be reprefented by OM
X MH ; therefore, the force which refills the lateral
thruft of the loaded arch is OMyMHx^OM, or
4MHxOM. Now, in the cafe of an equilibrium be-
WxKA
tween thefe oppofing forces, we have AMy——1
=rTMHxOM% which, by redudion, becomes OM
AMxWxKA
MH x GK
This formula gives us the
breadth of the pier wdiich is capable of balancing the
lateral thruft j and therefore OM muft be taken a lit¬
tle greater than the preceding value. In pradice, OM
is generally between one-fifth and one-feventh of AC,
the fpan of the arch. The method of finding the cen¬
tre of gravity G of the loaded arch, whether the arch
is in perfed equilibrium or not, may be feen in Dr
Hutton’s work, already quoted, p. 49. A very fimple
method of doing this is to form the part BVHA of a
piece of card, and to find its centre of gravity G by
the rules given in Articles 201, 202, 203. This in¬
deed fuppofes all the materials to be homogeneous j but
if they are of various kinds, we can load the arch made
of card in a fimilar manner, and determine its centre of
gravity as before.
338. The limits of this article will not permit us to ap¬
ply the method of fluxions to the determination of the
form which ftiould be given to the ends of the pier, in
order that the impulfe of the current may be the leaft
poflible. The theory of the refiftance of fluids, indeed,,
differs fo widely from experiment, that fuch an invefti¬
gation would, in this place, be of little pradical utility.
It may be fufficient merely to remark, that the pier
fhould have an angular form, and that the impulfe of
the current will be diminifhed as the angle is more
acute. When the ends arefemicircular, the impulfe of the
ftream is reduced to one half j and though a triangular
termination of the piers reduces the impulfe ftill more,
yet femieircular ends are more pleafing to the eye, and
are particularly advantageous when fmall veffels have
occafion to pafs the arch. When thofe veffels happen
to impinge againft the piers, the femicircular ends are
more able to bear the fliock, and do lefs injury to the
veffel, while the additional quantity of uiafonry will
give greater liability to the pier,.
'•Qm
Theory.
MECHANICS.
: " ' v 'J ijn the ConJlruBion of Domes,
339. Definition. A dome, cupola, or vault, is
an arched roof, either of a fpherical, conoidal, or fphe-
roidal form.
The following propofition, taken from Dr Robifon’s
article upon this fubjeft, in the Supplement to the laft
edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, contains a ve¬
ry brief view of the theory of domes.
Proposition.
340. f( To determine the thicknefs of a dome vault¬
ing when the curve is given, or the curve when,
the thicknefs is given.
p;ate “ Let B £ A, figure 1. be the curve which pro
CCCXXIIl. duces the dome by revolving round the vertical
Fig-1. axis AD. We {hall fuppofe this curve to be drawn
through the middle of all the arch-ftones, and that the
courfing or horizontal joints are every where perpen¬
dicular to the curve. We (hall fuppofe (as is always
the cafe) that the thicknefs KL, HI, &c. of the arch-
ftones is very fmall, in comparifon with the dimenfions
of the arch. If we confider any portion HA h of the
dome, it is plain that it preffes on the courfe, of
which HL is an arch-ftone, in a direftion b C perpen¬
dicular to the joint HI, or in the direction of the next
fuperior element /3 of the curve. As we proceed
downwards, courfe after courfe, we fee plainly that
this direction muft change, becaufe the weight of each
courfe is fuperadded to that of the portion above it, to
complete the preffure on the courfe below. Through
B draw the vertical line BCG, meeting 0 b, produced
in C. We may take b c X.o exprefs the preffure of all
that is above it, propagated in this diredlion to the
joint KL. We may alfo fuppofe the wreight of the
courfe HL united in b, and adling on the vertical.
Let it be reprefented by £ F. If we form the paral¬
lelogram b FGC, the diagonal b G will reprefent the
direftion and intenfity of the whole preffure on the
ioint KL. Thus it appears that this preffure is conti¬
nually changing its direflion, and that the line, which
will always coincide with it, muft be a curve concave
downward. If this be precifely the curve of the dome, it
will be an equilibrated vaulting ; but fo far from being
the ftrongeft form, it is the weakeft, and it is the li¬
mit to an infinity of others, which are all ftronger than
it. This will appear evident, if we fuppofe that b G
does not coincide with the curve A ^ B, but paffes
without it. As we fuppofe the arch-ftones to be ex¬
ceedingly thin from infide to outfide, it is plain that
this dome cannot ftand, and that the weight of the
upper part will prefs it down, and fpring the vaulting
outwards at the joint KL. But let us fuppofe, on the
other hand, that £G falls within the curvilineal ele¬
ment b B. This evidently tends to pu(h the arch-ftone
inward, tow’ard the axis, and would caufe it to Hide in,
fince the joints are fuppofed perfectly fmooth and flip¬
ping. But fince this takes place equally in every ftone
of this courfe, they muft all abut on each other in the
'vertical joints, fqueezing them firmly together. There¬
fore, refolving the thruft b G into two, one of which is
perpendicular to the joint KL, and the other parallel Fheo
to it, we fee that this laft thruft is withftood by the v
vertical joints all around, and there remains only the
thruft in the dire6tion of the curve. Such a dome muft
therefore be firmer than an equilibrated dome, and can¬
not be fo eafily broken by overloading the upper part.
When the curve is concave upwards, as in the lower
part of the figure, the line b C always falls below b B,
and the point C below B. When the curve is con¬
cave downwards, as in the upper part of the figure,
'b C; paffes above, or without b B. The curvature
may be fo abrupt, that even b' G' {hall pafs without
rb B', and the point G' is above B'. It is alfo evident
that the force which thus binds the ftones of a horizon¬
tal courfe together, by pufhing them towards the axis,
will be greater in flat domes than in thofe that
are more convex •, that it will be ftill greater in a
cone j and greater ftill in a curve whofe convexity is
turned inwards : for in this laft cafe the line b G will
deviate moft remarkably from the curve. Such a dome
will ftand (having polilhed joints) if the curve fprings
from the bafe with any elevation, however fmall j nay,
fince the fridlion of two pieces of ftone is not lefs than
half of their mutual preifure, fuch a dome will ftand,
although the tangent to the curve at the bottom ftrould
be horizontal, provided that the horizontal thruft be
double the weight of the doma, which may eafily be
the cafe if it do not rife high.
“ Thus we fee that the {lability of a dome depends
on very different principles from that of a common
arch, and is in general much greater. It differs alfo
in another very important circumftance, viz. that it
may be open in the middle : for the uppermoft courfe,
by tending equally in every part to Aide in toward the
axis, preffes all together in the vertical joints, and a£is
on the next courfe like the key-ftone of a common
arch. Therefore an arch of equilibration, which is
the wTeakeft of all, may be open in the middle, and
carry at top another building, fuch as a lantern, if its
weight do not exceed that of the circular fegment of
the dome that is omitted. A greater load than this
w'ould indeed break the dome, by caufing it to fpring #
up in fome of the lower courfes 5 but this load may be
increafed if the curve is flatter than the curve of equi¬
libration : and any load whatever, which will not crufb
the ftones to powder, may be fet on a truncate cone,
or on a dome formed by a curve that is convex toward
the axis; provided always that the foundation be effec¬
tually prevented from flying out* either by a hoop or
by a fufficient mafs of folid pier on which it is fet.”
“ We have feen that if b G, the thruft compounded
of the thruft b C, exerted by all the courfes above
HILK, and if the force b F, or the weight of that
courfe, be everywhere coincident with b B, the ele¬
ment of the curve, we {hall have an equilibrated domej
if it falls wdthin it, we have a dome which will bear a
greater load ; and if it falls without it, the dome will
break at the joint. We muft endeavour to get analytical
expreflions of thefe conditions. Therefore draw the ordi¬
nates b $ b", BDB", C d C". Let the tangents at b and
&"meet the axis in M, and make MO, MP, each equal
to/'c, and complete the parallelogram MONP, and
draw 0£) perpendicular to the axis, and produce b F,
cutting the ordinates in E and e. It is plain that MN
N 2 is
•-< VO
JOO M E C H
Theory. Is to MO as the weight of the arch HAh to the
‘    thruft b c which it exerts on the joint KL (this thruft
being propagated through the courfe of HiLK) j and
that MO, or its equal be^ox^d, may reprel'ent the
weight oi the half AH.
“ Let AD be called x, and DB be called y. Then
b e—x, and e C=y (becaufe £ c is in the direftion of
the element /3 £). It is alfo plain, that if we make
y conftant, BC is the fecond fluxion of or BC=z
and b e and BE may be confidered as equal, and
taken indifcriminately for x. We have alfo bCzz
^^-{-y1. Let d be the depth or thicknefs HI of the
arch-ftones. Then d^x'+y* will reprefent the tra¬
pezium HL * and flnce the circumference of each
courfe increafes in the proportion of the radius
^x1 will exprefs the w'hole courfe. If^/^he taken
to reprefent the fum or aggregate of the quantities an¬
nexed to it, the formula will be analogous to the fluent
of a fluxion, and+y2 will reprefent the whole
mafs, and alfo the weight of the vaulting, down to the
joint HI. Therefore we have this proportion, Jdy
: dy*Jx*-Yy* zzb e : £ F, —b e : CG, ~ ^ d :
dyx^x^y*
CG,=:x : CG. Therefore CG=r- /- — •
Jdys/x'+y'
“ If the curvatiu-e of the dome be precifely fuch as
puts it in equilibrium, but without any mutual preflure
in the vertical joints, this value of OG mull be equal to
CB, or to x, the point G coinciding with B. This condi-
d y x sjxz -j-//2
A N I C S.
dy x V x* +y
greater than J dysf we learn
that the upper part of the dome mud not be made very
heavy. This, by dimini thing the proportion of £ F to
b C, diminifties the angle cbG, and may fet the point
G above B, which will infallibly fpring the dome in
that place. We fee here alfo, that the algebraic, ana-
lyfis exprefles that peculiarity of dome-vaulting, that
the weight of the upper part may even be fupprefl'ed.
“ The fluent of the equation
dy^x' + rf
r n r
J dy^ xz -\-if
t
+7
tion will be expreffed by the equation
fd y J ^-i-j/2
d y \/ ar-f y*
But
or, more conveniently, by —   ,
Jdys/x'+y* x
this form gives only a tottering equilibrium, indepen¬
dent of the friftion of the joints and the cohefion of
the cement. An equilibrium, accompanied by fome
firm ft ability, produced by the mutual preflure of
the vertical joints, may be expreffed by the formula
orby ^£±£=*1+1
jJyJx'+f * j‘l,J£>■'+>/ x ‘
w^here t is fome variable pofitive quantity, which in¬
creafes when x increafes. This laft equation will alfo
exprefs. the equilibrated dome, if / be a conftant quan-
fdys/ a?2 +y
, . , t> a xr x
This will give d =
tity, becaufe in this cale — is —o.
« Since a firm liability requires that
dyx s/xz
+y'
'ITieorv.
is moft eafily found. Itis’L.Jdy^x'-^if—'L x-^ht,
where L is the hyperbolic logarithm of the quantity an¬
nexed to it. If wTe confider y as conftant, and correct
the fluent fo as to make it nothing at the vertex, it may
be expreffed thus, LJdy^x* -j-y2—L a~ L .v—Ly-j-
L/. This gives us L —X and there.
fore
J a y
« This laft equation will eafily give us the depth of
vaulting, or thicknefs d of the arch, when the curve is
„ . . dii*s/x*y* tx-\-tx , /
given. For its fluxion is ——-j i » and d
__at x-\. at x—^ js an expreffed in known quan-
y y*J x' -j-y1*
tities j for we may put in place of t any power or
funaion of * or of y, and thus convert the expreflion
into another, which will ftill be applicable to all forts
of curves.
« Inftead of the fecond member —-f-~ we might
^ x 1
employ ^, where /> is fome number greater than uni-
x
ty. This will evidently give a dome having liability j
„ , dvx\/x1-\-yz
becaufe the original formula —' vvill then
be greater than a w»ix   . t,
yij V ^2-f y*
Each of thefe forms has its advantages when applied to
-f
lhall be greater than #, and CG mull be greater than
CB : Hence we learn, that figures of too great curva¬
ture, whofe fides defcend too rapidly, are impro¬
per. Alfo, fince liability requires that we have
U X
particular cafes. Each of them alfo gives d— :: . _ —
Y yy*J x'+y*
vj/hen the curvature is fuch as is in precife equilibrium.
And, lallly, if ^ be conftant, that is, if the vaulting be
of uniform thicknefs, we obtain the form of the curve}
becaufe then the relation of ^ to « and to y is given.
« The chief ufe of this analyfis is to difcover what
curves are improper for domes, or what portions of
given curves may be employed with fafety. Domes
mechanics.
Theorv. are generally built for ornament; and we fee that there
•—y— is great room for indulging our fancy in the choice.
All curves which are concave outwards will give
domes of great firmnefs : they are alfo beautiful. Ihe
Gothic dome, whofe outline is an undulated curve, may
be made abundantly firm, efpecially if the upper part
be convex and the lower concave outwards.
“ The chief difficulty in the cafe of this analyfis
arifes from the neceffity of expreffing the weight of the
the incumbent part, or Jdysjx7,-\-y'. This requires
the meafurement of the conoidal furface, which, m
moft cafes, can be had only by approximation by means
of infinite feriefes. _ . .
“ The furface of any circular portion of a iphere is
very eafily had, being equal to the circle defcribed
with a radius equal to the chord of half the arch. This
radius is evidently rrxA^-f-V*. #
“ In order to difcover what portion of a hemilphere
may be employed (for it is evident we cannot employ
the whole) when the thicknefs of the vaulting is uni-
form, we may recur to the equation or formula
d 1/ X X* — y\ — j'dyj AT’-fy1. Let a be the ra-
x
ayy
dins of the hemifphere. We have x _ —-^-====p
and x — -
a'y*
a‘—yl\i
AD DB
0.4
3-4
11.4
a6.6
52*4
91.4
146.8
223.4
326.6
475-4
100
200
3°o
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
AD
610.4
744
904
1100
J336
15 22
i738
1984
2270
2602
DB AD D B
1080
1140
1200
1260
13:0
1360
1400
1440
1480
T520
2990
3442
3972
443 2
495 2
5336
5756
6214
6714
7260
1560
1600
1640
1670
1700
1720
1740
1760
1780
1800
Subftituting thefe values in the
/— ^r a' yy
formula, we obtain the equation
We eafily obtain the fluent of the fecond member
—A*—(fjcf—y1, and y — asj—y^er®f'01re
if the radius of the fphere be 1, the half breadth of the
dome mult not exceed \/—4 X or 0.786, and the
height will be .618. The arch from the vertex is
about 510 49'. Much more of the hemifphere can¬
not Hand, even though aided by the cement, and by
the friflion of the courfing joints. This laft circum-
llance, by giving connexion to the upper parts, es
the whole to prefs more vertically on the courfe be¬
low, and thus diminilhes the outwrard thruft y but it at
the fame time diminiffies the mutual abutment .of the
vertical joints, which is a great caufe of firmnefs m the
vaulting. A Gothic dome, of which the upper part is
a portion of a fphere not exceeding 450 from the ver¬
tex, and the lower part is concave outwards, will be
very ftrong, and not ungraceful. _ ,
“ 341. Perfuaded that what has been faid on the lub-
jeft convinces the reader that a vaulting perfedly equi¬
librated throughout is by no means the belt form, pro¬
vided that the bafe is fecured from feparatmg, we
think it unneceffary to give the inveffigation ot that
form, which has a confiderable intricacy,. and mail
merely give its dimenfions. The thicknefs is fuppo e
uniform. The numbers in the firll column of the taole
exprefs the portion of the axis counted from the vertex,
and thofe of the fecond column are the length of the
ordinates,
“ The curve formed according to thefe dimenfions
will not appear very graceful, becaufe there is an a-
brupt change in its curvature at a fmall diftance front
its vertex j if, however, the middle be occupied by a
lantern of equal or of fmaller wreight than the part
whofe place it fupplies, the whole will be elegant, and
free from this defeat.
“ The connexion of the parts arifing from cement and
from friaion has a great effed on dome-vaulting. . In
the fame w-ay as in common arches and cylindrical
vaulting, it enables an overload on one place to break
the dome in a diftant place. But the reliftance to this
effect is much greater in dome-vaulting, becaufe.it ope¬
rates all round the overloaded part. Hence it hap¬
pens that domes are much lefs {battered by partial
violence, fuch as the falling of a bomb, or the like.
Large holes may be broken in them without much
affedting the rell j but, on the other hand, it greatly
diminiffies the ilrength which fliould.be derived.from
the mutual preffure in the vertical joints. Fndlion
prevents the Aiding in of the arch-ftones which pro¬
duces this mutual preffure in the vertical joints, ex¬
cept in the very higheft courles, and even there it
greatly diminiffies it. Thefe caufes make a great
change in the form, which gives the greateff flrength ;
and as their laws of adion are but very imperfeaiy
underftood as yet, it is perhaps impoffible, in the pre-
fent ftate of our knowledge, to determine this form
with tolerable precifion. We fee plainly, however,
that it allows a. greater deviation from the beft form
than the other kind of vaulting ; and domes may be
made to rife perpendicular to the horizon at the bafe,
although of no great thicknefs 5 a thing which muff
not be attempted in a plane arch. . The immenfe ad¬
dition of ftrength which may be derived from hooping
largely compenfates for all defeds ; and there is hard-
ly any bounds to the extent to which a very thin dome-
vaulting may be carried, when it is hooped or framed
in the direction of the horizontal courfes. The root
of the Halle du Bled at Paris is but a foot thick, and
its diameter is more than 200, yet it appears to have
abundant ftrength.”
Scholium.
342 The fe£tion of the dome of St Paul’s cathedral
is part of an ellipfe yvhofe conjugate diameter is parallel
to the horizon. It is built ot wood, and confined by
ftrong iron chains j and is fupported by carpentry refting
oa a cone of brick w-ork.
£ GHAF.
>102
Theory.
' 
MECHANICS.
Chap. IX. On the "Force of Torfon,
Taking the fquare root of both Tides of the equation, Theory,
we have
•Fig. 2. 343- Definition. Let^rz be a metallic wire firm¬
ly fixed in the pincers^ by means of the fcrew s; let
the cylindrical weight P, furnifhed with an index e o,
be fulpended at the lower extremity of the wire ; and
let the axis of the cylinder, or the wire^a produced,
terminate in the centre of the divided circle MNO.
Then, if the cylinder P is made to move round its axis
fo that the index e o may defcribe the arch ON, the
wire g a will be twitted. If the cylinder be now left
to itfelf, the wire will, in confequence of its elafticity,
endeavour to recover its form ; the index e o will there¬
fore move backwards from N, and ofcillate round the
axis of the cylinder. The force which produces thefe
ofcillations is called the force of torfion, and the angle
meafured by the arch ON is called the angle of torfon.
Prop. I.
344. To deduce formulae for the ofcillatory mo¬
tion of the cylinder, on the fuppofition that the
rea£tion of the force of torlioil is proportional
to the angle of torfion, or nearly proportion¬
al to it.
Fig. 3. Let P£) be a fedlion of the cylinder P in fig. 2.
and let all the elements of the cylinder be projeded
upon this circular fedion in </, d', d". Let ACB, the
primitive angle of torfion, be called A, and let this
angle, after the time become AC b, fo that it
has been diminiflied by the angle BC ; then
AC b—K—Mzrthe angle of torfion after the time t.
Since the force of torfion is fuppofed to be pro¬
portional to the angle of torfion, the momentum of the
force of torfion mutt be fome multiple of that angle,
or w x A—M, n being a conftant coefficient, whofe va¬
lue depends on the nature, length, and thicknefs of the
metallic wire. If, therefore, we call v the velocity of
any point d at the end of the time /, when the angle of
torfion becomes AC £, and rrrCz/the diftance of the
point d from the axis of rotation C, we {hall have by
the principles of Dynamics,
A—M yst~j'dr v.
But if CD, the radius of the cylinder, be equal a,
and if u be the velocity of the point D after the time
/, we have evidently v : u—r: a, and v=i~. Now by
a 3
fubftituting the fluxion of this value of v in the place
of in the preceding formula, we have
n X A—M X t-ufifL .
and fince /— ? we have by fubftitution
u
• — fl M • rd r*
n X A—M x —u / ,
u J a
whofe fluent is
«X2AM—
J a1
V z AM—MJ—z/ xy—r
Multiplying both fides by ———, and dividing by /fn X
V 2 AM—M% the equation becomes
« M
aM
u
r. d r5
y-uf—
a M x — y.J'1
' \ln x V,2AM-^M'1~ fn x vTAM-AP
M yj'dr'
'fn X AM—M1*
. a !VI
Therefore, fince/=——, we (hall hav*
M yj'dr*
*/n x V2AM—M2’
M
M
1 rdrf
V2AM—M* V n \ '
reprefents an arch or angle whofe
But ■  —
v7 2AM—M2
radius is A and whofe verfed fine is M, which arch
vaniflies when M~o, and which becomes equal to 90®
when Mrr A. Therefore the time of a complete ofcil-
lation will be
'~ri>r
J n
X 180°.
345. In order to compare the force of torfion with the
force of gravity in a pendulum, we have for the time
of a complete ofcillation of a pendulum whofe length is
/, g being the force of gravity,
T
T=
T8o°.
Therefore, fince the time in which the cylinder ofcil-
lates mutt be equal to the time in wdiich the pendulum
ofcillates, we have
rPf
J n
l
X 180®.
Hence dividing by 180°, and fquaring both fides, we
obtain
- ^
f±r
J n
We mutt therefore find for a cylinder the value of
J'p r*, or the fum of all the particles multiplied by the
fquares of their diftances from the axis. Now, if we
make 5r~6.283l8 the ratio of the circumference of a
circle to its radius, tf=radius of the cylinder, Arrits
length, </=its denfity j then we ffiall have for the area
Q* ffi-
of its bafe ——, which multiplied by A gives the folid
content of the cylinder and this multiplied by
2
4
But
S'^'' 1 d gives 11 ■ for the fum of all its particles.
as this is to be multiplied by the fum of the fquares
of all the diftances of the particles from the centre
, n , a* r/r1 \d _ ,
C, we fhall have Jp r7- — ———. But the num¬
ber of particles in the cylinder, or the mafs p of the cy¬
linder, is a ^ therefore fubftituting (tt, inftead of
MECHANICS. 103
fecond from A to B', where the force of torfion, as well Theory.
as the other forces, concur in diminifhing u or retard-' '~v f
ing the motion.
347. JS'a. 1. If Srr/rc X A—M[u, we fhall have for the
ftate of motion in the firft portion BA
2 m X A—2 m Av+1_f J
7+1 v + l
n X 2 AM—M’4
Hence, when the angle of torfion becomes equal to no¬
thing, or A—M=:o, we have
« A2
2wAv-I-1
V-j-I
=uu
J/A
this value of it in the preceding equation, we have
and, dividing both fides by n, we have
/Z*r* * . . rPr%
 = ^a- and, extrafting the fquare root and which dividing by 7—-r"> becomes
mutiplying by 180 it becomes
7”
n A2
u*=-
2 m Av+t
7+7“
X i8o°=—
2 n
T=—
m
^XtSo0* Therefore
p r2
i r p r
* x i8o> an^ fmceJ—— ==
Let us now confider the other part of the motion fronv
A to B', and fuppofe the angle AC M7, w7e fhall-
find, by calling tT the velocity of the point A,
— 1—^ and by redu£lion But ^ ^ is the
mg 2 /
weight W of the cylinder, therefore, by fubftituting W
° IP cP
inflead of g y., we obtain a very Ample formu¬
la for determining the value of n from experiments..
If it were required to find a weight Q, which,,
afting at the extremity of a lever L, would have a mo¬
mentum equal to the momentum of the force of torfion
when the angle. of torfion is A—M, we muft make
Q.xB=«xA—M.
346. In the preceding inveftigation we have fuppofed*
what is conformable to experiment, that the force of
torfion is proportional to the angle of torfion, which
gives us « X A—M for the momentum of that force.
Let us now fuppofe that this momentum is altered by
any quantity S, then the momentum of the force of
torfion will become n X A—M—S', and the general
equation will affume this form
* X A=M—S x y
• . a M ,
and by multiplying in place of t its value —-—, and
taking the fluent, we have
n x 2AM—M2—ij'
Now, in order to find the value of T or a complete
ofcillation, we muft divide the ofcillation into two
parts, the firft from B to A, where the force of torfion
accelerates the velocity «, while the retarding force,
arifing from the refiftance of the air and the imper-
fedlion of elafticity, diminifhes the velocity u j and the
n M'2 m M/Vh1 U2—a2 pp r*
—+-Ah-=:—-x/—•
Then, by fubftituting inftead of U its value as lately
found, and taking the fluents, we fhall have, when the
velocity vanifhes, or when the ofcillation is finifhed,
»X)' + 2
Av+I+M,v+*
A+M' *
and if the retarding forces are fuch, that at each ofcil¬
lation, the amplitude is a little diminifhed, we fhalh
have for the approximate value of A—M'
A—IVT;
2 A y
«Xv+l’
and if the angle A—M' is fo fmall that it may Be
treated as a common fluxional quantity,, we fhall then
have for any number N of ofcillations
NX
2 m
«Xv + x
I v, 1 1
y 1 X Ml-3~ IT3’
where M reprefents the angle to which A becomes
equal after any number of ofcillations N. Hence we^
obtain
M-
1
(
Nx
2 w X »—1
«Xv+i
which determines the value of M after any number of
ofcillations N.     
348. Ex. 2. If S—m x A—MI’+zw' X A—M
and v1 being different values of m and y, we fhall obtain
by following the mode of inveftigation in the laft ex=»-
ample,
2 m A’+‘+M’+- , ^ A',+1+M,,+* ^
”XA-M=—X - a+m"+7+Ix a+m •
and if the retarding force is much lefs than the force of torfWn, M tave for j# apirosimat. vsiue oP
aXA—M,
■f
lOA
i
Theory.
Torfion
balance.
Fig. a.
MECHANICS.
« X A—M
*2 m Av
'7+T"
+
2 m Ky*
/-fi *
349. Ex. 3. In general, if X A—M[>'-(- tn'
X A=Ml/+^ X A—X A—M|/^, &c. we
(hall always have for an ofcillation when S is fmaller
than the force of tor lion,
  2 m Av 2m'Av'
»XA-M=—+7^r-
2m"A'1" _ 2m",AV"'
■7q~r+ /"+T-
&c.
350. Having thus given after Coulomb, the mode of
deducing formulae for the ofcillatory motion of the cy¬
linder, we Hi all proceed to give an account of the refults
of his experiments.
In thefe experiments M. Coulomb employed the torfion
balance reprefented in fig. 2. in which he fufpended
cylinders of different weights from iron and brafs wires
of different lengths and tbickneffes } and by obferving
carefully the duration of a certain number of ofcillations,
he was enabled to determine, by means of the preceding
formulae, the laws of the force of torfion relative to the
length, the thicknefs, and the nature of the wires em¬
ployed. If the elafticity of the metallic wires had been
perfeft, and if the air oppofed no refiftance to the of-
cillating cylinder, it would continue to ofcillate till its
motion was flopped. The diminution of the ampli¬
tudes of the ofcillations, therefore, being produced fole-
ly by the imperfe&ion of elafticity, and by the refift¬
ance of the air, M. Coulomb was enabled, by obferving
the fucceflive diminution of the amplitude of the ofcil¬
lation, and by fubftrading the part of the change which
was due to the refiftance of the air, to afcertain, with
the afliftance of the preceding formula:, according to
what laws this elaftic force of torfidn was changed.
351. From a great number of experiments it appeared,
that when the angle of torfion was not very great, the
ofcillations were fenfibly ifochronous •, and therefore it
may be regarded as a fundamental law, T/iat for all
metallic wires, when the angles of torfion are not very
great, the force of torfion is fenfibly proportional to the
angle of torfion. Hence, as the preceding formulae are
founded on this fuppofition, they may be fafely applied
to the experiments.
352. In all the experiments, a cylinder of two pounds
weight ofcillated in twice the time employed by a cy¬
linder which weighed only half a pound j and there¬
fore the duration of the ofcillations is as the fquare root
of the weights of the ofcillating cylinders. . Confequently
the teniion of the wires has no lenfible influence upon
the force of torfion. If the tenfions however be
very great relative to the ftrength of the metal, the
force of torfion does fuffer a change ; for when the
weight of the cylinder, and confequently the tenfion of
the wire, is increafed, the wire is lengthened, and as this
diminilhes the diameter of the wire, the duration of the
©fcillation muft evidently be affected.
353- When the lengths of the wires are varied without
changing their diameters or the weights of the cylin¬
ders, the times of the fame number of ofcillations are as
the fquare roots of the lengths of the wires, a refult
alfo deducible from theory.
354. When the diameters of the wires are varied
without changing their lengths, or the weight of the
cylinders, the momentum of the force of torfion varied
as the fourth power of the diameters of the wires. Now
this refult is perfectly conformable to theory j for if
we fuppofe two wires of the fame fubftance, and of
the fame length, but having their diameters as one to
tw’o, it is obvious that in the wore whofe diameter is
double of the other, there are four times as many parts
extended by torfion, as in the fmaller ware, and that the
mean extenfion of all thefe parts will be proportional
to the diameter of a wire, the fame as th£ mean arm of
a lever is, relative to the axis of rotation. Hence it ap¬
pears that, according to theory, the force of torfion of
two wnres of the fame nature and of the fame length, but
of different diameters, is proportional to the fourth pow7er
of their diameter.
355. From this it follows in general, that in metallic
wfires the momentum of torfion is direftly in the com¬
pound ratio of the angle of torfion and the fourth
power of their diameter, and inverfely as the length
of the wires. If a therefore be the angle of torfion,
A the length of the thread, £ its diameter, and F the
force of torfion, we (hall have
Theory,
where m is a conftant coefficient for wires of the fame
metal, depending on the tenacity of the metal, and
deducible from experiment.
356. When the angle of torfion is not great, relative
to the length of the wire, the index of the cylinder re¬
turns to the pofition which it had before the torfion
took place, or, in other w7ords, the wire untwifts itfelt
by the fame quantity by which it had been twifted. But
when the angle of torfion is very great, the wire does
not completely tmtwift itfelf, and therefore the centre
of torfion will have advanced by a quantity equal to
that which it has not untwfifted.—When the angle of
torfion was below 450, the decrements of the ampli¬
tudes of the ofcillations were nearly proportional to the
amplitudes of the angle of torfion j but when the angle
exceeded 450, the decrements increafed in a much
greater ratio.—The centre of torfion did not begin
to advance or be difplaced till the angle of torfion was
nearly a femicircle : its difplacement was very irregular
till the angle was one circle and 10 degrees, but be¬
yond this angle the torfion remained nearly the fame
for all angles.
357. The theory of torfion is particularly ufeful in
delicate refearches, where fmall forces are to be afeer-
tained with a precifion which cannot be obtained by
ordinary means. It has been fuccefsfully employed by
Coulomb in difeovering the laws of the forces of
electricity and magnetifm, and in determining the
refiftance of fluids when the velocities are very
fmall.
PART
MECHANIC S.
i=5
Practical
Ivlechanics-
Practical
Mechanics.
V
PART II. ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF MACHINERY.
chines where one heavy body is employed to rai»e
another merely by its weight, the inertia ot the power
and the reiiltance, viz. a, b, are proportional to P, R,
the powers and refinances themfelves, and confequenti v
P, R may be fubftituted in the formula in the place ot
—Tlie engineer therefore muft conlider, befoie ne
conilruft his machine, what elements ihould enter into
the formula, and what fhould be omitted, in order that
he'-may adapt it to the circumftances of the cafe, and ob¬
tain from his machine the greateft poflible effect.
360. When the inertia of the power and that of the re-T^fand the
fiftance are proportional to the power andreuitance thena-tween
felves 5 and when the inertia and iri6tion of the machine veiocities of
/p I the impel-
may be omitted, the formula becomes y—d Ttr-i-11—1 led fncl
J -tv working
from which the following table is computed, which points of
contains the values of y for diflerent values of P$ R be-a mac InP*
ing fuppofed —10, and m~\.
Table containing the beji Proportions between the Ve¬
locities of the Impelled and Working I oints of a Ma¬
chine, or between the Levers by which the Power and
Reji/lance a£l.
Proportional
value of the
impelling
power, or P
Value of the ve¬
locities of the
working point or
y; or of the lever
by which the re-
fiftance afts, that
of x being 1.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
r3
14
15
16
17
18
W
0.048809
0.095445
0.140175
0.183216
0.224745
0.264911
0.303841
0.341641
0.378405
0.414214
0.449138
0.483240
o.5i6575
0-549'93
0.581139
0.612451
0.643168
o 673320
0.702938
Proportional
value of the
impelling
power, or P.
Value of the velo¬
cities of the work¬
ing point, or y; or
ef the lever by
which the refift-
ance a<£ls, that of
x being 1.
20
2 I
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
3°
40
5°
60
70
80
90
100
0.732051
0.760682
0.788854
0.816590
0.843900
0.870800
0.897300
0.923500
0.949400
0.974800
1.000000
1.236200
x.449500
1,645700
1.828400
2.000000
2.16230®
2.316600
358. WE have already feen, when confidenng the
maximum effects of machines, the various caufes which
aifeft their performance. It appeared from that invef-
tigation, that there mult be a certain relation between
the velocities of the impelled and working points of a
machine, or between the power and the reliftance to
be overcome, before it can produce a maximum effeft,
and therefore it muft be the firft object of the engineer
to afeertain that velocity, and to employ it in the con-
firu&ion of this machine. The performance of the ma¬
chine is alio influenced by the friftion and inertia of its
various parts 5 and as both thefe act as refiftances, and
therefore deftroy a confiderable portion of the impel¬
ling power, it becomes an object of great importance to
attend to the Amplification of the machinery, and to af¬
eertain the nature of friction fo as to diminifh its ef¬
fect, either by the application of unguents or by mecha¬
nical contrivances. Since the impelled and working
points of a machine are generally conne£ted by means
of toothed wheels, the teeth muft be formed in fuch a
manner, that the wheels may always a£t upon each
other with the fame force, otherwife the velocity of the
machine will be variable, and its ftru£ture foon injured
by the irregularity of its motion. 1 he irregular mo¬
tion of machines fometimes arifes from the nature of
the machinery, from an inequality in the refiftance
to be overcome, and from the nature of the impelling
power. In large machines, the momenta of their
parts are generally fufficient to equalize thefe irregula¬
rities j but in machines of a fmall fize, and in thofe
where the irregularities are confiderable, we muft em¬
ploy fly-wheels for regulating and rendering uniform
their variable movements. Ihefe various fubje£!s, and
others intimately connected with them, we lhall now
proceed to dilcufs in their order.
Chap. I. On the Proportion between the Velocity oj
the Impelled and Working points of Machines) and
between the Power and Refifancc, in order that
they may perform the greatejl work.
359. In the chapter on the maximum effeft of ma¬
chines we have deduced formulae containing x and y, the
velocities of the impelled and working points of the ma¬
chines, and including every circumftance which can affeft
their mbtion. The formula which exhibits the value
of y, or the velocity of the working point, affumes various
forms, according as we negleft one or more of the ele¬
ments of which it is compofed.—When the work to be
performed refifts only by its inertia, which is the cafe in
urging round a millftone or heavy fly, the quantity R
may be negledled, and the fecond formula, (Page 92.
col. 2.) ftiould be employed. In fmall machines, and par¬
ticularly in- thofe where the motion is conveyed by
wheels with epicycloidal teeth, the. friftion is very
trifling, and the element <p may be fafely omitted. In
corn and faw mills, the quantity b or the inertia of the
refiftance may be left out of the formula, as the mo¬
tion communicated to the flour or to the faw duft is
too fmall to be fubie&ed to computation, In ma-
Vol. XIII. Part I.
In order to explain the ufe of this tabie, let us fup-
pofe that it is required to raife one cubic foot of water
in a fecond, by means of a ftream which difeharges
three cubic feet of water in a fecond j and let it be re-
cuired to find the ccnftruaion of a wheel and axle tor
performing this work ; that is, the diameter of the axle,
that of the wheel being 6. Here the power is evident¬
ly 3 cubic feet, while the refiftance is only one cubic
foot, therefore P=3 R j but in the preceding^ table
o5 M E C H
"radical Rrrio,confequentIy Pzr 3 X 10=30. But it appears from
>-lec hai.ics. tjie ta{jie t^at w]len P—jo, y or the diameter of the axle
is i, upon the fuppoiition that the diameter x of the wheel
is 1 ; but as x mufl be — 6, we (hall have y~6.
361. Inftead ofufingthe preceding table, we might find
the beft proportion between x and y by a kind of tenta-
R.7/—7/2
tive procefs, from the formula —fi » . p > > which
x X “4- Xv y
A N I C S,
expreffes the work performed. This method is indeed Praftica!
tedious and we mention it only for the fake of Ihowing Mecnari'('s',
the conformity of the refults, and of proving that there 'r"~~v
is a certain proportion between x and y which gives a
maximum effect. Let x—6, as in the preceding para¬
graph, and let us fuppofe y to be fuccedively 5, 6, and
7, in order to fee which of thefe values is the belt.
Since Prr:3, R=i, and x=6, we have
When y~5
When y=6
When y=y
P .r R y—R* y* _ 3 X 6 X t X S"1 X 3 X 5 _ AL_0 488
P a?2-|-R y% 3 X 6 x 6-|- iXjX5* 133 '
P vR ij—R1 y*_ 3 x6x J X6—1 X 6x^__72 __
P jcs-fRyr"'~" 3x6x64-1x6x6 i44~0‘^00
p a; R y y* _ 3X6XI X ? —1 X7X7 ___ 7 7 _
Pa;J4-R/ — 3 X6X64-X X7 X? ~~ iyy—0'^0^
It appears therefore that when y~5, 6, 7, the wmrk per¬
formed is 0.488 ; 0.5000 ; 0.49045 ; lo that the effefl
is a maximum when y~6, a retult fimilar to what was
obtained from the table.
To find the 362. When the machine is already conffrudied, x
heft proper-aT1cj y cannot be varied fo as to obtain a maximum ef-
tween the '^e ^ame °bje£l however will be gained by pro¬
power and perly adjufting the power to the work when the work
the refill- cannot be altered, or the work to the power when the
anee. power is determinate. The formulas in Prop. 2. Chap. 7.
exhibit the values ol R under many circumftances, and
it depends on £he judgement of the engineer to feledf
fuch of them as are adapted to all the conditions of
the cafe.
363. The following table is founded on the formula
which anfwers to the cafe where the
inertia of the impelling power is the fame with its pref-
fure, and where the inertia and the fridlion of the ma¬
chine may be fafely negle&ed. The fecond column
contains the different values of R correfponding to the
values of y in the firft column. The numbers in the
third column fhew the ratio of y to R, or they have the
fame proportion to 1, which R has to the refiftance
which will balance P. In the table it is fuppofed that
P~ 1 and x— 1.
Table containing the bejl proportions between the Power and the Refiftance, the inertia of the impelling power be¬
ing the fame with its prejjure, and the JriElion and inertia of the Machine being omitted.
Values of y,
or the velo¬
city of the
working
point; a-being
equal to 1,
Values of R,
or the refift¬
ance to be
overcome, P
being ~ 1.
I.8885
I.3928
O.8986
O.4142
O.183O
0.II1I
.O.O772
O.O580
O.O457
Ratio of R to
the refill, nee
which would
balance P.
O.4724
O.4639
0.4493
O.4142
0.3660
°-3333
0.3088
0.2900
0.2742
to I
Values of y,
or the velo¬
city »f the
working
point; xbeing
equal to 1.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
x4
Values of R,
or the refift¬
ance to be
overcome, P
being — 1.
O.03731
O.03125
0.02669
O.02317
O.02037
0.01809
O.Ol622
O.OI466
Ratio of R to
the refinance
which would
balance P.
0.261I7 to I
0.25000  
0.24021 •
0.23170 •
O.22407 •
0.21708 ■
0.21086 ■
0.205 24'
0.19995
364. To exemplify the ufe of the preceding table,
let us fuppofe that we are to raife -water by means of a
fimple pulley and bucket, with a power — 10, and
that it is required to find the refiftance R, or the quan¬
tity of water which muft be put into the bucket, in or¬
der that the work performed may be a maximum. In
the fimple pulley, x, y, the arms of the vertical le¬
vers or the velocities of the impelled and working
points are equal ; and fince x is fuppofed in the table to
be ~ 1, we have y=i, which correfponds in the table
with 0.4142, the value of R, P being — 1 in the ta¬
ble : But in the prefent cafe Pzrio. Therefore,
10 : 1=0.4142 : 4.142, the value of R when P=io.
365. The fame refult might be obtained in a more
P# R y—— R2 ^ *
circuitous method by means of the formula v, ;-rw—
J Pad-J-Ry*
which expreffes the performance of the machine. Thus,
let »=i ; y=i j P=io, and let us fuppofe R fuccef-
fively equal to 3 ; 4 -, 4.142 j 5*, fo that we may de¬
termine which of thefe values gives the greateft per¬
formance.
WJieu
MECHANICS.
Practical
Mechanics.
107
Practical
Mechanics.
When R = 3, tlie preceding formula becomes j—^—I*^IS4*
When R=4, the formula becomes
10x4—4X4_24_
io+4
14
1-7143-
.... _ , , IOX4-I42—4-I42j,_24.26384_T „t
When R=4.I42, the formula becomes   -"7^142
10X5—5X5_2?_
When R= the formula becomes —-7——~
J io-f-5 15
1.6666.
Hence it appears, that when R=3 5 4 5 4-M2 i 5 5 wor,k pe^ed is refpeaively = 1.6154 5 I-7M3 5
I-7I57 5 1-6666 ; fo that the work performed is a maximum wdien R 18—4.142, tne lame remit which was 00-
tained from the table.
Chap. II. On the Simplification of Machinery.
^66. As the inertia of every machine adds greatly
to the refiftance to be overcome, and as the fridiion of
the communicating parts is proportional to the preflure,
it becomes a matter of great practical importance,^ that
the different parts of a machine fhould be proportioned
to the drains to which they are expofed. If the beam
of a fleam-engine, for example, is larger than what is
necelfary, an immenfe portion of the impelling power
mull be defiroyed at every ftroke of the piflon, by drag¬
ging the fuperfluous mafs from a ftate of reft into mo¬
tion ; the preflure upon the gudgeons will alfo be in-
creafed, and their fritlion in their fockets proportional¬
ly enlarged. The engineer, therefore, Ihould be w^ell
acquainted with the ftrength of the materials oi which
the machine is to be conftrudfed, and Ihould frame its dif¬
ferent parts in fuch a manner that they may not be
.heavier than what is neceffary for refilling_the forces
with which they are urged.—When the motions oi tire
machine are necelfarily irregular, and when the ma¬
chine may be expofed to accidental ftrains, the. parts
nmft be made confiderably ftronger than what is ne-
ceflary for refilling its ordinary ftrains ; but it is not
often that fuch a precaution Ihould be obferved. Ihe
gudgeons of w^ater-wdieels, and of the beams of fleam-
engines, ought to be made as ihort and final 1 as pofh-
ble, as the fridlion increafes with the rubbing furfaces.
This is very feldom attended to in the conftruflion of
water-wheels. The diameter of the gudgeons^, is fre¬
quently thrice as large as what is necelfary for fupport-
ing the weight of the wheel.
367. In the conftru£fion of machinery we mull not
only attend to the fimplification of the parts, but
alfo to the number of thefe parts, and the mode of con-
netling them. From the nature and quantity of the
work to be performed, it is eafy to atcertain the velo¬
city of the working point wrhich is moft proper for per¬
forming it. Now- this velocity may be procured, in a
variety of ways, either by a perplexing multiplicity of
wheels, or by more Ample combinations. Ihe choice
of thefe combinations mull be left folely to the judge¬
ment of the engineer, as no general rules can be laid
down to diredl him. It may be ufeful, however, to
rema rk, that the power Ihould always be applied, as
near as poffible to the working point of the machine,
and that when one wheel drives another, the diameter
pf the one ftiould never be great, when the diameter of
the other is very fmall. The fize of wheels is oiten
determined from the ftrains to which they are expofed.
If, for example, we are obliged to give a certain velo¬
city to an axle by means of a wheel with 120 teeth,
and if the force with which this wheel is urged, re¬
quires the teeth to be at leaft one inch thick in order to
prevent them from breaking, w'e {hall be obliged to
make its diameter at leaft feven feet 5 for fuppofing the
fpaces between the teeth to be equal to the thicknefs of
the teeth, the circumference of the wheel mull at leaft
be equal-to 120 + 120—240 inches, the fum of the
teeth and their intervals, which gives a diameter of fix
feet eight inches. There are fome cafes where our
choice of combination muft be diredled by the nature of
the machinery. If the work to be performed is a load
railed with a certain velocity by means of a rope wind¬
ing round a hollow drum, and if the fimpleft combina¬
tion of mechanical powers for producing this velocity
fhould give a fmall diameter to the drum, then this com¬
bination muft give way to another which correfponds
with a larger fize of the drum, for, on account of the
inflexibility of the ropes, a great portion of the impel-
ling power would be wafted in winding them about tne
circumference of a fmall drum.
368, The advantages of Amplifying machinery areDefcnptioa
well exemplified in the following capftane, which unites ^ P°wer-
great ftrength and fimplicity. It is reprefented in fig. 4. ftane/ ‘
where AD is a compound barrel compofed of two cy-
finders of different radii. The rope DEC is fixed atcccXXIII,
the extremity of the cylinder D ; and after palling over^,.^
the pulley E, which is attached to the load by means'^ 4'
of the hook F, it is coiled round the other cylinder D,
and fixed at its upper end. The capftane bar AB
urges the compound barrel CD about its axis, fo that
W’hile the rope coils round the cylinder D it unwinds it-
felf from the cylinder C. Let us fuppofe that the am¬
meter of the part D of the barrel is 21 inches, while
the diameter of the part C is only 20 inches, and let
the pulley E be 20 inches in diameter. When the
barrel AD, therefore, has performed one complete revo¬
lution by the preffure exerted at B, 63 inches of rope,
equal to the circumference of the cylinder, will be ga¬
thered upon the cylinder D, and 60 inches will be un¬
winded from the cylinder C. The quantity of wound
rope, therefore, exceeds the quantity that is unwound by
6; 60—3 inches, the difference of their refpe&ive pe¬
rimeters ; and the half of this quantity, or 14 inches,
will be the fpace through which the load or pulley
E moves by one turn of the bar. If a fimple capftane
of the fame dimenfions had been employed, the length
of rope coiled round the barrel would have been 60
O 2 inches:
io3
MECHANICS.
PracHcal inches j and the fpace defcribed by the pulley, or load
Mechanics. cvercorae, would have been 30 inches. Now, as
t|ie pOWer ;s t0 the weight as the velocity of the weight
is to the velocity of the power, and as the velocity of
the power is the fame in both capibanes, the weights
which they will raiie will be as i|- to. 30. If it is wifli-
ed to double the power of the machine, we have only
to cover the cvlinder C with lathes a quarter of an
inch thick, fo’that the difference between the radii of
each cylinder may be half as little as before } for it is
obvious that the power of the capilane increafes as the
difference between the radii of the cylinders is dimini (li¬
ed. As we increaie the power, therefore, we increafe
the ftrength of our machine, while all other engines
are proportion ably enfeebled by an augmentation of
power. Were vee for example to increafe the power of
the common capftane, we muft diminifh the barrel in
the fame proportion, fuppofing the bar AB not to ad¬
mit of being lengthened, which will not only diminifh
its ftrength, but deftroy much of its power by the ad¬
ditional flexure of the rope,—This capftane may be ea-
fily converted into a crane by giving the compound
barrel a horizontal pofltion, and fubftituting a winch
inftead of the bar AB. The fuperiority of fuch a
crane above the common ones does not require to be
pointed out *, but it has this additional advantage, that
it allows the weight to flop at any part of its progrefs,
without the aid of a ratchet wheel and catch, becaufe
the two parts of the rope pull on the contrary fides of
the barrel. The rope indeed which coils round the
larger part of the barrel a£ts with a larger lever, and
confequently with greater force than the other j but as
this excefs of force is not fufficient to bvercome tne
fridlion of the machine, the weight will remain fta-
tionary in any part of its path. {Appendix to Fergu-
fotPs LeBnres, vol. ii.).
Compound principle on which the preceding capftane
chine'on a" conftru&ed, might be applied with great advantage
the'fame when two feparate axles AC, BD are driven by .means
principle, of the winch H and the wlieels B and A. It is evi¬
dent that when the winch is turned round in one di-
r lg 5* region, the rope R is umvinded from the axle BD ;
the wheel B drives the wheel A, fo that the axle AC
moves in a direftion oppofite to that of BD, and the
rope is coiled round the axle AC. If the wheels A, B
are of the fame diameter and the fame number of teeth,
the weight W will be ftationary, as the rope winded
■about one axle will be always equal to what is unwind¬
ed from the other. If the wheels have different diame¬
ters, or different numbers of teeth, the quantity of rope
wound round the one axle wall exceed what is un¬
wound from, the other, and the weight will be
raifed.
Chap. III. On thr Nature of Fritiion and the Me¬
thod of diminijhing its effects in Machinery; and
on the rigidity of Ropes.
370. The fri&ion generated in the communicating
parts of machinery, oppofes fuch a reftftance to the impel¬
ling power, and is fo injurious to the machine itfelf, that
an acquaintance with the nature and effedls of this re¬
tarding force, and with the method of diminiftnng its
effe£Is on machinery, is of infinite importance to the
. pra£tical mechanic.
371. The fubjeft of fiiclion has been examined at PraAical
great length by Amontons, Bulfinger, Parent, Euler, Mechanic?.
and Boffut, and has, lately occupied the attention of
our ingenious countryman Mr Vince of Cambridge.
He found that the friftion of hard bodies in mo-RefuIts of
tion is an uniformly retarding force, and that the vince’s ex¬
quantity of friclion confidered as equivalent to a weightl>erunen1;3'
, _ M _l_\V >< S
drawing the body backwards is equal to M 
where M is the moving force exprefled by its weight,
W the weight of the body upon the horizontal plane,
S the fpace through which the moving force or weight
defeended in the time /, and 16.087 feet, the force
of gravity. Mr Vince alfo found that the quantity of
fridlion increafes in a lefs ratio than the quantity of
matter or weight of the body, and that the friftion of
a body does not continue the fame when it has dif¬
ferent furfaces applied to the plane on w’hich it
moves, but that the fmalleft furfaces wfill have the
leaft fridlion.
372. Notwithftanding the attempts of preceding
philofopbers to unfold the nature of friclion, it was
referved for the celebrated Coulomb to furmount theExperi-
difficulties which are infeparable from fuch an in-merits or
veftigation, and to give an accurate and fatisfadloryCoulonii>'
view of this difficult branch of mechanical philofo-
phy. By employing large bodies and conducing his
experiments on a large (bale, he has correfted feveral
errors which arofe from the limited experiments of
others; he has brought to light many new and link¬
ing phenomena, and confirmed others which were hi¬
therto but partially eftabliflied. As it wxnild be foreign
to the nature of this work to follow this ingenious phi-
lofopher through his numerous and varied experiments^
we (hall only prefent the reader with the interefting re-
fults to which they led.
1. The fridlion of homogeneous bodies, or bodies of
the'fame kind, moving upon one another, is generally
fuppofed to be greater than that of heterogeneous bo¬
dies ; but Coulomb has (hewn that there are exceptions
to this rule. Ele found, for example, that the fri&ion
of oak upon oak was equal to ^ of the force of pref-
fion } the fridlion of pine againft pine
and that
of oak againft; pine
15
1.78
The fri&ion of oak againft;
copper was —, and that of oak againft iron nearly
the fame.
2. It was generally fuppofed, that in . the cafe of
wood, the fri&ion is greateft when the bodies are drag¬
ged contrary to the courfe of their fibres $ but Coulomb
has (hewn that the fridlion is in this cafe fometimes
the fmalleft. When the bodies moved in the direftion
of their fibres, the fri&ion was —— of the force with
’ 2-34
which they were preffed together •, but when the mo¬
tion was contrary to the courfes of the fibres, the fric¬
tion was only —7.
3-76 . .
3. The longer the rubbing furfaces remain in contact,
the greater is their fridlion,-r-Wfi.en wood vvas moved
upon
Practical upon wood, according to the direaion of the fibres, the
Mechanics, friftion was increafed by keeping the furtaces in con-
 tad for a few ieconds *, and when the time was prolong¬
ed to a minute, the fridion feemed to have reached its
fartheft limit.
M E C H A NIGS. lc5>
faces were very fmall hr ccfpea'to tire force with which JglM
' ike fviBion was ditmnijhea by aug- t    ,
.1 f* ?  4.1^^ yx' Q C
tart next umu. But when the motion was contrary to
the courfe of the fibres, a greater time was neceffary be¬
fore the fridion arrived at its maximum. When wood
was moved upon metal, the fridion did not attain its
maximum till the furfaces continued in contad tor five
cr fix days ; and it is very remarkable, that when
wooden furfaces wrere anointed with tallow, the time
requilite for producing the greatelt quantity ot fridion
is increafed. The increafe of fridioa which is gene¬
rated by prolonging the time of contad is fo great,
that a body weighing 1650 pounds was moved with a
force of 64 pounds when firft laid upon its correipond-
ing furface. After having remained in contad for the
fpace of three feconds, it required 160 pounds to put it
in motion ; and, when the time was prolonged to fix
days, it could fcarcely be moved with a force ot 622
wounds. When the furfaces of metallic bodies were
moved upon one another, the time of producing a maxi¬
mum of fridion was not changed by the interpofition
of olive oil; it was increafed, however, by employing
fwine’s greafe as an unguent, and was prolonged to five
or fix days by befmearing the furfaces with tallow.
4. Friciion is in general proportional to the force with
which the rubbing furfaces are prejfed together; and is,
for the mojl part, equal to between 4- and ^ of that Jorce.
—In order to prove the firft part of this propofition.
Coulomb employed a large piece of wood, whole lur-
face contained three fquare feet, and loaded it fuccel-
fively with 74 ponnds, S74 pounds, and 2474 pounds.
In thefe cafes the fridion was fucceflively
1 0f the force of preftion j and when a lefs furface and
2.2X
they were prencu, iuc j>   j— j ^
menting the rapidity : the fridion, on the contrary, was
increafed when the furfaces were very large when com¬
pared with the force of preffion. When the wood was
moved contrary to the diredion of its fibres, the “po¬
tion in every cafe remained the fame. . If wood be
moved upon metals, the fridion is greatly increafed by
an increafe of velocity •, and when metals ^o^c upon
wood befmeared with tallow, the fridion is ftill aug¬
mented by adding to the velocity. When metals move
upon metals, the fridion is always a conftant quantity ■,
but when heterogeneous fubftances are employed which
are not bedaubed with tallow, the fridion is fo increa¬
fed with the velocity, as to form an arithmetical pro-
greflion when the velocities form a geometrical one.
7. ThefriBion of loaded cylinders rolling upon a ho¬
rizontal plane, is in the direB ratio of their weights, and
the inverfe ratio of their diameters. In Coulomb s ex¬
periments, the fridion of cylinders of guaiacum wood
which were two inches in diameter, and v. ere oa e
with 1 coo pounds, was 18 pounds or f $ of the force o
preftion. In cylinders of elm, the fridion was greater by T,
and was fcarcely diminiftied by the interpofition of tallow.
472. From a variety of experiments on the mdion
of die axes of pulleys, Coulomb obtained the following
refults.—When an iron axle moved m a brals bulti
the ffidion was £ of the preflion 5 but when the bufh
was befmeared with very clean talloiy, the fridion was
only A •, when fwine’s greafe was mterpoied, the fric¬
tion amounted to
other weights were ufed, the fridion was ^
1 Similar refults were obtained in all Coulomb’s
experiments, even, when metallic furfaces were employ¬
ed. The fecond part of the propofition has alfo been
eftabliftied by Coulomb. He found that dm greateft
fridion is engendered when oak moves upon pine, and
that it amounts to of the force of preflion 5 on
the contrary, when iron moves upon brafs, the leaft
fridion is produced, and it amounts to 4 of the force o
^FriBion is in general not increafed by augmenting
th?rubbing furfaces.-Whcn a fuperficies of three feet
fquare was employed, the fndion, with different
weights, was at a medium j but when a fmall
furface was ufed’the fridion inftead of being greater, as
might have been expeded, was only
Friction di- 6. FriBion for the mojl part is not augmented by an
increare 0f velocity. In fome cales, it is dmmijhed by
increafing ^ augmentation of celerity.—U. Coulomb found, that
the veloci- whe/wood moved upon wood in the diredion of the
fibres, the fridion was a conftant quantity, however
much the.velocity was varied j but that when the lur-
and when olive oil was employ¬
ed as an unguent, the fridion was never lefs than f
or J: . When the axis was of green oak, and the bufli
of guaiacum wood, the fridion was when tallow
was interpofed •, but when the tallow was removed, fo
that a fmall quantity only covered the furface, the fric¬
tion was increafed to When the bufti was made
of elm, the fridion was in fimilar circumftances T1- and
* which is the leaft of all. If the axis be made of
box, and the buth of guaiacum wood, the fridion wiL
be Ar and TV, circumftances being the fame as before.
If the axle be of boxwood, and the bufh of elm, the
fridion will be ^ ^ > and if.11tb;e “V™11
and the bufh of elm, the fridion will be ^ of tne x0rce
°f 2X4'Having thus confidered the nature and effeds of Method of
fridion, we (hall now attend to the method of leffening
the refiftance which it oppofes to the motion of ma-th^ffe^
chines The moft efficacious mode of accomphuimg
this is'to convert that fpecies of fridion widen anies
from one body being dragged over another, into taat
which is occafioned by one body rolling upon another.
As this will always diminifh the refiftance, it may be
eafily effeded by applying wheels or rollers to the foc-
kets or bufhes which fuftain the gudgeons of large
wheels, and the axles of wheel carnages. Ca.atus
feems to have been the firft who recommended this ap-
naratus It was afterwards mentioned by Sturmius and Fnfiion
Wolflu’s; but was not ufed in. pradice till Sully applied wheels.,
it to clocks in the year 1716, and Mondran to cranes
in 172 c. Notwithllanding thefe fohtary attempts to
introduce fridion wheels, they feem to have attrad-
ed little notice till the celebrated Euler examined
1 10
MECHANICS.
Practical
Mechanics,
Friclion
maybe di-
minifhed bj
a judicious
application
of the im¬
pelling
power.
Plate
CGCXXIII.
Fig. 6.
and explained, with his ufual accuracy, their nature and
advantages. The diameter of the gudgeons and pivots
fhould be made as fmall as the weight of the wheel and
the impelling force will permit. The gudgeons fhould
l*elt upon wheels as large as circumftances will allow,
having their axes as near each other as poflible, but no
thicker than what is abfolutely neceffary to fuflain the
luperincumbent weight. When ^hefe precautions are
properly attended to, the refdlance which arifes from the
fridlion of the gudgeon, &c. will be extremely trifling.
3 75. The eft efts of friftion may likewife in Come mea-
fure be removed by a judicious application of the impell¬
ing power, and by proportioning the ftze of the friftion
wheels to the preflure which they feverally fuftain.
If we fuppofe, for example, that the weight of a wheel,
whofe iron gudgeons move in bullies of brafs, is 100
pounds; then the friftion ariftng from both its gud¬
geons will be equivalent to 25 pounds. If we fup¬
pofe alfo that a force equal to 40 pounds is employed
to impel the wheel, and afts in the direftion of gravi¬
ty, as in the cafes of overlhot wheels, the preffure of
the gudgeons upon their fugports will then be 140
pounds and the friftion 35 pounds. But if the force
of 40 pounds could be applied in fuch a manner as to
aft in dueft oppofition to the wheel’s weight, the pref¬
fure of the gudgeons upon their fupports would be
100—40, or 60 pounds, and the friftion only 15
pounds. It is impofTible indeed to make the moving
force aft; in direft oppofition to the gravity of the
wheel, in the cafe of water-mills j and it is often im-
prafticable for the engineer to apply the impelling
power but in a given way : but there are many cafes
in which the moving force may be lo exerted, as at
leaf! not to increafe the friftion which arifes from the
wheel’s weight.
376. When the moving force is not exerted in a per¬
pendicular direftion, but obliquely as in underfhot wheels,
the gudgeon will prefs with greater force on one part of
the locket than on any other part. This point will evi¬
dently be on the fide of the biifh oppofite to that where
the power is applied ; and its diftance from the lowelt
point of the focket, which is fuppofed circular and con¬
centric with the gudgeon, being called x, we fhall have
H
Tang, x — —, that is, the tangent of the arch con¬
tained between the point of greateft preflure and the
loweft point of the bulb, is equal to the fum of all the
horizontal forces, divided by the fum of all the vertical
forces and the weight of the wheel, FI reprefenting the
former, and V the latter quantities. The point of
g-reateft preflure being thus determined, the gudgeon
muft be fupported at that part by the largeft friftion
wheel, in order to equalize the fiiftion upon their axles.
The application of thefe general principles to par¬
ticular cafes is fo Ample as not to require any illuf-
tration. To aid the conceptions, however, of the
praftical mechanic, we may mention two cafes in which
friftion wheels have been fuccefsfully employed.
377. Mr Gottlieb, the conftruftor of a new crane, has
received a patent for what he calls an anti-attrition
’ axle-tree, the beneficial eifefts of which he has alcer-
tained by a variety of trials. It confifts of a fteel roller
R about four or fix inches long, which turns within a
groove cut in the inferior part of the axle-tree C which
runs in the nave AB of the wheel. When the wheel-
carriages are at reft, Mr Gottlieb has given the friftion Praftical
wheel its proper pofition j but it is evident that the Mechanics,
point of greateft preflure vs ill change when they are 1" ”"v
put in motion, and will be nearer the front of the car¬
riage. This point, however, will vary with the weight
of the load *, but it is fufliciently obvious that the fric¬
tion roller flrould be at a little diftance from the loweft
point of the axle-tree.
378. Mr Garnett of Briftolhas applied friftion rollers
in a d’fierent manner, which does not, like the preced¬
ing method, weaken the axle-tree. Inftead of fixing
them in the iron part of the axle, he leaves a fpace be¬
tween the nave and the axis to be filled with equal roll¬
ers almoft touching each other. A feftion of this Fig. 7.
apparatus is reprefented in fig. 7. where ABCD is the
metallic ring inferted in the nave of the wheel. The
axle-tree is reprefoted at E, placed between the friftion
rollers I, I, I, made of metal, and having their axes
inferted into a circle of brafs which pafles through their
centres. The circles are rivetted together by means of
bolts palling between the rollers, in order to keep them
feparate and parallel.
379. As it appears from the experiments of Coulomb,
that the leaf! friftion is generated when poliihed iron
moves upon brafs, the gudgeons and pivots of wheels,
and the axles of friftion rollers, ftiould all be made of
poliihed iron; and the bulhes in which thefe gudgeons
move, and the friftion wheels, Ihould be formed of po-
lilhed brafs.
380. When every mechanical contrivance has been Friftion di-
adopted for diminifhing the cbftruftion which arifes rn'n^ecl by
from the attrition of the communicating parts, it may un2uent'’
be Hill farther removed by the judicious application of
unguents. The moft proper for this purpofe are fwine’s
greafe and tallow when the furfaces are made of wood,
and oil when they are of metal. When the force with
which the furfaces are prefled together is very great,
tallow will diminiih the friftion more than fwine’s greafe.
When the wooden furfaces are very finall, unguents
will leffen their fiiftion a little, but it will be greatly
diminilhed il wood moves upon metal greafed with
tallow. If the velocities, however, are increafed, or
the unguent not often enough renewed, in both thefe
cafes, but particularly in the laft, the unguent will be
more injurious than ufeful. The beft mode of applying
'it, is to cover the rubbing furfaces with as thin a ftra-
tum tis poflible, for the friftion will then be a conftant
quantity, and will not be increafed by an augmentatjon
of Velocity.
381. In ftnall works of wood, the interpofition of the
powder of black lead has been found very ufeful in re¬
lieving the motion.- The ropes of pulleys fhould be
rubbed with tallow, and whenever the ferew is ufed,
the fquare threads ihould be preferred.” slppendix to
Fergufon's LeEiures, vol. ii.
382. When ropes pafs over cylinders or pulleys, aOn theri-
confiderable force is neceflary to bend them into theS'dityof
form of the circumference round which they are coiled. roiJes‘
The force which is neceflary to overcome this refiflance
is called the Jliffnefs or rigidity of the ropes. This im¬
portant fubjeft wTas firft.examined by Amontons, * w\io*tMem’
contrived an ingenious apparatus for afeertaining the^^'1^9'
rigidity of ropes. Flis experiments were repeated and'
confirmed in part by fubfequent philofophers, but par¬
ticularly by M. Coulomb, who has inveftigated the fub-
jeft
MECHANICS.
Practical jeft with more care and fuccefs than any of his prede-
Mechanics. ceflbrs. His experiments were made both with the ap-
' paratus of Amontons, and with one of his own inven¬
tion j and as there was no great difcrepancy in the re-
fuits, he was authorifed to place more contidence in his
experiments. The limits of this article will not per¬
mit us to give ai> account of the manner in which the
experiments were conduced, or even to give a detailed
view of the various conclufions which were obtained. We
can only prefent the reader with fome of thofe leading
refults which may be ufeful in the conftrudlion of ma¬
chinery.
1. The rigidity of ropes increafes, the more that
the fibres of which they are compofed are twilled.
2. The rigidity of ropes increafes in the duplicate
ratio of their diameters. According to Amontons and
Defaguliers, the rigidity increafes in the fimple ratio of
the diameters of the ropes; but this probably arofe
from the flexibility of the ropes which they employed :
for Defaguliers remarks, thatw’henhe ufed a rope whole
diameter was half an inch, its rigidity was increafed in
a greater proportion ; fo that it is probable that if they
had employed ropes from two to four inches in diame¬
ter, like thofe ufed by Coulomb, they w’ould have ob¬
tained fimilar refults. (See N° 9.)
3. The rigidity of ropes is in the fimple and direct
ratio of their tenfion.
4. The rigidity of ropes is in the inverfe ratio of
the diameters of the cylinders round which they are
coiled.
5. In general, the rigidity of ropes is dire&ly as
their tenlions and the fquares of their diameters, and in-
verfely as the diameters of the cylinders round which
they are wound.
6. The rigidity of ropes increafes fo little with the
velocity of the machine, that it need not be taken into
the account when computing the effedls of machines.
7. The rigidity of fmall ropes is diminiflied when pe¬
netrated with moifture ; but w’hen the ropes are thick,
their rigidity is increafed.
8. The rigidity of ropes is increafed and their ftrength
diminilhed when they are covered with pitch ; but when
ropes of this kind are alternately immerfed in the fea
and expofed to the air, they lalt longer than when they
are not pitched.—This increafe of rigidity, however, is
not fo perceptible in fmall ropes as in thole which are
pretty thick. ' v
9. The rigidity of ropes covered with pitch is a fixth
part greater during froit than in the middle of fummer,
but this increafe of rigidity does not follow the ratio of
their tenfions.
10. The refiftance to be overcome in bending a rope
over a pulley or cylinder may be reprefented by a for_
oD® .
mula compofed of tw'O terms. The firft term ——— is a
conftant quantity independent of the tenfion, a being a
conftant quantity determined by experiment, Dn a
power of the diameter D of the rope, and r the radius
of the pulley or cylinder round wfliich the rope is coil-
b
ed. The fecond term of the formula is T X ,
r
where T is the tenfion of the rope, b a conftant quanti¬
ty, and D« and r the fame as before. Hence the com-
I I 1
J)n t Practical
   X at-TZ'. Tne Mechanics.
1 r t « D" , w h
plete formula is ——-f- i X 
V V r
exponent n of the quantity D diminiflies with the flexi¬
bility of the rope, but is generally equal to 1.7 or 1.8;
or, as in N° 2. the rigidity is nearly in the duplicate
ratio of the diameter of the rope. When the cord is
much ufed, its flexibility is increafed, and n becomes
equal to 1.5 or 1.4.
Chap. IV. On the Nature and Advantages of Fh
Wheels.
383. A fly, in mechanics, is a heavy wheel or cylinder
which moves rapidly upon its axis, and is applied to
machines for the purpofe of rendering uniform a deiul-
tory or reciprocating motion, arifing either from the
nature of the machinery, from an inequality in the
refiftance to be overcome, or from an irregular applica¬
tion of the impelling power. When the firft: mover is
inanimate, as wind, water, and fleam,an inequality of force
obvioufiy arifes from a variation in the velocity of the wind,
from an increafe or decreafe of water occafioned by
fudden rains, or from an augmentation or diminution of
the fleam in the boiler, produced by a variation in the
heat of the furnace ; and accordingly various methods
have been adopted for regulating the adlion of thefe
variable powers. The fame inequality of force obtains
when machines are moved by horfes or men. Every
animal exerts its greateft flrength when firft fet to Work.
After pulling for fome time, its flrength will be impair¬
ed ; and when the refiftance is great, it will take fre¬
quent though fhort relaxations, and then commence
its labour with renovated vigour. Thefe intervals of
reft and vigorous exertion muft always produce a varia¬
tion in the velocity of the machine, which ought parti¬
cularly to be avoided, as being detrimental to the com¬
municating parts as well as the performance of the ma-
‘ chine,, and injurious to the animal which is employed to
draw it. But if a fly, confifting either of crofs bars, or
a mafly circular rim, be conneffed with the machinery,
all thefe inconveniences will be removed. As every fly
wheel muft revolve with great rapidity, the momen¬
tum of its circumference muft be very confiderable, and
will confequently relift every attempt either to accelerate
or retard its motion. When the machine therefore has
been put in motion, the fly wheel will be whirling with
an uniform celerity, and with a force capable of con¬
tinuing that celerity when there is any relaxation in the
impelling power. After a ftiort reft the animal renews
his efforts ; but the machine is now moving with its for¬
mer velocity, and thefe frelh efforts will have a tendency
to increafe that velocity. The fly, however, now afls
as a refilling power, receives the greateft part of the
fuperfluous motion, and caufes the machinery to preferve
its original celerity. In this way the fly fecures to the
engine an uniform motion, whether the animal takes
occafional relaxations or exerts his force with redoubled
ardour.
384. We have already obferved that a defultory ©r va¬
riable motion frequently arifes from the inequality of the
refiftance, or work to be performed. This is particu¬
larly manifeft in thralhing mills, on a fmall fcale, which
are driven by water. When the corn is laid unequally
12 M E 'C H A N I C S.
Pradlical on die feeding board, fo tliat too mucli Is taken in by
-Mechanics, rol]ers, this ir.creafe of refinance inftantly
affedts the machinery, and communicates a defultory or
irregular motion even to the water wheel or firrt mover.
This variation in the velocity of the impelling power
may be diftindtly perceived by the ear in a calm even¬
ing when the machine is at work. The beft method of
corredHtig thefe irregularities is to employ a fiy wheel,
which will regulate the motion of the machine when
the refinance is either augmented or diminilhed. In
machines built upon a large fcale there is no neceffity
for the interpofition of a fly, as the inertia of the ma¬
chinery fupplies its place, and reflfls every change of mo¬
tion that may be generated by an un’equal admiffion of
the corn.
385. A variation in the velocity of engines arifes alfo
from the nature of the machinery. Let us fuppofe that a
weight of looo pounds is to be taifed from the bottom
of a well 50 feet, by means of a bucket attached to an
iron chain which winds round a barrel or cylinder, and
that every foot length of this chain w-eighs two pounds,
It is evident that the reflflance to be overcorile in the
flrfl; moment is ico® pounds added to 50 pounds the
weight of this chain, and that this refiftance diminifhes
gradually as the chain coils round the cylinder, till it
is only 1000 pounds when the chain is completely
wound up. The refiftance therefore decreafes from 1050
to 1000 pounds j and if the impelling power is inanimate,
the velocity of the bucket will gradually increafe •, but
if an animal is employed, it will generally proportion
its aclion to the refilling load, and muft therefore pull
with a greater or lefs force according as the bucket is near
the bottom or top of the well. In this cafe, howrever,
the afliftance of a fly may be difpenfed wdth, becaufe
the refiftance diminilhes uniformly, and may be render¬
ed conftant by making the barrel conical, fo that the
chain may wind upon the part neareft the vertex at the
commencement of the motion, the diameter of the bar¬
rel gradually increafing as the weight diminilhes. In
this way the variable refiftance will be equalized much
better than by the application of a fly W'heel, for the
ily having no motion of its own muft neceffarily wafte
the impelling power.
386. Having thus pointed out the chief caufes of
a variation in the velocity of machines, and the method
of rendering it uniform by the intervention of fly
wheels, the utility, and in fome inftances the necelfi-
ty, of this piece of mechanifm, may be more obvioufty
illuftrated by Ihewing the propriety of their application
in particular cafes.
See 387. In the defcription of Vaulone’s pile engine *,
Part III. rea(ler w;n obferve a ftriking inftance of the
Plate utility of fly wheels. The ram (,) is raifed between
CCCXXIX. the guides bb by means of horfes adling againft the
Fig. 1. levers S, S ; but as foon as the ram is elevated to
the top of the guides, and difcharged from the fol¬
lower G, the refiftance againft which the horfes^ have
■been exerting their force is fuddenly removed, and
they would inftantaneoully tumble down, were it not
for the fly O. This fly is connedted with the drum B
by means of the trundle X, and as it is moving with
a very great force, it oppofes a fufficient refiftance to Prafficjl
the action of the horfes, till the ram is again taken up Mec^anics‘
by the follower.
3SB. When machinery is driven by a fingle-ftroke
fteam engine, there is fuch an inequality in the impel¬
ling power, that for two or three feconds it does not
a£I at all. During this interval of inadlivity the ma¬
chinery' would necefiarily flop, were it not impelled by
a mafly fly wheel of a great diameter, revolving with
rapidity, till the moving power again refumes its
energy.
389. If the moving power is a man adting with a
handle or winch, it is fubjedt to great inequalities. The
greateft force is exerted when the man pulls the handle
upwards from the height of his knee, and he adts with
the lead force when the handle being in a vertical po-
fition is thruft from him in a horizontal diredlion. I he
force is again increafed when the handle is puftied
downwards by the man’s weight, and it is diminiftied
when the handle being at its loweft point is pulled to¬
wards him horizontally. But when a fly is properly
connedfed with the machinery, thefe irregular exer¬
tions are equalized, the velocity becomes uniform, and
the load is railed with an equable and fteady mo¬
tion.
390. In many cafes, where the impelling force is al¬
ternately augmented and diminiftied, the petformance
of the machine may be increafed by rendering the refi¬
ftance unequal, and accommodating it to the inequali¬
ties of the moving power. Dr Robifon obferves that
“ there are fome beaujiful fpecimens of this kind of
adjuftment in the mechanifm of animal bodies.”
Befides the utility of fly wheels as regulators of
machinery, they have been employed for accumulating
or colledting power. If motion is communicated to a
fly wheel by means of a fmall force, and if this force
is continued till the wheel has acquired a great velocity,
fuch a quantity of motion will be accumulated in its
circumference, as to overcome refiftances and produce
effedts which could never have been accomplifhed by
the original force. So great is this accumulation of
powTer j that a force equivalent to 20 pounds applied
for the fpace of 37 feconds to the circumference of a
cylinder 20 feet diameter, which weighs 4713 pounds,
would, at the diftance of one foot from the centre, give
an impulfe to a mufket ball equal to what it receives
from a full charge of gunpowder. In the fpace of
fix minutes and 10 feconds, the fame effedf would be
produced if the cylinder was driven by a man who
conftantly exerted a force of 20 pounds at a winch
one footlong (^d).
391. This accumulation of power is finely exem¬
plified in the fling. When the thong which contains
the ftone is fwung round the head of the flinger, the
force of the hand is continually accumulating in the re¬
volving ftone, till it is difcharged with a degree of rapi¬
dity which it could never have received from the force
of the hand alone. When a ftone is projected from the
hand itfelf, there is even then a certain degree of force
accumulated, though the ftone only moves through the
arch of a circle. If we fix the ftone in an opening at
the
'(d) This has been demonftrated by Mr Atwood. See his Treatife on Reftilineal and Rotatory Motion.
M E C H i
^raflica! extfernity of a piece of wood two feet long, and dif-
iMechanics. charge it in the ufual way, ther& will be more force ac-
1J ~v cumulated than with the hand alone* for the done
defcribe's a larger arch in the fame time, and muft
therefore be projected with greater force.
392. When coins or medals are ftruck, a very
coniiderable accumulation of power is neceffary, and
this is effe£ted by means of a fly. rl he force is firft
accumulated in weights fixed in the end of the fly. This
force is communicated to two levers, by which it is far¬
ther condenfed : and from thefe levers it is tranfmitted
to a fcrew, by which it fuffers a fecond condenfation.
The ft amp is then impreffed on the coin or medal by
itieans of this force, which was firft accumulated by the
fly, and afterwards augmented by the intervention of
two mechanical powers.
393. Notwithftanding the great advantage of fly
wheels, both as regulators of machines and colleaors
of power, their utility wholly depends upon the pofition
which is afligned them relative to the impelled and
working points of the engine. For this purpofe
no particular rules can be laid down, as their pofitions
depend altogether on the nature of the machinery. \\ e
may obferve however, in general, that when fly wheels
are employed to regulate machinery, they fhould be near
the impelling powei j and when ufed to accumulate
force in the working point they fhould not be far diftant
from it. In hand mills for grinding corn, the fly is for
the moft part very injudicxoufly fixed on the axis to
which the winch is attached whereas it fhould always
be fattened to the upper millftone fo as to revolve with
the fame rapidity. In the firft'pofition indeed it muft equalize
the varying efforts of the power which moves the winch} but
when it is attached to the turning millftone* it not only
does this, but contributes very efteilually to the grind¬
ing of the corn.
Description 394* new kind of fly, called a conical pendulum,
of the co- has been ingenioutly employed by Mr Watt for procin-
nical pen- jng a determinate velocity at the working point of Ins
dul“m* fteam-engine. It is reprefented in fig. 8. where AB
1®' ' Js a vertical axis moving upon pivots, and driven by
means of a rope palling trom the axis of the large fly
over the fheave EF. The large balls M, N are fixed to
the rods NG, MH, which have an angular motion
round P, and are conne&ed by joints at G and H, with
the rods G E,vH K attached to the extremity ofthe lever K L
whofe centre of motion is L, and whofe other extremity
is connefted with the cock whicn admits the fleam into
the cylinder. The frames CD and QR prevent the
balls from receding too far from the axis, or from ap¬
proaching too near it. Now when this conical pendu¬
lum is put in motion, the centrifugal force of the balls
M N makes them rec«de from the axis AB. In con-
fequence of this recefs, the points, C, H, _K are deprefs-
ed and the other extremity of the lever is raided j and
the cock admits a certain quantity of fleam into tne cy¬
linder. When the velocity of the fly is by any means
Increafed, the balls recede ftill farther from the axis, the
extremity of the lever is railed higher, and the cock
clofes a little and diminifhes Ihe fupply of fleam. From this
diminution in the impelling power, the velocity of the fly
and the conical pendulum decreafes, and the balls re-
fume their former pefition. In this wTay, vvhen there is
any increafe or diminution in the velocity of the fly,
Vol. XIII. Part I.
.NIGS. . US
the correfponding increafe or diminution in the centrifu-
gal force of the balls raifes or depreffes the arm of the lever,, Lv;1Jtu1'
admits a greater or a lefs quantity of fteam into the cylin¬
der, and reftores to the engine its former velocity.
Chap. V. On the- ’Teeth of Wheels, and the Wipers
of Stampers.
395. In the conftrufUon of machines, we muft not only
attend to the form and number of their parts, but aifo to
the mode by which they are to be conneded. ft would'
be eafy to Ihew, did the limits of this article permit it,
that, when one wheel impels another, the impelling
power will fometimes aft with greater and fometimes
with lefs force, unlefs the teeth of one or both of the
wheels be parts of a curve generated after the manner
of an epicycloid by the revolution of one circle along the
convex or concave fide of another. It may be fufficient
to Ihew, that, when one wheel impels another by the ac¬
tion of epicycloidal teeth, their motion will be unitorm.
Let the w heel CD drive the wheel AB by means of the
epicycloidal teeth mp, « ory acting upon the infinitely Fig-
fmall pins or fpindles a, b% c ; and let the epicycloids
m p, n q, &c. be generated by the circumference of the
wheel AB, rolling upon the convex circumference of
the wheel CD. From the formation of tne epicycloid
it is obvious that the arch a b is equal to tn n, and the
arch a c \.o m 0/ for during the formation of the part n b
of the epicycloid n q, every point of the arch a b \s ap¬
plied to every point of the arch tn n, and the fame hap¬
pens during the formation of the part c 0 of the epicy¬
cloid 0 r. Let us now fuppofe that the tooth tjip be¬
gins to aft on the pin a, and that b, c are fucceffive
pofitions of the pin a after a certain time ; then, « q,
0 r will be the petitions of the tooth tttp aitei the fame
time but a b'zz.tn n and a C—tn 0, thereiore the wheels
AB, CD, when the arch is driven by epicychfidal teeth,
move through equal ipaces in equal times, that is, the
force of the wheel CD, and the velocity of the wheel
AB, are always uniform.
396. In illuftrating the application of this property of
the epicycloid, which w’as difeovered by Chaus Roemer
the celebrated Danilh aftronomer, we {hall call the
fmall wheel the pinion, and its teeth the leaves of the
pinion. The line which joins the centre of the wheel
and pinion is called the line of centres. Fhere are tnree
different ways in which the- teeth of one wheel may
drive another, and each of thefe modes of action ic-
quires a different form for the teeth.
1. When the aflion is begun and completed after the
teeth have paffed the line of centres.
2. When the aftion is begun and completed before
they reach the line of centres.
2* When the adlion is carried on, on both hdes or
the line of centres. . „
007.I. The firft of thefe modes of aftion is reprefented Firlt mode
in fig. I. where B is the centre af the wheel (d), A that0
of the pinion, and AB tne line of centres. It is evident cccXXI\ »
from the figure, that the part b of the tooth af oi the Fig. 1.
wheel, does not aft on the leaf tn of the pinion till
they arrive at the line of centred AB j and that ail the
aftion is carried on after they have palled this Him, and
is completed when the leaf m comes into the fituation n.
When this mode of aftion is adopted, the aftmg faces
p of
(D) In figs. I, 2, 3, 4,
the letter B is fuppofed to be placed at the centre of the wheels.
M E *C H A N 1 C S.
Prafticr.l of the leaves of the pinion Should be parts of an interior
Mechanics. epiCyCIoid, generated by a circle of any diameter rolling
upon the concave fuperficies of the pinion, or within the
circle a dh \ and the faces ab of. the teeth of the wheel
fliould be portions of an exterior epicycloid formed by
the fame generating circle rolling upon the convex fu¬
perficies o dp oi the wheel.
398. But when one circle rolls within another whofe
diameter is double that of the rolling circle, the line ge¬
nerated by any point of the latter is a firelight line, tend¬
ing to the centre of the larger circle. Therefore, if the
generating circle above mentioned firould be taken wdth
its diameter equal to the radius of the' pinion, and be
made to roll upon the concave fuperficies a d h of the
pinion, it will generate a ftraight line tending to the
pinion’s centre, which wall be the form of the faces of
its leaves ; and the teefh of the wheel will be exterior
epicycloids, formed by a generating circle, whofe dia¬
meter is equal to the radius of the pinion, rolling upon
the convex fuperficies odp of the wheel. This refitili-
Fig. 2. neal form of the teeth is exhibited in fig. 2. and is per¬
haps the mofi advantageous, as it requires lefs trouble,
and may be executed with greater accuracy, than if the
epicycloidal form had been employed, though the teeth
are evidently weaker than thofe in fig. 1. ; it is recom¬
mended both by De la Hire and Camus as particularly
advantageous in clock and watch work.
Fig. 1. 399. The attentive reader will perceive from fig. t.
that in order to prevent the teeth of the wheel from aft-
ing upon the leaves of the pinion before they reach the
line of centres AB 5 and that one tooth of the wheel
may not quit the leaf of the pinion till the fucceeding
tooth begins to aft upon the fucceeding leaf, there muff
be a certain proportion between the number of leaves in
the pinion and the number of teeth in the wheel, or
between the radius of the pinion and the radius of
the wheel, when the difxance of the leaves AB is
given. But in machinery the number of leaves and
teeth is always known from the velocity which is re¬
quired at the working point of the machine : It be¬
comes a matter therefore of great importance to de¬
termine with accuracy the relative radii of the w'heel
and pinion.
Relative 400. For this purpofe, let A, fig. 2. be the pinion hav-
hze of the Jng t]ie afting faces of its leaves ftraight lines tending to
)h:op a A' the centre, and B the centre of the wheel, AB will be
the diftance of their centres. Then as the tooth C is fup-
pofed not to aft upon the leaf Km till it arrives at the
line AB, it ought not to quit Km till the following
tooth F has reached the line AB. But fince the tooth
always afts in the direftion of a line drawn perpendicu¬
lar to the face of the leaf Km from the point of contaft,
ihe line CH, drawn at right angles to the face of the
leaf km, will determine the extremity of the tooth CD,
or the laid part of it which flrould aft upon the leaf
Km, and will alfo mark out CD for the depth of the
tooth. Now, in order to find AH, HB, and CD, put
a for the number of teeth in the wheel, b for the num-
b^- of leaves in the pinion, c for the diftance of the pi-
; gvots A and B, and let x be the radius of the wheel, and
7/ that of the pinion. 'Then, fince the circumference of
the wheel is to the circumference of the pinion, as the
number of teeth in the one to the number of leaves in
the other, and as the circumferences of circles are pro¬
portional to their radii, we {hall have a : b—x : y, then
by compofition (Fuel. v. 18.) a-^-b ; b—c :y (c being
equal to-v-f-.y), and confequently the radius of the pinion, Practical
c li Mechanics,
viz. y—-—^-j; then by inverting the firft analogy, we -—v  
have b : o.—y : x, and confequemly the radius of the
wheel, viz. •, y being now a known number.
Now, in the triangle AHC, right-angled at C, the
fide AH is known, and likewife all the angles (HAC
being equal to
the fide AC, therefore, may be
found by plain trigonometry. Then, in the triangle
ACB, the ^iCAB, equal to HAC, is known, and
alfo the fides AB, AC, which contain it ; the third
fide, therefore, viz CB, n ay be determined ; from
which DB, equal to HB, already found, being fub-
ftrafted, there will remain CD for the depth of the
teeth. When the aftion is carried on after the line
of centres, it often happens that the teeth will not
work in the hollows of the leaves. In order to pre¬
vent this, the CBH muft always be greater than
half the KBP. The HBP is equal to 360
degrees, divided by the numoer of teeth in the wheel,
and CBH is eafily found by plain trigonometry.
401. If the teeth of wheels and the leaves of pinions be
formed according to the direftions already given, they
will aft upon each other, not only with uniform force,
but nearly without friftion. The one tooth rolls upon
the other, and neither Aides nor rubs to fuch a degree
as to retard the wheels, or wear their teeth. But as
it is impoffible in praftice to give that perfeft curvature
to the faces of the teeth which theory requires, a quan¬
tity of friftion wdll remain after every precaution has
been taken in the formation of the communicating
parts.
402. 2. The fecond mode of aftion is not fo advantage- geccm[-]
cus as that which we have been confidering, and fliould, mode of
if poflible, always be avoided. It is reprefented in aftion.
fig. 3. where A is the centre of the pinion, B that ofpjg, ^
the wheel, and AB the line of centres. It is evident
from the figure that the tooth C of the wheel afts upon
the leaf D of the pinion before they arrive at the line
BA; that it quits the leaf when they reach this line,
and have aflumed the pofition of E and F; and that
the tooth c works deeper and deeper between the leaves
of the pinion, the nearer it comes to the line of centres.
From this laid circumflance a confiderable quantity of
friftion arifes, becaufe the tooth C does not, as before,
roll upon the leaf D, but Aides upon it ; and from the
fame caufe the pinion foon becomes foul, as the duft
which lies upon the afting faces of the leaves is puAied
into the interjacent hollows. One advantage, how¬
ever, attends this mode of aftion : It allows us to
make the teeth of the large wheel reftilineal, and thus
renders the labour of the mechanic lefs, and the ac¬
curacy of his work greater, than if they had been of a
curvilineal form. If the teeth C, E, therefore of the
wheel BC are made reftilineal, having their furfaces
direfted to the wheel’s centre, the afting faces of the
leaves D, F, &c. muft be epicycloids formed by a ge¬
nerating circle, whofe diameter is equal to the radius
Bo of the circle op, rolling upon the circumfeience
m n of the pinion A. But if the teeth of the wheel
and the leaves of the pinion are* made curvilineal as in
the figure, the faces of the teeth of the wheel muft be
portions of an interior epicycloid formed by any gefte-
■     ' ’ -' ' rating
m e c H A N I C S.
•pracVical rating clrcl« rolling within the concave fuperficies of
I I
Mechanics.
Now, In the triangle APB, AB Is known, and alfo Pra&ical
the ctrcleT^ and the f^ces of the pinion’s leaves muft PB, which is the cofine of the angle ABD,
be portions of an exterior epicycloid produced by roll- being perpendicular to DB ; AP or the radius of
j- nnnn the convex circum- the pinion therefore may be found by plane tngo-
Thinl mode
of aftion.
Fig. 4-
Relative
diameters
of the
wheel arid
pinion.
ing the fame generating circle upon the convex circum¬
ference tn ti of the pinion.
403. 3. The third mode of aftion, which is reprefented
in fig. 4'. is a combination of the two firlt modes, and
confequently partakes of the advantages and difadvan-
tages of each. It is evident from tne figuie that the
portion e b oi the tooth afts upon the part b c oi the
leaf till they reach the line of centres AB, and that
the part ed of the tooth afts upon the portion b a o'i
the leaf after they have palled this line. Hence the
afting parts e h and b c muft be formed according to
the direftions given for the firft mode of aftion, and
the remaining parts ed, b a, muft have that curvature
which the fecond mode of aftion requites j confequent-
\y eh ftiould be part of an interior epicycloid formed
by any generating circle rolling on the concave cir¬
cumference tn n of the wheel, and the correfponding
part £ c of the leaf Ibould (be part of an exterior epi¬
cycloid formed by the fame generating circle rolling
upon b EO, the convex circumference of the pinion :
the remaining part c d oi the tooth Ihould be a poition
of an exterior epicycloid, engendered by any genera¬
ting circle rolling upon e L, the concave fuperficies of
the wheel: and the correfponding part b a of the leaf
Ihould be part of an interior epicycloid defcribed by
the fame generating circle, rolling along the concave
fide b EO of the pinion. As it would be extremely
troublefome, however, to give this double curvature to
the afting faces of the teeth, it will be proper to ufe a
generating circle, whofe diameter is equal to the radius
of the wheel BC, for defcribing the interior epicycloid
e h and the exterior one b c, and a generating circle,
whofe diameter is equal to AC, the radius of tne pi¬
nion, for defcribing the interior epicycloid b a, and the
exterior one e d. In this ca!e the two interior epi¬
cycloids e h, b a, will be ftraight lines tending to the
centres B and A, and the labour of the mechanic will
by this means be greatly abridged.
404. In order to find the relative diameters of the
wheel and pinion, when the number of teeth in the one
and the number of leaves in the other are given, and when
the diftance of their centres is alfo given, and the ratio
of ES to CS, let a be the number of teeth in the
wheel, b the number of leaves in the pinion, c the
diftance of the pivots A, B, and let m be to n as ES
to CS, then the arch ES, or ^ SAE, will be equal
36o° and LD, or LED, will be equal to
But ES : CS= tfz : n; confequently LD :
: /?, therefore (Eucl. vi. 16.) LCx — BE
1 360
but LD is equal to   ,
the pinion therelore may be found by plane trigo¬
nometry. The reader will obferve, that the point P
marks out the parts of the tooth D and the leai SP
where they commence their aftion ; and the point
I marks out the parts where their mutual aftion
ceafes (e) ; AP therefore is the proper radius of the
pinion, and BI the proper radius of the wheel, the
parts of the tooth L without the point I, and of th«
leaf SP without the point P, being fuperlluous. Now,
to find BI, wre have ES : CS—wz: n, and CS:
LDX «
X and JL'w“ 
therefore by fubftitution LC
360 X »
m
but ES was ihewn to be ~
360
therefore, by fubfti¬
tution, CS— 3^,° "E-. Now the arch ES, or^lEAS,
being equal to
360 X«
b m
360
and CS, or ^ CAS, being equal
to
b m
their difference EC, or the angle EAC,
360 360 X n q 360° X m—n
bm
b m
The
will be equal to
^ EAC being thus found, the triangle EAB, or
IAB, which js almoft equal to it, is known, becaufe
AB is given, and likewife AI, which is equal to the
cofine of the angle IAB, AC being radius, and AIC
being a right angle, confequently IB the radius of the
wheel may be found by trigonometry. It was former¬
ly Ihewn that AC, the radius of what is called the pri-
c b
mitive pinion, was equal to - and that BC the
AC X a „
radius of the primitive wheel was equal to  ^ . It
then we fubftraft AC or AS from AP, we ftiall have
the quantity SP which muft be added to the radius of
the primitive pinion, and if we take the difference of
BC (or BE) and DE, the quantity LE will be found,
which muft be added to the radius of the primitive
wheel. We have all along fuppofed that the wheel
drives the pinion, and have given the proper form
of the teeth upon this fuppofition. But when the
pinion drives the wheel, the form which -was given to
the teeth of the whefel in the firft cafe, muft in this.be
given to the leaves of the pinion ; and the ftiape which
was formerly given to the leaves of the pinion muft
now be transferred to the teeth of the wheel.
401?. Another form for the teeth of wheels, differ-Form of
ent from any which we have mentioned, has been re- the tee.th
commended by Dr Robifon. He (hews that a perfeft tQ
uniformity of aftion may be fecured, by making the bjfon.
afting faces of the teeth involutes of the wheel’s circum¬
ference, which are nothing more than epicycloids, the
centres of whofe generating circles are infinitely diftant.
Thus, in fig. 1. let AB be a portion of the wheel on
(e) The letter L marks the
of the arch b O wkh the upper
and P with I.
interfeftion of the line BE with the arch e m, and the letter E the interfeftion
furface of the kar m. The letters D and S-correfpond with L and E refpeftively,
M E C HA NIGS.
Practical which the tooth is to he fixed, and let Ap a be a thread
Mechanics. }appeci round its circumference, having a loop hole at
jv.r f™*'' its extremity a. In this loop hole fix the pin a, and
with it defcribe the curve or involute a b c de h, by
unlapping the thread gradually from the circumference
Ap m. This curve will be the proper fhape for the teeth
of a wheel whole diameter is AB. Dr Robifon ob-
ferves, that as this form admits of feveral teeth to be
acting at the fame time (twice the number that can be
admitted in M. de la Hire’s method), the preffure is
divided among feveral teeth, and the quantity upon any
one of them is fo diminifhed, that thofe dents and im-
prelTions which they unavoidably make upon each other
are partly prevented. He candidly allows, however
that the teeth thus formed are not completely free from
Aiding and friftion, though this Aide is only -^-th of
an inch, when a tooth three inches long fixed on a
wheel ten feet in diameter drivesanother wheel whole
diameter is two feet. Append, to YerguforPs LeElures.
406. On the Formation of Exterior and Interior Y.pi
cycloids, and on the Difpojition of the Teeth on the
Wheels Circiwijerence.
Nothing can be of greater importance to the prac-
Me'hanicaltm^d mechanic, than to have a method of drawing epi-
method cf cycloids with facility and accuracy ; the following, we
forming truft, is the mod Ample mechanical method that can
epicycloids. employed.—Take a piece of plain wood GH, fig.
6. and fix upon it another piece of wood E, having its
3?ig. 6. circumference mb of the fame curvature as the circular
bafe upon which the generating circle AB is to
roll. When the generating circle is large, the feg-
ment B will be fufficient: in any part of the circum¬
ference of this fcgment, fix a fharp pointed nail a,
floping in fuch a manner that the didance of its point
from the centre of the circle may be exaftly equal to
its radius} and fallen to the board GH a piece of thin
brafs, or copper, or tinplate, a b, didinguifhed by the
dotted lines. Place the fegment B in fuch a pofiuon
that the point of the nail a may be upon the point b,
and roll the fegment towards G, fo that the nail a may
rife gradually, and the point of contact between the
two circular fegments rnay advance towards m; the
curve a b deferibed upon the brafs plate will be an ac¬
curate exterior epicycloid. In order to prevent the
ferments from Aiding, their peripheries Aaould be rub¬
bed with rolin or chalk, or a number of fmall iron points
may be fixed on the circumference of the generating
fegment. Remove, with a file, the part of the brafs
on the left hand of the epicycloid, and the remaining
concave arch or gage a b will be a pattern tooth, by
means of which all the red may be eafily farmed.
When an interior epicycloid is wanted, the concave lide
of its circular bafe mult be ufed. fhe method of de-
feribing it is reprefented in fig. 7. where CD is the ge-
p. nerating circle, F the concave circular bafe, MN the
^ piece of wood on which this bale is fixed, and cd the
interior epicycloid formed upon the plate of brals, by
rolling the generating circle C, or the generating feg-
ment D, towards the right hand. The cycloid,
which is ufeful in forming the teeth of rack work, is
generated precifely in the fame manner, with this
difference only, that the bafe on which the generating
circle rolls mud be .a draight line.
In order that the teeth may not embarrafs one ano- Practical
ther before their aftion commences, and that one tooth -Mechanics,
may begin to afl; upon its correfponding leaf of the pi- cifpofnioa
nion, before the preceding tooth has ceafed to a£t upon0fthe
the preceding leaf, the height, breadth, and didance of teeth,
the teeth mud be properly proportioned. For this pur-
pofe the pitch-line or circumference of the wheel, w’hich
is reprefented in fig. 2. and 3. by the dotted arches,
mud be divided into as many equal fpaces as the num¬
ber of teeth which the wdieel is to carry. Divide each
of thefe fpaces'into 16 equal parts; allow 7 of theie for
the greatef. breadth of the teeth, and 9 for the dif-
tance between each •, or the didance of the teeth may
be made equal to their breadth. If the w’heel drive a
trundle, each fpace fhould be divided into 7 equal parts,
and 3 of tbefe allotted for the thicknefs of the tooth,
and 3^ for the diameter of the cylindrical dave of the
trundle. If each of the fpaces already mentioned, or
if the didance between the centres of each tooth, be
divided into three equal parts, the height of the teeth
mud be equal to two of thefe. Thefe didances and
heights, however, vary according to the mode of aflion
which is employed. The teeth diould be rounded oft
at the extremities, and the radius of the wheel made a
little larger than that which is deduced from the rules
in Art. 400, 404. But when the pinion drives the
wheel, a fmall addition Ihould be made to the radius
of the pinion.
On the Nature of Bevelled Wheels, and the method of
giving an epicycloidalform to their Teeth.
407. The principle of bevelled wheels was pointed out Bevelled
by De la Hire, fo long ago as the end of the i 7th centu- wbceis'
ry. It confids in one fluted or toothed cone afting upon
another, as is reprefented in fig. 8. where the cone OD Fig- ^
drives the cone,OC, conveying its motion in the direc¬
tion OC. If thefe cones be cut parallel to their bafes
as at A and B, and if the two fmall cones between
AB and O be removed, the remaining parts AC and
BD may be confidered as two bevelled wheels, and
ED will a£t upon AC in the very fame manner, and
with the fame eftedl, that the whole cone OD added
upon the whole cone OC. If the fedfion be made
nearer the bafes of the cones, the fame eft'edf will he
produced : this is the cafe in fig. 9. where CD and Fig. §•
DE are but very fmall portions of the imaginary cones
ACD and ADE.
408. In order to convey motion in any given diredfion,
and determine the relative fize and fituation of the
wheels for this purpofe, let AB, fig. 10. be the axis Fig. ip.
of a wheel, and CD the given direction in which it is
required to convey the motion by means of a wheel
fixed upon the axis AB, and adting upon another wheel
fixed on the axis CD, and let us fuppofe that the axis
CD muft have four times the velocity of AB, or muff
perform four revolutions while AB performs one.
Then the number of teeth in the wheel fixed upon AB
muft be four times greater than the number of teeth in
the wheel fixed upon CD, and their radii muft have
the fame proportion. Draw c d parallel to CD at
any convenient diftance, and draw a b parallel to AB
at four times that diftance, then the lines im and in
drawn perpendicular to AB and CD refpedtively, will
mark the fituation and hie of the wheels required. Ip
Practical
Mechanics.
On the for¬
mation of
their teeth.
M E C H
this cafe the cones are O n i and O m t\ and srn i
r/> m i, are the portions of them that are employed
A N I C S. . . 117
the vertex C of the cone_MCG approaches to N till it
Fig. S.
@n crown
wheels.
Fig. 11.
The formation of the teeth of bevelled wheels is
more difficult than one would at firft imagine, The teeth
of fuch wheels, indeed, muft be formed by the fame rules
which been have given for other wheels \ but fince dif¬
ferent parts of the fame tooth are at different diltances
from the axis, thefe parts muft have the curvature of their
ailing furfaces proportioned to that diftance. Xhus, in
fig. 10. the part of the tooth at r muft be more incurya-
ted than the part at i, as is evident from the infpeaion
of fig. 9. *, and the epicycloid for the part i muft be
formed by means of circles whofe diameters are im and
F/, while the epicycloid for the part r muft be gene¬
rated by circles whofe diameters are C n and D d.
409. Let us fuppofe a plane to pafs through the points
O, A, D ; the lines AB, AO, will evidently be in this
plane, which may be called the jb/ane of centres. Now,
when the teeth of the wheel DE, which is fuppofed to
drive CD the fmalleft of the two, commence their a£lion
on the teeth of CD, when they arrive at the plane of
centres, and continue their a£lion after they have paffed
this plane, the curve given to the teeth of CD at C,
ffiould be a portion of an interior epicycloid formed
by any generating circle rolling on the concave fuper-
ficies of a circle whofe diameter is twice C n perpendi¬
cular to CA, and the curvature of the teeth at t ihould
be part of a fimilar epicycloid, formed upon a circle,
whofe diameter is twice im. The curvature of the
teeth of the wheel DE at D, ftiould be part of an ex¬
terior epicycloid formed by the fame generating circle
roiling upon the concave circumference of a circle
whole diameter is twice D d perpendicular to DA \
and the epicycloid for the teeth at F is formed in the
fame way, only inftead of twnce D d, the diameter of the
circle muft be twice Ff When any other mode of a6!ion
is adopted, the teeth are to be formed in the fame
manner that we have pointed out for common wheels,
with this difference only, that different epicycloids, are
neceflary for the parts F and D. It may be fufficient,
however, to find the form of the teeth at F, as the re¬
maining part of the tooth may be ftiaped by direfting
a ftraight rule from dilterent points of the epicycloid
at F to the centre A, and filing the tooth till every
part of its afling furface coincide with the fide of the
ruler. The reafon of this operation will be obvious by
attending to the lhape of the tooth in fig. 8. Vt hen
the fmall wheel CD impels the large one DE, the
epicycloids which were formerly given to CD muft be
given to DE, and thofe which were given to DE muft
be transferred to CD. _ ....
410. The wheel reprefented in fig. 11. is fometimes
called a crown wheel, though it is evident from the figure
that it belongs to that fpecies of wheels which we have
juft been conftdering \ for the afting fun aces of the
teeth both of the wheel MB and of the pinion EDG
are dire&ed to C the common vertex of the two cones
CMB, CEG. In this cale the rules for bevelled
W’heels muft be adopted, in which AS is to oe confider-
ed as the radius of the wheel for the profile of the tooth
at A, and MN as its radius for the profile of the tooth
at M \ and the epicycloids thus formed will be the fec-
tions or rrofiles of the teeth in the direbfion Mi , at
ripht angles to iViC the furfac.es of the cone. W- hen
tne vertex 01 uic cuuc  r Mechanics.
be in the fame plane with the points M, G, lome ox , x — 1
the curves will be cycloids and others involutes, as in the
cafe of rack work, for then the cone CEG will revolve
upon a plane furface. Appendix to Fergufon's Lec¬
tures.
Sect. II. On the Wipers of Stampers, isfc. the Teeth of
Rackwork, (b’c. fa'c.
411. In fig. 12. let AB be the wheel which is employ-Dg. 1*.
ed to elevate the rack C, and let their mutual aflion not
commence till the afting teeth have reached the line
of centres AC. In this cafe C becomes as it ;we.e the
pinion or wheel driven, and the afting faces of its
teeth muft be interior epicycloids formed by any gene¬
rating circle rolling wfithin the circumference/*^ ; but
asp q is a ftraight line, thefe interior epicycloids will
be cycloids, or curves generated by a point in.the circum¬
ference of a circle, rolling upon a ftraight line or plane
furface. The afting face op, therefore, will be part of
a cycloid formed by any generating circle, and m ny
the afhng face of the teeth of the wheel, muft be. an
exterior epicycloid produced by the fame generating
circle rolling on to r the convex furface of the wheel.
If it is reejuired to make 0p a ftraight line, as in the
figure, then to n muft be an involute of the circle to 1
formed in the manner reprefented in fig. 5.
412. Fig. t 2. likewife reprefents a wheel depreffing the
rack c when the third mode of aftion is uted. In this
cafe alfo c becomes the pinion, and DE the wheel; e h
therefore muft be part of an interior epicycloid formed
by any generating circle rolling on the concave fide
f .r of the wheel, and b c muft be an exterior epicy¬
cloid produced by the fame generating circle rolling
upon the circumference of the rack. Fhe remaining
part cd oi the teeth of the wheel, muft be an exterior
epicycloid deferibed by any generating circle moving
upon the convex fide ex, and ba muft be an interioi
epicycloid engendered by the fame generating circle
rolling within the circumference of the rack. But as
the circumference of the rack is in this cafe a ftraight
line, the exterior epicycloid be and the interior one ba
will be cycloids formed by the fame generating circles
which are employed in defcribing the other epicy¬
cloids. Since it would be difficult, however, as has
already been remarked, to give tbis compound curva- x
ture to the teeth of the wheel and rack, we may ufe a -
generating circle wffiofe diameter is equal to D A? the
radius of the wheel, for defcribing the interior epicy¬
cloid e h, and the exterior one b c ; and a generating
circle whofe diameter is equal to the radius ot the rack,
for defcribing the interior epicycloid a b, and the ex¬
terior one de > a b and e h, therefore, will be ftraight
lines and b c wull be a cycloid, and de an involute of
the circle c x, the radius of the rack being infinitely
great.
413. In the fame manner may the form of the teeth of
rack-work be determined, when the fecond mode of
aftion is employed, and when the teeth of the wheel
or rack are circular or re&ilineal. But if the rack be -
part of a circle, it muft have the fame form for its teeth
as that of a wheel of the fame diameter with the circle
of which it is a part,
Ih.*
11 3
M E C H A N I C S,
Fvacfrical
Mechanics.
Proper
form of
wipers.
In inacliinery, where large weights ore to be railed,
fuch as Hiliiug.mills, mills for pounding ore, &c. or
w'here large piftons are to be elevated by the arms or
levers, it is of the greatefl confequence that the power
fhould raife the weight with an uniform force and velo¬
city ; and this can be effecled only by giving a proper
form to the wiper.
Now there are twro cafes in which this unifor¬
mity of motion may be required, and each of thefe de-
** mands a different form for the communicating parts.
I. When the weight is to.be raifed vertically, as the
piilon - of a pump, &c. 2. When the weight to be
railed or depreffed moves upon a centre, and rises or
falls in the arch of a circle, fuch as the fledge hammer
in a forge, &c.
Fig 13. 414. 1. Let AH be a wheel moved by any power
which is fufKcient to raife the weight MN by its extre¬
mity O, from O to e, in the fame time that the wheel
moves round ©ne-fourth of its circumference, it is re¬
quired to fix upon its rim a wing OBCDEH which
fhail produce this effec! with an uniform effort. Di¬
vide the quadrant OH into any number of equal parts
O m n, &c. the more the better, and 0 e into the
fame number 0 b, b c, c d, &c. and through the points
H draw the indefinite lines AB, AC, AD, AE,
and make AB equal to A AC to Ac, AD to A
and AE to Acj then through the points O,B, C, D, E,
draw the curve OBCDE, which is a portion of the
fpiral of Archimedes, and wull be the proper form for
the wiper or wdng OHE. It is evident that when the
point m has arrived at O, the extremity of the wreight
will have arrived at b ; becaufe AB is equal to
A b, and for the fame reafon, when the points n,p, H
have fucceffively arrived at O, the extremity of the
weight will have arrived at the correfponding points
c, dl e. The motion therefore will be uniform, becaufe
the fpace defcribed by the weight is proportional -to
the fpace defcribed by the moving power, O b being to
O c as O w to O If it be required to raife the
weight MN with an accelerated or retarded motion,
we have only to divide the line O e according to the
lawT of acceleration or retardation, and divide the curve
OBCDE as before.
When the 415. 2. When the lever moves upon a centre, the
weight riles wejght will rife in the arch of a circle, and confequent-
ofacircfi, ly a new form muff be given to the wipers or wings.
Fig. 14. Let AB, fig. 14. be a lever lying horizontally, which
it is required to raife uniformly through the arch BC
into the pofition AC, by means of the wffieel BFH
furnilhed wdth the wing BNOP, which acts upon the
extremity C of the lever 5 and let it be required to
raife it through BC in the fame time that the wheel
BFH moves through one-half of its circumference;
.that is, while the point M moves to B in the direftion
MFB. Divide the chord CB into any number of
equal parts, the more the better, in the points 1, 2, 3,
and draw the lines \ a 'lb 3c parallel to AB, or a
horizontal line palling through the point B, and meet¬
ing the arch CB in the points <?, b, c. Draw the lines
CD, a D, /> D, c D, and BD cutting the c’icle BFH
in the points ?n, a, o^p.
Having drawn the diameter BM, divide the fe-
micircle BFM into as many equal parts as the chord
CB, in tne points q, s, u. Take B and let it from q to
r : Take B n and fet it from ,r to t : Take B 0 and fet
it from u to v, and laffly let Up from M to E.
Through the points E, draw the indefinite lines
DN, DO, DP DQ^, and make DN equal to D c; DO
equal to D £ ; DP equal to Da ; and DC^ equal to
DC. Then through the points (^, P, O, N, B, draw
the fpiral B, N, O, P, O, which v ill be the proper
form for the wing of the wheel when it moves in the
clix-edlion EMB,
That the fpiral BNO will raife the lever AC,'
with an uniform motion, by atffing upon its extremity c,
will appear from the flighteft attention to the conftruc-
tion of the figure. It is evident, that when the point
q arrives at B, the point r will be in becaule B m
is equal to q r, and the point N will be at c, becaufe
DN is equal to Dc; the extremity of the lever, there¬
fore, will be found in the point c, having moved
through B c. In like manner, when the point s has
arrived at B, the point t will be at n, and the point
O, in b, where the extremity of the lever will now be
found ; and fo on with the reft, till the point M has ar¬
rived at B. The point E will then be in p, and the
point Q. in Cq fo that the lever will now have the po¬
fition AC, having moved through the equal heights
B c, c b, b a, a c, (f) in the fame time that the power
has moved through the equal fpaces q B, s q, a s, M u.
The lever, therefore, has been raifed uniformly, the ra¬
tio between the velocity of the power, and that of the
weight, remaining always the fame.
416. If thewdieelD turn in a contrary diredHon, ac*
cording to the letters MHB, we muft divide the femi-
circle BH EM, into as. many equal parts as the chord
c B, viz. in the points e,gi h. Then, having fet the arch
B m from e to d, the arch B n from g lo f, and the
reft in a fimilar manner, draw through the points d,f
h, E, the indefinite lines Dll, DS. DT, D£): make DR
equal to Dc ; DS equal to Db ; DT equal to Do,
and D£) equal to DC ; and though the points B, R, S,
T, Q, defcribe the fpiral BRSTQq which will be the
proper form for the wing, wdren the wheel turns in the
dire&ion MEB. For, when the point c arrives at B,
the point d will be in m, and R in c, where the extre¬
mity of the lever will now be found, having moved
through B c in the fame time that the power, or wheel,
has moved through the divifion e B. In the lame man¬
ner it may be {hewn, that the lever will rife through the
equal heights c b,b a^a C, in the fame time that the
powTer moves through the correfponding fpaces eg,gi,
z M. The motion of the lever, therefore, and alfo that
of the power, are always uniform. Of all the pofitions
that can be given to the point B, the moft difadvanta-
geous are thofe which are neareft the points F, H ; and
the moft advantageous pofition is when the chord B e
is vertical, and paffes, when prolonged, through D, the
centre
(f) The arches Be, c£, &c.' are not equal : but the perpendiculars let fall from the points e, a,b, &c. upon
the horizontal lines, palling through a b, &c. are equal, being proportional to the equal lines e 1, 1., 2.
Fuel. VI. 2.
• 1
/
M E C H A
Praaicrl centre of tlie circle (g). In this particular cafe the
Wech'tnxs j-wo curves have equal bafes, though they differ a litUe
U—in poii t of curvature. The farther that the centre A
is diftait, the nearer do thefe curves referable each
other ; and if it were infinitely diilant, they would be
exaftly fimilar, and would be the ipirals of Archimedes,
as the extremity c would in this cafe rife perpendicularly.
It will be eafily perceived that 4, 6, or 8 wings
mav be placed upon the circumference of the circle,
and may be formed by dividing into the fame number
of equal parts as the chord BC, or of the cir¬
cumference, inftead of the femicircle BFM.
That the wing BNO may not a& upon any part of
the lever between A and C, the arm AC (hould be
bent 3 and that the fribtion may be diminifhed as much
as poffible, a roller (hould be fixed upon its extremity
C. When a roller is ufed, however, a curve muff al¬
ways be drawn parallel to the fpiral defcribed accord¬
ing" to the preceding method, the diftance between it
and the fpiral being everywhere equal to the radius of
the roller.
If it (hould be required to raife the lever with
an accelerated or retarded motion, we have only to di¬
vide the chord BC, according to the degree of retarda¬
tion or acceleration required, and the cucle into the
fame number of equal parts as before. ,
417. As it is frequently more convenient to raife or
deprefs weights by the extremity of a cohftant radius,
furnifhed with a roller, inftead of wings fixed upon the
periphery of a wheel 3 we (hall now proceed to deter¬
mine the curve which muft be given to the arm of the
lever, which is to be raifed or deprefled, in order that
this elevation or deprellion may be effected with an uni¬
form motion.
Let AB be a lever, which it is required to rafte
uniformly through the arch BC, into the pofition
AC, by means of the arm or conftant radius DE, mov¬
ing upon D as a centre, in the fame time that the ex¬
tremity E deferibes the arch EeY. Froin the point
C draw CH at right angles to AB, and divide it into
any number of equal parts,"fuppofe three, in the points
I 2 3 and through the points 1, 2, draw 102b, paral¬
lel to the horizontal line AB, cutting the arch CB in
the points a, b, through which draw a A, b A. Upon
D as a centre, with the diftance DE, deicribe the arch
NIGS. . 1 119
Ez’eF, and upon A as a centre, with the diftance PraCfcal
AD, deferibe the arch e OD, cutting the arch Eh e F '
in the point e. Divide the arches E ie, and Y s e, each
into the fame number of equal parts as the perpendicu¬
lar <*H, in the points and through thefe
points, about the centre A, deferibe the arches k », ig,
q r, m 11. Take S3 a? and fet it from k to /, and take
g f, and fet it from 1 to h. Fake r q alio, and let it
from s to t, and fet n m from 0 to />, and from e to
O. Then through the points E,/. //, O, and 0,/,/>, F
draw the two curves E///O, and , which will
be the proper form that muft be given to the arm or
the lever. ' If the handle DE moves from E tow-ards
F, the curve EO muft be ufed, but if in the contrary
diredfion, we muft: employ the curve Oh.
It is evident, that when the extremity E of the handle
DE, has run through the arch E h, or rather E /, the
point / will be in .£, and the point z in #, becaufe x s
is equal to /£/, and the lever will have the pofition A
For the fame reafon, when the extremity E of the
handle has arrived at z, the point h wall be in z, and
the point g in f and the lever will be raifed to the po¬
fition A a. Thus it appears, that the motion of the
pow’er and the weight are ahvays proportional. When
a roller is fixed at E, a curve parallel to EO, or OF,
muft be drawn as, formerly. See Appendix to Feign-
Jon's Letiures,
Chap. VI. On the Firji Movers of Machinery.
418. The powders which are generally employed as
the firft movers of machines are water, wind, fleam, and
animal exertion^ The mode of employing water as an
impelling power has already been given at great length
in the article Hydrodynamics. The application of
wind to turn machinery wdll be. difeufled in the chapter
on Windmills 3 and what regards fleam will be more
properly introduced into the article Steam-Engine. At
prefent, therefore, wre (hall only make a few general
remarks on the ftrength of men and horles 3 and con¬
clude with a general view' of the relative powers of the
firft movers of machinery. The following table con¬
tains the weight which a man is able to raife through
a certain height in a certain time, according to diffe» _
rent.authors.
Table of the Strength of Men, according to different authors.
Number of pound'
rai fed.
}1
’J £
IOOO
60 "
25
17°.
IOOO
iooe
3°
or 30
Height to which j lime in which it
the weight is railed ' is raifed
180
1
220
I
33°
225
2.45 feet
j
P-i
60 minutes
1 fecond
145 feconds
1 fecond
60 mirjutes
60 minutes
I fecond
i fecond
Duration of the
Work.
8 hours
half an hour
10 hours
Names of the au¬
thors.
Euler
Bernouilli
Amontons
Coulomb
Defaguliers
Smeaton
Emerfon
Schulze.
(g) In the figure we have taken the point B in a difadvantageous pofition, becaufe the mterfeaions are m this
•safe more diftincL .
I 20
M E C H A N I C S.
PrafticaT
Mechanic^
Force of
men ac¬
cording to
A men tons.
According
to Befa-
.guliers.
Refults of
Coulomb’s
experi¬
ments.
419. According to Amontons, a man weighing 133
pounds French, afeended 62 feet French by Iteps in 34
i'econds, but was completely exhaufted. The lame au¬
thor informs us that a fawyer made 200 llrokes of 18
inches French each, with a force of 25 pounds, in 145
feconds $ but that he could not have continued the ex¬
ertion above three minutes.
420. It appears from the obfervations of Defaguliers,
that an ordinary man can, for the fpace of ten hours,
turn a winch with a force of 30 pounds, and with a ve¬
locity of two feet and a half per lecond $ and that two
men working at a windlafs with handles at right angles
to each other cen raife 70 pounds more eafily than one
man can raife 30. The reafon of this is, that when
there is only one man, he exerts variable efforts at dif¬
ferent politions of the handle, and therefore the motion
of the windlafs is irregular •, whereas in the cafe of
two men, w’ith handles at right angles, the effefl; of the
one man is greateh when the effeft of the other
is leaft, and therefore the motion of the machine is
more uniform, and will perform more work. Defagu¬
liers alfo found, that a man may exert a force of 80
pounds with a fly when the motion is pretty quick, and
that by means of a good common pump, he may raife
a boglhead of water 10 feet high in a minute, and con¬
tinue the exertion during a whole day.
421. A variety of interefting experiments upon the
force of men were made by the learned M. Coulomb.
He found that the quantity ©f action of a man who af-
cended flairs wnth nothing bi t his own weight, was
double that of a man loaded with 223 pounds avoirdu¬
pois, both of them continuing the exertion for a day.
In this cafe the total or abfolute effect of the unloaded
man is the greateft poffible ; but the ufeful effett which
he produces is nothing. In the fame way, if he were load¬
ed to fuch a degree that he was almoft incapable of
moving, the ufeful effeft would be nothing. Hence
there is a certain load with wdiich the man will produce
the greateft ufeful effeft. This load M. Coulomb
found to be 173.8 pounds avoirdupois, upon the fuppo-
-fition that the man is to afeend flairs, and continue the
exertion during a whole day. When thus loaded, the
quantity of adlion exerted by the labourer is equivalent
-to 183.66 pounds avoirdupoisraifed through 3282 feet.
This method of working is however attended with alofs
of three fourths of the total aftion of the workman.—It
appears alfo from Coulomb’s experiments, that a man go¬
ing up flairs for a day raifes 205 chiliogrammes (a chilio-
gramme is equal to three ounces five drams avoirdu¬
pois) to the height of a chiliometre (a chiliometre is
equal to 39571 Englilh inches) •,—that a man carrying
wosd up flairs raifes, together with his own weight, 109
chiliogrammes to one cniliometre ;—that a man weigh¬
ing 150 pounds French, can afeend by flairs three feet
French in a fecond, for the fpace of I 5 or 20 feconds •,
—that a man cultivating the ground performs Iff as
much labour as a man afeending flairs, and that his
quantity of aftion is equal to 328 pounds avoirdupois
raifed through the fpace of 3282 feet-,—that a man
with a winch does f as much as by afeending flairs —
and that in a pile engine, a man by means of a rope
drawn horizontally, raifed for the fpace of five hours
55t pounds French through one foot French in a fe-
£ond.—-When men v/alk on a horizontal road, Cou.-
lomb found that the quantity of aclion was a maximum Practical
when they were loaded, and that this maximum quan- ^ehanics,
tity of aftion is to that which is exerted by a man loaded
with 190.25 pounds avoirdupois as 7 to 4.—The weight
which a man ought to carry in order that the vfeful ef-
feB may be a maximum, is 165.3 pounds avoirdupois.
When the workman, however, returns unloaded for
a new' burden, he muft carry 200.7 pounds avoirdu¬
pois.
422. According to Dr Robifon a feeble old man
raifed feven cubic feet of water =0:437.5 pounds avoir¬
dupois, n4 feet high, in one minute, for eight or ten
hours a day, by w’alking backwards and forwards on a
lever j—and a young man weighing 135 pounds, and
carrying 30 pounds, raifed 9I cubic feet of water
=578.1 pounds avoirdupois, ni feet high, for 10 hours
a clay, without being fatigued.
423. From the experiments of Mr Buchanan, it ap¬
pears that the forces exerted by a man pumping, ail¬
ing at a winch, ringing and rowing, are as the numbers
1742, 2856, 3883, 4095.
424. According to Defaguliers and Smeaton, the On the
power of one horfe is equal to the power of five men.
Several French authors fuppofe a horfe equal, to 101 es‘
feven men, while M. Schulze confiders one horfe as
equivalent to 14 men.—Two horfes, according to
the experiment of Amontons, exerted a force of 150
pounds French, when yoked in a plough. Accord¬
ing to Defaguliers, a horfe is capable of draw-ing,
with a force of 200 pounds, two miles and a half an
hour, and of continuing this ailion eight hours- in the
day. When the force is 240 pounds he can work on¬
ly fix hours. It appears from Smeaton’s reports, that
by means of pumps a horfe can raife 250 hog (heads of
water, 10 feet high, in an hour.—The moft difadvan-
tageous way of employing the power of a horfe is to
make him carry a load up an inclined plane, for it
was obferved by De la Hire, that three men, with 100
pounds each, will go fafter up the inclined plane than
a horfe with 300 pounds. When the horfe walks on a
good road, and is loaded with about two hundred
weight, he may eafily travel 25 miles in the fpace of
feven or eight hours.
425. When a horfe is employed in raifing coals by
means of a wheel and axle, and moves at the rate of
about two miles an hour, Mr Fenwick found that he
could continue at work 12 hours each day, two and a
half of which were (pent in (hort intervals of reft, when
he raifed a load of 1000 pounds avoirdupois, with a
velocity of 13 feet per minute 5—and that he will exert
a force of 75 pounds for nine hours and a half, when
moving with the fame velocity. Mr Fenwick alfo found
that 230 ale gallons of water delivered every minute on
an overfhot water wheel, 10 feet in diameter that a
common fleam engine, with a cylinder eight inches in
diameter, and an improved engine with a cylinder 6.1 2
inches in diameter, will do the work of one horfe, that
is, will raife a weight of 1000 pounds avoirdupois,
through the height of 13 feet in a minute. It appears from
Mr Smeaton’s experiments, that Dutch fails in the4r com¬
mon pofition with a radius of nine feet and a half,—that
Dutch fails in their beft pofition with a radius of eight
feet, and that his enlarged fails with a radius of feven
feet, perform the fame work as one man ; or perform
one-
3
Practical
Mechanics.
MECHANICS. 121
one-fifth part of the work of a horfe. Upon thefe fafts columns of which are taken from TMr Fenwick s y 1^ec'rianjc5>
we have conftru£ted the following table, the four fiift
on Practical Mechanics.
Table Kwing the relativeJlrength of Overjhot Wheels, Steam Engines, Horfes, Men, and Wind-mills of
J different kinds.
Number of
ale gallons
delivered on
an overfhot
wheel, 10
feet in dia
meter, every
minute.
Diameter of
the cylinder
in the com¬
mon fteam-
engine, in
inches.
Diameter of
the cylinder
of the im¬
proved
fteam-engine,
in inches.
Number of
horfes work¬
ing 12 hours
per day, and
moving at
the rate of
two miles
per hour.
250
39°
528
660
79O
970
1170
I445
1 ^84
1740
1900
2100
2300
2500
2686
2870
3°55
3240
3420
375°
4000
4460
4850
525°
8.
9*5
10.5
ii-5
12.5
14.
15-4
16.8
17-3
18.5
19.4
20.2
21.
22.
23.1
23-9
24.7
25-5
26.25
27.
28.5
29.8
31- 1
32- 4
33- 6
6.12
7.8
8.2
8.8
9-35
io-55
n-75
12.8
13.6
14.2
14.8
15.2
16.2
I7-
17.8
18.3
19.
19.6
20.1
20.7
22.2
23-
23*9
24.7
25-5
Number of
men work¬
ing 12 hours
a-day.
Radius of
Dutch fails
in their com¬
mon politico,
in feet.
Radius of
Dutch fails
in their belt
polition,
in feet.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
*3
M
!5
16
*7
18
*9
20
22
24
26
28
3°
5
1 10
15
20
25
3°
35
40
45
5°
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
9°
- 95
100
no
120
130
140
I5°
21.24
30.04
36.80
42.48
47-5°
52-03
56.90
60.09
63-73
67.17
70.46
73-59
76-59
79-49
82.27
84.97
87.07
90.13
92.60
95.00
99.64
104.06
108.32
112.20
116.35
Radius of
Mr Smea-
ton’s en¬
larged fails,
in feet.
17.89
25-3°
30.98
35-78
40.00
43.82
47-33
50.60
53-66
56-57
59-33
61.97
64.5
66.94
69.28
7I-55
73-32
75-90
77.98
80.00
83.90
87.63
91.22
94.66
97.98
15-65
22.13
27.11
35-oo
38 34
4I-4I
44.27
46.96
49-50
5I-9I
1 54-22
56-43
58.57
60.62
62.61
64.16
67.41
68.23
70.00
73-42
76.68
79-81
82.82
85.73
Height lo
which thefe
different
powers will
raife ioog
pounds avoir¬
dupois n a
minute.
13
26
39
52
65
78
90
104
117
130
M3
156
169
182
i95
208
221
234
247
260
286
3^
338
364
39°
426. Dutch feils are always conftru<?ted fo that the
angle of weather may diminifh from the centre to the
extremity of the fail. They are concave to the
wind, and are in their common pofition vihtn their ex¬
tremities are parallel to the plane in which tney move,
or perpendicular to the direaien of the wind. Dutch
fails are in their bef pofition when their extremity
make an angle of feven degrees with the plane of their
motion. Mr Smeaton’s enlarged fails are Dutch lads
in their belt pofition, but enlarged at their extremi-
ties. ^ •
427. It appears from M. Coulomb’s experiments on
Dutch wind-mills, with reftangular fails, that when the
dillance between the extremities of two oppofite fails is
66 feet French, and the breadth of each fail fix feet,
a wind moving at the rate of 20 feet per fecond wi
produce an effedt equivalent ^ to 1000 pounds railed
through the fpace of 218 feet in a minute. .
According to Watt and Boulton, one of their
fleam-engines, with a cylinder 31 inches diameter,
and which makes 17 double ftrokes per minute, is equi¬
valent to 40 horfes working day and night -, that is, to
101 horfes working nine hours and a half, the time o
conftant exertion in the preceding table. \v hen the
VOL. XIII. Part I.
cylinder is 19 inches in diameter, and the engine makes
25 ftrokes of four feet each per minute, its power
is equivalent to twelve horfes working conftantly, or
thirty horfes working nine hours and a half j—and
when the cylinder is 24 inches in diameter, and the
engine makes 22 ftrokes, of five feet each, in a mi¬
nute, its power is equal to that of 20 horfes working
conftantly, or 50 horfes working nine hours and a
half.
Chap. VII. On the ConjlruBion of Wind mills.
428. A WIND-MILL is reprefented in fig. 1. where PAN pjate
is the circular building that contains the machinery, E CCCXXV.
the extremity of the windfhaft, or principal axis, which is Fig. x.
generally inclined from 8 to 15 degrees to the hori¬
zon : and EA, EB, EC, ED four reftangular frames
upon which fails of cloth of the fame form are ftretch-
ed At the lower extremity G of the fails their lur-
face is inclined to the axis 720 J and at their fartheft
extremities A, D, &c. the inclination of the fail is
about 83°. Now, when the fails are adjufted to the
wind, which happens when the wind blows in the di-
reaion of the windfhaft E, the impulfe of the wind
Q upon
1
122
M ECHANICS.
PradKcal
Meclraaics.
upon
fr
the oblique fails may be refqlved into two
orces, one of which a61s at right angles to the
' v  windihaft, and is therefore employed folely in giving a
motion of rotation to the fails and the axis upon which
they are fixed. When the mill is ufed for grinding
corn, a crown wheel, fixed to the principal axis E,
gives motion to a lantern or trundle, whofe axis carries
the moveable millftone.
Methods of ^29. That the wind may act with the greateft efficacy
turning the Upon tjle t’ne vvindfhaft muft have the fame direc-
winJtJ " ^ t'on as t^ie wind. But as this diredlion is perpetually
changing, feme apparatus is neceflary for bringing the
windihaft and fails into their proper pofition. This is
fometimes efFe&ed by fupporting the machinery on a
flrong vertical axis, whofe pivot moves in a brafs focket
fitmly fixed into the ground, fo that the whole ma¬
chine, by means of a lever, may be made to revolve
upon this axis, and be properly adjufted to the direc¬
tion of the wind. Mod wind-mills, however, are
fund died with a moveable roof which revolves upon
fri<dion rollers inferted in the fixed kerb of the mill;
and the adjudment is effe£led by the adidance of a
fimple lever. As both thefe methods of adjudment
tequire the affidance of men, it would be very defirable
that the fame effefl ffiould be produced folely by the
aidion of the wind. This may be done by fixing a
large wooden vane or weather-cock at the extremity of
a long horizontal arm which lies in the fame vertical
plane with the winddiaft. By this means, when the
furface of the vane, and its didance from the centre of
motion, are fufficiently great, a very gentle breeze will
exert a fufficient force upon the vane to turn the ma¬
chinery, and will always bring the fails and windihaft
to their proper pofition. This weather-cock, it is evi¬
dent, may be applied either to machines which have
a moveable roof, or which revolve upon a vertical
arbor.
On the Form and Pojition of Wind-mill Sails.
430. It appears from the invedigations of Parent, that a
maximum efteft will be produced when the fails are
inclined 54^ degrees to the axis of rotation, or when
The inch- the angle of weather is 35-y (g) degrees. In obtain-
nation af- ing this conclufion, however, M. Parent has affirmed
hgned by which are inadmiffible, and has negle&ed feveral
rim^ouser" circumdances which mud materially affeft the refult of
his invedigations. The angle of inclination affigned
by Parent is certainly the mod efficacious for giving
motion to the fails from a date of red, and for prevent¬
ing them from dopping when in motion ; but he has not
• confidered that the aftion of the wind upon a fail at
red is different from its aftion upon a fail in motion :
for fince the extremities of the fails move with greater
rapidity than the parts nearer the centre, the angle of
weather drould be greater towards the centre than at
the extremity, and ffiould vary with the velocity of
each part of the fail. The reafon of this is very ob¬
vious. It has been duv. on dr a ted by Bofiut, and cfla- Pra&kai
bliffied by experience, that when any fluid aids up- Mechanics,
on a plain furface, the force of impulfion is always v- ' f
exerted mod advantageoufly when the impelled fur-
face is in a date of red, and that this force diminiffies
as the velocity of the furface increafes. Now, let
us fuppofe with Parent that the mod advantageous
angle of weather for the fails of wind-mills is 35^
degrees for that part of the fail which is neared the
centre of rotation, and that the fail has every where
this angle of weather \ then, fince the extremity of the
fail moves with the greated velocity, it will, in a man¬
ner, withdraw itfelf from the adlion of the wind, or, to
fpeak more properly, it will not receive the impulfe of
the wind fo advantageoully as thofe parts of the fail
which have a lefs degree of velocity. In order there¬
fore to counterafl this diminution of force, we muft
make the wind aft more perpendicularly upon the fail,
by diminiffiing its obliquity or its angle of weather. But
fince the velocity of every part of the fail is proportional
to its diftance from the centre of motion, every elemental
ry portion of it muft have a different angle of weather di-
minidiing from the centre to the extremity of the fail.
The law or rate of diminution, however, is dill to be dif-
covered, and we are fortunately in poffeffion of a theorem
of Euler’s, afterwards given by Maclaurin, which de¬
termines this law of variation. Let a reprefent the ve- Euler’s
locity of the wind, and c the velocity of any given part theorem,
of the fail •, then the effort of the wind upon that part
of the fail will be greated when the tangent of the angle
of the wind’s incidence, or of the fail’s inclination to the
yee
• • 1 • / 1 3
axis, is to radius, asv 2-j 4 to 1.
’ ^ 1 4tffl ‘ Fig. 2.
43 r. In order to apply this theorem, let us fuppofe that Explana-
the radius or whip ED of the fail ct y, is divided in- d°n apd ap-
to fix equal parts j that the point n is equididant from E 0l~
and D, and is the point of the fail which has the famerern
velocity as the wind ; then, in the preceding theorem,
we ffiall have c—a, when the fail is loaded to a maxi¬
mum 5 and therefore the tangent of the angle, which
the furface of the fail at n makes with the axis, when
<2—1, will be^/2-}- - + - — 3.561 = tangent of 74*
4 2
19', which gives 150 41' for the angle of weather at
the point n. Since, at ^ of the radius cz=a, and fince c
is proportional to the didance of the correfponding
part of the fail from the centre, we will have, at £ of
the radius s my c~ -, at of the radius, c — j at f,
3 3
e ——, at 4, e—— j and at the extremity of the
radius, c—za. By fubdituting thefe different values
of c, indead of c in the theorem, and by making tf=ri,
the following table will be obtained, which exhibits
the angles of inclination and weather which mud be
given to different parts of the fails.
Parts
(g) The weather of the fails is the angle which the furface forms with the plane in which they move, and is
equal to the complement of the angle which that furface forms with the axis.
Practical
Mechanics.
Refults of
Smeaton’s
experi¬
ments.
Fig. 2.
M E C H
Parts of the ra- Velocity of the
thus from the
centre of mo¬
tion at
fail at thefe
diffances—or
values of c
Angle made
with the axis.
Angle of wea¬
ther.
■ar
£ or £
£ or T
3
20
T
a
40
3
5£
3
20
Deg.
63
69
74
77
79
8r
Min.
26
54
J9
20
27
o
peg;
26
20
15
12
IO
9
Min.
34
6
4
40
33
o
432. Mr Smeaton found, from a variety of experi¬
ments, that the common pra&ice of inclining P^at^
from 7 2° to 750 to the axis, was much more efficaci¬
ous than the angle affigned by Parent, the effeft being
as to 31. When the fails were weathered in the
Dutch manner, that is, when their fur faces were con¬
cave to the wind, and when the. angle of inclination in-
creafed towards their extremities, they produced a
greater effeft than when they were weathered either m
the common way, or according to Euler’s theorem.
But when the fails were enlarged at their extremities,
as reprefented at */3, in fig. 2/fo that «4 was one-
third of the radius ED, and a D to D /3 as 5 to 3>
their power was greateft of all, though the furface act¬
ed upon by the wind remained the fame. It the tails
be farther enlarged, the effieft is not increafed in pro¬
portion to the furface *, and befid^s, when the quantity
of cloth is great, the machine is much expofed to in¬
jury by hidden fqualls of wind. In Mr Smeaton s ex¬
periments, the angle of weather varied with the di-
ftance from the axis *, and it appeared from feveral
trials, that the moft efficacious angles were thole in the
fallowing table.
Parts of the radius
EA, which is di
vided into dpart-
Angle with the
axis.
Angle of weather
72
71
72
74
77t
83
18
J9 .
18 middle
16
124
7
If the radius ED of the fail be 30 feet, then the fail
will commence at 4 ED, or 5 feet from the axis,
where the angle of inclination will be 72 . At ^ ,
or 1 o feet from the axis, the angle will be 71 , and
fo on.
On the EffeEi of Wind-mill Sails.
433. The following maxims deduced by Mr Smeafon
from his experiments, contain the tnoft accurate infor¬
mation upon this fubjeft.
A NI C S. . „ *23
Maxim 1. Tilt: velocity of wind-mill fills, ^
unloaded or loaded, fo as to produce a maximum etteCt,  ,
is nearlv as the velocity of the wind, their ffiape an £^pe(q.s 0f
pofition being the fame. . wind-mill
Maxim 2. The '.load at the maximum is nearly, fail*, ac-
but fomewhat lefs than, as the fquare of the velocity cordmg to
of the wind, the ffiape and pofition of the fails being ^
the fame. „ .
Maxim 3. The effeds of the fame fails at a maxi¬
mum, are nearly, but fomewhat lefs than, as the cubes
the velocity of the wdnd. ,
Maxim 4. The load of the fame fails at the
maximum Js nearly as the fquares, and their effects
as the cubes of their number of turns in a given
time. ,
Maxim 5. When fails are loaded, fo as to produce
a maximum at a given velocity, and the velocity of
the wind increafes, the load continuing the fame:
I ft, The increafe of effe£f, when tne inoeaie of the
velocity of the wund is fmall, will be nearly as the
fquares of thofe velocities: 2dly, When the velo^
city of the wind is double, the effefts will be near¬
ly as 10 : 274: But, 3dly, When the velocities
compared are more than double of that where the
given load produces a maximum, the eliecE mcreae
nearly in the Ample ratio of the velocity of the
wind. „ .
Maxim 6. In fails where the figure and pofitidns
are fimilar, and the velocity of the wind the fame, the
number of turns in a given time will be reciprocally as
the radius or length of the fail.
Maxim 7. The load at a maximum that iails of a
fimilar figure and pofition will overcome at a g.v^-.i
diftance from the centre of motion, will be as the cube
of the radius. „ „ .
Maxim 8. The effeds of fails of fimilar figure and
pofition are as the fquare of the radius. _ _
Maxim 9. The velocity of the extremities of Dutch
fails, as well as of the enlarged fails, in all taeir ufual
pofitions when unloaded, or even loaded to a
mum, are confiderably quicker than the velocity ot the
" 434. A new mode of conftruding the fails of wind-mills
has been recently given by Mr Sutton, and fully de-
feribed by Mr Hefleden of Barton, in a work excluhve-
ly devoted to the fubjed.
The limits of this article will not permit us to enter
into any difeuffion refpeding the principles upon which
Mr Sutton’s gravitated fails are conilruded •, but the
fubied (hall be refumed under the article Windmill.
If may be proper however to remark that Mr Sutton
gives his fails the form reprefented in fig. 4. and makes pjg. 3;
the angle of weather at the point M, eqmdiflant from
A and B, equal to 22* 30'. The inclination of the
fail at any other point N of the fail, is an angle whole
fine is the diftance of that point from the centre of mo¬
tion A, the radius being the breadth of the ial1 tliat
point. Fig. 3. ffiews the angles at the different
points of the fail-, and the apparent and absolute
breadths of the fail at thefe points. Mr Sutton s
mode of regulating the velocity of the fails, and ot
bringing them to a ftate of reft is particularly in¬
genious.
&
On
MECHANICS.
i 24
Fr flical
Mechanics. Qn Horizontal Wind-mills.
Horizontal 43.?* Various opinions have been entertained refpeft-
■yv'iiiG-miils. jng t]le relative advantages of horizontal and vertical
wind mills. Pv'ir Smeaton, with great juflice, gives a
decided preference to the latter ; but when he afferts
that horizontal wind-mills have only or Tg of the
power of vertical ones, he certainly forms too low ati
eftimate of their power. Mr Beatfon, on the contra¬
ry, who has received a patent for the conftru<3ion of a
new horizontal wind-mill, feems to be prejudiced in
their favour, and greatly exaggerates their comparative
value. From an impartial invedigation, it will proba¬
bly appear, that the truth lies between thefe tw’o oppo-
fite opinions } but before entering on this difcuflion,
we muft firft confider the nature and form of horizontal
wind-mills.
f'Z- 4’ 436. In fig. 4. CK is the windfliaft, which moves up¬
on pivots. Four crofs bars, CA, CD, IB, FG, are fix¬
ed to this arbor, which carry the frames APIB, DEFG.
The fails AI, EG, are ftretched upon thefe frames,
and are carried round the axis CK, by the perpendicu¬
lar impulfe of the wind. Upon the axis CK, a toothed
wheel is fixed, which gives motion to the particular
machinery that is employed. In the figure, only two
fails are reprefented j but there are always other two
'Common placed at right angles to thefe. Now, let the fails be
method of expoled to the wind, and it will be evident that no mo-
baclfthe ti0n en^Ue ’ *"0r tlle ^°rCe t^le W‘n£* UPon t^e ^
fails .--gainft counterafled by an equal and oppofite force up-
the wind. on fail EG. In order then, that the wund may
communicate motion to the machine, the force upon
the returning fail EG mult either he removed by
fcreening it from the wind, or diminiihed by making it
prefent a lefs furface when returning againft the wind.
The firft of thefe methods is adopted in Tartary, and
in fome provinces of Spain j but is objefled to by Mr
Bcatfon, from the inconvenience and cxpence of the
machinery and attendance requifite for turning the
fcreens into their proper pofitions. Notwithftanding
this^objeftion, hoivever, I am difpofed to think that
this is the beft method of diminifhing the adh’on of the
wind upon the returning fails, for the moveable fereen
may eafily be made to follow the diretftion of the wind,
and affume its proper pofition, by means of a large
wooden weathercock, without the aid either of men or
machinery. It is true, indeed, that the refiftance of
the air in the returning fails is not completely remo¬
ved j but it is at leal! as much diminiftied as it can be
by any method hitherto propofed. Befides, when this
plan is reforted to, there is no occafion for any move-
able flaps and hinges, which muft add greatly to the
expence of every other method.
Beatfon’s 437. The mode of bringing the fails back againft
aaethod. t}ie wind, which Mr Beatfon invented, is, perhaps, the
fimpleft and beft of the kind. He makes each fail AI
to confift of fix ®r eight flaps or vanes, AP b 1, b 1 c 2
&c. moving upon hinges reprefented by the dark lines’
AP, b 1, c 2y See. fo that the lower fide b 1, of the firft
flap overlaps the hinge or higher fide of the fecond flap,
and fo on. When the wind, therefore, a£ls upon the
fail AI, each flap will prefs upon the hinge of the one
immediately below it, and the whole furface of the fail
tvill be expofed to its aftion. But when the fail AI
returns againft the wind, the flaps will revolve round
upon their hinges, and prefent only their edges to the Piiufticai
wind, as is reprefented at EG, fo that the refiftance Mechanics.,
occafioned by the return of the fail muft be greatly di- ~\r—^
miniftied, and the motion will be continued by the
great fuperiority of force exerted upon the fails in the
pofition AI. In computing the force of the wind upon
the fail AI, and the refiftance oppofed to it by the
edges of the flaps in EG, Mr Beatfon finds, that when
the preffure upon the former is 1872 pounds, the re¬
fiftance oppofed by the latter is only about 36 pounds,
°.r tt Part of the whole force ; but he neglects the ac -
tion of the wind upon the arms CA, &c. and the
frames which carry the fails, becaufe they expofe the
fame ftirface in the pofition AI, as in the pofition
EG. This omiflion, however, has a tendency to mif-
lead us in the prefent cafe, as we ftiall now fee, for we
ought to compare the whole force exerted upon the
arms, as well as the fail, with the whole refiftance
which thefe arms and the edges of the flaps oppofe to
the motion of the windmill. By infpe&ing fig. 4. it
will appear, that if the force upon the edges of the flaps,
Which Mr Beatfon fuppofed to be 12 in number,
amounts to 36 pounds, the force fpent upon the bars
CD, DG, GF, FE, &c. cannot be lefs than 60 pounds.
Now, fince thefe bars are a&ed upon with an equal
force, when the fails have the pofition AI, 1872-}-6o
~I932 he the force exerted upon the fail AI, and
its appendages, while the oppofite force upon the bars
and edges of the flaps when returning againft the wind
will be. 36-f 60=96 pounds, which is nearly 0f
*932i inftead of as computed by Mr Beatfon.
Hence wx may fee the probable advantages of a fereen
over moveable flaps, as it will preferve not only the
fails, but the arms and the frame which fupport it
from the aftion of the wind. ’
438.. We fliall now conclude this chapter with aCompari-
comparifon of the power of horizontal and vertical f°ns be-
wind-mills. It was already ftated, that Mr Smeaton ra- twefn ver'
ther underrated the former, while he maintained that Kortonll
they have only ^ or Vg- the power of the latter. He wind-mills,
oblerves, that when the vanes of a horizontal and a ver¬
tical mill are of the fame dimenfions, the power of the
latter is four times that of the former, becaufe, in the
firft cafe, only one fail is a£led upon at once, while, in
the fecond cafe, all the four receive the impulfe of’the
wind. This, however, is not ftri&ly true, fince the
vertical fails are all oblique to the direction of the
wind. Let us fuppofe that the area of each fail is 100
fquare feet j then the power of the horizontarfail will
be 100, and the power of a vertical fail may be
called 100 X fine 700* (70° being the common angle
of inclination) r= 88 nearly j but fince there are four
vertical fails, the power of them all will be 4x88=
352; fo that the powrer of the horizontal fail is to that
of the four vertical ones as 1 to 3.52, and not as 1
to 4, according to Mr Smeaton. 'But Mr Smenton
alfo obferves, that if we confider the farther difadvan-
tage which arifes from the difficulty of getting the fails
back .againft the wind, we need not wonder if horizon¬
tal wind-mills have only about | or ^ the power of
the common fort. We have already feen, that the re¬
fiftance occafioned by the return of the fails, amounts
to of the whole force which they receive j by fub-
tradling —, therefore, from we fliall find that
the
MECHANIC S. 12;
Mechanics, tlie power of horizontal wind-mills is only or lit-
l'‘' v tie more than ^ that of vertical ones. This cal¬
culation proceeds upon a fuppofition, that the whole
force exerted upon vertical fails is employed in turning
them round the axis of motion *, whereas a confiderable
part of this force is loft in preffing the pivot of the axis
or windlhaft againft its gudgeon. Mr Smeaton has
overlooked this circumftance, othervvife he could never
have maintained that the power oi four vertical fails
was quadruple the power of one horizontal fail, the di-
menfions of each being the fame. 1 aking this circum¬
ftance into the account, we cannot be far wrong in fay¬
ing, that in theory at leaft, if not in praftice, the
power of a horizontal wind-mill is about or ^ ot the
power of a vertical one, when the quantity of iurface
and the form of the fails is the fame, and when every
part of the horizontal fails has the fame diftance from
the axis of motion as the correfponding parts of the ver¬
tical fails. But if the horizontal fails have the pofitjon
AI, EG, in fig. 4. inftead of the pofition CA dm,
CD 0 their power will be greatly increafed, though
the quantity of furface is the fame, becauie the part
CP 3 rw being transferred to Bl3*/, has much more
power to turn the fails.
Chap. VIII. On the Conjiruclion of Wheel Car¬
riages.
On the fizc 439- It is evident from Art. 60, that when a wheel
of carnage furmounts an obftacle, it aifts as a lever of the firft kind,
wheels. ancj that its power to overcome fuch refiftances in-
crrxxV creaks w*th its diameter. The power of the force P,
j,-- 6. for example, to raife the wheel NB over the eminence
C, is proportional to the vertical lever FC, which
increafes with the diameter of the wheel, while the
lever of refiftance FA, by which the weight of
the wheel atts, remains unchanged ; hence we fee
the advantages of large wheels for overcoming fuch
obftacles as generally refift the motion of wheel-car¬
riages. There are fome circumftances, however, wdiich,
independent of the additional weight and expence of
large wheels, prefcribe limits to their iize. If the ra¬
dius AC of the wheel exceeds the height of that part
of the horfe to which the traces are attached, the line
oftraftion DA will be oblique to the horizon, and
part of the power P will be employed in prefting the
wheel upon the ground. A wheel exceeding four and
a half feet radius, which is the general diftance from
the ground of that part of the horfe to which the traces
are attached, has ftill the advantage of a fmaller
wheel j hut when we confider that the traces or poles
of the cart will, in this cafe, rub againft the tlanks of
the horfes, fo that the power of the wheel is diminifhed
by the increafe of its weight, we {hall be convinced that
no power is gained by making the radius of the
wheels greater than four and a half feet. Even this
fize is too great, as (hall be afterwards ftiown, when we
treat of the line of traftion, fo that we may fafely af-
fert, that the diameter of wheels fhould never be great¬
er than fix feet. The fore wheels of our carriages are
ftill unaccountably fmall, and it is not uncommon to
fee carts moving upon wheels fcarcely 14 inches in dia¬
meter. The convenience of turning is urged as the rea-
fbn for dimipiftiing the fore wheels of carriages, and
the facility of loading the cart is confidered as a fufti- Practical
cient reafon for ufing wheels fo fmall as 14 inches. Mec'hJlnlcs‘,
The firft of thefe advantages, however, may be obtain¬
ed by going to the end of a ftreet, or to a proper place
for turning the carriage j and a few additional turns of
a vvindlafs will be fuffi-.ient to convey the heavieft loads
into carts mounted on high wheels.
440. The next thing to be determined is the fnape
of the wheels. Now it is certainly a matter of furprife
how the unnatural (hape which is at prefent given to
them could ever have been brought into ufe. A cy¬
lindrical wheel, with the fpokes perpendicular to the
naves, is undoubtedly the form which every mechanic
would give to his wheels, before he had heard of the
pretended advantages of concave or diihing wheels, or
thofe which have inclined fpokes and conical rims. It
has been alleged, indeed, that the form reprefented in
fig. 5. when A r, B j is the conical rim, and 0 A, /> B
the inclined fpokes, renders the wheel ftronger than it
would otherwiie be ; that by extending the bale of the
carriage it prevents it from being overturned *, that it ^
hinders the fellies from rubbing againft the load or the
fides of the cart j and that when one wheel falls into a
rut, and therefore fupports more than one half of the
load, the fpakes are brought into a vertical pofition,
which renders them more capable of fuftaining the ad¬
ditional weight. Now it is evident that the fecond of
thefe advantages is very trifling, and may be obtained,
when required, by interpofing a piece of board between
the wheel and the load.
441. The other two advantages exift only in very
bad roads; and if they are neceffary, which we much
queftion, in a country like this, where the roads are fo
excellently made and fo regularly repaired, they can
eafily be procured, by making the axle-tree a few inches
longer, and increafing the ftrength of the fpokes. But
it is allowed on all hands that perpendicular fpokes are
preferable on level ground. I he inclination of the
fpokes therefore, which renders concave wheels advan¬
tageous in rugged and unequal roads, renders them dif-
advantageous ■when the roads are in good order j and
where the good roads are more numerous than the bad
ones, as they certainly are in this country, the difad-
vantages of concave wheels mutt overbalance their
advantages. It is true indeed that in concave wheels,,
the fpokes are in their ftrongeft pofition, when they are
expoied to the fevereft {trains, that is, when one wheel is
in a deep rut, and fuftains more than one half of the
load : but it is equally true that on level ground, wher?
the fpokes are in their weakeft pofition, a lets feverc
{train, by continuing for a much longer time, may be
equally if not more detrimental to the wheel.
Upon thefe obfervations, we might reft the opi¬
nion which we have been maintaining, and appeal for its
truth to the judgement of every intelligent and unbiaf-
fed mind j but we fliall go a ftep farther, and endeavour
to (how that concave diihing wheels are more ex pen-
five, more injurious to the roads, more liable to be
broken by accidents, and lefs durable in general, than
thofe wheels in which the fpokes are perpendicular to
the naves. By Impeding fig. 5. it will appear that the
whole of the preffure which the wheel AB fuftains is
exerted along the inclined fpoke fis, and therefore a&s
obliquely upon the level ground «D, whether the rims
are conical or cylindrical. This oblique a£tion muft
neceffarilyy
J 25
M E e H A N I C S.
Pra^slcs.s neceflarlly injure the roads, by loofening the ftones more
V j. between B end I) than between B and ?/, and if the
load were fufficiently great, the ftones would ftart up
between s and D. The texture of the roads, indeed,
is fufficiently firm to prevent this from taking place ;
but in consequence of the oblique preffure, the ftones
between r and I) will at lead be loofened, and by ad¬
mitting the rain the whole sf the road will be materially
damaged. But when the fpokes are perpendicular to the
nave as fin, and when the rims mA, are cylindrical,
or parallel to the ground, the weight fuftained by the
wheel will aft perpendicularly upon the road; and how¬
ever much that weight is increafed, its action can have
no tendency to derange the materials of which it is
compofed, but is rather calculated to confolidate them,
and render the road more firm and durable.
442. It vvas obferved that concave wheels are more
expenfive than plane ones. This additional expence
arifes from the greater quantity of wood and workman-
ihip which the former require; for in order that difhing
wheels may be of the fame perpendicular height as
plane ones, the fpokes of the former muft exceed in
length thofe of the latter, as much as the hypothenufe
s'A of the triangle oAn exceeds the fide and there¬
fore the weight and the refiftance of fuch wheels rauft
be proportionably great. The inclined fpokes, too,
cannot be formed nor inferted with fuch facility as per¬
pendicular ones. The extremity of the fpoke which is
fixed jnto^ the nave is inferted at right angles to it, in
the direftion ofi, and if the rims are cylindrical, the
other fpoke fliould be inferted in a fimilar manner;
while the intermediate portion has an inclined pofition.
There are therefore two flexures or bendings in the
fpokes of concave wheels, which requires them to be
formed out of a larger piece of wood, than if they had
no fuch flexures, and render them liable to be broken
by any fudden ftrain at the points of flexure.
443* fhall now dilmifs the fubjeft of concave
wheels with one obfervation more, and we beg the reader’s
attention t6 it, becaufe it appears to be decifive of the
queftlon. 1 he obftacles which carriages have to
encounter, are almoft never fpherical protuberances that
permit the elevated wheel to refume by degrees its hori¬
zontal pofition. I hey are generally of fuch a nature,
that the wheel is inftantaneoufly precipitated from their
top to the level ground. Now the momentum with
which the wheel ftrikes the ground is very great, arifing
frOt.i a fucceflive accumulation of force. The velocitv
Oi .lie elevated wheel is confiderable when it reaches
the top of the eminence, and while it is tumbling
into the level ground, it is receiving gradually that
propoition of the load which was transferred to the
other wheel, till having recovered the whole, it impin¬
ges againft the ground with great velocity and force.
But in concave wheels the fpoke which then ftrikes the
ground, is in its weakeft pofition, and therefore much
more liable to be broken by the impetus of the fall,
than the fpok.es of the lovveft wheel by the mere tranf-
ference of additional weight. Whereas, if the fpokes
be perpendicular to the nave, they receive this fudden
ftiock in their flrongeft pollution, and are in no danger
of giving way to the firain.
444. In the preceding obferrations we have fuppo-
led the rims of the wheels to be cylindrical. In con¬
cave wheels, however, the rims are uniformly made of Practical
a conical form, as Ar, B r, fig. 5. which not only in- Mechanics,
creafes the difadvantages which we have aferibed to ""’“’■v'—**-
them, but adds many more to the number. Mr Gum¬
ming, in a late Treat!ie on Wheel Carriages, foiely
devoted to the confideration of this fingle point, has
ftiewn with great ability the difadvantages of conical
rims, and the propriety of making theni cylindrical ;
but we are of opinion that he has aferibed to conical rims
feveral difadvantages which arife chiefly from an inclina¬
tion of the fpokes. He inlifts much upon the injury
done to the roads by the ule of conical rirns; yet though
we are convinced that they are more injurious to pave¬
ments and highways than cylindrical rims, we are
equally convinced, that this injury is occafiored chiefly
by the oblique preffure of the inclined fpokes. The
defects of conical rims are fo numerous and palpable,
that it is wonderful how they lliould have been fo long
overlooked. Every cone that is put in motion upon a
plane Surface will revolve round its vertex, and if force
is employed to confine it to a ftraight line, the fmaller
parts of the cone will be dragged along the ground and
the friftion greatly increafed. Now when a carriage
moves upon conical wheels, one part of the cone rolls
while the other is dragged along, and though confined
to a reftilineal direftion by external force, their natural
tendency to revolve round their vertex occafions a great
and continued friftion upon the linch pin, the ftioulder
of the axle-tree, and the fides of deep ruts.
445. The ftiape of the wheels being thus determined,
we muft now attend to fome particular parts of their
conftruftion. The iron plates of which the rims are
compofed ftiould never be lefs than three inches in
breadth, as narrow rims fink deep into the ground, and
therefore injure the roads and fatigue the horfes. Mr
Walker, indeed, attempts to throw ridicule upon the
aft of parliament which enjoined the ufe of broad wheels;
but he does not afiign any fufficient reafon for his opi¬
nion, and ought to have known that feveral excellent
and well devifed experiments were lately inftituted by
Boulard and Margueron, which evince in the moft fatif-
faftory manner the great utility of broad wheels.
Upon this fubjeft an obfervation occurs to us, which has
not been generally attended to, and which appears to
remove all the objeftions which can be urged againft
broad rims. When any load is fupported upon two
points, each point fupports one half of the weight; if
the points are increaled to four, each will fuftain one
fourth of the load, and fo on ; the preffure upon each
point of fupport diminiffiing as the number of points
increafes. If a weight therefore is fupported by a
broad furfoce, the points of fupport are infinite in num¬
ber, and each of them will bear an infinitely fmall por¬
tion of the load ; and, in the fame way, every finite
portion of this furface will fuftain a part of the weight
inverfely proportional to the number of fimilar portions
which the furface contaius. Let us now fuppofe that a
cart carrying a load of fixteen hundred weight is fup¬
ported upon wheels whofe rims ars four inches in
breadth, and that one of the wheels paffes over four
ftones, each of them an inch broad and equally high, and
capable of being pulverized only by a preffure of four
hundred pounds weight. Then as each wheelTuftains
one half of the load, and as the wheel which paffes
over
3
MECHANICS.
- "Wl over the ftones has four points of fupport, each ftone
M- . ; . ■ will bear a weight of two hundred weight, and there-
' fore will not be broken. But if the fame cart, with
rims only two inches in breadth, Pnould pafs the lame
way, it will cover only two of the Hones; and the
wheel having now only twro points of lupport, each
ftone will be prelTed with a weight of four hundred
weight, and will therefore be reduced to powder.
Hence we may infer that narrow wheels are in another
" point of view injurious to the roads, by pulverizing the
materials of which they are compofed.
446. As the rims of wheels wear fooneft at their
edges, they Ihould be made thinner in the middle, and
ought to be faftened to the fellies with nails of fuch a
kind that their heads may not rife above the furface of
the rims. In fome military waggons w7e have (een^ the
heads of thefe nails rifing an inch above the rims, which
not only deftroys the pavements of ftreets, but oppofes
a continual refiftance to the motion of the wheel. It
thefe nails were eight in number, the wheel would ex¬
perience the fame refiftance, as if it had to furmount
eight obftacles, one inch high, during every revolution.
The fellies on which the rims are fixed Ihould in carria¬
ges be three inches and a fourth deep, and in waggons
four inches. The naves thould be thickeft at the place
where the fpokes are inferted ; and the holes in which
the fpokes are placed fhould not be bored quite through,
as the greafe upon the axle-tree would infinuate itlelf
between the fpoke and the naves, and prevent that
clofe adhefion which is neceffary to the ftrength of the
wheel.
On the Pqfition of the Wheels.
447. It muft naturally occur to every perfon refleft-
ing upon this fubjedt, that the axle-trees Ihould ^ be
ftraight and the wheels perfedlly parallel, fo that they
may not be wider at their higheft than at their loweft
point, whether they are of a conical or a cylindiical
form. In this country, however, the wheels are always
made concave, and the ends of the axle-trees are uni-
verfally bent downwards, in order to make them Ipread
at the top and approach nearer below. In fome car¬
riages which we have examined, where the wheels
were only four feet fix inches in diameter, the difiance
of the wheels at top was fully fix feet, and their diftance
below only four feet eight inches. By this foolilh
pradtice the very advantages which may be derived ±rom
the concavity of the wheels are completely taken away,
while many of the difadvantages remain ; more room
is taken np in the coach-houfe, and the carriage is
more liable to be overturned by the contraction or its
bafe.
448. With fome mechanics it is a pradice to bend
the ends of the axle-trees forwards, and thus maKe the
wheels wider behind than before. This blunder has
been ftrenuoufly defended by ?vlr Henry Leighton,
who maintains that wheels in this pofition are more
favourable for turning, fince, when the wheels aie paral¬
lel, the outermoft when turning would prefs againft the
linch pin,'and the innermoft would reft againft the
Ihoulder of the axle-tree. In redlilineal motions, how¬
ever, thefe converging wheels engender a great deal of
fridtion both on the axle and the ground, and
muft therefore be more difadvantageous than parallel
ones.
On the Line of Ttnclion, end the Method by which Mechanics.
Horfes exert their frength. ■—'
' 449. M. Camus attempted to (hew that the line of trac¬
tion ihould always be parallel to the ground on which
the carriage is moving, both becauie the horfs can
exert his greateft ftrength in this ciredtion, and becauie
the line of draught being perpendicular to the vertical
fpoke of the wheel, afts with the largeft poffible lever.
M. Couplet, however, confidering that the roads are
never perfedlly level, and that the wneels are conitant-
ly furmounting fmall eminences even in the beft of
roads, recommends the line of traflion to be oblique
to the horizon. By this means the line of draught
HA, (which is by far too much inclined in the figure) Fig. <?.
will in general be perpendicular to the lever AC
which mounts the eminence, and will therefore act
with the longeft lever when there is the greateft necef-
fity for it. We ought to confider alio, that when a
horfe pulls hard againft any load, he always brings his
breaft nearer the ground, and therefore it follows, that
if a horizontal line of tradlion is preferable to all others,
the direction of the traces (hould be inclined to the ho¬
rizon when the horfe is at reft, in order that it may be
horizontal when he lowers his breaft and exerts his ut-
moft force. T. he particular manner, however, in
which living agents exert their ftrength againft greati
loads, feems to have been unknowm botn to Camus and.
Couplet, and to many fucceeding writers upon this
fubjeCt. It is to M. Deparcieux, an excellent philo-
fopher and ingenious mechanic, that we are indebted
for the only accurate information with which we are
furniftied ; and we are forry to fee that philofophers
who flouriftied after him have overlooked his important
inftruClions. In his memoir on the draught of horfes
he has (hewn in the moft fatisfaClory manner, that ani¬
mals draw by their weight, and not by the. force of
their mufcles. In four-footed animals, the hinder feet
is the fulcrum of the lever by which their weight aCts
againft the load, and when the animal pulls hard, it
depreffes its cheft and thus increafes the lever of its
weight, and diminifties the lever by which the load re-
fifts^its efforts- Thus, in fig. 6. let P be the load, AD
the line of tradion, and let us fuppofe bC to be the
hinder leg of the horfe, and AE part of its body, A
its cheft or centre of gravity, and CE the level road.
Then AFC will reprefent the crooked lever by which
the horfe aCls, which is equivalent to the ftraight one
AC. But when the horfe’s weight aCts downwards at
A, fo as to drag forward the rope AD and raife the
load P, CE will reprefent the power of the lever in
this pofition, or the lever of the horfe’s weight, and
CF the lever by which it is refifted by the load, or
the lever of refiftance. Now if the horfe lowers its
centre of gravity A., which it always docs when it
pulls hard, it is evident that CE, the lever of its weight,
will be increafed, while CF the lever of its refiftance
will be diminfthed, for the line of traaion AD will
approach nearer to CE. Hence we fee tne great
benefit which may be derived from large horfes ; for
the lever AC neceffarily increafes with their fize, and
their power is always proportioned to the lengtn ot
this lever, their weight remaining the fame. Barge
horfes, therefore, and other animals, will draw more
than fmall ones, even though they have lefs mufcular
force, „
*28 - M E C H
Practical force, and are unable to ’carry fuch a heavy burden.
1- 1 he force of the mufcles tends only to make the horfe
carry continually forward his centre of gravity, or, in
other words, the weight of the animal produces the
draught, and the play and force of its mufcles 1'erve to
continue it.
450. From thefe remarks, then, we may deduce the
proper pofition of the line of tradlion. When the line
of traftion is horizontal, as AD, the lever of refiftance
is CF; but if this line is oblique to the horizon, as
A </, the lever of refiftance is diminiftied to while
the lever of the horfe’s weight always remains the fame.
Hence it appears, that inclined traces are much more
advantageous than horizontal ones, as they uniformly
diminifh the refiftance to be overcome. Deparcieux,
however, has inveftigated experimentally the moft fa¬
vourable angle of inclination, and found, that when the
angle DAF made by the trace At/ and a horizontal
line is fourteen or fifteen degrees, the horfes pulled
with the greateft facility and force. This value of the
angle of draught will require the weight of the fpring-
tree bar, to which the traces are attached in four-wheel¬
ed carriages, to be one-half of the height of that part of
the horfe’s breaft to which the fore end of the traces is
conneifted.
451. W hen feveral horfes are yoked in the fame carriage
as reprefented in fig. 7. and when the declivity changes,
the length of the traces has a confiderable influence
upon the draught. From the point E where the traces
are faftened to the horfe next the load, draw ER to the
fame point in the fecond horfe R, and let R' be another
pofition of the fecond horfe j it is required to find the
difference of effedt that will be produced by placing
the fecond horfe at R or at R', or the comparative ad¬
vantages of ihort and long traces. From R', the point
where the traces are fixed, draw R'F'E; and from E draw
Y.mn parallel to the declivity DA. Take EF—EF'
to reprefent the power of the horfe in the diredlion of
the traces, wEich will be the fame whether he is yoked
at R or at R' 5 draw EA perpendicular to DA, F «,
F' wz parallel to EA, and F <p, F'/ parallel to E w.
Then fince the fecond horfe when at R pulls with a
force reprefented by FE, in the diredlion FE, we
may refolve this force into the two forces E E <p,
one of which E « is folely employed in dragging the
cart up the inclined plane DA, while the other E <p is
folely employed in prefling the firft horfe E to the
ground. Let the horfe be now removed from R to R',
the diredtion of the traces becomes RF'E, and F'E=:
FE is the power exerted by the horfe at R' and the di¬
rection in which it is exerted. Rut this force is equi¬
valent to the forces E m, £/, the firft of which adts
diredtiy againft the load, wEile the other prefles the
horfe againft the ground. Hence we fee the difad-
vantages of long traces, for the force which draws
the load when the horfe is at R' is to the force when
the horfe is at R, as E m to E n, and the forces which
prefs the horfe upon the ground as Ey to E ip, or as
F' »z to F n. Now E ip—F /?—FE xfin. n EF ; hence
E<p=FExfin. (n P.g'—FEy) [g* E being parallel
to AB'), and E «—EFxcof. (n Eg'—FE/). In like
manner we have E/—FExfm. (« £ g'—F'E/), and
Em=EFXcof. (« E/_F'E/). Now fin. FEg'==
Jin. FEf=||, and fin. but %
A N I C S.
=R'/=BR—EQrrBR—BRxcof. n E /=BRx Practical
(1—-cof. « E/). By fubftituting this value in the e-Mechamct.
quations w’hich contain the values of E(p, Ew, Kf, Ern,' 7 J
and confidering that the angles FE/, F'E/are al¬
ways fo fmall that their arcs differ very little from their
fines, wye have FE g~
BR x * —cof. n E^g,
“ ER
, and
jvf pr BR x 1 col, n Eff
* ER'
By fubftituting thefe values in the preceding equations,
we have
E
ip~EFXflu. (u Eg-
BR x 1—col. n Eg
ER ’
E/wrrEFxfin* (» Eg-
BR x 1—cof. « E^g
£r7— ’
  tt* T? r r T* 33R X 1—cof. 71 Ei P'
«=EFxcof. (« E^ — ER 
ir tr-c' . r /• r- BR X 1— ol. « E g4
E »/= EF X cof. (« E g   —.
±L,K
If AB is horizontal, and the declivity AD=r^, we ftiall
have n Eg~of 28', or in parts of the radiusrro.16522,
and cof. n E^zro.98638. Ihen, if EF~2CO pounds,
BR=3i feet, ER=r8 feet, ER'=ri2 feet, then w^e
ftiall have from the preceding formulae, E 9=31.716
pounds, E/=:32.350 pounds, Ewzr^^o pounds, and
Ezra—197.404. Hence an additional length of four feet
to traces eight feet long, prefles the horfe E to the
ground with an additional force of 32.250—31.716
—°*534 pounds, an.i diminifhes the effect of the other
horfe by 0.066 pounds.
On the Pojttion of the Centre of Gravity, and the man¬
ner of difpojing the load.
452. If the axle tree of a two-wheeled carriage pafs
through the centre of gravity of the load, the carriage
will be in equilibrio in every pofition in which it can be
placed with refpect to the axle-tree j and in going up and
down hill the whole load will be fuftained by the wheels,
and will have no tendency either to preis the horfe
to the ground or to raife him from it. But if the cen¬
tre of gravity is above the axle-tree, as it muft neceffarily
be, according to the prefent conftrudtion of wheel-car¬
riages, a great part of the load will be thrown on the
back of the horfes from the wheels when going down a
fteep road, and thus tend to accelerate the motion of
the carriage which the animal is driving to prevent:
while, in afcending fteep roads, a part of the load will
be thrown behind the wheels, and tend to raife the
horfe from the ground, when there is the greateft ne-
ceflity for fome weight on his back to enable him to
fix his feet in the earth, and overcome the great refift¬
ance which is occafioned by the fteepnefs of the road.
On the contrary, if the centre of gravity is below the
axle, the horfe will be preffed to the ground in going
up hill, and lifted from it when going down. In all
thefe cafes, therefore, where the centre of gravity is
either on the axle-tree or diredtiy above it or below,
the
MECHANIC S. 129
Practical the horfe will bear no part of the load in level ground.
Mechanics. jn fome fituations the animal y'ill be lifted from the
ground when there is the greateft neceffity for his being
prefled to it, and he will fometimes bear a great pro¬
portion of the load when he flrould rather be relieved
of it. 4 • rr
453. The only way of remedying thefe evils, is to aflign
fuch a pofition to the centre of gravity, that the horfe
may bear fome portion of the weight when he muft
exert great force againft the load, that is, in level
ground, and when he is afeending deep roads ^ for no
animal can pull with its greateft effort unlefs it is prel-
fed to the ground.—Now this may be in fome rneafuie
Plate effefted in the following manner. Let BCN be the
CCCXXV. wheel of a cart, AD one of the {hafts, D that part of
S' it wheie the cart is fufpended on the back of the horfe,
and A the axle-tree ; then, if the centre of gravity of
the load is placed at m, a point equidiftant from the two
Wheels, but below the line DA, and before the axle-
tree, the horfe will bear a certain weight on level
ground,—a greater weight when he is going up hill
and has more occafion for it, and lefs weight when he
is going down hill, and does not require to be prefftd
to the ground 1 All this will be evident from the fi¬
gure.—When we recoiled that the (haft DA is horizon¬
tal, the centre of gravity will prefs more upon the point
of fufpenfion D the nearer it comes to it, or the preffure
upon D, or the horfe’s back, will be proportional to
the diftance of the centre of gravity from A. If w,
therefore, be the centre of gravity, b A wall reprefent
its preffure upon D, when the ftiaft DA is horizontal.
When the cart is afeending a fteep road, AH will be
the pofition of the {haft, the centre of gravity u ill be
raifed to a, and a A will be the preffure upon D. But
if the cart is going down hill, AC will be the polition
of the (haft, the centre of gravity will be depreffed to
», and c A will reprefent the preffure upon the horfe’s
back. The weight fuftained by the horfe, therefore,
is properly regulated b> placing the centre of gra¬
vity at m. We have ftill, however, to determine the
proper length oi b a and b m, the diftance of the cen-
* tre of gravity from the axle, and from the horizontal
line DA ; but as thefe depend upon the nature and
inclination of the roads, upon the length o* the {halt
DA, which depends on the fize of the horfe, on the
magnitude of the load, and on other variable circum-
ilances, it would be impoflible to fix their value. If
the load, along with the cart, weighs 400 pounds ; if
the diftance DA be eight feet, and if the horie fhould
bear 50 pounds of the weight, then b A fliould be one
foot, which, being one-eighth of DA, will make the
preffure upon D exa&ly 50 pounds. If the road flopes
four inches in a foot, bm muft be four inches, or the
angle b Am ftrould be equal to the inclination of the
road ; for then the point m will rife to « when amend¬
ing fuch a road, and will prefs with its greateft force
on the back of the horfe.
454* When carts are not made in this manner,
we may, in fome degree, obtain the fame end by judi-
dioufly difpofing the load. Let us fuppofe that—t ie
centre of gravity ic at O when the cart is. loaded wit a
homogeneous materials, fuch as fand, lime, c-c. tien
if the load is to confift of heterogeneous fubftances,_ or
bodies of different weights, we ftiould place the heavltft
at the bottom and neareft the front, which will not on-
• Vol. XIII. Part I.
ly lower the point 0, but will bring it forward, and Praaical
nearer the proper pofition m. Part of the load, too, .
might be fufpended below the fore part of the carriage
in dry weather, and the centre of gravity would ap¬
proach ftill nearer the point m. When the point m is
thus depreffed, the weight on the horfe is not only ju-
dicioufly regulated, but the cart would be prevented
from overturning j and in rugged roads the weight lul-
tained by each wheel would be in a great degree equs-
lifed.
Defeription of different Carriages.
455. In figure 8. is reprefented a carriage invented by Carriages
Mr Richard, a phyfician in Rochelle, which moves th.a^ve
without horfes, merely by the exertion of the paffengers.
The machinery by which this is effe&ed is placed in a plg. g.
box behind the carriage, and is fhewn in figure 9.
where A A is a fmall axis fixed into the box, and B a
pulley over which a rope paffes whofe two extremities
are tied to the ends of the levers ortreddles C, D : the
other ends of the levers are fixed by joints to the crofs ‘S' 9' •
beam MN. The cranks FF are fixed to the axle K.L,
and move upon it as a centre. Each of them has a detent
tooth at F which catches in the teeth of the wheels H, H,
fo that they can move from F to H without moving the
wheel, but the detent tooth catches in the teeth of
the wheels when the cranks are brought backward, and
therefore bring the wheel along with them. WFen
the foot of the paffenger, therefore, is placed upon the
treddle D, it brings down the crank F and along with
it the wheel H, fo that the large wheels fixed on the
fame axis perform part of a revolution ; but when D is
depreffed, the rope DA defcer.d'., the extremity C ot the
other treddle rifes, and the crank F riling along with
it, takes into the teeth of the wheel H, to that when the
elevated treddle C is depreffed, the wheels H, H, and
confequently the wheels I, I perform another part of a
revolution. In this way, by continuing to work at the
treddles, the machine advances with a regular pace.
436. A carriage of this kind, wheie tb- meet; mu fin :s
much more fimple and beautilul than that which we
have deferibed, has been lately invented and conftrud-
ed by Mr Na'myth of Edinburgh, a gentleman whofe
mechanical genius is fcarcely inferior to his talents as a
painter. The pulley B and axle A A, are rendered un-
neceffary ; leather itraps are fubftituted in place of the
cranks F, F, and the whole mechanifm is contained in
two final) cyclindrical boxes about fix inches in dia¬
meter, and one and a hall broad. _ _ .
437. A carriage driven by the adion of the wind is Fig* ie.
exhibited in fig. 10 It is fixed on four wheels, and mo-’
ved by the impulfe of the wind upon the fails C, D,
being guided by the rudder E. Carriages of this kind
will aniwer very well in a level country where the roads
are good and the wind fair \ and are laid to be much
ufed in China. In Holland they fometimes ufe fimilar
vehicles for travelling upon the ice ; but they have a
{ledge inftead of wheels, fo that if the ice ftiould happen
to break, there will be no danger of finking. Stephirius,
a Dutchman is faid to have conftruded one of thefe
carriages wuth wheels, wThich travelled at the rate of 21
miles-an hour with a very ftreng wind.^
458. The carriage reprefented in fig. II. is made Fig. n,
fo as to fail againft the wind by means of the fpiral fails
i
I 30
otiou E, F, G, H, one of which F is expanded by the wind.
Machines ^ *le *mPu^£ t^e wind upon the fails gives a rotatory
1 ^motion to the axle M, furndhed with a cog-wheel K,
w'hofe trundles ad; upon teeth placed oa the infrde of
the fore-wheels.
Fi®'. ra. 459- A carriage which cannot be overturned is repre-
fented in figure 1 2. where AB is the body of the carriage,
confining of a hollow globe, made of leather or wood,
the bottom of which is placed an immoveable weight
M E C H A N I C S.
proportioned to. the load which the carriage is to Defuiptwn
bear. Two horizontal circles of iron D, E connected
with bars HI, and two vertical circles F, G, furround iVIach^es.
the globe 5 and the wheels are fattened by a handle K   
to the perpendicular bars HI. Then fince the body ^ I3‘
of the carriage moves freely in every cjiredion within
the iron circles, the centre of gravity will always be
near C, and the carriage will preferve an upright po-
fidon even if the wheels and frame were overturned.
PART III. DESCRIPTION OF MACHINES.
Atwood’s
oiachine,
Plate
ccexxvr.
Fur. i. ?. 3
See.
Chip. I. Machines which illujirate the doctrines of
Mechanics^ or are connected with them.
I. Atwood's Machine.
4f)0. THE ingenious machine invented by Mr Atwood
for illultrating the dodrines of accelerated and retarded
motion, is reprefented in figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and en¬
ables us to difeover, 1. The quantity of matter mo-
veT 2..The moving force. 3. The fpa.ee defer!bed.
4. The time of defeription j and 5. The velocity ac¬
quired at the end of that time.
461. 1. Of the quantity of matter moved.—In order to
obferve the effeds of the moving force, which is the ob-
jed of any experiment, the interference of all other
forces fhould be prevented : the quantity of matter
moved, therefore, confidering it before any impellin j
force has been applied, fliould be without weight ; for
though it be impoinble to abftrad weight from anv
Tig. r. fubltance whatever, yet it may be fo counteraded as
to produce no feniible effed. Thus in the machine
fig. 1. A, B reprefent two equal weights affixed to
the extremities of a very fine filk thread : this thread is
ftretched over a wheel or fixed pulley abed, move¬
able round a horizontal axis: the two weights A,B
being equal and ading againft each other, remain in
equilibrio 5 and when the leaft weight is fuperadded
to either (fetting afide the effeds of fridion), it will
preponderate. When A, B are fet in motion by the
adion of any weight m, the fum A-fB-fw, would
coufhtute the whole mats moved, but for the inertia
of the materials, which muff neceffarily be ufed in the
communication of motion. Thefe materials confifl of,
2. 'i he wheel abed, over which the thread fudaining
A and B paffes. 2. I he four tridion wheels on which
the axle of the wheel abed reffs. 3. The thread by
which the bodies A and B are conneded, fo as when
fet in motion to move with equal velocities. The
weight and inertia of the thread are too frnall to have
any fenfible effed on the exoeriments ; but the inertia
of the other materials conftitute a confiderable propor¬
tion of the mafs moved, and mull therefore he taken
into account. Since when A and B are put in mo¬
tion, they muff move with a velocity equal.to that of the
circumference of the wheel abed to which the thread
is applied j it follows, that if the whole mafs of the
wheels were accumulated in this circumference, its in¬
ertia would be truly eftimated by the quantity of mat¬
ter moved ; but fince the parts of the wheels move
vyith different velocities, their effeds in refilling the
communication of motion to A and B by their inertia
will be different ; thofe parts which are* furthell from
the axis refilling more than thole which revolve nearer
in a duplicate proportion of thofe diilances, (fee Rota¬
tion). If the figures of the wheels were regular, the
didances of their centres of gyration from their axes of
motion would be given, and confequently an equivalent
w-eigNht, which being accumulated uniformly in the
circumference abed, would exert an inertia equal to
that of the wheels in their conllruded form, would alfo
be given. But as the figures are irregular, recourfe
mult be had to experiment, to affign that quantity of
matter, which being accumulated uniformly hr the cir¬
cumference of the wheel abed, would refill the com¬
munication of motion to A in the fame manner as th©
wheels.
In order to afeertain the inertia of the wheel abed,
with .that of the fridion wheels, the weights AB being
removed, the following experiment was made :
. A wight of 30 grains was affixed to a filk thread of
mconliderable weight 5 this thread being wound round
the wheel abed, the weight 30 grains by defeend-
ing from red communicated motion to the wheel
and by many trials was obferved to deferibe a fpace of
about 38-j inches in 3 feconds. From thefe data the
equivalent mafs or inertia of the wheels will be known
from this rule.
Let n weight P, fig. 2. be applied to communicate
motion to a fyftem of bodies by means of a very flenderFi£-
and flexible thread going round the wheel SLDiM
tnrough the centre of which the axis paffes (G beincr’
the common centre of gravity, R the centre of gravity
or tne matter contained in this line, and O the centre
of olcillation). Let this weight delcend from red
through any convenient fpace r inches, and let the ob-
ferved time of its defeent be t feconds 5 then if / be the
[pace through which bodies defeend. freely by gravity
in one fecond, the equivalent weight fought =
WxSRxSO P X /V
SD1 “ ^ “P*
Here we have />—30 grains, r-3 feconds, l~ 193
P X — P— 30X9X193
inches, r—38.5 inches j and
385
30—1323 grams, or 2| ounces.
This is the inertia equivalent to that of the wheel
aoed, and the friclion wheels together: for the rule
extends to. the edimation of the inertia of the mafs
contained in all the wheels.
The refida.nce to motion therefore arifing from the
wheel’s inertia, will be the fame as if they were cblo--•
fplutely
\
\
MECHANICS.
r3*
Defcrtpuon lately reitioved, and a mafs of 2|- ounces uniform-
c'f. ly accumulated in the circumference of the wheel
‘Machines. a c 'J'his being premifed, let the boxes A and B
be replaced, being fufpended by the filk thread over
the wheel or pulley abed, and balancing each other :
fuppofe that any weight m be added to A fo that it
fhall defeend, the exaft quantity of matter moved, dur¬
ing the defeent of the weight A, will be afeertained,
for the whole mafs will be A-f-B-f-t*-}-2oz.
In order to avoid trouhlelbme computations in ad-
jufting the quantities of matter moved and the moving
forces, feme determinate weight of convenient magni¬
tude may be affumed as a standard, to which all the
ethers are referred. This ftandard weight in the fub-
fequent experiments is ^ of an ounce, and is reprefent-
ed by the letter m. The inertia of the wheels being
therefore ounces, will be denoted by 11 A
and B are two boxes conftrudted fo as to contain differ¬
ent quantities of matter, according as the experiment
may require them to be varied : the weight of each
box, including the hook to which it is fufpended,
mi oz. or according to the preceding eftimation,
the weight of each box will be denoted by 6 m ; thefe
^ boxes contain fuch weights as are reprefented by fig. 3.
each of which weighs an ounce, fo as to be equiva¬
lent to 4 w-, other weights of \~m, and
aliquot parts of my fuch as may be a!fo in¬
cluded in the boxes, according to the conditions of the
different experiments hereafter deferibed.
If 4^ oz. or 19 m, be included in either box, this
with the weight of the box itfelf will be 2577* •, fo that
when the weights A and B, each being 25 m, are ba¬
lanced in the manner above repvefented, their whole
mafs will be 30 m, which being added to the inertia of
the wheels 11 m, the fum will be 61 m. Moreover,
three circular weights, fuch as that which is repre¬
fented at fig. 4. are conflrufted ; each of which oz.
of vi : if one of thefe be added to A and one to B, the
wrhole mafs will now become 63 m, perfectly in equili-
brio, and moveable by the leaf! weight added to either
(fetting afide the effeiffs of friftion), in the fame manner
precifely as if the fame weight or force were applied to
communicate motion to the mafs 63 m, exifling in free
fpace and without gravity.
462. 2. The moving force. Since the wTeight of any
fubftance is conftant, and the exafl quantity of it cafily
eflimated, it will be convenient here to apply a weight
to the mafs A as a moving force : thus, when the fyf-
tem confifls of a mafs according to the preced¬
ing defeription, the w’hole being perfectly balanced, let
%• 5* a weight ^ oz. or m, fuch as is reprefented in fig. 5. be
applied on the mafs A 5 this wall communicate motion
to the whole fyflem ; by adding a quantity of matter
tn to the former mafs 63 m, the w'hole quantity of mat¬
ter moved will now' become 64/775 and the moving
force being ~m, this will give the force which accel¬
erates the defeent of K—-—-—, or ~ part of the acce-
64772 ^64
lerating force of gravity.
By the preceding conftruflion, the moving force
may be altered without altering the mafs moved ; for
fuppofe the three weights m, twro of which are placed
on and one on B, to be removed, then will A ba¬
lance B. If the weights 3 m be all placed on A, the
moving force will become 3 77/, and the mafs moved Defcriptiofa
64772 as before, and the force which accelerates the dc- jVTalj1;re3
3 m _ 3
parts of the force by which gra-
feent of A-   ^
64 772 64
vity accelerates falling bodies.
Suppofe it were required to make the moving force
2 772, the mafs moved continuing the fame. Let the
three weights, each of which = 7/2, be removed 5 A
and B wall balance each other 5 and the whole mafs
will be 6 x 772: let \tn, fig. 5. be added to A, and •jTTzFig. 5.
to B, the equilibrium will be preferved, and the mafs
moved will be 62 m 5 now let 2 772 be added to A, the
moving force will be 2/77, and the mafs moved 64772 as
before ; wherefore the force of acceleration Part
of the acceleration of gravity. Thefe alterations in the
moving force may be eafily made in the more elemen¬
tary experiments, there being no necefiity for alter¬
ing the contents of the boxes A and B : but the pro¬
portion and abfolute quantities of the moving force and
mafs moved, may be of any affigned magnitude, ac¬
cording to the conditions of the propofition to be illuf-
trated.
463. 3. Of the [pace deferibed. The body A, fig. 1. pjg. It
defeends in a vertical line 5 and a fcale about 64 inches
in length divided into inches and tenths of an inch is
adjufted vertical, and fo placed that the defeending
weight A may fall in the middle of a fquare ilage, fixed
to receive it at the end of the defeent : the beginning
of the defeent is eftimated from o on the fcale, when
the bottom of the box A is on a level with o. The de¬
feent of A is terminated when the bottom of the box
ftrikes the dage, which may be fixed at different diftan-
ces from the point o 5 fo that by altering the pofition of
the fidge, the fpace deferibed from reft may be of any
given magnitude lefs than 64 inches.
464. 4. The tune of defeription is obferved by a pendu¬
lum, vibrating feconds 5 and the experiments intended to
iliuftrate the elementary propofitions, may eafily be fo
conftruffed that the time of motion (hall be a whole
number of feconds. The eftimation of the time, there¬
fore, admits of confiderable exactnefs, provided the ob-
ferver takes care to let the bottom of the box A begin
its defeent precifely at any beat of the pendulum 5 then
the coincidence of the itroke of the box againft the
ftage, and the beat of the pendulum at the end of the
time of motion, wall (how how nearly the experiment
and the theory agree. There might be various devices
for letting the weight A begin its defeent at the infianp
of a beat of the pendulum W 5 for inftance, let the
bottom of the box A, when at o on the fcale, reft on a
flat rod, held in the hand horizontally ; its extremity
being coincident with o, by attending to the beats of
the pendulum 5 and with a little practice, the rod which
fupports the hex A may be removed at the moment the
pendulum beats, fo that the defeent of A fliall commence
at the fame inftant.
46 5. Of the velocity acquired. It remains only to dr-
feribe in w’hat manner the velocity acquired by the de¬
feending weight A, at any given point of its path is
made evident to the fenfes. The velocity of A’s de¬
feent being continually accelerated will be the fame in
two points of the ipace defciabed. This is occafioned by
the conftant adlion of the moving force 5 and fince the
velocity of A at any iuftant is xneafured by the fpace
R 2 wThieh
of
Machines.
Fig 6.
,32 M E C H
Defcription which would be deicribed by it moving uniformly for a
given time with the velocity it had acquired at that in-
ftant, this mealure cannot be experimentally obtained,
except by removing the force by which the defcending
body’s acceleration was caufed.
In order to (how in what manner this is effefted par¬
ticularly, let us again fuppofe the boxes A and B~25m
each, fo'as together to be =50 m; this with the wheel’s
inertia 11 m will make 61 m; now let m be added to
A, and an equal weight m to B, thefe bodies will ba¬
lance each other, and the whole mafs will be 63 tn.
If a weight tn be added to A, motion will be commu¬
nicated, the moving force being m, and the mafs mov¬
ed 64 m. In eftimating the moving force, the circular
weight —m w'as made ufe of as a moving force : but
for the prefent purpofe of {bowing the velocity acquir¬
ed, it will be convenient to ufe a flat rod, the weight
of which is alfo ~m. Let the bottom of the box A
be placed on a level with o on the fcale, the whole mafs
being as defcribed above =63 m, perfectly balanced.
Now let the rod, the weight of wdiich —m, be placed
on the upper furface of A; this body will delcend along
the fcale in the fame manner as when the moving force
w7as applied in the form of a circular weight. Suppofe
the mafs A, fig. 6. to have defcended by conftant accel¬
eration of the force of m, for any given time, or through
a given fpace : let a circular frame be fo afRxed to the
fcale, contiguous to which the weight defcends, that A
may pafs centrally through it, and that this circular-
frame may intercept the rod m by which the body A
has been accelerated from reft. After the moving
force m has been intercepted at the end of the given
fpace or time, there wall be no force operating on any
part of the fyftem which can accelerate or retard its
motion : this being the cafe, the weight A, the inftant
after m has been removed, muft proceed uniformly w-ith
the velocity wdiich it had acquired that inftant : in the
fubfequent part of its defcent, the velocity being uni¬
form will be meafured by fpace defcribed in any conve¬
nient number of feconds,
466. Mr Atwood’s machine is alfo ufeful for eftima¬
ting experimentally the velocities comn unicated by the
impadl of bodies elaftic and nonelaftic •, the quantity of
reliftance oppofed by fluids, as well as for various other
purpofes. Thefe ufes we {hall not infill on ; but the
properties of retarded motion being a part of the pre¬
fent fubjehl, it may be neceffary to {how in what man¬
ner the motion of bodies refilled by conftant forces are
reduced to experiment by means of the inftrument above
defcribed, w'ith as great eafe and precifion as the pro¬
perties of bodies uniformly accelerated. A fingle in-
llance will be fufficient: Thus, fuppofe the mafs con¬
tained in the weights A and B, fig. 6. and the wTeels
to be 61 nr, when perfedlly in equilibrio let a circular
weight m be applied to B, and let twm long weights or
rods, each —m, be applied to A, then will A defcend
by the aclibn of the moving force m, the mafs moved
,, bSing 64 m : fuppofe that when it has defcribed any gi¬
ven fpace by contlant acceleration, the twTo rods m are
intercepted by the circular frame above defcribed, while
A is defcending through it, the velocity acquired by
that defcent is known ; and when the two rods are in¬
tercepted, the weight A will begin to move on with
the velocity acquired, being now retarded by the con¬
ftant force m; and iince the mafs moved is 62 tn, the
A N I C 3.
force of retardation will be ^ part of that force'where- Defcrfptio*
by gravity retards bodies thrown perpendicularly up- °f
wards. The weight A will therefore proceed along ^ a chines^
the graduated fcale in its defcent, with an uniformly
retarded motion, and the fpaces defcribed, times of mo¬
tion, and velocities deftroyed by the refilling force, will
be fubjedl to the fame meafures as in the examples of
accelerated motion already defcribed.
In the preceding defer!ptions, two fuppofitions have
been aflumed, neither of which is mathematically
true : but it might be eafily ftrown that they are fo in
a phyfical fenfe 5 the errors occafioned by them being
infcnfible in prablice.
2 Machine for illuf rating the Theory of the Wedge.
467. This machine is reprefented in fig. 7. where Plate
KiLM and LMNO are two flat pieces of wood joined-CCCXXVI*
together by a hirfge at LM ; P is a graduated arch on*1^?”
which thefe pieces of wmod can be moved fo as to fub-
tend any angle not greater than 6o°, and a, b tw’o ferews
for fixing them at the required angle. The back of the
wedge will therefore be reprelented by IKNO, its
{harp edge by LM, and its two fides by KILM,
LMNO. The weight p fufpended to the v\edge by
the hook M, and the weight of the w'edge itfelf, may
be confidered as the force employed to drive the w'edge.
The wooden cylinders AB, CD, have their extremities
made like two flat circular plates to prevent the wedge
from flipping off at one fide. To the pivots of thele cy¬
linders, two of which are reprefented at e andy^ are fatt¬
ened the cords Wjy'U, CV, AX, which palling over,
the pulleys U, V, X, W are faftened to the two bars
uv, x w, on which any equal weights Y, Z may be
hung at pleafure. The tendency of thefe weights is
evidently to draw the cylinders towards each other,
and they may therefore be regarded as the refiitance of
the wood adting againft the fides of the wedge. The
cylinders themfelves are fufpended by their pivots to the
threads E, F, G, H, which may be fixed to the ceiling
of the room, or to the horizontal beam of a frame made
on purpofe.—By placing various equal weights at Y
and Z, it may be eafy to determine the proportion be-
tw'een the power and the refiftance when the wedge is
in equilibrio.—In this machine the impelling power is
the preffure of the weight p, whereas, in the real
wedge, the impelling pow'er is always an impulfive
force w'hich is infinitely more powerful.
3. Machine for illuf rating the effeBs of the centrifugal
force in flattening the poles of the Earth.
468. Fig. 8. reprefents this machine, which confifts of
two flexible circular hoops, AB and CD, crofting pne
another at right angles, and fixed to the vertical axis
EF at its lower extremity, but left looie at the pole or
iwterfedlion e. If this axis be made to revolve rapidly
by means of the winch tn, and the wheel and pinion
n, 0, the middle parts A, B, C, D will, by their cen¬
trifugal force, fwell out and tlrike againft the frame at
F and G if the pole e, when finking, is not flopped
by means of a pin E fixed in the vertical axis. The
hoops, therefore, will have a fpheroidal form ; the
equatoreal being larger than the polar diameter. Machine
4. Machine for trying the Strength of Materials. [jetoengtli
469. The piece of wood, whofe ftrength is to beofmRte'
tried,nals*
MECHANICS..
133
Drfcriptatmd, is represented by EF, and the force is applied to
of it by means of the winch A, which winds up the rope
^Machines paffing over the pulley w, and below the pulley w,
y~~7Cr' and’attached to the point D of the beam EF. The
cccxxvn. pulleys Hide on two parallel bars fixed m a frame, held
i'ig. i. down by a projeding point, at G, of the lever GR,
which is graduated like a fteelyard, and meafiires the
force employed. The beam EF is held by a double
vice IK with four ferews, two of which are mvmble.
When a tvire is to be torn it is fixed to the crofs bar
LM i and when any body is to be cruflied, it mutt be
placed beneath the lever NO, the rope BC being fix¬
ed to the hook N, and the end O being held down by
the click which a£ts on the double ratchet OP. The
lever is double from O to Q., and ads on the body by
a loop fixed to it by a pin. See Young's Nat. Philof.
vol. i. p. 768. from which this drawing and defeription
are taken.
5. Machine in which all the Mechanical powers are
combined.
Combina- 470. The lever AB, whofe centre of motion is C, is
tioo of all fixed to the endlefs ferew DE, which drives the wheel
the mecha- ancj axle FHG. Round the axle G is coiled a rope
meal pow- which paffes round the four pulleys K, L, m, n,
and is’ fixed to a hook at m on the lower block, which
carries the wTeight W. When equal weights are fu-
fpended on the lever at equal diilances from the ful¬
crum C, the lever becomes a balance, and the wedge
and inclined plane are evidently included in the endlefs
ferew DE. If the wheel F has 30 teeth, if the le¬
ver AB is equal to twice the diameter of the wheel
FH, and if the diameter of the axle G is one-tenth of
the diameter of the wheel, a power of 1 exerted at P
will raife a weight of 2400 fufpended at the lower
block of the four pulleys.
fufpended at A, will be in equilibrio with n placed at Cefcnption
-Append, to Ter- Machines.
S « Xtf
FA
ers.
Fig. 2.
6. Tidier1 s Balance.
Fidler’s ba- 47^ The balance reprefented in fig. 3. was made
lance. by Fidler for the Royal Inftitution, and does not differ
Fig. 3. much from thofe which have been conllruCfed by Ramfden
and Troughton. The middle column A can be railed
at pleafure by the nut B, and fupoorts the round ends
of the axis in the forks at its upper extremity, in order
to remove the preffure on the iharp edges of the axis
within the forks. C and D are pillars which occafion-
ally fupport the fcales, and may be elevated or deprei-
fed by turning the nut E. The ferew F raifes or ds-
prefles a weight within the conical beam, for the pur-
pofe of regulating the polition of the centre of gravity,
qphe graduated arc G meafures the extent of the viola¬
tions. See Young's Nat. Phil. vol. i. p. 765-
7. Improvement on the Balance.
Improve- 472. An improvement on the balance is reprefented
menton jn ^ where DC is a micrometer fecew fixed to the
^ arm FA, fo that when it is turned round by the nut D,
it neither anproaches to, nor recedes from, the centie
of motion F. The ferew DC works in a female ferew
in the fmall weight «, and by revolving in one direc¬
tion, carries this weight from S to R, and thus gives
the preponderance to the fcale G. I he receffion of tne
weight n from the centre F is meafured as in the com-
moii micrometer, and a weight x placed in the icale
the ba
lance.
Fig: 5-
any diftance S n. when x—
gufon's Lettures.
8. Machine for Jhewing the Compofition of torces.
473. The part BEFC is made to draw other parts into Machine
the wooden fquare ABCD. The pulley FI is joined compofitioR
to BEFC fp as to turn on an axis which will be^at H0fforces,
when the fquare BEFC is pulhed in, and at/> when itFig.4.
is drawn out. A ball G is made to Hide on the wire k
which is fixed to BEFC, and the thread ot attached to
the ball goes over the pullev to I, where it is fixed.
Now, when the piece BEFC is palled out, the pulley,
wire, and ball, move along with it, in the direction
DCF, and it is evident that the ball G will Hide gra¬
dually up the wire k. It is therefore afted upon by
two forces ; one in the direction GFI, and the other m
the diredion GC, and will be found at the end of the
motion at £•, having moved in the direftion G^, the
diagonal of a parallelogram whofe fides are GH, GC.
8. Smeaton's Machine for experiments on Windmill Sails.
474. In the experiments with this machine, the fails Apparatus
were carried round in the circumference of a ciicle,
that the fame effeft w-as produced as if the wind hadftruck ^
the fails at reil with the velocity which was then given
them. In the pyramidal frame ABC is fixed to the
axis DE, which carries the arm FG with the iails GI.
By pulling the rope Z, which coils round the barrel H,
a motion of rotation is given to the lails, fo that they
revolve in the circumference of a circle, whole radius is
DI. At L is fixed a cord which paffes round the pul¬
leys M, N, O, and coils round a fmall cylinder on the
axis of the fails and raifes the fcale C, in which diffe¬
rent weights are placed for trying the power of the
fails, and which, being in the direction of the axis DE,
is not affe&ed by the circular motion of the arm DG.
The fcale C is kept fteady by the pillars Q.^R> an(l
prevented from fwinging by the chains S, 1, which
hang loofely round the pillars. VX is a pendulum
compoied of tw o leaden balls moveable upon a wooden
rod, fo that they can be adjufted to vibrate in any given
time. The pendulum hangs upon a cylindrical wire, on
which it vibrates as on a rolling axis.
9. Smeaton's Machine for experiments on Rotatory
Motion.
4-75. This machine is exhibited in fig. 1. where the Apparatus
vertical axis NB is turned by the rope M palling over
the pulley R, and carrying the fcale S. The axis NB tjon>
•carries twro equal leaden weights K, D, moveable at plate
pleafure on the horizontal bar. Fa I. 1 ne upper pait N ofcccxxvm
the axis is one half the diameter of the part M, fo that ^ ‘A
when the rope is made to wind round N, it atts at
half the diftance from the axis, at .which it adts wh/n
coiled round M.—When the rope is wound round N,
the fame force will produce in the lame time but half
the velocity which is produced wFen the rope coils
round M, the fituaticn of the leaden weights being the
fame : But when the weights K, L are removed to a
double diftance from the axis, a quadruple force will
be required in order to produce an equal angular velo¬
city in a given time.
Chaw,
MECHANICS.
134
D efcriptioi^
of
Machines.
Chap. II. Machines for various purpsfes.
1. Promfs Condenfer of Forces.
denferof0"’ 476' Tlle objca ?f machine is to obtain a maxi-
forces. mum f ffecl from an impeding power which is fubjecl to
Plate variation in its intenfity. Let us fuppofe that wind is the
cccxxvm. fir ft mover, and that O, O is the vertical axis of a wind-
mill; e, e, e, c, are feveral radii ifluing from this axis,
and carrying a wiper b d, which acts upon the corref-
pcnding wipers af and give a motion of rotation
to the axis a, a, a, a to which they are attached.
The wipers b d, a f muft be fo conftrufted that when
^ d ceafes to prefs on one wiper a f it fhall at the
lame moment begin to act upon the next wiper. Each
of the . axes a, a, a, a, carries a drum 11 r r, round
wdiich is coiled a cord tp F, pa fling over the pulley p,
snd fupporting a weight O which can be placed at dif¬
ferent diilances from G on the lever EG. The axes
, a, tf, a alfo pafs through the pinions qq, to which
they are not fixed ; but thefe pinions carry ratchet
v...eels thht bear againft the teeth r r, fo that when
the weight if mes, the rope merely coils round the
drum w uhout moving the pinion q q. But when the
viper b dceafes to aft upon af the weight O defeends,
and then the toothed wheel r r a£ls againfl: the ratchet,
^0 that O cannot defeend without turning the pinion
q q along with the drum. The pinion qq drives the
wheel t? b, which again drives the wheel CE by means
or the bevelled teeth CD, and elevates the load at P.
Hence, when the axis OO is put in motion by the wind
acling on the fails, it will firft raife a number of weights
£) fufticient to^ put the machine in motion, and will
continue to raife new weights while thofe Before raifed
are faliep, fo that the motion once imprefled will be
continued.
2. Portable Stone Crane, for loading and unloading Carts.
Portable rp, . . >
ftone crane.. * h,s crane ls mounted on a wooden ftage, and
Eg-4. is to conftrutfted that it may betaken to pieces. The
frame A, A, A, A is about ten feet high, nine feet
long and nine feet wide. The wheels B, B are of iron
and about three feet in diameter. The pinion D that
is fixed to the axis of the firft wheel B is eight inches
diameter and the other pinion C is about the fame dia¬
meter. When the Hones are fufpended to the rone that
rods round the barrel, the workman turns a winch on
the axis of the wheel C, and raifes or lowers the weight
according to the diiedion in which he turns it.
Portable „ . S ^Me Celhr Crane.
eellar 47°‘ ^ “!S orane is reprefented in fig. 5. where A A
crane. are two wooden fupports about fix feet high, which’are
‘S- 5- jomted at E, and conne£led by the iron cylinder C and
the wooden bar D. The fupports A, A are faftened
to the edge of the cellar by the iron prongs E, E and
the two ropes which fupport the barrel and Pafs round
it are fixed to the iron damp G, G. Thefe repes coil
round the cylindrical bar F, which is put in motion by
the winch K, driving the pinion I about four inches dia¬
meter, which gives motion to the wheel H, about three
feet m diameter. The barrel, therefore, will rife or
aceordmg to the direction in which the winch is
4. Weighing Crane. Defcnption
479. This crane reprefented in fig. 6. was invented ^-at:lnnes.
by Mr Andrews, and weighs the body at the time that "1^
it is railing it. 1 he weight W is elevated by means of HCCXXX.
the levers M, N, O, P which coil the rope HR round Fig. 6.
the barrel H. The jib ED ftands on a horizontal AE^ews,s
beam moveable in a vertical plane round the centre
hA, and the diftance of the upright beam E from the
centre of. motion A is TV of BE. The weight of the
body \\ is then afeertamed by the weight at B, wdiich
keeps it in equiiibrio. The piece of wood C prcjecis
from the vertical beam CT ' 1 '
beam from riling too high.
weighing
crane.
in order to prevent the
5. Gilpin's Crane.
480. In Eg. I. where this machine is reprefented, Gilpin’s
AB is the perpendicular Hand, formed of two oaken crane,
planks let into call iron mortifes C, D : Between thefe
planks is fixed the barrel E with fpiral grooves on its C_CCXXIX-
fm-face, on which the chain RL windL' When the F‘S'r’
winch N is put in motion it drives the pinion O, which 4’ 5'
again drives the wheel P, on whole axis is fixed the
bairel fi, fo that the chain is coiled round the barrel
and the weight raifed. A fetfion of this part of the
machinery is fhewn in fig. 2. Figure 3. ihews an en-
larged.view of part of the barrel, and part of the chain
lying in its proper polition in the fpiral grooves or
channels. In order to prevent the chain from twilling
when it is-wound upon the barrel, the lower edge of
one link lies in the groove, and the next link upon the
furface of the barrel. This will be better und'erflood
.rom fig. 4. Y\hich is a fe&ion of the barrel F, and
liicws the manner in which one link lies within it, and
the other link on its outfide. The old method of
working chains is exhibited in fig. 5. For a full ac¬
count of this ufeful invention, fee Nicholfon’s Journal
vol. xv. p. 126. ’
6. Bramah's Jib for Cranes.
• 14?Ih7 *Je natltre invention, for which we are Bramah’s
indebted to the ingenious Mr Bramah, may be eafily ftb.
underftood from a bare infpeaion of fig. 6. which re-Fi^5,
prefents a jib attached to the wall of a warehoufe. The
jib turns on a perforated axis or pillar. The rope by
which the weight is raifed after palling over two pulleys,
goes through the perforated axis, and is conduced over
another pulley to the barrel of the crane, which is not
reprefented in the figure. In jibs of the common con-
.ruction which turn in two folid gudgeons, the rone
patles over the upper gudgeon, and is confined between
two vertical rollers ; but the bending of the rope oc-
cafions a great deal ofiiiaion, and produces a conftant
ettort to bring the arm of the jib into a pofition parallel
to the inner part of the rope.
7- Gottlieb's Carriage Crane.
482. This machine, which is ufeful for carrying lame P!ate
fiones where carts and horfes cannot be eafilv obtain^ CCCXXIX'
rfi07 T7 f? <*.«“' ^ aPrW. jo
fets of wheels belonging'to the carriage, fo that two crane.2'
men one afting at each winch A, A give motion to
the loaded carnage- The pinion B, fix inches in dia¬
meter turns the wheel C, three feet in diameter. The
wheel C gives motion to the pinion D one foot in dia¬
meter,
M E C H
Defcriptionmeter, which works into two wheels E, E three feet
fix inches diameter, and are fixed on the wheels of the
Machines.
« carnage.
8. Common 'Jack.
Common 4^3- ^'^e comrnon worm jack is reprefented in fig. 8,
jack. and is impelled by the weight W, which is fufpended to
Fig- 8. a rope paffing through the pulleys V, R, and rolling
round the barrel When the barrel is put in motion
by the action of the weight, it drives the wheel KL of
Oo teeth, by means of a catch fixed to AB, which lays
hold of the crofs bars in KL. The wheel KL drives
the pinion M of 15 teeth, fixed on the axis of the
wheel N of 30 teeth, which gives motion to the end-
lefs (crew O, and the fly-wrheel P. On the axis of the
wheel KL is fixed the pulley DG, which by means of
a rope gives motion to the fpit. The axis ET is fixed
in the barrel AC \ and as this axis is hollow, both it
and the barrel turn round upon the axis ED, fo that
the rope may be coiled round the barrel by the winch
K without moving the wheel K.
9. Loading and Unloading Machine.
Loading 484. This portable machine, invented by Mr Daviskif
and unload- Windfor, is put in motion by the winch A, which
dmr*3' drives the two endlels {crews C, C. Theie fcrews
Pirr.^. move the wheels E, E, and confequently the barrels
connefted with them, fo that the ropes F, E paffing
over the pulleys G, G are coiled round the barrels, and
the load H which thcfe ropes fupport is railed into the
frame R,R, which thews a part of the cart. The
barrels and wheels are contained in an iron box L, the
fides of which are removed in the figure.
10. Vauloue's Pile Engine.
’Vauloue's
pile engine.
Plate
cccxxx.
Fig. 1.
Fig. 7.
485. The horfes which work this engine are yoked
at S, S, and by moving the wheel B and drum C,
which are locked together, raife the follower CH, (car¬
rying the ram O by the handle R,) by means of the
rope HH which coils round the drum. When the fol¬
lower G reaches the top of the frame, the upper legs of
the tongs H are clofed by preffing agajnft the adja¬
cent beams ; and their lower legs are opened, fo that
they drop the ram Q, which falls and ftrikes the pile.
When G is at the top of the frame, the crooked handle
6, of the follower G, preffes aghinft the cords a, a,
which raife the end of the lever L (fee fig. 2.) round m
as a centre, and by depreffing the extremity N, and
confequently the baTS, S, unlock the drum C and the
wheel 8, fo that the follower G falls by it ; weight and
A N I C S.
.to
Lizes the ram R. As foon as she follower drops, the Defeription
horfes would tumble down, having no refittance to ^
overcome, were not this prevented by the fly O, which * RC
is moved by the -wheel B and trundle X, and oppofes a
fufficient refiftance to the horfes till the follower again
feizes the ram. When the follower falls, the weight L
(fig. 2.) puflies up the bolt Y into the drum C, and
locks the wheel and the drum;—and the fame operation is
afterwards repeated. See Fergufori's LeEl. vol. i. p. 118.
11. Bunce's Pile Engine.
486. A fide view of this engine is (hewn in fig. 3, 4. Buncc’s
It confifls of two endlefs ropes or chains A, connected Pf*6 engm.e»'
by crofs pieces of iron B, B, &c. (fig. 4.) which pafs^1^'^
round the wheel C, the crofs pieces falling into corre-
fponding crofs grooves, cut in the periphery of the
wheel. When the man at S, therefore, drives the
wheel m by means of the pinion />, he moves alfo the
wheel C fixed on the axis of m, and makes the double
ropes revolve upon the wheels C, D. The wheel D is
fixed at the end of a lever DHK, whofe centre of mo¬
tion is H, a fixed point in the beam FT. Now, when
the ram L (fig. 3, 5.) is fixed to one of the crofs' pieces
B by the hook M, the weight of the ram, adding by
the rope, moves the lever DK round H, and brings
the wheel D to G, fo that, by turning the winch, the
ram L (fig. 3.) is railed in the vertical line LRG.
But when it reaches R, the prcje&ing piece R difen-
gages the ram from the crols piece B, by ftriking the
bar \ and as the weight is removed from the extre¬
mity E of the lever, the counterpoife I brings it back
from G to its old pofition at F, and the ram falls with¬
out interfering with the chain. When the hook is def-
cending, it is prevented from catching the rape by
means of the piece of wTood N fufpended from the hook
hi at O ; for being fpecifically lighter than the iron
weight L, and moving with lefs velocity, it does not
come in contadl with L till the ram is flopped at the
end of its path. When N, therefore falls upon L, it
depreffes the extremity M of the hook, and therefore
brings the hook over one of the crofs pieces B, by
which the ram is again raifed.
487. For the defeription of a great variety of uftful
machines, the reader is referred to the iccond volume of
Mr Gregory’s Mechanics, and to Dr Young’s Natural
Philofophy, a work of great merit, which would have
been more particularly noticed if it had reached us be¬
fore the hiftorical part of this article was printed off.—
See alfo Hydrodynamics, Marly, Machine at, Mill,
Ramsden, and V/ATik lVorks.
I N D E X.
Abutments, conflruclion of, N°
JEpinus's property of the lever,
d'Mlembert's principle of dynamics,
equilibrium of,
catenarian,
of equilibration,
Mtwood’s machine
B.
336
64
22
316
3J9
334
460
Balance, its properties,
Iisj 2
Balance, K uh ne’s,
Magellan’s,
Ludlam’s,
Fidler’s
improvement on it,
Bevelled wheels,
Borel/i, works of,
c.
N* 151
23 2
153
471
472
407
14
Caftftane, defeription of one, 368
Carriages, wheel, or. the couikucllon of, 439
Cellar crane,
Centre of inertia, or gravity, how to
find it, N° 4, 154, 20tf
Centrobaryc method, 206, 208
Collijion, laws of, diicovered by Wren,
otc. 12
of hard bodies, 248—258 -
of elaftic bodies, 258—279
of imperfeClly elaflic bodies, 279 .
Condcnfer of forces,
Conical l
1 36
Conical pendulum, N° 394
Corfervaiion of afllve forces difcover-
ed by Huygens, 19
generalifed by D. Ber¬
noulli, ib.
Coulomb ox\ the force of torfion, 27, 343
—357
* on friflion, 27, 372
on the rigidity of ropes, 382
on the Orength of men, 421
Crane, carriage,
Gilpin’s, 48°
cellar, 47^
weighing, 479
Croivn wheels, 410
Curves, motion of bodies along, 217
of cjiuckeft defcent, 231
Cycloid, ifochronifm of, difcovered by
Huygens, 11
properties of it, 232
the propgr curve for the teeth
of rackwork, 411
Ci/cloidal pendulum, properties of, 236
Cylinders, friftion of loaded ones 372
D.
.Dcwer, equilibrium of, 339
E.
machine for explaining the flat-
nefs at its poles,
Epicycloids the proper curves for the
teeth of wheels, 395
interior, 397
exterior, ib.
method of forming them, 406
F.
Tidier"1 s balance,
Fly wheels, 383
Forces, adlive, difpute about them,
Frifiion wheels, 377
Fufee of a watch, its conftruftion, 99
G.
Galileo, difcoveries of, refpefting the
fcience of motion, 8
Gottlieb"'s antiattrition axletree, 377
Gravity, centre of, 154—201
force of, 2 47
Gregory, Olinthus, his Treatife on
Mechanics recommended, 28
H.
de la Hire, on the teeth of wheels, 17
Horfes, ftrength of, 423
method in which they exert it, 449
Huygens, difcovefies of, 11, 19
I.
Jack, common, 483
Jib, Bramah’s, 481
Itnpuljion. See Colli/ion,
Inclined plane, properties of it. . 69
its ufe in praftical mechanics, 83
planes, motion of bodies along, 2T7
Inertia, centre of. 134—201
Involutes proper for the teeth of
wheels, 405
L.
Lever, properties of, 53—69
MECHANICS.
Lever, various modes of deducing its
fundamental property, N° 63
yEpinus’s property of, 65
compound, 64
M.
Machine, Atwood’s,
loading and unloading,
for firewing the flatnefs at
the poles of the earth,
for trying the flrength of
materials,
in which all the mechanical
powers are combined,
for rotatory motion,
for weighing,
Machinery, conffrudfion of, 35^
fimplification of, 3^
firfl movers of, 4^
Machines, fimple, 3°
compound, 89
maximum effefls of, 298, 359
Mechanics defined, 1
hi dory of, 2
treat: le on,
Mechanical powers,
machine in which they
are combined,
Men, ftrength of, according to various
authors, 41 8, &c.
Merfennus, problems propofed by him, 1 3
Mills driven by water and wind in¬
vented, 5
Motion not propagated inftantaneouf-
ly, 295, 296
N.
Newton, Sir Ifaac, his difcoveries, 18
O. '
Ofcillation of pendulums, 236
P.
Parallelogram of forces difcovered by
Stevinus, 6
demonftrated by D. Ber-
nouilli, 20
of forces, machine for
explaining it, 473
Parent on the maximum effedfs of
machines, 16
on wind-mills, 43O
Pendulum, conical, 394
PercuJJion. See Collijion.
Piers, condruftion of, 336
Pile engine, Vauloue’s, 485
Bunce’s, 486
. Prong's condenfer of forces, 476
Pulley, properties of it, 100
R.
Rackwork, teeth of, 41 I
Reflexion of bodies after collifion, 283—293
Rope machine, its properties, 84
Ropes, rigidity of, 382
Rotatory motion, three axes of, dif¬
covered by Segner, 26
Smeaton’s apparatus for, 475
s.
Screw, properties of it, Na 131
Mr Hunter’s double one, J37
its ufe in mechanics, 140
Semicycloid, the curve of iwifteft de¬
fcent, 231
Smeaton on wind-mill fails, 430
Stampers, on the wipers of, 411
Statcra, Roman, 47
JDaniih and Swedifti, 217
Steam, the power of, as a firft mover, 425>
427
engine invented, 10
improved by Savary,
Newcomen, Watt, &c. ib.
Steelyard, 47
Strength of materials, machine for try¬
ing it, 469
of men, 41 ^
of hoifes, 424
Sutton on wind-mill fails, 434
T.
Table of the ftrength of firft movers, 425
of the ftrength of men, 418
Teeth of wheels, how to form them, 395
ol rackwork, how to iorm them,4il
Toricelli, labours of, 9
Torflon, force of, 27, 343—357
Tradiion, line of, 449
w.
Water mills, invention of, 5
Wedge, properties of it, I 21
machine for (hewing its pro¬
perties,
Wheel and axle, its properties, Q3
Wheels, on the formation of the teeth
of, . 395
bevelled method of forming
their teeth, 407
crowm, 410
friction, 374
. 383
Wheel carriages, on the conftru£fion
of, . . 439
on the pofition of their
wheels, 447
on the fize and form of
their w'heels, 439
on the pofition of their
centre of gravity, 452
Wind, the power of, as a firtt mover, 425
326
Wind-mills, invention of, 5
defcription of one, 428
fails, on the pofition of, 430
on the efftdf of, 433
form given them by
Mr Sutton, 434
horizontal, 435
comparifon between hori¬
zontal and vertical ones, 438
fails Smeaton’s apparatus
for determining their pow¬
er, 574
Wipers of (tampers, how to form them. 419
■ J 1 MECHANISM,
M V. (’ l! AX !(’ S.
/
Plate C C O X 1
M K C HA NIC S .
Plate C C C X \rll.
I
>
' \
I
.
(
Plate C C C XX .
«
»
'—  
. . \
v
MEG [i
Mechanifm MECHANISM, either the conftru&ion or the ma¬
ll chinery employed in any thing j as the mechanifm of
Redden- barometer, of the microfcope, &c.
■ a^-' ■ MECHOACAN, a province of Mexico, or New
Spain, in America, bounded on the north by Pa-
nuco and Guadalajara, on the eaft by Panuco and
Mexico Proper, on the fouth by the Pacific ocean,
and on the weft by Guadalajara and the South fea.
It is about 200 miles in circumference. The foil is
exceedingly fertile; and the climate fo wholefome,
that the Spaniards imagine it to be pofleffed of fome
peculiarly reftorative quality j for which reafon the
lick and infirm flock to it from all quarters. The
commodities are fulphur, indigo, farfaparilla, faflafras,
cacao, vanelloes, ambergris, hides, wool, cotton, filk,
fugar, the root mechoacan or white jalap, and filver.
This province formed an independent kingdom at the
time Mexico wras reduced by Cortez. The fovereign
had long been the inveterate enemy of the Mexicans,
and was confidered, next to the republic of Tlafcala,
as the moft formidable barrier againft the extenfion of
the imperial frontier. However, he fubmitted to Cor¬
tez without ftriking a blow, being intimidated by the
wonders he had perfoimed with a handful of men 5 and
thus Mechoacan became a province of the Spanidr em¬
pire, and a valuable addition to Mexico. The coun¬
try at that time was exceedingly populous, but the na¬
tives are now much thinned $ and that rather by the
luxury and effeminacy introduced by the Spaniards,
than by their tyranny. The capital of the province is
alfo called Mechoacan by the natives, but Valladolid by
the Spaniards.
Mechcacan, or White *Jalap, in the materia me-
dica, the root of an American fpecies of convolvulus
brought from Mechoacan, a province of Mexico, in
thin flices like jalap, but larger, and of a whitilh co¬
lour. It was firft introduced into Europe about the
year 1524 as a purgative : but fince jalap became
known, mechoacan has been little employed.
MECKLENBURG, a duchy of Germany, con¬
taining thofe of Schwerin and Guftro, is bounded by
Pomerania on the eaft, by part of the marquifate of
Brandenburg and the duchy of Lunenburg on the
fouth, the Baltic on the north, and Holftein and
Saxe Lawenburg on the weft. Their greateft length
is about 135 miles, and greateft breadth upwards of
go. With refpeft to the foil, much cannot be faid in
favour of it, as it confifts in general, either of fand,
or large and defolate heaths interfperfed wdth moors,
woods, fens, and lakes. It yields very little w7heat,
and not a great deal of oats, rye, and barley j but
breeds a confiderable number of ftieep and cattle, has
plenty of filh, with ftone quarries, fait fprings, alum,
iron, and fome copper. The principal rivers here are
the Elde and Stor, which fall into the Elbe as it
glides along the borders of this country to the fouth-
weft ; the Reckenitz, wdiich difcharges itfelf into the
Baltic ; as do the Peene, the Warno, and the Stope-
nitz. This country has only one harbour on the Bal¬
tic, namely that of Roftock. In both duchies, ex-
clufive of Roftock, are 45 great and fmall cities, with
three convents, and a great number of manors and
farms, belonging either to the duke, the nobility, or
convents. The peafants are in a ftate of villenage $
but the nobility enjoy verv confiderable privileges.
You XIII. Part I.
37 1 MEG
The ftates are compofed of the nobility and towns ; Mecklen-
and the diets, which are fummoned annually, are held burg,
alternately at Sternberg and Malehin. The duchy 1'V'l-eC(->”lum,J
of Schwerin appoints four provincial counfellors, and
that of Guftro as many 5 who rank according to fe-
niority, wuth the duke’s actual privy counfellors, as
their marftials do with the colonels. The lefier com¬
mittee reprefents the whole body of the nobility and
commons, by wdiom the members are chofen freely
and without controul, and no edidt relative to the
whole country can be published without their confent,
or in prejudice of their rights. The inhabitants of
this country are moftly Lutherans, under their fuper-
intendants. There are alfo fome Calvinifts and Ro¬
man Catholics. Belides the grammar fchools in the
towms, there is an univerfity at Roitock. The com¬
modities of the duchy are corn, flax, hemp, hops,
wax, honey, cattle, butter, cheele, wool, and wood,
a part of which is exported } but hardly any manu-
fadlures.
Of the houfe of Mecklenburg, there are two lines
ftill fubfifting, viz. that of Schwerin and that of Strelitz.
The latter commenced in Duke Adolphus Frederick II.
younger brother of the duke of Schwerin, and grand¬
father of Adolphus Frederick IV. who entered on the
government in 1752, and whofe family received a great
additional luftre by his Britannic majefty’s taking his
fecond lifter for his confort, and by her own great me¬
rit and noble deportment in that high llation. Be-
fides the duchy of Strelitz, to this duke belong the
principality of Ratzeburg, with the lordlhip of Star-
gard, the ancient commanderies of Miro and Neme-
ro, and a yearly penfion of 9000 dollars out of the
Boitzenburg toll. The title afiumed by both the
dukes is duke of Mecklenburg ; prince ofWenden, Schwe¬
rin, and Ratzburg ; count of Schwerin and the country
of Roflock, and lord of Stargard. By the agreement con¬
cluded at Wittftock in 1442, the eleflor of Branden¬
burg, on the extindlion of the male line of the dukes
of Mecklenburg, is entitled to their whole fucceflion.
The duke of Schwerin has two votes both in the diet
of the empire and that of the circle. The matricular
affeffment for the duchies of Schwerin and Guftro is
40 horfe and 67 foot, or 748 florins monthly, includ- /
ing what is paid by Sweden for Wifmar, and the bai¬
liwicks of Poll and Neuklofter. To the chamber of
Wetzlar, thefe two duchies pay each 243 rix dollars,
43 kruitzers. For the government of Mecklenburg,
the adminiftration of juftice, and the management of
the revenue, there is the privy council of regency, the
demefne chamber, the high and provincial court of ju¬
ftice, to which appeals lie in moft caufes, both from the
confiftory and the inferior civil courts, and which are
common to both the dukes. As to the revenues, thofe
of the Schwerin line muft be very confiderable, thofe
arifing from the demefne bailiwicks and regalia alone
amounting to 300,000 rix dollars per annum. There
is a tax on land that produces no contemptible fum,
and that called the princefs''s tax is fixed at 20,000 rix
dollars : befides all thefe, there are alfo free gifts.. The
whole revenues of the Strelitz branch are eftimated
at 120,000 rix dollars. Each of thefe priaces main¬
tains a body of troops.
MECONIUM, the excrement contained in the in-
teftiues of an infant at its birth.
£ MEDALS.
[ 138 ]
M E D A L S.
Utility of ‘TY/f’EDAL, denotes a piece of metal in the form
them in Hi- 1>-J. 0f coin, fuch as was either current money among
, {toryJ , the ancients, or ftruck on any particular occafion,
in order to preferve to poderity the portrait of fome
great perfon, or the memory of fome illultrious adtion.
Scaliger derives the word medal from the Arabic
methalia; a fort of coin with a human head upon it.
But the opinion of Voffius is generally received ; viz.
that it comes from metallum, “ metal j” of which fub-
ftancfc medals are commonly made.
Sect. I. Utility of Medals in Hiftory, and various other
Sciences.
There are few lludies of more importance to hi-
flory than that of medals j the foie evidence we can
have of the veracity of a hiftorian being only fuch
collateral documents as are evident to every body, and
cannot be falfified. In modern times, thefe are found
in public memoirs, inllruftions to ambaffadors, and
date papers of various kinds. Such memorials, how¬
ever, are fubjedl to various accidents, and befides com¬
monly remain in the countries where they are firft
publilhed, and cannot therefore give to the world
at large that perfedf and entire fatisfadlion which
ought to be derived from genuine hiftory ; fo that
more durable and widely diffufed monuments are ftill
to be wiflied for. Such are public buildings, infcrip-
tions, and ftatues 5 but thefe, excepting a few inftances
of the two lad, are always confined to particular
countries 5 fo that medals alone remain as infallible
documents of truth, capable of being diffufed over all
countries in the world, and of remaining though the
! lateft ages.
Various The firff who fhowed the importance of medals in
rntcHS 0U a<'certain'nS tlie dates, and arranging the order of
events, in ancient hiftory, by means of medals, was
Vaillant, in his Hiftory of the Kings of Syria, print¬
ed at Paris in 1681. By medals alone, he has been
enabled to fix the chronology and important events of
niftory, in the three moft ancient kingdoms of the
world, viz. Egypt, Syria, and Parthia. Many coins
have been difcovered fince his time, which confirm the
recounts he has given. Pie was followed in this me¬
thod by Father Hardouin, though with lefs fuccefs.
Hardouin’s bert work is -his Herodiades, or Series of
Succeflors to Herod king of Judaea. The fame plan
was purfued by Noris, in his learned Treatife on the
Syro-Macedonian princes, and by Bayer in his Hi¬
ftory of Ofrhoene, as w^ell as byFroelicb, in the work
Entitled Annales Regum et Rerum Syria-, Vien. 17 54,
and another named Kevenhullers Regum veterum Nu~
mifmata Anecdota, auB. Ferrara, Vien. 1752, 4to, of
which Froelich was properly the author. Corfini and
Cary likewife publilhed works of a fimilar nature j the
former in 1744, De Minn fan, alicrumque Anne nice
Keg ten?, Nummis, &c. ; the latter in 1752, Htfloire des
K°is de Thrace, el du Bfphore Cimmerien, eclaircie par
les Mcdatlles.
The ftudy of the Greek coins does not Ihow the Utility of-
dates of events, though it illuilrates the chronology thfm in Hi-
of reigns. This defeat, however, is abundantly fup- ftory’ &cc*,
plied by thofe of Rome, which commonly mark the ^
date of the prince’s conlulftiip, the year of his tri-Ofthe
bunician power 5 giving alfo, upon the reverfe, the re- Greek
prefentation or poetical fymbol of fome grand event. co’n?“
The year of the tribunician power is fometimes ima¬
gined by antiquaries to be fynonymous with that of
the emperor’s reign : but this is not the cafe j and
Mr Pinkerton is at fome pains to fet them right ii>
this refpech He finds fault with Julius Caefar, when
he affumed the fovereign authority, for taking upon
him the title of Perpetual Diiftator, as being fynony¬
mous with that of king or abfolute governor, which
the Romans abhorred. “ He ought (fays our author),
under the difguife of fome fupreme magiftrate of an¬
nual eleflion, to have lulled the people with a dream,
that they might terminate his povrer when they pleafedj
or that he himfelf wmuld refign it, when the neceflities
of ftate which had required his temporary elevation
had fubfided.” To this error Mr Pinkerton aferibes Method
the affaflination of the di&ator, and commends the ufed by Air.
policy of Auguftus, who, with far inferior abilities, Kuftus to
continued in poffeffion of the moft abfolute authority fecure his
as long as he lived. The tribunefhip was an office Ofpower*
annual ele&ion; and if put into the hands of any
others than plebeians, muft have been the fupreme
pow-er of the ftate, as it belonged to that office to put
a negative upon every public meafure whatever. Au¬
guftus, being of fenatorial rank, could not affume this
office : but he invefted himfelf with the tribunician
power, w'hich had the advantages of appearing to be
only, a temporary fupremacy, though in truth it was
continued during his whole lifetime. Towards the
end of his reign, he frequently affumed his deftined
fucceffor, liberius, for his colleague, though in the
beginning he had enjoyed it alone. This, with his
aitifice .of refigning his power every ten years, and
reaffuming it at the defire, as wTas pretended, of the
fenate, fecured his fovereignty as long as he lived 
His example w'as followed by his fucceflors ; fo that
moft of them have the infeription Tribunicia Potejlate
upon their medals, with the date affixed to it thus,
lr. Pot. 'Mil. Yet though this date generally im¬
plies the year of the emperor’s reign, it fometimes
happens that the emperor, by fpecial favour from a for¬
mer prince, had been endowed with this title before
he. came to the throne, as being the fucceflbr to that
prince, of which we have already given an inftance in
I iberius. Befides the tribunician power, the empe¬
rors very frequently enjoyed that of the confuls •, and
the. date, of their confulfhip is frequently expreffed in
their coins.
The office of Pontifex Maximus was likewife af¬
fumed by the Roman emperors, in order to fecure them-
felves in their authority ; which, Mr Pinkerton ob-
ferves, was one of the moll efficacious artifices they
could have fallen upon. “ In the Greek heroic times
(fays
M E B
Utility of (fays he), king and pried were carefully united in one
them in Hi-perfon . ancl w1nen fovereigns arofe in Denmark and
,ilory. occ. ^ gwecjen> the fame plan was followed, as appears from
Snorro, and other writers. Nothing could lend more
fecurity to the perfon of the monarch than an office
of fupreme fanflity, which alfo confirmed his power
by all the terrors of fuperftition. Even the Chrilfian
fydern was afterwards debafed by a mock alliance with
government $ though it be clear from the whole New
Teftament, that fuch an alliance is fubverfive of its
genuine infiitution, and the greateft of all its corrup¬
tions. But the Roman Catholic clergy, in the dark
ages, were the authors of ‘ no church no king,’ for
their own intereft ; while the Roman emperors only
fought to firengthen their power by the dark awe of
fuperftition. The title of Pontifex Maximus was fo
important, that it was retained even by the Chriftian
emperors till the time of Gratian. Its influence in the
date was, indeed, prodigious. Cicero obferves, that
to this office were fubjeft, temples, altars, penates,
gods, houfes, wealth, and fortune of the people.—
That of augur is alfo borne by many emperors; and
its authority was fuch, that by the law of the twelve
tables no public bufinefs could be tranfafted without
a declaration from the augur concerning its event.—
The proconfular power was alfo given to Auguftus
and the other emperors. It conferred a direft autho¬
rity over all the provinces, and implied the emperor
to be chief proconful, or governor of each, and of all.
Another fpecial power affigned to the emperors, but
not occurring on coins, was the ‘Jus Relationis Tertice,
Quarto;, &c. or the right of making three or four mo¬
tions in the fenate on the fame day, while the fenators
could only propofe one.
Hence our author infers, that medals afford the
mod authentic documents of the Roman hiitory, in
particular, that could have been invented by man.—
The hiflories of Nerva and Trajan are much better
elucidated by medals than by authors ; for the hiilory
of Suetonius ends with Domitian, and the Hiflor'ue
.AuguJJa Scriptures begin with Adrian : fo that the
reigns of the two emperors juft mentioned are almoft
unknown ; and Mr Pinkerton is furprifed that none of
the learned have attempted to fupply the defer!.—
“ Capitolinus (fays he), in his life of Maximinus Ju¬
nior, is quite puzzled to know if Maximus and Pu-
pienus were two emperors, or two names for the fame.
Had he happened on any of thofe coins which bear
M. Cl. Pupienus Maximus Aug. he would have
feen at once that Maximus was only another name for
Pupienus.”
Ufe of me- Medals are ufeful in other fciences befides hiftory.
dais in geo- In geography, vre find the fituation of towns de-
graphy. termined by their vicinity to fome noted river, moun¬
tain, &c. Thus, MAFNHTftN STHTAOT ffiows that
Magnefia tvas fituated under Mount Sipylus. In like
manner, it is fliown from a medal, that Ephefus flood
on the river Cayfter ; and there is extant a medal, bear-
in an infcription, which fignifies Alexandria on the
Scamander •, a name given to Troy by Alexander the
Great. The reverfe has upon it the famous Apollo
5 Smintheus of Homer. In natural hiftory alfo, medals
hiftorv11*1 are ufeful chiefly from the coins ftruck on the celebra¬
tion of the fecular games, in which the figures of
various animals are preferved 5 and thus it may very
A L S. 139
often be determined whether any animal be known to Utility of
the ancients or not. On many of the Greek medals
are feveral uncommon plants and animals. Thus, on T-’.. V
moft of the medals of Cyrene is the figure of the ce¬
lebrated Sy/phium ; and on thofe of Tyre, the Ihell-fiih
from which the famous Tyrian purple was procured. 6
By means of medals, alfo, the exadl delineations of In architec.
many noble edifices are preferved, though not even a1111’6,
veftige of their ruins be now exifting ; fo that the ufes
of them to the architedt are very confiderable. To In fine
the connoiffeur they are abfolutely neceffary •, becaufe arts.
by them alone he is enabled to aferibe ancient bulls
and llatues to their proper perfons, with multitudes
of other points of knowledge which cannot be other-
wife determined. The elucidations of obfeure paf-
fages in ancient authors by means of medals are fo
numerous and well known, that it is needleis to infill
upon them.
Mr Addifon has treated the connexion betwixt me¬
dals and poetry at confiderable length •, but Mr Pin¬
kerton finds fault with him for preferring the Latin
to the Greek poets. He obferves alfo, that the know¬
ledge of Greek medals is moft neceffary for a fculp- 3
tor, and perhaps an architedl •, but an acquaintance Ijat'n mer~
with Latin ones is preferable for a poet, or perhaps
painter. The reafon of this difference is, that the
former generally have on the obverfe the head of fome
king, god, or goddefs, of exquifite relief and work-
manftiip •, but the reverfe feldom affords much fancy
of fymbol in the early Greek coins 5 and in the impe¬
rial Greek coins, is chiefly impreffed with the temples
df their deities. To a perfon of poetical imagination,
however, the Roman coins afford the greateft enter¬
tainment, from the fine perfonifications and fymbols to
be found on their reverfes •, of which our author gives
the following inffances : 9
“ Happiness has fometimes the caduceus, or wand ”erk)n,fi<::i-
of Mercury, which Cicero, 1. OJfic. tells us was thought^1
to procure every with. She has, in a gold coin of Se- ‘ ni
verus, heads of poppy, to exprefs that our prime blifs
lies in oblivion of misfortune.
“ Hope is reprefented as a fprightly girl, walking
quickly, and looking ftraight forward. With her left
hand the holds up her garments, that they may not im¬
pede the rapidity of her pace •, while in her right hand
the holds forth the bud of a flower *, an emblem infi¬
nitely more fine than the trite one of an anchor, which
is the fymbol of Patience, and not of Hope. This
perfonification, with fome others, muft have been very
familiar to the ancie,nts for often in this, and in a few
more inftances, no name, as Spes Aug. or the like,
is inferted in the legend.
“ Abundance is imagined as a fedate matron, with
a cornucopias in her hands, of which fne fcatters the
fruits, and does not hold up her cornucopiae and keep
the contents to herfelf, as many modern poets and
painters make her do.
“ The emperor Titus, having caufe to import a
great fupply of corn during a fcarcity at Rome, that
fupply, or the Annona, is finely reprefented as a fe¬
date lady, with a filled cornucopiae in her left hand,
which (he holds upright, to indicate that (he does not,
however, mean to fcatter it, as Abundance has a title
to do, but to give it to Equity to deal out. This laft
particular is ftiown by her holding a little image of
S 2 • Equity,
MO MED
w.lity cf Equity, known by ber fcales, and hajla pura, or point-
^toi-11 s/c1’ ^Pear) ber right band, over a baiket filled with
■ ^ wheat. Behind the Annona is the prow of a (hip
decked with flowers, to imply that the corn was brought
by fea (from Africa), and that the fhips had had a prof-
perous voyage. The beft poet in the world would not
have given us a finer train of imagery *, the belt painter
would have been puzzled to exprefs fo much matter in
fo fmall a compafs.
“ Security ftands leaning upon a pillar, indica¬
tive of her being free from all defigns and purfuits j
and the pollure itfelf correfponds to her name. Ho¬
race, in delcribing the wife man, mentions his being
teres atque rotundas ; round and polifhed, againft all
the rules of chance : an idea feemingly derived from
the column upon which this ideal lady reclines.
“ The emblems of Piety, Modesty, and the like,
are equally appofite and poetical.
“ The happinefs of the ftate is pi&ured by a {hip.
failing before a profperous breeze: an image than
which the fuperlative genius of Gray could find none
more exquilite ; and he has accordingly ufed it in his
moft capital produflion “ The Bard,” with due fuc-
cefs.
“ The diflerent countries of the then known world
are alfo delineated with great poetical imagery. It
affords patriotic fatisfaftion in particular to a Briton,
to fee his native ifland often reprefented upon the ear-
lieft imperial coins fitting on a globe, with a fymbol of
military power, the labarum, in her hand, and the ocean
rolling under her feet. An emblem almofl prophetic of
the vaft power which her dominion over the fea will
always give her, provided flie exerts her elemeht of
empire with due vigour and perfeverance.
“ Coins alfo prefent us with Achaia, Africa, Ala-
mannia, Alexandria, Arabia, Armenia, Afia, Bithy-
nia, Cappadocia, Dacia, Dardania, Egypt, Gallia,
Hifpania, Italia, Judtea, Macedon, Mauritania, Pan¬
noma, Parthia, Phrygia, Sarmatia, Sicily, Scythia,
Syria, and the rivers Danube, Nile, Rhine, Tyber.
This perfonification of provinces feems to have arifen
from the figures of provinces carried in triumphs ; as
the perfonification of our old poets fprung from the
ideal perfem aftually reprefented in the myfterial plays.
“ There is one colonial medal of rude execution of
Auguftus and Agrippa, which has a high claim to
merit in difplaying the ancient poetical imagery. It
is infcribed Imp. and Dm. f. and on the reverfe, the
conqueft of Egypt is reprefented by the metaphor of
a crocodile, an animal almoft peculiar to that country,
and at that period efteemed altogether fo ; which is’
chained to a palm tree, at once a native of the country
10 and fymbolic of vidfory.
Medals ufe- “ As the reverfes are fo ufeful for knowledge of
perfonification, fymbols of countries and a&ions, and
the like 5 fo the portraits to be feen on old coins are
no lefs important to a painter 5 the high merit of a
great number of them, in every charafter, juftly entit¬
ling them to be regarded as the beft ftudies in the world.
Not to mention, that, to an hiftoric painter, the fci-
ence of ancient medals is abfolutely neceffary, that he
may delineate his perfonages with the features they
really bore while in exiftence. This can only be at-
taiqed in this way, or from ftatues and bufts 5 any one
fni to a
painter
A L S.
of which will coft as much as hundreds of medals j Entertain-
and indeed a colle&ion of fuch is only attainable by ment tr‘In
princes.
The fame things which render the ftudy of medals1 
important to a painter, do ftill more fo to a fculptor ; ir
and in this particular, the ftudy of the Greek coins is Eo a fculp-
remarkably ufeful. The fldil of the Greeks in thetor*
art of fculpture has always been admired throughout
the world ; and on their coins the heads of feveral dei¬
ties are reprefented in the moft exquifite alto relievo.
Our author therefore thinks it ftrange, that the Gre¬
cian coins Ihould have hitherto been fo little attended
to by men of learning and tafte. They may have been
looked upon, he fuppofes, as belonging only to the
province of the antiquary j but he affures us, that the
Greek medals will afford fatisfaftion to the perfons who
value them only as pieces of workmanfhip. In moft
refpefts, they greatly excel thofe of Rome even in its
beft times ; which our author fuppofes to have been
from the days of Auguftus to Adrian. “ In the days
°f Adrian, in particular (fays he), the Roman mint
feems to have been the very feat of art and genius j
witnefs the vaft number of exquifite perfonifications, en¬
graven with equal workmanfhip, which fwarm on the
medals of that prince. Yet from his time down to
Pofthumus, coins of admirable workmanftiip are to be
found. Thofe of the Fauftinas and Lucilla deferve
particular mention. There is one, and not an uncom¬
mon one, of the latter in great brafs, which yields to
nothing of the kind. The reverfe is a Venus with the
name around her. The portrait of the obverfe feems
to fpring from the field of the coin ; it looks and
breathes, nay talks, if you truft your eyes. The coins
of Tarfus are extremely remarkable for a kind of per-
fpeftive in the figures, as Froelich obferves. On others
aie found triumphal arches, temples, fountains, aque-
dufts, amphitheatres, circi, hippodromes, palaces, bafili-
cas, columns and obelilks, baths, fea-ports, pharofes, and
the like. Thefe furniih much pleafure and inftruftion
to the architeft, and ferve to form his tafte to the an¬
cient manner; that manner which unites perfeft fimpli-
city with fublimity and grace j that manner which every
age admires, in proportion as it has genius to imi¬
tate.” 0
Sect. II. Entertainment arifiug from the Study of
Medals.
Besides the purpofes which the ftudy of medals
anfwers in the ufeful arts, a great variety of fources of
entertainment are to be found in it. Mr Pinkerton
obferves, that the moft barbarous nations are more
pleafed vyith the rudeft efforts of art, than with the
moft admirable works of nature ; and that in propor¬
tion as the powers of the mind are large and various,
fuch are alfo the pleafures which it receive? from thofe
fuperlative produftions of art, which can only be the
offspring of vaft genius. Hence works of art are
agreeable both to the enlightened and to the ignorant.
1 he chief ,amufement, therefore, which attends the
ftudy of medals, originates from the ftrength and fpi-
nt, the finifti and beauty, which the engraver has dif-
played in the execution of them. It befides gives a
kind of perfonal acquaintance wfith the perfons of whom
they are the reprefentaiions. Portraits have always
been-
MED
Entertain- been highly entertaining to mankind j and our author
went from js 0f 0pin}on? that the love of them gave rife both to
painting and fculpture. They are nowhere to be
y. - ^ ■ found fo ancient, io numerous, and fo wTell preferved as
in medals. Amufement is alfo derived even from the
reprefentations of ideal heads and perfons ) nay, even
from the minuted fymbols. Thus the Greek coins of
cities prefent us with heads of deities of exquifite
workmanfhip, apparently copied from ftatues or paint¬
ings •, fo that we may even guefs at the works of A-
pelles and Praxiteles from fome of the Greek medals.
Their reverfes afford dill greater variety •, there being
fcarce an objedf either in art or nature which is not
reprefented upon fome of them : ^and to the fatisfac-
tion arifing from a view of thefe, we may likewife add
that of beholding, in a lively manner, t)ie dreffes, man¬
ners and cudoms, religious and civil ceremonies, of
the ancients : fo that from medals we may obtain an
intereding hidory of manners j which, though very
lately cultivated, may perhaps afford the mod ufeful
and entertaining of all the provinces of hidory.
12 There is a very condderable difference betwixt the
Difference of medals and that of a mere antiquary. The
medallift1 ^atter frecluent^y feems to take delight in coins mere-
and anti- ty proportion to their rud and deformity •, fo that
quary. it is often a '"'recommendation of fome of their pieces,
that neither portrait, reverfe, nor legend, can be dif-
covered ; at lead in fuch manner as can be intelligibly
explained. “ The delight of the antiquarid (fays Mr
Pinkerton), may be called a depraved appetite of the
mind, which feeds on trafh, and fills itfelf with empti-
nefs. It is perhaps a mere childifh curiofity mingled
with caprice and hypochondricifm. Againd this cha¬
racter the ridicule of Severus is particularly {hot, but
with little effect ; for our antiquids exceed in vifions
and nonfenfe. I fay antiquijls ; for the name of anti¬
quary is facred. By antiquary, in foreign countries,
is implied a man who illudrates-their ancient law's,
manners, poetry ; but efpecially their ancient hidory.
There, men of the mod elevated minds are antiquaries;
as Muratori, Leibnitz, Montefquieu, Du Bos. Here
men of talents will not doop, forfooth, to dudies the
mod important to their country, but leave its anti¬
quities to chance. Every thing is important but our
hidory •, and we are profound in every ancient matter
that is fuperficial; and fuperficial in what is profound.
Even England cannot boad of one general hidorian,
but truds to the inaccuracy of Rapin, and the igno¬
rant neatnefs of Hume. It is therefore no wonder
that the dudy of antiquity is here ridiculous, though
mod important in other countries; none requiring
greater talents, learning, or indudry. But the hido-
ric antiquary has the pleafure of benefiting fociety,
and enlightening whole nations, while the medalhc has
only an innocent amufement. This amufemeht, con-
fidered merely as rifing from antiquarian objedls, has
not been explained, though felt by mod people, and
more by the learned. It feems analogical with that
which we derive from an extenfive profpedl : for as
the mind delights to expand itfelf into didant places,
fo alfo into didaM times. We conneft ourfelves wuth
thefe times, and feel as it were a double exidence. The
paffions are Angularly affe£fed by minute circumdances,
though mute to generalities *, and the relicks of an¬
tiquity imprefs us more than its general hidory,”
A L S.
Sect. 111. Hi/lory of Medals.
141
Hiftory.
The ftudy of medals is not of very ancient date:
None of the claflic writers give any account of collec¬
tions of them •, though indeed many little particulars
are paffed without notice by them. In the times
of the Greeks, a colledlion of fuch coins as then
exided mud have been but little regarded, as confid¬
ing only of thofe druck by the numerous little dates
which at that time ufed the Greek charafters and lan¬
guage. Hence they would have had an air of
domedic coinage, and no attention would have been
paid to them, however exquifite their workmandiip
might have been. The little intercourfe at that time
carried on betwixt the different provinces alfo, greatly
impeded any communication of knowledge to thofe
who wrote hidories j fo that it is no wonder to find
any fmall colleftions that might then have exided al-
. together unnoticed by them. * 13
Almod as foon as any communication was opened Greek coins
between the Greeks and Romans, the latter treated
the arts of the Greeks with all due refpedf and ap-mans<
plaufe. Their coins were imitated by the Romans,
and preferved in cabinets by the fenators among their
choiced treafures. Suetonius informs us, that on fo-
lemn occafions Augudus was accudomed to prefent
his friends with medals of foreign dates and princes,
along with other valuable tedimonies of bis frienddnp.
In a more advanced period of the Roman empire,
however, individuals would undoubtedly form collec¬
tions of coins peculiar to their own date $ for Dr
Stukeley, in his Medallic Hidory of Caraufius, in¬
forms us, that a complete feries of diver coins was
lately found in Britain, containing all the emperors
down to Caraufius inclufively. From Banduri w7e
alfo know, that certain Greek coins were fpecially
preferved by the Romans \ and it appears from their
code, that ancient gold and filver coins were made ufe
of indead of gems; to which didindlion thofe of Sicily
were particularly entitled. From the decline of the
Roman empire till towards the end of the fifth centu¬
ry, almod all branches of literature were involved in
darknefs, and the medallic fcience among the red.
While the Chridian dominion of Condantinople laded,
indeed, almod all the arts and fciences may be faid to
have been kept within its own boundaries j though
the Arabs and eadern nations had fome arts and fci¬
ences of their own : but after the dedru&ion of the1
imperial city by the Turks, the Greeks were once
more compelled to become fathers to the European
fcience. Even before this time, indeed, fome vediges
of a revival of literature had appeared in Italy ; “ and
fo intimate and neceffary a connexion (fays Mr Pin¬
kerton), has now the dudy of medals with that of an-,
cient erudition, that on the earlied appearance of a re¬
vival of the latter, the former was alfo difclofed.” 14
The fird among the moderns who began to ftudy Collefffors
the metallic fcience was Petrarch. Being defired by °f me<lab-
the emperor Charles IV. to compofe a book contain¬
ing the lives of eminent men, and to place him in the
lift, he replied, that he would do fo whenever the em¬
peror’s life and conduft deferved it. In confequence
of this converfation, he afterwards fent the emperor a
colle&ion of gold and filver coins bearing the repre¬
fentations
142 M E D
Hiftory. fentations of eminent men, with an addrefs fuitabie to
v his former declaration. A coliedfion of coins was
made in the next age by Alphonfo king of Arragon 5
but though this monarch collected all that could be
found throughout Italy, we know that there could not
have been very many, as the whole w7ere contained in
an ivory cabinet, and carried always about with him.
A very confiderable collection was made by Anthony
Cardinal St Mark, nephew to Eugene IV. who afcend-
ed the pontifical chair in 1431 } and loon after the
grand mufeum at Florence vras begun by Cofmo de
Medici, where a colledtion of ancient coins and medals
had a place among other curiofities. Corvinus king of
Hungary about the fame time formed a noble collec¬
tion of coins along with ancient manufcripts and other
valuable relicks or antiquity.
Mr Pinkerton confiders Agnolo Poliziano, more
commonly known by the name of Angelas Politianus, as
the lirfl: writer w'ho adduced medals as vouchers of an¬
cient orthography and cuftoms. He cites different
coins of the Medicean collerffion in his Mifcellanea
written about the year 1490. By means of a cabinet
of medals colledled by Maximilian I. emperor of Ger¬
many, Joannes Huttichius was enabled to publjlh a
book of the lives of the emperors, enriched with their
portraits, delineated from ancient coins. It is gene¬
rally fuppofed that this book, wdiich appeared in 1525,
was the firft work of the kind ; but Labbe, in bis
Bibliotheca Nummaria, mentions another named lilujlri-
um Imagines, by one Andreas Fulvius, printed in 1517,
in which moil of the portraits ieem to be from medals.
About the year 1512 alfo, Guillaume Bude, a French
author, had written his treatife De sljjc, though it was
not printed till many years afterwards. M. Grollier,
treafurer of the French armies in Italy, during part of
the 16th century, had a great colledlion of coins of
different kinds of metals. After his death, his brafs
medals w'ere fent to Provence, and were about to be
lent into Italy ; when the king of France, having got
information of the tranfadlion, gave orders to Hop
them, and purchafe the whole at a very high price for
his own cabinet of antiquities. M. Grollier had an af-
fortmcnt of gold and filver as wrell as of brafs medals j
the cabinet in which they were contained fell two
centuries afterwards into the hands of M. PAbbe de
Bothelin ; and w-as known to have been that of Grol¬
lier frojn fome flips of paper, on which wras his ufual
infcription for his books, Joannis Groilierii, et ami-
x - corum.
Number of Cotemporary with Grollier wms Guillaume de Ghoul,
domets who was liken ife a man of rank and fortune. He'
had a good colle&ion of medals, and publiihed many
in his Treatife on the Religion of the ancient Romans
I557- Fow Countries we know, from the
letters of Erafmus, that the ftudy of medals was begun
about the beginning of the 16th centurv. About the
middle of that century, Hubertzus Goltzius, a printer
• and engraver, travelled over moft countries in Europe
fearching for coins and medals, in order to publish books
concerning them. From one of thefe wmrks it ap-
i(A) This colPftion, as well as the red of Dr Hunter
•Giafgow, to which it w7as bequeathed by the doctor’s will.
-1
A L S.
pears, that there were then in the Low7 Countries 2DO Hiftory.
cabinets of medals ) 175 in Germany, upwards of 380 ■"‘v——J
in Italy, and 200 in France. It is probable, how¬
ever, that there are now7 four times as many in thefe
countries, befldes 500 in Britain ; but we are not to
imagine that all thefe w7ere grand collections, for of
fuch there are not above a dozen even in Italy : moil
of thofe jult mentioned were of the clafs named cajkets
of medals, containing from 100 to icoo or 2000. ik
"There are few countries, Italy excepted, in which Number of
a greater number of coins have been found than in f0Iris.foilnd
Britain 5 though we are by no means well acquainted1*^ ‘'*n
wdth the time when the ffudy of them commenced.
Mr Pinkerton fufpe£ls that Camden w7as one of the
firft, if not the very firft Britifli author, xvho produced
medals in his works, and who muft have had a fmall
colle&ion. Speed’s Chronicle, published in the 17th
century, was illuftrated with coins from Sir Robert
Cotton’s cabinet. Gorlaeus’s collection was purchafed
by Plenry prince of Wales, brother to Charles I. to
whom he left it at his death. According to Joleph
Scaliger, it confifted of 30,000 coins and medals. A
collection of 5500 coins was purchafed by Archbilhop
Laud for 600I. and given to the Bodleian library.
Thomas earl of Arundel, earl-marfhal of England,
vyell known from the Arundelian tables and other an¬
tiquities which he imported from Greece and Italy in¬
to Britain, had a rich cabinet of medals colle£fed by
Daniel Nifum. I he dukes of Buckingham and Ha¬
milton, Sir William Pafton, Sir Thomas Fanftiaw of
Ware-Park, Sir Thomas Hanmer, Ralph Sheldon,
Elq j Mr Selden, &c. are enumerated by Evelyn as
colle&ors of medals. Charles I. as well as his hifto-
rian the earl of Clarendon, w7ere alfo colleflors. The
king had a very fine cabinet j which, however, was
diflipated and loft during the civil commotions. Oliver
Cromwell had a fmall coiledfion j and the cabinet of
Charles II. is mentioned by Vaillant in the preface to
his treatife entitled Nummi m Coloniis," &c. This
branch of magnificence has not been much attended to
by fucceeding Britifti monarchs ; though his prefent
majefty has a very good collefHon of ancient gold
coins.
A great number of fine cabinets have been formed Britifh
in Britain fince the time of Evelyn. About the year cabinets.
1720 Haym makes mention of thofe of the duke of
Devonfliire, the earls of Pembroke and Winchelfea,
Sir Plans Sloane, Sir Andrew Fontaine, Mr Sadler,
Mr Abdy, Mr Wren, Mr Chicheley, and Mr Kemp.
At prefent there are many remarkable collefHons ;
but that of the late Dr William Plunter is defervedly
efteemed the moft remarkable in Europe, excepting
tnat cl the late French king. It was not only formed at
a great expence, but with much care and ability ; many
foreign medals offered to it having been rejedted
(a). The other remarkable colk&ions are thofe of the
duke of Devonflnire, the earl of Pembroke, Earl Fitz-
william, formerly the marquis of Rockingham’s, the
honourable Plorace Walpole, the reverend Mr Crach-
rode, the reverend Mr Southgate, Mr Townley, Mr
R. P.
s Mufeum, is now in the poffeffion of the univerfity of
MED
Ofwhat R. P. Knight, Mr Edward Knight, Mr Tvfon, Mr
conftmdtcd. jjarker< Mr Brown, and feveral others. The Britilli
mufeum and univerfities in England have alfo collec¬
tions ; as well as the Advocates library, the Antiquarian
Society, and the univerlities in Scotland.
iS
Ancient
gold coins.
it)
Metal call¬
ed e/e/??/-wot.
ao
Ancient fil-
ver.
Sect. IV. Materials of winch Medals are confrucied.
Medals are formed of gold, filver, and the various
modifications of copper. The gold ufually made ufe
of in coinage is about the finenefs of 22 carats.; and
as the art of purifying this metal was very much un¬
known in former times, the moft ancient medals are
for this reafon much more impure than the modern
coins. Gold is never found in its native ftate above
22 carats fine ; and the very ancient medals are much
under that itandard. Many of them are compofed of
a mixture of gold and filver, called by the ancients
eleBrum. The gold medals were made of much finer
metal after Philip of Macedon became poffeffed of the
gold mines of Philippi in Thrace, and the medals of
his fon Alexander the Great are equally fine ; as well
as -thofe of fome other princes of that age. Thofe of
the Egyptian Ptolemies are of the finenefs of 23
carats three grains, with only one grain of alloy. The
Roman coins are very pure even from the earlieft times;
the art of refining gold being well known before any
was coined at Rome. Some authors are of opinion,
that the Roman coins begin to fall fhort of their pu¬
rity after the time of Titus ; but Mr Pinkerton de¬
nies that any thing of this kind takes place till the
time of the emperor Severus ; and even then only in
a very few inftances. Moft of the Roman gold was
brought from Dalmatia and Dacia, where that metal
is ftill to be met with. A very remarkable circum-
ftance is obferved in the eaftern part of Hungary,
which belonged to the ancient Dacia. It germinates
in the vines of Tokayy and is found in their ftems ; as
it is elfewhere in the ftraw of corn.
Pliny informs us, and indeed it is generally known,
that gold and filver are found mixed together in the
earth. Where the filver amounted to one-fifth part of
the gold, the metal was called eleBrum ; but fometimes
the quantity of filver was added artificially. The gold-
was in thofe days as well as at prefent refined by means
of mercury : and the ancient artifts had certainly at¬
tained to great perfeclion in this branch of metallurgy ;
as Bodin tells us, that the goldfmiths of Paris upon
melting one of Vefpafian’s gold coins found only
part of alloy.
Moft of the ancient filver, particularly that of Greece,
is lefs pure than that of fucceeding times ; even the
Roman filver is rather inferior to the prefent ftandard,
and that from the very beginning ; but in the time of
Severus, the filver appears very bad, and continues fo
until the time of Dioclefian. Many writers upon this-
fubjeft have miftaken the denarii cerei, “ coins of brafs
waftied with filver,” for filver currency. Silver coins
are extremely fcarce from the time of Claudius Gothi-
cus to that of Dioclefian, or from the year 270 to
284 : in which ftiort fpace no fewer than eight empe¬
rors reigned. Silver at that time was found moftly in
Spain ; and the commerce with that country was di-
flurbed by the ufurpers who arofe in Gaul ; and inch
were the troubles of the times, that not only the filver
A L S. 143
but alfo the gold coins of thofe eight emperors, are Of what
extremely fcarce. There is ftill, however, fome filver conftructed.
extant of thefe eight emperors ; and it is certain, that v '
copper waftied was never ufed as filver currency, but
was entirely a diftin6I coinage. Occafional deprava¬
tions of filver had taken place long before ; as Pliny
tells us, that Mark Antony mixed iron with his filver
denarii ; and Mr Pinkerton informs us, that he had
feen a denarius of Antony, which was attracted by a
magnet. 2i
The ancient brafs coins confift of two kinds : the i^r!c‘ent
red or Cyprian, which indeed is no other than copper ;brai®'
and the common yellow brafs. Our author obferves,
that in the Roman coinage brafs was of double the
value of copper, and he is of opinion, that it was the
fame among the Greeks ; and the latter is the metal
moft commonly made ufe of in tire Gre< k coinage.
The Roman feftertii are always of brafs : the middling-
fized kind are partly copper and partly brafs ; *he for¬
mer being doable the value of the latter, which are
the (fes.
Mr Pinkerton next proceeds to give an account of Mixed me*-
the mixed metals ufed among the Romans. In Bri-ta*s'
tain all kinds of coins made of mixed metal are with¬
out hefitation alleged to be forgeries ; although it is
certain that the variety of mixed metals ufed in coin¬
age was very confiderable. The moft valuable mix¬
ture wyas that of gold or filver, already mentioned, na¬
med e/eBruni ; the filver commonly amounting to one-
fifth part of the gold made ufe of, or perhaps more.
Of this mixture are many of the early coins of Lydia,
and fome other Afiatic ftates ; alto thofe of the kings
of the Bofphorus Cimmerius, during the imperial ages
o^ Rome, Next to the eleflrum were the coins of
Corinthian brals : but Mr Pinkerton informs us, that Corinthianr
not a Angle coin was ever ftruck of this metal by thek1,1115-
ancients ; it having been conftantly employed only in
the fabrication of vafes or toys. It was in ufe at any
rate only for a very ftiort time ; being altogether un¬
known in the days of Pliny the Elder. Our author
therefore ridicules thofe who pretend not only to find
out imperial coins of this metal, but to difeover three
kinds of it; viz. one in which the gold predominates,
another in which the filver prevails, and a third where
the brafs is moft confpicuous. He gives /Eneas Vico,
one of the moft ancient writers on medals, as the au¬
thor of this idea ; but whole opinions were confuted
by one Savot, a writer in the 17th century. Vico
mentions a coin of this kind ftruck under Auguftus,
anotner of Livia, and a third of Claudius. The mif-
take, he is of opinion, arofe from the circumftance of
the firft propagator not being able to account for the
various mixtures and modifications of brafs obfervable
in ancient coins of the large fize ; and which in fo
common a metal appear very odd to the moderns.
Befides the authority of Pliny and other antiquaries of
more modern a date, who all declare that they never faw
a fingle medal of Corinthian brafs, or of that metal
mixed with filver and gold, our author adduces another
evidence which he looks upon to be fuperior to either ;
viz. that thofe who have given into this funpofition,
imagine, that the large pieces called fejlertii, and others
called dupondiarii, worth about twopence or a pennv,
are faid to have been compofed of this precious metal.
It is unreafonable to think, that any propoition of
gold
144 MED
Ancient gold or filver could have been made ufe of in thefe.
i Mo^-v- The coins faid to have been ftruck upon Corinthian
brafs are only done upon a modification of common
brafs; of which we know, that in proportion to the
quantity of zinc made ufe of in conjuxnflion with the
copper, the metal affumes a variety of hues. On the
authority of Pliny he informs us, that the coins mif-
taken for Corinthian brafs were no other than prince’s
24 . r
Egyptian metal.
filver coins. The Egyptian filver coins firuck under the Roman
emperors are at firft of tolerably pure filver j but af¬
terwards degenerate into a mixture of copper and tin
with a little filver. They are very thick, but many
of them are elegantly ftruck, with uncommon reveries.
There are likewife three fets of brafs coins belonging
to this country from the earliefi. times of the Roman
emperors there. Some of thefe are of bell-metal or
pot-metal ; and, after the time of Gallienus and Vale¬
rian, the coinage of brafs with a fmall addition of fil¬
ver becomes authorized by the ftate the coins ftruck
upon it being called denarii ceret. Thofe of lead or
copper plated with filver have been fabricated by Ro¬
man forgers. Some coins of lead, however, have been
met with of undoubted antiquity ; and an ancient wri¬
ter informs us, that tin money was coined by Diony-
fius $ but none has been found. The lead coins of
Tigranes king of Armenia, mentioned as genuine by
Jobert, are accounted forgeries by Mr Pinkerton and
other modern medalifts. Plautus, however, makes
mention of leaden coins, and feveral of them have been
found ; but our author looks upon them to have been
chiefly eflay pieces, ftruck in order to let the artift
judge of the progrefs of the die. Others are the plated
kind already mentioned, fabricated by ancient forgers,
but having the plating worn oft'. A great number of
leaden coins are mentioned by Ficorini in a work en¬
titled Piombi Antichi, in which he fuppofes them to
have ferved as tickets for guefts j and coins of the
fame kind are alfo mentioned by Pafferi. In the work
entitled Notitia Imperii Romani, there is mention of
coins made of leather, but none of them have ever
been found.
Sect. V. Of Ancient Money.
In confidering the different fizes, values, &c. of the
Greek and Roman coins, our author treats of the me¬
dals as money ; a knowdedge of which, he fays, is ef-
fentially neceffary to every reader of the claflics j info-
25 much that it may almoft difpute the preference with
Knowledge the ftudies of ancient geography and chronology. Not-
ot ancient withftanding all that has been written upon the fub-
.iea» however, our author is of opinion, that the fcience
is ftill in its infancy, in as far as it relates to the real
money of the ancients. “ The ideal (fays he), which
is indeed the moft important province of difcuflion,
has been pretty clearly afcertained •, and we are almoft
as well acquainted with the Attic mna or mina, and
the perplexing progrefs of the Roman fejiertia, as with
our own pounds. But with the aftnal coin of the an¬
cients the cafe is different •, and the ignorance even of
the learned in this point is wonderful.”
Our author now goes on, with great afperity of
language, to particularize the ignorant manner in which
modern authors have treated the fubjefl of medals.
A L S.
“ Arbuthnot and Clarke (fays he), are, if poftible, more Ancient
ignorant of medals than Budaeus the very firft. The Money-
latter profeffes his love of medals, but quotes a con-
fular coin with the head of Cicero j and looks upon
one of the 30 pieces of filver, the reward of the treach¬
ery of Judas, and which was faid to be preferved a-
mong fome relicks at Paris, to be worthy of reference
and commemoration. Arbuthnot, if we may judge
from his book, had never feen any ancient coins j and.
Clarke, it is well knowm, was quite ignorant of them.
The latter, wfith all his labour, feems even to have
known nothing of the theoretic part of the real ancient
money. Indeed Dr Mead’s catalogue feems to have
been almoft the only bock on medals which had under¬
gone his perufal. On the other hand, the ignorance
of medalliils on this icore is no lefs profound. To
this day they look upon the didrachms of /Egina, fo
celebrated in antiquity, ^tridrachms of AJgium 5 and
upon the early obolus as a brafs coin. In the Roman
clafs the large brafs is efteemed the as, while it fhall
be proved that it is the fejlertius, and worth four afes.
The denarius is reckoned at ten afes even in the impe¬
rial times $ whereas it only wrent at that rate for the
firft 90 years after the coinage of filver at Rome.
The denarius sereus is taken for filver currency $ with
other miftakes, which evince that medallifts are as ig¬
norant of the theory, as the others are of the prac-
In his account of the ancient Greek money, Mr Money firft
Pinkerton obferves, that the light of fcience, like thatcoinedin
of the fun, has proceeded from eaft to weft. “ It
moft probable (fays he), that the firft invention of
money arofe like the other arts and fciences; and
fpread from thence into the w^eftern parts of the world.
In its firft fliape it appeared as mere pieces of metal it5 firft
without any ftated form or impreflion ; in lieu of rude ftate.
which, it was regulated by weight. Even down to
the Saxon government in England, large fums were
regulated by weight ; and in our own times every fingle
piece is weighed in gold ; though with regard to filver
this nicety is not minded, nor indeed does it feem
pra&icable. Among the ancients, whofe commercial
tranfadfions w?ere lefs important and extenfive than
thofe of the moderns, filver was weighed as well as
gold ; nay even brafs, in fome cafes. 2g
In Greece, large fums were determined by or Greek m®-
minec ; and the moft capital fums by talents. In every ney.
country the mina is fuppofed to have contained loo
drachmae, or fmall filver coins, of that country, and
the talent 60 minte. The mina is fuppofed to be a
pound w’dght of the country to w’bich it belonged.
The Attic pound, according to Dr Arbuthnct, con¬
tained 16 ounces, equal to our avoirdupois pound :
but Mr Pinkerton looks upon this as a very abfurd
opinion, and accufes the dodlor of having adopted it
merely that he may explain a paffage in Livy. He is
of opinion, that the Attic pound is very nearly the
fame wuth the pound Troy. The mina of Athens had
at firft 73 drachms j but by Solon it was fixed at IOO.
The ancient drachm weighed the fame which it does
at prefent in medical weight, viz. the eighth part of
an ounce. I he mina or pound of 1 2 ounces had con-
fequently 96 of thefe drachms ; but four of them were
given to the round fum to fupply defefts in the alloy 5
“ and indeed (fays our author), in confequence of a
pommon
J^ncient
Money.
29
Of the an¬
cient ta¬
lents.
MED
common pra&ice In all ages and In all countries, of
giving fome addition to a large weight. Thus the
pound in weight had but 96 drachmae In fact, while
the pound in tale had too ; as the Roman libra in
weight had but 84 denarii, in tale 108 j and as our
pound in tale, by an inverfe progrefs, is not a third of
our pound in common wreight.
Notwithftanding the very fevere criticifm on Dr
Arbuthnot juft mentioned, however, we find our au¬
thor adopting his account of the talents ufed in coin¬
age in feveral countries. Thus, according to the
doftor.
The Syrian talent had 15
Ptolemaic - 20
Antiochian - 60
Eubcean - - 60
Babylonian - 70
Larger Attic - 80
Tyrian - - 80
Egyptian - 80
iEginean - 100
Rhodian - 100
Attic minae
Notwithftanding the conceflion made here by Mr
Pinkerton to the doctor, he tells us, that he very
much queftions this lift of talents, and that many an¬
cient writers are little to be relied upon. “ Writers
on this fubjeft confefs, that the numbers in all ancient
manufcripts are the parts moft fubje£t to error, as be¬
ing almoft always contrafted. They ought to allow
that the authors themfelves muft often be liable to
wrong information.
“ Herodotus mentions, that King Darius ordered
gold to be paid into his treafury by the Euboic ta¬
lent, and lilver by the Babylonian. The Euboic is
efteemed the fame with that called afterwards the At¬
tic $ and as we eftimate gold by carats, fo it is natu¬
ral to fuppofe, that the moft precious metal w'ould be
regulated by the moft minute weight. But I con¬
fefs, I take the Babylonic talent to be the fame wTith
that of vEgina. Mr Raper has proved the firft coins
of Macedon to be upon the ftandard of Aigina. Now
the early Perfian coins are upon that very fcale, the
largeft tetradrachms weighing from 430 to 440 grains.
Hence it follows, that the Perfian filver coins wTere of
the AEginean ftandard $ and the payment was certainly
to be made according to the ftandard of the money.
The larger Attic talent was of 80 leffer mina; $ becaufe
the larger Attic mina was of 16 ounces. The Alex¬
andrian talent, according to Feftus, confifted of x 2,000
denarii, being the fame wnth that ufed by the Egyp¬
tian kings in their coins ; and is fhown by Mr Raper
to have been the fame with the talent ofAEgina. Per¬
haps the whole of the ancient coins of Afia, Africa,
Greece, Magna Graecia, and Sicily, are reducible to
three talents or ftandards. 1. That of AEgina, ufed in
moft of the more ancient filver coinages 5 as w'ould
feem in even the later of Egypt, Carthage, Cyrene,
&c. 2. The Attic (being the Afiatic gold ftandard,
afteiwards ufed by Phidon king of Argos in eftimat-
ing gold, and called Euboic from Euboea, one of the
quarters of the city of Argos), ufed in Athens and
the greater part of the w'orld as the ftandard both of
gold and filver. 3. The Doric or Sicilian talent of
24 nummi, each worth an obolus and an half) whence
Vox.. XIII. Part I.
A L Ss 145
the talent is eftimated at fix Attic drachms or three Ancient
darics. Thefe weights continued to be the ftandard ^oney' ,
of money after it began to be diftinguiftied by impref-
fion ; nay, to the fall of Greece and prevalence of the
Roman empire.” 30
Coinage, according to Herodotus, was firft invent-
ed by the Lydians, from whom the Greeks quickly re-?r,gir‘‘l.te3
ceived it. The former could not have received it from ' ‘
the Perfians, whofe empire did not begin till 570 B. C.
though our author fuppofes that it might have pro¬
ceeded from the Syrians, who carried on commerce in 31
very ancient times. The moft ancient Greek coins of ar,c‘*
filver have an indented mark upon one fide, and a tor-cnt GieCiV
toife upon the other •, and thofe of greateft antiquity fcrj^ecii
have no letters upon them. Thofe of later date have
AI FI marked upon them, which medallifts interpret of
AEgium in Achaia j being led into that fuppofition by
the tortoife, which they look upon as the fure mark
of the Peloponnefus. But though our author agrees
that the tortoife was fo, he thinks that they are other-
wife very far wmong in their conclufions. AEgium in
Achaia w7as a place of no confequence till the times
of Aratus and the Achaean leauge; but there are 11
of thefe coins in Dr Hunter’s cabinet, which fhow
that they muft have been ftruck in times of the moft
remote antiquity, and that the place where they wTere
ftruck was rich and flourilhing at the time. The coins
we fpeak of are not common •, but thofe which have
the name AIFEI£2N at full length, and wdiich may
perhaps belong to AEgium in Achaia, are extremely
fcarce ; infomuch that in all Dr Hunter’s vaft collec-*
tion there are not above one or two. They are like-
wife conftru&ed upon a fcale quite different from all
other Grecian money-, being of 8, 13, 15-^90, and
about 186 grains. The Grecian drachma at an ave¬
rage is 66 grains 3 and Mr Pinkerton thinks it would
have been ftrange if pieces had been ftruck of eight-
tenths of an obolus, of an obolus and an half, or of a
drachma and an half. AEgium being originally an ob-
feure village, could not be the firft which coined mo¬
ney : fo that Mr Pinkerton fuppofes the name AIFI
to have flood for AEgialus, the ancient name of Si-
cyon, a wealthy and powerful city 3 or rather AEgina,
the mint of which wTas much celebrated, and perhaps"
the moft ancient in Greece.
Other arguments in favour of thefe coins being de¬
rived from AEgina, are drawn from their weight as W’ell
as their w7orkmanlhip, which are quite different from
thofe bearing the name of AEgium at full length.
The coinage of AEgina is knowm to have been different
from that of the reft of Greece ; infomuch that its
drachma was worth 10 Attic oboli, while the Attic
drachma was valued only at fix. Hence the drach¬
mas of AEgina were named by the Greeks Traxtatv, or
tfa'ck ; a name very applicable to the coins in queftion.
From thefe obfervations, our author is of opinion, that
we may even diftinguiib the precife weight of the an¬
cient coins of AEgina. According to the ex add: pro¬
portion, the drachma of this place fhould weigh ex-
a6Hy no grains; and one of them very much rubbed
weighed above 90. The others of larger fize, which
feem to be didrachms of AEgina, w7eigh from 181 to
194 grains 3 but the latter being the only one he could
meet with in good prefervation, it wTas impofiible to
form any juft medium. Even in thofe beft preferved,
T he
\
l45 MED
Ancient he thinks that xo grains may be allowed for a wafte-
, Money. 0f t],e nie{;ai Jn i0 lon(, a time as 2400 years, which
v-” would Luring the drachma of iEgina near its proper
ftandard. The obolus of yEgina was in proportion
to its drachma of fix oboli. It is the piece of 154-
grains, and 13 when very much rubbed. The hemi-
obolon is that of eight, but when rubbed it falls fhort
32 of this weight. v
miu^rnoft Senera^ denomination of the Greek money is
■-eneial de. t^e drachma, or eighth part of an ounce ; which to this
^omisvition. day is retained in the medical weights, the Grecian
coins receiving their names from the weights they bore j
though in fome inifances the weights received their
•appellations from the coins. The filver drachma, ac¬
cording to Mr Pinkerton, was about ninepence ller-
ling ; and he finds fault with thofe who make the
drachma and denarius both equal to one another, the
latter being no more than eightpence. The didrachm
of filver, according to the fame calculation, was worth
i8d. ; but the tridrachm occurs very rarely : and Mr
Pinkerton is even of opinion, that medallifts give this
name to the didrachm of iEgina. The largeft of all
the Grecian coins is the tetradrachm, which on the
AEginean ftandard is worth five {hillings j but in thofe
of the other ftates only four. There are, however,
many fubdiviiions in the filver drachma j the higheft
being the tetraobolion or coin of four oboli; being in
proportion to the drachma as our groat to a fixpence,
weighing about 44 grains, and being in value about
fixpence. The hemidrachm or triobolion comes next
in value, weighing about 33 grains, and worth four-
pence halfpenny. The filver diobolion, or third of
the drachma, weighs about 22 grains, and is worth
threepence. The obolus of filver weighs about 11
grains, and is worth only three halfpence. There is
likewdfe a hemiobolion in filver, or half the obolus,
of five grains and a half, value three farthings : and
another called tetraobolion dichalcos or quarter obolus,
which is the moft minute coin yet met with ; and by
reafon of its extreme fmallnefs, weighing only two
grains and a quarter, is now very fcarce : but there
is one in the cabinet of Dr Hunter, and fome more
have been lately brought from Athens by Mr Stuart.
Some of them are likewife met with at Tarentum.
It would appear, however, that there were fome ftill
fmaller, and of value only three-fourths of a far¬
thing. None of thefe have been met with ; and the
fmallnefs of the fize renders it improbable that any
will ever be met with 5 as the peafants, who common¬
ly difcover coins, would probably either not obferve
them at all, or if they did, would negleft them as
-3 things of no value.
Different Many different names have been impofed on the
Greek °f coins belonging to the different ftates of Greece : thus
coin,. -<«£>!, the maiden, was a name often applied to the te¬
tradrachm, and which would feem to apply to thofe
of Athens •, though there are coins of other cities with
the head of Proferpine, and the word to which
it would appear more applicable in our author’s opi¬
nion. Xs^&iyt, the Jhell, was the name of another coin,
from its type. A Sicilian coin was named As^gsrior,
from Gelon’s wife. A tetradrachm w7as named
K^9r«T£<7«u?, and had eight or hemidrachms.
The Tge<r>iwa», fo called from its country Troizene,
had Pallas on one fide and a trident on the reverie.
A L S.
The hemiobolion was the of Lacedemon ; and Ancient
the fcoXAvSoj is fuppofed to have been equal to the M°ney-
Roman feftertius or quarter drachma. The cystophori ' v
were coins with the myftic cheft or hamper of Bacchus
upon them, out of which a ferpent rifes ; and are much
celebrated in antiquity. We are told by Livy, that
Marcus Acilius, in his triumph over Antiochus and
the iTitolians, carried off 248,000 of them; Cneius Man¬
lius Vulfo in that over Gallo-Graecia had 2,0,000 j
and Lucius Emiiius Regillus, in his naval triumph over
the fleets of Antiochus, had 131,300. Cicero like¬
wife mentions his being pofleffed of a vaft fum in them.
The moft: probable opinion concerning them feems to
be, that they are all filver tetradrachms *, fuch as be¬
long to the cities of Apamea and Laodicea in Phry¬
gia 5 Pergamus in Myfia j Sardis and Tralles in Ly¬
dia ; and Ephefus: but it is a miftake to afcribe any
to Crete. Mr Pinkerton thinks it abfurd to imagine
that Crete, a fmall ifland, ftiould ftrike fuch vaft num¬
bers of coins 5 though Cicero mentions his being in
pofieflion of an immenfe treafure in them at the time
he xvas governor of Afia Minor. “ It is moft: likely
(fays Mr Pinkerton), that his wealth flrould be in the
coin of the country to wdrich he belonged. But w7hat
had thefe triumphs or Cicero’s government to do with
Cretan money ? But indeed the coins themfelves, as
above noticed, eftablifti the fa£L” ^
Another fet of coins famous in antiquity w7ere thofe Coins of
of Cyzicus in Myfia, wdiich w7ere of gold *, but they Cyzicas^
are now almoft entirely vanfthed by being recoined in
other forms. The voy.to-y.x,, or money of Slry-
andes, w7ho was made governor of Egypt by Cam-
byfes, is made mention of by Hefychius; but none of
them, as far as is known, have reached our times.
They muft have been marked with Perfian charaflers,
if with any. The coin of Queen Philiflis is mentioned
by the fame worker, and many" of thefe piece* are ftill
extant 5 but we know not where this queen reigned,
nor does there feem to be any method of finding it
out. Mr Pinkerton inclines to believe, that fhe pre-
fided over Sicily j and as a confirmation of that .fup-
pofition, mentions fome infcriptions of BASIAIS2AS
‘MAIZTIAOS or the Gradini of the theatre at Syracufe j
but which appear not older than the Roman times.
Some authors are of opinion, that fhe reigned in Cof-
fara or Malta ; which our author thinks much more
improbable.
The moft particular attention with regard to the Athenian
names and ftandard of coins is due to thofe of Athens j coins,
and it is remarkable, that moft: of them which have
reached us are of a very late period, wuth the names of
magiftrates infcribed upon them. Some of thefe bear
the name of Mithridates ; and few are older than the
era of that prince ; who, it is w7ell knowm, took the
city of Athens in his war with the Romans. I fu-
fpeft (fays Mr Pinkerton), that no Athenian coins of
filver are pofterior to Sylla’s infamous deftrudfion of
that city 5 an event the more remarkable, as Salluft
tells us, that Sylla was learned in Greek. Indeed Ca¬
ligula, Nero, and moft: of the pefts of fociety, have been
learned men, in fpite of a noted axiom of Ovid,
Scd inyenuas didicijfe feliciter antes
Emollit mores, nec fttiit c[fe feros.
It is ftill more remarkable, that the fabric of Athe¬
nian
MED
Ancient
Money.
- 3^
Greek cop¬
per money.
man coins is almSift univerTally very rude : a lingular
circumftance, if v:c reflefl how much the arts flourilh-
ed there. It can only be accounted for from the ex¬
cellence of their artifts being fuch as to occalion all
the good Ones to be called into other countries, and
none but the bad left at home. In like manner, the
coins llruck at Rome in the imperial times are excel¬
lent, as being done by the belt Greek artifts *, while
thole of Greece, though famous at that time for pro¬
ducing miraculous artills, are during that period com¬
monly of very mean execution. The opulence of A-
thens in her days of glory was very great •, owing in
an eminent degree to her rich commerce with the
kingdoms on the Euxine fea, carried on chiefly from
Delos, which belonged to Athens, and was the grand
centre of that trade.” Hence it has become matter
of furprife to Neumann, that when there are fo
many coins of Mycene, an iiland even proverbially
poor, there fhould be none of Delos. But Mr Pinker¬
ton accounts for this from Mycene’s being a free Hate,
and Delos fubject to Athens. “ It may be wrell fup-
pofed (fays he), that Athens had a mint at Delos j
and fuch Athenian coins as have fymhols of Apollo,
Diana, or Latona, were ftruck in this ifland.”
The copper money of the Greeks is next in anti¬
quity to the filver. Mr Pinkerton is of opinion, that
it was not ufed at Athens till the 26th year of the Pe-
loponnefian war ; about 404 years before Chrift, and
300 after filver was lirfl: coined there. The firft cop¬
per coins were thofe of Gelo of Syracufe, about 490
B. C.
Ofthechal- ,^e c^a^cos °f brafs, of which eight went to the
CUSt filver obolus, feems to have been the firfl: kind of
Greek coin. At firft it was looked upon as of fo little
confequence, that it became proverbial ■, and to fay
that a thing wTas not worth a cha/cos, was equivalent to
faying that it was worth nothing. As the Greeks be¬
came poor, however, even this diminutive coin was
fubdivided into two, four, nay eight or fmall
coins $ but our author cenfures very feverely thofe
who have given an account of thofe divifions. “ Pol¬
lux, and Suidas copying from him (fays he), tell us,
that there were feven lepta to one chalcos; a number
the molt unlikely that can be, from its indivifibility and
incapacity of proportion.
“ Pollux lived in the time of Commodus, fo was too
late to be of the fmalleft authority : Suidas is four or
five centuries later, and out of the queftion. Pliny tells
us, that there were ten chalet to the obolus ; Diodo-
r„us and Cleopatra that there rvere fix ; Ifidorus fays
there were four: and if fuch writers differ about the
larger denomination, we may well imagine that the
fimaller equally varied in different fiates ; an idea fup-
ported by thefe undeniable witneffes, the coins which
remain. Moft of the Greek copper coin which has
reached our times confifts of chalci *, the lepta being
io fmall as to be much more liable to be loft.” In Dr
Hunter’s cabinet, however, there are feveral of the di-
lepta of Athens : and from being ftamped with the
reprefentation of two owls, feem to be the fame with
the filver diobolus : “ a circumftance (fays Mr Pinker¬
ton), of itfelf fufficient to confute Pollux ; for a dilep¬
ton can form no part of feven j a number indeed which
never appeared in any coinage of the fame metals, and
is contradictory to common fenfe. It may be obferv-
A L S.
ed, that the whole brafs coins of Athens publifhed
by Dr Combe are reducible to four fizes, which may
be the lepton, dilepton, tetraleptoti or hemichalcos, and
chalcos. The firft is not above the fize of one of King Lepton,
James I.’s farthing tokens ; the laft about that of our cldepton,
common farthing.” The lepta was alfo called ^•c"
as being change for the poor. The Ktllxfits, perhaps
fo called from the figure of a wolf upon it, was the coin
of a particular ftate, and if of brafs muft have weighed
three chalci. The other names of the copper coins of
Greece are but little known. Lycurgus ordered iron
money to be coined at Sparta ; but fo periihable is thi&
metal, that none of that kind of money has reached our
times.
After the conqueft of Greece by the Romans, moft;
of the coins of that country diminiftied very much in
their value, the gold coinage being totally difeonti-
nued : though fome of the barbarous kings who ufed
the Greek charafter were permitted to coin gold,
but they ufed the Roman model •, and the ftandard
ufed by the few cities in Afia who fpoke the Greek
language in the times of the emperors is entirely un¬
known. Copper feems to have been the only metal
coined at that time by the Greeks themfelves 3 and
that upon the Roman ftandard, then univerfal through
the empire, that there might be no impediment to the
circulation of currency. They retained, however, fome
of their own terms, ufing them along with thofe of
the Romans. The ajfarion or qjjarium of Rome, the
name of the diminiftied as, being 16 to the drachma
or denarius, the obolus was fo much diminilhed in va¬
lue as to be ftruck in brafs not much larger than the
old chalcus, and valued at between two and three af-
faria 3 which was indeed its ancient rate as to the
drachma. This appears from the copper coins of
Chios, which have their names marked upon them.
The brafs obolus, at firft equal in fize to the Roman
feftertius or large brafs, leffens by degrees to about the
fize of a filver drachma. From the badnefs of the
imperial coinage iu Greece alfo, it appears that brafs
was very fcarce in that country, as well as in all the
cities ufitig the Greek charadlers 3 being found moftly 3Q
in the weftern countries of the Roman empire. The Era of the
time of this declenfion in fize of the Greek coins is dedenlioa
by Mr Pinkerton fuppofed to have been from Au- Greek cojB
guftus down to Gallienus. He is of opinion, however, age<
that the copper obolus, at firft above the fize of large
brafs, was ufed in Greece about the time of its firfl:
fubjeftion to Rome 3 and that the lepta ceafing, the
chalci came in their room, with the dichalcus and the
hemiobolion of brafs. 4®
With refpefl to the gold coins of the Greeks, Mr Gold coins
Pinkerton is of opinion that none of that metal was<-'reecc.’
coined before the time of Philip of Macedon, as none
have reached our times prior to the reign of that mo¬
narch. From a paffage in Thucydides our author con¬
cludes, that in the beginning of the Peloponnefian war
the Athenians had no gold coin. Mentioning the
treafure in the Acropolis or citadel of Athens, at the
commencement of that war, the hiftorian mentions
filver coin, and gold and filver in bullion 3 and had
any of the gold been in coin, he would certainly have
mentioned it. Philip began his reign about 68 years
after the beginning of the Peloponnefian war ; and
we can fcarce fuppofe that any city would have pre-
T 2 ceded
148 M E D
Ancier.t ceded the elegant and wealthy Athens in the coining of
, Money- gold.
Notwithflanding, however, this deficiency of gold
Gold com- coin among the Greeks, it is certain that the coinage
c-d early in of gold had taken place in Sicily long before ; as we
^icdy. have gold coins of Gelo about 491 B. C. of Hiero I.
478, and of Uionyfins I. in 404, all ufing the Greek
characters; though not to be ranked among the gold
coins of Greece, as Philip caufed his to be. Gold
coins of Syracufe even appear of the third clafs of an¬
tiquity, or with an indented fquare, and a fmall figure
»n one of its fegments. Gold coins are ufed in the
cities of Brettium, Tarentum, and throughout Magna
Graecia j alfo in Panticapaea in Thrace, and likewife
£!ofa in that country j but not in Tufcany, as is com¬
monly believed, though Neumann proves that they wrere
ftruck by Brutus, and are unqueftionably as ancient as
the Greek coins. The Thebans and Athenians pro¬
bably coined the firil gold after Philip had fet them
the example, and wdren they were attempting to refift
the projefts of that enterprifing monarch. The Ai,to-
lians probably coined their gold during the time of
their greateft power, about a century after Philip, and
when they were combating the power of Aratus and
the Achasan league. “ There is (fays Mr Pinkerton)
but one ifu^vo-cs of Thebes, much worn, in Dr Hun¬
ter’s cabinet, and weighing but 59 grains j and per¬
haps not above two or three or gold didrachms
of Athens in the world ; one of which is alfo in the
collection of Dr Hunter, and weighs 132! grains.
It appears to be more modern than the reign of Phi¬
lip. That monarch having got poffeffion of the mines
of Philippi in Thrace, improved them fo much, that
they proctuced him annually above a thoufand talents
of gold, or 2,88o,oool. of our money. From this
gold the firft coins named from the monarch, Philippi,
were itruck. They were marked with his portrait ,
and for many ages after wrere fo numerous, that they
were common in the Roman empire ; whence the
name Philippi became at length common to gold, fil-
yer, and at laft even hrafs coins of their fize. Even
in the time of Philip gold was very fcarce in Greece ;
but after the Phocians had plundered the temple of
Delphos, this precious metal which had been valu¬
ed as gems, and confecrated only to the decoration
of the temples of the gods, began to be known among
the Greeks. The comparative value of gold and fd-
yer, however, feem to have been at that time very dif¬
ferent from what they are now. Herodotus values
gold at 13 times its weight in filver; Plato in his
Hipparchus at 1 2 } and even the low value of 10 to 1
feems to have been the dated value in Greece, though
in Rome the plenty of filver from the Spanifh mines
made the value of gold to be much higher •, and there
is no reafon to think that it was ever valued in that
city at lefs than 12 times its weight in filver. The
Philippus x^vrof, gold piece, orJlater, is a didrachm,
and is the tnoft common of all the ancient coins. Mr
Pinkerton is of opinion that it w'ent for 20 filver
drachms^ on its firft appearance •, but in latter times
for 25 Greek drachmae or Roman denarii. There are
proofs of the Philippi being didrachms, both from the
writings of ancient authors and from numbers of the
coins themfelves, which remain to this day j and that
the ^vvos, or principal gold coin of Greece, was of
A L S.
the fame weight, is alfo evident from ancient writings. Ancient.
It was anciently worth about 15s. but valuing gold Money,
now at the medium price of 4I. per ounce, it is worth v_ ' J
about • 20s. The or half the former coin,
fcarcely occurs of the coinage of Philip and Alexander,
though it does of Hiero I. of Syracufe and of King
Pyrrhus. It pafted for ten filver drachmas, and was
valued only at 7s. 6d. though now worth 10s. There
was another divifion of this kind worth about 5s.
There were befides fome lefler divifions of gold coins,
which could not be worth above two drachmas. Thefe
were coined in Gyrene 5 and there were befides feveral
old gold coins of Afia Minor, the value of which is
now unknown. Our author fuppofcs that they were
coined not with relation to their weight as parts of the
drachma, but merely to make them correfpond with fo
many filver pieces as was neceffary. There are alfo
larger coins than the the St%£v<ros of Alexan¬
der and Lyfimachus being double its value. Some
others are met with of Lyfimachus, Antiochus III.
and fome of the Egyptian monarchs, weighing four
times the and now worth about 4I. fterling.
Some weigh even more j but this our author fuppofes
owing to a difference in the purity of the gold. ^
In Rome, as well as in Greece, the money was at Roman
firft eftimated by weight j and the firft metal coined money,
by that people was copper, filver being long unknown
in Rome; nor is it certainly known that any filver
has ever been found in the Italian mines. In Rome
the firft valuation of money was by the libra gravis
eeris, or pound of heavy brafs : and in the progrefs of
their conquefts, the little filver and gold that came in
their way was regulated by the fame ftandard, as ap¬
pears from the ftory of Brennus. The weights made
ufe of were the fame with thofe which continue to this man pound,
day. The pound confifted of 1 2 ounces of 458 grains
each ; but the pound by which the money was weigh¬
ed appears to have confifted only of 420 grains to the
ounce, or to have contained in all 5040 grains. This
became the ftandard of copper j and when filver came
to be coined, feven denarii went to the ounce as eight
drachms did in Greece.. Gold was regulated by the
fcriptulum or fcrupulum, the third part of a denarius,
and by the larger weights juft mentioned. The num¬
ber 10 was at firft ufed by the Romans in counting
their money 5 but finding afterwards that a fmaller
number was more convenient, they divided it into
quarters ; and as the quarter of 10 is 2|-, they for this 44
reafon beftowed upon it the name offejlertius or “ half Sefteruios,
the third 5” to exprefs that it w7as two of any weights, as> &-c*
meafures, fee. and half a third; whence the feftertius
came at laft to be the grand eftimate of Roman mo¬
ney. The as being at firft the largeft, and indeed the
only Roman coin, the word fejlertius means fefertius as,
or “ two afes and an half.” On the firft coining of
filver, the denarius of ten afes wTas ftruck in the mold
common and convenient denary divifion of money, or
that by tens j the feftertius being of courfe two afes
and an half. But the denarius being afterwards efti¬
mated at 16 afes, the name feftertius was ftill applied
to a quarter of the denarius, though it now contained
four afes. The term fejlertius was applied to ail fums
not exceeding 1000 feftertii, or 81. 6s. 8d.; but for
greater fums the mode of the feftertius was likewife
altered, though not to exclude the former. Very large
fums.
MED
Ancient
Money.
Whence
the Re¬
mans deri¬
ved their
coinage.
fums of money were eftimated by the hundred weight
of brafs j for the Romans were at firft unacquainted
with the talent. The bundled weight, by way of
eminence, tvas diftinguilbed by the name of pondusy
and fejlertium pondus became a phrafe for two hundred
weight and an half. Mr Pinkerton is of opinion,
that we may value the as libralis of ancient Rome at
about eightpence Englilh. Eftimating the as there¬
fore at a pound weight, the Jejlei'tium pondus was equal
to iooo fejiertii, or 81. 6s. 8d.; and by coincidence
which our author fuppofes to have been the effe£t of
defign, as foon as the filver coinage appeared, the
fejiertium centum denariorum was always equal to 81.
6s. 8d. alfo. The word feftertium itfelf, however, feems
to have been unknown prior to the coinage ef filver
money at Rome : the pondera gravis ceris being fuffi-
cient before that time for all the purpofes of a flate in
which money was fo fcarce. But however this may
be, the pondus or hundred weight of brafs was precile-
ly worth 100 denarii, or a pound of filver.* As the
great feftertium was always valued at iooo of the
fmaller, or 81. 6s. 8d. we never find one feftertium men¬
tioned in authors, but two, three, or more \ ten thou-
fand of them being equal to 83,333!. 6s. 8d.
The ftates from which the Romans may be fuppo-
fed firft to have derived their coinage, were the Etruf-
cans and the Greek colonies in Magna Graecia and
Sicily. Jofeph Scaliger, Gronovius, &c. contend that
it was from the Sicilians that the Romans firft derived
their knowledge of money; but Mr Pinkerton argues
that it was from the Etrufcans. In confirmation of
his opinion, he appeals to the ftate of the Roman te-
ritories in the time of Servius Tullius, who is look¬
ed upon to have been the firft wrho coined money at
Rome. At that time the whole Roman dominion
did not extend beyond ten miles round the city j and
was entirely furrounded by the Etrufcan and Latin
ftates 5 Cumae being the next Greek colony to it that
was of any confequence, and which was in the neigh¬
bourhood of Naples, at about the diftance of 150
miles. Our author alks, Is it reafonable to think
that the Romans received the ufe of money from the
Etrufcans and Latins who were their neighbours, or
from the Greeks, who w7ere at a diftance, and at that
time, as far as appears from their hiltory, abfolutely
unknown to them ? “ If this argument (adds he), is
ftrong with regard to the neareft Grecian colonies,
what muft it be with refpefl to Sicily, an ifland 300
miles diftant from Rome, where it was not known, at
that time, if a boat went by land or water ?/’ Argu¬
ments, however, for this opinion have been derived
from the fimilarity betwixt the Sicilian and Roman
coins •, which Mr Pinkerton now proceeds to examine.
The Greek pound in Sicily was called A<rgc«j and con-
fifted, like the Roman, of 1 2 or ounces j and
Mr Pinkerton grants that the Roman libra was deriv¬
ed from the Greek A<t£«, but denies that the as, or
libra, a coin, wras from Sicilian model. The Sicilians
had indeed a coin named Aigraj but it was of filver, and
of equal value to the ^ginean ftandard, ten of which-
-Trent ^o the Sicilian ^ssA^rgov. He differs from Gro¬
novius, that the ftandard of yEgina was ufed at Co¬
rinth, and of courfe at Syracufe j and it appears from
Ariftotle, that the Sicilians had a talent or ftandard of
their own. The Sicilian obolys or contained aL
A L , S. H9
fo 12 ounces or cba/ci, fo named at firft becaufe they Aneient
weighed an ounce weight j but the cvyatou of Hiero, MoJ:gy- .
weigh more than a troy ounce j and the brafs coins
of Agrigentum are marked with cyphers as far as fix :
the largeft weighing only 186 grains, or about one-
third of the primitive ounce. Our author denies that
even the Roman denarius took its rife from the Sici¬
lian '(hy.xhiT^ov, as many authors affert. Were this the
cafe, it would have weighed 180 grains j whereas the
Roman denarii are not above the third part of the
quantity. 4^
From all thefe confiderations, our author is of opi-Odg1”^^
nion that the Sicilians borrowed the divifion of their ^^1C1 iaii
Airies from the Etrufcans, or pofiibly from the Romans
themfelves j which our author thinks is more probable
than that the Romans had it from Sicily. The ftrong-1
eft argument, however, againft the Roman coinage be¬
ing borrowed from the Sicilian is, that though great
numbers of Sicilian coins are to be found in the cabi¬
nets of medallifts, yet none of them referable the as li¬
bralis of the Romans in any degree. In moft cabi¬
nets alfo there are Etrufcan coins upon the exadt fcale
of the as librahs, and feveral of its divifions j from
whence Mr Pinkerton concludes, that “ theie, and
thefe alone, muft: have afforded a pattern to the pri¬
mitive Roman coinage.” The Etrufcans were a colony
from Lydia, to which country Herodotus afcribes the
firft. invention of coinage. “ Thoie colonifts (fays Mr
Pinkerton), upon looking round their fettlements, and
finding that no filver was to be had, and much lefs gold,”
fupplied the mercantile medium with copper 5 to which
the cafe of Sweden is very fimilar, wdrich, as late as
the laft century, had copper coins of fuch magnitude,
that wheelbarrows were ufed to carry off a fum not very
confiderable. 47 '
Some coins are found which exceed the as libralis in Of the moft
weight; and thefe are fuppofed to be prior to the time ancient Ro¬
of Servius Tullius. Some of them are met with of 34man COinE’
and of 53 Roman ounces; having upon one fide the fi¬
gure of a bull rudely impreffed, and upon the other the
bones of a filh. They are moft commonly found at
Tudder, or Tudertum, in Umbria ; but they appear '
always broken at one end: fo that Mr- Pinkerton is
of opinion that perhaps fome might be ftruck of the
decuflis form, or weighing ten pounds. 1 hefe pieces,
in our author’s opinion, make it evident, that the Ro-'
mans derived their large brafs coins from the Etrufcans
and the neighbouring ftates : they are all caft in moulds;
and the greater part of them appear much more ancient
than the Roman afes, even fuch as are of the greatelt
antiquity.
Mr Pinkerton agrees with Sir Ifaac Newton as to the •
time that Servius Tullius reigned in Rome, which he
fuppofes to be about 460 B. C. . His coinage feems to
have been confined to the as, or piece of brafs having
the impreffion of Janus on the one fide, and the prowr .
of a ftiip on the other ; becaufe Janus arrived in Italy
by fea. Varro, however, informs us, that the very firft
coins of Tullius had the figure of a bull-or other cattle
upon them, like the Etrufcan coins, of which they
were- imitations. Thofe with the figure of Janus and
the prow of a fhip upon them may be fuppofed firft
to have appeared about 4<-,° C- btit in a fhort ^
time, various fubdivifions of the as were coined. The-Subdivifi-
femis, or half,, is commonly ftamped with the head of ons of the -
T5°
■Ancient
Money.
MEDALS.
45
Larger de¬
nomina¬
tions of it
ftruck.
5°
Deere afe of
the as in
weight.
Jupiter laureated j the inens or third, having four cy-
phers, as bei nS originally of four ounces weight, has
the head of Minerva ; the quad ram or quarter, marked
with three cyphers, has the head of Hercules wrrapt
in the lion’s ikin j the fextans or fixtb, having only
two cyphers, is marked with the head of Mercury
with a cap and wings *, while the uncia having onlv
one cypher, is marked with the head of Rome. All
thefe coins appear to have been call in moulds, by a
confiderable number at a time ; and in the Britifh mu-
feum there are four of them all united together as
taken out of the mould in which perhaps dozens were
call together. In procefs of time, however, the fmaller
divifions were ftruck inftead of being call *, but the
larger Hill continued to be call until the as fell to two
ounces. Even after this time it was Hill called li¬
bra, and accounted a pound of copper; though there
were now larger denominations of it coined, fuch
as the bijfas or double as j trcjjis and quadriijjis of three
and four afes; nay, as far as decujjis or ten afes, mar¬
ked X. Olivieri mentions one in his own cabinet
weighing upwards of 25 ounces, and call when the as
was about three ounces wreight. There is likewdfe in
the Mufaeum Etrufcum a decuffis of 40 Roman ounces,
call when the as was at four ounces. There was like-
wife a curious decuffis in the Jefuits library at Rome,
for which an Englilh medallift offered 20I. •, but it w-as
feized by the pope along with every other thing belong,
ing to the fociety.
Mr Pinkerton contefts the opinion of Pliny that
the as continued of a pound weight till the end of
the firft Punic war. His opinion (he fays), is con¬
futed by the coins which ftill remain ; and it appears
probable to him that the as decreafed gradually in
weight ; and, from one or two of the pieces which
Hill exift, he feems to think that the decreafe was
flow, as from a pound to eleven ounces, then to ten,
nine, &c.; but neither the as nor its parts were ever
corre&ly lized. During the time of the fecond Punic
w ar, when the Romans were fore preffed by Hanni¬
bal, the as was reduced to a fingle ounce. It is faid
to have taken place in the 215th year before our era,
being about 36 years after the former change. This
as libralis, with the face of Janus upon it, is the form
moft commonly met with previous to its being redu¬
ced to two ounces. Our author fuppofes that the as
libralis _ continued for at leaft a century and an half
after this coinage of Tullius, down to 300 B. C. about the
year of Rome 452, between wdiich and the 50 2d year
of Rome a gradual diminution of the as to two ounces
mull have taken place. The following table of the dates
of the Roman coinage is given by Mr Pinkerton.
The libralis, coined by Tullius with the figures of
oxen, &c. about 167 years after the building of Rome
according to Sir Ifaac Newton, or about the year be¬
fore Chrift
As libralis with Janus and the prow- of a fhip 400
As of ten ounces
Right
Six
Four
Three
Two, according to Pliny
One, according to the fame author
300
290
280
270
260
250
214
About 175 B. C. alfo, we are informed by Pliny,
that the as was reduced to half an ounce by the Papv- Ancient
rian law, at which it continued till the time of Pliny Money,
himfelf, and long after. " w—1
After the Romans began to have an intercourfe with
Greece, a variety of elegant figures appear upon the
parts of the as, though not on the as itfelf till after the
time of Sylla. Towards the latter end of the republic
aho, dupondii, or double afes, were coined, together
with the fellertii mrei, which came in place of the
quadrujjes, when the denarius began to be reckoned at
16 affes ; probably at the time the latter was reduced to . . H
half an ounce. In fome inflances it is to be obierved,
that the Romans accommodated their coins to the coun-fcaJennrk-
try where their army was ftationed ; whence we have «l as Ro¬
many coins marked as Roman, which have been coined man,<
in Magna Graecia and Sicily, and are evidently upon
the Greek and not the Roman feale. In the latter part
of the republican times, alfo, the types begin to vary •
fo that we have a brafs coin fuppofed to be ftruck by
Sextus Pompeius in Sicily, having upon it a double
bead of that warrior, reprefenting a Janus. Mr Pin¬
kerton fuppoles it to have been a dupondius ; which in¬
deed appears to be the cafe from the double head. This
coin is of copper, and ftill weighs an ounce, notwith-
ftanding its antiquity. ^
The largeft: imperial copper coin was the feftertius, Of the fe-
a . piece worth about twopence of our mony. Mr ft"rtiu3-
Pinkerton cenfures feverely the opinion of other me-
dallifts, all of whom fay that the feftertius was of fil-
ver. “ In fa6t (fays he), it would be as rational in
any antiquary, a thoufand years hence, to contend
that the halfpenny and farthing are of filver, becaufe
they were fo in the reign of Henry VIII.” In con¬
firmation of his own opinion, he quotes the following
paffage from Pliny : “ The greateil glory of brafs is
now due to the Marian, called alfo thaT of Cordova.
I his, after the Livian, moft: abforbs the lapis calami-
naris, and imitates the goodnefs of native orichalcum
in our feftertii and dupondiarii, the afes being con-'
tented with their own copper.” Gronovius confeffes
that he does not know what to make of this paffage
and that it caufes him hefttate in his opinion. The
Livian mine mentioned here by Pliny, is fuppofed to
have, got its name from Livia the wife of Auguftus;
and it is probable that the pieces marked with her
portrait, entitled Justitia, Salus, Virtus, &c.
were dupondii from this very mine, the metal’ being
exceedingly fine,, and of the kind named Corinthian
brafs by the ancient medallifts. “ Peihaps (fays Mr
Pinkerton), the mine received its name from this very
circumftance of her coins being ftruck in the metal
taken from it.”
No. change took place in the Roman coinage from Coinage
the time that the as fell to half an ounce to the yeHovv
days of Pliny: but Mr Pinkerton obferves, that be-bra^'
lore the time of Julius Caefar yellow brafs began to
be ufed, and was always looked upon to be double the
value of Cyprian or red copper. There are but few
coins in large brafs immediately before Julius Ccefar,
or even belonging to that emperor j but from the time
ol Auguftus downward, the large coins are all found
of brafs, and not one of them copper. The largeft: of
Tvhat are called the middle fize are all of yellow brafs ;
and the next fize, which is the as, and weighs half an
ounce, is univerfally copper. What the ancients na-
\ raed
M E D
Ancient med oricha/awi, or what we call brafs, was always look-
Money. ej Upon to be greatly fuperior in value to the ass Cy-
^ v prium. Procopius, fpeaking of a ftatue of Jultinian,
tells us, that brafs inferior in colour to gold is almoft
equal in value to filver. The mines of native brafs
were very few in number, and were owing entirely to
the lingular combination of copper and lapis calamina-
ris in the bowels of the earth, which very feldom oc¬
curs ; and the ancients were far from being well ac¬
quainted with the method of combining thefe two bo¬
dies artificially ; fo that yellow brafs was always elleem-
ed at double the value of copper; and hence, in the
ancient coinages, the brafs and copper pieces were
kept as dillinft as thofe of gold and filver.
Mr Pinkerton challenges to himfelf the difcovery
that the imperial feftertius was of brafs 5 and is at con-
fiderable pains to bring proofs of it. Befides the tef-
timony of Pliny, which of itfelf would be decifive,
this is fupported by the ftrongeft collateral evidence of
other authors. From a paffage in Julius Africanus,
who wrote the or Treatife on Medicine, it ap¬
pears that the nummus, or fellertius, weighed an
ounce, and of confequence that it could not be filver
but brafs j and all the large imperial Roman coins
weigh an ounce. We know not the age in which Ju¬
lius Africanus lived ; and as he makes the denarius to
contain 16 afes, he mud have been before the age of
Gallienus, when it had 60. Gronovius fuppofes him
to have been the fame mentioned by Eufebius. This
author fpeaks of a Julius Africanus wrho lived in the
time of Heliogabalus, and whom Mr Pinkerton fup¬
pofes to have been the fame with him above-men¬
tioned.
Diminution ^'‘le ^eftertius underwent no change till the time of
of the fe- Alexander Severus, when it was diminiflied by one-
ftcrtius. third of its weight. Trajanus Decius was the firft
who coined double fellertii, or quinarii, of brafs ; but
from the time of Trebonianus Gallus to that of Gal¬
lienus, when the firft brafs ceafes, the feftertius does
not weigh above the third part of an ounce j the lar¬
ger coins are accounted double feftertii ; and after
the time of Gallienus it totally vanifties. In the times
of Valerian and Gallienus we find a new kind of coin¬
age, mentioned by the name of denarii oris, or Philip¬
pi ctrei. Two fizes of denarii began to be ufed in the
time ol Caracalla 5 the larger of fix feftertii, or 24
aflaria •, the fmaller of four feftertii, or 16 affaria as
ufual. In the time of Pupienus, the latter was redu¬
ced to fuch a fmall fize as not to weigh more than
36 grains j though in Caracalla’s time it weighed 56.
After the time of Gordian III. the fmaller coin fell
into difufe, as breeding confufion. The larger dena¬
rius of fix leftertii, though diminiihed at laft to the
fize of the early denarius, ftill retained its value of fix
leil.'rtii, or 24 afiaria. The Philippus cereus came at
length in place of the feftertius. It was alfo called
denanus ; from which we may learn not only their
fize, but that they were in value ten affaria as the firft
denarius. In the reign of Dioclefian, the place of
the feftertius was fupplied by the follis, that emperor
having reftored the filver coin to its purity, and like-
wife given this form to the copper j but it would feem
that this reftoration of the coinage only took place to¬
wards the end of his rgign ; whence we have but few
of his filver coins, and ftiil fewer of the folles, though
A L S. * 51
the denarii cerei continue quite common down to the Ancient
time of Conftantine. The follis of Dioclefian feems Money,
to have weighed above halt an ounce; and Mr Pin- /
kerton is of opinion, that Dioclefian defigned this
coin to fupply the place of the denarius asreus ;• which
of courfe was worth ten affarias, and fix of them went
to the filver denarius. From this time the afiarium
diminifhes to the fize of 30 grains; and foon after the
follis appeared, the denarius tereus was entirely drop¬
ped, the former having gradually fupplied its place.
Some mints appear to have retained the ufe of the de¬
narius longer than others ; and in fome the change
was preceded, and gradually brought in, by wafhing
the follis with filver or tin, as the denarius had for¬
merly been. Pieces of this kind occur in the times
of Dioclefian, Maximian I. and II. and Conftantius I.;
that is, for about ten years after the follis made its ap¬
pearance. Some countries, however, retained the de¬
narius acreus ; others the follis ; and fome had a me¬
dium betwixt the two, or the follis walked in imita¬
tion of the denarius. ^
iowards the end of the reign of Conftantine I. a New coin-
new coinage was introduced throughout the whole a?e 11,tr0*
empire. The follis coined by this prince w^as of half^11^^
an ounce weight; 24 of them going to the milliaren-^ l”"
fis, or larger filver coin. The wmrd fo/lis fignifies alfo
a purfe, in which lenfe wTe fometimes find it mention¬
ed in the Byzantine hiftory. The common follis of
filver, wdien it occurs by itfelf, means a purfe of 250
milliarenfes, as the feftertium was 250 denarii; and by
a law of Conftantine I. every man paid to the ftate a
follis or purfe according to his income. The method
of counting by purfes continues in Turkey to this day. s$
The dupondius was only half the value of the feller- Of the du-
tius , or about one penny fterling ; and before the PoncUus-
yellow brafs appeared it feems to have been ftruck up¬
on copper, and double the fize of the as. There are
fome of this coin, ftruck in the time of Julius Ctefar,
in yellow brafs, weighing half an ounce, with a head of
Venus Viftrix upon one fide ; on the reverfe, a female
figure, with ferpents at her feet: while others have a
Victory on the reverfe, with Q. Oppius Pr. After the
time of Auguftus, the dupondius wras ftruck in yellow
brafs ; which Pliny tells us was alfo the cafe in his time.
The word duporrdiarius feems to have been ufed by Pliny,
and adopted, not to exprefs that the coin was dupondius,
but that it was of dupondiary value. Neither wTas the
former word confined to fignify double weight, but was
ufed alfo for double length or meafure, as in the in-
ftance of dupendms pes, or two feet, &c. In the im¬
perial times, therefore, dupondius was ufed, not to lig-
nify a coin of double the weight of the as, but of
double the value. It was one of the moft common of
the Roman coins ; and feems to have been very com¬
mon even in Conftantinople. In the time of Juf-
tinian, it feems there was a cuftom of nicknaming
young ftudents of the law dupondii, againft which the
emperor made a law; but it is not known what gave
rife to the name. The dupondius, though of the
fame fize with the as, is commonly of finer workman-
fliip, the metal being greatly fuperior in value. It
continues to be of yellow brafs, as well as the fefter¬
tius, to the time of Gallienus; but the as is always in
coPPel\ . ' 57-
The imperial as, or aJTarium, was worth only aOftheafc
halfpenny
5S
Parts of
the as.
59
Of the
Jmalleft
Roman
coins.
I52_
Ancient halfpenny. At firft It weighed half an ounce, and
Money. was aiwayS 0£ copper till the time of Gallienus, tvhen
,rn v ^it was made ofbrafs, and weighed only the eighth part
-of an ounce. From the time of Gallienus <to that of
Dioclefnn, it continued to diminilh Hill more, the lize
being then twenty to an ounce. This was the fame
with the lepta, or fmalleft coins but the vosywas, which
weighed only ten grains.
The parts of the as occur but feldom : which may,
indeed, be well expedited, comidering the low value of
it ; though there Hill occur fome of thofe called femis,
triens, quadrans, fextans, and uncia, coined in the
times of Nero and Domitian. There is no fmall brafs
from the time of Pertinax to that of Gallienus, ex¬
cepting that of Trajanus Decius ; but in the time of
Gallienus it becomes extremely common j and the coins
of fmall brafs, as well as the larger, are always mark¬
ed S. C. fuch as want it being univerfally accounted
forgeries, and were plated with filver, though the
plating be now worn off. The fmall pieces ftruck for
flaves during the time of the faturnalia, muft alfo be
diflinguilhed from the parts of the as. The S. C.
upon thefe moft probably hgnifies Saturni Confulto, and
were ftruck in ridicule of the true coins, as the flaves
on that occafion had every privilege of irony.
The feftertius diminiflies from Pertinax to Gallienus
fo faft, that no parts of the as are ftruck, itfelf being
fo fmall. Trajanus Decius, indeed, coined fome fmall
pieces, which went for the femis of the time. The
fmall brafs coins under Gallienus were called affaria,
fixty of which went to the filver denarius. They are
about the fize of the denarius, and fome of them oc¬
cur of the coinage of Gallus and his family, of half
that fize, which appear to have been ftruck during the
latter, part of his reign, when the affarium was dimi-
niflred to a ftill fmaller fize. It is probable, however,
that fome of thefe very fmall coins had been ftruck in
ail ages of the empire, in order to fcatter among the
^ people on folemn occafions. Mr Pinkerton is of opi-
Of the mil- n’on t^at t^ley are ^ rni/Jilia, though moft other me-
dallifts think that they are medallions. “ But if fo
(fays our author), they were certainly called mijjilia a
non mittendo; for it would be odd if fine medallions
were fcattered among the mob. It is a common cuf-
tom juft now to ftrike counters to fcatter among the
populace on fuch occafions, while medals are given to
peers of the kingdom ; and we may very juftly reafon
from analogy on this occafion.”
The ajfarion or /epton of the Conftantinopolitan em¬
pire was, as we have already obferved, one of the
imalleft coins known in antiquity, weighing no more
than 20 grains $ and the noumia were the very fmalleft
which have reached our times, being only one half of
the former. By reafpn of their extreme fmallnefs,
they are very fcarce j but Mr Pinkerton informs us,
that he has in his poffeflion a fine one of Theodofius II.
which has on it the emperor’s head in profile. Theo-
t5T dofius P. F. AV. $ on the reverfe a wreath, having in
■Coins of the centre vox. xx. : mult. xxx.
Tof the lower The principal coin of the lower empire was the fol-
■*mpire. lis> which was divided into an half and quarter, named
Qfue-oQbXtoi and j the latter of which is ftiown
by Du Cange to have been a fmall brafs coin, as the
other is fuppofed to have been by Mr Pinkerton.—
Befides thefe, the follis was divided into eight oboli, 16
3
MEDALS.
aflaria or lepta, and 32 noumia, though in common Ancient
computation it contained 40 of thefe laft. This coin, Money-
notwithftanding fo many divifions, was of no more v
value than a halfpenny.
Mr Pinkerton controverts an opinion, common
among medallifts, that the largeft brafs coin or follis
of the lower empire had 40 fmall coins, expreffed by
the letter M upon it j the next had 30, expreffed by
the letter A •, the half by the letter K j and the quar¬
ter marked I, which contained only 10. Mr Pinker¬
ton informs us, that he has three coins of Anaftafius,
all marked M in large $ one of them weighs more
than half an ounce ; the fecond 40 grains lefs j and
the third of 160 grains, or one third of an ounce ; but
the fize is fo very unequal, that the laft, which is very
thick, does not appear above half the fize of the firft.
There are pieces of Juftinian which weigh a whole
ounce j but the fize of copper was increafed as the
filver became fcarcer j and the value of the coinage
cannot be deduced from the weight of the coins, as it
is plain that cur own coinage is not of half the value
with regard to the metal. A great number of medal¬
lions were ftruck by Conftantius II. but there is no
other copper larger than the half ounce, excepting
that of Anaftafius, when the follis began to be ftruck
larger. All medalifts allowr the others to be medallions.
The metal employed in thefe very fmall coins,
though at firft of brafs, was always a bafe and refufe
kind ; but copper is generally made ufe of in the parts
of the" as from the earlieft times to the lateft j and if
brafs be fometimes employed, it is never fuch as ap¬
pears in the feftertii and dupondiarii, which is very
fine and beautiful, but only the refufe. “ Yellow brafs
of the right fort (fays Mr Pinkerton), feems totally
to have ceafed in the Roman coinage with the fefter¬
tius, under Gallienus, though a few fmall coins of
very bad metal appear under that hue as late as Ju-
lian II.” _ _ 62
Silver was coined in Rome only as late as the 485thRoman
year of the city, or 266 B. C. Varro indeed fpeaksfilver*
of filver having been coined by Servius Tullius, and
the libella having been once in filver j but Pliny’s au¬
thority muft be accounted of more weight than that
of this author, as he miftakes the Xitbx of Sicily for
Roman coins, having been current at Rome during
the time of the firft Punic war. Even Pliny, accord¬
ing to our author, very frequently miftakes with regard
to matters much antecedent to his own time 5 and
among the moderns he criticifes feverely Erafmus and
Hume. “ Erafmus (fays he), who had been in Eng¬
land for fome time, talks of leaden money being ufed
here.” Not even a leaden token was ftruck in the
reign of Henry VIII. 5 yet his authority has been fol¬
lowed with due deference to fo great a name 5 for
how could Erafmus, who muft have feen the matter
with his own eyes, affert a direft falfehood ? To give
a later inftance in a writer of reputation, Mr Hume,
in Vol. VI. of his hiftory, has thefe words, in treating
of the reign of lames I. “ It appears that copper
halfpence and farthings began to be coined in this
reign. Tradefmen had commonly carried on their re¬
tail bufinefs by leaden tokens. The fmall filver penny
was foon loft $ and at this time was nowhere to be
found.” Copper halfpence and farthings were not
ftruck till Charles II. 1.672; there were fmall tokens
for
Ancient
Money.
6.3.
Denarii
when firft
coined.
64
Value of
the dena¬
rius and its
parts.
M E D
for farthings ftruck In copper by James I. but not one
for the halfpenny. The filver farthings had ceafed
with Edward VI. but the filver halfpence continued
the foie coinstill Charles II. It was by copper tokens
that fmall bufinefs was carried on. The filver penny
was much ufed till the end of the reign of George I.
and fo far from being nowhere to be found, is fuper-
abundant of every reign fince that period, not except¬
ing even the prefent reign of George III. From thefe
inftances the reader may judge how ftrangely writers
of all ages blunder, when treating a fubjeft of which
they are entirely ignorant.”
The firft filver denarii coined at Rome, are fup-
pofed by our author to have been thofe which are im-
prefled with the Roma ; and he inclines to account
thofe the moft ancient which have a double female
head on the one fide, and on the reverfe Jupiter in a
car, with Victory holding the reins, and the word
Roma indented in a rude and lingular manner. The
double female head feems to denote Rome, in imita¬
tion of the Janus then upon the as. There are 15 of
thefe in the cabinet of Dr Hunter; one of the largeft
weighs pBJ; grains : and the red, which feem to be of
greateft antiquity, are of various weights betwixt that
and 84 ; the fmaller and more modern weigh 58 or
59 grains; but Mr Pinkerton is of opinion, that the
large ones are of the very firft Roman coinage, and
ftruck during that interval of time betwixt the coin¬
age of the firft filver denarius and the as of two ounces.
He takes the indentation of the word Roma to be a
mark of great antiquity $ fuch a mode being fcarcely
known any where elfe, except in Caulonia, Crotona,
and other towns of Italy ; all of them allowed to be
ftruck at leaft 400 B. C. As thefe large coins are not
double denarii, they mull have been rtruck prior to
the fmall ones j and Neumann has given an account of
one of them recoined by Trajan, in which the inden¬
tation of Ro?viA is carefully preferved. The firft de¬
narius was in value 10 afes, when the as weighed three
ounces 5 and allowing 90 grains at a medium for one
of thefe large denarii, the proportion of copper to
filver muft have been as 1 to 160: but when the as
fell to one ounce, the proportion was as 1 to 80 ; when
it fell to half an ounce, fo that 16 afes went to the de¬
narius, the proportion was as 1 to 64, at which it re¬
mained. Copper wdth us, in coinage, is to filver as
1 to 40 •, but in aftual value as 1 to 72.
At Rome the denarius was worth 8d. j the quina-
rius 4d. j and the feftertius, whether filver or brafs, 2d.
The denarius is the coin from which our penny is de¬
rived, and w7as the chief filver coin in Rome for
600 years. According to Celfus, feven denarii w?ent
to the Roman ounce, which in metals did not exceed
430 grains 5 but as all the denarii hitherto met with
weigh at a medium only 60 grains, this would feem
to make the Roman ounce only 420 grains ; though
perhaps this deficiency may be accounted for from the
unavoidable wafte of metal even in the beft preferved
of thefe coins. According to this proportion the Ro¬
man pound contained 84 denarii *, but in tale there
was a very confiderable excefs j for no fewer than 100
denarii went to the Roman pound. The Greek
ounce appears to have been confiderably larger than
that of Rome, containing about 528 grains; yet not-
withftanding this apparently great odds, the difference
in the coins was fo final], that the Greek money wnet
Vol. XIII. Part I.
A L S. 153
current in Rome, and the Roman in (Greece. The Ancient
denarius at firft went for 10 affes, and was marked X: Money,
it was afterwards raifed to 16 ; which Mr Pinkerton
fuppofes to have been about 175 B. C. Some are
met with bearing the number XVI. nay, with every
number up to CCCCLXXVI. Thefe large numbers
are fuppofed to have been mint-marks of fome kind
or other. After being raifed to 16 afes, it continu¬
ed at the fame value till the time of Gallienus ; fo
that till that time we are to look upon its conftituent
parts to be 16 afes or affaria, eight dupondii, four
brafs feftertii, and two filver quinarii. Under the
emperor Severus, however, or his fucceffor Caracalla,
denarii were ftruck of two fizes, one of them a third
heavier than the common; which we muft of confequence
fuppofe to have borne a third more value. This large
piece obtained the name of argenteus, and argenteus
PhilippuS) or the “filver Philip;” the name of Philip
having become common to almoft every coin. The
common denarii now7 began to be termed minuti and
argenli Philippi minutuh, &x\ to exprefs their being
fmaller than the reft. Some have imagined that the
large denarii were of the fame value with the fmall,
only of worfe metal; but Mr Pinkerton obferves, that
among the few which have any difference of metal,
the imalleft are always the worft. The firft mention
of the minuti is in the time of Alexander Severus, who
reduced the price of pork from eight minuti at Rome
to two and to one. The minutus argentcus of that age
was about 40 grains; and from the badnefs of the
metal was not worth above 4d. of cur money. Thus
the price of meat was by this prince reduced firft to
8d. and then to 4d. gy
According to Zozimus and other writers, the pu-Reftoratio’*
rity of the Roman coin was reftored by Aurelian t °/pu-
but Mr Pinkerton controverts this opinion ; thinking 01
. , , .q 7 . ,0 Roman
it more probable, that he only made the attempt wxth-co^ns>
out fuccefs; or that his reformation might be entirely
confined to gold, on which there is an evident change
after the time of this emperor. His fucceffor Taci¬
tus is faid to have allowed no brafs to be mixed with
filver upon any account ; yet the few coins of
this emperor are very much alloyed. We are certain,
however, that the emperor Dioclefian reftored the fil¬
ver to its ancient purity ; the denarii ftruck in his
reign being very fmall indeed, but of as fine filver as
the moft ancient coins of the empire. After Gor¬
dian III. the fmall denarius entirely vanished, while
the large one w7as fo much diminilhed, that it refem-
bled the tninutus, or fmall one of Caracalla, in fize.
Gallienus introduced the denarii errei inftead of the fef¬
tertii. The argenteus, though reduced more than one
third in fize, contained fix denarii serei, the old ftand-
ard of feftertii. According to the writers of this pe¬
riod, and fome time afterwards, the denarius or ar¬
genteus contained 60 affaria ; whence it follows, that
each denarius sereus had 10 ; and from this it probably
had its name. The affaria are of the fixe of the ar-
gentei already mentioned ; and fhow the copper to
have retained nearly its old proportion of value to the
filver, viz. 1 to 60. ^
A larger filver coin w7as introduced by Conftan-Reforma-
tine I. who accommodated the new money to the tion of the
pound of gold in fuch a manner, that 1000 of the for-filver Cbm
mer in tale were equal to the latter in value ; fo that
this new piece frem thence obtained the name of the ’ *
U milliarevjis
54
Ancient
Monev.
67
Account of
the fmall
Roman
coins.
M E D
mUHarcvlis or “ thoufander.” Its tveight at a medi-
um is 70 grams, or 70 to the pound of filver : but Mr
Pinkerton is of opinion, that it might have contained
72 grains, of which two have no.v periihed by the
foftnefs of the filver ; that the pound contained 7 2 j or
that two of the number might be allowed for coinage j
while the alloy alone would pay for coining gold.
The code fays, that .60 went to the pound ; but the
numbers of this are quite corrupt. The miltiarenjis was
•worth about a {hilling fterling. The argentei or de¬
narii, however, were ftill the mofl: common currency ;
and having been originally rated at too to the
pound of filver in tale, they from thence began to be
called centenionales, or “ hundreders.” Thofe of Con-
ilantine I. and II. Conftans, and Conftantius, weigh
from 50 grains down to 40; thofe of Julian and Jovian,
from 40 to 30 , and of the fucceeding emperors from
that time to Juftinian, from 30 to 20. Under Hera-
clius they ceafed entirely ; and, from Juftinian to th«ir
total abolition, [tad been brought down from 15
to 10 grains. A like decreafe of weight took place
in the milliarenfis ; thofe of Conftantine and Conflans
being above 70 grains in weight 5 thofe of Arcadius
not above 60 ; and the milliarenfis of Juftinian not
more than 30 grains ; but, from the weight of thofe
in Dr Hunter’s cabinet, Mr Pinkerton deduces the
medium to have been exadlly 7oT8T grains. Thefe
coins were alfo called majorince.
The fmaller filver coins of Rome tvere, 1. The qui-
narius, at firft called viBoriatus, from the image of Vic¬
tory on its reverfe ; and which it continued to bear
from firft to laft. Its original value was five afes, but
it was afterwards railed to eight, when the value of the
denarius increafed to 16. According to Pliny, it was
firft coined in confequence of the lex C/odia, about
the 523th year of Rome. Some are of opinion, that
it was called under the Conftantinopolitan
empire, becaufe it wras worth a xi^xtioi of gold, 144
of which went to the ounce : but this is denied by Mr
Pinkerton, becaufe, at the time that the word xi^xrtov
firft appears in hiftory, the denarius did not weigh
above 30 grains •, and of confequence, as 25 muft have
gone to the gold folidus, of which there rvere fix in
the ounce, 130 denarii muft have gone to the ounce
of gold. He is therefore of opinion, that the word
x,i£X7;t>v, was only another name for the denarius when
much reduced in fize ; probably owing to the great
fcarcity of filver in Conftantinople, though in the fame
city there was plenty of gold j and of confequence, the
gold folidus w^s never diminilhed. “ For Montef-
quieu (fays our author) has well obferved, that gold
muft be common where filver is rare. Hence gold
was the common regulation of accounts in the Eaftern
empire.” The ^ixs^xTiev met with in ancient authors,
according to Mr Pinkerton, was merely an improper
name for the milliarenjis; when, on account of the
fcarcity of filver, the denarius was reduced, and no
milliarenfes coined : fo that the current milliarenfis of
former reigns happened to be doable to the denarius
or centenonialis. The quinarius diminilhes in fize
along with the other coins : thofe of Auguftus weigh¬
ing 30 grains, of Severns 23, of Conftantine I.
29, of Juftinian 12, and of Heraclius only 3, A
new filver coinage leems to have taken place after the
days of this emperor j as the little we then meet with,
A L S.
which in the beft cabinets fcarce exceeds a dozen of Ancient
coins, confifts entirely of large unfhapely pieces of M°ney. .
coarfe metal.
2. The confular denarius had alfo four filver fefter-Divifions of
tii, till the as fell to half an ounce, when it was thought the dena-
proper to coin the feftertius in brafs, as it continued rms‘
to be ever afterwards. “ The very laft filver fefter-
tius (fays Mr Pinkerton) wThich appears, is one with a
head of Mercury, and PI. S. •, on the reverfe a caduceus
P. SEPVLLIVS $ who appears to be the P. SEPVLLivs
macer of the denarii of Julius Caefar. If fo, as is
moft probable, the feftertius was coined in filver down
to Auguftus ; and it is of courfe not to be expefted
that any of brafs can appear till Auguftus, under
wdrom they are adlually quite common. I have in¬
deed feen no coin which could be a confular brafs fe¬
ftertius ; and though w;e have certainly brafs dupondii
of Caefar, yet it is reafonable to infer, that the brafs
feftertius w7as firft coined by Auguftus. Not one filver
feftertius appears during the w'hole imperial period,
yet we know7 that the feftertius was the mort common
of all filver coins. The confular feftertii of filver,
marked H. S. are not uncommon, nor the quinarii ;
but the latter are very fcarce of all the emperors, if
we except one inftance, the ASIA RECEPTA of Au-
guftus- . .
“ The Roman gold coinage was ftill later than that Rom.m
of filver. Pliny tells us, that “ gold was coined 62goltl-
years after filver ; and the fcruple went for 60 fefler-
ces. It was afterwards thought proper to coin 40
pieces out of the pound of gold. And our princes
have by degrees diminifhed their weight to 43 in the
pound.” This account is confirmed by the pieces
which ftill remain ; for u7e have that very coin weigh¬
ing a fcruple, wdiich went for 20 fefterces. On one
fide is the head of Mars, and on the other an eagle j
and it is marked xx. We have another coin of the
fame kind, but double, marked xxxx ; and its triple,
marked \^x or 60 j the ■<]/ being the old numeral
charafler for 30.” Mr Pinkerton, the difeoverer of
this, treats other medallifts with great afperity. Sa-
vot and Hardouin are mentioned by name y the latter
(he fays) is “ ignorant of common fenfe j” and nei¬
ther he nor Savot could explain it but by reading
backward ; put the for the Roman V, and thus mak¬
ing it xv. Other readings have been given by vari¬
ous medallifts, but none have hit upon the true one
excepting our author, though the coin itfelf fed to it ;
being juft three times the weight of that marked xx.
We have likewife half the largeft coin, which is mark¬
ed XXX, and which weighs 26 grains the fmalleft is
only 175-j the XXXX weighs 34; and the LX or
drachma 33. There is alfo the didrachm of this coin¬
age, of 106 grains. 7<s
The aurei, or Roman gold coins, were at firft 48 in Account of
the pound ; but they were afterwards diminilhed in t^ie aurei-
number to 40, owing to an augmentation in the w7eight
of each coin. In the time of Sylla, the aureus weigh¬
ed no lefs than from 164 to 168 grains, and there were
only 30 in the pound •, but fuch confufion in the
coinage was introduced by that conqueror, that no
perfon could know exadlly what he was worth. Till
this time the aureus feems to have continued of the
value of 30 filver denarii, about one pound fterling j
for about that time it was enlarged a whole third,
that
M E D
Ancient that it might hill be equivalent to the full number of
Money, denarii. But after Sylla had taken Athens, and the
arts and manners of Greece became objects of imita¬
tion to the Romans, the aureus fell to 40 in the pound,
probably when Sylla had abdicated his didtatorfhip.
Thus, being reduced near to the fcale of the Greek
Xgvrof, it paffed for 20 denarii, as the latter did for
as many drachmas, being in currency 13s. 4d. iter-
ling. “ This ^fays Mr Pinkerton) is the more pro¬
bable, becaufe we know from Suetonius, that the
great Caefar brought from Gaul fo much gold, that it
fold for nine times its weight of illver : but the Gallic
gold was of a very bafe fort.”
In the time of Claudius, the aureus was valued at
100 feftertii, or 25 filver denarii, at which it conti¬
nued till the time of Heliogabalus, when it fell to about
92 grains at a medium, or rofe in number to 5 3 in the
pound. In the reign of Philip, during which the city
completed its thoufafldth year, the aureus was coined
of two or three fizes. Thefe are imprefl’ed with a
head of Rome on one fide, and various figures on the
other ; but the workmanship is fo rude, that they are
fuppofed to have been ftruck in fome of the more un¬
civilized provinces of the empire. The practice of
having different gold coins, however, continued under
Valerian, Gallienus, and his fucceffors. In the time
of Gallienus, they were of 30, 65, and from 86 to 93
grains $ the double aurei being from 172 to 1834-
grains •, but the aureus properly fo called was from
86 to 93 ; thofe of 30 and 32 being the trientes aurei
of the Hiftorice Augujhe Scriptores; while the larger,
from 62 to 65, are to be accounted double trientes,
and were perhaps called minuti aurci. The value of
thefe different fizes of aurei is not known.
Alteration That Aurelian made fome alteration in the coin is
in the gold certain j but Mr Pinkerton fuppofes it to have been,
by a'uiv'6 on^ ’n t^e 8°^ > becaufe under him and his fucceffor
lian. Probus, the common aureus was of too grains, a fize
confined to thofe emperors : there are likewife halves
of about 50 grains *, and double aurei, commonly of
very fine workmanflrip, of upwards of 200 grains.
In the time of Gallienus, the precious metal was fo
common, that this emperor vied in magnificence with
Nero and Pleiiogabalus. Aurelian, who plundered the
rich city of Palmyra, and thus became mafter of the
treafures of the eat!, obtained fucli a profufion of gold,
that he looked upon it to be produced by nature in
greater plenty than filver. It is remarkable, that du¬
ring this emperor’s reign there was a rebellion among,
the money coiners, which could not be quelled but by
the deftrublion of feveral thoufands j which Mr Pin¬
kerton afcribes to his having ordered the gold to
be reftored to its former fize, but to go for no more
lilver than it formerly did. “ So very little filver (fays
he) occurs of this period, that it is plain no altera¬
tion in the filver produced the war with the mo-
neyers ; and in the brafs he made no change ; or if
he nad, it were firange that fuch commotions fliould
a rife about fo trifling a metal. But if, as appears from
the coins, he ordered the aureus, which had fallen to
80 grains, to be raffed to about 100, it is no wonder
that the contractors ihould be in an uproar ; for a
whole quarter of their coinage, amounting as would
feem, to all their profits, was lofl. Aurelian judged,
tnat when he found gold fo common in the eaft, it
A L S.
wTas equally fo in the weft ; and that the moneyers
muff have made a moft exorbitant profit j but his ideas
on this fubjeff were partial and unjuft : and after his
fhort reign, which did net exceed five months after
the alteration, the gold returned to its former courfe ;
though a few pieces occur of Aurelian’s ftandard,
flruck, as would feem, in the commencement of the
reign of Probus his fuccefl.br.
From this time to that of Conftantine I. the aureus
weighed between 70 and 80 grains; but in his reign
it was changed for the folidus, of which fix went to
the ounce of gold, which w'ent for 14 milliarenfes, and
25 denarii as before ; the value of filver being now to
.gold as 14 to 1. This nerv coin continued of the
fame, value to the final downfal of the Conftantinopo-
litan empire •, gold being always very plentiful in that
city, though filver became more and more fcarce. The
folidus was worth 12s. fterling. Here again our au¬
thor moft feverely criticifes Mr Clarke and Mr Raper :
the former (he fays) with refpedl to the value of gold
in the time of Conftantine I. “ has left all his fenfes
behind him. In page 267, he abfurdly afferts, that
20 denarii went to the folidus in the time of Theo-
dofius I. and proceeds with this deplorabla error to
the end of his work. He then tells uq that only 14
denarii went to the folidus under Conftantine I. &c.”
To Mr Raper, however, he is a little more merciful,
as he owns, that “ though he (Mr Raper) has ft range-
ly confounded the milliarenfis with the denarius, he
has yet kept common fenfe for his guide.” Mr Pin¬
kerton, indeed, argues with great probability, “ that
had any change in the coinage taken place between
the time of Conftantine and Theodofius I. that is, in
lefs than 50 years, the laws of that period, which are
all in the Theodofian code, muft have noticed it.”
To this and other arguments upon the fubjeft, Mr
Pinkerton adds the following obfervation upon the va¬
lue of gold and filver : “ As a ftate advances to its
height, gold increafes in value •, and as a ftate declines,
it decreafes, providing the metals are kept on a par as
to purity. Hence we may argue, that gold decreafed
in its relation to filver perhaps four or five centuries,
furniftied moft European kingdoms with gold in coin,
which otherwife would, from their want of arts and
of intercourfe with the caff, then the grand feminary
of that metal, have almoft been ignorant of what gold
was. Thefe gold coins were called Bezants^ in Eu¬
rope, becaufe fent from Byzantium or Conftantinople •,
and were folidi of the old fcale, fix to the ounce. In
Byzantine writers, the folidus is alfo called nomifma,
or “ the coin j” cn/Jinos, becaufe of gold ; hyperperos,
from its being refined with fire, or fror?! its being of
bright gold flaming like fire. The fol'idi alfo, as the
aurei formerly, received names from the princes whofe
portraits they bore ; as Michelati, Manuelati. Solidus is
a term ufed alfo for the aureus by Apulelus, who lived
in the time of Antoninus the Philofopher j nay, as
early as in the praetorian edi6Is of the time of Trajan.
It wa^ then a diftin<5tion from the femittis or half. In
the time of Valerian, when aurei of different fizes had
been introduced, it became neceflary to dillinguilh the
particular aurei meant. Hence in the Imperial Re-
feripts, published by the Hijlorue Augvjlee Scriptures,
Valerian ufes the term Bhiiippeos i\oJlri vultus, for the
common aurei. Amrehnn ufes the fame term aurei
U 2 Philippei,
156 MED
Ancient Philippei, for the aurei which he had reftored to their
, lvIe”cy- , fize in fome degree. Gallienus ufes aurei Valeriani
for his father’s coins. A'/rei Antoniniani are likewife
put by Valerian for coins of the early Antonini, of
fuperior llandard to any then ufed.
Divifion of I” the firft gold coinage at Rome, the aureus was
the aureus, divided into four parts; the femiffis of 60 fellertii ;
the tremifiis, or third, of 40; the fourth, the name of
which is not mentioned, of 30; and the fcrupulum of
20. But in a fliort time all of thefe fell into difufe,
except the femiflis or half, which is extremely fcarce ;
fo that it is probable that few have been flruck. It
is an erroneous opinion (according to Mr Pinkerton),
that the femilBs was called a denarius aureus. The
aureus itfelf indeed had this name ; but the name of
quinanus is applied to the femiflis with greater proprie¬
ty than the former. Trientes, or tremiffis of gold,
are found of Valerian and his fon Gallienus, and weigh
about 30 grains. Thofe of Salonina the wife of Gal¬
lienus weigh 33 grains. Under the Conllantinopo-
litan empire, tremiffes again make their appearance ;
and from the time of Valentinian downwards, the
thirds are the moft common coins of gold, being worth
about 4s. fterling. The femiffis is likewife mention¬
ed, but none occur earlier than the time of Bafilifcus.
The gold tremiffis was the pattern of the French and
Spaniih gold coins; as the filver denarius, in its dimi-
73 niffied Hate, was of the Gothic and Saxon penny.
Account of We (hall clofe this account of the Roman money
the Roman with fome remarks concerning the mint, and method
coining 01 co’na£e- This at firft feems to have been under
the dire£1 ion of the quaeftor. About the time that
filver was firft coined in Rome, viz. about 266 B. C.
the triumviri moneta/es were created. They were at firft
of fen at orial rank, but were by Auguftus chofen from
among the equeftrian ; and the title of triumviri was
continued till after the time of Caracalla ; but under
Aurelian there was probably but one mafter of the
mint, called rationahs; and Mr Pinkerton is of opi¬
nion that the change took place under Gallienus. He
feems alfo to have permitted the provincial cities to
coin gold and filver, as well as to have altered the form
of the mints in the capital, and to have ordered them
all to ftrike money with Latin legends, and of the
fame forms ; as in his time we firft meet with coins
with mint marks of cities and offices. The violent in-
furredftion which took place in his reign has already
been mentioned, as well as its probable caufe; and Mr
Gibbon has fhown, that the concealed enemies of Au¬
relian took fuch advantage of this infurredtion, that it
coft 7000 of his beft troops before it could be quelled.
About this time the procurator monetce feems to have
fucceeded the rationalis as diredtor of the mint. In
the colonies, the diredlion of the mint feems to have
been given to the decemviri, whofe names frequently
occur on colonial coins; “ which (fays Mr Pinkerton),
though generally of rude invention, and ruder execu¬
tion, are yet often interefting and important.”
The engraving of the ancient dies ufed in coinage
was a work, of much genius and labour ; and at Rome
Greek artifts were generally employed in it ; but it
has been thought a matter of great furprife, that fcarce
any two anment coins are to be found exadtly the
fame. Hence fome antiquaries have imagined, that
only, a fingle coin was thrown off from each die. M,
A L S.
Beauvais informs us, that the only two Roman impe- Ancient
rial coins of the firft times w hich he had feen per- Money- ^
fedtly alike were thofe of the emperor Galba. It is, v
however, the opinion of the beft judges, that a perfedt
fimilarity betwixt two medals is a very great reafon for
fuppofing one of them to be forged. “ It muft tilfo
be obferved (fays Pdfi Pinkerton), that the difterences
in coins, apparently from the lame die, are often fo
minute as to efcape an eye not ufed to microfcopic ob-
fervations of this fort. But it would be furprifing if
any two ancient coins wTere now found ftruck with the
fame die ; for out of each million iffued, not above
one has reached us. Dies foon give way by the vio¬
lence of the wrork ; and the ancients had no puncheons
nor matrices, but were forced to engrave many dies
for the fame coin. Even in our mint, upon fending
for a (hilling’s worth of new halfpence, it will appear
that three or four dies have been uled. Sometimes the '
obverfe of the die gives way, fometimes the reverfe;
but among us it is renewed by puncheons, though
with variations in the lettering or other minute ftrokes ;.
w hile the ancients wrere forced to recur to another die
differently engraven. The engravers of the die were
called calatores ; other officers employed in the mint
were the fpcclatores, expeclatorcs, or nummularii. The
melters w’ere ftyled fufarii, jlatuarii, and Jlaturarii;
thofe who adjufted the weight wrere called cequatorcs mo-
netarum; thofe who put the pieces into the die fup-
pojito res, and thofe who ftruck them malleatores. At
the head of each office wras an officer named primice-
rius, and the foreman was named optio et exatlory
In order to affift the high relief on the coins, the
metal, after being melted and refined, was caft into
bullets, as appears from the ancient coins not being
cut or filed on the edges, but often cradked, and al¬
ways rough and unequal. Thefe bullets were then
put into the die, and received the impreffion by re¬
peated ftrokes of the hammer, though fometimes a
machine appears to have been ufed for this purpofe :
for Boiterue informs us, that there was a picture of
the Roman mintage in a grotto near Baiae, where a
machine w7as reprefented holding up a large (tone as if
to let it fall fuddenly, and ftrike the coin at once.
None of the ancient money wTas caft in moulds, except¬
ing the moft ancient and very large Roman brafs,
commonly called weights, and other Italian pieces of
that fort ; all the reft being mere forgeries of ancient
and modern times. Some Roman moulds which have
been found are a proof of this ; and from thefe fome
medallifts have erroneoufly imagined that the an¬
cients firft caft their money in moulds, and then (lamp-
ed it, in order to make the impreffion more clear and
(harp.
The ancients had fome knowledge of the method
of crenating the edges of their coins, which they did
by cutting out regular notches upon them; and of
this kind we find fome of the Syrian and ancient con-
fular coins, with a few others. The former were caft
in this fhape, and then ftruck ; but the latter were
crenated by incifion, to prevent forgery, by (flowing the
mfide of the metal : however, the ancient forgers alfo
found out a method of imitating this ; for Mr Pin¬
kerton informs us, that he had a Roman confular coin,
of which the incifions, like the reft, were plated with
filver over the copper.
Sect.-
?4 ,
Erafs and
copper beft
preserved
by the run:
that covers
them.
75
Ditterent
kinds of
this ruft.
16
Medals
liow dimi¬
ni thed in
v*i!ue.
MED
Sect. VI. Of the Prefervalion of Medals.
We now come to confider what it is that diftin-
guifhes one medal from another, and why fome are fo
highly prized more than others. This, in general,
befides its genuinenefs, confifts in the high degree of
prefervation in which it is. This, by Mr Pinkerton,
is called the confervation of medals, and is by him re¬
garded as good and as perfeB. In this, he fays that
a true judge is fo nice, that he will rejedt even the
rareil: coins if in the leaf! defaced either in the figures
or legend. Some, however, are obliged to content
themfelves with thofe which are a little rubbed, while
thofe of fuperior tafte and abilities have in their ca¬
binets only fuch as are in the very ftate in which they
came from the mint; and fuch, he fays, are the ca¬
binets of Sir Robert Auftin, and Mr Walpole, of
Roman filver, at Strawberryhill. It is abfolutely ne-
ceifary, however, that a coin be in what is called good
prefervation ; which in the Greek or Roman empe¬
rors, and the colonial coins, is fuppofed to be when
the legends can be read with fome difficulty ; but
when the confervation is perfeft, and the coin juft as
it came from the mint, even the moft common coins
are valuable.
The fine ruft, like varffiffi, which covers the fur-
face of brafs and copper coins, is found to be the beft
preferver of them •, and is brought on by lying in a
certain kind of foil. Gold cannot be contaminated
but by iron mold, which happens when the coin lies
in a foil impregnated with iron j but lilver is fufcep-
tible of various kinds of ruft, principally green and
red *, both of which yield to vinegar. In gold and
filver coins the ruft muft be removed, as being preju¬
dicial *, but in brafs and copper it is prefervative and
ornamental ; a circumftance taken notice of by the
ancients. “ This fine ruft (fays Mr Pinkerton), which
is indeed a natural varniffi not imitable by the art of
man, is fometimes a delicate blue, like that of a tur-
quoife ; fometimes of a bronze brown, equal to that
obfervable in ancient ftatues of bronze, and fo highly
prized ; and fometimes of an exquifite green, a little
on the azure hue, which laft is the moft beautiful of
all. It is alfo found of a fine purple, of olive, and
of a cream colour or pale yellow7 : wffiich laft is exqui¬
fite, and fhow7s the impreffion to as much advantage
as paper of cream colour, ufed in all great foreign
prefles, does copperplates and printing. The Neapo¬
litan patina (the ruft in queftion) is of a light green ;
and wffien free from excrefcence or blemiffi is very
beautiful. Sometimes the purple patina gleams through
an upper coat of another colour, writh as fine effeft
as a variegated filk or gem. In a few inftances a ruft
of a deeper green is found ; and it is fometimes fpot-
ted with the red or bronze (hade, which gives it o;uite
the appearance of the Eaft Indian ftone called the
bloodJlone. Thefe rufts are all, wffien the real produft
of time, as hard as the metal itfelf, and preferve it
much better than any artificial varnifh could have done;
concealing at the fame time not the moft minute par¬
ticle of the impreffion of the coin.”
The value of medals is lowered when any of the
letters of the legend are mifplaced ; as a iufpicion of
forgery is thus induced. Such is the cafe with many
of thofe of Claudius Gothxcus. The fame, or even
A L S, 157
greater, diminution in value takes place in fuch coins Preferva-
as have not been well fixed in the die, which has oc-, t‘or1, .
cafioned their flipping under the ftrokes of the ham- v f
mer, and thus made a double or triple image. Many
coins of this kind are found in wffiich the one fide is
perfectly w7ell formed, but the other blundered in the
manner juft mentioned. Another blemiffi, but of
fmaller moment, and wffiich to fome may be rather
a recommendation, is when the workmen through in¬
attention have put another coin into the die without
taking out the former. Thus the coin is convex on
one fide, and concave on the other, having the fame
figure upon both its fides. 77
The medals faid by the judges in this fcience to be Counter.
countermarhed are very rare, and highly valued. They
have a fmall ftamp imprefled upon them, in fome an 1
head, in others a few leters, fuch as Aug : N. pro¬
bus, &c. which marks are fuppofed to imply an al¬
teration in the value of the coin ; as w7as the cafe with
the coumermarked coins of Henry VIII. and Queen
Mary of Scotland. Some have a fmall hole through
them ; fometimes with a little ring fattened in it, hav¬
ing been ufed as ornaments; but this makes no al¬
teration in their value. Neither is it any diminution
in the value of a coin that it is fplit at the edges ; for
coins of undoubted antiquity have often been found in
this ftate, the caufe of which has been already explain¬
ed. On the contrary, this cracking is generally con-
iidered as a great merit ; but Mr Pinkerton (ufpedls
that one of thefe cracked coins has given rile to an
error with refpedl to the wife of Caraulius who reigned
for fome time in Britain. The infer!ption is read
oriuna Aug : and there is a crack in the medal juft
before the O of oriuna. Without this crack Mr Pin¬
kerton fuppofes that it would have been read For-
tuna Aug. 7 s
Some particular foils have the property of giving Silver ancU
filver a yellow colour as if it had been gilt. It natu- g0^ h°w
rally acquires a black colour through time, which any
fulphureous vapour will bring on in a few minutes.
From its being fo fufceptible of injuries, it was al¬
ways mixed by the ancients with much alloy, in or¬
der to harden it. Hence the impreffions of the ancient
filver coins remain perfedl to this day, wffiile thofe of
modern coins are obliterated in a few years. On this
account Mr Pinkerton expreflfes a wiffi, that modern
ftates would allow a much greater proportion of alloy
in their filver coin than they ufually do. As gold
admits of no ruft except that from iron above-mention¬
ed, the coins of this metal are generally in perfedt
confervation, and frefti as from the mint.
To cleanfe gold coins from this ruft, it. is beft to How to -
fteep them in aquafortis, which, though a very power-c!ean^e
ful folvent of other metals, has no eftedl upon gold. t*'rrnj
Silver may be cleanfed by fteeping for a day or two
in vinegar, but more effe&ually by boiling in water
with three parts of tartar and one of fea fait ; on both
thefe metals, however, the ruft is always in fpots,
and never forms an entire incruftation as on brafs or
copper. The coins of thefe two metals muft never
be cleanfed, as they would thus be rendered full of
fmall holes eaten by the ruft. Sometimes, however,
they are found fo totally obfeured with ruft, that no¬
thing can be difeovered upon them ; in which cafe it
is beft to clear them with a graver ; but it may alfo
be done by boiling them for 24 hours in water with-
thre©
tarnifhed,.
19
•J 5 o
How to di
ftinguifti
true from
counter¬
feits.
So
Why an¬
cient coins
are in fuch
a high
hate of pre
fervation.
Si
Number of
ancient
coins.
•tln-ce phr«of tartar and one of alum; not fea fait as
in filver coins.
he high ft ate of prefervation in vrhich ancient
coins are u'.ually found, is thus accounted for by Mr
Hancarville. He obferves, that the chief reafon is
the cuilom of the ancients always to bury one or more
coins with their dead, in order to pay for their paf-
fage over the river Styx. “ From Phidon of Argos
(fays he) to Conflantine I. are 36 generations : and
fiom Magna Graecia to the Euphrates, from Cyrene
to the Euxine fea, Grecian arts prevailed, and the
inhabitants amounted to about 30,000,000. ’There
died, therefore, in that time and region, not lefs than
ten theufand millions of people, all of whom had coins
of one fort or other buried with them. The tombs
were facred and untouched ; and afterwards negleffed,
till modem curiofity or chance began to difclofe them.
The mn of Tlavia Valentina, in Mr Towlev’s capital
collebfion, contained feven brafs coins of Antoninus
Pius and Heliogabalus. Such are generally black,
from being burnt with the dead. The beft and frefli-
eft coins were ufed on thefe occafions from refpeft to
the dead ; and hence their fine confervation. At Sy-
racufe a fkeleton was found in a tomb, with a beauti-
juI gold coin in its mouth ; and innumerable other in-
ilances might be given, for hardly is a funeral urn
found without coins. Other incidents alfo confpire
to lurnifli us with numbers of ancient coins, though
the above-recited circumftance be the chief caufe of
perfeff confervation. In Sicily, the filver coins with
the head of Proferpine were found in fuch numbers
as to weigh 600 French livres or pounds. In the
16th century, 60,000 Roman coins were found at
Modena, thought to be a military cheft hid after the
battle of Bedriacum, when Otho was defeated by Vi-
telhus. Near Breft, in the year 1760, between 20
and 30,000 Roman coins were found. A treafure of
gold coins of Lyfimachus was found at Deva on the
Mams ; and Strabo, lib. vii. and Paufan. in Attic, tell
that he was defeated by the Get* ; at which time this
treafure feems to have fallen into their hands.”
Thus Mr Pinkerton, from the authority of Mr
Hancarville and others : but confidering thefe vaft
numbers of coins found in various places, it feems fur-
pnfing how fo few fhould now remain in the cabinets
of tne curious, as the fame author informs us that the
whom of the different ancient coins known to us
amount only to about 80,000, though he owns, that
the calculation cannot be efteemed accurate.
SECT. VII. How to dijlinguijh true Medals from coun¬
terfeits.
. T.HE di/Mt and the mo ft important thing
m tne whole fcience of medals is the method of di-
itinguilhmg the true from the counterfeit. The value
put Uj on ancient coins made the forgery of them al-
mo coeval with the fcience itfelf; and as no laws in-
JC . a P'Jyffihment upon fuch forgers, men of great
gen.us and abilities have undertaken the trade : but
wnetner to the real detriment of the fcience or not,
is matter of mme doubt ; for if only exaeff copies of
genuine medals are fold for the originals, the Lpofi-
courted^ver ; but the cafe nmft be ac-
/ ddureut, if people take it upon them
to forge medals which never exifted. At firit the fer-
•M E E> A L S.
feits.
geries were extremely grofs ; and medals were forged How to di-
of Priam, of Ariitotle, Artemifia, Flannibal, and moft ftinguifh
of the other illuftrious perfonages of antiquity. Moft tmp
of thele wrere done in fuch a manner, that the fraud c0l,nter~
could eafily be difeovered ; but others have impofed
even upon very learned men. Mr Pinkerton mentions
a remarkable medal of the emperor Heraclius, repre-
fenting him in a chariot on the reverfe, with Greek
and Latin inferiptions, which Jofeph Scaliger and
Lipfius imagined to have been ftruck in his own time,
but which was certainly iffued in Italy in the icth
century. “ Other learned men (fays our author) have
been ttrangely milled, when fpeaking of coins; for to
be learned in one fubjeft excludes not grofs ignorance
in others. Budaeus, de Affe, quotes a denarius of
Cicero, M. tull. Erafmus, in one of his Epiftles
tells us with great gravity, that the gold coin of
Bmtus ft ruck in Thrace, KOZS2N, bears the patriarch
Noah coming out of the ark with his two fons, and
takes the Roman eagle for the dove with the’olive
branch. Winkelman, in his letters informs us, that
the fmall brafs piece with Virgil’s head, reverfe’ epo
is undoubtedly ancient Roman ; and adds, that no
knowledge of coins can be had . out of Rome: but
Winkelman, fo converfant in ftatues, knew nothing
of qoins. It is from other artifts and other produc¬
tions that any danger of deceit arifes. And there is
no wonder that even the Ikilful are milled by fuch
artifts as have ufed this trade ; for among them appear c-
the names of Vidor Gambello, Giovani del Cavino, Coins fbr-
f., ., PAr)UAN, and his fon Aleffandro Bafliano ex-
likewife of Padua, Benvenuto Cellini, AleffandroceIlent ar"
Greco, Leo Aretino, Jacobo da Frezzo, FederigotlftS'
Bonzagna, and Giovani Jacopo, his brother ; Sebaf-
tiano Plumbo, Valerio de Vizenza, Gorlams, a Ger¬
man, Carteron of Flolland, and others, all or moft of
them of the 16th century ; and Cavino the Paduan
who is the moft famous, lived in the middle of
that century. The forgeries of Cavino are' held
m no little efteem, being of wonderful execution.
His and thofe of Carteron are the moft numerous
many of the ether artifts here mentioned not hav-
mg lorged above two or three coins. Later forgers
were Dervieu of Florence who confined himfelf to
medallions, and Cogornier who gave coins of the 20
tyrants in fmall brafs. The chief part of the forgeries
01 Greek medals which have come to my knowledge
are of the firft mentioned, and a very grofs kind, repre-
fenting perfons who could never appear upon coin,
uch as Priam, Alaeas, Plato, Alcibiades, Artemifia
and others. The real Greek coins were very little
known or valued till the works of Goltzius appeared
which were happily pofterior to the tera of the grand
forgers. . Why later forgers have feldom thought of
counterfeiting them cannot be eafily accounted for if
u is not ©wing to the rnafter!y workmanlhip of the ori¬
ginals, which lets all imitation at defiance. Forgeries,
icwever, of moft ancient coins may be met with, and
01 the Greek among the reft.
1 he forgeries are more confpicuous among the Re-Horan for-
man medals than any other kind of coins ; but we are genes more
not to look upon ail thefe as the work of modern (0nli)icu0’>s
artifis. On the contrary, we are affured that manytban G"eek*
of them were fabricated in the times of the Romans
themielves, fome of them being even held in more efti-
mation than the genuine coins themfelves, on account
1 of
§5
Imperial
medals.
MED
How to di-of their being plated, and otherwife executed in a
ftinguifli manner to which modern forgers could never attain,
true from jrven tpe anc;ents held fome of tbefe counterfeits in
feits " foci1 eftimation, that Pliny informs us there were fre-
i quently many true denarii given for one falfe one.”—
Caracalla is faid to have coined money of copper
and lead plated w;ith fdver ; and plated coins, the
work of ancient forgers, occur of many Greek cities
and princes •, nay, there are even forgeries of barbaric
coins. “ Some Roman coins (fays Mr Pinkerton),
are found of iron or lead plated with brafs, perhaps
trials of the fkill of the forger. Iron is the molt com¬
mon j but one decurfio of Nero is known of lead plated
with copper. Neumann jultly obferves, that no hifto-
ric faith can be put in plated coins, and that molt
faulty reveries, &c. arife from plated coins not being
noticed as fuch. Even of the Roman confular coins
Denarius of not very many have ever been forged. The celebrated
Brutus. lilver denarius of Brutus, with the cap of liberty and
two daggers, is the chief inftance of a confular coin
of which a counterfeit is known. But it is eafily re¬
jected by this mark : in the true coin the cap of liber¬
ty is below the guard or hilt of the daggers 5 in the
falfe, the top of it rifes above that hilt.”
The imperial feries of medals is the grand objeCt of
modern medallic forgeries 5 and the deception was at
firft extended to the molt eminent writers upon the
fubjeCt. The counterfeits are by Mr Pinkerton divided
into lix clafles.
I. Such as are known to be imitations, but valued
on account of the artilts by whom they are executed.
In this clafs the medals of the Paduan rank highelt ;
the others being fo numerous, that a complete feries
of imperial medals of almolt every kind, nay almolt of
every medallion, may be formed from among them. In
France, particularly, by far the greater part of the ca¬
binets are filled with counterfeits of this kind. They
are diftinguifhed from fuch as are genuine by the fol¬
lowing marks : I. The counterfeits are almoft uni-
verfally thinner. 2. They are never worn or damaged.
3. The letters are modern. 4. They are either deili-
tute of varnilh entirely, or have a falfe one, which is
eafily known by its being black, fliining, and greafy,
and very eafily hurt with the touch of a needle, while
the varnifh of ancient medals is as hard as the metal
itfelf. Inflead of the greafy black varnilh above
mentioned, indeed, they have fometimes a light green
one, fpotted with a kind of iron marks, and is com-
pofed of fulphur, verdigrife, and vinegar. It may
frequently be diftinguifhed by the hairftrokes of the
pencil with which it was laid on being vilible upon it.
5. The fides are either filed or too much fmoothed
by art, or bear the marks of a fmall hammer. 6. The
counterfeits are always exaftly circular, which is not
the cafe with ancient medals, efpecially after the time
of Trajan.
The Paduan forgeries may be diftinguifhed from
Series how thofe Gf inferior artifts by the following marks: 1. The
known. former are feldom thinner than the ancient. 2. They
very feldom appear as wmrn or damaged, but the others
very frequently, efpecially in the reverfe, and legend
of the reverfe, which fometimes, as in forged Othos,
appear as half confumed by time. 3. The letters in
mould* taken from the antique coins have the rudenefs
of antiquity. 4. Falfe varnifh is commonly light green
36
Paduan for-
A L S. 159
or black, and ftiines too much or too little. 5. The How to di-
fides of forged coins are frequently quite fmooth, and
undiftinguifhable from the ancient, though to accom-
plifh this requires but little art. 6. Counterfeit me¬
dals are frequently as irregular in their form as the
genuine *, but the Paduan are generally circular, though
falfe coins have often little pieces cut oft, in perfefl
imitation of the genuine. 7. In caft coins the letters
do not go (harp down into the medal, and have no fix¬
ed outline their minute angles, as well as thofe of
the drapery, are commonly filled up, and have not the
iharpnefs of the genuine kind. Where the letters or
figures are faint, the coin is greatly to be fufpefted. gy
The letters form the great criterion of medals, the Letters the
ancient being very rude, but the modern otherwife j principal
the reafon of which, according to Cellini, is, that the^'^j°afH
ancients engraved all their matrices with the graver or
burin, while 'the modern, forgers ftrike theirs with a
punch. gg
According to Vico, the falfe patina is green, black, Vico’s ac-
ruffet, brown, gray, and iron colour. The green is count of
made from verdigrife, the black is the fmoke of ful- Patana*
phur, the gray is made of chalk fteeped in urine, the
coin being left for fome days in the mixture. The rul-
fet is next to the natural, by reafon of its being a
kind of froth which the fire forces from ancient coins j
but when falfe, it ftiines too much. To make it they
frequently took the large brafs coins of the Ptolemies,
which were often corroded, and made them red hot in
the fire ; put the coins upon them, and a fine patina
adhered. Our author does not fay in what manner
the iron-coloured patina was made. “ Sometimes
(adds he) they take an old defaced coin, covered with
real patina, and ftamp it anew' *, but the patina is then
too bright in the cavities, and too dull in the protu¬
berances. The trial of brals coins with the tongue
is not to be defpifed ; for if modern the patina taftes
bitter or pungent, while if ancient it is quite taftelefs.”
Mr Pinkerton informs us, that all medallions from
Julius Casfar to Adrian are much to be fulpedlen of
forgery 5 the true medals of the firft 14 emperors be¬
ing exceedingly valuable, and to be found only in the
cabinets of princes. sq
II. The fecond clafs of counterfeit medals contains Meda's caft
thofe caft from moulds taken from the Paduan forge- *ra;:' thd
ries, and others done by eminent matters. Thefe are f1 ' 'ur"
fometimes more difficult to be difcovered than the for-'’
mer, becaufe in cafting them they can give any degree
of thicknefs they pleafe \ and, filling the fmall land-
holes with maftic, they retouch the letters with a gra¬
ver, and cover the whole with varnifh. The inllruc-
tions already given for the former clafs, however, are
alfo ufeful for thofe of the fecond, with this addition,
that medals of this clafs are generally lighter than the
genuine, becaufe fire rarefies the metal in fome degree-,
while that which is itruck is rather ccnden'ed by the
ftrokes. In gold and filver medals there cannot be
any deception of this kind 5 becaufe thefe metals ad¬
mit not of patina, and confequently the varniffi 'e-
trays the impofition. The marks of the file on the
margin of thofe of the fecond clafs are a certain fign
of forgery ; though thefe do not always indicate he
forgery to be of modern date, becaufe the Romans
often filed the edges of coins to accommodate the:n to
the purpofes of ornament, as quarter guineas are lonm-
times
i6o
MEDAL S.
tique.
91
Ancient
me da is re¬
touched.
How to d:- times put into the bottora of punch ladles. It is com-
true^froni mon to *m’tate t^e holes of medals made by time by
counter- means of aquafortis j but this deftroys the fides of
feits. a coin more effectually than if it had been eat into
1 ' ~'T—J naturally. The fraud, however, is not eafily diftin-
90 guiihed.
Medals caft IJI. Medals cajl in moulds from an antique.—In this
^o”1 an an-mode fome forgers, as Beauvais informs us, have been
fo very careful, that they would melt a common me¬
dal of the emperor whom they meant to counterfeit,
left the quality of the metal fliould betray them.
“ This (fays Mr Pinkerton), has been done in the fil-
ver Septimius Severus, with the reverfe ©f a trium¬
phal arch, for which a common coin of the fame prince
has been melted j and in other inftances. Putting me¬
tals in the fire or upon hot iron to cleanfe them, gives
them an appearance of being caft 5 for fome fpots of the
metal being fofter than the reft will run, which makes
this one of the worft methods of cleaning medals.—
The dire&ions given for difcovering the two former
deceptions hold good alfo in this.
IV. Ancient medals retouched and altered.—This is a
clafs of counterfeits more difficult to be difcovered
than any other. “ The art (fays Mr Pinkerton) ex¬
erted in this clafs is aftoniftiing 5 and a connoiffeur is
the lefs apt to fufpeift it, becaufe the coins themfelves
are in fadl ancient. The acute minds of the Italian
artifts exerted themfelves in this way, when the other
forgeries became common and known. With graving
tools they alter the portraits, the reverfes, and the in-
fcnptions themfelves, in a furprifing manner. Of a
Claudius ftruck at Arftioch they make an Otho *, of
a Fauftina, a Titiana $ of a Julia Severa, a Didia
Clara ; of a Macrinus, a Pefcennius, &c. Give them
a Marcus Aurelius, he ftarts up a Pertinax, by thicken¬
ing the beard a little, and enlarging the nofe. In fhort,
wherever there is the leaft refemblance in perfons, re¬
verfes, or legends, an artift may from a trivial me¬
dal generate a moft fcarce and valuable one. This
fraud is diftinguifhable by the falfe varnilfi which fome-
times mafks it; but, above all, by the letters of the
legend, which are always altered. Though this be
fometimes done with an artifice almoft miraculous, yet
moft commonly the charafters ftraggle, are difunited,
and pot in a line.”
In counterfeits of this kind fometimes the obverfe is
not touched, but the reverfe made hollow, and filled
with maftic coloured like the coin, and engraven with
fuch device and legend as was moft likely to bring a
great price $ others are only retouched in fome minute
parts, by which, however, the value of the coin is
much diminifhed. “ Againft all thefe arts (fays Mr
Pinkerton), fevere fcrutiny muft be made by the pur-
chafer upon the medal itfelf •, and the inveftigation and
opinion of eminent antiquaries had upon its being al¬
tered, or genuine as it is. iffued from the mint.
V. Medals imprejfed with new devices, or folder ed. 
In the firft article of this clafs the reverfes have been
totally filed off, and new ones impreffed with a die
and hammer. This is done by putting the face or
obverfe, whichever is not touched, jupon different folds
of pafteboard, afterwards applying the die and link¬
ing it with a hammer. The forgery in this clafs is
very eafily difcovered, as the devices and infcriptions
on the counterfeits are known not to exift on true
4
92
Medals
with new
devices, or
foldered.
medals: as the Pons ./Elius on the reverfe of Adrian : How to di -
the Expeditio Judaica of the fame emperor, &c.
The difference of fabrication in the face or reverfe
wall be difcovered at the firft glance by any perfon of
Ikill.
The foldered medals confift of two halves belong¬
ing to different medals, fawed through the middle and
then joined with folder. This mode of counterfeiting
is common in filver and brafs coins. “ They will
take an Antoninus, for example, and faw off the re¬
verfe, then folder to the obverfe wEich they have treat¬
ed in the fame manner. This makes a medal, which,
from an unknowing puchafer, will bring a hundred
times the price of the two coins which compofe it.
When the deceit is ufed in brafs coins, they take care
that the metals be of one hue j though indeed fome
pretenders in this wray fometimes folder copper and
brafs together, which at once reveals the deceit. Me¬
dals which have a portrait on each fide, and which
are generally valuable, are the moft liable to a fufpi-
cion of this fraud. To a very nice eye the minute
ring of folder is always vifible 5 and upon inferting a
graver, the fabrication falls into halves.”
In the fame manner reverfes are fometimes foldered
to faces not originally belonging to them ; as one men¬
tioned by Pere Jobert, of Domitian with an amphi¬
theatre, a reverfe of Titus joined to it. Another art
is fometimes made ufe of in this kind of counterfeits,
of which there is an inftance of the temple of Janus
upon Nero’s medals j where the middle brafs is taken
off, and inferted in a cavity made in the middle of a
large coin of that prince. In the coins of the lower
empire, however, the reverfes of medals are fometimes
fo connected with their obverfes, that a mfpicion of
forgery fometimes occurs without any foundation.
They are met with moft commonly after the time of
Gallienus, when fuch a number of ufurpers arofe, that
it was difficult to obtain an exadl portrait of their fea¬
tures \ the coiners had not time, therefore, to ftrike
a medal for thefe as they could have done for other
emperors who reigned longer. Hence, on the reverfe
of a medal of Marius, who reigned only three days,
there is pacator orris, which fhows that at that
time they had reverfes ready fabricated, to be applied
as occafion might require.
VI. Plated medals, or thofe which have clfts.—It has Plated me.
been already remarked, that many true medals are dais, Sco.
cracked in the edges j owing to the repeated ftrokes
of the hammer, and the little degree of duflility which
the metal poffeffes. This the forgers attempt to imi¬
tate by a file j but it is eafy to diftinguiih betwixt the
natural and artificial cleft by means of a fmali needle.
The natural cleft is wdde at the extremity, and appears
to have a kind of almoft imperceptible filaments; the
edges of the crack correfponding with each other in
a manner wEich no art can imitate.
The plated medals which have been forged In an¬
cient times were long fuppofed to be capable of refift-
ing every effort of modern imitation •, but of late
years, “ fome ingenious rogues (fays Mr Pinkerton),
thought of piercing falfe medals of filver with a red-
hot needle, which gave a blacknefs to the infide of
the coin, and made it appear plated to an injudicious
eye. This fraud is eafily diftinguiftied by feraping the
infide of the metaL” It is, however, very difficult to
diftinguiih
93
MEDALS.
161
94
Mr Pmker
ton's direc¬
tions for
knowing
medals.
95
Forgeries
of modern
coins.
- diftingulfli the forgeries of rude money when not caft ;
and our author gives no other dire&ion than to confult
a fkilful medallift. Indeed, notwithftanding all the
dire£Hons already given, this feems to be a refource
which cannot by any means with fafety be neglected.
A real and practical knowledge of coins “ is only to
be acquired (fays he) by feeing a great number, and
comparing the forged with the genuine. It cannot
therefore be too much recommended to the young
connoiileur, who wilhes to acquire forne knowledge in
this way, to vifit all the fales and cabinets he can, and
to look upon all ancient medals with a very microfco-
pic eye. By thefe means only is to be acquired that
ready knowledge vhich enables at firft glance to pro¬
nounce upon a forgery, however ingenious. Nor let
the fcience of medals be from this concluded to be un¬
certain •, for no knowledge is more certain and imme¬
diate, when it is properly ftudied by examination of
the real objefts. A man who buys coins, trufling
merely to his theoretic perufal of medallic books, will
find himfelf wofully miftaken. He ought to ftudy
Coins firfl, where only they can be fiudied, in them-
felves. Nor can it be matter of wonder or implica¬
tion of caprice, that a medallift of ikill (hould at one
perception pronounce upon the veracity or falfehood
of a medal 5 for the powers of the human eye, em¬
ployed in cert in lines of fcience, are amazing. Hence
a iludent can diftinguifti a book among a thoufand fi-
milar, and quite alike to every other eye : hence a
fhepherd can difcern, &c. j hence the medallift can
fav in an inllant, ‘ this is a true coin, and this is a
falfe,’ though to other people no diftimftion be percep¬
tible.”
Forgeries of modern coins and medals, Mr Pinker¬
ton obferves, are almoft as numerous as of the ancient.
The fatiric coin of Louis XII. Per dam Balylonis
NOMEN, is a remarkable inftance : the falfe coin is larger
than the true, and bears date 1512. The rude coins
of the middle ages are very eafily forged, and forgeries
have accordingly become common. Forged coins of
Alfred and other early princes of England have ap¬
peared, feme of which have been done with great art.
“ The two noted Englilh pennies of Rich. I. fays our
author, are of this ftamp 5 and yet have impofed upon
Meftrs Folkes and Snelling, who have publifhed them
as genuine in the two beft books upon Engiilh coins.
But they were fabricated by a Mr White of New-
gate-ftreet, a noted colle&or, who contaminated an
otherwife fair charaiSter by fuch praftices. Such for¬
geries, though eafy, require a fkill in the hiftory and
coinage of the times, which luckily can hardly fall to
the lot of a common Jew or mechanic forger. But
the pradlice is deteftable, were no gain propofed : and
they who ftoop to it muft fuppofe, that to embarrafs
the path of any fcience with forgery and futility, im¬
plies no infamy. In forgeries of ancient coin, the
fiftion is perhaps fufticiently atoned for by the vaft
Ikill required •, and the artift may plaufibly allege, that
his intention was not to deceive, hut to excite his ut-
moft powers, by an attempt to rival the ancient ma¬
ilers. But no poftible apology can be made for for¬
ging the rude money of more modern times. I he
crime is certainly greater than that which leads the
common coiner to the gallows 5 inafmuch as it is com-
VOL. XIII. Part I.
mitted with more eafe, and the profit is incomparably Va‘u"*
larger.” ^
Sect. VIII. Of the Value of Medals.
Ale ancient poins and medals, though equally ge¬
nuine, are not equally valuable. In medals as well
as in every thing elfe, the fcarcity of a coin ftamps a
value upon it which cannot otherwife be derived from
its intrinfic worth. There are four vor five degrees of
rarity reckoned up j the higheft of which is called
unique. The caufe is generally aferibed to the few-
nefs of number thrown off originally, or to their having
been called in, and recoined in another form. To the
former caufe Mr Pinkerton aferibes the fcarcity of the
copper of Otho and the gold of Pefcennius Niger 5 to
the latter that of the coinage of Caligula ; “ though
this laft (fays he) is not of lingular rarity ; which Ihows
that even the power of the Roman lenate could not
annihilate an eftablilhed money ; and that the firft caufe
of rarity, arifing from the fmall quantity originally
ftruck, ought to be regarded as the principal.” 9^
In the ancient cities Mr Pinkerton aferibes the fear- [he*fcarcity
city of coin to the poverty or fmallnefs of the ftate j of medals
but the fcarcity of ancient regal and imperial coins m ancient
arifes principally from the fhortnefs of the reign j andc^ties*
fometimes from the fuperabundance of money before,
which rendered it almoft unneceffary to coin any
money during the reign of the prince. An example
of this we have in the fcarcity of the fhillings of
George HI. which Ihows that fhortnefs of reign does
not always occafion a fcarcity of coin ; and thus the
coins of Harold II. who did not reign a year, are very
numerous, while thofe of Richard I. who reigned ten,
are almoft unique. ^
Sometimes the rareft coins lole their value, and be-R-are c°ins
come common. This our author aferibes to the high {°metlmes
price given for them, which tempts the poffeffors to common
bring them to market; but chiefly to the difeovering and vice
of hoards of them. The former caufe took place with verfa.
Queen Anne’s farthings, fome of which formerly fold
at five guineas ; nay, if wm could believe the newfpa-
pers, one of them was fome years ago fold for 960I. ;
the latter with the coins of Canute, the Danifh king
of England ; which were very rare till a hoard of them
was difeovered in the Orkneys. As difeoveries of
this kind, however, produce a temporary plenty, fo
when they are difperfed the former fcarcity returns j
while, on the other hand, fome of the common coins
become rare through the mere circumftance of negledf. 9S
As double the number of copper coins of Greek Silver coins
cities are to be met with that there are of filver, the^nw^at
latter are of confequence much more efteemed : butefteemef/*"
the reverfe is the cafe with thofe of the Greek princes.
All the Greek civic coins of filver are very rare, ex¬
cepting thofe of Athens, Corinth, Meffana, Dyrrha-
chium, Maflilia, Syracufe, and fome others. Of the
Greek monarchic coins, the moft rare are the tetra-
drachms of the kings of Syria, the Ptolemies, the fo-
vereigns of Macedon and Bithynia, excepting thofe of
Alexander the Great and Lyfimachus. Thofe of the
kings of Cappadocia are of a fmall fize, and fcarce to
be met with. Of thofe of Numidia and Mauritania
the coins of Juba, the father, are common : but thofe
X
162
V a'ue.
99
Greek cop
per coins.
100
Roman con
ftiiar coins.
101
I.eaJen Ro
man coins.
102
Cf coins
blundered
in the
mintage.
MED
of the Ion, and nephew Ptolemy, fcarce. Coins of the
kings of Sicily, Parthia, and Judcea, are rare 5 the
laft very much fo. We meet with no coins of the
kings of Arabia and Comagene except in brafs 5 thofe
o: the kings of Bofphorus are in eleftrum, and a few
in brafs, but all of them rare; as are likewife thofe
ot Philetenis king of Pergamus, and of the kings of
Pontus. In the year 1777, a coin of Mithridates fold
for 26I. 5s. Didrachms of all kings and cities are
fcarce excepting thofe of Corinth and her colonies •,
but the gold coins of Philip of Macedon, Alexander
the Great, and Lyfimachus, as has already been ob-
ferved, are common. The lilver tetradrachms of all
kings bear a very high price. The didrachm of Alex¬
ander the Great is one ol the fcarceft of the fmaller
Greek filver coins j fome of the other princes are not
uncommon.
In moil; cafes the copper money of the Greek mo¬
narch? is fcarce ; but that of Hiero I. of Syracufe is
uncommonly plenty, as well as that of feveral of the
Ptolemies.
I he moft rare of the confular Roman coins are thofe
reftored by Trajan : of the others the gold confular
coins are the moft rare, and the filver the moft com¬
mon ; excepting the coin of Brutus with the cap of
liberty, already mentioned, with fome others. Some
of the Roman imperial coins are very fcarce, particu¬
larly thofe of Otho in brafs j nor indeed does he occur
at all on any coin ftruck at Rome : but the reafon of
this may with great probability be fuppofed to have
been the ftiortnefs of his reign. His portrait upon
the brafs coins of Egypt and Antioch is very bad ; as
well as almoft all the other imperial coins of Greek
cities. The heft likenefs is on his gold and filver
coins \ trie latter of which are very common. The
Greek and Egyptian coins are all of fmall or middling
fizes, and have reverfes of various kinds: thofe of An¬
tioch have Latin legends, as well as moft of the other
imperial coins of Antioch. They have no other reverfe
but the SC in a wreath •, excepting in one inftance or
two of the large and middle brafs, where the infcrip-
tions are in Greek. Latin coins of Otho in brafs,
with figures on the reverfe, are certainly falfe ; though
in the cabinet of D’Ennery at Paris there was an Otho
in middle brafs reftored by Titus, which was efteemed
genuine by connoiffeurs.
The leaden corns of Rome are very fcarce : IVtoft
of them are pieces ftruck or caft on occafion of the
faturnalia; others are tickets for feftivals and exhi¬
bitions, both private and public. The common tickets
for theatres were made of lead, as were the contorniati ;
perpetual tickets, like the Engliih filver tickets for
the opera. Leaden medallions are alfo found below
the foundations of pillars and other public buildings,
in order to perpetuate the memory of the founders.
From the time of Auguftus aRo we find that leaden
feals were ufed. The work(of Ticorini upon this fub-
jedf, entitled Piombi Antiochi, is much recommended by
Mr Pinkerton.
The Roman coins, which have been blundered in
the manner formerly mentioned, are very rare, and un-
defervedly valued by the connoilTeurs. The blunders
in the legends of thefe coins, which in all probability
are the mexe effedls of accident, have been fo far mif-
taken by fome medajlifts, that they have given rife to
A L S.
imaginary emperors who never exifted. A coin of Purehafe.
Iauftina, which has on the reverfe sousti. s. c. puz-  v  
zled all the German antiquaries, till at laft Klotz gave
it the following facetious interpretation : Swe otntu mi¬
litate feBamini tantas ineptias. Tc^
d he heptarchic coins of England are generally rare, Heptarchic
except thofe c-a\\c& Jhjcas, which are very common, nscoir,s of
well as thofe of Burgred king of Mercia. The coinsEngIanc3'
of Alfred which bear his hurt are fcarce, and his other
money much more fo. Thofe of Hardyknute are fo
rare, that it was even denied that they had an exift-
ence •, but Mr Pinkerton informs us, that there are
three in the Britfth mufeum, upon all of which the
name HARTHCANUT is quite legible. No Engliih
coins of King John are to be met with, though there
are fome Iriih ones $ and only French coins of Richard I.
i^eake (fays Mr Pinkerton), made a itrange blun¬
der in aferibing coins of different kings with two faces,
and otherwife fpoiled in the ftamping, to this prince 5
in which, as ulual, he has been followed by a miffed
number.”
Coins of Alexander II. of Scotland are rather fcarce,Scottifli
but thofe of Alexander III. are more plentiful. Thofe coins-
of John Baliol are rare, and none of Edward Baliol are
to be found.
Sect. IX. Of the Pur chafe of Medals.
Medals are to be had at the ihops of goldfmiths
and filverfmiths, with thofe who deal in curiofities
&c. but in great cities there are profefled dealers in
them., j he heft method of purchafing medals, howr-
ever, is that of buying whole cabinets, which are every
year expoied to auftion in London. In thefe the rare
medals are fold by themfelves 5 but the common ones
are put up in large lots, fo that the dealers commonly
purchafe them. Mr Pinkerton thinks it would be
better that medals were fold one by one ■, becaufe a
lot is often valued and purchafed for the fake of a
Angle coin j while the others feparately w’ould fell for
perhaps four times the price of the wLole lot. “ If
any man of common fenfe and honeffy (fays Mr Pin¬
kerton), wTere to take up the trade of felling coins in
London, he wTould make a fortune in a Ihort time. This
profitable bufinefs is now in the hands of one or two
dealers, wLo ruin their own irtereft by making an ele¬
gant ftudy a trade of knavery and impofition. ^ If they
buy 300 coins for 10s. they will alk 3s. for one of the
worlt of them ! nay, fell forged coins as true to the ig¬
norant. .The fimpletons complain of want of bufinefs.
A knave is always a fool.”
The gold coins of Carthage, Cyrene, and Syracufe, Price°of
are worth about twice their intrinfic value as metal j gold coins
but the other gold civic coins from 5I. to 30I. each.ofCRr'
The only gold coins of Athens certainly known tothase’ &C‘
exift are two lately procured by the king. One of
thefe remains in poflefficn of his majelly, but the other
was given by the queen to Dr Hunter. There was
another in the Britiih mufeum, but fufpedled not to
be genuine. Dr Hunter’s coin, then, if fold, would
bear the higheft price that could be expefted for a
coin.
. The filver coins of Syracufe, Dyrrhachium, Maffi-of fiver
lia, Athens, and a few other ftates, are common j the coins',
drachmas and coins of leffer ffze are worth about
five
M E D
Purchafe. fi ve ftiilltngs j the didrachms, tetradrachras, &c. from
' v——' live to ten, according to their fize and beauty 5 the
larged, as might naturally be expefted, being more
valuable than the fmall ones. The tetradrachms, when
of cities whofe coins are common, are worth from 7s.
6d. to il. is. ; but it is impoffible to put a value upon
the rare civic coins $ ten guineas have been given for
Tc^ a (ingle one.
Greek cop- The Greek copper coins are common, and are al-
per coins. moft a]l Qf kind called fmall brafs; the middle fize
being fcarce, and the largeft in the ages prior to the
Roman emperors extremely fo. The common Greek
coins of brafs bring from 3d. to i8d. according to
their prefervation •, but w’hen of cities, whofe coins are
rare, much higher prices are given. “ The want of a
few cities, however (fays Mr Pinkerton), is not thought
to injure a colledtion *, as indeed new names are difco-
Vered every dozen of years, fo that no afiortment can
be perfeft. To this it is owing that the rarity of the
^ g Grecian civic coins is not much attended to.”
Gold coins hThe gold coins of Philip and Alexander the Great
bf Philip being very common, bear but from five to ten (hillings
andAlexan- above their intrinfic value ; but thofe of the other
der' princes, being rare, fell from 3I. to 30I. each, or even
more.
The tetradrachms are the deareft of the filver mo¬
narchic money, felling from five to ten (hillings •, and
if very rare, from 3I. to 30I. Half thefe prices may
be obtained for the drachmas, and the other denomi¬
nations in proportion.
GVeckcop- Th6 Greek copper coins are for the moft part fcar-
per coins1 cer than the filver, except the Syro-Grecian, which
more rare are common, and almoft all of the fize called fmall
than the brafs. “ They ought (fays Mr Pinkerton), to bear a
a high price •, but the metal and fimilarity to the cop¬
per civic coins, which are common, keep their adtual
purchafe moderate, if the feller is not well inftrudled,
and the buyer able and willing to pay the price of
rarity.”
The name of weights given to the ancient Roman
afes is, according to our author, exceedingly impro¬
per ; as that people had weights of lead and brafs fides,
without the lead appearance of a portrait upon therti.
Thefe denote the weight by a certain number of knobs;
and have likewife fmall fleurettes engraved upon them.
According to Mr Pinkerton, whenever we meet with a
piece of metal (lamped on both fides w'ith buds and
figures, we may lay it down as a certain rule that it is
a coin ; but when (lightly ornamented and marked up¬
on one fide only, we may with equal certainty conclude
I10 it to be a weight.
Price of the The ancient Roman afes are worth from 2S. to 2I.
ancient Ro- according to the fingularity of their devices. Confu-
man afes. ]ar g.0]j col'ns are worth from il. to 5I. Pompey with
his fons 21I. and the two Bruti 25I. The filver coins
are univerfally worth from a (hilling to half a crown,
excepting that of the cap of liberty and a few others,
which, if genuine, will bring from 10s. to 5I. The con-
fular copper bears an equal price with the filver, but
is more rare j the confular filver coins redored by Tra¬
jan are worth zcs. each.
With regard to the Roman imperial coins, it is to
be obferved, that fome of thofe which belong to princes
whofe coins are numerous, may yet be rendered ex¬
tremely valuable by uncommon reverfes. Mr Pinker-
fi!ver.
of
m
Hilderic Barbaric
coins.
thofe
and worth 10s. j
the gold of Theo-
the
the
A L S. 163
ton particularly points out that of Augudus, with the Arrange-
legend C. Mari vs Trogvs, which is worth three ment-
guineas, though the filver coins of that prince in ge¬
neral are not worth above a (hilling. In like manner,
the common gold coins of Trajan are not worth above
twenty (hillings; while thofe with Bajilica U/pia, Forum
Trajani, Divi Nerva et Trajanus, Paler, Divi Nerva
et Platina Aug. ProfeBio Aug. Regna AJfignata, Rex
Parthus, and fome others, bear from three to fix pounds.
The ticket medals belong to the Roman fenate, and are
worth from three to ten (hillings. The forged coins
and medallions of the Paduan fell from one to three
drillings each.
Of the coins of other nations,
king of the Vandals are in filver,
the finall brafs of Athanaric, 3s. 5
doric 2I. •, the fecond brafs of Theodahat 5s.
fecond brafs of Badueta rare, and worth 10s.
third brafs, 3s. The Britiih coins are very rare, and
worth from ten drillings to two guineas each, fome-
times much more. Medals with unknown charafters
are always fcarce and dear. Saxon pennies of the
heptarchy are rare, and worth from ten drillings to
ten pounds, according to their fcarcity and preferva¬
tion. The coins of the Englidr kings are common 5
thofe of Edward the Confeffor, in particular j others
are rare, and worth from ten drillings to two guineas,
while two of Hardyknute are wmrth no lefs than ten
guineas. The gold medals of Henry, in 1545, and
the coronation of Edward, are wmrth 20I. each : the
Mary of Trezzo, 3I, •, Simon’s head of Thurloe in
gold is worth 12I. ; his oval medal in gold upon
Blake’s naval vidlory at fea is worth 30I. j and his
trial piece, if brought to a fale, would, in M1' Pinker¬
ton’s opinion, bring a ftill higher price. The medals
of Queen Anne, which are intrinfically worth about
two guineas and a half, fell for about 3I. each j the
filver, of the fize of a crown piece, fell for 10s. and
the copper from five to ten drillings. Dafiier’s copper
pieces fell from twro to five drillings, and a few bear a
higher price. 1 II3
The Scottiflr gold coins fell higher than the Eng- Gold coins
lidt, but the others are on a par. The drilling of Mary of Scotland.
with the bud is rare, and fells for no lefs than 30], $
the half 3I.; and the royal 5I. 5s. The French tef-
toon of Francis and Mary brings lol. 10s. and the
Scottidr one of Mary and Henry would bring 50I. as
wmuld alfo the medal of James IV. The coronation
medal of Francii and Mary is worth 20I. Briot’s co¬
ronation medal fold in 1755 only for two guineas at
Dr Mead’s fale 5 but would now bring 20I. if fold ac¬
cording to rarity. 1x3
The Englifii coins firuck in Ireland are of much the Englifh.
fame price w'ith thofe of the native country *, but the f°ins (truck
St Patrick’s halfpence and farthings are rather fcarce,111 Ire^anc*'
and the rare crown of white metal is worth 4I. The
gun-money of James II. and all other Iri(h coins are
very common.
SECT. X. Arrangement of Medals, with the Inf rue-'
tion to be derivedfrom them.
Having thus given a full account of every thing in
general relative to medals, we mud now come to fome
particulars refpedting their arrangement, and the enter-*
X 2 tainment ’
164 MED
ArT|tn&~ ^a*nment which a medallift rriay expedl from the trouble
^ment, •(_. an(;j eXpence ;s a|. jn ng a colledfion.
It has already been obferved, that one of the prin¬
cipal ufes of medals is the elucidation of ancient hi¬
ll ory. Hence the arrangement of his medals is the
firlt thing that mull occur in the formation of a cabi¬
net, The moll ancient medals with which we are ac¬
quainted are thofe of Alexander I. of Macedon, who
began to reign about 501 years before Chrilf, The
feries ought of confequence to begin with him, and to
be fucceeded by the medals of Sicily, Caria, Cyprus,
Heraclia, and Pontus. Then follow Egypt, Syria,
the Cimmerian Bofphorus, Thrace, Bithynia, Par-
thia, Armenia, Damafcus, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia,
Pergamus, Galatia, Cilicia, Sparta, Pteonia, Epirus,
Illyricum, Gaul, and the Alps, including the fpace of
time from Alexander the Great to the birth of Chrilf,
and which is to be accounted the third medallic feries
of ancient monarchs. The lalt feries gees down to
the fourth century, including fome of the monarchs
of Thrace, Bofphorus, and Parthia, with thofe of
Comagene, Edelfa or Ofrhoene, Mauritania, and Ju-
dma. A moll diifindl feries is formed by the Roman
emperors, from Julius Csefar to the dellrudlion of
Rome by the Goths ; nay, for a much longer period,
were it not that towards the latter part of it the coins
become fo barbarous as to dettroy the beauty of the
collection. Many feries may be formed of modern po-
114 tentates.
Diadem an jgy means 0f medals we can with great certainty
ancient em* i * i • ^ *
blem of determine tne various ornaments worn by ancient
fovereign princes as badges of diltindlion. The Grecian kings
authority, have generally the diadem, without any other orna¬
ment ; and though in general the fide of the face is
prefented to view, yet in fome very ancient Greek and
Roman confular coins, full faces of excellent work-
manlhip are met with. On feveral coins allb two or
three faces are to be feen, and thefe are always account¬
ed very valuable. • 4
The diadem, which was no more than a ribbon tied
round the head with a floating knot behind, adorns
all the Grecian princes from firit to lall, and is almoit
an infallible mark of fovereign power. In the Roman
confular coins it is feen in conjundtion with Numa and
Ancus, but never afterwards till the time of Licinius,
the colleague of Conftantine. Dioclefian, indeed, ac¬
cording to Mr Gibbon, firlt wore the diadem, but his
portrait upon coins is never adorned with it. So great
an averfion had the Romans to kingly power, that
they rather allowed their emperors to affume the ra¬
diated crown, the fymbol of divinity, than to wear a
diadem ; but, after the time ©f Conftantine, it becomes
common. 1 he radiated crown appears firlt on the
pofthumous coins of Auguftus as a mark of deifica¬
tion, but in fomewhat more than a century became
common.
The laurel crown, at firft a badge of conqueft, was
afterwards permitted by the fenate to be worn by Ju¬
lius Csefar, in order to hide the baldnefs of his head.
From him all the emperors appear with it on their
medals, even to our own times. It the lower empire
the crown is fometirtts held by a hand above the head,
as a ximrk of piety. Bolides■ thfcfe, the naval, mural,
and civic crowns appear on the medals both of empe-
zors and other eminent men, to denote ther great • ac-
A L S.
tion«. The laurel croxvn is alfo fomethnes worn by Arrange-
he Greek princes. The Arfacidse of Parthia wear ment>
a kind of laih round the head, with their hair in rows v
of curls like a wig. The Armenian kings have the
t/ara, a kind of cap which was efteemed the badge of
imperial power in the eaft. Conical caps are feen on
the medals of Xerxes, a petty prince of Armenia,
and Juba the father, the former having a diadem
around it. 115
The impious vanity of Alexander and his fucceffors Symbols of
in affuming divine honours is manifeft on their medals, <)‘,;v‘rat7 on
where various fymbols of divinity are met with. Some AA;?nde^
of them have an horn behind their ear, either to de- and h;s fuc-
note their ftrength, or that they were the fuccelTors ofceflbrs.
Alexander, to whom this badge might be applied as
the fen of Jupiter Ammon. This, however, Mr
Pinkerton obferves, is the only one of thefe fymbols
which certainly denotes an earthly fovereign, it being
doubted whether the reft are not all figures of gods.—.
According to Eckhet, even the horn and diadem be¬
long to Bacchus, who invented the latter to cure his
headaches •, and, according to the lame author, the
only monarch who appears on coins with the horn is
Lyfimachus. We are informed, however, by Plutarch,
that Pyrrhus had a creft of goats horns to his helmet j
and the goat, we know, w7as a fymbol of Macedon.
Perhaps the fucceiTors of Alexander wore this badge
of the horn in confequence. The helmet likewife fre¬
quently appears on the heads of fovereigns, and Con¬
ftantine I. has helmets of various forms curioully or¬
namented.
The diadem is worn by moft of the Greek queens, by
Orodaltis, daughter of Lycomedes, king of Bithynia j
and though the Roman emprefies never appear with
it, yet this is more than compenfated by the variety of
their headdreffes. Sometimes the bull of an emprefs
is fupported by a crefcent, to imply that Ihe was the
moon, as her hulband was the fun of the ftate. The
toga, or vail drawn over the face, at firft implied that
the perfon was inverted with the pontifical office ; and
accordingly we find it on the bulls of Julius Crefar,
while pontifex maximus. It likewife implies the au-
gurlhip, the augurs having a particular kind of gown
called /arui, with which they covered their heads when
obferving an omen. In latter times this implies only
confecration, and is common in coins of empreffes.
It is firft met with on the coins of Claudius Gothicus
as the mark of confecration of an emperor. The
nimbus, or glory, now appropriated to faints, has been
already mentioned. It is as ancient as Auguftus, but
is not to be met with on many of the imperial medals,
even after it began to be appropriated to them. There
is a curious coin, which has upon the reverfe of the
common piece, w’ith the head of Rome, Urbs Roma,
in large brafs, Conftantine I. fitting amid Viflories
and genii, with a triple crown upon his head for Eu¬
rope, Alia, and Africa, w’ith the legend Securitas
Romas. . rl6
In general only the bull is given upon medals, Portraits
though fometimes half the body or more ; in which upon me-
latter cafe the hands often appear with enfigns of ma-
jelly in them ; fuch as the globe, faid to have been in¬
troduced by Auguftus as a fymbol of univerfal domi¬
nion the feeptre, fometimes confounded with the con¬
fular ftaff j a roll of parchment, the fymbol of legiila-
tiys
M E D
Arrange- tire power , and an handkerpliief, cxpreflive of the power
nient,&c. over the public games, where the emperor gave the
  vlignal. Some princes hold a thunderbolt, fhowing that
their power on earth was ec|ual to that of Jupiter m
heaven j while others hold an image of Victory.
Medals likewife afford a good number of portraits
of illuftrious men 5 but they cannot eafily be arranged
in chronological order, fo that a feries of them is not
to be expected. It is likewife vain to attempt the
formation of a feries of gods and goddeffes to be found
on ancient coins. Mr Pinkerton thinks it much bet¬
ter to arrange them under the feveral cities or kings
whofe names'they bear. A collection of the portraits
of illuftrious men may likewife be formed from medals
XI7
Reveries of
Greek and
Roman
eoins.
of modern date.
Xhe reverfes of ancient Greek and Roman coins
afford an infinite variety of inftrudlion and amufement.
They contain figures of deities at full length, with
their attributes and fymbols, public fymbols and diver-
fions, plants, animals, &c. &c. and in (hort almoft
every objeft of nature or art. borne have the por¬
trait of the queen, fon, or daughter of the prince
whofe image appears on the face obverfe *, and thefe
are efteemed highly by antiquaries, not only becaufe
every coin ftamped with portraits on both fides is ac¬
counted valuable, but becaufe they render it certain
that the perfon reprefented on the reverfe was the
wife, fon, or daughter of him who appears on the
obverfe $ by which means they aftift greatly in the ad¬
juring of a feries. Some, however, with two portraits
are common, as Auguftus, the reverfe of Caligula ;
and Marcus Aurelius, reverfe of Antoninus Pius.
We find more art and defign in the reverfes of the
Roman medals than of the Greek $ but on the other
hand, the latter have more exquifite relief and work-
manlhip. The very ancient coins have no reverfes,
excepting a rude mark llruck into the metal, refem-
bling that of an inftrument with four blunt points on
which the coin was ftruck } and was owing to its hav¬
ing been fixed by fuch an inftrument on that fide
to receive the impreffion upon the other. lo. this
fucceeds the image of a dolphin, or fome Imall animal,
in one of the departments of the rude mark, or in an
hollow fquare : and this again is fucceeded by a more
perfeft image, without any mark of the hollow fquare.
Some of the Greek coins are hollow in the reverfe, as
thofe of Caulonia, Crotona, Metapontum, and fome
other ancient cities of Magna Graecia. About 500
B. C. perfeft reverfes appear on the Greek coins, of
exquifite relief and workmanlhip. li Xhe veiy inuf-
cles of men and animals (fays Mr Pinkerton), are feen,
and will bear infpeaion with the largeft magnifier as
ancient gems. Xhe ancients certainly had not eyes
different from ours; and it is clear that they mull have
magnified objefts. A drop of water forms a micro-
fcope ; and it is probable this was the only one of tne
ancients. To Greek artirts we are indebted for the
beauty of the Roman imperial coins-', and thefe are
fo highly finilhed, that on fome reverfes, as that of
Nero’s decurfion, the adventus and progvejfio of va¬
rious emperors, the fundator pacts of Severus, the fea¬
tures of the emperor, riding or walking, are as exaft
as on the obverfe. But though the belt Greek ar-
tifts were called to Rome, yet the Greek coins under
A L S. 165
the Roman emperors are fometimes well executed, Arrange-
and always full of variety and curiofity. No Roman ,mentj ^'c'.
or Etrufcan coins have been found of the globular
form, or indented on the reverfe like the early Greek.
The firft Greek are fmall pieces of filver, while the
Roman are large maffes of copper. The former are
ftruck \ the latter call in moulds. The reverfes of the
Roman coins are very uniform, the prow of a Ihip, a
car, or the like, till about the year 100 B. C. when
various reverfes appear on their conlular coins in all
metals. The variety and beauty of the Roman impe¬
rial reverfes are well known. dLhe medalift much va¬
lues thofe which have a number of figures *, as the
VuelU Faujliniavte, of Fauftina, a gold coin no larger
than a fixpence, which has 12 figures j that of Irajan,
regna ajpgnata, has four ; the congiartum of Nerva five
the allocution of Trajan feven 5 of Hadrian 10 ; of
Probus I 2. Some Roman medals have fmall figures
on both fides, as the Jpollini fantto of Julian II. Such
have not received any peculiar name among the medal-
lifts. Others have only a reverfe, as the noted fpintri.
ati, which have numerals I. II. &c. on the ob¬
verfe.”
The names of the deities reprefented on the rever- ri?. .
fes of Greek coins are never expreffed ; perhaps, as MfOGhe dei-
Pinkerton fuppofes, out of piety, a fymbolical repre-J^pon
fentation of their attributes being all that they thought ancient
proper to delineate 5 but the Roman coins always ex-coins,
prefs the name, frequently with an adjunft, as VENERI
Victrici, &c. In others, the name of the empe¬
ror or emprefs is added ; as Pudicitite AuGUSTiE,
round an image of modefty} Vxrtus Augusti, a
legend for an image of virtue.
The principal fymbols of the divine attributes to
be met with on the Greek medals are as follow :
1. Jupiter is known on the coins of Alexander the
Great by his eagle and thunderbolts ; but when the
figure occurs only on the obverfes of coins, he is di-
ftinguilhed by a laurel crown, and placid bearded coun¬
tenance. Jupiter Ammon is known by the ram’s
horn twilling round his ear } a fymbol of power and
ftrengtb, affumed by fome of the fucceffors of Alex¬
ander the Great, particularly by Lyfimachus..
2. Neptune is known by his trident, dolphin, or be¬
ing drawn by fea horfes} but he is feldom met with
on the Grecian coins.
3. Apollo is diftinguilhed by an harp, branch of
laurel, or tripod •, and fometimes by a bow and arrows..
In the character of the fun, his head is furrounded
with rays ; but when the bull only occurs, he has a
fair young face, and Js crowned with laurel. He is
frequent on the coins ol the Syrian-princes.
4. Mars is dillinguilhed by his armour, and fome¬
times by a trophy on his Ihoulders. His head is
armed with a helmet, and has a ferocious counte¬
nance.
3. Mercury is reprefented as a youth, with a. fmall
cap on his head, wings behind his ears and on his feet.,-
He is known by the cap, which refembles a fmall hat,
and the wings. He appears alfo with the caduceus,
or wand twined with ierpents, and the marfupium, or
purfe, which he holds in his hand.
6. vEfculapius is known by his bulky beard, and
his leaning on a club with a lerpent twilled round it..
He
166 M E D
Arrange- He fometimes occurs with Lis wife Hygeia or Health,
n.ent, &lc. their fon Telefphorus or Convalelcence between
them.
7. Bacchus is known by his crown of ivy or vine,
his diadem and horn, with a tiger and fatyrs around
him.
8. The figure of Hercules is common on the coins
of Alexander the Great, and has frequently been mif-
taken for that of the prince himfelf. He appears
fometimes as a youth and fometimes with a beard.
He is known by the club, lion’s Ikin, and remarkable
apparent ftrength j fometimefc he has a cup in his hand ;
and a poplar tree, as a fymbol of vigour, is fometimes
added to the portrait.
9. The Egyptian Serapis is known by his bulky
beard, and a mealure upon his head.
10. Apis is delineated in the form of a bull, with a
flower of the lotos, the water lily of the Nile, fup-
pofed by Macrobius to be a fymbol of creation ; and
Jamblichus tells us, that Ofiris was thought to have
his throne in it.
11. Harpocrates, the god of Silence, appears with
his finger on his mouth •, fometimes with the liftrum in
his left hand j a fymbol common to moil of the Egyp¬
tian deities.
12. Canopus, another Egyptian deity, appears in
the fhape of a human head placed on a kind of pitch¬
er. “ This deified pitcher (fays Mr Pinkerton), feems
to refer to an anecdote of ancient fuperftition, which,
I believe, is recorded by Plutarch. It feems fome Per-
fxan and Egyptian priefts had a contefl which of their
deities had the fuperiority. The Egyptian faid, that
a Angle vafe, facred to Serapis, would extinguilh the
whole power of the Perfian deity of fire. The ex¬
periment was tried 5 and the wily Egyptian, boring holes
in the vale and Hopping them with wax, afterwards
filled the vafe with water; wdaich, gulhing through
the holes as the wax melted, extinguilhed the Perfian
deity. Hence the vafe was deified.’’
13. The Holy Senate and Holy People, appear fre¬
quently on the Greek imperial coins, fometimes repre-
fented as old men with beards, at others as youths.
The goddefles reprefented on medals are,
1. Juno, reprefented by a beautiful young woman,
iometimes with a diadem, fometimes without any
badge, which is reckoned a fufficient difiin61ion, as
the other goddeffes all wear badges. Sometimes’fhe
appears as the goddefs ef marriage ; and is then veiled
to the middle, and fometimes to the toes. She is
known by the peacock, a bird facred to her from the
fable of Argus.
2. Minerva is very common on the coins of Alex¬
ander the Great; and her bull has been miftaken by
the celebrated painter Le Brun for the hero himfelf
She is very eafily dillinguifhed by the helmet. Her
fymbols are, her armour 5 the fpear in her right hand
-and the aegis, with a Medufa’s head, in her" left • an
owl commonly Handing by her.
3. Diana of Ephefus is commonly reprefented on the
vjreek imperial coins ; and appears with a great num-
ber of breads, fuppofed to denote univerfal Nature.
She is fupported by two deer, and carries a pannier of
fruit upon her head. The bufl of this goddefs is known
-by the crefcent on her brow, and fometimes by the bow
and quiver at her fide.
2
A L S.
4. Venus is known by an apple, the prize of beauty, Arran-e-
in her hand. Sometimes Hie is difiinguifiied only by me! t, ixc.
her total want of drefs ; but is always to be known by ' ^
her extraordinary beauty, and is fometimes adorned
with pearls about the neck.
5. Cupid is fometimes met with on the Syrian coins,
and is known by his infancy and wings.
6. Cybele is known by a turreted crown and lion ;
or is fcen in a chariot drawn by lions.
7. Ceres is known by her garland-of wheat, and is
common on the Sicilian coins ; that ifland being re¬
markable for its fertility. Sometimes (he has two fer-
pents by her, and is fometimes drawn in a chariot by
them. She. carries in her hands the torches with
which Hie is fabled to have gone in fearch of her
daughter Proferpine.
.8. Proferpine herfelf is fometimes met with on
coins, with the name of xogjj, or the girl.
9- The Egyptian Ifis has a bud or flower on her
head } a fymbol of the perpetual bloom of the inhabi¬
tants of heaven. She carries alfo a fiflrum in her hand.
10. The Sidonian Allarte appears on a globe fup¬
ported on a chariot with two wheels, and drawn by
two horfes. J
I hefe are the deities mofi commonly reprefented on
the Greek coins. Ihe more uncommon are, Saturn
with his fcythe, or wuth a hook on the HeracHan
coins } \ ulcan with his tongs on the reverfe of a coin
of. Thyatira, reprefented at work in the prefence of
Minerva. Adranus, a Sicilian god, is fometimes re-
prefente.d on coins with a dog. Anubis, an Egyp¬
tian deity, has a dog’s head. Atis is known by his
Phrygian bonnet 5 Caflor and Pollux by a flar on the
head of each j Dis, by his old face, difhevelled hair
ana beaid, and a hook j Flora by her crown of flow¬
ers 5 Nemefis by her wheel; and Pan by his horns
and ears belonging to fome kind of beafi.
There are likewife to be found on medals many Table of
different fymbols by themfelves ; of the mofl remark- f>'niboli-
able of which, we fliall give the following table, with
their fignifications:
Symbols.
1. Vafes with fprigs,
2. Small chefl or hamper, with a
ferpent leaping out,
3- Anchor on Seleucian medals.
4. Apollo on Syrian coins, on an
inverted hamper,
5- Bee, ...
6. Laurel, -
7. Reed, -
8. Ivy and grapes,
9. Poppy,
10. Corn, - „ _
11. Owl and olive,
1 2. Dove, -
I3*
Signification.
Solemn games,
f Myflic rites of
\ Bacchus,
f Coin ffruck
at Antioch,
where an an¬
chor was dug
jj- Covered tripod.
{Ariffeus the
Ion of Apol¬
lo.
Apollo.
A river.
Bacchus,
y Ceres and Pro-
/ ferpine.
Ceres.
Minerva.
Venus.
Arrange¬
ment, See.
I3-
M-
I5-
16.
17-
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23*
24.
26.
27.
28.
29.
3°-
31*
3,2.
33-
34-
35-
36.
37-
38-
39-
40.
41*
42.
43-
44.
45-
MED
Symbols.
Torch,
Mudnis, or conic done,
t
Significations.
{
5
Diana, Ceres,
or Profer-
pine.
The fun, Belus,
or Venus.
Symbols of Countries, &c.
Pomegranate flowers,
Owl,
Pegafus, - . _
Wolf’s head,
Bull’s head,
Minotaur’s head and labyrinth,
Horfe’s head,
Lion, - - -
Tortoife, - - >
Sphinx, - -
Three legs joined, as in the Ifle
of Man money,
Horfe, -
The crefcent,
Bull,
Enfign, with the letters Col.
Bull,
Caduceus, - - -
Cornucopiae,
Pontifical hat,
Parazonium,
Globe on an altar with three
ftars, -
Fort and gate,
Tribuli, a kind of chevaux de
frize, -
Altar or tripod,
Dolphin, -
Le6liflernia,
Lituus, or twilled wand,
Apex, or cap with firings,
Thenfa, or chariot employed to
carry images,
Peacock, -
Eagle,
Rhodes.
Athens.
Cbrinth.
Argos.
Boeotia.
Crete.
Pharfalia.
Marfeilles.
Peloponnefus.
Scio.
{
{
{
{
Theffaly.
Byzantium (a).
Suppofed to be
a river.
Acolony drawn
from one le¬
gion.
Apis, flrength
or fecurity.
Peace and con¬
cord.
Abundance.
Priellhood.
Batoon of com¬
mand.
The world pre-
ferved by the
gods for the
three fons of
Conllant. I.
Security.
}
Unknown.
{
Piety.
Apollo.
Fellivals.
Augurlhip.
Pontificate.
Con fee ration of
an emprefs.
Ditto.
Confecration of
an emperor.
A L S. rtfy
The legends put upon medals are defigned as ex- Arrange-
planations of them ; but as the compafs of even the ,ment’
large!! coins does not admit of any great length of I20
infeription, it has always been found neceffary to ufe Legends of
abbreviations ; and in readily decyphering thefc lies a medals,
confiderable part of the difficulty of the fcience. This,
however, is greater in the Roman than in the Greek
medals \ for the Greeks commonly infert as much of
the word as is lufficient to enable us eafily to under-
ftand its meaning ; but it is common for thofe who at¬
tempt to explain letters that do not often occur, to 121 .
fall into very ridiculous errors. Of this Mr Pinker- ^
ton gives a mol! remarkable inllance in Fortunius Li- ofFor-
cetus, a learned man, who finding upon a coin of A- tunlus Lice-
drian the letters, r. IA fignifying the 14th year of that tus.
emperor’s reign, imagined that they fignified Litcer-
nas invenit Delta ; “ Delta invented lanthorns j” and
thence aferibed the origin of lanthorns to the Egyp¬
tians. Tables explaining the meaning of the abbrevi¬
ations found upon medals have been publilhed by Pa-
tin, Urfatus, and others.
Sect. XL Of Medallions, Me da lets, &c.
Besides the ordinary coins of the ancients, which
paffed in common circulation through the> country,
there were others of a larger fize, which are now term¬
ed medallions. Thefe were ftruck on the commence¬
ment of the reign of a new emperor and other folemn
occafions: frequently alfo, by the Greeks in particular,
as monuments of gratitude or of flattery. Sometimes
they were mere trial or pattern pieces; and thofe
abound after the time of Maximian, with the words
Tres MoneUe on the reverfe. The common opinion
is, that all the Roman pieces of gold exceeding the
denarius aureus, all in filver exceeding the denarius,
and all in brafs exceeding the feftertius, went under
the denomination of medallions: but Mr Pinkerton
thinks that many of thefe large pieces went in circula¬
tion, though not very commonly, as our five and two
guinea pieces, filver crowns, &c; do in this country.
The fineft medallions were prefented by the mint maf-
ters to the emperor, and by the emperor to his friends,
as fpecimens of fine workmanffiip. The bell we have
at prefent are of brafs, and many of them compofed
of two forts of metal ; the centre being copper, with
a ring of brafs around it, or the contrary ; and the
infeription is fometimes confined to one of the metals,
fometimes not. There is a remarkable difference be¬
tween the Greek and Roman medallions in point of
thicknefs •, the latter being frequently three or four
lines thick, while the other feldom exceed one. Very
few medallions, however, were ftruck by the Greeks
before the time of the Roman emperors ; but the Greek
medallions of the emperors are more numerous tha
(a) This appears on the early coins of Byzantium, with the legend BTZANTIN. 2QT. “ the preferver of By¬
zantium.” The reafon of this was, that when Philip of Macedon befieged the city, and was about to ftorm it in
a cloudy night, the moon fhone out on a fudden and difeovered him j by which means the inhabitants had time
to collect their forces and repulfe him. The Turks on entering Conllantinople, found this badge in many places;
and fulpefting fome magical power in it, aflumed the fymbol, and its power, to themfelves) fo that the crefcent is
now the chief Turkilh enfign.
- L
168 MED
Medal- thofe of the Romans themfelves. All thefe pieces,
^lions &(. however, are of fuch high price that few private per-
fons are able to purchafe them. In the laft century
Chriftina queen of Sweden procured about 300. In
the king of France’s colledlion there are x 200 ; a num¬
ber formerly fuppofed not to exiil ; and Dr Hunter’s
colle<5i:ion contains about 400, exclufive of the Egyp¬
tian.
Befides thefe large pieces, there are fmaller ones, of
a fize fomewhat larger than our half-crowns ; and by
Italian medallifts are called medaglion cini, or fmall
medallions. They are ftill fcarcer than the large
kind.
Ofmed i- There is Hill a third kind, which have almofi: efca-
Jets. ped the notice of medallifts, viz. the fmall coins or
tnijjilia fcattered among the 'people on lolemn occa-
fions; fuch as thofe ftruck for the flaves on account
of the faturnalia *, counters for gaming •, tickets for
baths and feafts j tokens in copper and in lead, &c.
Thefe are diftinguifhed by Mr Pinkerton by the name
of medalcts. Many, or perhaps almoft all, of thofe
ftruck for the faturnalia were fatirical ; as the Haves
had then a licenfe to ridicule not only their mafters
but any perfon whatever. Mr Pinkerton mentions
one of the moft common pieces of this kind, which
has on the obverfe the head of an old woman veiled,
with a laurel crown ; the reverfe only s. c. within a
wreath. Baudelot is of opinion that it is the head of
Acca Laurentia, the nurfe of Romulus, to whom a
feftival was ordained. “ Perhaps (fays Mr Pinkerton),
it was ftruck in ridicule of Julius Caefar j for the man¬
ner of the laurel crown, and its high appearance over
the head, perfeftly referable that of Julius on his coins.”
Some have a ftxip upon one fide ; on the reverfe T,
or a crofs, which was the image of Priapus; and oc-
cafioned many falfe inveftives againft the firlt Chrif-
tians, w’ho paid fuch refpeft to the crofs. Some pieces
have the heads of the emperors upon one fide j on
the reverfe only numerals, III. IV. V. &c. and the
_ noted fpintriati of Tacitus. Both thefe kinds appear
tickets for the baths, as the number feems to denote the
particular bath. Some have the head of a girl, with
a veflel ufed at the baths in her hand. The fpintriati
.are fo immodeft, that few will bear mention. But
fame are merely ludicrous j as on§ which has an afs
with a bell about his neck, and a foldier riding him j
another wfth two figures hoifting a woman in a balket
into the air. Of thofe that wdll juft bear mention, is
a man with titles around him, as chief of the games j
and a woman in ridicule of the modeft bath-girl above
mentioned. There is alfo one marked xix, on which
appears an imperator triumphing in a car: this car is
placed on the back of a camel; and behind the impe-
I23 rator is a monkey mimicking him.
Of the con- A fourth clafs of medals are called contorniati itom
Sorniati. the Italian contorniato, “ encircled becaufe of the
hollow circle which commonly runs around them.
They are diftinguilhed from medallions by their thin-
nefs, faint relief, reverfes fometimes in relief, fome-
times hollow; and in general by the inferiority in
their wftjrkmanfhip. The opinions of medallifts con¬
cerning theie pieces are very various $ fome fuppofe
them to have been ftruck by Gallienus to the memory
©f illuftrious men and celebrated athlctce^ at the time
A L S.
that he caufed all the confecration coins of his pre- Medal-
deceffbrs to be reftored ; others aferibe their invention Jlons» ^
to Greece, &c. but Mr Pinkerton is of opinion that
they were only tickets for places at public games.
Many of them, notwithftanding their inferior w’ork-
manfhip, are very valuable on account of their pre-
ferving the portraits of fome ifluftrious authors of an¬
tiquity, nowhere elfe to be found. Mach depend-
ance, however, cannot be put on the portraits of
Greek authors and eminent men found upon fome of
them $ for though we know that the bulls of Salluft,
Horace, &c. muft have been ftruck when their per-
fons were freftr in the memory of the artifts, yet it
was otherwife with Homer, Solon, Pythagoras, &c.
w hich are to be found on fome of them. Even thefe,
however, are valuable, as being ancient and perhaps
traditional portraits of thefe great men. The laft;
whofe portraits are fuppofed to have been delineated
in this w'ay, are Apollonius Tyaneus who tlourifhed
in the time of Domitian, and Apuleius in that of
Marcus Antoninus. Mr Pinkerton thinks it a con¬
firmation of his opinion concerning thefe medals, that
the reveifes always contain fome device alluding to
public games, as that of a charioteer driving a cha¬
riot, &c.
Sect. XII. DireBions for making Cabinets.
We muft: now proceed to the laft part of our fub-
jedl, viz. that of giving dire£tions for the formation
of cabinets. As we have already feen that the forma¬
tion of any one muft be attended with very confider-
able expence, it is neceffary for every one wrho at¬
tempts this to proportion the cabinet to his own cir-
cumftances. There are, properly fpeaking, three kinds
of cabinets. 1. Thofe meant to contain a coin of
every fort that has been iffued from the mint in every
age and country •, but this, which may be called the
large and complete cabinet, is not to be purchafed by
private perfons. That of Dr Hunter already men¬
tioned is perhaps one of the beft private cabinets ever
known ; and coft 23,000!. but as many duplicates
were fold as coft 2000!. by which means the expence
was reduced to 2i,oool. The vaft colleftion made by
the king of France coil upwards of ioo,oool. 2. The
fmaller cabinet may be fuppofed to coniift only of
middle and fmall Roman brafs, Englilh pennies, groats,
&c. with a few medals of the more valuable kind, and
may be fuppofed to incur an expence pf from 200I. to
iooqI. 3. The fmalleft kind is called a cafket of me¬
dals, and does not confift of above 1000 at moft of va¬
rious kinds ; and ccnfequently the expence muft depend
on the pleafure of the proprietor.
In the formation of the grand cabinet, it muft be
obferved that the Greek medals of every denomina¬
tion do not admit of any arrangement by the metals
like the Roman j not any regular feries of this kind
being met with even in the moft opulent cabinets.
Hence in all colledlions the civic coins are ranged ac¬
cording to an alphabetical order •, and the monarchic
in a chronological one. The fame rule is to be ob¬
ferved in the Roman confular medals 5 they are ranged,
like the coins of the Greek cities, in an alphabetical
feries of the families. The Roman imperial coins are
only
4
MED
DireAions only tliofe capable of being arranged according to fizes
for making an(j meta;[s> Even from this muft be excepted the
. (-'at31^net:>- minimi, or very fmalleft coins; which are fo fcarce,
that the only regular feries of them in the world is
that belonging to the king of Spain, which was form¬
ed by a moll (kilful French medallifr, and conlilts of
all the metals. The arrangement of a grand cabinet,
according to Mr Pinkerton, is as follows.
“ I. The coins of cities and of free dates in alpha¬
betical order: whether uling Greek, Roman, Punic,
Etrufcan, or Spanifh charadlers.
“ II. Kings in chronological feries, both as to foun¬
dation of empire and feniority of reign.
“ III. Heroes, heroines, founders of empires, and
cities.
“ IV. Other illulfrious perfons.
“ V. Roman afes.
VI. Coins of families, commonly called confular.
“ VII. Imperial medallions.
‘‘ VIII. Imperial gold.
“ IX. Imperial minimi of all metals.
X. Imperial lilver.
“ XI. Imperial firil brafs.
“ XII. Second brafs.
XIII. Third brafs.
“ XIV. Colonial coins, which are all of brafs.
“ XV. Greek cities under the emperors, of all me¬
tals and fizes. In a fmaller cabinet they may be put
with the Roman, according to their metal and fize.
Thofe without the emperor’s head go to clafs I.
though ftruck in Roman times.
4‘ XVI. Egyptian coins ftruck under the Roman
emperors, of all metals and fizes. They are moftly of
a bafe metal called by the French patin ; it is a kind
of pot-metal or brittle brafs.
“ XVII. Contorniati, or ticket medals.
“ XVIII. Coins of Gothic princes, &c. infcribed
with Roman chan-afters.
“ XIX. Coins of fouthern nations ufing uncommon
alphabets; as the Perfian, Punic, Etrufcan, and Spa-
nifh.
“ XX. Coins of northern nations ufing uncommon
charafters, as the Runic and German.
“ In the modern part no feries can be formed of
copper that will go back above two centuries *, but Se¬
quences (chronological feries) of gold and filver may
be arranged of all the different empires, kingdoms, and
ftates, as far as their feveral coinages wall allow. Thofe
of England and France will be the moft perfefl. Mo¬
dern filver is commonly arranged in thtee fequences ;
the dollar, the groat, and the penny fizes. The me¬
dals of each modern country ought of courfe to be
feparated 5 though it is befx to arrange each fet in
chronological order, let their fize of metal be what
they will. It may be remarked here, that our modern
medals, of the fize of a tea-faucer, are only fo many
monuments of barbarifm. The ancient medallions
are alraoft univerfally but little larger than our crown-
piece, though three or four of them may extend to
about two inches diameter, but very many modern me¬
dals to four inches and more. A large medal always
declares an ignorant prince or an ignorant artift. Into
the iize of a crown-piece the ancients threw more mira¬
cles in this way than will ever appear in thefe mon-
ftrous productions.”
VoL.XlII. Part I.
A L S. , 169
Thefe directions will likewife apply to the forma- Ancient
tion of a cabinet of the fecond kind : but if the col- <-‘oins-
ledtor means to form a feries of large Roman brafs, he v~
will find the coins of four or five emperors fo fcarce
as not to be attainable in that feries, even at any
price. He muft therefore fupply their places with
middle brafs, as is allowed with regard to Otho, even
in the heft cabinets j there not being above three coins
of that emperor in large brafs known in the world :
whereas of the middle brafs, two or three hundred
may exift. For this reafon Mr Pinkerton concludes,
that in cabinets of the fecond clafs, the colledlor may
mingle the large and fecond brafs together as he
thinks proper, in order to fave expence ; though it
would not do fo well to unite fuch difproportionate
fizes as the large and fmall. “ In the fmall iequence,
however (fays he), there can be no harm in his mix¬
ing gold, filver, and brafs, as chance or curiofity may
lead him to purchafe any of thefe metals. And though
your ft arched bigotted medallift may fneer becaufe fuch
a fequence would controvert his formal and narrow way
of thinking, common fenfe will authorize us to laugh
at the pedant in our turn, and to pronounce fuch a
feries more various, rich, and interefting, than if the
colledlor had arranged only one metal, and rejeCed a
curious article becaufe he d:d not collect gold or filver.
In like manner, if, in the modern part of the fmaller
cabinet, any coin of a feries is of high price, or of
bad impreffion, there can be no impropriety in putting
anather of the fame reign, which is cheaper, or bet¬
ter executed, though of a different denomination or of
a little larger fize. In ftiort, the collector has no
rules but in the Greek cities and Roman families, to
obferve alphabetical order and chronology in every
thing elfe.
Tables of Ancient Coins.-
The moft ancient coins, according to Froelich, are
diftinguhhed by tbe following marks, which he ac¬
counts infallible. 1. Their oval circumference, and
globulcus fwelling fiiape. 2. Antiquity of alphabet.
3. The characters being retrograde, or the firft divi-
fion of the legend in the common ftyle, while the next
is retrograde. 4. The indented fquare already deferib-
ed. 5. The fimple ftrufture of the mintage. 6. Some
of the very old coins are hollowed on the reverfe, with
the image impreffed on the front. 7. The drefs, fym-
bols, &c. frequently of the rudeft defign and exe¬
cution.
Table I. Ancient Greek Coins.
1. Thofe without impreflion.
2. With one or more hollow indented marks on one
fide, and an impreflion in relief on the other.—Of Chal-
cedon on the Hellefpont, Lebos, Abdera in Thrace,
Acanthus in Macedon, thofe faid to belong to E^iiim
in Achaia. This clafs continues from about 900 to
700 B. C.
3. With an indented fquare divided into fegments,
having a fmall figure in one of them ; the reft blank,
with a figure in relief on the obverfe.—Of Syracufe
and other places adjacent.—Continue from 700 to 600
B. C.
|
Y
4. Coins
170
MED
4. Coins hollow on the reverfe, with figures in relief
on the obverle.—Or Caulonia, Crotona, Metapontum,
&c. Suppofed by feme to be a local coinage of Mag¬
na Graeciaj but probably of equal antiquity with the
former.
5. Coins in which a fquare die is ufed on one or
both Tides.—Of Athens, Cyrene, Argos, &c.—Of
Alexander I. and Archelaus I. of Macedon. Difufed
in the reign of the latter about 420 B. Ci
6. Complete coins, both in obverfe and reverfe, oc¬
cur firit in Sicily in ' the time of Gelo, about 401
B. C.
7. Coins ot Alexander the Great and his fucceffors.
About the time of this hero the Greek coins began to
attain to perfection, and were ftruck of uncommon
beauty. It is remarkable, that on the coins of this
monarch his own image feldom occurs. The only
one yet found of Alexander with his portrait upon
it, and firuck during his reign, is a lilver hemi-
drachm in Dr Hunter’s cabinet, which is reprefented
Plate CCCXXXI. N° 3. After his death many coins
bear his portrait. Trebellius Pollio informs us, that
ibme coins, particularly thofe of Alexander, ufed to be
worn as amulets ; and many medals are met with in
cabinets, bored feemingly with that intention.
8. Coins of the Succefiors of Alexander.—Thofe of
the Syrian monarchs almoil equal the coins of Alex¬
ander lnmrelf in beauty. Thofe of Antiochus VI. are
fuppofed to be the moft perfedt patterns of male beauty
to be met with any where. The Egyptian Ptolemies
are fomewhat inferior.
9. The coins of the Arfacidae of Parthia done by
Greek wo kmen.
10. 1 he Greek imperial coins, being fuch as have
the head of an emperor or emprefs : fuch as have not
thefe impreffions being clalfed with the civic coins,
though ftruck under the Roman power. None of the
imperial coins occur in gold. Of lilver there are thofe
of Antioch, Tyre, Sidon, Tarfus, Berytus, Csefarea.
Egyptian filver coins of bafe metal. Syrian filver coins,
which fometimes bear on the reverfe the club of Her¬
cules. or the Tyrian Ihell-fifh. Thofe of Sidon bear
toe image of the goddefs Aftarte, or her chariot.
Thofe o‘ Caefarea in Cappadocia of better work than
the Syrian Lycian coins of good workmanlhip : on
the reverfe two harps and an owl fitting upon them.
Silver coins of Gelon in Sarmatia reiembling the Sy¬
rian. I he fituation of this town is very much un¬
known. It feems to have been iituated on the north
of the Euxine fea, where fome Sarmatic or Sclavonic
tribes were mingled with the Scythians or Goths.
The Greek imperial brafs coins are very numerous.
A feries of almoft all the emperors may be bad from
thofe of Antioch, with a Latin legend on the obverfe
and Greek on the reverfe. Thofe of Bithynia and
Phrygia remarkable for good workmanftiip. The coins
of Tarfus remarkable for their curious view's of ob-
je&s, almoft in perfpedlive. The Egyptian coins,
from the time of Auguftus to Nero, are worfe exe¬
cuted than afterwards. From Nero to Commodus
they are frequently of admirable worktnanfhip, and in
a peculiar ftyle, diftinft both from the Greek and Ro¬
man. From the time of Commodus they decline, and
are loft after the reign of Conftantius I. The Egyp¬
tian brafs coins of the Roman period are likewife of ex-
A L S.
cellent workmanftiip, efpecially in the time of Antoni- Ancient
nus Pius. Coins.
Table II. Roman Coins.
I. The confular coins, called alfo the coins of fami¬
lies, and arranged alphabetically in cabinets, accord¬
ing to the names of the families which appear on them.
They are,
1. Brafs Coins.— I hefe confift chiefly of large pieces
of rude workmanship without any interefting imagery.
In cabinets they are generally kept in boxes apart by
themfelves. The as bears the head of Janus; the le-
mis ot Jupiter with S ; the triens of Minerva with four
cyphers; the quadrans of Hercules with three cy¬
phers ; the fextans of Mercury with two cyphers ;
and the uncia bears the head of Rome with one cy¬
pher. In all thefe pieces the prow of a ftiip is con-
fiantly the figure on the reverfe, with very few excep¬
tions. Sometimes indeed they have a ftiell, two heads
of barley, a frog, an anchor, or a dog, on the reverfe.
About the time of Julius Csefar both the obverfes and
the reverfes of the coins began to be altered.
2. Silver.—Of this the denarius was the firft and
principal coin. It was ftamped originally with X,
denoting' that the value was ten ales. On the reverfe
was Caftor and Pollux, or a chariot of Victory. Af¬
terwards the bufts of various deities make their appear¬
ance ; and in the feventh century of Rome the por¬
traits ol illuftrio.us peifons deceafed are met with : but
till the time of Julius Caefar no figure of any livinp-
perfon is to be met with ; Julius himfelf being the firit
who alfumed that honour. The workmanftiip on the
beft and worft filver is much the fame. J. lie reverfes
are very curious, and point cut many remarkable events
in Roman hiftory 5 but none of thefe occur till about a
century before the Chriftian era. The large denarii,
■with Roma, are the moft ancient 5 and fome of thefe
bear the Pelafgic A, not the Roman. The filver fef-
tertii have a head of Mercury, with a caduceus on the
reverfe. The quinarii have always a head of Jupiter,
with a Victory on the reverfe.
3. Gold—Moft of thefe are of great value. The
number of thefe exceeds not 100 ; thofe of brafs 2CO ;
and of filver 2000. The aureus is the general gold
coin 5 but two or three gold femiffes of families likewife
occur.
II. Roman imperial coins.
1. Brafs,—This is of three fixes; large, middle,
and final]. The firft forms a moft beautiful feries,
but very expenfive. The various colours of the pati¬
na have the fineft effefft. It is the moft important of
all the Roman coins, and exceeds even the gold in
value.
The middle brafs is next in value to the former ;
and in it are many rare and curious coins, particular¬
ly interefting to Britons, as elucidating the hiftory of
the illand. Of thefe are the triumphal arch of Clau¬
dius ; the Exerc. Britannicus of Adrian ; the
coins of Antoninu:. Pius, Cornmodus, Severus, with
a Vi ft or v, Victoria Britan.: but efpecially thofe
perfonifying the country Britannia. “ The num¬
ber of Roman coins relating to Britain (fays Mr Pin¬
kerton) is remarkable, more than 20 having been ftruck
at various times; while thofe perfonifying Italy, Gaul,
Spain,
M E D
Ancient Spain, and other regions of the empire, exceed not four
Coin*. or fix at for each country.” Only one country
y vies with Britain, and that is Dacia on the extreme
north eaft of the empire, as Britain on the extreme
north-vveil. No doubt this circumftance of remote-
nefs in thefe two countries recommended them to this
particular attention,- as more expreffive of the Roman
power.
The fmall brafs fcries abounds alfo with curious
coins. They are fcarce till the time of Valerian and
Galiienus, but very common afterwards. Mr Pinker¬
ton recommends, therefore, to forin a feries in filver
as w'ell as brafs j both being the cheapeft of all the
Romm coins. “ In this feries (fays he), it is a com¬
mon fault to arrange many coins which have been plat-
e* with gold or filver, the forgeries of ancient times,
but which time has worn off either wholly or in part.”
All real brafs coins have the s. c. till the time of Gal¬
iienus 5 as the fenate alone had the power of ftriking
brafs, while the emperor himfelf had that of gold and
lilver. When the S. c. therefore, is wanting, the
coin was certainly once plated ; as, in general, the
different type and fabric, being thofe of gold and
filver, fufficiently ihow themfelves. With Pertinax,
A. D. 192, there is a temporary ceffation of fmall
brafs •, nor after him do any princes occur in that feries
till Valerian, A. D. 2 54, excepting Trajanus Decius,
A. D. 250 only. After Valerian the feries is conti¬
nuous and common. The brafs coinage gradually de¬
clined in fize from the time of Severus •, fo that parts
of the as could not be flruck, or at lead it wras held
unnecedary to- drike them. Trajanus Decius attempt¬
ed in vain to redore the coinage •, and Valerian and
Galiienus wTere forced to iffue denarii aerei and fmall
alTaria. The feries of large and of middle brafs are of
two fixed and known fizes •, the former about that of
Our crown, the latter of the half crown : though after
Severus they gradually leffen. But the fmall brafs
takes in all parts of the as and every brafs coin not
larger than our {hilling belongs to this feries. The
minimi, indeed, or very fmalled, it is proper to keep
apart. The coins of Julius Cuefar in this fize are of
peculiarly fine workmandnp. They bear his portrait
reverie of Augudus, or the reverfe has a crocodile
Egypto capta. There are feveral with Mark An¬
tony, and fome writh Cleopatra •, but the more com¬
mon pieces are thofe with only numerals on the obverfe,
which go the length of XIII ; probably tickets for the
baths. A great many occur in the time of Nero of
w'hich Mr Pinkerton particularizes one which has 41 on
the reverfe a table ornamented with griffins and other
devices. Upon it is placed a wrreath of laurel, and a
beautiful vafe, of which the emboffed human figures
are fo minute, and finiihed fo furprifingly, as to damp
thefe coins the mod exquifite produftions of the an¬
cient mint.” From the time of Nero to that of Ve-
fpafian no fmall brafs occurs : but there are many of
this emperor and of his fon Titus j while Domitian
has as many as Nero, and Domitia his wife has al-
mod as many. Succeeding emperors to the time of
Pertinax have alfo many brafs coins ^ but from his
time to that of Valerian there are no real fmall brafs,
excepting thofe of Trajanus Decius. After Galiienus
there are a great many coins of this kind ; and Mr
Pinkerton mentions one in Dr Hunter’s cabinet, of
A L s. 171
an unknown perfon named Nigrianus. The coin feems ^Y^nt
to have been druck at Carthage j and our author con- ■
eludes that he was an African nlurper, father to Ni-
grinianus.
2. Silver.—This feries is very complete, and the
cheaped ot any •, efpecially as the fmall brafs becomes
a fine fupplement to it : the latter being had in plenty
when the filver become fcarce, and the filver being
plentiful w'hen the brafs is fcarce.
3. Gold.—The Roman imperial gold coins form a
feries of great beauty and perfeftion 5 but on account
of their great price, are beyond the purchafe of private
perfons.
4. The colonial coins occur only in brafs ; none, ex¬
cepting that of Ncmaufus, having a right to coin filver.
They begin in Spain with Julius Caefar and Antony,
and ceafe with Caligula, who took away the privilege
of coinage from the Spanilh colonies. The mod beau¬
tiful are thofe of Corinth. The other remarkable co¬
lonial coins are thofe of Emerita, liice, Terraco, Caf-
fandria, Babba, Berytus, Casfarea, Patr&e, Emiia, He¬
liopolis or Balbec, Ptolemais, Sidon, Tyre, Deulton,
Dium, Troas, Rhefaina, Neapolis of Samaria, which
bears a reprefentation of Mount Gerizzim wuth the
temple on it, Hippo in Africa, &c. On many of
thefe coins we meet with fine reprefentations of temples,
triumphal arches, gods, goddeffes, and illudrious per¬
fons. But coins with thofe reprefentations are by no
means common j the colonial coins till the time of
Trajan bearing only a plough, or fome other fimple
badge of a colony. Camelodunum is the only colony
in Britain of which we have any coins.
5. The minimi.—This includes the fmalled: coins of
all denominations, mod of which do not exceed the
fize of a filver penny. They are the mod curious of
all } but no feries of them was ever formed by any per¬
fon except the abbe Rothelin, whofe colledjtion form¬
ed of all metals palfed to the queen of Spain. The
reafon of the fcarcity of thefe fmall coins is probably
their diminutive fize j by reafon of which they are
modly lod.
It is furprifing that numbers of Roman coins are
found through all countries once fubjecl to that power¬
ful people. Some have been met with in the Ork¬
neys, and many in the mod remote parts of Europe,
Alia, and Africa, known to the ancients.
Table III. Coins of other ancient Nations.
1. The Lydians appear to have invented coinage ;
though, perhaps, this honour may be difputed with
them by the Greeks.
2. 'The Aflfyrians, Medes, Babylonians, Phoenicians,
and Egyptians, had no coins. In the mouths of the
mummies are only thin, undamped, and round pieces
of gold, to pay Charon’s fare.
3. No Indian or Chinefe coins are to be met with
till a very late period ; and even then fo rude as fcarce
to be worth notice. Voltaire mentions a colletlion of
ancient Chinefe and Indian corns made by the emperor
of China in 1700; but Mr Pinkerton fuppofes it to
have confided only of the Greek and Roman money
which had been introduced into thefe countries.
4 The Lydian coins have no legends ; fo that mere
conje&ure only determines the ancient coins of ele&rum
Y 2 and
J72 MED
an^ filver tound in A6a, ?.ncl different from the Per-
‘ t  j fian, to belong to Lydia. Croefus coined gold into
a form which he called /Inters; and Mr Pinkerton
mentions a very ancient gold coin in Dr Hunter’s ca¬
binet, which he fuppofes to have been one of thefe.
It has a globous figure, with indented marks on one fide,
and on the other a man kneeling, with « fiih held out
m the left hand, and a fword depending in the right.
It weighs four drachms j which Jofephus tells us was
the weight of the Lydian gold coins. In the fame col-
leftion are other gold coins little inferior in antiquity ;
the moll ancient of which, our author fuppofes, may
have been coined by the cities of Afia Minor, as coin¬
age palled through them to Greece. They are of ad¬
mirable workmanlhip, and as much fuperior to the belt
Sicilian coins, as the latter are to all the reft in the
world. 1 hefe gold coins are all extremely pale j owing
to the want of knowledge in refining gold.
5. Perfian coins.—Thefe W'ere firft ftruck by Darius
Hyftafpes, whence they had the name of darics.
They are of gold, and generally have the figure of an
archer: they weigh about four drachms $ and fome
occur with the indented mark on one fide, while
others have figures upon both. The filver coins have
generally a king in a chariot of two horfes, with a
charioteer, and forsetimes another figure on foot be¬
hind, on the obverfe : while the reverie prefents a {hip,
fometimes a ram, bull, or other animal. The gold
coins, which only had the title of darics, are extreme¬
ly fcarce, having been melted down, as is fuppofed,
and recoined by Alexander the Great on his conqueft of
Afia.
There is a fecond feries of Perfian coins beginning
with Artaxares, or Artaxerxes, who overthrew the
Parthian monarchy about the year 210. Thefe are
large and thin, with the king’s buff on one fide and
the altar of Mithras on the other j generally with a
human figure on each fide. Thefe coins continue till
the year 636, when Perfia was conquered by the Sa¬
racens. Thefe have ' only Perfian letters upon them,
which have never been explained by any antiquaries.
Mr Pinkerton fays that they leem to partake of the
ancient Greek, Gothic, and Alanic.
6. The Hebrew fhekels, originally didrachms, but
after the time of the Maccabees tetradrachms, are al-
moft all forgeries of modern Jews, as well as the brafs
coins with Samaritan characters upon them. They
have all a fprig upon one fide and a vafe on the other.
Mr Pinkerton fays, that the admiffion of one of them
into a cabinet would almoit be a difgrace to it.
7. Phoenician and Punic coins are very interefling
on account of the great power and wealth of thefe na¬
tions. The alphabets have been cleared by their rela¬
tion to the Hebrew and Syriac languages.
8. The coins of Palmyra come under the fame de¬
nomination with the former, Palmyra being a Syrian
city.
9. The Etrufcan coins have the characters of that
nation, which have been explained by their affinity to
the Pelafgic, or oldeft Greek and Latin.
10. I he Spanith coins are inferibed with two or
three alphabets allied to the old Greek or Punic 5 but
the inicriptions have not been fufficiently explained.
11. Gaulifli coins.—Thefe are numerous j but the
moil ancient have no legends j and even after the
A L S.
Greek letters were introduced into Gaul by a colony MAera
at Marfeilles, the legends are very difficult to be ex- Com¬
plained. 1 .11 -- y—
1 2. Britifh coins.—From a paflhge in Csefar’s Com¬
mentaries, it has been inferred that the Britons ufed
fome kind of coins even in his time. IVIr Pinkerton in¬
forms us, that foroe rude coins of copper very much
mingled with tin are frequently found .in England;
which, he fuppofes, may be fome of the ancient Bri-
tiih money. 1 hey are of the fize of a didrachm, the
common form of the nummus aureus among the an¬
cients. After the time of Caefar, coinage increafed
among the Britons ; and there are many found of Cu-
nobelinus mentioned in the Roman hiftory. PToft of
thefe have on one fide cuno, with an ear of wheat, a
horfe, a kind of head of Janus, or other fymbol; mid
have frequently alfo the letters camu ; fuppofed to
mean Camelodunum. Sometimes the word Tascia
occurs ; the meaning of which has not yet been ex¬
plained.
13. Gothic coins of France, Italy, and Spain, to
the time of Charles the Great. Thefe have the Roman
chara&ers upon them. The Italian coins are moftly
of the fize ot fmall brafs ; and in this way we meet
with coins of Athalaric, Iheodahat, Witigez, and
other Gothic princes. Many others occur, the inferip-
tions of which, though meant for Roman, are fo per¬
verted as to be illegibly.
Table IV. Modern Coins.
1. Of Japan.—Thefe are thin plates of gold and
filver, of an oval figure, with fmall marks or figures
ftamped on them.
2. China.—Thefe are only copper, about the fize
of a farthing, with a fquare hole in the middle to
put them on firings. The inferiptions on them do
not exprefs the name of the fovereign, but the year of
his reign ; as the happy year, the illu/lrious year, &c. *
3. The Tartarian coins are rude, having only in¬
feriptions upon them; and they are all pofterior to
the time of Jenghiz khan.
4. Coins of Thibet, Pegu, and Siam, are much the
fame, prefenting only inferiptions without any figures.
They are alfo of late date.
5. India.—Some old coins have been found in the
neighbourhood of Calcutta, of gold, filver, copper, and
tin, all mixed together. Thefe have commonly a war¬
rior with a fword on one fide, and an Indian female idol
on the other, of the fame form with the celebrated
fculptures in the ifland of Elephanta ; but it is impof-
fible to tell what antiquity they are of. The modern
coins, are the pagoda of gold, worth little more than
fix fhillings ; the roupee of filver upwards of two fnil-
hngs ; and the caffi, of copper. There is a remarkable
fet of roupees, which fhow the twelve figns; a lion on
one, a bull on another, &c. but the occafion on
which they -were ftruck is unknovfn. The other
coins of India have generally Perfian inferiptions upon
them.
6. Periia—The Perfic coins fince its conqueft by
the Arabs continue on the Arabian model.
7- Arabia. Some coins of the petty princes of
Arabia are met with as old as the imperial ages of
Rome; but till the time of Haroun Alrafhid, no re¬
gular
MED
Modern" gular coinage appears in die vail empire of the Sara*
Coins. cens> Even then the reverfe has only an infcription,
—"'v ' and the obverfe is copied from any Greek or Syrian
coin which happened to fall in the moneyer’s way.
The later Arabian coins are moftly iilver, with the
name and titles of the prince on one fide, and fome
infcription from the Koran on the other. The more
modern coins of this country are in the (hape of a filh-
hook, with Arabic infcriptions.
8. Turkey.—No regular coinage was formed by
the Turks till they became mailers of Conftantinople.
They refemble thofe of Perfia and Arabia, having
merely infcriptions on both Tides.
9. The coins of the African Hates, at leaft fuch as
profefs the Mohammedan religion, have merely infcrip¬
tions without any figures : thofe of the internal parts
are unknown •, and no coinage was ufed among the
Mexicans and Peruvians, the only civilized nations in
America ; but La Hontan mentions an American fa-
vage who had a fquare medal of copper depending from
his neck. Mr Pinkerton fuppofes it to have come
from Japan.
10. Modern Italic coins. Befides the Gothic prin¬
ces mentioned in the former table, the exarchs of Ra¬
venna coined money with the infcription Felix Ra¬
venna, See. The Lombards iffued no coins, but there
are fome Hill extant of Charlemagne. The follow¬
ing lift (hows the origin of the coinage in various Ita¬
lian Hates.
Rome.—Papal coinage originates with Hadrian I.
Size of lilver pennies, with the Pope’s name on
one fide, and Scos Petrus on the other. No coins
appear from 975 to IC99, excepting of Leo IX. In
1303 appear pennies of the fenate and people of Rome,
with Peter on the one fide and Paul on the other.
There are groats of Clement V. with his portrait
three quarters length 5 but the fide-head begins with
Sixtus V. in 1470. Gold was firft coined by John
XXII. in 1316. The coins of Alexander VI.
Julias II. and Leo X. are remarkable for beauty and
elegance.
Milan. Coinage began with Charlemagne. The
firft coin of the family of Vifconti occurs in 1330 un¬
der Azo. The let finilhes with Louis XII.
Naples. Coinage begins in 840 and 880, with
Duke Sergius and Bilhop Athanafius. The next
coins are of Roger of Sicily, and Roger II. in 1I3°>
William I. II. and Tancred. Naples and Sicily were
fubdued in 1194 by the emperor of Germany; in
1255 Manfred appears; in 1 266 Charles of Provence ;
and others till Jo.at in 1414" a^er which follow tne
houfe of Arragon, and later kings.
Venice begins in the Ioth century. The firft coins
are filver pennies marked Veneci. Then follow the
coins of Henrico Dandulo in 1192, of Ziani in 1205,
&c. Gold was firft coined at Venice in 1280, and
copper in 1471 ; but the filver groats are as old as
JI92. _ . - , 1
Florence. Silver was coined here m the 12th cen¬
tury, or before ; but in 1252 the firft gold coins
ftruck in Europe after the 8th century made their ap¬
pearance, and were named florins from the flower of
the lily noon them. They were imitated by the
popes, by France, and England. They have on one
fide St John the Baptift Handing, on the other a large
A L S. 173
fleur de lis, and it is not doubted that the French fleurs Modern
de lis took their origin from thefe coins. They weigh , Co^ns- ,
a drachm, and are no lefs than 24 carats fine, accord-
in? to Italian writers, and are worth about 12 IhiL
o '
lings.
Geneva firft began to coin money in 1129, under
the government of Conrad. Thofe of the dukes of
Savoy began in the fame century.
Aquileia. Coins were ifiued from this city by the
patriarchs from 1204 to 1440.
Ferrara. Coins of the marquifes from 134c.
11. French coins. During the race of Clovis,
from 490 till 751, the coins are chiefly gold trientes%
with fome flolidi and flemifles. The former are of good
workmanfhip, with the heads of kings. Ihe reverfe
has a crofs, with the name of the town where they
were ftruck.
The coins of the fecond race begin with Pepin in
751, and continue till Hugh Capet in 987. The
coins of the firft race are elegant, but thofe of the fe¬
cond entirely the reverfe, being almoft all filver pen¬
nies, and feldom bearing the portrait of the king.
Thofe of Charlemagne have only Garqlus in the
field; while the reverfe bears R. F. or fome fuch in¬
fcription ; though one piece ftruck at Rome has a
rude buft of him. The coins of Louis le Debonnaire
are better done.
The third race begins with Hugh Capet in 9^7»
and extends to this time. Fhe coinage did not begin
to improve till 1 226 under St Louis, when the groat
appears. Its name in Italian is groflb, in French
in Englifh groat, or great com ; fo called from its iize
in comparifon with the penny ; and it palled from Ita¬
ly to France, to Germany, and to England. After
the conqueft of France by the Englilh, bafe coins of
many kinds were introduced ; and in the year I574»
in the time of Henry III. copper was firft introduced
into the French coinage. Befides thefe, the other re¬
markable coins of France are, the blancs or billon
groats, firft iflued in 134^ ? e('us a couronne, or
crowns of gold, fo called from the crown on one fide,
and begun by Charles VI. in 1384 } thofe ol Ann oi
Bretagne in 1498 : the teflon, or piece with the
king’s head, of Louis XII; the Henri of Henry II.
with Gaul fitting in armour, and a Victory in her
hand. There are many coins of Cardinal Bourbon,
ele61ed king in 1589 ; and in 1642, Louis XIV.
takes the title of Catalonia; Princeps. The firft
louis d'or made its appearance in 1640 ; but fuch
was the poverty of France, if we believe certain au¬
thors, that in 1719 the duke of Orleans regent ftruck
copper for filver.
12. Spanilh coins. The moft early feries of thefe
confifts almoft entirely of trientes, finely done. On
one fide they have the head of the kmg with his name,
and on the other a crofs, with the name of the town,
commonly in Bsetica, or the foutn part of Spain,
where there were a great many Roman colonies, and
which was fertile to a proverb. Ihe Moreique coins
of Spain, like thofe of the reft of the Mohammedan
Hate1-, prefent us ©nly with infipid infcriptions on both
fides. Indeed the Mohammedan religion, by its abfo-
lute refufal to allow the reprefentation of any living
creature, has prevented the progrefs of coinage in any
degree throughout thofe regions which it has over-
fpread.
174 MED
Modern j^rtad. The infcriptions on the ailcient Spanifli coins
, Co^r>s- are in the Cufic or old Arabic charaiders.
13. Portugal. No defcription of the coins of this
kingdom has yet appeared.
14. Germany. No account of the German coins
has been publiihed j though it is well known that not
only the emperors, but many of the cities, particular¬
ly thofe called Hanfe-towns, iffued money ; and many
of the coins iffued by the cities were fuperior in ele¬
gance even to thofe iffued by the emperors.
15. Denmark. Here the coinage begins with Ca¬
nute the Great in 1014. The pieces are at firft ex¬
tremely rude, ornamented only with rings and Runic
characters. Thefe are fucceeded by copper pieces,
fome of w'hich have a crofs, others a paftoral ftaff, on
one fide, with the letter A on the other. Later coins
have ftrokes mi, &c. all round them ; but thofe of
Harold, Hardicanute, and Magnus Bonus, in 1041,
are of neat wmtkmanfhip, and have the portraits of the
princes at half length. The coins of Nicolas, or Niel,
as he is called by the Danes, are rude, as well as thofe
of Wajdemar I. and the celebrated Margaret. In
1376 Olaf cau^d money to be ftruck with a grinning
full Tee, with a crowned O upon the other fide.
“ The Swedes (fays Mr Pinkerton) took thefe coins
extremely ill, as they thought they grinned at them.”
Silver was firft coined in Denmark by Philippa
queen of Eric, and daughter to Henry IV. of Eng¬
land.
16. Sweden. The coinage of this kingdom began
in 818 under Biorno, on the plan of Charlemagne.
The coins are marked with a crofs. Next follow
thofe of Olaf in 1019 ; which Mr Pinkerton fuppofes
to have been the firft true Swedifh coins ; and that
the art of coinage firft paffed from England into Den¬
mark in the time of Canute the Great, and from Den¬
mark into Sweden. Thefe coins were ftruck on the
Englifh model. During the time that Sweden was
fubjeft to Denmark, or miferably haraffed by the
Danes, the coins of both kingdoms were the fame 5
but after the time of Guftavus Vafa many elegant
pieces appear. In 1634, dollars were coined with the
portrait of Guftavus Adolphus, who was killed two
years before : on the reverfe they have the arms of
Sweden, with the chemical marks of mercury and
fulphur. In 1716, 1717, and 1718, Charles XII.
being in extreme want of money, iffued fmall copper
coins with Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, &c. upon them/to
go for dollars; and on account of this fcheme, Ba¬
ron Goertz, the fuggeftor of it, was brought to the
block.
17. Norway. The coins of this country begin
with Olaaf in 1006 ; after which time there are vari¬
ous coins of other princes; but copper was not coined
till the year 1343.
Befides the coins already mentioned, there are ec-
clefiaftic coins of France, Germany, Denmark, Swe¬
den, Norway, &c. Thofe of Denmark and Sweden
are numerous, but the Norwegian coins of this deno¬
mination are rare. Mr Pinkerton deferibes a filver
one in his poffeffion as having arms and a mitre, with
the infeription on one fide, Sanctus Olaws Rex
Norvey ; on the reverfe, Olaws Dei Gra. Arcep.
Np’sEN, meaning Nidrosiensis, or archbifhop of
s Nidros, now Drontheim.
A L S.
18. Bohemia. The coinage of this kingdom ap- Modem
pears at a very early date, viz. in the year 9C9, under Coins-
Duke Boleflaus I. Thefe coins are followed by others
of Boleilaus II. and Emma his wife in 970 ; of Bo¬
leflaus III. in JC02; Jaromir in IC20 5 Udalrich in
1030, and other princes. The bracleate money of Ot-
tocar I. was coined in 1197.
19. Poland. lire coinage of this country is nearlv
as ancient as that of Bohemia. The coins are on the
German model, but no particular account of them has
been published.
20. Ruftia. None of the Ruffian money appears
to be more ancient than the 13th century. The firft
are the kopecks or filver pennies, w'hich have upon them
rude figures of animals on one fide, and a man Hand¬
ing with a bow or Ipear on the other. There are like'-
wife coins of Mofcow ftruck by Ariftoteles the archi-
teft in 1482. The roubles or dollars and their hhlfs.
There are fome of the impoftor Demetrius in 1605,
which are very fcarce.
21. Pruflia. The firft Pruffan coins were ftruck
at Culm by the Teutonic knights in 1230. Thev
were filver pennies, and upon the German plan. In
the next century w^ere ftruck {hillings, groats, and
Jchots ; the laft were the largeft,’ and are extremely
rare. They have the Pruffian flfield, an eagle fur¬
mounting a crofs, with a rofe-thaped border, moneta
DOMINORUM Prussia: : on the reverfe is a crofs fieu-
rie, within a border of a fimilar kind, having the in-
feription honor magistri, justitiam diliget.—-
Gold coins were ftruck in the fame century. In the
time of Copernicus the money was fo debafed
that 12 or 13 marks were worth but one of pure
filver.
. 22, England. The Englilh coins are of various
kinds.
1 ft. Hcptarchic. Thefe are only of tw'o forts, viz,
thejkeat'a or penny of filver, and the Jiyca of copper.*
Few of the pennies appear till after the year 700 ;
though fome are met wdth which bear the name of
Ethelbert 1. king of Kent, as old as 560. At firft
they had only rude figures of ferpents, but in latter
times legends were likewife added. Moft of thefe
pennies have pagan fymbols upon them. The ilyca
w^as only coined in Northumberland, and w’as a very
fmall piece, about the value of half a farthing.
2d. Coins of the chief monarchs of England. Mr
Pinkerton denies that an end wras put to the heptar-
chy by Egbert in 832, as is commonly fuppofed j
tnough he owns that he was chief monarch of the coun¬
try, as^ feveral others had been before him. Edgar,
wffo reigned in 959, according to him, was the firft
king of England ; and the coins of the chief monarchs
form almoft a complete feries from the time of Eg¬
bert to Edgar. Ibe only chief monarch of whom
there are no coins is Ethelbald, who reigned in 857.
Moft of thefe coins bear rude portraits ; but the re-
verfes are fometimes curious and interefting. Some
have views of cathedrals and other buildings 5 particu¬
larly one of Edward the Elder in 900 ; which has the
cathedral of York with three row s of windows, round
arched as the other Saxon and Norman buildings ; the
Gothic arch being quite unknown till after the i 2th
century. Some coins of Anlaf king of Northumber¬
land have the famous raven, the Danifh enfign : and
thofe
2
M E D
Modem tliofe of other princes have frequently very curious re-
C0'1™' verfes.
3d. Ecclcjiqftic coins appear of the archbiOiops of
Canterbury, Wulfred in 804, Ceolnoth in 830, and
Piegmund in 889.
4th. Coins of the kings of England. The filver pen¬
ny, which had begun during the heptarchy, continued
to be the general coin after the kingdom had ben n
united under one head *, and extends in a continued
feries from Egbert almoit to the prefent reign. The
only kings wanting are Edmund Iron fide, Richard I.
and John. At firif the penny weighed 224- gtains :
but towards the clofe of the reign of Edward III. it
fell to 18 grains; and in that of Edward IV. to 12.
In the time of Edward VI. it was diminiihed to 8
grains; and in Queen Elizabeth’s reign to 7TT; at
which it Hill continues.
Halfpennies and farthings wrere firft ftruck in filver
by Edward I. in 1280; the former continued to the
time of the commonwealth, but the latter ceafed with
Edward VI. The groat w7as introduced by Edwrard
III. in 1334, and continues to this day, though not
in common circulation. The half-groat or two pence
is of the lame date, and alfo continues to the prefent
time.
Shillings were firll coined by Henry VII. in 1503.
At firll it was called tejioon, from the tejle, tete, or head
of the king upon it ; the name Jhi/ling being derived
from the German fchelliag; under wThich appellation
coins had been ftruck at Hamburgh in 1407. The
crown was firft coined in its prefent form by Plenry
VIII. Formerly it had appeared only in gold, whence
the phrafe of crowns of gold ; though thefe indeed
were the largeft gold coins known for a long time in
France and other countries on the continent, being
worth about 10s. fterling. They had their name from
the crown ftamped on one fide, and were firft coined
by Charles VI. in 1384, and continued till the time
of I jouis XIV. The half-crown, fixpence, and three¬
pence, were coined by Edward VI. In 1558 Queen
Elizabeth coined three halfpenny, and in 1561 three
farthing pieces ; but they w7ere difeontinued in 1582.
From the year 1601 to the prefent time the coins of
England remain the fame.
Gold was coined in England by Henry III. in
1 257 ; the piece was called a gold penny, and was lar¬
ger than the filver one ; and the execution is by no
means bad for the time. The feries of gold coinage,
however, commences properly from Edward III. In
1344, this monarch firft ftruck florins, in imitation of
thofe in Italy ; and it is remarkable, that though thefe
coins at the time they were firfl iffued bore only fix
flhiiiings value, they are now intrinfically worth 19s;
I;> much has the value of gold increafed fince that
time. The half and quarter florin were ftruck at the
fame time, but only the laft has been found. The
florin, however, being found inconvenient, gave place
to the noble of 6s. 8d. value, and exa£Ily half a mark.
The latter had its name flrom being a limited fum in
accounts ; and was eight ounces in weight, two thirds
of the money pound. It is lometimes alfo called feli-
brci, as being one half of the commercial pound of 16
ounces. 1 he noble had its name from the nobility of
the metal ; the gold of which it v,7as coined being of
the fineft fo;t. Sometimes was called rofe nob/e:
A L S.
from both Tides being impaled in an undulating circle. Modern
It continued with the half and quarter noble to be the Coin3,
only gold coin tUl the angels of Edward IV. appeared v
in 1465. Thefe had their name from being ftamped
with the image of Michael and the dragon. The an-
gelites of 3s. 4d. value tvere fubftituted in their place.
In 1527 Henry VIII. added to the gold coined the
crown and half-crown at their prefent value ; and the
fame year he gave fovereigns of 2 2s. 6d. and ryals of
its. 3d. angels at 7s. 6d. and nobles at their old value
of 6s. 8d. In 1546 he caufed fovereigns to be coined
of the value of 20s. and half-fovereigns in proportion.
His gold crown is about the fize of our {hilling, and
the half-crown of fixpence, but thin. All his coins,
however, gold as well as filver, are much debafed ; and
it was not without much labour and trouble that Ed¬
ward VI. brought it back to its former ftandard. On
the union of the two crowns, James gave the fovereign
the name of unite; the value continuing of 20s. as
before. He coined alfo rofe-ryals of 30s. value, fpur-
ryals of 15s. angels of 10s. and angelets of 5s. Un¬
der the commomvealth, the fovereign got the name of
the twenty-Jhi/hng piece, and continued current till the
coinage of guineas. Thefe were fo called from their
being coined of Guinea gold, and were at firft only
to go for 20s. though by an univerfal but tacit confent
they always palled for 21s. Half-guineas, double
guineas, and five guinea pieces, were alfo coined dur¬
ing the fame reign ; which ftill continue, though the
two latter are not in common circulation. Quarter
guineas were coined by George I. and likewife by his
prefent majefty ; but they were found fo trouble-
fome on account of their fmall fize, that they were flop¬
ped within a year or two, when received at the bank
of England, and thus are not to be met with at pre¬
fent. A few pieces of 7s. value have likewife been
coined, and are known by the lion above the helmet ;
but none have been iffued. In 1688 the guinea rofe
to 2is. 6d. and continued to increafe in value till
1696, when it was as high as 30s. ; but after the re¬
coinage in 1697 and 1698 it fell by degrees, and in 1717
was at its old ftandard of 2 is. and at that time filver
was fixed at its prefent ftandard value, viz. as 1 to 15 4-
in weight.
Though the firft money coined in Britain, as we
have already obferved, was copper, yet, excepting the
Northumbrian ftycas, no copper coin w7as found in
England from the time of the Saxon conqueft till the
year 1672. An averfion to a copper coinage it feems
was prevalent throughout the nation ; and Queen Eli¬
zabeth, who without hefitation ufed bale money for
Ireland, yet fcrupled at coining copper for England.
This want of fmall coin occafioned fuch an increale of
private tokens for halfpennies and farthings, that it be¬
came a ferious object to government; and in 159 4 a cop¬
per coinage was ferioufly thought of. This year a fmall
copper coin was ftruck about the fize of a filver two¬
pence, w7ith the queen’s monogram on one fide, and a
rofe on the other ; the running legend on both (ides
being, the pledge of a halfpenny. Of this there
are patterns both in copper and filver, but both of
them foon fell into difufe. On the iprh of May 1613,
King James by., royal proclamation iffued farthing
tokens. They are generally of the fame fize with the
tWQ pence? with two feeptres io faltiej: furmounted .
with 4
Ut
176 M E D
Modern with a cfowfl, and tlie harp upon the other ; with an
Coins, intention, as it would feem, that if they were refufed
v in England they might pafs in Ireland. In 1635
Charles I. coined thofe with the rofe inftead of the
harp ; but the circulation of thefe was entirely flopped
by the vaft number of counterfeits which appeared,
and by the king’s death in 1648. After this the pri¬
vate tokens began again to be circulated, till put a flop to
by the coinage of farthings in 167 2. The workman-
fliip of the tokens is quite contemptible. In 1672
the halfpence as well as the farthings which had been
flruck two years before began to circulate. They
were of pure Swediih copper, the dies engraved by
Roettier j and they continued till the year 1684, when
home difputes aroi'e about the copper lately obtained
from the Englilh mines. Tin farthings were coined with
a flud of copper in the centre, and infcribed round the
edge as the crown pieces, with nummorum famulus.
J685 or j686. In 1685 halfpence of the fame kind
were coined ; and the tin coinage continued till the
year 1692, to the value of more than 65,000!; but
next year the tin was all called in by government, and
the copper coinage recommenced. The farthings of
Queen Anne are all trial pieces, excepting thole of
3^714, the laft year of her reign. “They are (fays
Mr Pinkerton) of exquifite workmanfltip, exceeding
moft copper coins either ancient or modern, and will
do honour to the engraver Mr Crcker to the end of
time.” The one, whofe reverfe is Peace in a car, pax
missa per orbem, is the moft efteemed ; and next to
it the BRITANNIA under a portal. The other half¬
pence and farthings are lefs valuable.
23. Scotland. Silver pennies of Alexander I. wdio
reigned in 1107, are believed to exift ; and there cer¬
tainly are fome of Alexander II. in 1214. There are
Jikewife coins of David in 1124; but perhaps none of
Malcom IV. his fucceffor, whofe reign wras very
fliort. There are many coins of William I. in 1165;
and a large hoard of his pennies was found at Invernefs
in 1780.
The money of Scotland continued to be of the farce
value with that of England till the country was drain¬
ed by the vaft ranfom of David II. after which it be¬
came neceffary to reduce its ftze; and fo much did this
diminution affedt England, that Edward III. found
himfelf obliged to leffen the Englifti coin alfo. The
diminution of the Scottilh coin, however, continued
Hill to go on until it became impraclicable to keep
par with that of England. In the firfl; year of Ro¬
bert III. it pafled only for one half of its nominal value
in England : in 1393, Richard II. ordered it only to
go for the weight of the genuine snetal it contained.
In 1600 it had funk to fuch a degree as to pafs only
for a twelfth part of the Englilh money, and conti¬
nued at that low ebb till the coinage of Scotland was
entirely cancelled by the union of the twu king¬
doms.
Of fil-ver coins we have only pennies till the year
1293, when Edward I. having coined halfpeace and
farthings, Alexander III. of Scotland coined alfo
halfpence, of which we have a fewq but no farthings
are to be met with ; but there are fdver farthings of
Robert I. and David II. The latter introduced the
groat and half-groat, which completed the fet of Scot¬
tilh ftlver. It continued unaltered till the tim of
3
A L 5.
Queen Mary, when they all ceafed to be coined in Modem
ftlver, on account of the high price of that metal. C°“1S'
In 1553 {hillings were firfl coined, writh the buft of
the queen on one fide and the arms of France and
Scotland on the other. The fdver crown was firfl;
coined in 1565, which went for 30s. Scots; Idler
pieces of 20s. and 10s. having likewife been flruck,
and marks of filver, worth 3s. 4d. Englifti, wrere alfo
coined about the fame time. Thefe coins have upon
them the marks xxx. xx. x. to denote their value.
They are commonly called Cruickflone dollars, from
the palm-tree upon them, miftak-en for a remarkable
yew at Cruickflone near Glafgow*, wdiere Henry Darn-
ly refided. It is defcribed, however, in the act as a
palm, with a “ {hell padoc” (a tortoife) crawling up.
This alludes to Dandy’s marriage with the queen, as
the motto from Propertius Dat Gloria Vires alfo
implies. The motto Nemo me impune lacesset
firfl appears on the Scottifli coins in I57^> an<^ ^n*
ventiph is given to the celebrated Buchanan. In 15^
the crown of an ounce weight went for 40s. Scots,
and was accordingly marked XL. ; in 159? ^'e mark
was L. the Scottilh money being then only one-tenth
of the Englifti : the mark w^as LX in 1601, the value
being then reduced to one twelfth, at which it has
ever fince continued. In the time of Charles I half
marks, 40 and 20 penny pieces, wTere coined. In 1675
the Scottifli dollars firft appeared, in value 56s. Scots,
with halves and quarters of proportional value. In
1686, James VII. coined 60s. 40s. 20s. 10s. and 5s.
pieces ; but only thofe of 40s. and I os. are known,
with thefe numbers under the buft. At the union of
the kingdoms, all the Scottifti coins ivere called in,
and recoined at Edinburgh, with the mark E under
the bull t« diflinguifli it : fince which there has been
no coinage in Scotland. The Scottifli filver coins are
in general equal, if not fuperior, in the workmanftiip
to the Englifti.
Gold was firfl: iflued by Robert II. about 30 years
after Edivard III. of England had coined the fame
metal in that country. The pieces were at firft called
St Andrews, from the figure of that tutelar faint
upon the crofs, and who appears on the obverfe with
the arms of Scotland, and on the reverfe a lion in a
Afield. The lion was another name for the largeft gold
coin in Scotland, from the arms of the kingdom upon
it. The next was the unicorn, under James III. ;
which were followed by the bonnet-pieces of James V.
Thefe laft are of admirable workmanfhip, being almoft
equal to the ancient coins in this refpeft. In imita¬
tion of the French, the monarch we fpeak of dimi-
niftied the fize of the coin without leffening its wreight;
an improvement not adopted by the Englifti for a
whole century. The laft gold coined in Scotland was
the piftole and half piftole, of twelve and fix pounds
Scots. Thefe coins have the fun under the head. The
gold coins of Scotland fell in the fame proportion
with the filver.
The copper coinage of Scotland is of more early
date than that of England. It was preceded by mo¬
ney of bil/on, or copper waflied with filver, called black
money. James III. firft coined black farthings in
1466; and this .is recorded by hiftorians as one of his
greateft faults. This kind of coinage, however, con*
tinued as late as the reign of James VI. In his time
MED
^fodefa the true copper coinage began; but as the value of
Coins. Scottilh money had now declined almoft to the ut-
J” v moft, the pieces fuddenly affumed a form almoit re-
fembling that of the French coins. The bodle fo
called from Bothwell the mintmalter, being equal in
fize to the linrd, and worth two pennies Scottilh, was
ftruck. The billon coin, formerly called has piece,
and worth fix pennies Scots, was now coined in cop¬
per, and termed the baw-bee. Thus it correfponded
wich the French half fol and Englilh halfpenny, the
Scots penny being now equivalent to the French de¬
nier. Some pieces named Atkinfons were coined by
James VI. in 1582, when the Scottifh money was to
the Englifh as 1 to 8 j but on its being {till farther
reduced, they went for 8 pennies, a third more than
the value of the baw-bee. Befides thefe there were
the hardie and plack, the former being worth three
and the latter four pennies Scots. This coinage con¬
tinued through the reigns of Charles I. and II. but
Scottilh coins of the former are, perhaps, the fcarcefi:
of any.
24. Ireland. The firft coins introduced into this king¬
dom feem to have been thole of the Danes, and which
have only a number of ftrokes around them inftead of
letters. In the tenth century, however, this coinage
had been confiderably improved •, and in 930 and 994.
there are pennies ftruck in Dublin, w'ith the infcrip-
tion on Dvfli or Dyfli, Duflin or Dyjlin being the
Danilh name of that city. There are likewife coins
of the I nth princes themfelves, and of the Englilh
monarchs, ftruck in Ireland as early as the ninth cen¬
tury 5 and it is aflerted by fome, that Ireland even in
thefe days had been conquered by England •, of which
indeed, thefe coins leem to be a proof. None of the
Iriih coins of Henry II. are to be met with, but w'e
have fome of the coins of John; aud from'his time
to that of Henry V. the Iriih coins are known by a
triangle enclofing the king’s head, wdiich appears alfo
upon the coins of other nations at this period. The
harp does not appear upon the Iriih coins till the time
of Henry VIII. Till the time of this monarch, the
Englilh and Irilh coins are the fame ; but the fame de-
bafement of the coin which at that time took place in
England extended alfo to Ireland ; but in 1601 copper
halfpence and farthings were coined alfo for this king¬
dom. Thefe circulated in Ireland wdien James VI.
ilfued his farthing-tokens of copper, the latter being
of two fizes, that if they failed in England they might
be fent to Ireland as pennies and halfpence. In 1635
a mint wras eftablilhed in Dublin by Charles I. but it
wTas flopped by the Iiilh maffacre, and the many di-
fturbances which follow’ed ; fince which time the fcheme
has not been refumed. After the mafiacre, St Pa¬
trick’s halfpence and farthings were coined by the Pa-
pilts, bearing the legends FloreA.T Rex, and on the
reverfe Ecce Grex ; on the farthing Quiescat
Peeks. Copper tokens w’ere ftruck by towns and
tradefmen, as in England and Scotland. In 1680, half¬
pence and farthings were iflued by authority, wnth the
harp and date. In 1689, James H. having invaded
Ireland, inftituted a mint, and coined {hillings and
half-crowns of all the refufe metal he could find, par¬
ticularly fome brafs guns were employed, whence the
coinage is commonly called gun-money. Even this
metal, howrever, foon became fo fcarce, that a diminu-
VOL. XIII. Part I.
A L S.
tion in its fize is quite apparent from June 1689 to
July 1690; and as the month of their mintage is
marked upon them, this decreafe is eafily perceived.
In March 1690, pennies of lead mixed with tin were
iffued ; and on the 15th of June the fame year, crowns
of white metal were coined ; but thefe are now very
fcarce. In 1722, the patent for coining halfpence and
farthings was given to William Wood, which excited
fuch difcontent in Ireland. From the imall fize allow¬
ed by the patent to thefe pieces, it was fuppofed that
the patentee would have gained 6o,oool. but as he
caufed them to be ftruck of a fize {till fmaller, his
gains were eftimated at ioo,oool. The coins, how'-
ever, are of admirable w-orkmanftnp, and very fine
copper, bearing the beft portrait of King George I.
to be found any where. Sir Ifaac Newton, at that
time at the head of the mint, declared that they were
fuperior to the Englifti coins in every thing except the
fize. In 1737 the Iriftr halfpence and farthings, with
the harp on the reverfe, were coined, and continue to
the prefent time. In 1 760, there was luch a fcarcity
of copper coin, that fome private perlons applied for
leave to coin halfpence, w'hich appeared with a very
bad portrait of George II. and the words Voce Po-
puli around it. No gold or filver has been coined in
Ireland fince the mafiacre of 1641.
177
Modern
Medal?.
Table V. Modern Medals, properly fo called.
1. Scottifh medals. Thefe take the lead in the pre¬
fent article, the firft modern medals of gold being thofe
of David II. ftruck between the years 1330 and J37Q.
Only two of them are known to exift ; one in the col-
leblion of Mr Barker of Birmingham, and the other
in that of Dr Hunter. In 1487, there is a medal of
James III. fent to the fhrine of St Amboife in France.
It is deferibed as of two inches and a third in diame¬
ter ; the weight near twro ounces; having on the ob-
verfe a beardlefs king, with long hair, fitting on a
throne, holding in one hand a naked fvvord ; in the
other a fhie!d, with the Scottifh arms. On the bor¬
ders of the canopy above the throne is an inlcription
in Gothic letters, in Ml deffen, being corrupt
French for In my defence; a common motto in the
Scottifh arms. Above the canopy is Villa Eer-
wichi : the reverfe bears St Andrew and his crofs,
SALVUM FAC POPULUM TUUM DOMINE, There is
alfo a medal of James IV. in the collar of St Michael,
having on the reverfe a Doric pillar furmounted by a
young Janus, Handing on a hill, beyond w'hich is the
fea, and land on either fide. This, however, is by
fome fufpe&ed to be a forgery.
The moft remarkable Scottifh medals are thofe of
the unfortunate Mary. The firft is properly French,
having been iffued at her coronation as queen of
France, along with her hufband King Francis 1]^
On the obverfe of this piece there are portraits of
Francis and Mary, face to face, with three legends
around them, the outermoft containing their titles;
the middle one the following fentence : Hora Nona
DOMINUS J. H. S. EXPIRAVIT HELLI CLAMANS ; the
innermoft the name of the city (Paris). On the re¬
verfe are the arms of France and Scotland. Fine
tertoons were alfo coined upon the fame plan, and are
now fo rare that Dr Hunter gave ten guineas for one
£ which
188 MED
Modern which is in his collefKon. The fame portraits appear
< *Vlfc-la-s- ^ on t]le {nie crown of Mary and Henry, in 1565, which
is fo rare as -to be efteemed a medal of the higheft va¬
lue ; and Mr Pinkerton imagines, that if offered to
fale it would bring 40 or 50 guineas.
Another remarkable medal of Mary reprefents her
full faced, and weeping, with the infcription, O God
GRANT PATIENCE IN THAT I SUFFER VRANG. The
xeverfe has in the centre, (^UHO CAN compare with
ME IN GRIEF, I DIE AND DAR NOCHT SEEK RE-
EIEF; with this legend around, Hourt NOT THE
(figure of a heart) qUHAls JOY THOU ART. There
are alfb many counters of this unfortunate princefs,
being thin filver pieces of the fize of a fhilling. “ They
all appear (fays Mr Pinkerton) to have been done in
Fiance by the dire&ion of Mary, who was fond of de¬
vices. Her cruel captivity could not debar her from
intercourfe wdth her friends in France, who mult with
pleafure have executed her orders, as affording her a
little confolatlon,”
The coronation medal of Charles I. flruck at Edin¬
burgh for his inauguration, June 18. 1663, is remark¬
able as being the only one ever coined of Scottith gold,
and the firft in Britain iiruck with a legend on the
edge. With refpeft to the workmanfhip, it is inferior
to Simon’s. Of thefe medals only three are known to
exifl, of which one is in the Mufeum. It is not un¬
common in filver ; in which cafe it fometimes wants
the legend on the edge.
2. Italian medals. Thefe appear in the 15th cen¬
tury, and from that time fucceflively in moll Euro¬
pean countries. Vittore Pifano, a painter of Verona,
is celebrated as the reftorer of the art, but it remains
to be accounted for how the medals of King David,
already mentioned, came to exift fo long before. Mr
Pinkerton conliders this artiil rather as an inventor
than a retlorer, his medals having no refemblance to
the ancient coins, as being large, and all caff. They
were firft modelled in wax, then a mould taken from
the model in fine fand and other ingredients. After
a good call: was procured, it was touched up, and
made a model for the reft. Thefe medals of Pifano,
are almoft always 'm^crVoed. Opus Pifani PiEloris. The
portraits of a great number of illuftrious men were
done by him in this manner j and in the Britifti Mu¬
feum is a large brafs medal of Pifano by himfelf.—
Other artlfts were Boldu, Marefcotto, Matthaeus de
Paftus, Sperandes, Mifaldone, &c. Towards the end
of the century, however, the medals began to affbme
a more elegant appearance; and the papal ones are
not only the moft elegant but the moft ancient feries
of all the modern medals. The improvement began'
in the reign of Alexander VI. fo famous for his own
crimes, and thofe of his nephew Ctefar Borgia. His
fucceffors, Julius II. Leo X. Hadrian VI. and Cle¬
ment VIE had many of their medals defigned by Ra¬
phael, Julio Romano, and other eminent painters,
and the engraving executed by artifts of equal merit.
Among thefe were the celebrated Cellini, and the noted
Paduan forgers of Roman coins, Cavino and Bafliano.
In 1644, Cormanni, a medallic artift, was imprifoned
cn account of a piece which reprefented the Pope up-
©n one fide, and Olympia Maidalchina, the relation of
his holinefs, on the other. The unfortunate Cor-
Kianni poifoned kimfelf. About this time the family
A L S.
of the Hamerani, originally from Germany, begati to Modern
engrave the papal medals; which they did with fur- Medals.
prifing merit for feveral generations. Each of the
daughters did a fine medal, as we are informed by
Venuti.
Betides the papal medals, many have been iiTued by
the various ftates of Italy. There are medals of Fre¬
deric II. of Sicily in 1501, of feveral Venetian gene¬
rals in 1509, of Alfonfo duke of Ferrara in 1311,
and of the celebrated Andrew Dona in 1528.
3. French medals. Till the reign of Louis XIV.
the medals of this country are neither fine nor nume¬
rous 5 but this monarch exceeds ail modern princes in
this way. Many of his pieces are well defigned and
executed, though objectionable on account of their
falfehood.
4. Danifh medals. Thefe appear of Chriftian II.
in 1516, of Frederic and Sophia in 1532, of Frede-
ric I. and Chriftian III. in bonnets worn in the 16th
century. The elephant of the houfe of Oldenburg is
frequent upon Daniih medals.
5. Swedifh medals. Thefe begin with Guftavus
Vafa } and feveral of Chriftina are likewife to be met
with. There are alfo fome curious ones of Charles
XII.
6. Dutch medals. Thefe begin in 1566; and many
of them are remarkable for maps and plans, which mult
be very interefting to pofterity. “ Had the Greeks and
Romans (fays Mr Pinkei'ton) given us maps and plans,
wdiat a fine fyftem of ancient geography and topo¬
graphy a cabinet of medals muft have been !”
7. Medals of Spain, Portugal, and Germany. The
Spanifti medals began with Gonfalo in 1503, many of
which are curious and interefting. Finder Charles V.
there are many curious Spaniih medals; but thofe of
Germany begin with Frederic in 1453. They are ex¬
tremely numerous 5 as we may eaftly fuppofe from the
greatnefs of the empire, and the various ftates which
compofe it. There is a famous medal of Sebaftian
king of Portugal, famous for his unfortunate expedi¬
tion into Africa in 1578 j with his bull, full face, and
three quarters in length. On the reverfe is a ftiell-fifh
in the fea, with the moon and feven ftars, bearing the
infcription Serena Calsa fa vent. There is alfo a
curious lezenge-fhaped coin of the fame with the arms
of Portugal, and the king’s name and title : On the
reverfe is a crofs with the infcription In hoc signo
VINCES, 1578.
8. Satiric medals. Thefe began almoft as foon as
the knowledge of the art of coining medals was revived.
They feem to have been almoft unknown to the an¬
cients. One indeed of the emperor Gallienus is fup-
pofed to have been fatiric. It has on the front the
emperor’s buft, with the infcription GallienjE AUG.
the reverfe is Peace in a car, Pax Ubique ; but this
has been proved to be only a blundered coin. Some
other ancient medals, however, are not liable to this
objedfion. The firft modern fatiric medal publiftied
was that of Frederic king of Sicily in 1501, againft
his antagonift Ferdinand king of Spain. It has on
one fide the head of Ferdinand, with the infcription
Ferdinandus r. ar. vetus vulpes orbis ; on the
reverfe. a wolf carrying off a fheep, Jvgvm mevm
SVAVE EST ET onvs mevm eeve. Many others have
been (truck, of which the wit would now perhaps be
difficult
MED
Modern difficult to be found out : but of all nations the Dutch
Medals, molt diftinguilhed themfelves in this way ; and
paid very dear for their conduct, as they brought upon
themfelves by one or two fatiric medals the whole
power of France under Louis XIV.
9. Englilh medals. The firft of thefe is in the duke
of Devonihire’s collection. It is of a large lize, and
done on the plan of the early Italian medals. It has
on the reverfe the arms of Kendal, with the infcrip-
tion TEMPORE OBSIDIONIS TURCORUM, MCCCCLXXX.
On the other fide is a portrait wjjth 10 KENDAL RHODI
tvrcvpellerivs. It was found laft century in Knaref-
borough forelt j but Mr Pinkerton has no doubt ef
its having been done in Italy. The next is that of
Henry VIII. in 1545, and is of gold, larger than the
crown-piece, with the king’s head upon the obverfe,
and three legends within each other, including his
titles, &c. The reverfe contains two infcriptions, de¬
claring him to be the head of the church j the one in
Plehrew, the other in Greek. It was imitated exaftly
by Edward VI. whofe coronation medal is the firfl we
have. There are two medals of Philip and Mary,
whofe execution is tolerably good j but thofe of Eli¬
zabeth are very poor. There are good medals of
James I. .and his queen ; with a fine one of Charles I.
atid Plenrietta, though the workmanlhip is much in¬
ferior to the antique. There are many good medals
of Charles, with various devices upon their reverfes.
Under the commonwealth the celebrated Simon pro¬
duced medals which are defervedly reckoned the molt
admirable pieces of modern workmanlliip. There are
many good medals of Charles II. James II. and Wil¬
liam III. Some are alfo found of James after his ab¬
dication. Some fine gold, filver, and copper medals,
w’ere iffued in the time of Queen Anne ; the tvro lalt
affording a feries of all the great actions of the duke
of Marlborough. About the year 1740, a feries of
medals was engraved in London by Daffier, a native of
Geneva, containing all the kings of England j being
36 in number. They are done upon fine copper, and
executed with great tafte. There are befides many
medals of private perfons in England j fo that it may
jufily be faid, that this country for medals exceeds al-
molt every other in Europe.
To this account of modern coins and medals we
{hall add that of another fet called Jiege pieces, and
which were iffued during the time of a fiege in cafes
of urgent neceffity. Thefe were formed of any kind
of metal; fometimes of no metal *, and Patin mentions
a remarkable one ftruck at Leyden in 1574, when the
place was befieged by the Spaniards. It w'as of thick
paper or pafieboard, having a lion rampant, wdth this
infcription, PVGNO PRO PATRIA, 1574; and on the
reverfe, LVGDVNUM Batavorvm. There are various
fiege-pieces of Charles I. both in gold and filver, fome
of the latter being of the value of 20 {hillings.
The nummi braBeati are a fpecies of modern coins
fomewhat between counters and money ; and have their
name from the word BRACTEA, a fpangle or thin
bit of metal. They are commonly little thin plates
of filver, {lamped as would feem with wooden dies up-
A L S. 179
on one fide only, wriih the rude impreffion off various Abbrevia-
figures and infcriptions. Moll of them are ecclefiaftic, tI0ns' ,
and wTere flruck in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark,
Sweden, Norway, and a few in Poland. They con¬
tinued to be in ufe in Germany till the end of the 1 5th
century j and fome are Hill ufed in Switzerland at this
day.
Table of Abbreviations ufed in the Legends of Me¬
dals ; from Mr Pinkerton.
GREEK COINS.
A.
A. Athens, Argos, Aulus,
Afylum 5 primi or firfi;
as Elpiruw A. Arists “
Ephelians, firit people
of Alia.
A. Abaffus, Abdera, Aby-
dus on Hellefponc
AB. Abydus in Egypt
ABT. Abydus on Hellef-
pont
A©. A0E. Athens
AIT. Aigina
AITOSno Aigofpotamos
AI A. ^Elius, ^SLlra Capito¬
lina
AIN. ^dEnos
AK.—AKPATAN. Agri-
gentum
AKI Acilium
AKT. Adlium
AAE. Alexandria
AM. Amyntas
AMBP. Ambracia
A MO I. Amphilochia
AN©. AvdvTnarov, Proconful
ANTIS. Antiffa
ANA. Anadloria
ANTI. Antium
AN. Ancyra
ANT. Antoninus, Antioch
AS. Axus in Crete
AON. Aonitae
AOTE. Avenio, Pe/L
AIT. Appius
AITA. Apamea
AITO. Apollonia
A OTA. Aptara
AP. Aiadus, Harma
APFE. Argennos
APT. Argos
API. Aricanda
APIM. Ariminum
AP2I. Arfinoe
AFT. Aryca
APX. A^-gu^ivs or Ag%ey,
high prielt or magiltrate
AEIAPX. Afiarchae, prefi-
dents of the games of
Alia (b)
Z 2
AS. Afylum
A. S. rigoroi Zvateti, Firft
of Syria
ASK. Afcalon
AT. Atabyrium
ATAP. Atarnce
ATT. Augultus
ATPHA. Aurelius
AT ATT. AvTMgeiTog Em¬
peror
ATTON. Avrovo[s.oi, enjoy¬
ing their own laws
AOI. Aphyta
AOP. Africanus
AX. Achaii
B.
B. BeyAjjj, Council: Bery-
tus: Bithynia
BAFHAAO Bagadaonia
BAA. Valerius
BH. Berytus
BITON. Bitontum
BOI. Bceotia
BPTN. Brundufium
BT. Byzantium
F.
F. PP. FPAM. Grammati¬
cus, or keeper of the re¬
cords
F. Gaius, or Caius
F A. Gallus, Gallerius, Gal-
lienus
F. Tvcoetpov, Uluftrious
FEA. Gelas
FEP. Germanicus
FN. Gneius
FOPTT. Gortyna
FPA. Graviica
A.
A. Decimus, Dymae
AAK. Dacicus
AAM. Damafcus
AAP- Durdanum
AH. Av/zos, the people
AHMAPX. ESOTS. with
'1 ribunitian power
AE. Decelia
AEK. Decius
AEP.
(b) Ihere were a!lo Syriarchre, Lyciarchae, Galatarchae, Bithyniarehae, Cappadociarchae, &c. Morel. Spec,
D
180
Abbrevia- AEP. Derbe in Lycaonia
tions- AH. Delos
AI. Diofpolis
APE. Drepanum
ATP. Dyrrhachiura
E.
E. Eryce
E. EPEE. Erefus
EAET. Eleufis
EAET0. EAst^E^o*, Free
EITI, Epidaurus
EPI. Eriza in Caria
EPX. Erchia
EFT. Erythree
ET ETO. Eravj, Year
ET. Etenna in Pamphylia
EX. E^«t;«-<flc, Power
ET. ETBO. Euboea
EYE. EvreZnif, Pious
EYT Euru^nj, Happy
E<I>. E<I>E. Ephefus
Z.
ZA. Zacynthus
ZANKA. Zancle, Meffa-
na anciently fo called
H.
H- Elium
HP. HySjUeyaf, Prendent
HPAK. Heraclea
©.
©A. Thafus
0E. Thefpiae
©E2. Theffalonica
©E. ©HE. Thebee
I.
I. IEP. Sacred
lEPAHT. Hyerapytha
IKAP. Hiccara
IAI. Ilium
IOT. Julis, a city, or Julius
IOTA. Julia
I HA. Hippana
IP. Irene Inf. Pellerin.
IE. Ifus, Iftiaea
K.
K. Caius; Kotiors?, Quintus
K. KAIE. Ceefar
K. K. Ko<voy KiXixixs, Com¬
munity of Cilicia
KAIA. Caelius
KaA. Chalcedon
KAAAI. Callipolis
KAMA. Camara
KAN. Canata
KAH. Capua
KAnn. Cappadocia
KAP. Carrhae
KAFT. Carthago
KAT. Caulonia
KE. Ceos
'^KEtf*. Cephalaedis
KI. ( ianus, Cibeeum
KIA. Cilbiani
KA. Claeonee, Claudius
KAA. Clazomene
M E
KNI. Cnidus
KO. Corinth
KOIN. Ko/ncy, Community
KOA. KoMiKctf, Colony,
Colophon
KOM. Commodus
KOP. Corey ra
KP. Cragus in Lycia
KPA. Cranos
KPH. Crete
KTH. Ctemenae, Pc’//.
KT. Cuma, Cydonium, Cy-
on
KY0. Cythnus
KYII. Cyprus
KTP. Cyrene
A.
A. or L. AvKotZavTos, Year
A. Lucius
AA. Lacedeemon
AAM. Lameaj Lampfacus
AaP. La rid a
A ' PI. Larinum
AE. AET. Leucas
AEON. Leontium
AHM. Lemnos
AIII. Lipara
AITI. Liviopolis
AO. AHK. Locri
AOP. Longone
ATP. ATK. Lyflus
M.
M. Marcus, Malea, Mega¬
lopolis, Mazaka
MA. Maronea, Mafiilia,
Macedonia
MAP. Magnefia
MAKPO. Macrocephali
MAM. Mamertini
Mass. Maflilio
MAZ. Mazara
ME. Menelais, on Syrian
regal coins
MENEK. Menecrates
ME. MET. Megara, Me¬
galopolis, Melite
MET. MsyacAo?, Great
MES. Meffana
META. Metapontum
M MHTPO. Metropolis
MI. Miletus
MK. Maffaka of Cappa¬
docia, on coins of Mi-
thridates VI.
MOP. Morgantia
MT. Mycenae
MTP. Myrlea
MTTI. Mytilene
N,
N. Naupa&os
NAS. Naxos
NATAPX. N*t)«g;£<5o<, en¬
joying a fea port
NE Nemea
2)1. NEGK. Neocori
\
A L S.
NEOn. Neopolis
NEP. Nerva
NIK. Nicaeum, Nicomedia
NTS. Nyfad, on coins of
Scythopolis, Pell.
O.
OI. CEthaii
ON. Ovroj, Being
OHEA. Opelius
on. Opus
OPT. Orycus
OPX. Orchomenus
OPn. or YD. OvTrctTCi or
Y^rarej, Coniul
OTEP. Verus
OTH. Verus
OYEEn. Vefpafianus
OYITEA. Vitellius
O^PT. Ophrynium
n.
n. Tix^cc, n^#f, upon
n. nonA. Publius
n. HA. Paphos or Paros
ITAIE. Peeftum
HAN. Panormus
IIAF. Paropinuoi
IIAPI. Paros
HAP©. Parthicus
HE. Perintbus
REA. Pella
REP. Fergus
REFT. Pertinax
REEK. Pefcennius
R. RH. Pelufium
RIN. Pinamytse
RAA. Plateae
RO. Pontus
ROAT. Polyrrhenum
ROE. Pofidonia
RPAS. Praffus
R. RPT. IJgvrxvef, Prsefefl;
RP. RPES. R^sriosaj, Le¬
gate
RPO. Proconnefus
RPOAI. Ilgohxos, Curator
R. RPRT. Rgorej, b'irft
RT. Ptolemais
RT. Pylos
P.
PO. Rhodes
E.
S. EA. Salamis, Samos, Sy¬
ria
EA. Samofate
EAAAR. Salapia
EaP. Sardis
EE. Serijsihus, Segefte
EEB. EsSasroj, Auguftus
EEA. Selinus, Seleucia
EERT. Septimius
El. Siphnos
El A. Side
EIN£2. Sinope
EMT. Smyrna
ETP. ETPA. Ergseruyos,,
Praetor
ETB. Sybaris
ET. STPA. Syracufe
STP. Syria
ER. Solae
T.
T. Titus
TABAA. Tabala
TA. TANA. Tanagra
TAP. Tarentum, Tarfus
TATP. Tauromenum
TE. Tementis
TEP. Terina
TH. Tenus
TI. TIB. Tiberius
TPA. Trallis
TPI. Tripolis
TPO. Troizene
TTAN. Tyana
TT. Tyndarus
TYP. Tyre (monogram)
T.
TE. TEA. Velia
TR. YRAT. Ywtffrof, Conful
<&.
<t>. Philip, Phceftus, Pbi-
luntium
€>A. Phafelis
<t>AP. Pharfalus
<I>I. Vibius, PhilippopoBs
<I>INE. Phineium
•PA. Flavius
<J>OK. Phocaeum
^>OTA. Fulvia
OT. Phycus in Cyrene
X.
X. Chios
XAA. Chalcis
XEP. Cherfonefus
XI. Chytri in Crete
Abbrevfa-
tions.
Greet Numerals.
A.
B.
r.
A.
E.
or
Z.
H.
©.
I.
K.
A.
M.
N.
E.
O.
R.
10.
20.
3°*
40.
5°.
6o.
7°.
8o.
q or n 90.
V. 100.
E.or C 200.
T.
T.
X.
£2.
q-
30°.
400.
500.
600.
700.
800.
goo.
Example,
MED
Abbrevla- Examples. I is 10: add A to I, and IA makes u:
, tions- fo IB, 12 i IF, 13, &c. K is 20, KA, 21, &c. PI A
v makes in. The Engliili word air marks the grand
initial numerals. On coins the numerals are often pla¬
ced in retrograde order ; which makes no difference in
the value, as every letter is appropriated to its num¬
ber. Thus TAT or TAT imply the fame, 333. But
this advantage being unknown to the Roman numerals
and Arabic cyphers, is apt to puzzle the beginner.
ROMAN COINS.
A
A. aulus : in the exergue
it implies the firft mint,
as ant. A. coined at An¬
tioch in the firft mint
A. A. A. F. F. Auro, Ar-
gento, ALre, Flando,
Feriundo
A. or AN. Annus
A. a. Apollo Augufti
A. F. A N. Auli filius, Au-
li nepos
ABN. Abnepos
act. Adtiacus, or Aftium
AD. FRV. EMV. Ad fruges
emundas
adiab. Adiabenicus
ADOP. Adoptatus
ADQ. Adquifita
ADV. Adventus
aed. Aides
aed. p. AEdilitia poteftate
AED. s. Aides facrae
AED. CVR. Aidilis Curulis
AED. pl. Aidilis Plebis
AEL. AElius
AEM. or AIMIL. Aimilius
AET. Aiternitas
AFR. Africa, or Africanus
ALBIN. AlBINUS
ALIM. ITAL. Alimenta Ita¬
lic
ANN. AVG. Annona Au¬
gufti
A. N. F. F. Annum Novum
Fauftum Felicem
ANic. Anicius
ANN. DCCCLXIIII. NAT.
VRB. P. CIR. CON. An¬
no 864 Natali Urbis
Populo Circenfes confti-
tuti
ANT. avg. Antonius Au-
gur
ant. Antonius, or Anto¬
ninus
ap. Appius
A. p. F. Argento Publico
Feriundo
A. POP. FRVG. AC. A Po¬
pulo Fruges Acceptae
AO. or aql. Aquilius
aqva mar. Aqua Martia
ARAB. adq_. Arabia Ad-
quifita
ARR. Arrius
avg. Augur, Auguftus,
Augufta
AVG. D. F. Auguftus Divi
Filius
AVGG. Two Augufti
AVGGG. Three Augufti
AVR. or AVREL. Aurelius
B.
B. The mark of the fecond
mint in any city
bon. event. Bonus Even-
tus
B. R. P. nat. Bono Reipub-
licse Nato
BRIT. BrITANNICUS
ERVT. Brutus
c.
c. Caius, Colonia
c. A. Casfarea Augufta
c. cae. or caes. Caefar
CAESS. Caefares
carth. Carthage
CEN. Cenfor
cens. P. Cenfor Perpetuus
CEST. Ceftius, or Ceftia-
nus
CIR. CON. Circum Condi-
dit, or Circenfes Con-
ceffit
CIV1B. ET SIGN. MILIT. A.
parth. recvp. Civibus
et Signis Militaribus a
Parthis Recuperatis
CN. Cneius
coel. Coelius.
con. OB. Conftantinopoli
Obfignata, or Conftan¬
tinopoli Officina fecun-
da, or Conflata Obryzo
col. Colonia
con. svo. Confervatori fuo
CONCORD, Concordia
CL. v. Clypeus Vctivus
comm. Commodus
CLOD. Clod'us
cl. or clavd. Claudius
cos. Conful
coss. Confules
A L S.
181
corn. Cornelius
CVR. x. F. Curavit Dena-
rium Faciendum
D.
D. Decimus, Divus, De-
fignatus
DAC. Dacicus
D. F. Dacia felix
D. M. Diis Manibus
des. or desig. Defignatus
DICT. Didlator
DOMIT. Domitianus
D. N. Dominus nofter
did. Didius
D, P. Dii Penates
Dv. Divus
E.
EID. mar. Idus Martiae
EX. cons. D. Ex Confenfu
Decuriorum
ex. s. c. Ex Senatus Con-
fulto
EQ. ordin. Equeftris Or-
dinis.
EX. A. PV. Ex Argento, or
Audloritate Publica
EXER. Exercitus
ETR. Etrufcus
F.
F. Filius, or Filia, orFelix,
or Faciundum, or Fecit
FEL. Felix
FELlc. Felicitas
FL. Flavius
FLAM. Flamen
FORT. RED. Fortunse Re-
duci
FOVRI. Fourius for Furius
FONT. Fonteius
frvgif. Frugiferae(Cere-
ri)
FVL. Fulvius
FVLG. Fulgerator
G.
G. Gneius, Genius, Gau-
dium
ga. Gaditanus
G. D. Germanicus Dacicus
GEN. Genius
germ. Germanicus
gl. e. R. Gloria Exercitus
Romani
gl. p. R. Gloria Populi
Romani
GOTH. Gothicus
G. P. R. Genio Populi Ro¬
mani
G. T. A. Genius Tutelaris
JEgypti, or Africae
H.
HEL. Helvius
HEL. Heliopolis
her. Herennius, or He-
rennia .
H®. Honos Abbrevia-
HS. Seftertius , t'°ns‘ ,
I. Imperator, Jovi, Julius
ian. clv. Janum clufit for
claufit
imp. Imperator
impp. Imperatores
I. s. M. R. Juno Sofpita*
Mater or Magna Re¬
gina _
IT. Italia, Iterum
ITE. Iterum
ivl. Julius or Julia
1 vst. Julius
I-l. s. Seftertius
I. o. M. sacr. Jovi Opti¬
mo, Maximo, Sacrum
II. vir. Duumvir
III. vir. r. p. c. Triumvir
Reipublicae Conftituen--
dae
mi. vir. a. p. f. Quatu-
orvir, or Quatuorviri,
Auro, or Argento, or
ALre, Publico Feriundo
IVN. Junior
L.
L. Lucius
lat. Latinus
leg. propr. Legatus Pro-'
praetoris
LEG. I. &c. Legio Prima,
&.C.
lep. Lepidus
LENT. CVR. x. P. Lentu-
lus Curavit Denarium
Faciundum
LIBERO P. Libero Patri
lib. pvb. Libertas Publica
Lie. Licinius
L. s. DEN. Lucius Sicinius
Dentatus
lvc. Lucifera
lvd. cir. Ludi Circenfes
LVD. E£>. Ludi Equeftres
LVD. SAEC. F. Ludos Ste-
culares Fecit
M.
M. Marcus, or Marius
MAR, CL. Marcellus Clo-
dius
M. F. Marci Filius
M. otacil. Marcia Ota-
cilia
MAG. or MAGN. Magnus
MAC. Macellum
max. Maximus
mar. Martia (aqua)
MAX. VLT. Marti Ultori
mes. Meflius
metal. Metallum
min at. Minatius
Miner. Minerva
M. M. I. V.
I 82
Abbrevia- M/ M. I. V. Municipes Mu-
. 1: 005, nicipii Julii Uticenfis
^ MON. or MONET. Moneta
N.
N. Nepos or Nofler
N. c. NobilifRmus Ccefar
NAT. VRB. Natalis Urbis
NET. Nepos
net. red. Neptuno Re-
dilci
o.
o. Optimo
OB. c. s. O’o Gives Serva-
tos
OF. OfRcina
OPEL. Opelius
ORB. terr. Orbis Terra-
rum
P.
P. or POT. Poteflate
PAC. ORB. TER. Pacatori
Orbis Terrarum
papi. Papius or Papirius
parth. Parthicus
Perp. Perpetuus
pert, or pertin. Pertinax
PESO. Pefcennius
P. F. Pius Felix
plaet. Plastonius
P. L. N. Pecunia Londini
Notata
P. lon. s. Pecunia Londi-
ni Signata
P. M. or PONT. MAX. Pon-
tifex Maximus
pomp. Pompeius
p. p. Pater Patrim
PR. Praetor
p. R. Populus Romanus
PRAEF. CLAS. ET. OR MA-
rit. Praefedtus Claffis
et Orae Maritimae
princ. I went. Princeps
Juventutis
priv. Privernum
PROC. Proconful
PRON. Pronepos
prop. Propraator
proq_. Proquaellor
prov. deor. Providentia
Deorum
PVPIEN. Pupienus
. H
£L Quintus, or Quaeftor
Q. c. m. p i. Quintus Cae-
cilius Metellus Pius Im-
perator
Q. desig. Quaeftor Defig-
natus
p. Quaedor Praetorius
Q. PR.QuaeftorProvincialis
R.
r. Roma, Reftituit
recep. Receptis, or Re-
MED
REST. Reflituti
ROM. et avg. Romae et
Auguflo
R. P. Refpublica
S.
saec. avr. Saeculum Au-
reum
saec. FEL. SaeculiFelicitas
sal. Salus
sall. SallufHa
SARM. Sarmaticus
s. C. Senatus Confulto
scip. asia. Scipio Afiati-
cus
sec. orb. Securitas Orbis
sec. perp. Securitas Per-
petua
sec. temp. Securitas Tem-
porum
sen. Senior
sept. Septimius
ser. Servius
SEV. Severus
SEX. Sextus
sic. v. sic x. Sicut Quin-
quennalia, fic Decenna-
lia
SIG. Signis
s. M. Signata Moneta
s. P. q. r. Senatus Popu-
lufque Romanus
stabil. Stabilita (terra)
svl. Sulla.
T.
T. Titus, Tribunus
ter. Terentius, or Terti-
um
temp. Temporum
Tl. Tiberium
tr. or TREY. Treveris
TREE. Trebonianus
TR. mil. Tribunus Milita-
ris
TR. p. or TRIB. POT. Tri-
bunicia Poteftate
V.
V. Ouintum
v. c. Vir Clariflimus
vesp. Vefpafianus
vib. Vibius
vict. Vidloria
Vli. vir. epvl. Septemvir
Epulonum
VIL. pvb. Villa Publica
VIRT. Virtus
VN. mr. Venerandae Me¬
moriae
VOT, X. MVLT. XX. Votis
Decennalibus Multipli-
catis Vicennalibus
X.
x. Decern, Denarius
XV. VIR. SACR. FAC. Quin-
decim Vir Sacris Faci-
undis.
4
A L S.
Abbreviations on the Exergue ; from Boudiiri and Mo-
naldini. Pinkerton.
A. Officina Prima
ALE. Alexandria
AMB. Antiochenfis Mone¬
ta Secundae Officinae
AN, ANT. ANTI. Antiochia
ANB. Antiocbiae Secunda
Officina : to ANH. An-
tiochiae Odtavia OiTicina
A. p. l. (In officina) Pri¬
ma percuffa Lugduni
AQ. aql. Aquileioe
A£K o. B. F. Aquileiae Of¬
ficinae Secundae Fabrica
AQ^. P. s. Aquileiee Pecu¬
nia Signata
A. ar. arl. Arelate
A. sisc. Prima (in officina)
Sifciae
B. sirm. Secunda Sirmii
B. s. l. c. Secunda Signa¬
ta Lugduni
c. 0. Conftantinopoli No¬
na
comob. Conflata Moneta
Obryzo. Only on gold
or filver from a gold
die
CON. Condantinopoli
conob. Condata Obryzo.
Only on gold.
CONS. Condantinopoli
KART. Carthago
K. o. Carthaginenfis Offi¬
cina
L. LC. LVC. LVG. Lucdu-
ni, Lugduni
L. LON. Londini
L. p. Lugdunenfis vel Lon-
dinenlis Pecunia
lvc. p. s. Lugduni Pecu¬
nia Signata
mbps. Mediolani Pecunia
Signata
M. K. v. T. Moneta Kar-
taginenfis Urbs (in offi¬
cina) Tertia
M. l. Moneta Lugdunen¬
fis vel Londinenfis
mostt. Moneta Officinae
Secundae Treverorum
mstr. Moneta Signata
Treveris
o. Officina
off. in. const. Officina
Tertia Condantinopoli
pare. Percufla or Pecunia
Arelate
plon. Pecunia Londinen¬
fis
plvg. Pecunia Lugdunen¬
fis
P. R. Pecunia Roman a-, or
Percuffa Romae
P. T. Pecunia Treverenfis
q. ar. Quindta Arelatenfis
(officina)
R. ro. rom. Romse
ra. Ravennae
ROPS. Romce Pecunia Sig¬
nata
s. ar. Signata Arelate
s. const. Signata Conftan¬
tinopoli
sis. Sifciae
ss. p. Sifcienfis Pecunia
SISC. v. Sifcia Urbs
sma. Signata Moneta An-
tiochiae
s. M. HER. Signata Mone¬
ta Heracleae
s. M. N. Signata Moneta
Nicomediae
s. M. r. Signa'ca Moneta
Romae
s. T. Signata Treveris
tesob. Teffalonicae Offici¬
na Secunda
theopo. Theopoli
TR. Treveris
trob. Treverris Officina
Secunda
A Li/i of Roman Colonies whofe Coins remain ; and Ab¬
breviations on thefe Coins.
Abdera in Spain
Acci in Spain
Achulla in Africa
AElia Capitolina in Judaea
Agrippina in Germany
Antiochia in Pifidia
 in Syria
Apamea in Bithynia
Arna in Theffaly
Aftigi in Spain
Babba in Mauritania Tin-
gitana
Beiytus in Phoenicia
Bilbihs in Spain
Boftra in Arabia
Bracara Augufta in Spain
Buthrotum in Epirus
Cabellio in Gaul
Caffar-Augufta in Spain
Caefarea in Paleftine
Calagurris
Abbievia- Calagurris in Spain
t tions. Calpe in Spain
-y—— £ama]ocjurmm jn
Carrhae in Mefopctaraia
Carteia in Spain
Carthago in Africa
Carthago Nova in Spain
Cafcantum in Spain
Caffandria in Macedon
Celfa in Spain
Clunia in Spain
Coillu in Nutnidia
Comana in Cappadocia
Corinthus in Greece
Cremna in Pi fid i a
Culla in Thrace
Damafcus in Ccelefyria
Dertofa in Spain
Deultcn in Thrace
Diuna in Macedon
Ebora in Spain
Edeffa in Mefopotamia
Emerita in Spain
Emefa in Phoenicia
Ergavica in Spain
Germe in Galatia
Graccuris in Spain
Eladrumetum in Africa
Heliopolis in Coelefyria
Hippo Regius in Africa
Iconium in Lycaonia
Uerda in Spain
Hiergavonia in Spain
llleci in Spain
lol in Mauritania
Italica in Spain
Lselia in Spain
Laodicea in Syria
Leptis in Africa
Lugdunum in Gaul
Neapolis in Paleftine
MED
Nemaufus in Gaul
Nefibis in Mefopotamia
Norba Ctefarea in Mauri¬
tania
Obulco in Spain
Oea in Africa
Olba in Pamphylia
Ofca in Spain
Olicarda in Spain
Panormus in Sicily
Parium in Myfia
Parlais in Lycaonia
Patricia (^Corduba) in
Spain
Pella in Macedon
Philippi in Macedon
Philippopolls in Arabia
Ptolemais in Phoenicia
Rhefsena in Mefopotamia
Romula (Hifpalis) in
Spain
Rufcino in Gaul
Sabaria in Hungary
Saguntum in Spain
Sebafre in Paleftine
Segobriga in Spain
Sidon in Phoenicia
Singara in Mefopotamia
Sinope in Pontus
Stobi in Macedon
Tarraco in Spain
Theflal'onica in Macedon
Tradufla (Julia) in Spain
Troas in Phrygia
Turiafo in Spain
Tyana in Cappadocia
Tyrus in Phoenicia
Valentia in Spain
Vienna in Gaul
Viminacium in Moefta
Utica in Africa ‘
Abbreviations on Colonial Coins.
acci. Accitana Colonia, Guadix in Spain
ADI. Adjutrix legio
ael. mvn. coel. iElium Municipium Coela, near Sef-
tos on the Hel/efpont
AST. Aftigitana, Eceja in Andalufia
B. a. Braccara Augufti, Brogue in Portugal
c. A. Ctefarea Antiochice
c. A. A. p. or patr. Colonia Augufta Arot; Patrenfis
CAB. Cabellio
c, A. bvt. Colonia Augufti Buthrotum, in Epirus
C. A. C. Colonia Augufta Caefarea
c. A. i. Colonia Augufta Julia, Cadiz,
C. A. E. Colonia Aug. Emerita, Merida
CAL. Calagurris, Calahorra in Spain
c. A. o. A. F. Colonia Antoniana Oea Aug. Felix, Tri¬
poli in Africa
A L S. i S3
c. A. it. MET. SID. Colonia Amelia Pia Metropolis Abbievia-
Sidon _ tlons- ,
c. a. R. Colonia Augufta Rauracorum, or Colonia
Afta Regia : Augft in Switzerland, or Aft near
Xeres de la Frontera in Spain
c. c. a. Colonia Caefarea Augufta, Saragojfa in Spa n
C. C. COL. LUG. Claudia Copia Colonia Lugdunemis
c. c. 1. B. Colonia Campeftris Julia Babba, in Mauri¬
tania
C. c. 1. B. D. D. Colonia Campeftris Julia Babba, De-
creto Decurionum
C. c. 1. h. P. A. Colonia Concordia Julia Hadrumetina,
Pia Augufta
c. civ. D. D. P. Corona Civica data Decreto Publico
C. C. N. A. Colonia Carthago Nova Augufta
c. c. N. c. D. D. Colonia Concordia, Norba Csefareana,
Decreto Decurionum
C. cor. Colonia Corinthus
c. c. T. Ducentefima RemilTa
C. c. s. Colonia Claudia Sabaria, in Hungary
C. F. P. D. Colonia Flavia Pacenfts Develtum, Devel-
tum in Thrace
C. G. I. H. P. a. Colonia Gcmella- Julia Hadriana, Pa-
riana, Augufta
c. 1. c. A. Colonia Julia Concordia, Apamea
c. I. a. d. Colonia Julia Augufta Dertona, Torlona
near Milan
c. 1. av. Coionia Julia Aug. Cadiz,
c. 1. avg. F. sin. Colonia Julia Augufta Felix Sinope
c. 1. B. Colonia Julia Baiba, in Mauritania
C. I. C. A. P. A. Colonia Julia Carthago Augufta Pia
Antiqua, or Corinth, or Carthago Nova
C. I. CAL. Colonia Julia Calpe, Gibraltar
c. I. F. Colonia Julia Felix, Cadiz
c. 1. G. A. Colonia Julia Gemella (c) Augufta
c. 1. 1. A. Colonia Immunis Illici Augufta, Elehe in
Spain.
c. I. N. C. Colonia Julia Norba Cmfareana, or Alcan¬
tara : fometimes it means Col. Julia Nova Carthago
c. 1. v. Colonia Julia Valentia, Valencia in Spain
C. v. T. Colonia Victrix Tarraco
c. L. 1. cor. Colonia Laus Julia Corinthus
c. l. 1. N. avg. Colonia Laus Julia Nova Augufta,
Laus or Lodi in Lucania
c. M. l. Colonia Metropolis Laodicea, in Coelefyria
CO. DAM. METRO. Colonia Damafcus Metropolis
cohh. pret. vii. P. \T. F. Cohorles Prcetorianae Sep-
timum Piae, Sextum Felices
COH. I. CR. Cohors prima Cretenfis
COM. FRET. PHIL. Cohors Prsetoriana Philippenfmm
COL. AEL- A. H. MET. Colonia-/Elia Augufta Hadru¬
metina Metropolis, in Africa
col. ael. CAP. comm. P. F. Colonia ALlia Capitolina
Commodiana Pia Felix
COL. ALEX, trgas. Colonia Alexandriana Troas
col.amas. or ams. Colonia Amaftriana, in Paphlagonia
col. ant. Antioch in Pifidia
col. arelat. sextan. Colonia Arelate Sextanorum,
Arles
col. ast. avg. Colonia Aftingitana Augufta, Eceja in
Spain.
col.
(c) Gemella implies a colony drawn from two others.
184
MEDALS.
Abbrevla- COL. AVG. FEL. BER. Colonia Augufta Felix Berytus
i t‘°ns' . COL. AVG. FIR. Colonia Aug. firma, Eceja
COL. AVG. IVL. PHILIP. Colonia Augurta Julia Philip-
penfis
COL. AVG. PAT. TREVIR. Colonia Augufta Paterna
Trevirorum, Treves in Germany, fent from Paternum
in Italy
COL. AVR. KAR. comm. P. F. Colonia Aurelia Karrhae
Commodiana Pia Felix, or Carneatum Commagene,
or Carrhce in sljia
C®L. B. a. Colonia Braccara Augufla, Braque
col. bryt. L, v. Colonia Berytus Legio Quinta
* COL. CABE. Colonia Cabellio.
COL. caes. avg. Colonia Caefarea Augufta, in Balefine
COL. camalOj^VN. Cclonia Camalodunura, England
col. casilin. Colonia Cafilinum, Cqftella%o in Italy
col. cl. ptol. Colouia Claudia Ptolemais, Acre in
Phoenicia
col. DAMAS. metro. Colonia Damafcus Metropolis
col. F. i. a. p. earcin Colonia Flavia Julia Augufta
Pia, Barcino or Barcelona
col. FL. pac. hevlt. Colonia Flavia Pacenfis Deultum,
Dev el turn in Thrace
COL. HA. ME. T Colonia Hadriana Mercurialis Thae-
nitana, Mercuriali, Fermo in Italy, and Thenes in
Africa
COL. H. (or HEL.) leg. H. Colonia Heliopolis Legio
Heliopolitana
col. iiel. i. o. M. H. Colonia Heliopolis Jovi Optimo
Maximo Heliopolitano
COL. IVL. AVG. c. l. F. COMAN. Colonia Julia Augufta
Concordia Invitfta Felix Comanorum, drawn from
Concordia in Italy, andfnit to Comana in Cappadocia
COL. ivl.! AVG. FEL. cremna. Colonia Julia Augufta
Felix Cremna, in Pamphylia
COL. IVL. CER. SAC. AVG. FEE. CAP. OECVM. ISE. HEL.
Colonia Julia Certamen Sacrum Auguftum Felix
Capitolenum Oecumenicum Ifelafticum Heliopolita-
num
COL. IVL. CONC. APAM. avg. d. D. Colonia Julia Con-
cordia Apamea Augufta Decreto Deoarionum
COL. IVL. PATER. NAR. Colonia Julia Paterna Narbo-
nenlis
col. nem. Colonia Nemaufus
COL. niceph. cond. Colonia Nicephorium Condita, in
Mefopotamia
COL. patr. Colonia Patrenfts or Patricia, Patras in
Greece, or Cordova in Spain
COL. P. F. AVG. F. caes. met. Colonia Pnma Flavia
Aug. Felix Caefarea Metropolis, in Palfline.
COL. P. FL. AVG. CAES. METROP. P. s. Y. fame as above,
P. s. P. is Provinciee Syrite Paleftinae.
col. pr. f. A. Caesar. Colonia Prima Flavia Augufta
Caefarea, in Palejline
COL. R. f. AUG. FL. c. metrop. Colcnia Romana Felix
Aug. Flavia Caefarea Metropolis. The fame
col. ROM. Colonia Romulea, or Seville
col. rom. lvg. Colonia Romana Lugdunum
col. Rvs. leg. vi. Colonia Rufcino Legio Sexta,
RonfilIon in France
COL. sabar. Colonia Saburiae
COL. SABAS. Sebafte, in Palefine
,col. ser. g. neapol. Colonia Servii Galbae Neapolis,
in Palejline
col. v. i. celsa, or col. vie. ivl. celsa. Colonia
Vidlrix Julia Celfa, Kelfa in Spain
COL. VIC. IVL. LEP. Colonia Vielrix Julia Leptis,
z.1 Africa
COL. vim. an. i. or II, Colonia Viminacium Anno
primo, Widin in Servia
coi . vlp. tra. Colonia Ulpia Trajana : Kellen, or
Warhal in Tranflvania
co. p. F. coe. metro. Colonia Prima Flavia Caefarea
Metropolis
co. p. i. a. Colonia Pacenfis Julia Augufta, or Col.
OeJaviana
c. R. i. f. s. Colonia Romana Julia Felix Sinope
C. T. T. Colonia Togata Tarraco
c. v. il. Colonia Viftrix Iliice, Elche in Spain
D. Decuriones
D. c. a. Divus Csef. Aug.
DERT. Dertofa
gen. col. ner. patr. Genio Coloniae Neronianae Fa-
trenfis
Explana¬
tion of
Plates.
G. L. s. Genio Loci Sacrum
M. H. Illergavonia dyrt. Municipium Hibera Iller-
gavonia Dertofa, Tortofa in Catalonia
M. m. i. v. Municipes Municipii Julii Uticenfis
M. r. Municipium Ravennatium
mvn. cal. ivl. Municipium Calagurris Julia, in Spain
mvn. clvn. Municipium Clunia, Crunna in Spain
mvn. fane. jEL. Municipium Faneftre Aelium, Fano
mvn. stob. Municipium Stobenfe, Stobi in Macedon
MV. tv. Municipium Turiafo, in Spain
N. tr, alexandriane col. bostr. Nervise Trojanee
Alexandrians Colonise Boftrae, in Palejline
SEP. col. laVD. Septimia Colonia Laudicea, or Lao-
dicea
sep. tyr. met. Septima Tyrus Metropolis.
Explanation of the Plates.
Fig. i. A Perfian daric
2. A drachm of Egina
3. A filver hemidrachm of Alexander the Great
4. Tigranes the younger of Armenia, with his
After
5. One of the coins of the Arfacidae of Parthia
6. A coin of the Saflanidae of Perfia. Firlt pub-
liihed by Mr Pinkerton
7. Denarius of Cneius Pompey from Mr Pinkerton,
reverfe. Received by Spain
8. A brafs coin of Cunobelinus
9. Pefcennius Niger. Struck at Antioch; u-
nique. In Dr Hunter’s cabinet ; publilhed by Mr
Pinkerton
10. A filver coin of Caraufius
11. Reverfe of Claudius in firft brafs
12. Reverfe of Adrian
13. Of Antoninus Pius
14. Of Commodus
15. Of Severus
16. & Saxon penny
17. A Saxon ftyca
18. 19. Ancient pennies, fuppofed to be ScCttifh
20. A penny of William of Scotland
21. A penny of Robert the Great
2 2. An Irilh penny
Plates
CCGXXXf.
and
CCCXXXIi
3
23. The
M E D
Explana¬
tion of
Plates.
23. The gold penny of Henry III.
24. The large noble of the firft coinage of Ed¬
ward III.
25. The gold medal of David II. of Scotland
A L S.
26. The ryal of Queen Mary of Scotland
27. Letters on Anglo-Saxon coins
28. Abbreviations on ditto
29. Monetarius
185
Explana¬
tion of
Plates.
MED
Medallion Imprefftons of Medals. See Casting.
MEDALLION, or MedalioN, a medal of an ex¬
traordinary fize, fuppofed to be anciently ftruck. by
the emperors for their friends, and for foreign princes
and ambaffadors. But, that the fmallnefs of their num¬
ber might not endanger the lofs of the devices they
bore, the Romans generally took, care to damp the
fub]e£l of them upon their ordinary coins.
Medallions, in refpedl of the other coins, were the
fame as modern medals in refpefl of modern money :
they were exempted from all commerce, and had no
other value than what was fet upon them by the fancy
of the owner. Medallions are fo fcarce, that there
cannot be any fet made of them, even though the me¬
tals and fizes Ihould be mixed prumifcuoufly.
MEDEA, in fabulous hiftory, a celebrated forcerefs,
daughter of .ZEetes king of Colchis. Her mother’s
name, according to the more received opinion of He-
fiod and Hyginus, was Idyia, or, according to others,
Ephyre, Hecate, Afterodia, Antiope, and Neasra. She
was the niece of Circe. When Jafon came to Colchis
in quell of the golden fleece, Medea became enamoured
of him, and it w^as* to her well direfted labours that
the Argonauts owed their prefervation. Medea had
an interview with her lover in the temple of Hecate }
where they bound themfelves by the molt folemn oaths
to eternaTfidelity. No fooner had Jafon overcome all
the difficulties which iEetes had placed in his way,
than Medea embarked with the conquerors for
Greece. To flop the purfuit of her father, Ihe tore
to pieces her brother Abfyrtus, and left his mangled
limbs in the way through which iEetes was to pafs.
This ad of barbarity, fome have attributed to Jafon,
and not to her. When Jafon reached lolchos his na¬
tive country, the return and vidories of the Argo-
nauts were celebrated with univerfal rejoicings : but
iEton the father of Jafon was unable to aflift at the
folemnity on account of the infirmities of his age.
Medea, at her hufnand’s requeft, removed the weak-
nefs of ALfon ; and by drawing away the blood from
his veins, and filling them again with the juice of cer¬
tain herbs, Ihe reftored him to the vigour and fpright-
linefs of youth. This fudden change in AJon afto-
nHired the inhabitants of lolchos •, and the daughters
of Pelias were alfo defirous to lee their father reltored
by the fame power to the vigour of youth. Medea,
willing to revenge the injuries wffiich her hulband’s fa¬
mily had fuffered from Pelias, increafed their curi-
ofity •, and betrayed them into the murder of their fa¬
ther as preparatory to his rejuvenefcence, which {he
afterwards refufed to accompliih. This adlion great¬
ly irritated the people of lolchos j and Medea with
her hufband fled to Corinth to avoid their refentment.
Here they lived for 10 years with mutual attachment,
when the love of Jafon for Glance the king’s daugh-
Vojl. XIII. Part I.
MED
ter interrupted their harmony, and Medea was divor- Medaliioa
ced. Medea revenged the infidelity of Jafon, by cau Me(pa.
fing the death of Glance, and the deftru£Hon of her ~~v   
family. She alfo killed two of her children in jffieir
father’s prefence ; and when Jafon attempted to punifh
the barbarity of the mother, fhe fled through the air
upon a chariot drawn by wunged dragons. From Co¬
rinth Medea came to Athens, where, after {he had un¬
dergone the neceffary purification of her murder, Ihe
married King zEgeus, or (according to others) lived
in an adulterous manner with him. From her conduct
with /Egeus, Medea had a fon who was called Medus.
Soon after, when Thefeus wiihed to make himfelf
known to his father, Medea, jealous of his fame and
fearful of his power, attempted to poifon him at a
feafl: which had been prepared for his entertainment.
Her attempts, however, failed of fuccefs, and the fight
of the fword which Thefeus wore by his fide convin¬
ced ALgeus that the ftranger againft whofe life he had
fo bafely confpired was his own fon. The father and
the fon were reconciled j and Medea, to avoid the
puniflunent which her wickednefs deferved, mount¬
ed her fiery chariot and difappeared through the air.
She came to Colchis j where, according to fome, flic
was reconciled to Jafon, who had fought her in her na¬
tive country after her fudden departure from Corinth.
She died at Colchis, as Juftin mentions, when {he had
been reftored to the confidence of her family. After
death ihe married Achilles in the- Elyfian fields, ac¬
cording to the tradition mentioned by Simonides.
The murder of Mermerus and Pheres, the youngeft of
Jafon’s children by Medea, is not to be attributed to
the mother, according to Elian j but to the Corin¬
thians, who affaflinated them in the temple of Juno
Acraea. To avoid the refentment of the gods, and
to deliver themfelves from the peftilence w'hich vifited
their country after fo horrid a maffacre, they engaged
the poet Euripides for five talents to wnite a tragedy,
which cleared them of the murder, and reprefented
Medea as the cruel aflafiin of her own children. And
befides, that this opinion might be the better credit¬
ed, feftivals were appointed, in which the mother was
reprefented with all the barbarity of a fury murdering
her own fons.
MEDEOLA, climbing African asparagus, a
genus of plants belonging to the hexandria clafs, and in
the natural method ranking under the 11th order, Sar-
mentaccce See Botany Index.
MEDIA, now the province of GhilaN in Perfia,
once the feat of a potent empire, was. bounded, ac¬
cording to Ptolemy, on the north by part of the Caf~
pian fea j on the fouth by Perfis, Sufiana, and Affynaj
on the eaft by Parthia and Hyrcania 5 and on the weft
by Armenia Major. It was anciently divided into fe~
veral provinces, viz, Tropatene, Charomithrene, Da-
^ a rites,
M E E [ r!
viteS, Marciar.s, Amariacc, and Syro-Mcdia. By a
— Y-—— Jajer divifion, however, all thefe were reduced to two j
the one called Media Magna, the other Media Atro-
pa!w, or fimply Atropaiene. Media Magna was bound¬
ed by Perils, Parthia, Hyrcania, the Hyrcanisn fea,
and Atropatene, and contained the cities of Ecbatan,
Laodicea, Apamea, Raga, Rageia or Ragea, &tc.
Atrcpatene lay between tire Cafpian mountains and the
Cafpian fea.
This country originally took its name from Midai,
the third fon of Japhet ; as is plain from Scripture,
where the Medes are conftantly called Madai. Among
profane authors, fome derive the name Media, from
one Medus the fon of Jafon and Medea } ethers from
a city called Media. Sextus Rufus tells us that in his
time it was called Med'ena, and from others we learn
that it was alfo called Aria. The molt probable hi-
fiory of the Medes is as follows.
This people lived in fubjedbon to the Affyrians till
the reign of Sennacherib, when they threw off the yoke,
and lived for fome time in a date of anarchy. But at
laft, rapine and violence, the natural confequences of
fuch a fituation, prevailed fo much that they were con-
ffrained to have recourfe to fome kind of government,
that they might be enabled to live in fafety. Accord¬
ingly, about 699 B. C. one Dejoces having procured
himfelf to be cholen king, united the fcattered tribes
into which the Medes were at that time divided ; and
having applied bimfelf as much as poffible to the civi¬
lization of his barbarous fubjedfs, left the throne to
his fon Phraortes, after a reign of 53 years.
The new king, who was of a warlike and enterpri-
fing difpofition, fubdued almoft ail the Upper Alia ly¬
ing between Mount Taurus and the river Halys which
runs through Cappadocia into the Buxine fea. Elated
with this good fuccefs, he invaded Affyria, the empire
of which was now much declined, and greatly weak¬
ened by the revolt of many nations which had follow¬
ed the example of the Medes. Nebuchadonofor or
Chyniladan, however, the reigning prince, having af-
fembled what forces he could, engaged Phraortes, de¬
feated, took him prifoner, and put him to death ; af¬
ter which, entering Media, he laid wade the country,
took the metropolis of Ecbatan itfelf, and levelled it
with the ground.
On the death of Phraortes, his fon Cyaxares was
placed on the throne. He was no lefs valiant and enter-
priling than his father, and had better fuccefs againft
the Affyrians. With the remains of that army which
had been defeated under his father, he not only drove
the conquerors out of Media, but obliged Chvniladan
to ffiut himfelf up in Nineveh. To this place he im¬
mediately laid clofe liege •, but vfas obliged to give over
the enterprife on account of an irruption of the Scy¬
thians into his own country. Cyaxares engaged thefe
mew enemies with great refolution ; but was utterly
defeated •, and the conquerors overran not only all Me¬
dia, but the greateft part of Upper Alia, extending
their conquefts into Syria, and as far as the confines
of Egypt. They continued mailers of all this vaft
5 ] M E D
traft of country for 28 years, till at lafl Media was McJlana
delivered from their yoke by a general mafia ere at the il
inftigation of Cyaxares. Medicinal
After this deliverance, the Medes foon repoffeffed ^,‘ings'-.
themfelves of the territories they had loft ; and once
more extended their frontiers to the river Halys, their
ancient boundary to the wefhvard. After this we find
the Medes engaged in a war with the Lydians j which,
however, ended without any remarkable tranfadlion :
but on the conclufion or it, Cyaxares having entered
into a llncl alliance with Nebuchadnezzar king of Ba¬
bylon, returned in Conjunction with the Babylonians
beiore Ninevei : which they took and levelled with
the ground, putting moll of the inhabitants to the
fword.
After this viRory the Babylonian and Median em¬
pires feem to have been united : however, after the
death of Nebuchadnezzar, or rather in his lifetime,
a war enfued, which was not extinguilhed but by the.
diffolution of the Babylonian empire. The Medes, un¬
der Aftyages the fon of Cyaxares I. withftood the
power ol the Babylonian monarchs : and under Cyrus
and Cyaxares II. utterly dellroyed their empire by the
taking of Babylon, as is related under that article.
After the death of Cyaxares, the kingdom fell to Cy¬
rus, by whom the feat of the empire was transferred to
Persia, under which article the hiftory of Media now
falls to be conlidered, as alfo the manners, &c. of the
inhabitants.
MEDIANA, the name of a vein or little veffel,
made by the union of the cephalic and bafilic, in the
bend of the elbow.
MEDIASTINUM, in Anatomy, a double mem¬
brane, formed by a duplicature of the pleura ; ferving
to divide the thorax and the lungs into two parts, and
to fuftain the vilcera, and prevent their falling from
one fide of the thorax to the other. See Anatomy
N° 117.
MEDIATE, or Intermediate, femething that
Hands betwixt and connects tw-o or more terms confi-
dered as extremes; in which fenfe it Hands oppofed to
immediate.
MEDIATOR, a perfon that manages or tranfafls
between two parties at variance, in order to reconcile
them. The wmrd, in Scripture, is applied, 1. To Jefus
ChriH, who is the only interceffor and peace-maker
between God and man, (1 Tim. ii. 5.) 2. To Mofes,
who interpofed between the Lord and his people, to
declare unto them his word \ (Deut. v, 5. iii. 19.)
MEDIC AGO, Snail-trefoil, a genus of plants
belonging to the diadelphia clafs, and in the natural
method ranking under the 3 2d order, Papilionacecd.
See Botany Index. For the properties and culture
of Lucern, a fpecies of this genus, fee Agriculture,
Index.
MEDICINAL, any thing belonging to medicine.
MhDiciNAL Springs, a general name for any fountain
the waters of which are of ufe for removing certain dis¬
orders. They are commonly either chalybeate or ful-
phureous. See Springs and Water.
MEDICINE,
r 187 ]
MEDICINE.
■jV/TEDiCINE is the art of preventing, caring, or
alleviating, thofe difeafes to which the human
fpecies are fubjected.
History of Medicine.
©rigin of The fabulous hiflory of the ancients derives this art
medicine immediately from their gods 5 and, even among the
Jew”^tlie m0£^erns’ ^ome are opinion that it may juflly be
confrdered as of divine revelation. But without adopt¬
ing any fuppofition of which no probable evidence
can be given, we may conclude that mankind were
naturally led to it from cafual obfervation on the dif¬
eafes to which they found thcmfelves fubje&ed 5 and
that therefore, to a certain degree at leaft, it is as an¬
cient as the human race. But at what period it began
to be pradlifed as an art, by particular individuals fol¬
lowing it as a profeffion, is not known. The moft an¬
cient phyficians we read of were thofe who embalmed the
patriarch Jacob by order of his fon Jofeph. The facred
writer ftyles thefe phylicians fervants to Jofeph :
whence we may be affured that they were not priefls,
as the hrlt phyficians are generally fuppofed to have
been ; for in that age we know the Egyptian priefts
were in fuch high favour, that they retained their li¬
berty, when, through a public calamity, all the reft of
the people w^ere made Haves to the prince.
It is not probable, therefore, that among the Egyp¬
tians religion and medicine were originally conjoined j
and if we fuppofe the Jew's not to have invented the art,
but received it from fome other nation, it is as little
probable that the priefts of that nation were their phy-
' licians as tbofe of Egypt.
That the Jewilh phyficians were abfolutely diftinift
from their priefts, is very certain. Yet as the Jews re-
fided for fuch a long time in Egypt, it is probable
they w'ould retain many of the Egyptian cuftoms,
from which it would be very difficult to free them.
We read, how’ever, that when King Afa was difeafed
in his feet, “ he fought not to the Lord, but to the
phyftcians.” Hence w’e may conclude, that among
the Jews the medical art was looked upon as a mere
human invention ; and it was thought that the Deity
never cured dileafes by making people acquainted
with the virtues of this or that herb, but only by his
miraculous power. That the fame opinion prevailed
among the nations who were neighbours to the Jew's,
is alio probable from what we read of Ahaziah king
of Judah, who having fent meffengers to inquire of Baal-
zebub god of Ekron concerning his difeafe, he did not
defire any remedy from him or his priefts, but fimply to
know whether he ftiould recover or not.
W hat feems molt probable on this fubjecl therefore
is, that religion and medicine came to be mixed toge¬
ther only in confequence of that degeneracy into ig¬
norance and fuperftition which took place among all
nations. . The Egyptians, we know, came at laft to
be funk in the mofl: ridiculous and abfiird fuperftition ;
and then, indeed, it is not wonderr,ul that we Ihould
find their priefts commencing phyficians, and mingling r#rig!r! ^
charms, incantations, &c. with their remedies. That .Med‘cine',
this was the cafe, long after the days of Jofeph, w'e are
very certain ; and indeed it feems as natural for ig¬
norance and barbarifm to combine religion with phv-
fic, as it is for a civilized and enlightened people
to keep them feparate. Hence we fee, that among all
modern barbarians their priefts or conjurors are their
only phyficians. 2
\Ve are fo little acquainted with the ftate of phyfic Among the
among the Egyptians, that it is needlefs to fay much Egyptians*1
concerning them. They attributed the invention of
medicine, as they did allb that of many other arts, to
Thoth, the Hermes or Mercury of the Greeks. He
is faid to have written many things in hieroglyphic
characters upon certain pillars, in order to perpetuate
his knowledge, and render it ufeful to others. Thefe
were tranferibed by Agathodemon, or the fecond Mer¬
cury, the father of Tat, who is faid to have compofed
books of them, that wmre kept in the moft facred places
of the Egyptian temples. The exiftence of fuch a
perfon, however, is very doubtful, and many of the
books afciibed to him were accounted forgeries as long
ago as the days of Galen 5 there is alfo great reafon to
fufpedl that thofe books were written many ages after
Hermes, and wffien phyfic had made confiderable ad¬
vances. Many of the books attributed to him are tri¬
fling and ridiculous *, and though fometimes he is allow¬
ed to have all the honour of ‘nventing the art, he is on
other occafions obliged to Ihare it with Ofiris, Ifis, and
Apis or Serapis.
After all, the Egyptian phyfic appears to have been
little elle than a collection of abfurd fuperftitions. Ori-
gen informs us, that they believed there were 36 de¬
mons, or gods of the air, who divided the human body
among them *, that they had names for each of them ;
and that by invoking them according to the part affect- ,
ed, the patient ms cured. Of natural medicines we
hear none recommended by the father of Egyptian phy¬
fic ; except the herb moly, which he gave to Ulyffes in
order to fecure him from the enchantments of Circe ;
and the herb mercury, of which he firft difeovered the
ufe. His fucceffors made ufe of venefection, cathartics,
emetics, and clyfters. There is ns proof, however, that
this practice was eflabliffied by Hermes-; on the con¬
trary, the Egyptians themfelves pretended that the
firft hint of thofe remedies w’as taken from fome ob-
fervaiions on brute animals. Venefection was taught
them by the hippopotamus, which is Lid to perform
this operation upon itfelf. On certain occafions, he
comes out of the river, and ftrikes his leg againft a
fharp-pqinted reed. As he takes care to direct the
ftroke againft a vein, the confequence muft be a con¬
fiderable effufion of blood ; and this being fuffered to
run as long as the creature thinks proper, lie at iaft
flops up the orifice with mud. The hint of clyfters
was taken from, the Ibis, a bird which is faid to give
itfelf clyfters wdth its bill, Sec. They ufed venefection,
however, but very little, probably on account of the
A a 2 warmth
i8S M E D I
Origin of warmtli of the climate \ and the exhibition of the re-
Medicine. above mentioned, joined with abftinence, formed
^ ~ the moft of their practice.
Among the The Greeks too had feveral perfons to whom they
Greeks. attributed the invention of phyiic, particularly Pro¬
metheus, Apollo or Paean, and iEfculapius j which
iaft was the moll celebrated of any. But here we mull
obferve, that as the Greeks were a very warlike people,
their phyiic feevns to have been little elfe than what
is now called furgery, or the cure of wounds, frac¬
tures, &c. Hence iEfculapius, and his pupils Chi¬
ron, Machaon, and Podalirius, are celebrated by Ho¬
mer only for their fkill in curing thefe, without any
mention of their attempting the cures of internal dil-
eafes. We are not, however, to fuppofe that they
confined themfelves entirely to furgery. They no
doubt would occafionally prefcribe for internal difor-
ders ; but as they were moll frequently converfant with
wounds, we may naturally fuppofe the greatell part of
their fkill to have confilled in knowing how to cure
thefe. If we may believe the poets, indeed, the know¬
ledge of medicine feems to have been very generally
diffufed. Almoft all the heroes of antiquity are re¬
ported to have been phyflcians as well as warriors.
Moft of them were taught phyfic by the centaur Chi¬
ron. From him Hercules received inftrudiions in the
medicinal art, in which he is find to have been no leis
expert than in feats of arms. Several plants were call¬
ed by his name ; from which fome think it probable
that he found out their virtues, though others are of
opinion that they bore the name of this renowned hero
on account of their great efficacy in removing difeafes.
Arifireus king of Arcadia rvas alfo one of Chiron s
fcholars 5 and is fuppofed to have difcovcred the ufe of
the drug called Jilphiutny by fome thought to be afa-
foetida. Thefeus, Telaman, Jafon, Peleus, and his foil
Achilles, were all renowned for their knowledge in the
art of phyfic. The laft is faid to have difcovered the
ufe of verdegrife in cleanfing foul ulcers. All of them,
however, feem to have been inferior in knowledge to
Palamedes, who hindered the plague from coming into
the Grecian camp after it had ravaged moft of the cities
of the Hellefpont, and even Troy itfelf. His method was
to confine his foldiers to a fpare diet, and to oolige them
to ufe much exercife.
The pradlice of thefe ancient Greek phyficians, not-
withftanding the praifes bellowed on them by their
poets, feems to have been very limited, and in lome cafes
even pernicious. All the external remedies applied
to Homer’s wounded heroes were fomentations; while
inwardly their phyficians gave them wine, fometimes
mingled with cheefe feraped down. A great deal of
their phyfic alfo confifted in charms, incantations, amu¬
lets, &c. of which, as they are common to all fuperfti-
mous and ignorant nations, it is fuperfluous to take
any farther notice.
In this way the art of medicine continued among
the Greeks for many ages. As its firft profeffors knew
nothing of the animal economy, and as little of the
theory of difeafes, it is plain, that whatever they did
mufl have been in confequence of mere random trials,
©r empiricifm, in the ftridl and proper fenfe of the
word. Indeed, it is evidently impolfible that this or
almoft any other art could originate from another
fource than trials of this kind. Accordingly, we find,
Hippo¬
crates.
CINE. Hiftory.
that fome ancient nations were accuftomed to expofe
their fick in temples, and by the fides of highways, 
that they might receive the advice ot every one who ^
pa fled. Among the Greeks, however, Atfculapius ^fcuia.
was reckoned the moft eminent pradliuoner of his time,pius.
and his name continued to be revered after his death.
He was ranked amongll the gods; and the principal
knowledge of the medical art remained with his fa¬
mily to the time of Hippocrates, who reckoned himfelf
the feventeenth in a lineal defeent from iEfculapius,
and who was truly the firft who treated of medicine in
a regular and rational manner. 5
Hippocrates, who is fuppofed te have lived 40oHjppo-
years before the birth of Chrift, is the moft ancientrrates* •
author whole writings exprefsly on the fubjedl of the
medical art are preferred; and he is therefore juft ly
confidered as the father of phyfic. All the accounts
which w'e have prior to this time, if not evidently fa¬
bulous, are at the utmoft highly conjedlural. Even
the medical know-ledge- of Pythagoras, fo much cele¬
brated as a philofopher, can hardly be confidered as
refting on any other foundation. But from the time
of Hippocrates, medicine, feparated from philofophy
and religion, feems to have aflumed the form of a ici-
ence, and to have been pradlifed as a profefticn. It
may not, therefore, be improper to give a particular
account of the ftate of medical fcience as tranfinit-
ted to us in his writings. The writings of Hippo¬
crates, however, it may be remarked, are even more
than preferved. Many things have been reprefented as
written by Hippocrates which are probably fpurious.
Nor is it wonderful that attempts ftiould have been g
made to increafe the value of manuferipts, by attribut- His writ¬
ing them to a name of fuch eminence. But although Eg5*
what are tranfmitted to us under the title of his works
may have been written by different hands, yet the pre-
fumption is, that moft, if not all of them, are of nearly
as early a date, and contain the prevailing opinions of
thofe times.
According to the moft authentic accounts, Hippo¬
crates was a native of the ifland of Cos, and born in
the beginning of the 88th Olympiad. In the writings
tranfmitted to us as his, we find a general principle
adopted, to which he gives the name of Nature. To
this principle he aferibes a mighty power. “ Nature
(fays he) is of itfelf fufficient to every animal. She
performs every thing that is necefiary to them, with¬
out needing the leaft inftrudlion from any one how to
do it.” Upon this footing, as if Nature had been a
principle endowed with knowledge, he gives her the
title of jujl; and aferibes virtues or powders to her,
which are her fervants, and by means of w'hich ftie
performs all her operations in the bodies ©f animals :
and diftributes the blood, fpirits, and heat, through
all parts of the body, which by thele means receive life
and fenfation. And in other places he tells us, that it
is this faculty which gives nourifhment, prefervation,
and growth, to all things. 7
The manner in w’hich nature adls, or commands her His idea
fubfervient power to adl, is by attradling what is of nature,
good and agreeable to each fpecies, and by retaining,
preparing, and changing it j and on the other fide in
rejedling whatever is fuperfluous or hurtful, after flie has
feparated it from the good. This is the foundation of
the dodlrhie of depuration, concoction, and crifis in
fevers.
cafe.
His divi-
ilons of
difeafes.
Hiftory. M E D I
Hippo- fevers, fo mach lafifted upon by Hippocrates and many
crates, otner pbyilcians. He fuppofes alfo, that every thing
n -v }las an inclination to be joined to what agrees with it,
and to remove from every thing contrary to it j and
likewife that there is an affinity between the feveral
parts of the body, by which they mutually fympp-
thize with each other. When he comes to explain
what this principle called nature is, he is obliged to
* refolve it into heat, which, he fays, appears to have
8 fomething immortal in it. _ r r rr
nfthe cmi- As far as he attempts to explain the caufes or 011-
fes of dii- cafe, he refers much to the humours of the body, par¬
ticularly to the blood and the bile. He treats alfo of
the effe61s of deep, watchings, exercife, and reft, and
all the benefit or mifchief we may receive from them.
Of all the caufes of difeafes, however, mentioned by
Hippocrates, the molt general are diet and air. On
the fubjea of diet he has compofed feveral books, and
in the choice of this he was exaftly caretul j and the
more fo, as his praftice turned almoft wholly upon it.
He alfo confidered the air very much j he examined
what winds blew ordinarily or extraordinarily he con¬
fidered the irregularity of the feafons, the rifing. and
fetting of ftars, or the time of certain conftellations 5
alfo the time of the folftices, and of the equinoxes;
thofe days, in his opinion, producing great alterations
in certain diftempers.
He does not, however, pretend to explain how,
from thefe caufes, that variety of diftempers anfes
which is daily to be obferved. All that can be ga¬
thered from him with regard to this is, that the different
caufes above mentioned, when applied to the diifeient
parts of the body, produce a great variety of diftem¬
pers. Some of thefe diftempers he accounted mortal,
others dangerous, and the reft eafily curaule, according
to the caufe from whence they fpring, and the parts
on which they fall. In feveral places abo he diftin-
guilhes difeafes, from the time of their duration into
acute cr Jhort, and chronical or long. He likewife di-
ftinguifties difeafes by the particular places where they
prevail, whether ordinary or extraordinary. I he firft,
that is, thofe that are frequent and familiar to certain
places, he called endemic difeafes \ and the latter,
which ravaged extraordinarily fometimes in one place,
ibmetimes in another, which feized great numbeis at
certain times, he called epidemic, that is, popular dif¬
eafes ; and of this kind the moft terrible is the plague.
He likewife mentions a third kind, the oppofite of
the former \ and theie he calls fporadic, or ftraggling
difeafes : thefe laft include all the different forts ot dff-
tempers which invade at any one feafon, which are
fometirnes of one fort, and fometimes of another. He
diftinguiftied between thofe difeafes which are heredi¬
tary, or born with us, and thofe which are conti-afted
afterwards 5 ,and likewife between thofe of a kindly and
thofe of a malignant nature, the former of which are
eafily and frequently cured, but the latter give t e
phyficians a great deal of trouble, and are feldom over¬
come by all their care.
Hippocrates remarked four ftagcs in diftempers \
viz. the beginning of the diieafe, its augmentation, its
ftale or height, and its declination. In iuch difeafes
as terminate fatally, death comes in place of tne decli¬
nation. In the third ftagc, therefore, the change is
moft confide ruble, as it determitiss the fbt£ of the
CINE.
perfon ; and this is moft commonly done by means of a
crijis. By thisword he underftood any hidden change
in ficknefs, whether for the better or for the worfe,
whether health or death fucceed immediately. Such a
change, he fays, is made at that time by nature, either
abfolving or condemning the patient. Hence we may
conclude, that Hippocrates imagined diieafes to be on¬
ly a difturbance of the animal economy, witn which
Nature wras perpetually at variance, and ufing her ift-
moft endeavours to expel the offending caufe. Her
manner of a£ling on thefe occafions is to reduce 10 their
natural ftate thofe humours whole difcord occafions tne
difturbance of the whole body, whether in relation to
their quantity, quality, mixture, motion, or any other
way in which they become offenfive. The principal
means employed by nature for this end is what Hippo- ro
crates calls concoclion. By this he underftood the His cpinioa
bringing the morbific matter lodged in the humours to ef a .i.i-i
luch a ftate, as to be eafily fitted for expulsion by what¬
ever means nature might think moft proper. When
matters are brought to this pafs, whatever is fuperfiu-
ous or hurtful immediately empties itfelf, or nature
points out to phyficians the way by which fuch an eva¬
cuation is to be accompliihed. Ihe crifis takes place
either by bleeding, ftool, vomit, fweat, urine, tumors or
abfceffes, fcabs, pimples, fpots, &c. But thefe evacua¬
tions are not to be looked upon as the effedls of a true
crifis, unlefs they are in confiderable quantity j fmali
difcharges not being fufficient to make a crifis. On
the contrary, fmall difcharges are a fign that natuie is
depreffed by the load of humours, and that Ihe lets them
go through weaknefs and continual irritation. What
comes forth in this manner is crude, became the dift
temper is yet too ftrong } and while matters remain in
this ftate, nothing but a bad or imperfedt crifis is to be
expe&ed. This (hows that the diftemper triumphs, or
at leaf! is equal in ftrength to nature, which prognofti-
cates death, or a prolongation of the difeafe. In this
laft cafe, however, nature otten has an opportunity
of attempting a new crifis more happy than the for¬
mer, after having made frefh efforts to advance the
concodlion of the humours.— It nauft here be obferved,
however, that, according to Hippocrates, concodtion
cannot be made but in a certain time, as every fruit
has a limited time to ripen \ for he compares the
humours which natuie has digefted to fruits come to*
maturity.
The time required for concodlion depends on the ,,
differences among diftempers mentioned above. In
thofe which Hippocrates calls very acute, the digeftion
or crifis happens by the fourth day} in thofe which
are only acute, it happens on the 7LE Jtth, or
14th day j which laft is the longed period generally
allowed by Hippocrates in diftempers that are truly
acute : though in fome places he ftretches it to the
20th or 21 ft, nay, fometimes to the 40th or 60th day.
All difeafes that exceed this laft term are called chroni¬
cal. And while in thofe difeafes that exceed 14 days,;
he confiders every fourth day as critical, or at lead; re¬
markable, by which we may judge whether the crifis
on the following fourth day will be favourable or not;
fo in thofe which run from 20 to 40 he reckons only
the fevenths, and in thofe that exceed 40.be begins to-
reckon by 20. Beyond the 123th be thinks that the
nyrcib?r of days has no power over the crifis. They
M E D I
are tnen referred to the general changes of the feafons;
lome terminating about the equinoxes ; others about
the iolilices j others about the rifing or fetting of the
ua,s or certain conftellations j or if numbers have yet
any place, he reckons by months, or even whole years.
1 bus (lie lays), certain difeafes in children have their
crills in the feventh month after their birth, and others
m their feventh or even their 14th year.
I. hough Hippocrates mentions the 21ft as one of the
critical days in acute didempers, as already noticed
>et, in other places of his works, he mentions alfo the
20th. 1 ne reafon he gives for this in one of thofe
places of his work is, that the days of ficknefs were not
quite entire. In general, however, he is much attach-
e^.; to tne odd days: infomuch that in one of his apho-
in’ms he tells us, “ 1 he fweats that come out upon the
3d, 5th, 7th, gth, nth, 14th, 17th, 21ft, 27th, 3id,
!jr 34-'1 days, are beneacial 5 but thole that come out
upon other days fignify that the fick drall be brought
low, that his difeafe diall be very tedious, and that he
iiiad be fubjedf to relapfes.” He further fays, “ That
the fever which leaves the dek upon any but an odd
day is ufually apt to relapfe.” Sometimes, however,
‘e comedes that it ss otherwife 5 and he gives an in¬
dance of a falutary cribs happening on the bxth day.
But thefe are very rare indances, and therefore cannot,
m his opinion, overthrow the general rule.
Befides the ends, however, or the change which de¬
termines the fate of the patient, Hippocrates often
ipeaks of another, which only changes the fpecies of
the didemper, without reboring the patient to health j
as when a vertigo is turned to an epilepfy, a tertian
fever to a quartan, or to a continued, &c.
But what has chiedy contributed to procure the
S-rg- FT re/pea generally paid to Hippocrates, is his in-
j-rU7 111 °bfemng lbe moft minute circumdances of
difeaies, and his exadlnefs in nicely defcriblng every
thing that happened before, and every accident that
appeared at the fame time with them ; and likewife
what appeared to give eafe, and what to increafe the
malady : which is what we call writing the hi/lory of a
dfe-nfe.—Thus he not only didinguilhed one difeafe
frem another by the dgns which properly belonged to
each j but by comparing the fame fort of didemper
which happened to feveral perfons, and the accidents
wmich ufually appeared before and after, he could
often foretel a difeafe before it began, and afterwards
give a right judgement of the event of it. By this
way. of prognodicating, he came to be exceedingly
admired : and this, he carried to fuch a height, that
it may judly be faid to be his mader-piece ; and Cel-
lus who lived after him, remarks, that fucceeding
phyficians, though they found out feveral new thingl
relating to the. management of difeafes, yet were obli¬
ged to the writings of Hippocrates for all that they
■Knew of dgns. J
The firft thing Hippocrates conddered, when called
t:o a patient, was. his looks.—It was a good fiyn with
mm to nave a vifage refembling that of a perfon in
health, and the fame with what the dek man had be¬
fore be was attacked by the difeafe. As it varied
10m this fo much, the greater danger was appre-
hended. Ine following is the defection which he
gives of the looks of a dying man.—« When a pa¬
rent (fays he) has Ids nofe lharp, his eyes funk, his
3
11
His accura¬
cy in pn
jipftics;
'F rom the
look:
C 1 N E. Hifloiy.
temples hollow, his ears cold and contrafted, the {kin Rippo-
o[ his forehead tenfe and dry, and the colour of his crates.
face tending to a pale-green, or lead colour, one may v
pronounce for certain that death is very near at hand j
unlefs the ftrength of the patient has been exhauded
all. at once by long watchings, or by a looienefs, or
being a long time without eating.” This obferva-
tion has been confirmed by fucceeding phyficians,
who have, from him, denominated it the Hippocratic
face. The lips hanging relaxed and cold, are like¬
wife looked upon by Hippocrates as a confirmation of
the foregoing prognodic. He took alfo his figns
from the difpodtion of the eyes in particular. When
a patient cannot bear the light 5 when he fheds tears,
involuntarily ; when, in deeping, fome part of the
white of the eye is feen, unlefs he ufually deeps after
that manner, or has a loofenefs upon him : thefe dgns,
as well as the foregoing ones, prognodicate danger!
The eyes deadened, as it were with a mid fpread oveif
them, or tneir brightnefs loll, likewife prefages death,
or great weaknefs. The eyes fparkllng, fierce, and
fixed, denote the patient to be delirious, or that he
foon will be feized with a frenzy. When the patient
fees any tiling red, and like fparks of fire and lightning
pafs before his eyes, you may expedl an haemorrhagy ;
and this often happens before thofe crifes which are to
be attended by a lofs of blood.
The condition of the patient, is alfo diown by his From die
pofline in bed. If you find him lying on one fide P°fiure in
his. body, neck, legs, and arms, a little contra£ted, bed ’
which is the podure of a man in health, it is a good
%n : on the contrary, if he lies on his back, his arms
dretched out, and his legs hanging down, it is a fign
of great weaknefs ; and particularly when the patient
fiides or lets himielt fall down towards the feet^ it de-
notes the approach of death. W7hen a patient in a
burning fever is continually feeling about with Ills’
' hands and fingers, and moves them up before his face
and eyes as if he was going to take away fomethino-
that paffed before them ; or on his bed-coverino-, as if
he was picking or fearching for little draws, or Bakina
away .fome filth, cr drawing out little docks of wool •
ad this is a lign that he is delirious, and that he will
die. ^ Am on gd the other figns of a prefent or ap¬
proaching delirium he alfo adds this: When a patient
who naturally fpeaks little begins to talk more than
he ufed to do, or when one that talks much becomes
filent, this change is to be reckoned a fort of delirium
or is a fgn that the patient will foon fall into one!
The frequent trembling or darting of the tendons of
the vend, prefage likewife a delirium. As to the differ¬
ent forts of delirium, Hippocrates is much more afraid
of thofe that run upon mournful fubjedls, than fuch as
are accompanied with mirth.
When a patient breathes fad, and is opprelfed, it is From re-
a.dgn that he is in pain, and that the parts above the Ration;
diaphragm .are inflamed. Breathing long, or when
the patient is.a.great while in taking"his breath, (hows
him to be delirious ; but eafy and natural refpiration is
always a good dgn In acute difeafes. Hippocrates de¬
pended much on refpiration in making his prognodics 7
and therefore has taken care in feveral places to\lefcribe
the different manner of a patient’s breathirm. Contf-
tinual watchings in acute difeafes^ are figniTof prefent
pain, or a delirium near at hand.
Hippocrates.
Hiflory.
Urine.
MED!
Hippo- Hippocrates alfo drew figns from all excrements,
crates‘ -whatever they are, that are feparated from the body
Fro^ex" maI1, H10^ remarkable progr.oftics, however,
crementiti- 'vere from the urine. The patient’s urine, in his opi-
ousdilchar-nion, is beft when the fediment is white, foft to the
ges> touch, and of an equal conhftence. If it continue fo
during the courfe of the diilemper, and till the time of
the crifis, the patient is in no danger, and will foon be
well. This is what Hippocrates called concocled urine,
or what denotes the concodtion of the humours; and
he obferved, that this concoction of the urine feldom
appeared thoroughly, but on the days of the crilis
which happily, put an end to the diftemper. 41 We
-ought (faid Hippocrates) to compare the urine with
the purulent matter which runs from ulcers. *As the
pus, which is white, and of the fame quality with the
fediment of the urine we are jw fpeaking of, is a
fign that the ulcer is on the point of cloiing-, io that
which is clear, and of another colour than white,
and of an ill fmell, is a fign that the ulcer is virulent,
and in the fame manner difficult to be cured : the
urines that are like this we have deferibed are only
thofe which may be named good ; all the reft are
ill, and differ from one another only in the degrees of
more and lefs. The firft never appear but when na¬
ture has overcome the difeafe ; and are a fign of the
concoclion of humours, without which you cannot hope
for a certain cure. On tbe contrary, the laft are made
as long as the crudity remains, and the humours con¬
tinue unconcodled. Among the urines of this laft
fort, the beft are reddifh, with a fediment that is foft
and of an equal confiftence ; which denotes, that tbe
difeafe will be fomewhat tedious, but without danger.
The worft are thofe which are very red, and at the
fame time clear and without fediment ; or that are
muddy and troubled in the making. In urine there is
often a fort of cloud hanging in the veffel in which it
is received *, the higher this rifes, or the farther diftant
it is from the bottom, or the more different from the
colour of the laudable fediment abovementioned, the
more there is of crudity. That which is yellow, or of
a fandy colour, denotes abundance of bile 5 that which
is black is the worft, efpecially if it has an ill fmell,
and is either altogether muddy or altogether clear.
That whofe fediment is like large ground wheat, or
little flakes or fcales fpread one upon another, or bran,
prefages ill, efpecially the laft. The fat or oil that
fometimes fwims upon the top of the urine, and ap¬
pears in a form fomething like a fpider’s web, is a fign
of a confumption of the flefh and folid parts. The ma¬
king of a great quantity of urine is the fign of a cri-
fis, and fometimes the quality of it (hows how the blad¬
der is affedled. We muft alfo obferve, that Hippo¬
crates compared the ftate of the tongue with the urine j
that is to fay, when the tongue was yellow, and char¬
ged with bile, the urine he knew muft of courfe be
of the fame colour j and when the tongue was red
and moift, the urine was of its natural colour.
Among his prognoftics from the excretions by ftool
are the following. Thofe that are foft, yellowilh, of
fome confiftence, and not of an extraordinary ill fmell,
that anfwer to the quantity of what is taken inwardly,
and that are voided at the ufual hours, are the beft of
all. They ouirht alfo to be of a thicker confiftence
when the diftemper is near the crifis j and it ought to
Ip!
Hippo¬
crates.
Faeces.
C J N E.
V
be taken for a good prognoftic, wnen fome worms, par¬
ticularly tbe round and long, are evacuated at the fame ,
time with them. The prognofis, however, may ftill be v
favourable, though the matter excreted be thin and
liquid, provided it make not too much noife in coming
out, and the evacuation be not in a fmall quantity nor
too often 5 nor in fo great abundance, nor lb often, as
to make the patient faint. All matter that is watery,
vvlute, of a pale green or red colour, or frothy and
vifeous, is bad. That which is blackifli, or of a livid
hue, is the meft pernicious. That which is pure black,
and nothing elfe out a difeharge of black bile, always
prognofticates very ill j this humour, from What part
foever it comes, fhowing the ill difpofition of the intef-
tmes. The matter that is of fcveral different colours,
denotes the length of the diftemper; and, at the fame
time, that it may be of dangerous confequence. Hip¬
pocrates places in the,fame clafs the matter that is bilious
or yellow, and mixed with blood, or green and black,
or like the dregs or ferapings of the guts. The ftools
that confift of pure bile, or entirely of phlegm, he alfo
looks upon to be very bad.
_ Matter ejected by vomiting ought to be mixed with
bile and phlegm ; where one of tbefe humours only is
obferved, it is worfe. lhat winch is black, livid, green,
or of the colour of a leek, indicates alarming confequen-
ces. The fame is to be faid of that which fmells very
ill ; and if at the fame time it be livid, death is not far
oft. The vomiting of blood is very often a mortal fymp-
tom.
I he fpitiings which give cafe in difeafes of the lungsExpeclo-
and in p leu rifle 9, are thofe that come up readily and ration,
without, difficulty ; and it is good if they be mixed at
tbe beginning with much yellow : but if they appear off
the fame colour, or are red, a great while after the be¬
ginning of the diftemper, if they are fait and acrimonious,
and caufe violent coughings, they are not good. Spittings
purely yellow are bad ; and thofe that are white,
vifeous, and frothy, give no eafe. Whitenefs is a good
fign of concotftion in regard to fpittings; but they
ought not at all to be vifeous, nor too thick, nor too
clear. We may make the fame judgment of the ex¬
crements or the nofe according to their conco&ion and
crudity. Spittings that are brack, green, and red, are
of very had confequence. In inflammations of the-
lungs, thofe that are mixed w ith bile and blood prefage
well if they appear at the beginning, but are bad If.
they , arife not about the feventh day. But the worft
fign in theffi diftempers is, when there is no expeftora-
t:cn at all, and the too great quantity of matter that is
ready to be difeharged this way makes a rattling in the
breaft. After {pitting of blood, the difeharge of pu¬
rulent matter often follows, which brings on a confump-
tion, and at laft death.
A kind good fweat is that which arifes on the day Swea.u
or the crifis, and is difeharged in abundance all over
the body, and at the fame time from all parts of the
body, and thus carries off the fever : A cold fvveat is
alarming, eipecially in acute fevers, for in others it is
only a fign of long continuance. When the patient
fweats no where but on the head and neck it is a
fign that tbe difeafe will be long and dangerous.
A gentle fweat in fome particular part, of the head
and breaft, for inftance, gives no relief, but denotes
the.feat of the diftemper, or the weaknefs of the part.
This
It) 2
Erora the
puife.
M E D I
This kind of fweat was called by Hippocrates ephidro-
Jis.
The hypochondria, or the abdomen in general,
ought always to be foft and even, as well on the right
fide as on the left. When there is any hardnefs or un-
evennefs in thoie parts, or heat and fwellings, or when
the patient cannot endure to have it touched, it is a
fign the inteftines are indifpofed.
Hippocrates alfo inquired into the ftate of the pulfe,
or the beating of the arteries. The moft ancient phy-
ficians, however, and even Hippocrates himfelf, for a
long time, by this word underlfood the violent pulia¬
tion that is felt in an inflamed part, without putting
the fingers to it. It is obferved by Galen, and other
phyficians, that Hippocrates touches on the fubjefl of
the pulfe more (lightly than any other on which he
treats. But that our celebrated phyfician underftood
fomething even on this fubjeft, is eafily gathered from
feveral paffages in his writings j as when he obferves,
that in acute fevers the pulfe is very quick and very
great; and when he makes mention, in the fame place,
of trembling pulfes, and thofe lhat beat flowly. He
likewife obferves, that in fome difeafes incident to wo¬
men, when the pulfe ftrikes the finger faintly, and in a
languilhing manner, it is a fign of approaching death.
He remarks alfo, in the Coacce Pramotiones, that he
whole vein, that is to fay, whofe artery of the elbow,
beats, is juft going to run mad, or elfe that the perfon
is at that time very much under the influence of anger.
From this account of Hippocrates, it will appear,
that he was not near fo much taken up with reafoning
on the phenomena of difeafes, as with reporting them.
He was content to obferve thefe phenomena accurately,
to difiinguifh difeafes by them, and judged of the event
by comparing them exadlly together. For his (kill in
prognoftics he was indeed very remarkable, as we have
already mentioned, infomuch that he and his pupils
were looked upon by the vulgar as prophets. What
adds very much to his reputation is, that he lived in an
age when phyfic was altogether buried in fuperftition,
and yet he did not fuflfer himfelf to be carried away by
it; on the contrary, on many occafions, he expreffes
his abhorrence of it.
Having thus feen in what Hippocrates makes the
difference between health and iicknefs to confift, and
likewife the moft remarkable figns from whence he
drew his prognoftics, we muft now confider the means
ra he prefcribed for the prefervation of health, and the
His maxims cure cf difeafes. One of his principal maxims was
That, to preferve health, we ought not to over-
of health, charge ourfelves with too much eating, nor negleft
the ufe of exercife and labour. In the next place, That
we ought by no means to accuftom ourfelves to too
nice and exa6I a method of living; becaufe thofe who
have once begun to a£t by this rule, if they vary in the
leaft from it, find themfelves very ill; which does not
happen to thofe who take a little more liberty, and
live fomewhat more irregularly. Notwithftanding this
he does not negleft to inquire diligently into the articles
which thofe who were in health ufed for food in his
time. Here we cannot help taking notice of the pro¬
digious difparity between the delicacy of the people in
our days and in thofe of Hippocrates: for he takes great
pains to tell the difference between the flclh of a dog.
Hippo¬
crates.
Diet.
CINE. Hiftory.
a fox, a horfe, and an ais j which he woind_not have
done if at that time they had not been uieti for viftuals, t
at leaft by the common people. Befides thefe, how¬
ever, Hippocrates fpeaks of all other kinds of provifion
that are now' in ufe j for example, falads, milk, whey,
cheeie, flefh as well of birds as of four-footed beatls^
frefli and fait fifli, eggs, all kinds of pulfe, and the dif¬
ferent kinds of grain we feed on, as well as the different
forts of bread that are made of it. He alfo fpeaks very
often of a fort of liquid food, or broth, made of barley-
meal, or fome other grain, which they fteeped for fome
time, and then boiled in water. With regard to drink,
be takes a great deal of pains to diitinguifh the good
waters from the bad. The belt, in his opinion, ought
to be clear, light, without fmell or tafte, and taken out
of the fountains that turn towards the eaft. Ihe fait
waters, thofe that he evils hard, and thofe that rife out
of fenny ground, are the w'orft of all} he condemns alfo
thofe that come from melted fnow. But though Hip¬
pocrates makes all thofe diftinhtions, he adviies thole
who are in health to drink of the firft water that comes
in their way. He fpeaks alfo of alum waters, and thole
that are hot •, but does not enlarge upon their qualities*
He advifes to mix wine with an equal quantity of water:
and this (he fays) is the juft proportion ; by uiing
which the wine will expel w'hat is hurtful to the body,
and the water will ferve to temper the acrimony of the
humours.
For thofe that are in health, and likewife for fuch Exercife.
as are lick, Hippocrates advifes exerciie. The books,
however, which treat on this fubje£l, M. Le Clerc
conjectures to have been written by Herodicus, who
firft introduced gymnaftic exercife into medicine, and
who is laid by Hippocrates himfelf to have killed leve-
ral people by forcing them to walk while they were af-
flidted with fevers and other imflammatory diforders.
The advices given in them confift chiefly in dire&ions
for the times in which we ought to walk, and the con¬
dition we ought to be in before it} when we ought to
walk flowly, and when to run, &c. ; and all this with
defign to bring the body down, or diffipate the hu¬
mours. Wreftling, although a violent exercife, is
numbered with the refl. In the fame place alfo
mention is made of a play of the hands and fingers,
which was thought good for health, and called chi~
ronomie ; and of another diverfion which was perform¬
ed round a fort of ball hung up, which they called.
con/cus, and which they (truck forward with both their
hands.
With regard to thofe things which ought to be fe- Excretions,
parated from, or retained in the human body, Hippocra¬
tes obferves, that people ought to take great care not
to load themfelves with excrements, or keep them in
too long 5 and befides the exercife above-mentioned,
which carries off one part of them, and which he pre-
fcribes chiefly on this account, he advifes people to
excite and roufe up nature when (lie flagged, and did
not endeavour to expel the reft, or take care of the im¬
pediments by which (lie was refilled. For this reafon
he prefcribed meats proper for loofening the belly ; and
when thefe were not fufficient, he direded the uie of
clyfters and fuppofitones. For thin and emaciated
perfons he direded clyfters compoled only of milk and
oily unduous fubilances, which they mixed with a de-
codion
2
Hiftory.
MED!
co&ion of cliick-peafe ; but for fuch as were plethoric,
they only made ufe of fait or fea-water.
As a prefervative againft diftempers, Hippocrates
alfo advifed the ufe of vomits, which he directed to be
taken once or twice a month during the time of winter
and fpring. The moft limple of thefe were made of a
deco&icn of hyflbp, with an addition of a little vine¬
gar and fait. He made thofe that were of a ftrong and
vigorous conflitvtion take^this liquor in a morning fad¬
ing j but fuch as were thin and weakly took it after
flipper.—Venery, in his opinion, is wholefome, pro¬
vided people confult their flrength, and do not pur-
fue it to excefs j which he finds fault with on all occa-
fions, and would have excefs avoided alfo in relation to
ileep and watching. In his writings are likewife to
be found feveral remarks concerning good and bad air j
and he makes it appear that the good or bad difpofi-
tion of this element does not depend folely on the dif¬
ference of the climate, but on the filuation of every
place in particular. He fpeaks alfo of tbe good and
bad effects of the paflions, and recommends moderation
in regard to them.
From what we have already related concerning the
opinions of Hippocrates, it may naturally be concluded,
that for the moft part he would be contented with obferv-
ing what the ftrength of nature is able to accompliftr
without being aflifted by the phyfician. That this was
really the cafe, may be eafily perceived from a perufal
of his books entitled, “ Of epidemical diftempers
which are, as it were, journals of the praflice of Hippo¬
crates : for there we find him often doing nothing more
than defcribing the fymptoms of a diftemper, and in¬
forming us what has happened to the patient day after
day, even to his death or recovery, v ithout fpeaking a
word of any kind of remedy. Sometimes, however, he
did indeed make ufe of remedies j but thefe were ex¬
ceedingly fimple and few, in comparifon of what have
been given by fucceeding practitioners. Thefe remedies
v,e {hall prefently confider, after we have given an
abridgement of the principal maxims on which his prac-
13 tice was founded.
His maxims Hippocrates afferted in the firft place, That contra¬
ries, or oppofites, are the remedies for each other; and
this maxim he explains by an aphorifm j in w hich he
fays, that evacuations cure thofe diftempers w'hich come
from repletion, and repletion thofe that are caufed by
evacuation. So heat is deftroyed by cold, and cold by
heat, &c. In the fecond place, he aflerted that phyfic
is an addition of wjhat is wanting, and a fubtradfion or
retrenchment of what is fuperfluous : an axiom which is
thus explained, that there are fome juices or humours,
which in particular cafes ought to be evacuated, or
driven out of the body, or dried up ; and fome others
W'hich ought to be reftored to the body, or caufed to be
produced there again. As to the method to be taken
for this addition or retrenchment, he gives this general
caution, That you ought to be careful how you fill up,
or evacuate, all at once, or too quickly, or too much ;
and that it is equally dangerous to beat or cool again on
a fudden ; or rather, you ought not to do it : every
thing that runs to an excefs being an enemy to nature.
In the fourth place, Hippocrates allowed that we ought
iometimes to dilate, and fometimes to lock up : to dilate,
or open the paflages by which the humours are voided
naturally, when they are not fufficlentlv opened, or when
VOL. XIII. Part I.
for the
cure of dif-
siiles.
C I N E.
they are clofed ; and, on the contrary, to lock up or
ftraiten the pafiages that are relaxed, w hen the juices that
pafs there ought not to pafs, or when they pafs in too
great quantity. He adds, that we ought fometimes to
fmooth, and fometimes to make rough ; fometimes to
harden, and fometimes to foften again, fometimes to make
more fine or fupple ; fometimes to thicken ; fometimes
to roufe up, and at other times to ftupify or take away
the fenfej all in relation to the folid parts of the body,
or to the humours. He gives alfo this farther leffon.
That we ought to have regard to the courle the humours
take, from whence they come, and whither they go j
and in confequence of that, when they go where they
ought not, that we make them take a turn about, or
carry them another way, almoft like the turning the
courfe of a river : or, upon other cccalions, that we
endeavour if poftiLle to recal, or make the lame humours
return back again ; drawing upward fuch as have a
tendency downward, and drawing downward fuch as
tend upward. We ought alfo uo carry oft, by con¬
venient ways, that which is neceflary to be carried off j
and not let the humours once evacuated enter into the
veffels again. Hippocrates gives alfo the follow ing inftruc-
tion, That when we do any thing according to realon,
though the fuccefs be not anfwrerable, we ought not
eafily, or too hafti y, to alter the manner of afting, as
long as the reafons for it are yet good. But as this
maxim might fometimes prove deceitful, he gives the
following as a corrector to it : “ WTe ought (fays he)
to mind with a great deal of attention wdhat gives eafe,
and what creates pain ; what is ealily lupported, and
what cannot be endured.” We ought not to do any
thing rafldy ; but ought often to paufe, or w'ait, without
doing any thing: by this way, if you do the patient no
good, you will at leaft do him no hurt.
Thefe are the principal and moft general maxims
of the pra&ice of Hippocrates, and which proceed up¬
on the luppofition laid down at the beginning, v.z^
that nature cures difeafes. We next proceed to con¬
fider particularly the remedies employed by him, wduch
will ferve to give us further inftru&ions concerning his
practice.
T93
Hippo¬
crates.
Diet was the firft, the principal, and often the only
remedy made ufe of by this great phyfician to anfwer ^e<ains
moft of the intentions above meirioned : by means of it
he oppofed the moift to dry, hot to cold, &c. j and
what he looked upon to be the moft confiderable point
was, that thus he fupported nature, and aflifted her to
overcome the malady. The dietetic part of medicine
was fo much the invention of Hippocrates himfelf, that
he wras very defirous to be accounted the author of it j
and the better to make it appear that it was a new
remedy in his day?, he fays exprefsly, that the ancients
had wrote almoft nothing concerning the diet of the
lick, having omitted this point, though it wTas one of
the moft eflential parts of the art. Diet
The diet prefcribed by Hippocrates for patients la-acute dif-
bouring under acute diftempers, differed from that eafes,
which he ordered for thofe afflifled with chronical
ones. In the former, which require a more particular
exa&nefs in relation to diet, he preferred liquid food
to that which w'as folid, efpecially in fevers. For thefe
he ufed a fort of broth made of cleanfed barley j and
to this he gave the name of ptifan. The manner in
which the ancients prepared a ptifan was' as follows:
B b They
194- M E D I
Hippo- They firfi: fteeped the barley in water till it was plump-
, crates- , ed up and afterwards they dried it in tlie fun, and
beat it to take oif the hulk. They next ground it j
and having let the dour boll a long time in the wa-
te-r, they put it out into the fun, and when it v as dry
they preiTed it clofe. It is properly this dour fo pre¬
pared that is called ptfan. They did almoft the fame
thing with wheat, rice, lentils, and other grain : but
they gave thefe ptifans the name of the grain from
whence they were extracted, as ptifan of lentils, rice, &c.
while the ptifan of barley was called limply ptifan,
on account of the excellency of it. When they wanted
to ufe it, they boiled one part of it in to or 15 of wa¬
ter ; and when it began to grow plump in boiling,
they added a little vinegar, and a very fmall quantity
©f anife or leek, to keep it from clogging or filling
the itomach with wind. Hippocrates preferibed this
broth for women that have pains in their belly after
eTelivery. u Boil fome of this ptifan (fays he), \yith
fome leek, and the fat of a goat, and give it to the
woman in bed.” This will not be thought very
lingular, if we refleft on what has been hinted above
concerning the indelicate manner of living in tbofe
times. He preferred the ptifan to all other food in
fevers, became it foftened and moiftened much, and
was befides oi ea(y digetlion. If he was concerned in
a continual fever, he would have the patient begin
with a ptifan of a pretty thick confiffence, and go on
by little and little, leffening the quantity of barley-
flour as the height of the diitemper approached ; fo
that he did not feed the patient but with what he
called the juice of the ptifan ; that is, the ptifan {trained,
where there was but very little of the flour remaining,
in order that nature being difeharged in part from
the care of digefting the aliments, Are might the more
eafily hold out to the end, and overcome the diftenrw
per, or the caufe of it. With regard to the quantity,
be caufed the ptifan to be taken twice a-day by fuch
patients as in health ufed to take two meals a-day, not
thinking it convenient that thofe who were fick ftiould
eat oftener than when they were well. He alfo would
not allow eating twice a day to thofe who ate but once
in that time when in health. In the paroxyfm of a
fever he gave nothing at all ; and in all diftempers
where there are exacerbations, he forbade nouriftiment
while the exacerbations continued. He let children
eat more; but thofe who were groxvn up to man’s
eflate, or were of an advanced age, lefs ; making al¬
lowance, however, for the cuftom of each particular
perfon, or for that of the country.
But though he was of opinion that too much food
«ught not to be allowed to the fick, he did not agree
with fome phyficians who preferibed long abftinence,
efpecially in the beginning of fevers. The reafon he
gave for this was, that the contrary praftice weakened
the patients too much during the firft days of the di-
ftemper, by w-bich means their phyficians were obliged
to allow them more food when the illnefs was at its
height, which in his opinion was improper. Befides,
in acute diflempers, and particularly in fevers, Hippo¬
crates made choice of refrefivng and moiftening nou-
tifiiment j and amongft other things preferibed orange,
melon, fpinach, gourd, &c. This fort of food he gave
-to thofe that were in a condition to eat, or. could take
fcmething more than a ptifan^
C INE. ^ Hiftory.
The drink he commonly gave t© his patients Was Hippo-
made of eight parts of water and one of honey. In crates.
lome dillempers he added a little vinegar j but fce-
Tides thefe, they had another fort named or mix¬
ture. One prefeription of this fort we find intended
for a confumptive perfon j it confided of rue, anife,
celery, coriander, juice of pomegranate, the roughed
red wine, water, flour of wheat and barley, with old
cheefe made of goats milk. Hippocrates did not ap¬
prove of giving plain water to the fick ; but though
be generally prefertbed the drinks above mentioned,
he did not ablolutely forbid the ufe of wine, even in
acute diftempers and fevers, provided the patients were
not delirious nor had pains in their head. Befides,
he took care to diftinguifh the wines proper in thefe
cafes : preferring to all other forts white-wine that was
clear and had a great deal of water, with neither fweet-
nefs nor flavour.
Thefe are the mod remarkable particulars concern-Diet
ing the diet preferibed by Hippocrates in acute di-ch!!oa^c ‘v5*'
ftempers 5 in chronical ones he made very much ufe^*^*
of milk and whey •, though we are not certain whe¬
ther this was done on account of the nouriftiment
expedited from them, or that he accounted them me¬
dicines.
There were many difeafes for which he judged the His maxims
bath was a proper remedy *, and he takes notice ofreft>p£ting
all the circumftances that are neceffary in order tobat5 lI12'
caufe the patient receive benefit from it, among which
the following are the principal. The patient that
bathes himfelf muft remain fliil and quiet in his place
without {peaking while the affiflants throw water over
his head or are wiping him dry ; for which laft pur-
pofe he defired them to keep fponges, inftead of that
inftrument called by the ancients Jlrtgil, which ferved
to rub off from the ikin the dirt and naftinefs left upon
it by the unguents and oils with which they anointed
themielves. He muft alfo take care not to catch cold j
and muft not bathe immediately after eating and
drinking, nor eat or drink immediately alter coming
out of the bath. Regard muft alfo be had whether
the patient has been accuftomed to bathe while in
health, and whether he has been benefited or hurt by
it. Laftly, he muft abftain from the bath when the
body is too open, or too coftive, or when he is too
weak ; or if he has an inclination to vomit, a great
lefs of appetite, or bleeds at the nofe. The advantage
of the bath, according to Hippocrates, confifts in moi¬
ftening and refreihing, taking away wearinefs, making
the ikin foft and the joints pliant 5 in provoking urine,
and opening the other excretories. He allows two baths
in a day to thofe who have been accuftomed to. it in
health. lg
In chronical diftempers Hippocrates approved very His maxims
much of exercile, though he did not allow it in acute refpe<ft’ng
ones : but even in theie he did not think that a pa-exercife*
tient ought always to lie in bed 5 but tells us, that “ we
muft fometimes puih the timorous out of bed, and roufe
up the lazy.”
When he found that diet and exercife were not His maxims
fufficient to eafe nature of a burden of corrupted bu-relpe<fting
mours, he was obliged to make ufe of other means, 0f {JurSatioa’-
which purgation was one. By this word he underftood
ail the contrivances that are made ufe of to dilcharge
the ftomach and bowels j though it commonly fignifies
only
Biftory. M KOI
Hippo- only tlie evacuation by flool. This evacuation he ima-
, crates. g;necl to be occafioned by the purgative medicines at-
^ " tr&fting the humours to themfelves. When firft taken
into the body, he thought they attrafted that humour
which was mod fimilar to them, and then the others,
one after another.—Mod of the purgatives ufed in his
time were emetics alfo, or at lead were very violent in
their operation downwards. Thefe were the white and
black hellebore 5 the fird of which is now reckoned
among the poifons. He ufed alfo the Cnidian berries,
cneorum peplium, thapfia ; the juice of hippophae, a
fort of rbnmnus ; elaterium, or juice of the wild cu¬
cumber ; flowers of brafs, coloquintida, fcammony, the
magnefian done, &c.
As thefe purgatives were all very drong, Hippo¬
crates was extremely cautious in their exhibition. He
did not prefcribe them in the dog-days ; nor did he
ever purge women with child, and very feldom chil¬
dren or old people. He principally ufed purgatives in
chronical didempers •, but was much more wary in
dcute ones. In his books entitled “ Of Epidemical
Didempers,” there are very few patients mentioned to
whom he gave purgative medicines. He alfo takes
notice expiefsiy, that thefe medicines having been given
in cafes of the didempers of which he was treating,
had produced very bad effedls. We are not, however,
from this to conclude, that Hippocrates abfolutely con¬
demned purging in acute didempers ; for in fome places
he exprefsly mentions his having given them with fuc-
cefs. He was of opinion, for inftance, that purging
was good in a pleurify when the pain was feated be¬
low the diaphragm ; and in this cafe he gave black
hellebore, or fome peplium mixed with the juice of la-
ferpitium.
The principal rule Hippocrates gives with relation
to purging is, that we ought only to purge off the
humours that are concodlcd, and not thofe that are
yet crude, taking particular care not to do it at the
beginning of the didemper, led the humours thould
be didurhed or dirred up, which happens pretty often.
He was not, however, the fird who remarked that
it would be of ill confequence to dir the humours in
the beginning of an acute didemper. The Egyptian
phyficians had before obferved the fame thing. By
the beginning of a didemper, Hippocrates underdood
all the time from the firil day to the fourth com¬
plete.
Hippocrates imagined that each purgative medicine
was adapted to the carrying off fome particular hu¬
mour ; and hence the diftinftion of purgatives into hy-
dragogue, cholagogue, &c. which is now judly explo¬
ded. In confequence of this notion, he corttended that
we knew if a purgative had drawn from the body what
was fit to be evacuated according as the patient was found
well or ill upon it. If we found ourfelves well, it was a
fign that the medicine had effe&ually expelled the offend¬
ing humour. On the contrary, if wx were ill, he
imagined, whatever quantity of humour came away,
that the humour which caufed the illnefs dill remain¬
ed ; not fudging of the goodnefs or badnefs of a
purge by the quantity of matters that were voided by
it, but by their quality and the effe£I that followed af¬
ter it.
Vomits were alfo pretty much ufed as medicines by
Hippocrates. We have already feen what thofe were
CINE. * 195
which he prefcribed to pfople in health by Way of Hippo-
preventives. With regarcf to the lick, he fometimes cra^es' .
advifed them to the fame, when his intentions were
only to cleanfe the domach. But when he had a mind
to recal the humours, as he termed it, from the inmoft
recedes of the body, he made ufe of brifker remedies.
Among thefe was white hellebore ; and this indeed he
mod frequently ufed to excite vomiting. He gave
this root particularly to melancholy and mad people J
and from the great ufe made of it in thefe cafes by
Hippocrates and other ancient phydcians, the phrafe
to have need of hellebore, became a proverbial expredion
for being out of one’s fenfes. He gave it alfo in de-
fluxions, which come, according to him, from the
brain, and throw themfelves on the nodrils or ears, or
fill the mouth with faliva, or that caufe dubborn pains
in the head, and a wearinefs or an extraordinary hea-
vinefs, or a weaknefs of the knees, or a (welling all over
the body. He gave it to confumptive perfcns in broth
of lentils, to fuch as were afflidded with the dropfy
called leucophlegmatia, and in other chronical diforders.
But we do not find that he made ufe of it in acute di¬
dempers, except in the cholera morbus, ■where he fays
he prefcribed it with benefit. Some took this medi¬
cine fading ; but mod took it after fupper, as was com¬
monly pradflifed with regard to vomits taken by way
of prevention. The reafon why he gave this medicine
mod commonly after eating was, that by mixing with
the aliments, its acrimony might be fomewhat abated,
and it might operate with lefs violence on the mem¬
branes of the domach. With the fame intention alfo
he fometimes gave a plant called fefamoides, and fome¬
times mixed it with hellebore. Ladly, in certain
cafes he gave what he called foft or fweet hellebore.
This term had fome relation to the quality of the hel¬
lebore, or perhaps the quantity be gave.
When Hippocrates intended only to keep the body
open, or evacuate the contents of the intedines, he
made ufe of fimples •, as for example, the herb mer¬
cury, or cabbage ; the juice or decoclion of which he
ordered to be drank. For the fame purpofe he ufed
whey, and alfo cows and afies milk; adding a little fait
to it, and fometimes letting it boil a little. If he gave
afies milk alone, he caufed a great quantity of it to be
taken, fo that it mud of necefifity looien the body. In
one place he prefcribes no lefs than nine pounds of it
to be taken as a laxative, but does not fpecify the
time in which it was to be taken. With the fame in->
tention be made ufe of fuppofitories and clyders. The
former were compounded of honey, the juice of the
herb mercury, of nitre, powder of colocynth, and other
fharp ingredients, to irritate the anus. Thefe they
formed into a ball, or into a long cylindrical mafs like-
a finger. The cly ders he made ufe of for fick people
were fometimes the fame with thofe already mention¬
ed as preventives for people in health. At other times
he mixed the decoftion of herbs with nitre, honey, and
oil, or other ingredients, according as he imagined he
could by that means attracf, wadi, irritate, or foften*
The quantity of liquor he ordered was about 36 ounces j
from which it is probable he did not intend that it
fhould all be ufcd at one time.
On fome occafions Hippocrates propofed to purge
the head alone. This practice he employed, after pur-,
ging the reft of the body, in an apoplexy, inveterate
B b 2 pains
j,cj6
Hippo¬
crates.
20
His maxims
refoedting
blood-iet-
ting.
M E 1) I
pains of the head, a certain fort of jaundice, a con-
fumption, and the greateft part of chronical diftem-
pers. For that purpofe he made ufe of the juices of
ieveral plants, as celery, to which he fometimes added
aromatic drugs, making the patients fnuff up this mix¬
ture into their noftrils. Fie ufed alfo powders com¬
pounded of myrrh, the dowers of brafs, and white
hellebore, which he caufed them put uo into the nofe,
to make them fneeze, and to draw the phlegm from
the brain. For the fame purpofe alfp he ufed what
he calls tetragomn, that is, “ fomething having four
angles j” but what this was, is now altogether un¬
known, and was fo even in the days of Galen. The
latter phyfician, however, conjectures it to be antimo¬
ny, or certain dakes found in it. a
In the diftemper called empyema (or a collection of
matter in the bread), he made ufe of a very rough me¬
dicine. He commanded the patient to draw in his
tongue as much as he was able ; and when that was done,
he endeavoured to put into the hollow of the lungs a
liquor that irritated the part, which railing- a violent
cough, forced the lungs to difcharge the purulent
matter contained in them. The materials that he ufed
for this purpofe' were of different forts ; fometiraes
he took the root of arum, which he ordered to be
boiled with a little fait, in a fufficient quantity of wa¬
ter and oil 3 diffolving a little honey in it. At other
times, when he intended to purge more ftrongly, he
took the dowers of copper and hellebore 3 after that
he (hook the patient violently by the Ihoulders, the
better to loofen the pus. This remedy, according to
Galen, he received from the Cnidian phyficians 3 and
it has never been ufed by the fucceeding ones, probably
becaufe the patients could not fuffer it.
Blood-letting was another method of evacuation
pretty much ufed by Hippocrates. Another aim he
had in this, beddes the mere evacuation, was to divert
or recal the courfe of the blood when he imagined it
was going where it ought not. A third end of bleed¬
ing was to procure a free motion of the blood and fpi-
rits.
Hippocrates had alfo a fourth intention for bleed¬
ing, and this was refrellunent. So in the iliac paflion,
he orders bleeding in the arm and in the head 3 to the
end, fays he, that the fuperior venter, or the bread,
may ceafe to be overheated. With regard to this eva¬
cuation, his conduct was much the fame as to purging,
in refpect of time and perfons. We ought, fays he,
to let blood in acute difeafes, when they are violent,
if the party be lufty and in the dower of his age. We
ought alfo to have regard to the time, both in refpeCt
to the difeafe and to the feafon in which we let blood.
He alfo informs us, that blood ought to be let in great
pains, and particularly in indammations. iVmong thefe
he reckons fuch as fall upon the principal vifcera, as
the liver, lungs, and fpleen, as alio the quinfy and
pleurify, if the pain of the latter be above the dia¬
phragm. In thefe cafes he would have the patients
blooded till they faint, efpecially if the pain be very
acute ; or rather he advifes that the orifice thould not
be clofed till the colour of the blood alters, fo that from
livid it turn red, or from red livid. In a quinfy he
blooded in both arms at once. Difficulty of breathing
he alfo reckons among the diilempers that require
hleqJing 3 and he mentions another fort of inflamma-
C I N E. Hiltory,
tion of the lungs, which he calls a fwelling or tumor Hippo-
of the lungs arifing from heat 3 in which cafe he ad- cmes' ,
vifes to bleed in all parts of the body 3 and direfis it
particularly by the arms, tongue, and noftrils. To
make bleeding the more ufeful in all pains, he d'recied
to open the vein neared; the part affeffed 3 in a pleurify
he direfts to take blood from the arm of the fide affec¬
ted 3 and for the fame reafon, in pains of the head, he
direfts the veins of the nofe and forehead to be opened.
When the pain was not urgent, and bleeding was ad-
vifed by way of prevention, he diredted the blood to
be taken from the parts fartheft off, with a defign to
divert the blood infenfibly from the feat of pain. The
higheil burning fevers, which ihow neither ligns of in¬
flammation nor pain, he does not rank among thofe
diftempers which require bleeding. On the contrary,
he maintains that a fever itfelf is in fome cales a reafon
againd bleeding. If any one, fays he, has an ulcer in
the head, he muff bleed, unlefs he has a fever. Fie fays
further, thofe that lofe their fpeech of a ludden muff
be blooded, unlefs they have a fever. Perhaps he was
afraid of bleeding in feveis, becaule he fuppofed that
they were produced by the bile and pituita, which
grew hot, and afterwards heated the whole body,
which is, fays he, what we call fever, and which, in
his opinion, cannot well be evacuated by bleeding. In
other places alfo he looks upon the prefence or abun¬
dance of bile to be an objection to bleeding 3 and he
orders to forbear venefefrion even in a pleuriiy, if there
be bile. To this we muff add, that Hippocrates di-
ftinguiihed very particularly between a fever which
followed no other diffemper, but was itfelf the original
malady, and a fever which came upon inflammation.
In the early ages of phyfic, the firft only wTere proper¬
ly called fevers : the others' took their names from the
parts affected 3 as pleurify, peripneumomj, hepatitis, ne¬
phritis, See. which names fignify that the pleura, the
lungs, the liver, or the kidneys, are difeafed, but do
not intimate the fever which accompanies the difeafe..
In this latter fort of fever Hippocrates conftantly or¬
dered bleeding, but not in the former. Hence, in his
books on- Epidemic Diflempers, we find but lew di-
reflions for bleeding in the acute diftempers, and par¬
ticularly in the great number of continual and burning
fevers there treated of. In the nrft and third book
we find but one Angle inftance of bleeding, and that
in a pleurify 3 in which, top, he flaid till the eighth
day of the diftemper. Galen, however, and moil o-
ther commentators on Flippocrates, are of opinion,
that he generally blooded his patients plentifully in the
beginning of acute diforders, though he takes no no¬
tice of it in his writings. But had this been the cafe, he
would not perhaps have had the opportunity of feeing
fo many fevers terminate by crifes, or natural evacua¬
tions, which happen of themfelves on certain days.
Hippocrates, in faft, laid fo much weight upon the.
afliftance of nature and the method of diet, which was
his favourite medicine, that he thought if they took
care to diet the patients according to rule, they might
leave the reft to nature. Thefe are his principles,
from which he never deviates 3 fo that his writings
on Epidemical Difeafes feem to have been compofed
only with an intention to leave to pofterity an ex-
aft model of management in purfuance of thefe prin¬
ciples.
With
Hiftory. M E D I
Hippo- Witli regard to the rules laid down by Hippocrates
crates. •f0-r bleedinp', ive muft farther take notice, that in all
V -y- difeafes which had their feat above the liver, he blood¬
ed in the arm, or in feme of the upper parts of the
body •, but for thofe that were fituated below it he
opened the veins of the foot, ankle, or ham. If the
belly was too loofe, and bleeding was at the lame time
thought neceffary, he ordered the loofetiefs to be flop¬
ped before bleeding.
Aim oft all thefe inftances, however, regard fcarce
any thing but acute diftempers 5 but we find feveral
concerning chronical difeafes. “ A young man com¬
plained of great pain in his belly, with a rumbling
while he was fading, which ceafed after eating : this
pain and rumbling continuing, his meat did him no
good ; but, on the contrary, he daily wrafted and grew
lean. Several medicines, as well purges as vomits,
were given him in vain. At length it was refolved to
bleed him by. intervals, firft in one arm and then in the
other, till he had fcarcely any blood left, and by this
method he v/as perfedlly cured.”
Hippocrates let blood alfo in a dropfy, even in a
tympany 5 and in both cafes he preferibes bleeding in
the arm. In a difeafe occaftoned by an overgrown
fpleen, he propofes bleeding feveral times repeated at
a vein of the arm which he calls the fplenetic ; and in
one fpecies of jaundice, he propofes bleeding under the
tongue. On feme occalions he took away great quan¬
tities of blood, as appears from what we have already
obferved. Sometimes he continued the blooding till
the patient fainted : at other times he would blood in
both arms at once ; at others, he did it in feveral pla¬
ces of the body, and at feveral times. The veins he
opened were thofe ol the arm, the hands, the ankles
on both Tides, the hams, the forehead, behind the head,
the tongue, the nofe, behind the ears, under the breafts,
and thofe of the arms ; befides which, he burnt others,
and opened feveral arteries. He likewife ufed cup-
ping-veffels, with intent to recal or withdraw the
humours which fell upon any part. Sometimes he
contented himfelf with the bare attradlion made by the
cupping-veffels, but fometimes alfo he made fcarifications.
21 When bleeding and purging, which were the prin-
His maximscipal and moft general means ufed by Hippocrates
refpeAing for taking off a plethora, proved infufficient for that
awHudod PurP0^» ^e had recourfe to diuretics and fudorifics.
fits. UCU ~ The former were of different forts, according to the
conftitution of the perfons : fometimes baths, and
fometimes fweet wine, were employed to provoke
urine 5 fometimes the nourifhment which w!e take con¬
tributes to it : and amongft thofe herbs which are
commonly eaten, Hippocrates recommends garlic, leeks,
onions, cucumbers, melons, gourds, fennel, and all other
things which have a biting tafte and a ftrong fraell.
With thefe he numbers honey, mixed with water or
vinegar, and all fait meats. But, on fome occafions,
he took four cantharides, and, pulling off their wings
and feet, gave them in wine and honey. Thefe reme¬
dies were given in a great number of ciiiomcai di¬
ftempers after purging, when he thought the blood
w'as overcharged with a fort of moifture which he cabs
ichor ; or in fuppreflfions of urine, and when it w7as
made in lefs quantity than it ought. There were alfo
fome cafes in which he would force fweat as well as
CINE. 197
urine ; but he neither mentions the difeafes in wdiich Hippo-
fudorifics are proper, nor lets us know what medicines , ,
are to be ufed for this purpofe, except in one fingle
paffage, where he mentions fweating, by pouring upon
the head a great quantity of water till the feet i'weat •,
that is, till the fweat diffufes itfelf over the whole body,
running from head to foot. After this he ivould have
them eat boiled meat, and drink pure wane, and being
well covered wdth clothes, lay themfelves down to reft.
The difeafe for which he propofes the above mention¬
ed remedv is a fever 3 which is not, according to him,
produced by bile or pituita, but by mere laffitude, or
feme other fimilar caufe 3 from whence we may con¬
clude that he did not approve of fweating in any other
kind of fever.
Other remedies which Hippocrates tells us he made
life of were thofe that purged neither bile nor phlegm,
but a£t by cooling, drying, heating, moiitening, or by
doling and thickening, refolving and diflipating. Thefe
medicines, however, he does not particularly mention 3
and it is probable they were only fome particular kinds
of food. To thefe he joined hypnotics,, or iach things
as procure fleep 3 but thefe laft were ufed very leldom,
and, it is moft probable, were only different prepara¬
tions of poppies. £ j ,
Laftly, befides the medicines already mentioned, j ^ j j
which ailed in a fenlible manner, Hippociatcs made cl‘fics> L
ufe of others called fpecifics ; whole action he did not
underfland, and for the ufe of which he could give no
reafon but his own experience, or that of other phyii-
cians. Thefe he had learned from his predeceffors the
defeendants of iEfculapius, who, being etnpirics, did
not trouble themfelves about inquiring into the ope¬
ration of remedies, provided their patients were cured.
Of the external remedies preferibed by Hippo- ^ 23
crates, fomentations were the chief. Thefe w7ere ofIIls
two kinds. The one was a fort of bath, in which the^n^ppica“
patient fat in a veffel full of a decodlion of limples
appropriated to his malady 3 fo that the part affected
was leaked in the decodlion. This w7as chiefly ufed
in diftempers of the w’omb, of the arms, the bladder,
the reins, and generally all the parts below the dia¬
phragm. The fecond way of fomenting was, to take 2 ^
warm water and put it into a fkin or bladder, or even Fomenta-
into a copper or earthen veffel, and to apply it to the tkms.
part affefted 3 as, for example, in a plcurify. They
ufed likewife a large fponge, which they dipped in
the w^ater or other hot liquor, and fqueezed out part
of the liquor before they applied it. The fame ufe
they made of barley, vetches, or bran, which wrere
boiled in fonie proper liquor, and applied in a linen
bag. Thefe are called moijl fomentations. The dry
ones wTere made of fait or millet, heated confiderably,
and applied to the part. Another kind of fomenta¬
tion was the vapour of lome hot liquor 3 an in fiance of
which w7e find in Bis firft book of the Diftempers of Wo¬
men. He caft, at feveral times, bits of red-hot iron
into urine, and, covering up the patient clofe, caufed
her to receive the fleam below. His defign in thefe
kinds of fomentations was to warm the part, to re-
folve or diffipate, and draw out the peccant matter, to
mollify and affuage pain, to open the paffages, or even
to fhut them, according as the fomentations were emol¬
lient or aftringent.
Fumigations-
198 - M E D I
Hippo- Fumigations were likewife very often ufed by Hip-
, C1^s‘ , pocrates. In the quinfy, he burned hyffop with
2- fulphur and pitch, and caufed the fmoke to be drawn
Fumiga- into the throat by a funnel 5 and by this means he
»ons. brought away abundance of phlegm through the
mouth and through the nofe. For this purpofe he
took nitre, marjoram, and crefs-feeds, which he boiled
in water, vinegar, and oil, and, while it was on the
fire, caufed the patient to draw in the fleam by a pipe.
In his works we find a great number of fumigants for
the diftempers of women, to promote the menftrual
flux, to check it, to help conception, and to eafe pains
in the matrix, or the fuffocation of it. On thefe oc-
cafions he ufed fuch aromatics as were then known,
viz. cinnamon, caflia, myrrh, and feveral odoriferous
plants *, likewife fome minerals, fuch as -nitre, fulphur,
and pitch, and caufed the patient to receive the va-
pours through a funnel into the uterus.
Gargles. Gargles, a kind of fomentations for the mouth,
were alfo known to Hippocrates. In the quinfy he
ufed a gargle made of marjoram, favory, celery, mint,
and nitre, boiled with water and a little vinegar.
When this was ftrained, they added honey to it, and
2j waflied their mouths frequently wuth it.
©ils and v Oils and ointments were likewife much ufed by
ointments. Hippocrates, with a view to mollify and abate pain,
to ripen boils, refolve tumours, refrelh after wearinefs,
make the body fupple, &c. For this purpofe, fome-
times pure oil of olives was ufed ; fometimes certain
fimples were infufed in it, as the leaves of myrtle and
rofes j and the latter kind of oil was in much requeft
among the ancients. There were other forts of oils
fometimes in ufe, however, which were much more
compounded. Hippocrates fpeaks of one named Sufi-
num, which was made of the flowers of the iris, of fome
aromatics, and of an ointment of narciffus made with
the flowers of narciffus and aromatics infuftd in oil.
But the mofl compounded of all his ointments w>as
that called netopon, which he made particularly for
women ; and confided of a great number of ingredi-
•ents. Another ointment, to which he gave the name
©f ceratum, was compofed of oil and wax. An oint¬
ment which he recommends for the foftening a tu¬
mor, and the cleanfing a wound, was made by the
following receipt : “ Take the quantity of a nut of the
' marrow7 or fat of a fheep, of maftic or turpentine the
quantity of a bean, and as much wax ; melt tbefe over
a fire, wnth oil of rofes, for a ceratum.” Sometimes
he added pitch and wrax, and, with a fufficient quanti¬
ty of oil, made a compofition fomewhat more confiflent
2S than the former, which he called cerapiffits.
flataplafins. Cataplafms we re a fort of remedies lefs confiftent
than the two former. They were made of pow'ders
or herbs fteeped or boiled in water or fome other li¬
quor, to which fometimes oil was added. They were
tiled with a view to foften or refolve tumors, ripen ab-
feeffes, &c. though they had alfo cooling cataplafms
made of the leaves of beets or oak, fig or olive-trees,
29 boiled in wuter.
•ollyria. Laftly, To complete the catalogue of the external
remedies ufed by Hippocrates, vve (hall mention a fort
of medicine called collyrium. It was compounded of
powrders, to which was added a fmall quantity of
lome ointment, or juice of a plant, to make a folid or
dry mafs) the form of which was long and round,
CINE. Hiltory.
wThich w7as kept for ufe. Another compofition of much Hippo-
the fame nature was a fort of lozenge of the bignefs of crates-
a fmall piece of money, which was burnt upon coals' -J
for a perfume, and powdered for particular ufes. In
his works we find likewife deferiptions of pow’ders for
feveral ufes, to take off fungous flelh, and to blow into
the eyes in ophthalmies, &c.
Thefe were almoft all the medicines ufed by Hip¬
pocrates for external purpofes. The compound me¬
dicines given inwardly were either liquid, fohd, or
lambative. The liquid ones were prepared either by
deco&ion or infufion in a proper liquor, which, when
ffrained, were kept lor u!e j or by macerating certain'
powders in luch liquors, and fo taking them toge¬
ther, or by mixing different kinds of liquors toge¬
ther. The folid medicines confifted of juices infpif-
fated ; of gums, refins, or powders, made up with
them or wbth honey, or fomething proper to give the
neceffary confiftence to the medicine. Thefe were
made up in a form and quantity fit to be fw7allowed
with eaie. The lambative wras of a confiflence be-
tween lolid and fluid ; and the patients were obliged
to keep it for fome time to diffolve in the mouth, that
they might fwallow7 it leifurely. This remedy w7as
ufed to take off the acrimony of thofe humours which
fometimes fall upon this part, and provoke coughing
and other inconveniences. The bafis of this laft com¬
pofition was honey. It is worth our obfervation, that
the compound medicines of Hippocrates were but very
few, and compofed only of four or five ingredients at
moft ; and that he not only underflood pharmacy, or
the art of compounding medicines, but prepared fuch
as he ufed himfelf, or caufed his fervants prepare them
in his houfe by his direflions.
We have thus given fome account of the ftate of
medicine as pradlifed and taught by Hippocrates, who,
as we have already obferved, has for many ages been
juflly confidered as the father of phyfic. For when
vve attend to the ftate in which he found medicine, and
the condition in which he left it, we can hardly beflow
fufficient admiration on the judgement and accuracy of
bis obfervations. After a life fpent in unwearied induf-
try, he is faid to have died at Lariffa, a city in Thef-
faly, in the 101ft year of his age, 361 years before the
birth of Chrift.
After the days of Hippocrates, medicine in ancient
Greece gradually derived improvement from the la¬
bour of other phyficians of eminence. And we may
particularly mention three to whom ks future progrefs
feems to have been not a little indebted, viz. Praxago-
ras, Erafiftratus, and Herophilus.
'I he firft phyfician of eminence who differed confi- Praxagoras.
derably in his practice from Hippocrates w7as Praxa¬
goras. Ccelius Aurelianus acquaints us, that he made
great ufe of vomits in his pradlice, infomuch as to ex¬
hibit them in the iliac palTiun till the excrements
were dilcharged by the mouth. In this diflemper he
alfo advifed, when all other means failed, to open the
belly, cut the inteftine, take out the indurated faeces,
and then to few up all again; but this practice has
not probably been followed by any fubfequent phyfi¬
cian.
Erafiftratus was a phyfician of great eminence, folates,
and flouriffied in the time of Seleucus, one of the
fuveeffors of Alexander the Great. According to
Galen,
Hiftory. M E D I
;Erafiftratus, Galen, he entirely banifhed venefeftion from medi-
v'*' cine 5 though feme affirm that he did not totally dif-
card it, but only ufed it lefs frequently than other
phyficiansc His reafons for difapproving of venefec-
tion are as follow: It is difficult to fucceed in vene-
feftion, becaufe we cannot always fee the vein we in¬
tend to open, and becaufe we are not fure but we
may open an artery inftead of a vein. We cannot
afeertain the true quantity to be taken. If we take
too little, the intention is by no means anfwered : if
we take too much, we run a rilk of deilroying the
patient. The evacuation of the venous blood alfo is
fucceeded by that of the fpirits, which on that occa-
fion he fuppofes to pafs from the arteries into the veins.
It muft likewife, he contends, be obferved, that as the
inflammation is formed in the arteries by the blood
coagulated in their orifices, venefe&ion muft of courfe
be ufelefs and of no eflfefl.
As Erafiftratus did not approve of venefeflion, fo
neither did he of purgatives, excepting very rarely,
but exhibited clyfters and vomits ; as did alfo his ma¬
iler Chryfippus. He was of opinion, however, that
the clyfters iliould be mild 5 and condemned the large
quantity and acrid quality of thofe ufed by preceding
practitioners. The realon why purgatives were not
much ufed by him was, that he imagined purging and
venefeflion could anfvver no other purpofe than dimi-
niffiing the fulnefs of the veflels ; and for this purpofe
he afferted that there were more effeCual means than
either phlebotomy or purging. He afferted that the
humours difeharged by cathartics were not the fame in
the body that they appeared after the difeharge ; but
that the medicines changed their nature, and produced
a kind of corruption in them. This opinion has fince
been embraced by a great number of phyficians. He
did not believe that purgatives afled by attra&ion ;
but fubftituted in the place of this principle what Mr
Le Clerc imagines to be the fame with Ariftotle’s
fuga vacm. The principal remedy fubftituted by him
in place of purging and venefedtion was abftinence.
When this, in conjun&ion with clyfters and vomits,
was not fufticient to eradicate the difeafe, he then had
rccourfe to exercife. A1*l this was done with a view
„ to diminifh plenitude, which, according to him, was
the rtioft frequent caufe of all difeafes. Galen alfo in¬
forms us, that Erafiftratus had fo great an opinion of
the virtues of fuccory in difeafes of the vifeera and lower
belly, and efpecially in thofe of the liver, that he took
particular pains to deferibe the method of boiling it,
which was, to boil it in water till it was tender ; then
to put it into boiling water a fecond time, in order to
deftroy its bitternefs: afterwards to take it out of the
water, and preftrve it in a veffel with oil *, and laftly,
when it is to be ufed, add a little weak vinegar to it.
Nay, fo minute and circumftantial was Erafiftratus with
regard to the preparation of his favourite fuccory, that
. he gave orders to tie feveral of the plants together, be¬
caufe that was the more commodious method of boil¬
ing them. The reft of Erafiftratus’s practice confided
aim. A entirely of regimen ; to which he added fome
topical remedies fuch as cataplafms, fomentations, and
unCHons. In {hurt, as he could neither endure com¬
pounded medicines, nor fupe. ftitious and fitie-fpun rea-
fonings-, he reduced medicine to a very Ample and com¬
pendious art.
<5 I N E. i9>
With regard to furgery, Erafiftratus appears to Herophilus.
have been very bold 5 and as an anatomift he is faid to  v—'
have been exceedingly cruel, infomuch that he is re-
prefented by fome as having diffecled criminals while
yet alive*. In a feirrhous liver, or in tumors oi*
that organ, Coelius Aurelianus obferves, that Erafiftra-t0n ^ ^'
tus made an incifion through the fkin and integu¬
ments, and having opened the abdomen he applied
medicines immediately to the part aflfecled. But though
he was thus bold in performing operations on the liver,
yet he did net approve of the paracentefis or tapping in
the dropfy j becaufe (faid he) the waters being eva¬
cuated, the liver, which is inflamed and become hard
like a ftone, is more prelfed by the adjacent parts
which the waters kept at a diftance from it, fo that
by this means the patient dies. He declared alfo
againft drawing teeth which were not loofe j, and ufed
to tell thofe who talked with him on this operation.
That in the temple of Apollo there was to be feen an
inftrument of lead for drawing teeth ) in order to infi-
nuate that we muft not attempt the extirpation of any
but fuch as are loofe, and call for no greater force for
their extirpation than what may be fuppofed in an in¬
ftrument of lead. 32
Herophilus, the difciple of Praxagoras, and contem- Herophilus,
porary of Erafiftratus, followed a lefs fimple pra£tice :
he made fo great ufe of medicines both fimple and
compound, that neither he nor his difciples would un¬
dertake the cure of any diforder without them. He
feems alfo to have been the firft who treated accurately t
of the doftrine of pulfes, of which Hippocrates had but
a fuperficial knowledge. Galen, however, affirms, that
on this fubjefl he involved himfelf in difficulties and ad¬
vanced abfurdities } which indeed we are not greatly to
wonder at, confidering the time in which he lived.
He took notice of a clifeafe at that time pretty rare,
and to which he aferibes certain fudden deaths. Pie
calls it a palfy of the heart; and perhaps it may be
the fame difeale with what is now termed the angina
peBoris.
According to Celfus, it was about this time that
medicine was firft; divided into three branches, viz. the
dietetic, the pharmaceutical, and the chirurgical medi¬
cine. 'Phe firft of thefe employed a proper regimen
in the cure of difealesj the fecond, medicines j and
the third, the operation of the hands. The fame au¬
thor informs us, that thefe three branches became
now the bufinefs of as many diftinsft clafles of men ;
fo that from this time we may date the origin of the
three profeffions of phyficians, apothecaries, and fur-
geons.—Before this divifion, thofe called physicians dif¬
eharged all the feveral offices belonging to the three
profeffions; and there were only two kinds of them,
Viz. one called ct^Tinroyixoi, who only gave their ad¬
vice to the patients, and direffions to thofe of an infe¬
rior clafs, who were called ^yifuov^ypi, and worked wfith
their hands either in the performing operations, or in
the compofition and application of remedies. 33 -
The firft: grand revolution which happened in the T^e
medicinal art after the days of Herophilus and Erafi-™*
ftratus was occafioned by the founding of the empiric
feff by Serapion of Alexandria about 287 years before
,Ch5ia- , P™"?0? fint° d°gmfifts and empiricsSerai^a,.
had mdeeci fubfifted before ; but about this time the
latter party began to grow ftreng, and to have cham-
plons
200
MEDICINE.
Senpion. pions ppbliciy auertinp; its caufe. Galen informs us,
that Serapion uied Hippocrates very ill in his writ¬
ings, in which he difcovered an excefs of pride, felf-
fufficiency, and contempt for all the phylicians that
went before him. We have fome Iketches of his
pra£lice in Coelius Aurelianus, from which we may
infer that he retained the medicines of Hippocrates
and the other phyficians who went before him, though
he rtjefled their reafoning. We know not what argu¬
ments he advanced for the fupport of his fentiments,
fince his works are loft, as well as thofe of the other
empirics; and we fhould know nothing at all of any
of them, if their adverfaries had not quoted them in
order to confute them.
The empirics admitted only one general method of
obtaining fkill in the medical art, which was by ex¬
perience, called by the Greeks From this
word they took their name, and refuled to be called
after the founder or any champion of their feft.
They defined experience a knowledge derived from
the evidence of fenfe. It was either fortuitous, or
acquired by defign. For acquiring pra&ical Ikill they
recommended ivhat they called rn^r<f, or one’s own
obfervation, and the reading of hiitories or cafes faith¬
fully related by others. Hence they thought that
we might be enabled to knowr a difeafe by its refem-
blance to others ; and, when new difeafes occurred, to
conclude what was proper to be done from the fymp-
toms they had in common with others that were before
known. They aflerted, that obfervation ought princi¬
pally to be employed in two different ways ; firff in
dilcovering what things are falutary, and what are of
an indifferent nature 5 and, fecondly, what particular
difeafe is produced by a certain concurrence of fymp-
toms; for they did not call every fymptom a difeale,
but only fuch a combination of them as from long ex¬
perience they found to accompany each other, and pro¬
duced fuch diforders as began and terminated in the
lame manner.
On the other hand, the dogmatift affirmed, that
inhere was a neceffity for knowing the latent as well
as the evident caufes of difeafes, and that the phyli-
cian ought to underftand the natural adlions and func¬
tions of the human body, which neceffarily prefup-
pofes a knowledge of the internal parts. By fecret
or latent caufes they meant fuch as related to the ele¬
ments or principles of which our bodies are compofed,
and which are the origin of a good ©r bad liate of
health. They afferted that it was impoffible to know
how to cure a difeafe without knowing the caufe
whence it proceeded ; becaufe undoubtedly it behoved
difeafes to vary prodigioufly in themfelves according to
the different caufes by which they were produced.
The next remarkable perfon in the hiftory of phyfic
is Afclepiades, who ftourilhed in the century immedi¬
ately preceding the birth of Chrift. He introduced
the philofophy of Democritus and Epicurus into me¬
dicine, and ridiculed the doftrines of Hippocrates.
He afferted, that matter confidered in itfelf was of an
unchamreable nature ; and that all perceptible bodies
were compofed of a number of fmaller ones, between
which there were interfperfed an infinity of fmall fpaces
totally void of all matter. He thought that the foul
itfelf was conapofed of thete fmall bodies. He laughed
at the principle called Nature by Hippocrates, and
Hiftory.
35
Afclepi¬
ades.
alfo at the imaginary faculties faid by him to be fub- Afclepi-
fervient to her •, and ffill more at what he called At-, a^es>
traflion. This laft principle Afclepiades denied in v
every infiance, even in that ol the loaditone and fteel,
imagining that this phenomenon proceeded from a
concourfe of corpufcles, and a particular difpofition or
modification of their pores. He alio maintained, that
nothing happened or was produced without feme caufe ;
and that what was called nature was in reality no
more than matter and motion. From this laft; prin¬
ciple he inferred that Hippocrates knew not what he
faid when he fpoke of Nature as an intelligent being,
and aferibed qualities of different kinds to her. For
the fame reafon he ridiculed the dohtrine ot Hippo¬
crates w ith regard to crifes; and afferted that the
termination of difeafes might be as well accounted for
from mere matter and motion. He maintained, that
we w^ere deceived if we imagined that nature always
did good 5 fince it was evident that Ihe often did a
great deal of harm. As for the days particularly
fixed upon by Flippocrates for criles, or thofe on
wffiich w7e ufually oblerve a change either for the bet¬
ter or the worfe, Afclepiades denied that inch altera¬
tions happened on thofe days rather than on others.
Nay, he afferted that the crifis did not happen at any
time of its owm accord, or by the particular determi¬
nation of nature for the cure of the diforder, but that
it depended rather on the addrefs and dexterity of the
phyfician ; that we ought never to wait till a diftem-
per terminates of its own accord, but that the phyfi¬
cian by his care and medicines muff haften on and ad¬
vance the cure.-—According to him, Flippocrates and
other ancient phyficians attended their patients rather
with a view to obferve in what manner they died
than in order to cure them ; and this under pretence
that Nature ought to do all herielf, without any affift.
ance.
According to Afclepiades, the particular affemblage
of the various corpufcles above mentioned, and repre-
fented as of different figures, is the reafon wffiy there
are 1’everal pores or interfaces within the common
mafs, formed by th’efe corpulcles; and why thefe pores
are of a different fize. This being taken for granted,
as thefe pores are in all the bodies we obferve, it muff
of courfe follow that the human body has lome pecu¬
liar to itfelf, which, as wrell as thofe of all other bo¬
dies, contain certain minute bodies, which- pafs and re-
pafs by thofe pores that communicate with each other j
and as thefe pores or interftices are larger or fmaller,
fo the corpufcles which pafs through them differ pro-
portionably as to largenefs and minutenefs. The blood
confilts of the largeft of thefe corpufcles, and the ipirits,
or the heat, of the fmalleft.
From thefe principles he infers, that as long as the
corpufcles are freely received by the pores, the body
remains in its natural Hate •, and on the contrary, it
begins to recede from that ftate, when the corpulcles
find any obflacle to their paffage. Flealth therefore
depends on the juft proportion between the pores and
the corpufcles they are deftined to receive and tranimit j
as difeafes, on the contrary, proceed from a difpropor-
tion between thefe pores and the corpufcles. The moft;
ufual obftacle on this occafion proceeds from the cor¬
pufcles embracing each other, and being retained in
fome of their ordinary paffages, whether thefe ccrpuf-
cles
Hiftory. M E D I
Afclepi- cles arrive in too large a number, are of irregular fi-
a<^eg' , gures, move too fait or too {low, &c.
s Among the difeafes produced by the corpufcles
flopping of their own accord, Afclepiades reckoned
phrenfies, lethargies, pleurifles, and burning fevers.
Pains, in particular, are claffed among the accidents
which derive their origin from a ftagnation of the
largeft of all the corpufcles of which the blood con-
fifts. Among the diforders produced by the bad flate
and difpofition of the pores, he placed deliquiums, lan¬
guors, extenuations, leannefs,' and dropfies. Thefe
laft diforders he thought proceeded from the pores
being too much relaxed and opened : the dropfy in
particular, he thinks, proceeds from the flefh being
perforated wnth various fmall holes, which convert the
nourflhment received into them into water. Hunger,
and efpecially that fpecies of it called fames canina,
proceeds from an opening of the large pores of the
ftomach and belly ; and third from an opening of
their fmall ones. Upon the fame principles he account¬
ed for intermittent fevers. According to him, quoti¬
dian fevers are caufed by a retention of the largeft
eorpufcles, thofe of the tertian kind by a retention of
corpufcles fomewhat fmaller, and quartan fevers are
produced by a retention of the fmalleft corpufcles of all.
The pra£lice of Afclepiades was fuited to remove
thefe imaginary caufes of diforders. He compofed a
book concerning common remedies, which he princi-
*pally reduced to three, viz. geftation, fri&ion, and
the ufe of wine. By various exercifes he propofed to
render the pores more open, and to make the juices
and fmall bodies, which caufe difeafes by their reten¬
tion, pafs more freely ; and while the former phy-
ficians had not recourfe to geftation till towards the
end of long-continued diforders, and when the patients,
though entirely free from fever, were yet coo weak to
take fufficient exercife by walking, Afclepiades ufed
geftation from the very beginning of the mold burn¬
ing fevers. He laid it down as a maxim, that one fever
was to be cured by another j that the ftrengfh of the
patient was to be exhaufted by making him watch and
endure third: to fuch a degree, that, for the two firft
days of the diforder, he would not allow them to cool
their mouths with a drop of water. Celfus abb obferves,
that though Afclepiades treated his patients like a
butcher during the firft days of the diforder, he indul¬
ged them fo far afterwards as even to give directions
for making their beds in the fofteft manner. On fe-
veral occaftons Afclepiades ufed frictions to open the
pores. The dropfy was one of the diftempers in which
this remedy was ufed \ but the moft lingular attempt
was, by this means, to lull phrenetic patients afleep.
But though he enjoined exercife fo much to the fick,
he denied it to thofe in health ; a conduft not a little
furprifing and extraordinary. He allowed wine freely
to patients in fevers, provided the violence of the dif-
temper was fomewhat abated. Nor did he forbid it to
thofe who were afflifted with a phrenfy : nay, he or¬
dered them to drink it till they were intoxicated, pre¬
tending by that means to make them fleep ; becaufe, he
faid, wine had a narcotic quality and procured fleep,
which he thought abfolutely neceffary for thole who la-
bouied under that diforder. To lethargic patients he
ufed it on purpofe to excite them, and roufe their fen-
VOL. XIII. Part I.
CINE. 20:
fes: he alfo made them fmell ftrong-fcented fubftan- Afclepi-
ces, fuch as vinegar, caftor, and rue, in order to make ades’ &c-
them freeze ; and applied to their heads cataplafms of ^ r
nauftard made up with vinegar.
Befides thefe remedies, Afclepiades enjoined his pa¬
tients abftinence to an extreme degree. For the firft
three days, according to Celfus, he allowed them no
aliment whatever j but on the fourth began to give
them victuals. According to Caslius Aurelianus, how¬
ever, he began to nourilh his patients as foon as the
acceflion of the difeafe was diminiflied, not waiting
till an entire remiflion; giving to fome aliments on
the firft, to fome on the fecond, to fome on the
third, and fo on to the feventh day. It feems almoft
incredible to us, that people flrould be able to fall till
this laft mentioned term ; but Celfus affures us, that ab¬
ftinence till the feventh day wTas enjoined even by the
predeceflbrs of Afclepiades.
The next great revolution which happened in the
medicinal art, was brought about by Themifon, the
difciple of Afclepiades, who lived not long before the
time of Celfus, during the end of the reign of Auguf-
tus, or beginning of that of Tiberius. The fed found¬
ed by him was called methodic, becaufe he endeavoured Methodic
to find a method of rendering medicine more eafy than feet
formerly.
_ He maintained, that a knowledge of the caufes of Themifon.
difeafes was not neceffary, provided we have a due re¬
gard to what difeafes have in common and analogous to
one another. In confequence of this principle, he di¬
vided all difeafes into two, or at moft three, kinds.
I he firft included difeafes arifing from ftrifture the
fecond, thofe arifing from relaxation ; and the third,
thofe of a mixed nature, or fuch as partook both of
ftricture and relaxation.
Themifon alfo afferted, that difeafes are fometimes
acute, and fometimes chronical; that for a certain time
they increafe j that at a certain time they are at their
height; and that at laft they were obferved to dimi-
nifli. Acute difeafes, therefore, according to him,
mull be treated in one way, and chronical difeafes in.
another j one method mull be followed with fuch as are
in their augmentation, another with fuch as are at
their height, and a third with fuch as are in their de-
clenfion. He afferted, that the whole of medicine con¬
fided in the obfervation of that fmall number of rules
which are founded upon things altogether evident. He
laid, that all diforders, whatever their nature was, if
included under any of the kinds above mentioned,
ought to be treated precifely in the fame way, in what¬
ever country and with whatever fymptoms they hap¬
pen to arife. Upon thefe principles, he defined me¬
dicine to be a method of conducing to the knowledge
of what difeafes have in common with each other.
Themifon was old when he laid the foundation of
the methodic fed! ; and it was only brought to perfec¬
tion by Theffalus, who lived under the emperor Nero. TheifulDS-
Galen and Pliny accufe this phyfician ef intolerable in-
folence and vanity, and report that he gave himfelf
the air of defpifing all other phyficians ; and fo intole¬
rable was his vanity, that he affumed the title of the
conqueror of physicians, which he caufed to be put up¬
on his tomb in the Appian way. Never was moun¬
tebank (fays Pliny) attended by a greater number of
C c fp eel a tors
39
Soranus;
40
Celias.
202 fv
Theffalus, fpeclators than Theffalus had generally about him ;
, oi'c_' and this eircumflance is the lei's to bp wondered at, it
vve confider that he promifed to teach the whole art of
medicine in lefs than fix months. In reality, the art
might be learned much fooner if it comprehended no
more than what the methodics thought neceflary : for
they cut oil the examination of the caufes of difeafes
followed by the dogmatics j and fubftituted in the
room of the laborious obfervations of the empirics, in¬
dications drawn from the analogy of difeales, and the
mutual refemblanee they bear to each other. The
mold ikilful of all the methodic fe£l, and he who put
the lalt hand to it, was Soranus. He lived under
the emperors Trajan and Adrian, and was a native of
Ephefiis.
One of the moft celebrated medical writers of an¬
tiquity was Celfus, whom we have already had oc-
cafion to mention. Moft writers agree that he lived
in the time of Tiberius, but his country is uncertain.
It is even difputed whether or not he was a profeffed
phyfician. Certain it is, however, that his books on
medicine are the moft valuable of all the ancients next
to thofe of Hippocrates. From the latter, indeed, he
has taken fo much, as to acquire the name of the La¬
tin Hippocrates; but he has not attached himfelf to
him fo clofely as to rejeft the affiftance of other au¬
thors. In many particulars he has preferred Afcle-
piades. With him he laughs at the critical days of
Hippocrates, and afcribes the invention of them to
a foolilh and luperftitious attachment to the Pythago¬
rean do&rine of numbers. He alfo rejected the doc¬
trine of Hippocrates with regard to venefebtion, of which
he made a much more general ufe $ but did not take
away fo much blood at a time, thinking it much better
to repeat the operation than weaken the patient by too
great an evacuation at once. He ufed cupping alfo
much more frequently, and differed from him with re¬
gard to purgatives. In the beginning of diforders, he
faid, the patients ought to endure hunger and third: :
but afterwards they were to be nourithed with good
aliments; of which, however, they were not to take
too much, nor fill themfelves fuddenly, after having
faded long. He does not fpecify how long the pa¬
tient ought to prattlfe abdinence ; but affirms, that in
this particular 'it is neceffary to have a regard to the
difeafe, the patient, the feafon, the climate, and other
circumdances of a like nature. The figns drawn from
the pulfe he looked upon to be very precarious and un¬
certain. “ Some (fays he) lay great drefs upon the
beating of the veins or the arteries ; which is a deceit¬
ful circumdance, fince that beating is dow or quick,
and varies very much, according to the age, fex, and
conditution of the patient. It even fometimes happens
that the pulfe is weak and languid when the domach is
difcrdered, or in the beginning of a fever. On the
contrary, the pulfe is often high, and in a violent com¬
motion, when one has been expofed to the fun, or
comes out of a bath, or from ufing exercife ; or when
one is under the influence of anger, fear, or any other
paflion. Beddes, the pulfe is eafily changed by the
arrival of the phyfician, in confequence of the patient’s
anxiety to know what judgement he will pafs upon his
cafe. Io prevent this, the phyfician mud not feel the
patient’s pulfe on his fird arrival: he mud fird fit down
by him, affume a cheerful air, inform himfelf of his con-
/I EDICT N E.
Hiftory.
dition ; and if he is under any dread, endeavour to re-Cdfus, &c.
move it by encouraging difcourfe j after which he may "•“'"v
examine the beating of the artery. This neverthelefs
does not hinder us from concluding, that if the fight
of the phyfician alone can produce fo remarkable a
change in the pulfe, a thoufand other caules may pro¬
duce the fame effect.” But although Celfus thought
for himfelf, and in not a few particulars differed from
his predeceffors, yet in his writings, which are not only1
dill preferved, but have gone through almod innu¬
merable editions, we have a compendious view of the
praflice of almoit all his predeceffors : and he treats
of the healing art in all its branches, whether per¬
formed mann, viciu, vel medicamentis. His writings,
therefore, will naturally be confulted by every one
who wilhes either to become acquainted with the
practice of the ancients prior to the fall of the Roman
empire, or to read medical Latin in its greateft pu-
rity- . . 41
About the 13 id year after Chrid, in the reign of Galen.
the emperor Adrian, lived the celebrated Galen, a na¬
tive of Pergamus, whofe name makes fuch a confpicu-
ous figure in the hidory of phyfic. At this time the
dogmatic, empiric, methodic, and other fe£ts, had
each their abettors. The methodics were held in
great edeem, and looked upon to be fuperior to the
dogmatics, who were drangely divided among them¬
felves, fotne of them following Hippocrates, others
Erafidratus, and others Afclepiades. The empirics
made the lead condderable figure of any. Galen un¬
dertook the reformation of medicine, and refiored
dogmatifm. He feems to have been of that feft
which was called eclediic, from their choofing out of
different authors ivhat they edeemed good in them,
without being particularly attached to any one more
than the red. This declaration he indeed lets out
with ; but, notwithdanding this, he follows Hippocrates
much more than any other, or rather follows nobody
elfe but him. Though before his time feveral phyli-
cians had commented on the works of Hippocrates, yet
Galen pretends that none of them had underdood his
meaning. His fird attempt therefore was to explain
the works of Hippocrates ; with which view he wrote
a great deal, and after this fet about compofing a fy-
dem of his own. In one of his books entitled, “ Of
the edablidiment of medicine,” he defines the art to be
one which teaches to preferve health and cure difeafes.
In another book, however, he propoles the following
definition : “ Medicine (lays he) is a fcience which
teaches what is lound, and what is not fo ; and what
is of an indifferent nature, or holds a medium between
what is found and what is the reverfe.” Fie affirmed,
that there are three things which conditute the object
of medicine, and which the phyfician ought to confider
as found, as not found, or of a neutral and indifferent
nature. Thefe are the body itfelf, the figns, and the
caufes. He edeems the human body found, when it is
in a good date or habit with regard to the Ample parts
of which it is compofed, and when befides there is a
jud proportion between the organs formed of thefe Am¬
ple parts. On the contrary, the body is reckoned to
be unfound, when it recedes from this date, and the
jud proportion above mentioned. It is in a date of
neutrality or indifference, when it is in a medium be¬
tween foundnefs and its oppofite date. The falutary
Hiftory. M E D X
Galen. fignS are fucli as indicate prefent health, and prognofti-
Cate that the man rnay remain in that ftate for fome
time to come. The infalubrious figns, on the contrary,
indicate a prefent diforder, or lay a foundation for ful-
pefling the approach of one. The neutral figns, or
fuch as are of an indifferent nature, denote neither
health-nor indifpofition, either for the prefent, or for
the time to come. In like manner he fpeaks of caufes
falutary, unfalutary, and indifferent.
* Thefe three difpofitions of the human body, that is,
foundnefs, its reverfe, and a neutral ftate, comprehend
all the differences between health and diforder or in¬
difpofition : and each of thefe three dates or difpo¬
fitions has a certain extent peculiar to itfelf. A found
habit of body, according to the definition of it already
given, is very rare, and perhaps never to be met with ;
but this does not hinder us to fuppofe fuch a model for
regulating our judgement with refpeft to different con-
fiitutions. On this principle Galen eftablithes eight
ether principal conllitutions, all of which differ more
or lefs from the perfect model above mentioned. The
four firft are fuch as have one of the four qualities of
hot, cold, moift, or dry, prevailing in too great a
degree •, and accordingly receive their denomination
from that quality which prevails over the reft. The
four other fpecies of conftitutions receive their deno¬
minations from a combination of the above mentioned ;
fo that, according to his definition, there may be a hot
and dry, a hot and moift, a cold and moift, and a
cold and dry, conftitution. Befides thefe differences,
there are certain others which refult from occult and
latent caufes, and which, by Galen, are faid to arife
from an idiofyncrafy of conftitution. It is owing to this
idiofyncrafy that fome have an averfion to one kind
of aliment and fome to another •, that fome cannot en¬
dure particular fmells, &c. But though thefe eight
laft-mentioned conllitutions fall Ihort of the perfec¬
tion of the firft, it does not thence follow, that thofe
to whom they belong are to be claffed among the va¬
letudinary and difeafed. A difeafe only begins when
the deviation becomes fo great as to hinder the due
adfion of fome parts.
Galen deferibes at great length the figns of a good
or bad conftitution, as well as thofe of what he calls a
neutral habit. Thefe figns are drawn from the origi¬
nal qualities of cold, hot, moift, and dry, and from
their juft proportion or difproportion with refpedl to
the bulk, figure, and fituation, of the organical parts.
With Hippocrates he eftablifties three principles of an
animal body \ the parts, the humours, and the fpirits.
By the parts he properly meant no more than the fo-
lid parts; and thefe he divided into fimilar and orga¬
nical. Like Hippocrates, he alfo acknowledged four
humours •, the blood, the phlegm, the yellow bile and
black bile. He eftabliihed three different kinds of
fpirits; the natural, the vital, and the animal. The
firft of thefe are, according to him, nothing elfe but
a fubtle vapour arifing from the blood, which draws its
origin from the liver, the organ or inftrument of fan-
guification. After thefe fpirits are conveyed to the
heart, thev, in coyundfion with the air we draw into
the lungs, become the matter of the fecond ipecies,
that is, of the vital fpirits, which are agai» changed
into thofe of the animal kind in the brain. He fuppo-
fed that thefe three Ipecies of fpirits ferved as inftru-
CINE.
ments to three kinds of faculties, which refide in the
refpeflive parts where thefe faculties are formed. The
natural faculty is the firft of thefe, which he placed in
the liver, and imagined to prefide over the nutrition,
growth, and generation, of the animal. The vital fa¬
culty he lodged in the heart, and fuppofed that by
means of the arteries it communicated warmth and life
to all the body. The animal faculty, the nobleft of
all the three, and with which the reafoning or go¬
verning faculty was joined, according to him, has its
feat in the brain : and, by means of the nerves, dif-
tributes a power of' motion and fenfation to all the
parts, and prefides over all the other faculties. The
original fource or principle of motion in all thefe fa¬
culties, Galen, as well as Hippocrates, defines to be
Nature.
Upon thefe principles Galen defined a difeafe to be
“ fuch a preternatural difpofition or affeiftion of the
parts of the body, as primarily, and of itfelf, hinders
their natural and proper action.” He eftabliihed three
principal kinds of difeafes : the firft relates to the fi-
milar parts j the fecond, to the organical j and the
third is common to both thefe parts. The firft kind
of difeafes confifts in the intemperature of the fimilar
parts; and this is divided into an intemperature wh/i-
out matter, and an intemperature with matter. The
firft difeovers itfelf when a part has more or' lefs heat
or cold than it 'ought to have without that change of
quality in the pait being fupported and maintained by
any matter. Thus, for inifance, a perfon’s head may
be overheated and indifpofed by being expofed to the
heat of the fun, without that heat being maintained by
the continuance or congeftion of any hot humour in
the part.. The fecond fort of intemperature is when
any part is not only rendered hot or cold, but alio fill¬
ed with a hot or cold humour, which are the caufes
of the heat or cold felt in the part. Galen alfo ac-
know’tdged a fimple intemperature : that is, when one
of the original qualities, fuch as heat or cold, exceeds
the natural ftandard alone and feparately ; and a com¬
pound intemperature, when two qualities are joined to¬
gether, fuch as heat and drynefs, or coldnefs and humi¬
dity. He alfo eftablilhed an equal and unequal tem¬
perature. The former is that which is equally in all
the body, or in any particular part of it, and which
creates no pain, becaufe it is become habitual, fuch as
drynefs in the heflic conftitution. The latter is diftin-
guifhed from the former, in that it does not equally
fubfift in the whole of the body, or in the whole of a
part. Of this kind of intemperature we have ex¬
amples in certain fevers, where heat and cold, equally,
and almoft at the fame time, attack'the fame part; or
in other fevers, which render the furface of the body
cold as ice, while the internal parts burn with heat;
or laftly, in cafes where the ftomach is cold and the liver
hot.
The fecond kind of diforders, relating to the orga¬
nical parts, refults from irregularities of thefe parts,
with refpeft to the number, bulk, figure, fituation, &c.j
as when one has fix fingers, or only four ; when one has
any part larger or fmaller than it ought to be, &c. The
third kind, which is common both to the fimilar and the
organical parts, is a folution of continuity, which hap¬
pens when any fimilar or compound part is cut, bruifed,
or corroded.
C c 3
Like
204
Galen
M E D I
L.ii-.e Hippocrates, Galen diftinguifhed difeafes into
acute and chronical 5 and, with refpedl to their nature
and genius, into benign and malignant} alfo into epi¬
demic, endemic, and fporadic.
After having diftinguilhed tiie kinds of difeafes, Ga¬
len comes to explain their caufes 5 which he divides into
external and internal. The external caufes of difeafes,
according to him, are fix things, which contribute to
the prefervation of health when they are well difpofed
and properly ufed, but produce a contrary effea when
they are imprudently ufed or ill difpofed. Thefe fix
things are, the air, aliments and drink, motion and
reft, lleeping and watching, retention and excretion,
and laftly the paffions. All thefe are called thejOro-
eatarBic or beginning caufes, becaufe they put in mo¬
tion the internal caufes ; which are of two kinds, the
antecedent and the conjunB. The former is difcover-
ed only by reafoning 5 and confifts for the molt part
in a peccancy of the humours, either by plentitude
orcacochymy, i. e. a bad ftate of them. When the
humours are in too large a quantity, it is called a
plethora ; but we muft obferve, that this word equally
denotes too large a quantity of all the humours to-
gt tber, or a redundance of one particular humour
which prevails over the reft. According to thefe prin¬
ciples, there may be a fanguine, a bilious, a pituitous,
or a melancholy pienitude 1 but there is this difference
between the fanguine and the three other plenitudes
that the blood, which is the matter of the former, may
far fuipafs the reft : whereas, if any of the three laft
mentioned ones do fo, the cafe is no longer called pleni¬
tude, but cacochymia ; becaufe thefe humours, abound¬
ing more than they ought, corrupt the blood. The
caufes he alfo divides into fuch as are manifeft and evi¬
dent, and fuch as are latent and obfcure. The firft are
fuch as fpontaneoufty come under the cognizance of
our fenfes when they aft or produce their effeas : the
fecond are not of themfelves perceptible, but may be
difcovered by reafoning: the third fort, i. e. fuch as
he calls occult or concealed, cannot be difcovered at all
Among this laft he places the caufe of the hydro¬
phobia. J
He next proceeds to confider the fymptoms of dif-
™es- A/ymptom he defines to be “ a preternatural
affection depending upon a difeafe, or which follows it
as a thadow does a body.” He acknowledged three
kmds of fymptoms: the firft and moft confiderable of
thefe confifted inthe adion of the parts being injured
or hindered ; the fecond in a change of the quality of
t ie. parts their adtions in the mean time remaininy;
entire : the third related to defefts in point of excre¬
tion and retention.
After having treated of fymptoms, Galen treats of
the 7%™ Qf difeafes. Thefe are divided into dia-
gnojhc and prognojlic. The firft are fo called becaufe
they enable us to know difeafes, and diftinguifh them
from each other They are of two forts, pathognomonic
or adjunB. 1 he firft are peculiar to every difeafe
make known its precife fpecies, and always accom¬
pany it, fo that they begin and end with it. The
lecond are common to feveral difeafes, and only ferve
t® point out the difference between difeafes of the
lame fpecies. In a pleurify, for inftance, the patho¬
gnomonic figns are a cough, a difficulty of breathing, a
f the and a continued fever j the adjuLft
C I N E, Hiftoiy*
figns are the various forts of matter expectorated, Oribafius,
which is fometimes bloody, fometimes bilious, &c.  &c.
Ihe diagnoftic figns wrere drawn from the defective ~ J
or difordered difpofition of the parts, or from the
difeafes themfelves 5 fecondly, from the caufes of dif-
eafes ; thirdly, from their fymptoms j and laftly, from
the_ particular difpofitions of each body, from things
which prove prejudicial and thofe that do fervice,
and from epidemical difeafes.—The prognoftic fmns
he gathered from the fpecies, virulence, and pecufiar
genius of the difeafe : but as we have already fpoken fo
largely concerning the prognoftics of Hippocrates,
it is fuperfluous to be particular on thofe of Galen.—
His method of cure differed little from that of Hip¬
pocrates . but from the Ipecimen already given of
Galen’s method of teaching the medical art, it is evi¬
dent that his fyftem was little elfe than a colleaion of
fpeculations, diftin£Hons, and reafonings 5 whereas that
of Hippocrates was founded immediately upon fads
which he had either obferved himfelf, or had learned
from the obfervation of others.
Ihe fyftem of Galen, however, notwithftanding its
defeds and abfurdities, remained almoft uncontradid-
ed for a very long period. Indeed it may be conlider-
ed a.s having been the prevailing fyftem till the inun¬
dation of the Goths and Vandals put an almoft entire
flop to the cultivation of letters in Europe. But du¬
ring the general prevalence of the fyftem of Galen,
there appeared fome writers to whom medicine was in¬
debted for improvements, at leaft in certain particulars.
Among the moft diftinguifhed of thefe we may men¬
tion Oribafius, ^Etius, Alexander, and Paulas.
Oribafius fiouriffied about the year 360, and wasoribliL
phyfician to the emperor Julian. He fpeaks very '
fully of the effeds of bleeding by way of fcarification,
a thing little taken notice of by former writers ; from
his own experience he affures us that he had found it
fuccefsful in a fuppreffion of the menfes, defluxions
of the eyes, headach, and ftraitnefs of breathing even
when the perfon was extremely old. He tells his own
cafe particularly, when the plague raged in Alia and
he himfelf was taken ill. On the fecond day he fcari-
fied his leg, and took away two pounds of blood; by
which means he entirely recovered, as did feveral
others who ufed it. In this author alfo we find the
firft defeription of a furprifing and terrible diftemper,
which he termed Xvx.xv6^u7rx, a fpecies of melancholy
and madnefs, which he deferibes thus. “ The per-
fons affedfed get out of their houfes in the night-time,
and in every thing imitate wolves, and wander among
the fepulchres of the dead till day-break. You may
know them by thefe fymptoms: Their looks are pale 5
their eyes heavy, hollowq dry, without the leaft moif-
ture of a tear ; their tongue exceedingly parched and
dry, no fpittle in their mouth, extreme third: 5 their
legs, from the falls and the bruifes they receive full
of incurable fores and ulcers.”
JEtim lived very near the end of the fifth, or in the
beginning of the fixth century. Many paffages in
his writings ferve to fhow us how much the aflual and
potential cautery were ufed by the phyficians of that
age. In a pally, he fays, that he ffiould not at all
hefitate to make an efehar either way, and this in fe¬
veral places one in the nape, where the fpinal mar¬
row takes its rife, two on each fide of it; three or
four
Hiftory. M E D I
Alexander, four on tke top of the head* one juft in the middle,
M~nu ' and three others round it. He adds, that in this cafe,
if the ulcers continue running a coniiderable time, he
fliould not doubt of a perfedf recovery. He is ftiil
more particular when he comes to order this applica¬
tion for an inveterate afthma, after all other remedies
have been tried in vain. One, he fays, ftiould be made
on each ftde near the middle of the joining of the cla¬
vicle, taking care not to touch the wind-pipe : two
other little ones are then to be made near the carotids
under the chin, one on each fide, fo that the cauftic
may penetrate no further than the Ikin ; two others
under the breafts, between the third and fourth ribs}
and again, two more backwards towards the fifth and
fixth ribs. Befides thefe there ought to be one in the
middle of the thorax, near the beginning of the xiphoid
cartilage, over the orifice of the ftomach 5 one on each
fide between the eighth and ninth ribs; and three others
in the back, one in the middle, and the two others
juft below it, on each fide of the vertebrae. Thofe
below the neck ought to be pretty large, not very fu-
perficial, not very deep : and all thefe ulcers ftiould be
kept open for a very long time.
^Etius takes notice of the wTorms bred in different
parts of the body called dracuncuh, which w’ere un¬
known to Galen. He feems alfo to be the firft Greek
writer among the Chriftians, who gives us any fpeci-
men of medicinal fpells and charms ; fuch as that of.
a finger of St Blafius for removing a bone which fticks
in the throat, and another in relation to a fiftula.
He gives a remedy for the gout, which he calls the
grand drier ; the patient is to ufe it for a whole year,
and obferve the following diet each month. “ In
September, he muft eat and drink milk : In Oflober,
he. muft eat garlic j in November, abftain from ba¬
thing ; in December, he muft eat no cabbage j in
January, he is to take a glals of pure wine in the
morning j in February, to eat no beet; in March, to
mix fweet things both in eatables and drinkables; in
April, not to eat horfe-radifti, nor in May the fiftt
called pohjpus ; in June, he is to drink cold water in a
morning j in July, to avoid venery; and laftlv, in
Auguft, to eat no mallows.” Hus may fufticiently
fhow the quackery of thofe times, and how fuperftition
^ was beginning to mix itfelf with the art.
Alexander. Alexander, w'ho flouriftred in the reign of Juftinian,
is a more original author than either of the two for¬
mer. He confines himfelf direftly to the defcribing
the figns of difeafes, and the methods of cure, with¬
out meddling with anatomy, the materia medica, or
forgery, as all the reft did. He employs a whole
book in. treating of the gout. One method he takes
of relieving this difeafe is by purging ; and in moft of
the purges he recommends hermodadlyls, of which he
has a great opinion* In a caufus, or burning fever,
where the bile is predominant, the matter fit for eva¬
cuation,. and the fever not violent, he prefers purging
to bleeding, and fays that he has often ordered purging
in acute fevers with forprifing foccefs. In the caufus
alfo, if a fyncope happens from crude and redundant
humours, he recommends bleeding. In a lyncope fuc-
ceeding the foppreflion of any ufoal evacuation, he re¬
commends bleeding, with fridlions. The diagnoftics
upon which he founds this pradfice are the following :
viz. a face paler and more fwelled than ufoal, a bloated
C r N E. * * 205
habit ol body, with a frnall fiuggiih pulfe, having long Arabian
intervals between the ftrokes. In tertian, and much Ffoficians-<
more in quartan fevers, he recommends vomits above
all other remedies, and affirms that by this remedy
alone he has cured the moft inveterate quartans. On
the bulimus, or canine appetite/ he makes a new ob-
fervation, viz. that it is fometimes caufed by worms.
He mentions the cafe of a woman who laboured un¬
der this ravenous appetite, and had a perpetual gnaw¬
ing at her ftomach and pain in her head : after taking
hiera, foe voided a worm above a dozen of cubits
long, and was entirely cured of her complaints.—He
is alfo the firft author who takes notice of rhubarb;
which he recommends in a weaknefs of the liver and
in dyfentery.—Alexander is recommended byDrFreind
as one of the bell praftical writers among the ancients,
and well w'orthy the perufal of any modern. 45 .
Paulus was byrn in the ifiand Atgina, and lived in^>llu^us*
the 7th century. He tranfcribes a great deal from
Alexander and other phyficians. His defcriptions are
fiiort and accurate. He treats particularly of women’s
diforders; and feems to be the firft inftance upon re¬
cord of a profeffed man-midvoife, for fo he was called
by the Arabians : and accordingly he begins his book
wdth the diforders incident to pregnant women. He «
treats alio very hilly of forgery ; and gives fome direc¬
tions, according to Dr Freind, not to' be found in the
more ancient writers. ^5
After the downfal of the Roman empire, and whenArabi?n
the inundation of Goths and Vandals had almoft
completely exterminated literature of every kind in
.Europe, medicine, though a pradical art, ftiared the
fame fate with more abilraft fciences. Learning in
general, baniffied from the feat of arms, took refuge
among the eaftern nations, where the arts of peace
ftill continued to be cultivated. To the Arabian phy¬
ficians, as they have been called, we are indebted both
for the prefervation of medical fcience, as it fobfifted
among the Greeks and Romans, and likewife for the
defcription of fome new difeafes, particularly the Imall-
pox. Among the moft eminent of the Arabians, we 4y
may mention Rhafes, Avicenna, Albucafis, and Aven-Miafes.
zoar. But of their writings it would be tedious, and
is unneceffary, to give any particular account.—They
W'ere for the moft part, indeed, only copiers of the
Greeks. We are, however, indebted to them for fome
improvements. . They were the firft who introduced
chemical remedies, though of thefe they ufed but few,
nor did they make any confiderable progrefs in the
chemical art. Anatomy w'as not in the leaft improved
by them, nor did forgery receive any advancement
till the time of Albucafis, who lived probably in the
12th century. rlhey added a great deal to botany
and the materia medica, by the introduction of new
drugs, of the aromatic kind efpecially, from the eaft,
many of which are of confiderable ufe They alfo
found out the way of making fugar ; and by help of
that, fyrups 5 which two new materials are of great
ufe in mixing up compound medicines.
With regard to their practice, in fome few particu¬
lars they deviated from the Greeks. Their purging
medicines were much milder than thofe formerly in
ule 5 and even when they did prefcribe the old ones,
they gave them in a much lefs dole than the Greek and
Roman phyficians. I he fame reflection may ue made
concerning
Arabian
Phyucians
48
College of
Salernum.
49
Ccnftan-
tiae.
60
State of
medicine in
the 15th
and 16th
•enturies.
51
Sweating
fickneis in
^England.
M fi O I
cohcernlv;g t’hexr manner of bleeding, which was never
to that exeeltive degree praclifed by the Greeks. They
cetdated from Hippocrates, however, in one very trivial
circumftance, which produced a violent controverfy.
The queftion was, Whether blood in a pleurify ought
to be drawn from the arm of the affefted fide or the
oppofite ? Hippocrates had direfted it to be drawn
from the arm of the afiefted fide ; but the Arabians,
following fome other ancient phyficians, ordered it to
be drawn from the oppofite one. Such was the igno¬
rance of thofe ages, that the univerfity of Salamanca
in Spain made a decree, that no one fiiould dare to
let blood but in the contrary arm ; and endeavoured to
procure an edict from the emperor Charles V. to fecond
it ; alleging that the other method was of no lefs per¬
nicious conlequence to medicine, than Luther’s herefy
had been to religion.
In conlequence of the general deca^ of learning in
the weftern parts of the world, the Greek writers were
entirely neglefted, becaufe nobody could read the lan¬
guage ; and the Arabians, though principally copiers
from them, enjoyed all the reputation that was due to
the others. T he Arabian phyfic w'as introduced into
Europe very early, with the mod extravagant ap-
plaufe : and not only this, but other branches of their
learning, came into repute in the weft 5 infomuch that
in the nth century, the ftudies of natural philofophy
and the liberal arts wrere called the Jhidies of the Sara¬
cens. This wras owing partly to the crufades under¬
taken againft them by the European princes 5 and
partly to the fettlement of the Moors in Spain, and
the intercourfe they and other Arabians had with the
Italians. For, long before the time of the crufades,
probably in the middle of the 7th century, there were
Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin profeffors of -phyfic fettled
at Salernum : which place foon grew into fuch credit,
that Charles the Great thought proper to found a
college there in the year 802 j the only one at that
time in Europe. Conftantine the African flouriftied
there towards the latter end of the nth century. He
xvas a native of Carthage 3 but travelled into the eaft,
and fpent 30 years in Babylon and Bagdad, by which
means he became mafter of the oriental languages and
learning. He returned to Carthage; but being in¬
formed of an attempt againft his life, made his efcape
into Apulia, where he was recommended to Robert
Guifcard, created in 1060 duke of that country, who
made him his fecretary. He was reputed to be very
well verfed in the Greek, as well as in the eaftern
tongues 3 and feems to have been the firft who intro¬
duced either the Greek or Arabian phyfic into Italy.
His works, however, contain nothing that is new, or
material; though he was then accounted a very learned
man.
_ From this time to the end of the 15th and begin¬
ning of the 16th century, the hiftory of phyfic fur-
nifties us with no interefting particulars. This period,
however, is famous for the introduflion of chemiftry
into medicine, and the defeription of three new dif-
tempers, the fvveating ficknefs, the venereal difeafe,
ana the feurvy. The fweating ficknefs began in 1485
in the army of Henry VII. upon his landing at Mil-
ford-haven, and fpread itlelf at London from the 21ft
of September to the end of Oddober, It returned there
five times, and always in fiimmerj firft in 149^, then
3
C I N E. Hiftory.
in 1506, afterwards in' 1517, when it was fo violent Modems,
that it killed many in the fpace of three hours, fo that
numbers of the nobility died, and of the commonalty
in feveral towns often the one-half perilhed. It ap¬
peared the fourth time in 1528, and then proved mor¬
tal in fix hours 3 many of the courtiers died of it, and
Henry VIII. himfelf was in danger. In 1520, and
only then, it infefted ^the Netherlands and Germany,
in which laft country it did much mifehief. 'The lalt
return of it was in 1551, and in Wefiminfter it carried
off 120 in a day. Dr Cains deferibes it as a pefiilent
contagious fever, of the duration of one natural day 3
the fweat he Reckoned to be only a natural fymptom,
or crifis of the diftemper. It firft affedted fome par¬
ticular part, attended with inward heat and burning,
unquenchable thirft, reftleffnefs, ficknefs at ftomach,
but feldom vomiting, beadach, delirium, then faint-
nefs, and exceftive drowfinefs. The pulfe was quick
and vehement, and the breath fliort and laborious.—
Children, poor and old people, were rarely fubjebt to it.
Of others, fcarce any efcapcd the attack, and moft of
them died. Even by travelling into France or Flan¬
ders they did not efcape 3 and what is ftill more ftrange,
the Scots were faid not to be affe£led 3 abroad the
Englilh only were feized, and foreigners in England
were free. x'M firft the phyficians were much puzzled
how to treat this difeafe. The only cure they ever
found, however, was to carry on the fweat for a long
time 3 for, if flopped, it was dangerous or fatal. The
way, therefore, -was for the patient to lie ftill, and not
expofe himfelf to cold. If nature was not ftrong
enough to force out the fweat, it was neceffary to af-
fift her by art, with clothes, wine, &c. The violence
of the diftemper was over in 15 hours 3 but there was
no fecurity for the patient till 24 were paffed. In
fome ftrong conftitutions there was a neceffity to re¬
peat the fweating, even to j 2 times. The removing
out of bed was attended with great danger 3 fome
who had not fweated enough fell into very bad fevers.—
No flefh meat was to be allowed in all the time of the
diftemper 3 nor drink for the firft five hours. In the
ft vent h, the difternper increafed 3 in the ninth the de¬
lirium came on, and deep was by all means to be avoid¬
ed. However terrible this diftemper appeared at firft,
it feldom proved obftinate, if treated in the above-men¬
tioned manner. ?2
In the beginning of the 16th century, the famous Paracelfus.
chemift Paracelfus introduced a new fyftern into me¬
dicine, founded on the principles of chemiftry. The
Galenical fyftem had prevailed till his time 5 but the
prapHce had greatly degenerated, and was become quite
trifling and frivolous. The phyficians in geiaeral rejedt-
ed the ufe of opium, mercury, and other efficacious re¬
medies. Paracelfus, who made ufe of thefe, had
therefore greatly the advantage over them 3 and now
all things relating to medicine were explained on ima¬
ginary chemical principles. It will eafily be conceived
that a praclice founded in this manner could be no
other than the moft dangerous quackery. At this
time, however, it was neceffary ; for now a new dif¬
eafe overran the world, and threatened greater de-
ftrudlion than almoft all the old ones put together,
both by the violence of its fymptoms, and its baffling
the moft powerful remedies at that time known.— This
was the venereal difeafe, which is fuppofed to have been
•» imported
Hiftory. M E D I
Modems, imported from the Weft Indies by the companions of
’ v Chriftopher Columbus. Its firft remarkable appear¬
ed ance was at the liege of Naples in 1494, from whence
rf^he^ve-'0it was foon after propagated through Europe, Ada,
nerealdif- and Africa. The fymptoms with which it made the
eafe. attack at that time were exceedingly violent, much
more fo than they are at prefent; and confequently
were utterly unconquerable by the Galenifts. The
quacks and chemids, who boldly ventured on mer¬
cury, though they no doubt deftroyed numbers by
their excedive ufe of it, yet ftiowed that a remedy for
this terrible diftemper was at laft found out, and that
a proper method of treating it might foon be fallen
upon. Shortly after, the Weft Indian fpecific, guaia-
cum, was difeovered : the materia medica was enriched
with that and many other valuable medicines, both
from the Eaft and Weft Indies: which contributed
confiderably to the improvement of the practice of
phyfic. At this period, as fea voyages of confiderable
duration were more frequent, the feurvy became a
more common diftemper, and -was of ccurfe more ac¬
curately deferibed. But probably, from fuppofed a-
nalogy to the contagions which at that time w'ere new
in Europe, very erroneous ideas were entertained with
regard to its being of an infedh'ous nature : And it is
not impoflible, that from its being attended alfo with
ulcers, it was on fome occaftons confounded with lyphi-
,, litic complaints.
Progrefs of The revival of learning, which now took place
medicine in throughout Europe, the appearance of thefe new dif-
4he 17th tempers, and the natural fondnefs of maukind for
novelty, contributed greatly to promote the advance¬
ment ot medicine as well as other fciences. While
at the fame time, the introdu&ion of the art of print¬
ing rendered the communication of new opinions as
well as new pradices fo eafy a matter, that to enume¬
rate even the names of thofe who have been juftly ren¬
dered eminent for medical knowledge would be a very
tedious talk. It was not, however, till 1628 that Dr
William Harvey of London demonftrated and commu¬
nicated to the public one of the molt important dif-
coveries refpe&ing the animal economy, the circula¬
tion of the blood. This difeovery, more effedually
than any reafoning, overturned all the fyItems which
had fubfifted prior -to that time. It may juftly be rec¬
koned the molt important difeovery that has hitherto
been made in the healing art : for there can be no
doubt that it puts the explanation of the phenomena
of the animal body, both in a ftate of health and dif-
eafe, on a more folid and rational footing than for¬
merly. It has not, however, prevented the rife of
numerous fanciful and abfurd fyftems. Thefe, though
falhionable for a Ihort time, and ftrenuoufly fupported
by blind adherents, have yet in no long period fallen
into deferved contempt. And notwithftanding the,
abilities and induftry of Stahl, Hoffman, Boerhaave,
and 18th
centuries.
55
IDifcovery
©f the cir-
culatisn.
C I N E. 207
and Cullen, we may confidently venture to affert that Moderns.
no general fyftem has yet been propofed which is not1 v 1
liable to innumerable and unfurmountable objections.
Very great progrefs has indeed been made in explain¬
ing the philofophy of the human body, from alcer-
taining by decilive experiment the influence of the cir¬
culating, the nervous, and the lymphatic fyftems in
the animal economy. But every attempt hitherto
made to eftablifh any general theory in medicine, that
is to conduCI the cure of every difeafe on a few gene¬
ral principles, has equally deviated from truth with
thofe of Hippocrates and Galen ; and has equally
tended to miftead thofe who have adopted it. Many
fyftems of our own days, fuch for example as that of
Brown, though adopted with enthufiafm by the young
and inexperienced, have evidently been attended with
the moft pernicious confequences in praCtice. Indeed
we may with confidence venture to affert, that from
the very nature of the fubjeft itfelf, medicine does not
admit of fuch fimplicity. No one can deny that the
human body confifts of a very great number of diffe¬
rent parts, both folids and liuids. It is, however,
equally certain, that each of thefe is from many diffe¬
rent caufes liable to deviations from the found ftate.
And although fome {light changes may take place
without what can be called a morbid affc&ion, yet
we well know, that every change taking place to a
certain degree in any one part will neceffarily and
unavoidably produce an affeClion of the whole. Hence
we may without hefitation venture to affirm, that eve¬
ry general theory which can be propofed, attempting
to explain the phenomena, and conduct the cure of
all dileafes on a few general principles, though for
fome time it may have ftrenuous advocates, will yet
in the end be found to be both ill-grounded and per¬
nicious.
The art of medicine has been much more ufehilly
improved by careful attention to the hiftory, theory,
and practice of particular difeafes, and by endeavour¬
ing to afeertain from cautious obfervation the fymp¬
toms by which they are to be diliinguithed, the caufes
by which they are induced, and the means by which
they are to be prevented, alleviated, or cured. On
this footing, therefore, we ftiall endeavour to give a
brief account of at leaft the moft important affedions
to which the human body is fuhjedcd, delivering what
appear to us to be the beft eftabiiftied fads and obfer-
vations refpeding each. / ‘
But before entering on the confideration of parti¬
cular difeafes, or what has commonly been ftyted the
pradice of medicine, it is neceffary to give a gene¬
ral view of the moft important fundions of the animal
body, and of the chief morbid affedions to which they
are fubjeded ; a branch which has ufually been named
the Theory or Inftitutions of Medicine.
Theory of Medicine, or an Account of the principal Funaions of the
Animal Body.
WHILE the fundions of living animals, but par¬
ticularly of the human ipecies, are very numerous, the
accounts given of thefe both in a ftate of health and 4i-
feafe are very various. Without, therefore, pretending
to enumerate the contradidory opinions of different au¬
thors, we ill all here prefent the reader with a view of this •
fubjed, j
c.
!03
MEDICINE.
FimcKons
of the Body,
. -56
Divifion of
the func¬
tions into a-
nimal, vital
and na¬
tural.
.57 .
DiftindHon
of difeales
into Pimple
and com¬
pound.
58
Symptoms.
59
Predifpo-
nent caufe.
fuhjccl, chiefly exlracled from the ConfpeBus Medicince
■ Theoretic# of Dr James Gregory, who has collected
from other writers the opinions at preient molt gene¬
rally adopted.
In this work, which was firlt publifhed in 1780,
and afterwards reprinted under an enlarged form in
1782, Br Gregory introduces his fubjedt by obfer-
’ving, that fome functions of the human body relate
to itfelf only, and others to external things. To the
latter clafs belong thofe which by phyficians are call¬
ed the animal fu?iBions ; to which are to be referred all
our fenfes, as well as the power of voluntary motion,
by which we become acquainted with the univerfe,
and enjoy this earth. Among the fundtions which
relate to the body, fome have been named vital, fuch
as the circulation of the blood and refpifation ; be-
caufe, without the conftant continuance of thefe life
cannot fubfilt; others, intended for repai ing the wafte
of the fyilem, have been termed the natural func¬
tions : for by the conllant attrition of the folids
and the evaporation of the fluid parts of the body, we
fland in need of nourilhment to fupply this wafte j
after which the putrid and excrementitious parts
muft be thrown out by the proper paffages. The
digeftion of the food, fecretion of the humours, and
excretion of the putrid parts of the food, are referred
to this clafs \ which, though neceflary to life, may
yet be interrupted for a confiderable time without dan¬
ger. This divifion of the fundlions into animal, vital,
and natural, is of very ancient date, and is perhaps one
of the beft that has yet been propofed.
A difeafe takes place, when the body has fo far
declined from a found ftate, that its fumftions are
either quite impeded, or performed with difficulty.
A difeafe therefore may happen to any part of the
body either folid or fluid, or to any one of the func¬
tions : and thofe may occur either fingly, or feveral
of them may be difeafed at the fame time 5 whence the
diftin&ion of difeafes into Jimple and compound.
We have examples of the moft Ample kinds of
difeafes, in the rupture or other injury of any of the
corporeal organs, by which means they become lefs
fit for performing their offices ; or, though the organs
themfelves fhould remain found, if the folids or fluids
have degenerated from a healthy ftate 5 or if, having
loft their proper qualities, they have acquired others
of a different, perhaps of a noxious nature j or laftly,
if the moving powers fhall become too wreak or too
ftrong, or direft their force in a way contrary to what
nature requires.
The moft Ample difeafes are either produclive of
others, or of fymptoms, by which alone they become
known to us. Every thing in which a fick perfon
is obferved to differ from one in health is called a
fymptom ; and the moft remarkable of thefe fymptoms,
w'hich moft conftantly appear, define and conftitute the
difeafe.
The caufes of difeafes are various ; often obfeure,
and fometimes totally unknown. The moft full and
perfect proximate caufe is that which, when pre-
fent, produces a difeafe, when taken away removes
it, and when changed, changes it.—There are alfo
remote caules, which phyficians have been accuftomed
to divide into the predifponent and exciting ones. The
Theory.
Caufes of
Difeafes.
60
former are thofe which only render the body fit for a
difeafe, or w'hich put it into fuch a ftate that it wall
readily receive one. The exciting caufe is that which
immediately produces the difeafe in a body already dif-
pofed to receive it.
The predifponent caufe is always inherent in theExeitin
body itfelf, though perhaps it originally came from caufe.
without j thus heat or cold, a very fparing or a very
luxurious diet, and many other particulars, may operate
as caufes of predifpofition, inducing plethora, inanition,
or the like. But the exciting caufe may either come
from within or without.
From the combined aflion of the predifponent and
exciting caufes comes the proximate caufe, which nei¬
ther of the twm taken fingly is often able to produce.— f1
A body predifpofed to difeafe therefore has already
declined fomewhat from a ftate of perfeft health, al¬
though none of its funflions are impeded in fuch a man¬
ner that wre can truly fay the perfon is difeafed. Yet
fometimes the predifponent caufe, by continuing long,
may arrive at fuch a height, that it alone, without the
addition of any exciting caufe, may produce a real dif¬
eafe.—The exciting caufe alfo, though it ihould not
be able immediately to bring on a difeafe j yet if it
continues long, will by degrees deftroy the ftrongeft
conftitution, and render it liable to various difeafes j
becaufe it either produces a predifponent caufe, or is
converted into it, fo that the fame thing may fometimes
be an exciting caufe, fometimes a predifponent one, or
rather a caufe of predifpofition ; of which the incle¬
mencies of the wreather, floth, luxury, &c. are ex¬
amples. -A
Difeafes, hoxvever, feem to have their origin from Hereditajy
the very conftitution of the animal machine j and difeales.,
hence many difeafes are common to every body wffien
a proper exciting caufe occurs, though fome people
are much more liable to certain dileafes than others.
Some are hereditary 5 for as healthy parents natural¬
ly produce healthy children, fo difeafed parents as
naturally produce a difeafed offspring. Some of thefe
difeafes appear in the earlieft infancy •, others occur
equally at all ages; nor are there wanting fome
wdiich lurk unfufpefled even to the lateft old age, at
laft breaking out with the utmoft violence. Some di¬
feafes are born with us, even though they have no pro¬
per foundation in our conttitution, as when a foetus re¬
ceives fome hurt by an injury done to the mother; while
others, neither born with us nor having any foundation
in the conftitution, are fucked in with the nurfe’s
milk. Many difeafes accompany the different ftages of
life •, and hence fome are proper to infancy, youth, andfrorn
old age. Some alfo are proper to each of the fexes : and fex.
efpecially the female fex, proceeding, no doubt, from
the general cenllitution of the body, but particularly
from the ftate of the parts fubfervient to generation.
Hence the difeafes peculiar to virgins, to menftruating
W'omen, to women with child, to lying-in wromen, to
nurfes, and to old women. The climate itfelf, under 64
and
every
Difeafes
vrhieh people live, produces fome difeafes ,
climate has a tendency to produce particular difeafes,from c^~
either from its excefs of heat or cold, or from the mu-lllate’
lability of the weather. An immenfe number of difeafes
alfo may be produced by impure air, or fuch as is load¬
ed with putrid, marffiy, and other noxious vapours. The
fame
I
Theory.
M E D I
Caufcs of
Dfeafei.
:
Difeafes
from acci
dents.
66
Difeafes
from paf-
fions of the
v wind.
fame tlvnj may happen likewife from corrupted aliment,
whether meat or drink 5 though even the beft and moft
nutritious aliment will hurt if taken in too great quan¬
tity 5 not to mention poifons, which are endowed with
luch pernicious qualities, that even when taken in a
very fmall quantity they produce the moft grievous
difeafes, or perhaps even death itfelf. Laltly, from
innumeiacle accidents and dangers to which mankind
are expofed, they frequently come off with broken
limbs, wounds, and contufions, fometimes quite incu¬
rable 5 and thefe misfortunes, though proceeding from
an external cauie at firft, often terminate in internal
difeafes.
Hitherto we have mentioned only the dangers which
come from without; but thofe are not lefs, nor fewer
in number, which come from within. At every breath,
man pours forth a deadly poifon both to himfelf and
others. Neitner are the effluvia of the lungs alone hurt¬
ful . there flows out from every pore of the body a
mofl fubtile and poifonous matter, perhaps of a putref-
cent nature, wnich being long accumulated, and not
a no wed to diffufe itfelf through the air, infedls the
body with melt grievous difeafes ; nor does it flop
l.e.e, out produces a contagion which fpreads devafta-
non tar and wide among mankind. From too much
or too littie exercife of our animal powers alfo no
imall danger enfues. By inactivity either of body or
iuind, tne vigour of both is impaired 3 nor is the dan¬
ger much lefs from too great employment. By mode-
2 ate ufe, all the faculties of the mind, as well as all the
parts of the body, are improved and ftrengthened 3
and here nature has appointed certain limits, fo that
exercife can neither be too much neglefted, nor too
much increafed, with impunity. Hence thofe who ufe
violent exercife, as w’ell as thofe who fpend their time
in fioth and idlenefs, are equally liable to difeafes; but
eacn to diieafes of a different kind : and hence alfo the
l.aa effeCls of too great or too little employment of the
mental pow'ers.
Befides the dangers aniing from thofe aClions of the
bouy and mind which are in our own power, there are
ot.ieis ariflng from thofe w'hich are quite involuntary.
1 nus, paffions of the mind, either when carried to too
great excefs, or when long continued, equally deftroy
tne health ; nay, wall even fometimes bring on hidden
death. S.eep alfo, which is of the greatelf fervice in
reftoring the exhaufted ftrength of ‘the body, proves
noxious either from its too great or too little quantity.
In the moft healthy body, alfo, many things always
require to be evacuated. The retention of thefe is
luitful, as well as too profufe an evacuation, or the ex¬
cretion of thofe things either fpontaneoufly or artifi-
aaily which nature direCls to be retained. As the
foud parts lometimes become flabby, foft, almoft dif-
foived, and unfit for their proper offices 3 fo the fluids
are fometimes infpiffated, and formed even into the
hardeft folid maffes. Hence impeded aClions of the
oigans, vehement pain, various and grievous difeafes.
^alliy, fome animals are to be reckoned among the
cau.es of difeafes : fuch particularly, as fupport their
life at the expence of others : and thefe either invade
vis 10m without,, or take up their refidence within
tne body, gnawing the bowels while the perfon
is yet alive not only with great danger and diftrefs
Vol. XIII. Part I.
CINE. . 2O0
to the patient, but lometimes even producing death Animal
itfelf. ° Solids.
Man, however, is not left w ithout defence againft' ^
fo many and fo great dangers. The human body is pof- Ffr mldica-
felled of a moft wonderful power, by w'bich it preferves^fr
itfelf from difeafes, keeps off many, and in a very fhorH"^-
time cures fome already begun, while others are by
the fame means more flowly brought to a happy con-
clulion. This power, called the autocrateia, or vis mc-
dicatrix natures, is w^ell knowm both to phyficians and
philofophers. This alone is often fufficient for curing
many difeafes, and is of fervice in all. Nay, even the
beft medicines operate only by exciting and properly
direding this force 3 for no medicine will aft on a dead
caicale. But though phylicians juftly put confidence in
this power, and though it generally cures difeafes of a
flighter nature, it is not to be thought that thofe of
the more grievous kind are to be left to the unaflifted
efforts of the vis mcdicatrix. Phyficians therefore
have a twofold error to avoid, either defpifing the
powers of nature too much, or putting too great con¬
fidence in them 3 becaufe in many difeafes thefe ef¬
forts are either too feeble or too violent, infomuch
that fometimes they are more to be dreaded than even
the difeafe itfelf. So far therefore is it from being the
duty of a phyfician always to follow the footfteps of
nature, that it is often neceffary for him to take a di-
retf ly contrary courfe, and oppofe her efforts with all
his might. ^
After a general view of the funaions of the ani-Chemical
mal body, of the nature and caufes of difeafe, and ofana*ybisof
the powers by which thefe are to be combated, Dr ^
Gregory proceed* to treat of the folid materials ofS
which the body is formed. He tells us, that the
animal folid, W'hen chemically examined, yields earth,
oil, fait, water, phlogifton or inflammable air, and a
great quantity of mephitic air. Thefe elements are
found in various proportions in the different parts of
the body 3 and hence thefe parts are endowed wifh
very different mechanical powers, from the hardeft:
and moft folid bone to the foft and almoft fluid
retina. . Nay, it is principally in this difference of
proportion between the quantities of the different
elements, that the difference between the folid and
fluid parts of the animal confill, the former ha¬
ving much more earth and lefs water in their compo-
fition than the latter. The cohefion, he thinks/ is
owing to fomething like a chemical attradion of’the
elements for one another ; and its caufe is neither to
be fought for in the gluten, fixed air, nor earth. This
attradhon, however, is not fo ftrong but that even
during life the body tends to diflblution 3 and imme¬
diately after death putrefa&ion commences, provided
only .there be as much moifture in it as will allow an
inteftine motion to go on. 'I he greater the heat, the
fooner. does putrefaction take place, and with the great¬
er rapidity does it proceed 5 the mephitic air flies oft',
and together with it certain faline particles 5 after
which, the cohefion of the body being totally deftroyed
the whole falls into a putrid colluvies, of w’hich at
length all the volatile parts being diflipated, nothin/
but the earth is left behind.
This analyfis, he. owns, is far from being perfeCl,
and is by no means in the language of modern chemif-
d try.
. the animal
rfolids.
210
Animal
Solids.
69.
Qualities of
the animal
foiicb.
70
Eaufes af-
fedting the
iplids.
M E D I
try. But no modern chemift has ever been able, by
combining the chemical principles of flelh, to repro¬
duce a compound any thing like what the flelh ori¬
ginally was : yet, however imperfeft the analyfis may
be, it ftill has the advantage of fhowing in fome
meafure the nature and caufes of certain difeafes, and
thus leads phyficians to the knowledge of proper reme¬
dies.
The folid parts are fitted for the purpofes of life in
three feveral ways ; namely, by their cohefion, their
flexibility, and their elafticity, all of which are various
in the various parts of the body. Moft of the functions
of life confift in various motions. In fome the molt
violent and powerful motions are required 5 and there¬
fore fuch a degree of cohefion is neceflary in thefe
parts as will be fufficient for allowing them to perform
their offices without any danger of laceration. It is
therefore neceffary that fome of the folid parts ffiould
be more flexible than others j and it is likewife necef¬
fary that thefe parts, along with their flexibility, Ihould
have a power of recovering their former fhape and
fituation, after the removal of the force by which they
were altered.
Thefe variations in flexibility, within certain li¬
mits, feldom produce any material confequence with
regard to the health : though fometimes, by exceed¬
ing the proper bounds, they may bring on real and
very dangerous difeafes ; and this either by an excefs or
diminution of their cohefion, flexibility, or elalfictty.
By augmenting the cohelion, the elafticity is alfo for
the moft part augmented, but the ftexibility diminiihed ;
by diminiftiing the cohefion, the flexibility becomes
greater, but the elafticity is diminifhed.
The caufe of thefe affeftions, though various, may
be reduced to the following heads. Either the che¬
mical compofition of the matter itfelf is changed } or,
the compolition remaining the fame, the particles of
the folid may be fo difpofed, that they ftiall more or lefs
ftrongly attradft one another. As to the compofition,
almoft all the elements my exift in the body in an un¬
due proportion, and thus each contribute its (hare to
the general diforder. But of many of thefe things we
know very little ; only it is apparent, that the fluid
parts, which confift chiefly of water, and the folid,
which are made up of various elements, are often in
very different proportions: the more water, the lefs is
the cohefion or elaflicity, but the greater the flexibility;
and the reverfe happens, if the folid or earthy part pre¬
dominates.
The remote caufes of thefe different ftates, whether
predifponent or exciting, are very various. In the firft
place, idiofyncrafy itfelf, or the innate conftitution of
the body, contributes very much to produce the above-
mentioned effedls. Some have naturally a much harder
and drier temperament of the body than others; men,
for inftance, more than women; which can with the
utmoft difficulty, indeed fcarce by any means what¬
ever, admit of an alteration. The fame thing takes
place at different periods of life; for, from firft to laft,
the human body becomes always drier and more rigid.
Much alfo depends on the diet made ufe of, which al¬
ways produces a correfponding Mate of the folids in
proportion to its being more or lefs watery. Neither
are there wanting ftrong reafons for believing, that
cot only the habut of the body, but even the difpofi-
CINE. Theory.
tion of the mind, depends very much on the diet we Animal
make ufe of. The good or bad conco61ion of the ali- Solids. ^
ment alfo, the application of the nourifhment prepared
from it, and likewife the ftate of the air with regard to
moifture or drynefs, affedt the temperament of the body
not a little ; and hence thofe who inhabit mountains
or dry countries, are very different from the inhabitants
of low mariliy places. Laftly, the manner of living
contributes fomewhat to this effeft: Exercife preffes
out and exhales the moifture of the body, if in too great
quantity ; on the contrary, floth and lazinefs produce
an effebl diredlly oppolite, and caufe a redundancy of
fluid.
But, putting the chemical compofition of the folid
parts out of the queflion altogether, they may be af-
fetled by many other caufes. The condeufation, for
inftance, or compreffion of the particles, whether by
mechanical caufes or by means of cold or heat, makes
a confiderable alteration in the ftrength and elafticity
of every folid body. How much mechanical preffure
contributes to this may be underftood from the expe¬
riments of Sir Clifton Wintringham: and hence alfo
are we to deduce the reafon of many fafts of the high-
eft importance in the animal economy ; namely, the
growth, ftate, decreafe of the body ; its rigidity
daily increafing ; and at laft the unavoidable death
incident to old age from a continuance of the fame
caufes.
Perhaps the different denfity of the folids is in fome
meafure owing to Nature herfelf; but it feems to de¬
pend more on the powers of exercife or inaflivity in
changing the ftate of the folids, the effefts of which
on the body whether good or bad, may hence be ealily
underftood.
Heat relaxes and expands all bodies, but cold ren¬
ders them more denfe and hard ; the effects of which
on the human body are well known to raift people.
Though the body is found to preferve a certain de¬
gree of heat almoft in every fituation, yet its furface
muft unavoidably be affe&ed by the temperature of the
circumambient atmofphere ; and we have not the leaft
reafon to doubt that every part of the body may thus
feel the effects of that temperature. What a difference
is there between one who, expofed to the fouth wind,
becomes lazy and languid, fcarce able to drag along his
limbs ; and one who feels the force of the cold north
wind, which renders the whole body alert, ftrohg, and
fit for a£lion ?
That thefe various caufes, each of which is capable of
affefling the conftitution of the body when taken fing-
ly, will produce much greater effefts when combined,
is fufficiently evident. The experiments of Bryan Ro-
binfon, the effects of the warm bath, and indeed daily ex¬
perience, ffiow it fully.
It is not yet certainly known what is the ultimate
ftrufture of the minuteft parts of the animal-folid ; whe¬
ther it confifts of ftraight fibres or threads, whofe length
is very confiderable in proportion to their breadth, vari-
oufly interwoven with one another, as Boerhaave fup-
pofes; or of fpiral ones, admirably convoluted and in¬
terwoven with one another, as fome microfcopical ex¬
periments feem to {how ; or whether the cellular tex¬
ture be formed of fibres or lamina, and from thence the
greateft part of the body, as the celebrated Haller hath
endeavoured to prove.
The
Theory. M E D I
Animal The cellular texture is obferved throughout the
Solids, whole body: it furrounds and connects the fibres
*   themfelves, which are fufficiently apparent in many
Cellular of the organs j and {lightly joins the different parts
texture. which ought to have any kind of motion upon the
neighbouring ones. By a condenfation of this fubftance
alfo, the ftrongeft, and what feem the thinneft, mem¬
branes are formed $ the molt fimple of which being
accurately examined, difcover the cellular ltru£ture.
This cellular fubftance fometimes iucreafes to a furpri-
fing degree, and all parts formed of it, membranes,
veffels, &c. efpecially by a gentle diftenfion ; for a
fudden and violent diftenfion either breaks it altoge¬
ther, or renders it thinner. Sometimes alfo it grows
between neighbouring parts, and joins thofe which na-
- ture has left free. Preternatural concretions of this
kind are often obferved after an inflammation of the
lungs or of the abdominal vifcera j and thefe new
membranes are found to be truly cellular, 'l ifts fub¬
ftance, when cut, or by any other means divided, grows
together of its owm accord •, but if, by reafon of very
great inflammation and fuppuration, a large portion of
the cellular texture has been deftroyed, it is never again
completely renewed, and an ugly fear is left. It is even
faid, that this fubftance, in certain cafes, is capable
of joining the parts either of the fame body with one
another, or of a foreign body with them ; and upon
this, if on any foundation, refts the art of Taliacotius
and that of tranfplanting teeth, lately fo much talked of.
The cellular texture is in fome places merely a kind
of net-work, in others filled with fat. Wherever too
great bulk or compreflxon would have been inconve¬
nient or dangerous, as in the head, lungs, eyes, eye¬
brow's, penis, ferotum, &c. there it collects no fat, but
is lax, and purely reticulated; but between the mufcles
of the body and limbs below the {kin, in the abdomen,
efpecially in the omentum and about the kidneys, very
much fat is fecreted and collected.
Animal fat. The fat is principally a pure animal oil, not very dif¬
ferent from the exprefled and mild vegetable ones; du¬
ring life it is fluid, but of different degrees of thick-
nefs in different parts of the body. It is fecreted from
the blood, and is often fuddenly reabforbed into it,
though pure oil is very rarely obferved in the blood.
It is indeed very probable, that oil, by digeftion,
partly in the primae viae, and partly in the lungs, is
converted into gluten, and this again into oil by means
of fecretion j though no glandular organs fecreting
the fat can be ftiown by anatomifts. It is however,
probable, that there are fuch organs ; and that the
cellular texture has fome peculiar ftrutfture in thofe
parts which are deftined to contain the fat already
fecreted, without fuffering it to pafs into other places j
for it never paffes into thofe parts which are purely re¬
ticulated, although the cellular texture is eafily per¬
meable by air or water over the whole body from head
to foot.
The fat is augmented by the ufe of much animal-
food, or of any other that is oily and nouriftiing, pro¬
vided the digeftion be good •, by the ufe of ftrong
drink, efpecially malt-liquor ; by much reft of body
and mind, much fleep and inaftivity, caftration, cold,
repeated bloodletting, and in general by whatever di-
minifhes the vital and animal powers. Much, howT-
ever, depends on the conllitution of the body itfelfj
CINE; • 21i
nor is is poftible to fatten a human creature at pleafure Animal
like an ox. A certain degree of fatnefs, according to So|lds' .
the age of the perfon, is a fign and effedt of good
health j but w'hen too great, it becomes a difeafe of
itielf, and the caufe of other difeafes. It may al¬
ways be very certainly removed by ftrong exercife,
little fleep, and a fpare diet. The fat commonly
makes up a confiderable part of the bulk of the body,
and fometimes by far the greateft part. Its ufe feems
to be to make the motion of the body more eafy and
free, by leffening the fri&ion of the moving parts,
and thus preventing the abralion of the folids, which
would other wife happen. It is alio of ufe to hinder
the parts from growing together, w'hich fometimes
happens, when by an ulcer or any other accident a
part of the cellular texture containing the fat is de¬
ftroyed. Befides all this, the fat contributes not a
little to the beauty of the body, by filling up the .
large interftices between the mufcles, which wrould
otherwife give the perfon a deformed and {hocking ap-
pearace. It is thought to be nutritious, when ab-
forbed from its cells into die blood ; but of this we
have no certain proof. It feems to “have fome power
of defending from the cold •, at leaft, nature has be¬
llowed it in very great quantity on thote animals which
inhabit the colder regions, as whales, bears, &.c. 73
Thofe parts of the body wdfich enjoy fenfe and mo-Vltall0"
bility, are called /iw/ig or viia/ folids. They are the hd'J>
brain, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, fpinal marrow,
the nerves arifing from thefe and diffufed throughout .
the whole body, and which are diftributed through the
various organs of fenfe and through the mufcles, and
laitly the mufcles themfelves. Senfation is much more
general than mobility, as being common to all the parts
already mentioned. Mobility is proper to the mufeu-
lar fibres alone : wherever there is fenfation, therefore,
we may believe that there are nerves 5 and wherever
there is mobility, we may believe that mufcular fibres
exirt. Nay, even mobility itfelf feems to originate
from the connexion which the mufcles have with the
nerves j for foon after the nerves are comprefl'ed, or ti¬
ed, or cut, the mufcles to which they are diftributed
lofe their faculties ; which happens, too, when the brain
itfelf, or the origin of the nerves, is affefled. Some
reckon that the mufcles are produced from the nerves,
and confift of the fame kind of matter. Both in¬
deed have a ftmilar ftrudlure, as being fibrous and of a
white colour: for the mrafcles when well freed from the
blood, of which they contain a great abundance, are of
this colour as well as the nerves; neither can the ner¬
vous fibres by any means be diftinguiflied from the muf¬
cular fibres themfelves. Both have alfo fenfation 5 and
both ftimulants and fedatives a£t in the fame manner,
whether they be applied to the mufcles themfelves or to
the nerves. Thefe circumftances have led Dr Cullen
and many others to confider the mufcular fibre as being
merely a continuation of nerve. But to this opinion
there are many ftrong objections j though there can
be no doubt that the contraction of the mufcular fibre
is intimately connected with nervous influence.
It is difficult for us to difcover the origin of many
parts of the body, or to afeertain whether they are
produced all at the fdme time or one after another :
yet it muft be owned, that many of the mufcular parts
are obferved to have attained a remarkable degree of
D d 2 . ftrengtlrj
M E D I
74
Seme of
ifding.
212
’SSr1 flrenStll» wIlile the brain is ftill foft and almoft fluid j
' 1— ' that the action of thefe mufcular parts is required
for the action and growth of the brain. The mufcles
are alio of a much firmer contexture than the nerves;
and enjoy a power of their own, namely, that of irri-
tabdity, of which the nerves never participate. Of ne-
ceflity, therefore, either the mufcles mult be conftruc-
ted of fome kind of matter different from that of the
nerves j or if both are made of the fame materials,
iheir organization mufl: be exceedingly different. But
if the fubftance of the mufcles and nerves be totally dif¬
ferent, we may eafily be convinced that much of the
one is always mixed with the ether 5 for it is impof-
fible to prick a mufcle, even with the fmallefl: needle,
without wounding or lacerating many nervous fibres
at the fame time. Since, therefore, there is fuch a
clo.e connexion between the mufcles and nerves both
as to their fundions and firu&ure, they are defer-
vediy reckoned by phyfiologifls to be parts of the
fame genus, called the genus nervofum. or nervous
x\ltei treating of fenfe in general, Dr Gregory pro¬
ceeds to confider particularly each of the fenfes°both*ex¬
ternal and internal. He begins with the fenfe of feel¬
ing, as being the moft fimple, and at the fame time in
common to every part of the nervous fyftem. In fome
places, however,, it is much more acute than in others •,
111 toe ^n> inftance, and efpecially in the points of
the fingers. Thefe are reckoned to have nervouspapil-
kc, which by. the influx of the blood are fomewhat erec¬
ted in the a&ion of.contaft, in order to give a more acute
leniation ; though indeed this opinion fecms rather to
be founded on a conje<aure derived fiom the ftruaure
of the tongue, which is not only the organ of tafte, but
.0 a,I"oft plicate organ of touch, than upon any cer¬
tain obfervations.
. 1From !he fenfe of heeling, as well as all the other fenfes,
either pain or pleafure may arife; nay, to this fenfe we
commonly refer both pain and almoft all other trouble-
iome fenfations, though in truth pain may arife from
every vehement fenfation. It is brought on by any
great force applied to the fentient part j whether this
torce comes from within or from without. Whatever
therefore, pricks, cuts, lacerates, diftends, compreffes’
bruifes, ftnkes, gnaws, burns, or in any manner of way
imu.ates, may create pain. Hence it is fo frequently
conjoined with fo many difeafes, and is often more into¬
lerable than even the difeafe itlelf. A moderate de¬
gree of pain ftimulates the affeaed part, and by degrees
the whole body 5 produces a greater flux of blood to
the part affeaed, by mcreafing the aaion of its veffels :
snd it feems alfo to mcreafe the fenfibility of the part
affeaed to future impreffions. It often ffimulates to
uch motions, as are both neceffary and healthful
Hence, pa,n is fometimes to be reckoned among thofe
things.which guard our life. When very violent, how-
ever, it produces too great irritation, inflammation and
f confcquences fever, and all thofe evils which flow
from too great force of the circulation ; it diforders
the whole pervous fyftem, and. produces fpafms, watch-
c°nvulfi°ns, delirium, debility, and fainting. Nei¬
ther the mind nor body can long bear very vehement
pain , an ,T^eed Nature has appointed certain limits
beyond which.fhe will not permit pain to be carried
Without bringing on delirium, convulfions, fyncope, or
Pain.
75
denies.
C 1 N E- Theory.
even death, to refeue the miferable fufferer from his tor- Eternal
ments.
Long-continued pain, even though in a more gentle
degree, often brings on debility, torpor, palfy,. and ri¬
gidity of the affeefted part. But if not too violent, nor
accompanied with fever, ficknefs, or anxietv, it fome-
times feems to contribute to the clearnefs and acutenefs
0LTjudZem,ent’ aS f°me Pe°Ple teftify who have been
sincted with tfte gout.
Anxiety is another difagreeable fenfation, quite dif- A,Jar.
ferent from pain, as being more obtufe and lers ca
pable of being referred to any particular part, though
frequently more intolerable, than any pain. But we
mull take care to diftinguifh between this anxiety of
which we treat in a medical fenfe, and that which is
ipoken of m common difeourfe. The latter does not
at all depend on the ftate of the body, but belongs en-
tireiy to the mind 5 and arifes from a fenfe of danger
or a forefight of any misfortune. The former is tmly
corporeal j and derives, no lefs than pain, its origin from
a certain ftate of the body. Notwithftandmg this diffe¬
rence,, however, it is very poflible for both thefe kinds
of anxiety to be prefent at the fame time, or for the
one.to be the caufe of the other. A very great bodily
anxiety will ftnke fear and defpondency into the
moit refolute mind ; and mental anxiety, on the
contrary, if very violent and long-continued, may in¬
duce the former, by deftroying the powers of the
oody, especially thole which promote the circulation
or the blood.
Anxiety, in the medical fenfe of the word, arifes in
the fir ft. place from every caufe difturbing or impeding
the motion of the blood through the heart and large
veffels near it Anxiety, therefore, may arife from
many difeafes of the heart and its veffels, fuch as its
enlargement, too great conftriaicn, oflification, poly-
pus, palpuation, fyncope, inflammation, debility, and
alio fome affedions of the mind. It is likewife produced
by every , difficulty of breathing, from whatever caufe
it may arne ; becaufe then the blood paffes lefs freely
through the lungs : anxiety of this kind is felt deep in
the breaft. It is fard alfo to arife from the difficult
paffage of the blood through the liver or other abdo¬
minal vifcera.
A certain kind of anxiety is very common and
troublefome to hypochondriacal people ; and arifes
from .the ftomach and inteftines being either loaded
with mdigefted and corrupted food, or diftended with
air produced by fermentation and extricated from the
aliments. By fuch a load, or diftention, the ftomach,
which is a very delicate organ, becomes greatly af-
ecred. Befides, the free defeent of the diaphragm is
tnus hindered, and refpiration obftruefed. Anxiety
of this kind is ufually very much and fuddenTy relieved
by the expulfion of the air 5 by which, as well as by
other figns of a bad. digeftion, it is eafily known. In
tnefe cafes the anxiety is ufually, though with little
accuracy, referred to the ftomach.
Anxiety alfo frequently accompanies fevers of every
hmd fometimes in a greater and fometimes in a Ici¬
er degree. In this cafe it arifes as well from the ge¬
neral debility as from the blood being driven from
the furface of the body and accumulated in the large
veffels; as in the beginning of an intermittent fever.
• # O O at* 11211
Jr it may anfe from an affeflion of the
ftomacb,
when
Theory. M EDI
External when overloaded with crude, corrupted aliment ; or di-
■ tended and naufeated with too much drink, efpe-
cially medicated drink. As the fever increafes, the
anxiety of the patient becomes greater and greater ;
remarkably fo, according to the teftimor.y of phyfi-
cians, either immediately before the crifis or on the
night preceding it ; as before the breaking out of ex¬
anthemata, hsemorrhagy, fweat, or diarrhoea, which
fometimes remove fevers. The patient feels likewife ajr
anxiety from the ihiking in of any eruption or critical
metaliafis. .1 his fenfation alio accompanies fevers and
mofl: other difeafes, when the vital power is exhaufled,
and death approaches, of which it is the forerunner
and the fign. It happens at that time, becaufe the
vital powers, unable to perform their fun&ions, cannot
make the blood circulate. But what kind of anxiety
thi'i is, the other iigns of approaching death (how very
evidently. . Moreover, even in the time of lleep, anxie¬
ty may arife from the fame caufes : hence frightful
dreams, which trequently diilurb our repofe with fur-
77 prife and terror.
Itching. . Itching, an uneafy fenfation, with a defire of fcratch-
ing the place affedled, is often very troublefome, al¬
though it feems to be more a-kin to pleafure than to pain.
As pain proceeds from too great an irritation, either
chemical or mechanical, io does itching proceed from
a flight one. Fitillation, or friction, of a woollen fln’rt,
for inftance, upon the fkin of a perfon unaccuftomed
to it, and#of a delicate conffitution, excites itching ;
as do alfo many acrid foflils, vegetables, and animals.
Hence an itching is the firft fenfation after the appli¬
cation of canthandes, although the fame, when aug¬
mented becomes painful. Fhe fame eflfefl is produ¬
ced by any thing acrid thrown out upon the fkin ; as in
exanthematic fevers, the difeafe called the itch, &c.
Lice, worms, efpecially afcarides, irritating either the
fkin or the inteftines, excite a troublefome itching.
i 00 acute a fenfation over the whole body is very
rarely if ever obferved. In a particular part the fenfe
of feeling is often more acute than it ought to be, either
from the cuticle itfelf being too thin and foft, or being
removed ; or from the part itfelf being inflamed, or ex-
pofed to too great heat. It becomes obtule, or is even
quite deflroyed over the whole body, or in great part
or it, irom various afledfions of the brain and nerves ,
as when they are wounded, compreffed, or defe&ive in
x ital power. 1 his is called ana-jlhejia, and fometimes
accompanies palfy.
riiis fenfe may be deficient in a particular part, ei¬
ther from the nerve being difeafed, or from its being
compreffed or wounded, or from the part itfelf being
expoled. to too great a degree of cold ;=—or from the
fcarf-fkin which covers it being vitiated, either beco¬
ming too thick or hard, by the handling of rough, or
hard, or hot bodies, as is the cafe with glafs-rnakers
and fmiths j or from the elevation of the cuticle from
ihe fubjacent cutis, or true {kin itfelf, by the interpo-
fition of blood, ferum, or pus ; or from the cutis be¬
ing macerated, relaxed, or become torpid, w7hich fome¬
times happens to hydropic perfons ; or Jaftly, from the
whole organ being corrupted by gangrene, burning,
coid, or contufion. I his fenfe is very rarely depraved,
unlefs perhaps in the cade of delirium, w'hen all the
funfHons of the brain are difturbcd in a fiyprifing
manner. ’ 0
CINE. 2!
1 he fenfe next to be confidered is that of tafte, the External
principal organ of which is the tongue ; the nearer the Senf-'7-
tip of it, the more acute is the fenle, and the nearer ■■v ' 1
the glottis fo much the more obtufe. It muft be Talk,-
owned, however, that feme kind of acrid fubltances,
the talle of which is fcarcely perceived upon the tip of
the tongue, excite a molt vehement fenfation about its
roots, or even in the throat itfelf. The tongue is en¬
dowed with many large and beautiful nervous papillae,
which feem to be the chief feat of this fenfe, and in
the a& of tailing are elevated and erefted, in order to
give the more acute fenfation.
Nothing can be tailed which is not foluble in the fa,
liva, that, being applied in a fluid form, it may per-
vaae the involucra of the tongue, and affect its nervous
pulp; and hence infoluble earths are quite infipid.
Neither is it fufticient for a body to be foluble that it
may be faded .• it mud alfo have fomething in it faline,
or at leal! acrid, in order to dimulate the nervous fub-
dance ; and hence, whatever has lefs fait than the fa-
liva is totally indpid.
The tade is rarely found to be too acute, unlefs
through a fault in the epidermis which covers the
tongue. If this be removed or wounded, or covered
with ulcers, aphthae, &c. then the tade, becoming too
acute, is painful : or fometimes no other fenfation
than that of pain is felt. It may be impaired, as well
as the fenfe of feeling, from various difeafes of the
brain and nerves j of which, however, the indances are
but rare. In fome people it is much more dull than in
others ; and in fuch the fenfe of duelling is ufually de¬
ficient alfo. I he tade is mod commonly deficient on
account of the want of faliva } for a dry tongue cannot
perceive any t^ade : hence this fenfe is very dull in many
difeafes, efpecially in fevers, catarrhs, Sec. as well on
account of the defeft of faliva as of appetite, which
is of fo much fervice in a date of health j or by reafon
of the tongue being covered with a vifeid mucus.
The tade is frequently depraved ; when, for ex¬
ample, we have a perception of tade without the ap¬
plication of any thing to the tongue j or if any thing
be applied to it, when we perceive a tade different
from what it ought to be. This happens for the mod
part from a vitiated condition of the faliva, which is
itfelf taded in the mouth. Hence we may perceive a
fweet, faline, bitter, putrid, or rancid tade, according
to the date of the faliva : which may be corrupted ei¬
ther from the general vitiated condition of the mafs of
humours, or the glands which fecrete it; of the mouth
itfelf j or even of the domach, the vapours and eruc¬
tations of which rife into the mouthy efpecially when
the domach is difeafed.
Befides the faults of the faliva, however, the tade
may be vitiated from other caufes; as, for indance,
the condition of the nervous papillae. This, however*
is. as yet but little known to us; for the tade is
fometimes plainly vitiated when at the fame time
the fahva appears quite indpid when tailed by other
people. J
Phydcians, in almod every difeafe, but efpecially in
fevers, inquire into the date of the tongue ; not, indeed
without the greated reafon : for from this they can
judge of the condition of the domach ; of the third or
rather the occafion the patient has for drink, when’ on
^c.opat of lus deliriyoi or dupor, he neither feels’his
third l
214 M E D I
External iliiift, nor is able to call Tor drink. And, laftly, from
, je”ie?- i an infpeftion of the tongue, phyficians endeavour to
form feme judgement concerning the nature, increafe,
Smell. and remiflion of the fever.
After the fenfe of tafte, we (hall next treat of that
of fmell. Its feat is in that very foft and delicate
membrane, filled with nerves and blood-veffels, which
covers the internal parts of the nofe, and the various
iinufes and cavities proceeding from thence. This
fenfe is more acute about the middle of the feptum,
and the ojfa fpongiofa, where the membrane is thicker
and fofter, than in the deeper cavities, where the
membrane is thinner, lefs nervous, and lefs filled with
blood-veffels •, although even thefe do not feem to be
altogether deftitute of the fenfe of fmelling.
As by our tafte we judge of the foluble parts of bo¬
dies, fo by our fmell we judge of thofe very volatile
and fubtile parts which fly off into the air ; and like
the organ of tafte, that of fmell is kept moift, that
it may have the more exquifite fenfation, partly by its
proper mucus, and partly by the tears which defeend
from the eyes.
Some kinds of odours greatly affeft the nervous fy-
ftem, and produce the moft furprifing effects. Some
gratefully excite it, and immediately recruit the fpirits
when almoft finking j while fome produce fainting,
nay, as it is alleged, even fudden death. To this head
alfo are we to refer thofe antipathies, which, though
truly ridiculous, are often not to be fubdued by any
force of mind.
This fenfe is fometimes too acute, as well from
fome difeafe in the organ itfelf, which happens more
rarely, as from the too great fenfibility of the nervous
fyftem in general, as is fometimes obferved in nervous
fevers, phrenitis, and hyfteria. It is more frequent¬
ly, however, too dull, either from difeafes of the brain
and nerves, as from fome violence done to the head, or
from fome internal caufe } or it may proceed from a
drynefs of the organ itfelf, either on account of the
cuftomary humours being fuppreffed or turned another
way, or from the membranes being oppreffed with too
great a quantity of mucus or of tears. Of both thefe
cafes we have inftances in the catarrh, where at firft
the noftnls are dry, but afterwards are deluged with a
thin humour, or flopped up with a thick one. But
in thefe, and many other examples, the membrane of
the nofe itfelf is affefted with inflammation, relaxation,
or too great tenfion, by which the nerves, which con-
ftitute a great part of it, muft be vitiated. It is evi¬
dent alfo, that whatever obftruds the free entrance of
the air into the noftrils, or impedes its paffage through
them, muft prove detrimental to the fenfe of fmell-
.80 ing.
Rearing. The fenfe of hearing is more frequently vitiated than
almoft any of the reft, as having a moft delicate or¬
gan, and one compofed of many and very fmall parts,
of which an account is given under the article Ana¬
tomy.—It frequently becomes too acute 5 either from
the general habit of the body being too irritable, fuch
as often happens to hyfterical and lying in-women ; or
from too great a fenfibility of the brain itfelf, which is
not unfrequently obferved in fevers, as well as in phre-
nitis, and fometimes in the true mania *, or it may be
from a difeafe of the ear itfelf, as when it is affe£!ed
with inflammation, pain, or too great tenfion.—It may
3
CINE. Theory.
be rendered dull, or even be altogether deftroyed, fo External
that the perfon (hall become totally deaf, from tbe fame ^ 5en^es- ,
caules adting with different degrees ot force. This
happens efpecially from the want of the external ear \
or fropa the meatus auditorius being flopped up with
mucus, wax, or other matters j or from the fides of
the canal growing together, as fometimes happens af¬
ter fuppuration or the fmalkpox j or by the membrane
of the tympanum becoming rigid or relaxed, or being
eroded or ruptured \ or the tympanum itfelf, or the
Euftachian tube, may from certain caufes be obftrufledj
or fome of the little bones or membranes, or fome
of the mufcles of tbe labyrinth, may be affcdled
with concretion, fpafm, palfy, or torpor 5 or laftly,
it may happen from difeafes of the brain and nerves,
all the organs of hearing remaining found. Hence
deafnefs is often a nervous dileafe, coming fuddenly
on, and going off fpontaneoufly. Hence alfo it is
common in old people, all of wftiofe folid parts are
too rigid, while their nervous parts have too little fen¬
fibility.
Perfons labouring under fevers, efpecially of the
typhous kind, often become deaf. When this comes on
along with other figns of an oppreffed brain, and a
great proftration of ftrength, it may be a very bad fymp-
tom } but for the moft part it is a very good one, even
though accompanied with fome degree of torpor or
fleepinefs.
A very common difeafe in tbe fenfe of hearing is
when certain founds, like thofe of a drum, a bell, the
falling of water, &c. are heard without any tremor
in the air, or without a found perfbn’s hearing any
thing. This difeafe is called tinnitus curium, of W'hich
various kinds have been obferved. For the moft part
it is a very flight tranfient diforder ; but fometimes it
is moft obftinate, long-continued, and troublefome. It
often arifes from the flighteft caufe, fuch as any
thing partially flopping up the meatus auditorius or
Euftachian tube itfelf, lo that accefs is in part denied
to tbe air 5 whence it happens that the latter ftrikes
the membrane of the tympanum, or perhaps the inte¬
rior parts, unequally, and with too much force. Hence
bomln, a kind of tinnitus, are heard even by the moft
healthy when they yawn.
A much more frequent and troublefome fpecies of
tinnitus accompanies many difeafes both of the febrile
and nervous kind. This is occafioned partly by tbe
increafed impetus of the blood towards the bead, with
an increafe of fenfibility in tbe nervous fyftem itfelf,
fo that the very beatings of the arteries are heard j
and partly from the increafed fenfation and mobility
of the nerves and mufcles of the labyrinth : whence it
happens, that the parts which ought to be at reft un¬
til excited by the tremor of the air, begin to move of
their own accord, and impart their motion to other
parts which are already in a morbid ftate of too great
fenfibility.
A tinnitus fometimes arifes from any vehement af-
feftion of the mind ; fometimes from a diforder in the
ftomach ; fometimes from a rheumatic diforder affeft-
ing the ears and head j or from a catarrh, w'hich com¬
monly affetts the Euftachian tube. Sometimes, however,
tbe tinnitus alone affeds the patient ; and even this is a
difeafe of no fmall confequence. Thefe various cau¬
fes, however, beth of this and other diforders of the
hearing,
Theory.
MEDICINE.
External
Senfes.
81
Sight.
hearing, are often very difficult to be diftinguiffied, as
well on account of the inacceffible fituation of the organ,
as on account of the little knowledge we have of its ac¬
tion. But from whatever caufe it arifes, both this and
the other afFe6fions of the hearing can neither be cured
certainly nor eafily, but by the removal of the caufe,
whatever it may be.
Concerning the nature of the fenfe of fight, the
reader may confult the articles Anatomy and Optics.
Of this fenfe fome flight diforders, or rather varieties,
are often obferved. Thofe perfons are called Jhort-
Jighted who cannot fee diftinbfly unlefs the objedl be
very near them. This diforder arifes from too great
a refraiftion of the rays by reafon of their being too
foon colle&ed into a focus by the cryftalline lens, and
diverging again before they fall upon the retina, by
which means they make an indiftindb pidlure upon it.
The mod common caufe is too great a convexity of the
eye or fome of its humours, as too prominent a cor¬
nea. It is a diforder common to young people, wffiich
is fometimes removed when they grow older. As foon
as the firft approaches of fhort-fightednefs are obfer¬
ved, it is fuppofed it may be obviated by the perfon’s
accuftoming himfelf to view remote objedts, and keep¬
ing his eyes off very fmall and near ones j as, on the
contrary, it may be brought ,on by the oppofite cu*
Horn j becaufe the eye accommodates itfelf fomewhat
to the diftances of thofe objedfs which it is accuftomed
to view. But a concave glafs, which caufes the rays
of light to diverge more than naturally they wmuld be¬
fore falling upon the cornea, is the moft fimple and
certain remedy.
Long-Jighted people are thofe who cannot fee an
objedt diltindlly unlefs it be at a confiderable diftance
from them. This arifes from caufes contrary to the
former; namely, the eye being too flat, fo that there
is no room for refradling the rays and bringing them
into a focus. Hence this defedt is common in old
people, and remedied by the ufe of convex glaffes.
Thofe are called nyStalopes who fee better with a very
weak than with a ftrong light. It is a defedt very
feldom to be met with in the human race, though
every perfon is fenfible of it who hath been long kept
in the dark and is then fuddenly brought into the
light. The difeafe arifes from too great a fenfibility
of the retina, and the pupil being too open.
The fight is liable to many and grievous diforders.
It is lharpened beyond meafure, fo that the perfon
either perceives nothing diflindlly, or wdth great pain,
from the fame caufes that induce a fimilar diforder
in the other fenfes; namely, exceffive fenfibility in
the general habit of body \ or a particular ftate of the
brain common in phrenitis, or even in thofe afflidled
with fevers arifing from inflammation or too great ex
citement; though more frequently from the condition
of the eye itfelf, one becomes unable to bear the light.
The inflammation of the tunica adnata, and the fore¬
part of the fclerotica, is communicated to the back
parts of it, and from thence to the choroides and re¬
tina itfelf. Hence the light becomes intolerable, and
vifion is attended with pain and great irritation, fome¬
times inducing or augmenting a delirium.
The fenfe of feeing is made dull, or even totally
abolifhed, by age 5 the aqueous humour not being
fupplied in fufficient quantity, and the cornea and
111
lens, or the vitreous humour, becoming fhrivelled or External
decayed. It may likewife happen from the cornea, Senfes. ^
becoming dry and opaque j which is to be imputed to v
the languid motion of the blood, and to great numbers
of the fmall veffels being obftrufled or having their
fides concreted 5—or from the cryftalline lens becoming
yellow like amber, and the retina itfelf lefs fenfible,
for old age diminifhes'every fenfation. It is totally f
abolilhed by injuries of the brain, the optic nerve, or
the retina, even though the ftruifture of the organ
Ihould remain found. This difeafe is called an amau-
rojis; and is eafily known by the dilatation and im¬
mobility of the pupil, the humours of the eym remain¬
ing clear. It is commonly owing to congeftion of
blood ; and fometimes, wffiere no congeftion of blood
can be difcovered, to mere torpor of the nerves. If it be
only a torpor of part of the retina, wre fee black fpots
in thofe things at which we look 5 or flies feem to
pafs before our eyes, a very bad fign in fevers, and
almoft abvays mortal. The fight is aboliflied alfo by
the obfcurity or opacity of any of the parts through
wffiich the rays ought to pafs and be refracted j as if
the cornea lofe its tranfparency by being covered with
fpots ; or the aqueous humours become corrupted wdth
blood, ferum, or pus ; or the lens (which often hap¬
pens and which is called a cataraff) becomes of a
gray or brown colour, or the vitreous humour be in
like manner corrupted ; or laftly, when all the humours
being diffolved, confufed, and mixed together, by in¬
flammation and fuppuration, either do not fuft'er the
light to pafs at all, or to pafs imperfectly and un¬
equally ; whence either no image is formed on the
retina, or it appears obfcure, diftorted, imperfeCt, and
ill-coloured.
The fight is alfo depraved, when things appear to
it of a colour different from their own, or even in an¬
other fituation and of another ffiape than they ought
to have. This happens from the humours being tinc¬
tured with any unufual colour, as is faid to happen in
fome inftances of jaundice j or from an extravafation
and mixture of the blood wuth the aqueous humour.
A furprifing depravation alfo, or conftant and perpe¬
tual defeft of vifion, is not unfrequently obferved in
men otherwife very healthy, and who- fee quite clear¬
ly ; namely, that they cannot diftinguilh certain co¬
lours, green, for example, from red. Another de¬
pravation is, when, without any light being admitted
to the eyes, fparks, fmall drops of a flame or gold co¬
lour, and various other colours, are obferved to float
before us. This is generally a very flight and tran-
fient diforder, common to thofe whofe conftitutions
are very irritable ; and arifes from the flight impulfe,
as it would feem, on the retina, by the veffels beating
more vehemently than ufual. A fiery circle is ob¬
ferved by, preffing the eye with the finger after the
eye lids are fhut. The fame reafon, perhaps, may be
given for thofe fparks which are feen by perfons la¬
bouring under the falling-ficknefs, and increafing to
the fize of an immenfe and luminous beam before they
fall down in convulfions. A fimilar beam thofe wffio
have recovered from hanging or drowning teftify that
they have obferved : for by reafon of the refpiration
being fuppreffed, the veffels of the head fwell and com-
prefs the whole brain and nervous parts of the head.
Sparks ef the fame kind, and thefe too of no good*
. omeu, ^
2 I 6
External
Senfes.
MEDIC
Si
Vertigo.
omen, are obferVed in patients labouring under a fever,
^ where a phrenitis or fierce delirium is at hand j and
likewife in thofe who are threatened with palfy, apo¬
plexy or epilepfy.—A diftindt but falfe perception,
namely of vifible things which do not exift, is to be
imputed to fome injury of the brain, to madnefs or a
delirium, not to any difeafe of the eye.
A very frequent defeft of vifion remains to be men¬
tioned ; namely, fquinting. A perfon is faid to fquint
who has the axes of the eyes more oblique than ufual,
and dire&ed to different points. Hence a great de¬
formity, and often an imperfedt and confufed vifion by
which the objefts are fometimes feen double. It is an
evil for the mod part born with the perfon, and often
corrected by thole attempts which an infant makes to
fee more pleafantly and dillindlly •, and this even with¬
out being confcious of its own defers. It is alfo eafily
learned, efpecially in infants, even without their own
knowledge, by that kind of imitation which has a
great influence over the human race, efpecially in their
tender years.—It is by no means, howrever, fo eafily
unlearned.
Squinting is frequently occafioned by a fpafm, pally,
rigidity, &.c. of the mufcles which manage the eye ; by
epilepfy ; by certain difeafes of the head, the hydro¬
cephalus efpecially j or by any great injury done to
the head. Sometimes, though very rarely, it comes
on fuddenly without any known caufe, It is very pro¬
bable, however, that fquinting often arifes from 3 fault
of the retinae, when their central points, for inftance,
and thofe fimilarly placed with refpeft to the centre’
do not agree. In this cafe there mull be a contortion
of the eye, that the objeft may ngt be feen double.
I his feems alfo to be the reafon why fquinting is much
increafed when the. perfon brings the objeft near
his eye in order to view it more perfectly. Or if the
central point of either, or both, of the retinae be in-
fenfible or nearly fo, it is neceffary for the perfon
to diliort his eyes that he may have any dillindl
vifion of objeiffs. If die optic nerve had not enter¬
ed the retina obliquely, but paffed direftly through
its centre, we would all either have fquinted or feen
double.
Phyficians have referred to the fenfe of vifion that
molt trouAefome fi|nfat!on which w7e call a vertigo •
though !t feems rather to belong to that of feeling," or
of confcioufnefs •, for in many inllances the diforder is
not removed either in tne dark or by Ihutting the eye¬
lids. Ihe vertigo takes place when external obiedls
really at rell feem to reel, to whirl round, to tremble
or to move m any manner of way. If the diforder
be very violent, the perfon is neither able to fee on
account of a dimnefs of fight 5 nor can he ftand’ as
the powers fail which ought to govern the limbs. ’ A
naufea alfo ufually accompanies the vertigo, and the
one generally produces the other.
This diforder is obferved to be both the fymptom
and forerunner of fome dangerous difeafes ; fuch as
apoplexy, epilepfy, hyfteria ; haemorrhages from the
nofe and other parts j fuppreffions of "the menfes;
p et ora 5 fevers, as well fuch as are accompanied with
debility as thofe in which there is an increafed impe-
tus of the blood towards the head. An injury done
to the head alfo, but rarely one done to the eyes,
unlels as it affeds the whole head, brings on a verl
2
I N E. Theory.
tigo. A vertigo may be likewife produced by a very Internal
great and fudden lofs of blood or other fluid ; by de- Senies.
bility 5 fyncope ; various difeafes of the alimentary ^ * '
canal, of the llomach efpecially 5 poifons admitted in¬
to the body, particularly of the narcotic kind, as opium,
ftramonium, wine, &c. and hence vertigo is a fymptom of
every kind of drunkennefs. Various motions alio,
either of the head or the whole body, being toffed in
a Ihip, efpecially if the veil'd be fmall and the fea runs
high, produce a vertigo. In thefe and fimilar ex¬
amples, the unufual and inordinate motions of the
blood are communicated to the nervous parts which
are in the head j or thefe being affecffed by fympathy
from the neighbouring parts, produce a confufed fen-
fation as if of a rotatory motion. Nay, it is often
produced from an affe&ion of the mind itfelf, as from
beholding any thing turned fwiftly round, or a great
catarad, or looking down a precipice, or even by in-
tenfe thought without looking at any thing.
Though a vertigo be for the moil part a fymptom
and concomitant of other difeafes, yet it is fometimes
a primary difeafe, returning at intervals, increafing
gradually, and equally impeding and deflroying the
fundions of the body and mind.
After having treated of the external fenfes, we Ihall Memiy.
next proceed to confider thole properly called internal;
which are, the memory, the imagination, and the judge¬
ment. The firft is leffened, difturbed, or even totally
deftroyed, in many difeafes, efpecially thofe which affed
the brain ; as in apoplexy, palfy, internal tumours of
the head, external violence applied, fevers, efpecially
thofe in which there is an increafed motion of the blood
towards the head, or where the brain is any other way
very much affeded. It is very rarely, however, deprav¬
ed in fuch a manner that ideas are not reprefented to
the mind in their proper order j or if at any time fuch a
diforder occurs, it is confidered rather as a diforder of the
imagination, or as a delirium, than a failure of the
memory, i he mind is laid to be difordered when the
perceptions of memory or imagination are confounded
with thorn of fenfe, and of confequence thofe things
believed to be now prefent which are really pad or
which never exifted ; or when the fenfe of the perfon
concerning ordinary things is different from that of
other people. The general name for fuch diforders is
vefanw : if from fever, it is called delirium. A general
fury without a fever, is called mania or madnefs : but
a partial madneis, on one or tw^o points, the judgement
remaining found in all other refpe&s, is called melancholia.
J here is, however, no exaft and accurate limits be¬
tween a found mind and madnefs. All immoderate
vivacity borders upon madnefs *, and, on the other hand,
a forrowful and gloomy dilpofition approaches to melan¬
choly.
Delirium accompanies fevers of many different kinds. Delirmm.
Sometimes it is flight, eafily removed, and fcarce to
be accounted a bad fign. Often, howTever, it is very
violent, and one of the very word of ligns, requiring
the utmoff care and attention.
. A de.iJrilim is either fierce or mild. The fierce de¬
lirium is preceded and accompanied by a rednefs of
the countenance, a pain of the head, a great beating
o. the arteries, and noife in the ears j the eyes in the
mean time looking red, inflamed, fierce, Ihining, and
unaoie to bear the light; there is either no fieep at
all,
Theory.
Delirium, all; or lleep troubled with horrid dreams $ the wonted
v manners are changed j an unufual peevilhnefs and ill-
nature prevail. The depravation of judgement is firft
obferved between deep and waking, and by the per-
fon’s crediting his imagination, while the perceptions
of fenfe are negle£!ed, and the ideas of memory occur
in an irregular manner. Fury at laft takes place, and
fometimes an unufual and incredible degree of bodily
ilrength, fo that feveral attendants can fcarce keep a
llngle patient in his bed.
The mild delirium, on the contrary, is often accom¬
panied with a weak pulfe, a pale collapfed counte¬
nance, and a vertigo when the patient fits in an eredf
pofture; he is feldom angry, but often ftupid, and
fometimes remarkably grieved and fearful. The lofs of
judgement, as in the former kind, is firft perceived when
the patient is half awake j but a temporary recovery
enfues upon the admifiion of the light and the con-
verfation of his friends. The patient mutters much to
himfelf, and attends little to the things around him j
at laft, becoming quite ftupid, he neither feels the
fenfations of hunger or thirft, nor any of the other
propenfities of nature, by which means the urine and
excrements are voided involuntarily. As the diforder
increafes, it terminates in fubfultus tendinum, tremors,
convulfions, torpor, and death. The other fpecies of de¬
lirium alfo frequently terminates in death, when the
fpirits and ftrength of the patient begin to fail.
^ 1 he fymptoms accompanying either of thefe kinds
of delirium (how an unufual, inordinate, and unequal
motion of the blood through the brain, and a great
change in that ftate of it which is neceffary to the ex-
ercife of the mental powers. It is very probable, that
an inflammation of the brain, more or lefs violent and
general, fometimes takes place, although the figns of
univerfal inflammation are frequently flight. This we
learn from the diffecHon of dead bodies, which often
fuow an unufual rednefs of the brain or of fome of its
parts, or fometimes an effufion or fuppuration.
I he ftate of the brain, however, may be much af¬
fected, and delirium induced, by many other caufes be-
fi>..es tne motion of the blood. In many fevers, ty¬
phus, for inftance, the nervous fyftem itfelf is much
fooner and more affeCIed than the blood’s motion; and
though the morbid affe&ions of the nervous fyftem are
as invifible to the fenfes as the healthy ftate of it, the
fymptoms of its injuries plainly fhow that its aCtion, or
excitement, as fome call it, is unequal and inordinate.
In this w-ay, too, delirium is produced by feveral poifons.
1 he pathology of melancholy and mania is much
more obfeure ; as coming on without any fever, or di-
fturbance in the blood’s motion. Often alfo they are
hereditary, depending on the original ftru&ure of the
body, efpecially of the brain ; the fault of which, how¬
ever, cannot be detected by the niceft anatomift. But
it is well known, that various difeafes of the brain,
obftruclions, tumors, either of the brain itfelf, or of
the cranium prefling upon it, any injury done to the
head, and, as fome phyficians relate, the hardnefs and
orynefs or the brain, and fome peculiar irritations af-
feCting the nervous fyftem, are capable of bringing on
this malady. And indeed fo great are the irritations
affetfing the nervous fyftem in mad people, that they
often fleep little or none for a long time. Yet even
this fo defective and imperfea knowledge of the dif-
Vol. XIII. Part I.
MEDICINE.
217
Idiotifm.
85
Melancho¬
ly and ma-
&ia.
eafes of the brain and nerves, is by no means free from
difficulties. For though we know that the brain, or
a certain part of it, is hurt, or that it is irritated by a
fwelling, or a pointed bone growing into it, nobody
can foretel how great, or what may be the nature of
the malady from fuch a hurt: for examples are not
wanting of people wffio, after lofing a large part of the
brain, have recovered and lived a long time ; there
are many inftances alfo of perfons who have perceived
no. inconvenience from a large portion of that vifeus
being corrupted, until at length they have fallen fud-
denly down and died in convulfions. g6
Another difeafe of the internal fenfes, quite differ-Idiotifm.
cut from thefe, is fatuity or idiotifm. Ihofe are call¬
ed idiots who are deftitute either of judgement or me¬
mory, or elfe have thefe faculties unequal to the com¬
mon offices of life. A weak memory, however, is by
no means effential to idiotifm. For there are fome in¬
ftances of idiots who have had very correCl and very
extenfive memories. A kind of idiotifm is natural and
common to all infants ; neither is it to be accounted a
difeafe ; but if it laft beyond the ftate of infancy,
it is a real difeafe, and for the moft part incurable. It
has the fame caufes with the other difeafes of the in¬
ternal fenfes; although thefe can fcarcely be deteCled
by the eye or by the knife of the anatomift. It fre¬
quently accompanies, or is the effeCt of, epilepfy.
Hence,, if the epilepfy derives its origin from caufes not
feated in the head, as from worms lodging in the in-
teftines, the fatuity may be cured by diflodging thefe,
and.removing the epilepfy. It is not unlikely that the
fatuity of children, and the dotage of old men, may
arife from the brain being in the former too foft, and in
the latter too hard ; or perhaps in the one cafe not
evolved, and in the other fomewhat decayed. 8
The mufcular power may be difeafed in a great num-Diforders
ber of ways. The mobility itfelf may be too great •ln muf-
but this muft be carefully diftinguiffied from vigour!cuIar
By mobility is meant the eafe with which the niufcularP0Wer‘
fibres are excited into contradlion. The vigour, on the
other hand, is that power with which the contraftion
is performed. They are fometimes joined, but more
frequently fep.arate, and for the moft part the exceffes
of each are owing to contrary caules gg
1 00 great mobility is when motions are excited by Mobilitv.
a very flight ftimulus, or when very violent motions
are . produced by the cuftomary ftimulus. A certain
habit of body, fometimes hereditary, renders people
liable to this difeafe. Women have a greater ftiare of
mobility than men. Infants have a great deal of mo¬
bility, often too great ; youth has lefs than infancy,
but more than man’s eftate ; though old age has com¬
monly too little. A lazy, fedentary life, full diet,
a fuppreffion of the ufual evacuations, fulnefs of the
blood-veffels, and fometimes their being fuddenly
emptied, laxity, flaccidity of the folids in general, but
fometim.es too great a tenfion of the moving fibres, the
ufe of diluents, efpecially when warm, or heat applied
in any manner, produce too great mobility. And this
may be either general or particular, according as the
caufes have been applied to the wffiole body, or only to
a part of it. 3
. Vig°ur in general is rarely morbid ; although fome-Vigour,
times certain mufcular parts appear to have too great
ftrenatk in snaffiacs arjd phrenitics, an immenfe
c Itrength
ftrength.
90
Torpor.
218 M E D I
Diforders in ftrength is obferved in all the mufcles, efpecially in thofe
the Mufcu- ferve for voluntary motion ; this is not unjuftly
kr Pcwer. recj<onetj morbid. The reafon of this excefs is very
v '' ’ obfcme j however, it is plainly to be referred to a dif-
eafed Hate of the brain.
A more frequent and more important excefs of vi¬
gour is obferved in thofe mufcular fibres that do not
obey the will, fuch as thofe w’hich move the blood. Its
circulation is thus often increafed, not without great
inconvenience and danger to the patient. But a {lighter
excefs of this kind, pervading the whok body, renders
people apt to receive inflammatory difeafes, and is
ufually called a phlogijlic diathefu. But this is better ob¬
ferved when local, as in inflammation itfelf.
Too great vigour of the mufcular fibres may arife
from the nervous power increafed beyond meafure,
as in mania, phrenitis, or violent affe&ions of the
mind ; from too great a tenfion of the fibres, by
which they more eafily and vehemently conceive mo¬
tions, as of the arteries when filled with too much
blood •, from catching cold, by being expofed either to
cold or heat, as ufually happens in the fpring ; or laft-
ly, though the nervous pow'er and tenfion of the fibres
fhould not at all be changed, their aftion may be¬
come too great, from a flimulus more violent than ufual
* being applied, or from the pfual flimulus, if the fibres
themfelves have already acquired too great a (hare of
mobility.
The oppofite to too great mobility is torpor, and
to too great vigour is debility. Torpor is fuch a di¬
minution of mobility as renders the parts unequal to
their fun&ions. It arifes from caufes diredtly oppo¬
fite to mobility ; fuch as, a harder and more rigid
contexture of the parts themfelves, or even fometimes
from one too lax and flaccid ; from old age j from fome
peculiar temperament of body, fuch as one phlegma¬
tic, frigid, or infenfible ; too great and inceffant la¬
bour, cold, fpare diet, and an exhaufted body. This
evil is the more to be dreaded, becaufe, the powers
of the body being deficient, nature is neither able to
make any effort of herfelf, nor are the remedies, in
other cafes the moil efficacious, capable of affording
her any affiftance.
Debility takes place, when the motion of the
mufcles, either voluntary or involuntary, is not per¬
formed with fufticient ftrength. A greater or leffer
(hare of debility, either general or of fome particular
part, accompanies almoft all difeafes, and is indeed no
fmall part of them : for it is hardly poffible that a
difeafe can fubfifi: for any length of time without in¬
ducing fome degree of debility. When a ftate of de¬
bility is induced, it renders a man obnoxious to innu¬
merable diforders, and throws him as it were defence-
lefs in their way. It often depends on the original
ftrufture of the body, fo that it can be corre&ed
neither by regimen nor medicines of any kind. A
different degree of ftrength alfo accompanies the dif¬
ferent ages of mankind j and thus, in .fome cafes, de¬
bility cannot be reckoned morbid. But a truly mor¬
bid and unufual debility arifes from the nervous ener¬
gy being diminiffied $ from difeafes of the brain and
nerves, or of the mufcles through which they are di-
ftributed ; from a decay of the nerves themfelves $ from
a want of the due tenfion of the fibres, or the fibres
tbcmfelves becoming torpid j from the body exhauiied
91
Debility.
CINE. Theory.
by fpare diet, want, evacuations ; or laflly, from dif- Diforders in
cafes a deeding the whole body, or fome particular parts ^
of it. i a ^ve'‘,
The higheft degree of debility, namely, when the p3
ftrength of the mufcles is altogether or nearly deftroy- Palfy.
ed, is called paralyjis or palfy ; and is either univerfal,
or belonging only to fome particular mufcles. An
univerfal palfy arifes from difeales of the brain and
nerves, fometimes very obfeure, and not to be difeo-
vered by the anatomift 5 for the nervous power itfelf
is often deficient, even when the ftrudlure of the nerves
remains unhurt j yet often a comprellion, obftruc-
tion, or injury of the veffels, extravafation of blood, or
ferum, colledlions of pus, fwellings, &c. are difeover-
ed. It frequently arifes from certain poifons acting
on the nerves} from the fumes of metals j from the
difeafes of parts, and affeftions of the mufcles, very
remote from the brain, as in the colic of Poiftou. A
palfy of fingle mufcles, but lefs perfedl, often arifes
without any defecl of the brain or nerves, from any
violent and continued pain, inflammation, too great
tenfion, relaxation, reft, or deftrudlion of the texture
of the parts, fuch as commonly happens after the rheu-
matifm, gout, luxations, fradiures of the bones, and
ifehuria.
An univerfal palfy, however, as it is called, feldom
affedls the whole body, even though it ffiould origi¬
nate from a difeafe of the brain. We moft: common¬
ly fee thofe wffio are paralytic affedled only on one
fide, which is called an hemiplegia. It is faid that
the fide of the body oppofite to the difeafed fide of
the brain is moft commonly affedled. If all the parts
below the head become paralytic, it is called a para¬
plegia. In thefe difeafes the fenfes for the moft part
remain j though fometimes they are aboliflied, and at
others rendered dull. Sometimes, though rarely, and
which is an exceeding bad fymptom, the motion, fen-
fation, pulfe, and heat of the paralytic limbs are loft j
in which cafe the arteries themlelves become paralytic.
A palfy of the whole body, as far as regards the vo¬
luntary motions, with anaelthefia and fleep, is called
an apoplexy. This proceeds from fome injury of the
brain : though a ftate very fimilar to it is induced by
narcotics, opium, wine itfelf, or any generous liquor
taken to excefs ; and laftly, by breathing in air cor¬
rupted by noxious impregnations, fuch as a large pro¬
portion of carbonic acid, hydrogenous gas, or fimilar
adtive aeriform fluids. 93
Another difeafe to which mufcular motion is liable, Spafm.
and that neither flight nor unfrequent, is called fpafn.
This is a violent and irregular motion of the mufcles.
Of fpafms there are two kinds, the tonic and clonic.
The latter is frequently called a convuljion; in order
to diftinguiffi it from the other, which is more pecu¬
liarly called fpafm.
Spafm therefore is a violent, conftant, and preterna¬
tural contradlion of the mufcular fibres $ but a con-
vulfion is an unufual and violent contradfion alternated
with relaxation. People are rendered liable to fpafm
by too fenfible a habit of body, or too great mobi¬
lity ; and hence it is a difeafe common in women, in
infants, and in weak, luxurious, lazy, and plethoric
people. It is brought on thofe already predifpofed to
it, by any kind of ftimulus applied to the brain, or to
any nerve, mufcle, or nervous part connedled with it;
of
Theory. M E D I
Diforders of wliicll we liave examples in dentition j worms lodged
_ of Sleep. jn |.]^e Jnteftines, and irritating them j any acrid matter
v infedling the blood, or much affecting the ftomach and
inteftines ; the irritation of any nerve, or of the brain
itfelf, by an exoftoiis, fwelling, too great fulnefs of the
veffels, pain, vehement affe&ions of the mind, hidden
evacuation, or poifons admitted into the body. Fre¬
quently, however, the malady originates from flight
caufes, little known, and not eafily obferved.
Spafm is both the caufe and effeft, and frequently
conifitutes the greateft part, of many difeafes. It is
often very difficult either to be known or cured •, be-
caufe it is fo multiform, and produces as many differ¬
ent fymptoms as there are organs affedled j of which it
furprifingly difturbs, impedes, or increafes the fun&ions.
It is a difeafe feated in the original flamina of the con-
ftitution ; and neither to be removed by flight remedies,
e,^ nor in a ffiort time.
Sleep. With regard to fleep, its ufe is Efficiently apparent
from the effedls which it produces in the body. It re-
ffores the powers both of mind and body when ex-
haufted by exercife, giving vigour to the one, and re-
ftoring its wonted alacrity to the other. It renders the
mufcles again adlive and moveable, after they have be¬
come wearied, rigid, painful, and trembling by hard
labour. It moderates the quicknefs of the pulfe,
which ufually increafes at night, and brings it back
to its morning flandard. It feems alfo to affilt the di-
geftion of the aliment •, leffens both the fecretions and
excretions j and renders the fluids thicker than other-
wife they would be, efpecially in a body endowed with
much fenfibility or mobility. Hence fleep is not only
ufeful, but abfolutely neceffary for preferving life and
health j and is a moft excellent remedy both for allevi¬
ating, and totally removing, many difeafes.
Want of fleep is hurtful in many different ways,
efpecially to the nervous fyltem. It renders the organs
of fenfe both external and internal, as well as thofe of
every kind of motion, unfit for performing their offices.
Hence the fenfations are either abolifhed, or become
imperfedt or depraved \ and hence imbecility of mind,
defedt of memory, a kind of delirium, mania itfelf, pain
of the head, weaknefs of the joints, an imperfedi or
inordinate adtion of the vital organs, quicknefs of pulfe,
heat, fever, depraved digeftion, atrophy, leannefs, and
an increafe or perturbation of the fecretions and excre¬
tions.
Sleep may be prevented both in healthy and fick
people from various caufes j fuch as flrong light,
noife, pain, anger, joy, grief, fear, anxiety, hunger,
thirft, vehement defire, motion of the body, memory,
imagination, intenfe thought, &c. On the other hand,
fleep is brought on by a flight impreffion on the organs
of fenfe, or none at all j by the humming of bees,
the noife of falling water, cold and infipid difcourfe j
or laftly, by fuch an exercife of the memory as is
neither too laborious nor difturbing to the mind.—
Too great an impulfe of the blood towards the head,
fuch as often happens in fevers, prevents fleep 5 but a
free and equal diftribution of the blood through the
whole body, efpecially the extreme parts, frequently
brings it on. Whatever weakens the body alfo fa¬
vours fleep } and hence various kinds of evacuations,
the warm bath, fomentations, fometimes heat itfelf, are
ufeful for promoting it. It alfo comes on eafily after
e i n e<
2U)
taking food, or indulging venery j the violent fenfa- Diforders
tion being then quieted, and the body itfelf fomewhat Sleep.
weakened. Cold produces a deep fleep of long conti¬
nuance, not eafily diflurbed, and often terminating in
death. Laftly, There are certain fubftances which,
when applied to the body, not only do not excite the
nervous fyltem, but plainly lay us afleep, and render
us unfit for fenfation •, of this kind are thofe called nar¬
cotics, as opium and the like , among which alfo we
may reckon wine taken in too great quantity. Laftly,
Watching itfelf is often the caufe of fleep j becaufe
while a man is awake he always more or lefs exercifes
the organs of his body, by which the nervous influence
is diminiffied, and thus the more violently the body is
exercifed, in the fame proportion is the perfon under a
neceffity of fleeping.
Sleep is deficient in many difeafes j for there are
few which do not excite pain, anxiety, or unealinefs,
Efficient to prevent the approach of fleep, or to
diiturb it. Fevers general’y caufe thofe who labour
under them to fleep ill $ as well on account of the
uneafinefs which accompanies this kind of difeafe, as
by reafon of the impetus of the blood towards the
head being frequently increafed j and likewiie from
the ftomach being difordered, loaded with meat, or
diftended with drink. Hence alfo we may fee the rea¬
fon why many hypochondriac and hyfteric patients fleep
fo ill ’y becaufe they have a bad digeftion, and their fto¬
mach is difpofed to receive many though frequently
flight diforders j the flighteft of which, howrever, is Ef¬
ficient to deprive the patient of reft, provided the body
be already irritable, and endowed with too great a fliare
of mobility.
Want of fleep will hurt in difeafes as well as in health $
and for the fame reafon; but in a greater degree,
and more quickly, in the former than in the latter j
and is therefore not only a very troublefome fymptom
of itfelf, but often produces other very dangerous ones.
Too much fleep, on the other hand, produces many
mifchiefs, rendering the whole body languid, torpid, and
lazy j and it even almoft takes away the judgement. It
alfo difturbs the circulation, and diminilhes moft of
the fecretions and excretions. Hence plethora, fat-
nefs, flaccidity, and an inability for the common of¬
fices of life.—The caules of this excefs are, either the
ufual caufes of fleep above mentioned increafed beyond
meafure, or fome fault in the brain, or a compreliion
of it by an extravafation of the humours; or fome¬
times, as it would feem, from great debility produced
by an unufual caufe, as in thole who are recovering
from typhous fevers and other difeales. In thefe ex¬
amples, however, this excefs of fleep is by no means
hurtful j nor even, peihaps, in thofe cafes where an
excefs of grief continued for a long time, or a great
fright, have produced a furprifing and unexpected font-
nolency. Laftly, Many people have accuftomed them-
felves, and that not without a great deal of hurt to
their conftitutions, to fleep too much. Nor are there
examples wanting of fome who have paffed whole days,
and even months, in fleep almoft uninterrupted. ^
With regard to the manner in which the circulation Circula-
of the blood is performed, and the various principlesfl°n*
of which it is compofed, fee the articles Blood, and
Anatomy As for the diforders to which the blood
and its circulation are fubjed, it has been obferved,
E e 2 that
220 M E D I
Diforders that in our younger years the veins are much more
° tion11 a" ^en^e> ^rm» an<^ ftrongj than the arteries ; but the
latter, by reafon of the continual preflure upon them,
and the ftrength which they exert, become daily more
firm, hard, and ftrong, until at laft they equal or ex¬
ceed the veins themfelves in ftrength j and it is not un¬
common in old men to find fome part of the arteries
converted into an horny fubftance, or even into a folid
bone. Hence in the ftate of infancy the greateft part
of the blood is contained in the arteries, and in old
age in the veins; an affair indeed of no fmall moment,
as it fhows the reafon, in fome meafure, of the ftate of
incr^afe and decreafe of the body. Befides, if any
difeafe happens from too great a quantity of blood, it
thence appears that it muft (how itfelf in young fub-
jedts in the arteries, and in old ones in the veins; and
this is the reafon of many difeafes which accompany
certain periods of life.
In moft, if not in all fpecies of animals, the arteries
of the females are much more lax and capacious when
compared with the veins, and the veins much lefs, than
in the males of the fame genus. The defign of na¬
ture in this conformation, is probably that they may
be the better able to nourilh the foetus in their womb.
The fame likewife feems to be the reafon why women
are more inclined to plethora than men ; and to this
greater capacity of the arteries and fmallnefs of the
veins are we to afcribe that beauty and elegant ftiape
of the arms in women, not disfigured or livid with veins
as in men.
'I he blood is alio diftributed in various proportions
to the different parts of the body, and that proportion
too differs at different periods of our lives. At firft
a great quantity is fent to the head, becaufe that part
of the body is firft to be evolved and fitted for its offi¬
ces : but as foon as the parts begin to make a confider-
able refiftance to the efforts of the blood, and the vef-
fels cannot eafily be further dilated, it is neceffarily fent
off to other parts •, by which means the reft of the bo¬
dy increafes in bulk, and becomes fitted for performing
its proper funftions. The effedl of this change is alfo
very foon obferved, namely, when none of the blood
paffes through the navel, and of confequence a greater
quantity is fent by the iliac arteries to the inferior extre¬
mities. Thefe, though fo fmall and flender in the foe¬
tus, increafe very fuddenly j fo that often in not many
months the child can not only ftand on its feet, but
even walk tolerably well. And during the earlieft pe¬
riods of infancy, the inferior extremities grow more ra-
pg pidly than any other part of the body.
Pulfation of Phyficians are wont to judge of the ftate of the cir-
• tbe arteiies*culation by the pulfe, which indeed is very various, as
well with regard to its frequency, as to the ftrength
and equality of its ftrokes and intervals.—Its common
quicknefs in a healthy adult is about 70 ftrokes in a
minute. In a foetus, perhaps, it is more than double 5
and in an infant a few months old, hardly lefs than 120.
As we grow up, this quicknefs gradually diminifhes ; fo
that in extreme old age it fometimes does not exceed
50, or is even flower. This rule, however, is not
without exceptions: for many, efpecially thofe of an
irritable habit, have the pulfe much quicker; while
others, even in the vigour of their age, have their pulfe
remarkably flow. It is for the moft part fomewhat
quicker in women th^n in men.
CINE Theory.
The pulfe is alfo rendered quicker, both in a healthy Diforders
and difeafed body, by the application of ftimuli of ot Cgcula-
many different kinds. Exercife efpecially, by acce- , ts^n‘ .
lerating the return of the blood through the veins,
increafes the quicknefs of the pulfe to a furprifing de¬
gree. Various kinds of irritations affedling the ner¬
vous fyftem, as intenfe thinking, paffions of the mind,
pain, heat, ftimulating medicines, wine, fpices, &c.
likewife produce the fame effedl. The acrimony of the
blood itfelf alfo is thought to quicken the pulfe.
When a perfon firft awakes in the morning, the
pulfe is flow, but becomes quicker by degrees on ac¬
count of the many irritating matters applied to the
body. Its quicknefs is increafed after taking food,
efpecially of the animal kind, or fuch as is hot or fea-
foned with fpices. In the evening a flight fever comes
on, for which reft and fleep are the remedy. Thefe
things, however, are fcarcely to be obferved in a healthy
perfon, but are very evident in one that is feverilb,
efpecially when the fever is a heftic.— Again, even
debility itfelf often renders the pulfe quicker than
ufual ; becaufe the ventricle of the heart not being
quite emptied, it is the fooner dilated again, and of
confequence contrafts the fooner. For this reafon a
phyfician can never judge of the ftrength of the circu¬
lation from the frequency of the pulfe.
Laftly, In all fevers, however different from one an¬
other, the pulfe is found to be too quick, partly per¬
haps from debility, partly from the acrimony of the
fluids, and partly from the repuliron of the blood from
the furface of the body, and the accumulation of it in
the large veffels where it afts as a ftimulus; though
it muft be owmed, that a great deal of this is obfcure,
if not totally unknown ; nor in truth are we able to
underftand in what manner the autccrateia afts with
regard to the frequency of the pulfe.
The pulfe is feldom obferved too flow7, unlefs when
the mobility of the body is much diminilhed, as in
decrepid old age, or from a compreffion or difeafe of
the brain, as is exemplified in the fecond ftage of hy¬
drocephalus ; but a greater compreffion of the brain
ufually produces a ftill more remarkable flowmefs of the
pulfe, as in the third ftage of hydrocephalus.— Some¬
times alfo the pulfe is too flow in thofe who are
recovering from tedious fevers. But this is a matter
of little moment, and feems to be owing to fome kind
of torpor. Indeed it has generally been confidered as
a mark of a thorough and complete folution of the
fever; for it is commonly obferved, that when this
ftate pf the pulfe takes place, the patient feldom fuffers
a relapfe.
While the frequency of the pulfe continues the fame,
its ftrokes may be either full, great, ftrong, and hard j
or foft, fmall, and weak. A full, great, and ftrong
pulfe takes place wffien the ventricle ftrongly and com¬
pletely empties itfelf j throwing out a great quantity
of blood into the arteries, which fully diftends them
and ftimulates them to a ftrong contraftion. A pulfe
of this kind is common in ftrong healthy men, and is
feldom to be accounted a fymptom of difeafe. But if
it be too flrong, and ftrike the finger of the perfon wffio
feels it violently and fliarply, it is called a hard pulfe.
This hardnefs is produced by a hidden and violent con-
traftion of the heart and arteries, which diftends even
the remote branches, as thofe of the wrift, too fuddenly
and
Theory. M E D I
Diforders and fmartly, and excites them alfo to fudden and vio-
of Circula- jent contractions.
■  t A hard pulfe therefore denotes too great an action
of the heart and arteries. It may arife from various
caufes : in the firit place, from too great a tenlion of
the vefiels for inftance, from their beirtg too full, and
by that means more prone to motion, and the more
fit for receiving violent motions. It may arife alfo
from too great a denfity and firmnefs of the folids j
and hence it is molt frequent in cold countries, among
ftrong robuft people, and iuch as are accuilomed to
hard labour. It may likewife arife from various caufes
irritating the whole nervous fyftem, or only the heart
and arteries. Laflly, It accompanies many fevers, as
well as mod: inflammatory diforders, whether the in¬
flammation arifes from a general flimulus applied to
the whole body, or from the irritation of particular
parts, by degrees extended over the whole body. In
fuch a date of the circulation, the patient frequently
dands in need of blood-letting, and almod alwmys bears
it well.
A final!, weak, and foft pulfe is generally ow'ing to
caufes oppofite to the former, and indicates a con-
trary date of the circulation and nervous fydem. It fre¬
quently requires dimulants j nor does it generally re¬
quire blood-letting, or eafily bear it. Sometimes, how¬
ever, a pulfe of this kind is oblerved even in the cafe
of a dangerous inflammation, of the domach for in¬
dance, or inteflines. But in thefe and the like ex¬
amples we ought to attend to the nature of the malady,
much more than to the date of the pulfe.
The pulfe is faid to intermit, when the droke does
not return after the ufual interval, and perhaps not
till after twice, thrice, or four times the ufual fpace.
A pulfe of this kind feems to be almod natural and
condant in fome animals, and is common to feme men
even in the mod perfedl health ; and if thefe happen
to be feized with a fever,' the pulfe fometimes becomes
regular, nor can the difeafe be removed before the in-
termiflion has returned.
Moreover, in fome people, though their pulfe beats
equally while in health, yet the flighted illnefs makes
it intermit; and in others, efpecially thofe wdio have a
great deal of mobility in their conditution, fuch as hy¬
pochondriac and hyderic people, the intermiflion of
the pulfe is felt, without applying the finger to the ar¬
tery, merely by the uneafinefs which they perceive in
their breads during thofe intervals in which the pulfe
is deficient. An intermittent pulfe likewife occurs in
many dileafes of the bread, efpecially when water is
colle&ed in it ; and the like happens in the end of all
ddeafes, efpecially fevers, when the drength is nearly
exhauded, and death approaches, of which it is fre¬
quently the forerunner.
An intermitting pulfe therefore feems to arife from
an unequal influx of the nervous power into the heart,
or from the decay and exhaudion of the nervous power,
by which means the heart is not able to contrafl till
it has been didended beyond its due pitch. Or laflly,
It may arife from difeafes of the organ itfelf, or the
neighbouring parts; from fwellings, •water, &c. prefs-
ing. upon them, and impeding, the action of the heart :
which indeed is a very dangerous diforder, and almod
always mortal..
CINE. 221
Many other variations of the pulfe are enumerated Diforder®,
by phyficians, but mod of them are uncertain, and not oi C.ircula
confirmed by experience. We (hall therefore now con- , tl°n' ,
fider the motion of the blood, which may be either
too great, too final!, or irregular.
A quick pulfe, cceteris paribus, produces a more ra¬
pid circulation, becaufe the fooner that the ventricle
of the heart is emptied, the more quickly is the blood
thrown into the arteries j and their actions mud an-
fvver to this flronger flimulus. Hence exercife, heat,
flimulants, plethora, every kind of irritation, pafiions
of the mind, and fever, increafe the circulation. The
efiebt of this increafe is a didention of the veflels, a fli¬
mulus applied to the whole body, an increafe of heat,
and often a debility. The fecretion of fweat is increaf-
ed while the other fecretions are diminiflied, and the
various funblions of the body impeded j third comes
on, the appetite is lofl, the fat confumed, and a difpo-
fition to putrefcency introduced. Sometimes the finall-
er veflels are burfl ; whence effufions of blood and hae¬
morrhages. But we are by no means to forget, that
this violent motion of the blood, however hurtful it
may feem, is among the bed remedies made ufe of by
nature in curing many difeafes.
The motion of the blood is diminiflied, efpecially
by debility, torpor, the want of irritation or of exer¬
cife : the fame thing happens to all the fluids, if there
be any obdrublion in the veflels, or any caufe by which
their return is hindered or rendered more difficult.
Thus, from the very weight of the blood itfelf, if a
perfim has flood long on his feet, the humours return
more dowdy from the inferior extremities. Any difeafe
of the heart and arteries alfo, as an aneurifin, contrac¬
tion, offification, mud neceflarily obdrubl the circula¬
tion. The fame thing happens from obflrubb’ons of the
veins, or interrupted refpiration, by wdiich the pafiage
of the blood through the lungs to the left fide of the
heart is impeded.
But, from whatever caufes this diminution of the
circulation takes place, the bad confequences are per¬
ceived chiefly in the veins, becaufe in them the blood
always moves more dowdy than in the arteries. Hence
varices, and congeflions of blood, efpecially in thofe
parts of the body where the veins are deflitute of
valves, and of confequence where the motion of the
mufcles cannot affifl the circulation. Hence alfo arife
dropfies from an impeded or languid motion of the
blood \ becaufe the refiflance of the veins being increaf-
ed, the blood is received into them with the greater
difficulty, and more of the thin humour is driven into
the exhaling veflels, and by them depofited in fuch
quantities as cannot be reabforbed by the lymphatics.
Thefe difeafes, as wTedl as all others proceeding from
defeats of the circulation, are alfo more difficult of cure
than others, becaufe all the vital powrers are weakened
at the fame time.
Another diforder of the circulation is wffiere the
blood is carried to one part of the body in too great
quantity, by which means the other parts are depri¬
ved of their due proportion. This irregular diflribution
of the vital fluid frequently ariles from a flimulus ap¬
plied to the part itfelf, or to the brain, or at length
a£Hng on the mind, which, according to the laws of
fympathy, produces a certain definite didribution of
the ■
222 M E D I
Diforders the blood. It arlfes alfo not unfrequently from a fpafm
of Circula- taking place in fome other parts, which drives the
■ blood out of its ordinary courfe.
In proportion to this irregularity of the circula¬
tion are the confequences; heat, fwelling, rednefs, in¬
flammation, rupture of veffels, haemorrhages, effufions,
deftruftion, corruption, and funpuration of the cellular
texture and adjoining parts, &c. Even this evil, how¬
ever, nature often converts into an excellent remedy $
and phyficians, following her fleps, frequently attempt
to diredi the diftribption of the blood in particular dif-
eafes, well knowing that a change in the diftribution of
the blood is frequently efficacious either for radically
curing fome difeafes, or relieving their moft urgent
fymptoms.
Palpitation. Laftly, Some diforders in the motion of the heart
itfelf, and thofe of no fmall confequence, remain yet to
be taken notice of, namely, palpitation and fyncope.
A palpitation is a violent and irregular adtion of the
heart, fuch as for the moft part is perceived by the pa¬
tient himfelf, and that not without a great deal of un-
eafinefs and oppreflion at his breaft ; and it is alfo ma-
nifeft to the by-ftanders, if they apply their hands, or
look at his naked breaft; the pulfe of the arteries in
the mean time being weak, unequal, and intermit¬
tent. This is a fpafmodic diforder j and is induced by
various caufes affedting either the nervous fyftem in
general, or the heart in particular. Every difeafe of the
organ itfelf, fuch as a conftridtion of its valves and
blood-vefiels, an offification, enlargement, or polypus,
hindering the free adtion of the heart, and evacuation
of blood from it, are capable of exciting it to violent
and unufual contradlions. The fame effedt will alfo
follow plethora, or too violent an impulfe of the blood.
The heart will likewife frequently palpitate from a vio¬
lent excitement of the nervous fyftem, efpecially where
the conftitution is endowed with a great deal of mobili¬
ty. Hence palpitations arife from any affedticn of
the mind, and in hyfteric women. Palpitation may
likewife arife from an affedtion of the ftomach, occa-
fioned by worms, a furfeit, flatus, or ftimulation by
various acrid fubftances. It frequently alfo accompa¬
nies the gout when repelled, or even when a fit is com¬
ing on. Sometimes it arifes from debility, whatever
may be the caufe } frequently from any difficulty in
breathing; and many of thefe caufes may be joined at
the fame time, or fome of them produce others.
Hence we may fee why the evil is fometimcs flight
and of fhort continuance j at other times altogether in¬
curable, and certainly mortal in a longer or ftiorter
time $ why it fometimes returns at intervals, often com¬
ing on and being increafed by every kind of irritation
and exercife, and fometimes relieved or totally removed
by ftimulants or exercife.
Syncope. A fyncope takes place when the adtion of the heart,
and along with it that of the arteries, is fuddenly and
very much leflened ; whence the animal powers, the
fenfes, and voluntary motions, immediately ceafe. This
may be produced by almoft all the caufes of palpita¬
tion •, becaufe whatever can difturb and diforder the
motion of the heart, may alfo weaken or fufpend it.
The vitiated ftrudture of the heart itfelf therefore, vio¬
lent paflions of the mind, whether of the depreffing
kind, or thofe which fuddenly and vehemently excite,
various kinds of nervous difeafes, thofe of the itomach,
4
CINE. Theory.
every kind of debility and evacuation, efpecially a Diforders
great lofs of blood, exceflive and unremitting labour, °fthe
long watching, heat, pain, many kinds of poifons, 8tc.; .
produce fainting.
Hence we fee, that whatever weakens the motion
of the blood through the brain tends to produce faint¬
ing ; and, on the contrary, whatever tends to aug¬
ment that motion, alfo tends to refiefh, and to prevent
the perfon from fainting. Hencd alfo we iee how the
mere pofture of the body may either bring on or keep
off fainting, or remove it after it has already come on.
We likewife fee how this diforder may fometimes be
of little confequence and eafily removed j at others
very dangerous, not only as a fymptom, but even of it¬
felf, as fometimes terminating in death j and laftly,
how it may be ufed as a remedy by a fkilful phyfician,
and artificially induced, either to free the patient from
violent pain, or to flop an immoderate effufion of blood
fcarce to be reftrained by any other method. ^
With regard to the diforders of the blood itfelf, theBuff-co-
glutinous part of it, or, more properly, its fibrine fepa-Iou^ cruft
rated from the red particles, produces that buff-colour-^joocje
ed appearance often feen upon blood drawn from peo¬
ple aiflidted with inflammatory diforders, and even
fometimes when no fuch difeafes are prefent. This
cruft indeed is nothing elfe than the fibrine of the blood
taking longer time than ufual to coagulate, by which
means the red particles have an opportunity of falling
to the bottom. This indicates no lentor, denfity, thick-
nefs, or tenacity of the blood, as was formerly thought j
but rather its thinnefs, or at leaft a lefs tendency in it
to coagulate. It arifes for the moft part from a violent
agitation and conquaffation of the blood w'ithin the bo¬
dy ; and hence it accompanies many fevers, all inflam¬
mations, fometimes haemorrhages, exanthemata, ple¬
thora, pain, and many irritations. It muft, however,
be allowed, that in feveral of thefe difeafes it is render¬
ed highly probable at leaft, from experiments apparent¬
ly accurate, that the quantity of the fibrine of the blood
is really increafed in the proportion which it bears to
the other parts. This cruft, however, is not always to
be accounted morbid, as it often happens to the moft:
healthy; and may even be produced or deftroyed by
the flighteft caufes while the blood is running from the
vein, fo that frequently we thall fee a very thick and
tenacious cruft on the blood flowing into one cup, while
that which runs into another has little or none at all.
In general, however, the appearance of this cruft fhows,
that the patient will bear blood-letting well, though
thofe have been in a great miftake who have dire&ed
this operation to be repeated till no more cruft appear¬
ed on the blood.
The coagulable part of the blood alfo frequently pro¬
duces thofe maffes called polypi, which fometimes take
place during life, but more frequently after death, :n
the large veffels near the heart, or even in the cavities
of that organ. Similar maffes alfo are frequently form¬
ed in the uterus, and are called moles. loc
The quantity of blood contained in a healthy body Plethora,
is very various, and difficult to be afcertained. Many
difeafes, however, may ariie from its being either too
fcanty or too abundant.- Too great a quantity of
blood is produced by the ufe of rich, nouriihing diet,
ftrong drink, accompanied with a good digeftion j
from a lazy, fedentary life, or much fleep, efpecially
in
of the
Blood.
ioi
Inanition,
Theory. M E I) I
Biforders in tliofe who have been formerly accuftomed to much
exercife ; with many other caufes of the fame kind.
It renders the perfon dull and languid, and fometimes
almoft totally opprelfes him; nor are thofe organs def-
tined for moving the blood fufficient for driving for¬
ward fuch a load. The pulfe finks ; and fometimes a
fyncope, vertigo, or palpitation takes place. More fre--
quently, however, the vefiels are too much diftended,
and ready to be thrown into violent and irregular mo¬
tions. Hence a difpofition to fevers, inflammations, an
unequal diftribution of the blood, unufual congeflions,
rupture of the veffels, and haemorrhages. Befides this,
in confequence of the clofe connexion between the fan-
guiferous and the nervous fyftem, a fulnefs of blood
produces a difpofition to fpafm and other difeafes of that
kind.
Hence we may underfland why a plethora is fome¬
times accompanied with a weak and fometimes with a
flrong and hard pulfe, why it is the caufe as well as
a part of fo many diftempers, why it is the eflfedl of a
high ftate of health, 8tc.
The want of a due quantity of blood is no lefs perni¬
cious than too great an abundance of it. It debilitates
the perfon, and renders him unable to perform the pro¬
per duties of life produces a languid circulation, fyn¬
cope, fpafms, and at laft death itfelf. In a (lighter de¬
gree of the difeafe the body is emaciated through want
of nouriihment, and its fundlions are vitiated in various
ways. It may arife from want, bad food, or fuch as
affords little nourifhment: from bad digeftion, or the
chyle being hindered from pafling into the blood : from
fevers, or other difeafes which exhauft the body and
hinder nutrition : or laftly, from various evacuations,
particularly of blood ; and that the more efpecially if
they are fudden, for in flow evacuations the veffels ac¬
commodate themfelves furprifingly to the quantity left
in them. Befides, if the body be (lowly exhaufted, the
excretions are leflened by reafon of the deficiency of the
vital power ; fo that the unufual expence is eafily com-
penfated by the unufual retention. But if the evacua¬
tion happens to be very fudden and great, it may either
prove mortal in a (hort time, or break the conftitution
to a degree beyond recovery.
By a great and long-continued deficiency of blood
thinnefs of the quality of it alfo is impaired ; becaufe the thin part
the blood. 0f it is eafily and foon made up $ but the glutinous,
and red part, not fo eafily. Hence the blood becomes
thin, pale, fcarcely capable of coagulation, or of af¬
fording a proper fupport to the body. Too great thin¬
nefs of the blood alfo proceeds from ufing much drink,
efpecially of the aqueous kind, (lender and unnutritious
diet, a bad digeftion in the ftomach j from difeafes of
the lungs and thofe organs which elaborate the red
part ; or from fuppreffion of the ufual evacuations of
thin humours, as fweat or urine, induced by cold, a
fault of the fecreting organs, or from putrefcency.
But along with this, other diforders of the blood
. concur.
A too thin and watery blood makes the face pale,
the body weak and languid. The folid parts become
flaccid from want of nouriftiment, and having too great
a quantity of water in their compefition. It brings on
hydropic eft'ufions of water in all parts of the body, by
reafon of the increafed exhalation of that thin fluid
which moiftcns all the inward parts 3 partly by reafon
xoa
Morbid
CINE. 223
of the veflels being relaxed beyond their ufual pitch, Diforders
and not making a proper refiltance. Befidf s, in this
cafe, the lymphatics are fo far from abforbing more , ^ .
than ufual, that, partaking likewife of the general de¬
bility, they are fcarcely fitted for performing their pro¬
per offices.
Nature, however, has taken care, by the mod Ample
means, to provide againft fo many and (o great evils j
for neither does the blood fo eafily become thin as fome
have imagined, nor when this qualiry takes place does
it want a proper remedy. For almofi: inftantly, if the
perfon be otherwife in health, the excretions of wa¬
tery matters are greatly augmented, and the whole
mafs of blood in a (hort time becomes as thick as for¬
merly. _ _ 103
The oppofite to this, namely, too great a thicknefs Morbid
of the blood, though often fpoken of by phyficians, is tiuckncfs of.
very rarely if ever obferved 3 and thofe fevers and
flammations which have been thought to arife from
thence, are now found to originate from other caufes.
The following wmuld feem to be the law of the human
conftitution. As foon as the blood has attained the
due degree of thicknefs, or gone in the lead beyond it,
the excretions are either fuppreffed or diminilhed, the
body attrafts more moifture from the air, the perfon
is thirfty, and drinks as much as is neceflary for dilut¬
ing the blood. But if w^ater be wanting, and the per¬
fon cannot fatisfy his third, then the blood is (o far
from being thickened, that by reafon of a putrefcency
begun or augmented, it is much diifolved, becomes
acrid, and is with difficulty contained in the veflels. 104
The acrimony of the fluids has afforded a large Acrimony
field for declamation to fpeculative phyficians, and011^'*? .
upon this (lender foundation many perplexed and in- ooc
tricate theories have been built. It is certain indeed,
that the blood in a ftate of health has fome fmall (hare
of acrimony 3 and this acrimony, from certain caufes,
may be a little increafed fo as to produce various dif¬
eafes of a dangerous nature. This we are affured of
from the increafe of motion in the heart and arteries,
and the fimilar augmentation of the adtion of the fe-
cretory organs, when certain acrid fubftances are taken
inw’ardly. The fame thing alfo appears from the un¬
ufual acrimony of the fecreted fluids in fuch cafes, by
which the vefiels are fometimes greatly ftimulated, and
fometimes even quite eroded. Very many acrid fub¬
ftances, however, are daily taken into the ftomach 3 fo
that thefe muft either be correbted in the primce vice,
or changed by digeftion before they pafs into the blood;
or at lead by dilution u’ith much water, or being blunted
by an admixture with gluten, oil, or different gafes,
they muft depofit much of their acrimony, and at laft
be thrown out of the body as noxious fubftances. Thus
a vaft quantity of falls, acid, alkaline, and neutral, may
pafs through the body, without in the lead affedling
the health 3 though thefe falls, if taken in very large
quantity, undiluted, or not thrown out of the body,,
will do much hurt.
Moreover, even while life continues, putrefadlion is
going on, and produces much of that fubftance called
animal fait 3 for into this a great part of our food is
converted, and paffes off by the urine. But if this pu-
trefcent difpofition be too great, it will produce too
large a quantity of animal fait 3 efpecially if much of
any falme fubftance is otherwife thrown into the body
without
224 M £ D I
Diforders without proper dilution and this kind of difeafe is
Bklod. known. to faIlors who h^ve been long at fea
u—v—without having an opportunity of getting frefh prori-
fions.
For this fpontaneous putrefcency, nature has fug-
gefted a proper remedy, namely, frefh meat, efpecially
of the vegetable and acefcent kind, and fuch as is much
impregnated with acid, which it may impart to the
body. But where this kind of food is wanting, the pu-
trefaftion goes on apace, and a very great thinnefs and
acrimony of the juices take place ; efpecially if there be
alfo a fcarcity of urine, or the excretions which ought
to carry the putrid matters out of the body languifh, ei¬
ther from cold, doth, torpor, deprefling paflions of the
mind, or from the conflitution being broken by dif-
eafes; or laftly, from too great heat, which always fa¬
vours putrefaftion.
Befides, it would feem, that fometimes a difpofi-
tion to putrefa£Hon is much increafed by the reception
of a putrid ferment into the body; of which we have
examples in fome infectious fevers, where the conta¬
gion is very much affifted by beat, animal diet, certain
kinds of falts, debility and naftinefs.
Laftly, Any fingle part of the body may putrefy
from various caufes, as from inflammation, cold, &c.
and thus may the whole body be infeCted ; although for
the molt part the difeafe proves fatal before the corrup¬
tion has fpread over the whole body.
But when the mafs of blood begins to putrefy great¬
ly, it not only becomes very acrid, but thin alfo, fo
that it either will not coagulate at all, or fhows only
a flight and very loofe craflamentum. Nay, even the
red globules are broken down and deftroyed 5 in which
cafe it neceffarily follows, that the blood muft be¬
come very acrid, as well on account of the evolution
of the fait, as by reafon of the rancid and putrid glu¬
ten, which ftimulates, and frequently even erodes, the
vefiels j producing fpots, firft red, then livid and black,
tumors, and ulcers fcarce poffible to be cured, without
hr ft removing the putrefcent difpofition of the hu¬
mours. From the fame caufes proceed haemorrhages
from every part of the body, hardly to be reftrained j
a moft intolerable fetor of the breath and all the ex¬
crements ; the higheft debility and laxity of the folids;
the putrefaClion aCling as a poifon to the nervous
fyftem, and at length bringing on death.
An acrimony of the acid kind never takes place in
the human blood, nor in any of the humours fecreted
from it *, though one of them, namely the milk, turns
acid fpontaneoufly in a very fhort time after it is drawn
from the breaft. Neither does an alkaline acrimony
feem ever to take place in the blood. Putrefcency
indeed tends this way, and at laft terminates in it $ but
fcarcely while the perfon lives, though the nature of the
urine, even while recent, feems to be but little diftant
from that of an alkali.
Many kinds of acrimony may exift in the blood
from too liberal an ufe of fpices, wine, fpirits, &c.
but of thefe we know nothing certain. We well
know, however, that the body is often infeCted with va¬
rious kinds of morbid acrimony, which bring on many
and dangerous dileafes, as the fmall-pox, mealies, can¬
cers, lues venerea, &c. of which the origin and manner
of aCling are very little underftood, though the efftas
i-re abundantly evident. In moft cafes, nature has taken
2
CINE, Theory.
no lefs care to provide againft the acrimony than againft Diforders
the. too great vifcidity of the blood. Sometimes an ofRefpira-
antidote is afforded, either by the excitement of thirft, tUj^;
that the acrid fubftance may be diluted with plenty of ^ * J
drink 5 or by increaftng the evacuations, that it may
be thrown.out of the body 5 or- laftly, by exciting va¬
rious motions and aClions of the vital powers, by
which it may be either fubdued, changed, rei dered in¬
nocent, or expelled from the body by new and un*
wonted paffages.
With, regard to refpiration, it may be obftruCted Refpirh
from various caufes feated either in the lungs themfelves
or. the furrounding parts. But from whatever caufe
this obftruflion may arife, it undoubtedly produces all
thofe difeafes which proceed from an interrupted circu¬
lation. The lungs themfelves alfo being at length com-
prefled, and not fuffered to dilate fufficiently, cannot
throw off the vapour which arifes from them ) and hence
they are frequently oppreffed with moifture. At the
fame time they are irritated, fo that a greater quantity
of mucus, and that of a thicker kind than ufual, is fe¬
creted ; by which means the paffages through which
the air enters them are flopped up, till a violent cough
at length throws off the load.
The refpiration is alfo fubjeCled to fome other difor¬
ders, as a cough and fneezing •, which, though at firft
fight they may feem very dangerous, are not deftitute
of ufe, and may even be reckoned among the moil fa-
lutary attempts of nature to relieve the patient. Of¬
ten, however, they are attended with danger, or
very great uneafinefs ;. namely, when they are either
too violent or exerted in vain. At any rate, it is ne-
ceffary for a phyfician to know' the nature, caufes,
and effects of thefe, that he may be enabled to pro¬
mote them when neceffary, to moderate them when
too violent, and to flop them wrhen noxious or of no
ufe.
A cough is a violent, frequently involuntary, and Cough,
fonorous exfpiration, fuddenly expelling the air with
great force through the glottis fomewhat comraded.
l.be convulfion of the mufcles ferving for exfpiration,
gives a great force to the air, while the contra&ion of
the glottis produces the found. It is often long conti¬
nued, being repeated at certain intervals, during each
of which the infpiration is imperfect and obftrudled
by reafon of the contraction of the glottis. It is ex¬
cited by any kind of acrid fubftance, either chemically
or mechanically applied to thofe paffages through
which the air enters. I hefe are lined with a mem¬
brane fo exceedingly delicate and impatient of ftimu-
lus, that it cannot even bear the touch of the mildeft
fubftance, fuch as a fmall drop of wrater, without throw¬
ing the mufcles ferving for exfpiration into a violent
convulfion *, the glottis at the fame time contrading
by means of the fympathy between it and the neigh¬
bouring parts. . Thus the air is thrown out wdth fuch
violence, that it drives the irritating fubftance along
with it; and thus a cough becomes not only ufefulj
but abfolutely neceffary for the prefervation of life, as
being able to free the lungs from every kind of irrita¬
ting fubftance or foulnefs, wdiich might feon bring on
a fuffocation. Hence a cough is almoft an ink-parable
companion of every inflammation of the lungs, as well
as every difficulty in refpiration j and even frequently
accompanies the entrance of the pureft air when the
trachea
y
Theory. M E D I
Bid ders trachea and bronchlte are excoriated, or become too
ofRefpira- fenfible. Examples alfo are not wanting, where a vio-
^ t‘^n' , lent and troublefome cough has arifen from an irrita¬
bility of the nervous fyftem, or even of fome particular
part, of the ear, for inftance, the ftomach and inteftines,
the liver by inflammation, &c.
Coughing may alfo be voluntarily excited, and may
then be managed at pleafure. Even when involuntary,
it may be moderated, or fuppreffed, by a contrary ef¬
fort : though a violent fit of coughing cannot by any
means be refitted. When it is once excited, the cough
goes on till the irritating fubftance be expelled, or the
fenfe of irritation abolithed, or perhaps overcome by a
more uneafy fenfation than even the cough itfelf; af¬
ter which, the irritation again returning at a certain
interval, the cough alfo returns. Hence we are taught
a method of allaying and quieting this moft troublefome
malady, though frequently it is not in our power to re¬
move the caufe of it altogether.
A very violent cough is often dangerous : For by
the retention of the breath, and the ftrong efforts made
in coughing, a great quantity of blood is collected in
the lungs, of which the veffels are diftended, and fre¬
quently broken j and hence there fometimes happens a
violent and even fatal haemorrhage. Morp frequently,
however, it is the caufe of a flower, thaugh equally fa¬
tal, difeafe. Nay, a frequent and troublefome cough,
without any great haemorrhage, or even without any
haemorrhage at all, may injure the lungs to fuch a
degree, efpecially if they be of a more tender ftruc-
ture than ufual, as to lay the foundation of a phthifis
almoft always incurable.
Again, by a long-continued and violent cough, the
paffage of the blood through the lungs being impeded,
it muft neceffarily flow through the veins towards the
head : hence rednefs and lividnefs in the countenance,
haemorrhages, palfies, apoplexies, and fometimes fatal
convulfions. Laftly, by a violent cough the abdominal
vifeera are compreffed with remarkable violence ; and
if any part happens to be Weaker than ufual, a hernia,
prolapfus uteri, abortion, or fimilar accidents, may hap¬
pen.
Even when the cough is more gentle, if it happens
to be importunate and frequent, although we have no¬
thing of this kind to fear, yet the patient is by no
means free from danger ; as he is thereby agitated, fa¬
tigued, has his conftitution broken, is deprived of reft,
-has a fever brought upon him, his lungs are fhaken
and irritated, digeftion and all the other functions are
impeded, till at laft he finks under a complication of
maladies.
Sneezirw. Sneezing is fomewhat fimilar to cough, as confifling
of a very full infpiration, to which fucceeds a moft
violent exfpiration, by which the air is driven out
through the noftrils wflth immenfe violence, and frveeps
the paffage through them as it goes out. It is a con-
vulfion much more violent than a cough, and is befides
very difficult to be flopped ■when once a propenfity to
it has taken place. As a cough proceeds from an irri¬
tation of the glottis, trachea, bronchia, and lungs, fo
ineezing arifes from an irritation of the membrane of
the noftrils, but rarely from fympathy with any diftant
part.* It is fometimes of fervice, as w-ell as a cough ;
though it is alfo fometimes prejudicial, for the reafons
which have been already afligned.
Voj,. XIII. Part I.
CINE. 225
The laft affections of which wo (hall here fpeak, are Diforders
thofe arifing from a bad digeftion, difordered motion
of the inteftines, and fome of the principal fecretions. .
The firft of thefe are fometimes very troublelome,
though feldom dangerous. The principal fymptoms are
oppreffion, anxiety, pain at the ftomach ; erudations, xo8
by reafon of air extricated from the fermenting ali-^'S6^1015-
ments, and irritating the ftomach ; naufea and vomi¬
ting, from the irritation and diftention of the fame or¬
gan ; the belly fometimes too coftive, and fometimes
too loofe ; a defeCt of nourifhment *, a general debility;
relaxation of the folid parts ; too great thinnefs of the
fluids; all the functions impeded ; pain of the head j
vertigo, fyncope, afthma, palpitation ; great finking
of the fpirits, efpecially if the patient has been of
a peculiar conftitution ; fometimes the gout, fome¬
times a dropfy, or a flow fever which may prove
fatal. x°9
The motion of the inteftines may be either too great ^0^veneis*
or too little ; and hence proceeds either coftivenefs or
loofenefs. The former is frequently not to be account¬
ed morbid ; but, when it is, it may arife from the
ftruCfure of the inteftines being injured, or from their
being fhut up or obftruCted by fpafm or otherwife, or
from a deficiency of thofe humours which moiften the
inteftines ; or it may arife from mere debility, from a
palfy of the fibres, perhaps, or frofri a deficiency of the
ufual ftimulus, of the bile, for inftance, or from too
dry or flender a diet.
The confequences of long-continued coftivenefs, are,
firft, an affeftion of the alimentary canal, and then of
the whole body. The ftomach is difeafed, and does
not digeft the aliments properly ; the whole body is
left deftitute of its ufual ftimulus ; the blood is cor¬
rupted, perhaps from the reforption of the putrid mat¬
ter into it. The circulation through the abdominal
vifeera is impeded ; hence frequent and irregular con-
geftions, varices of the veins, haemorrhoids, &c. Nay,
the inteftines themfelves being overloaded, diftended
and irritated by an heavy, acrid, and putrid load of
aliment or other matters, are excited to new7 and un-
ufual contrafHons, wffiich, if they do not get the bet¬
ter of the obftrudlion, bring on tormina, colic, or an
iliac paflion, inflammation and gangrene, fatal in a ve¬
ry fhort time. 110
Loofends, or diarrhcea, is a malady extremely com-
mon ; being fometimes a primary difeafe, and fome¬
times only a fymptom or an effedl of others. Some¬
times it is a falutary effort of nature, fuch as the
phyfician ought to imitate and bring on by art. It
is alfo familiar to infants, and to people of a certain
conftitution ; and to them coftivenefs is very prejudi¬
cial. It may arife, in the firft place, from fomething
taken into the body, or generated in the inteftines ;
from a fermentation and corruption of the mafs of ali¬
ments; from the bile being too abundant and acrid, or
from blood or pus poured into the inteftines; from the
inteftines themfelves being eroded, or deprived of their
natural mucus ; from the humours being driven from
the furface of the body towards the imvard parts, as
by cold, efpecially w7hen applied to the feet; or from
a general corruption of the whole body, as in the
phthifis, heftic, or putrid fever, efpecially towards the
end of thefe diferders. In fevers it is fometimes falu-
tary, or even puts an end to the difeafe altogetha, or
Ff at
226 M E D I
Disorders at Jeall renders it milder : more frequently, however,
^mentary" ^.er^v‘nS ^ts origin from putrefcenCy, it is of no fer-
Canal. vice, but rather exhaufts the drength of the patient.
' A diarrhoea likewife, almoft incurable, and often fatal
in a Ihort time, frequently arifes after the operation
for the fiilula in ano. Some have their inteilines fo
extremely weak and moveable, that from the Highteft
caufe, fuch as catching cold, any violent commotion
of the mind, &c. they are fubjed to a violent diarrhoea.
Laftly, whatever be its origin, if it has continued for
a long time, the vifcera are rendered fo weak and ir¬
ritable, that the difeafe, though often removed, dill
returns from the flighted caufes, and even fuch as are
not eafily difcovered;
A diarrhoea proves very pernicious, by hindering
digeftion and the nouriihment of the body ; for the
ftomach is commonly affedted, and the aliments pais
through the inteftines fo quickly, that they can nei¬
ther be properly digefled, nor are the lafteals able to
abforh the chyle from them as they go along. Such a
violent evacuation is alfo hurtful by exhaufling the
body, and carrying off a great quantity of the nutri¬
tious matter from the blood. Neither indeed, is it
only the alimentary mafs which is thrown out fooner
than it ought to be ; but at the fame time, a great
quantity of the fluids fecreted in the inteilines, fo that
the whole body quickly partakes of the debility.
Sometimes a violent and long-continued diarrhoea
rifes to fuch a height, that the aliment is difcharged
with little or no alteration. Sometimes alfo, though
rarely, from a fimilar caufe, or from the obflrudlion
of the mefenteric glands, and its other paffages into
the blood, the chyle itfelf is thrown out like milk
along with the excrements; and this difeafe is called
TII theJluxus cceliacus.
Dyfentery. A dyfentery is attended with very fevere gripes in
the belly, a frequent defire of going to ftool, and
vain efforts, when nothing is excreted befides the mucus
of the intefthies mixed with a little blood ; it is alfo ac¬
companied with exceflive debility, and frequently with
putrefcency and fever. It is thought to arife from
the conftriaion of fome part of the" inteflines, of the
colon efpeciallyby which means the bowels, though
e,ver muc’1 irritated, can pals nothing *, neither can
the difeafe be removed, until the belly has been well
II2 purged by proper medicines.
Tanefmus. A tenei nus is a frequent and infatiable propenfity
to ffool, without being able to pafs any thing, not-
withffandmg tne moil violent efforts. It may be oc*
cafioned by any kind of irritation, either of* the rec¬
tum itfelf or of the neighbouring parts, by acrid
fubftances taken into the body ; by fome of the ftrong-
tr purges, efpecially aloes, a fubftance very difficult of
folution, which will pafs even to the reftom with very
little alteration ; by a violent and obftinate diarrhoea,
dyfentery, haemorrhoids, worms, fiftula, calculus, ulcer
m the bladder, urethra, &c. It is often very’perni¬
cious, both from the exceflive uneafinefs it occafions to
tae patient, and from its exhaufting his llrength, by the
frequent and. vain efforts bringing on a prolapfus ani,
and communicating the violent irritation to the neiph-
„3 b°unng part*, as the bladder, &c.
Naufea and A naufea and vomiting are diforders very common,
Tomiting. and owing to almoft innumerable caufes ; not only to
affections oi tne ftomach itfelf, but alfo to affe&ions and
C I N E. Theory.
irritations of the remote!! parts of the body which Dltorders
may adi upon the ftomach by fympathy. Every irri- ot r^e
tation and diflention of that vilcus therefore, a load
of crude aliment, an obftruftion about the pylorus, - t - >
all acrid fubftances taken into it, difeafes of the liver,
inteftines, kidneys, uterus, the head, the feet, the Ikin,
or indeed the whole body, inflammation, the ftone,
king’s evil, fchirrus, apoplexy, compreffion of the
brain, frafture of the fkull, vertigo, fyncope, violent
pain, the gout, efpecially when repelled, fevers, paf-
fions of the mmd, difagreeable imaginations or dif-
courfes, frequently induce naufea and vomiting.
1 hefe affeftions are often ferviceable by freeing the
ftomach from fomething with which it was overloaded :
promoting fpitting in fome cafes where the lungs are
overcharged with mucus, blood, pus, or water j pro¬
ducing fvveat, and a free and proper diftribution of
blood to the furface of the body ; partly, perhaps, by
the great ftraimng which accompanies vomiting, but
rather by that wonderful fympathy which takes place
between the ftomach and Ikin : and hence, in many
difeafes, vomiting is a moft excellent remedy. It is
however in fome cafes hurtful, if too violent or too fre¬
quently repeated, partly by debilitating and making
the ftomach more eafily moved ; and partly by fa-
tiguing the patient with violent ftrainings, which oc-
cafion hernias, abortions, &c. I:,
Sometimes we find the motion of the inteftines ftiac pai-
totally inverted, from the anus to the mouth ; afion.
moft dangerous diftemper, which hath obtained the
name of the iliac pajjion. It moft: frequently arifes
from fome obftrudfion in the alimentary canal hinder¬
ing the defcent of the excrements, as fchirrus, fpafm,
inflammation, &c. : though the moft perfect iliac paf-
fion takes place without any obftrudlion, fo that clyf-
ters will be vomited ; and even after this has conti-
nued for feveral days, the patients have at length re¬
covered.
A flighter degree of the iliac paffion, namely the
inverfion of the periftaltic motion of the duodenum,
always takes place in long-continued and violent vo¬
miting, as in fea-ficknefs, or when a perfon bias taken
too large a dofe of an emetic ; by which means a vaft
quantity of bile frequently afcends into the ftomach,
and is difcharged by vomiting.
An exceffive vomiting with loofenefs is called a cho- c]10”ra
lera, when the matter difcharged has a bilious appear¬
ance. It arifes from a very great irritation of the ali¬
mentary canal without any obftrudtion j and is for the
moft part occafioned by too great a quantity, or
from an acrimony of the bile, from whence it takes
its name. It may originate from feveral caffes, as
too ftrong a dole of an emetic and cathartic medicine,
eating too great a quantity of fummer-fruits, &c.
and is a very violent malady, often killing the pa¬
tient in a few hours, unlefs proper remedies be applied
in time.
.. From a fuppreflion of any of the fecretions, or a OMmcfted
diforder of any of the fecretory organs, many mif-perfpira-
chiefs may arife. A diminution of perfpiration pro-tion'
duces, plethora, laflitude, languor, depreffion of mind,
bad .digeftion, lofs of appetite, and even a general cor¬
ruption of the humours from the retention of fuch a
quantity of putrefcent matter.—The more fuddenly the
diminution or fuppreflion of the perlpiration takes
placej
ii7
ExceiTive
perfpira-
nou.
118
Suppreflion
-of urine.
Theory. M E D T
Diforders place, the fooner the mifchief Is produced, and the
greater it is •, not only by retaining the matter which
ought to be thrown out, but by repelling the humours
from the furface of the body, and directing them to
other parts •, whence fevers, inflammations, ccngefiions
of the blood, &c. frequently take place.
Thus fuppreflion of perfpiration may arife from many
different caufes; as from cold fuddenly applied to the
body wdten very hot ; fometimes from very violent
paflions of the mind ; or from fpafmodic difeafes, as the
hyfterics, &c. It may be fuppreffed alfo by that
kind of conffriflion of the veffels of the Ikin which is
produced by various kinds of fevers, the natuxe of
which has hitherto been but little known.
Exceffive perfpiration or fweating is injurious by de¬
bilitating the body, relaxing the {kin, and expofing the
patient to ajl the evils which arife from catching cold.
It may even be carried to fuch a height as to produce
fainting and death ; though it muff be owned that we
cannot eaflly bring examples of people having, from
this caufe, their blood infpiffated, corrupted, or being
thence made liable to inflammations and fevers.
A fupnreflion of urine is ffill more dangerous than
that of perfpiraticn, and unlefs relieved in a fhort
time will certainly pxove fatal. This diforder, which
is called ifchuria, may arife from various difeafes of the
kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra, &c. Thus any
obftrudffon or irritation of one or other of the kidneys
or breter1, by a flene, gravel, mucus, blood, inflam¬
mations, fpafm, fuppUration, fchirrus, fwellings of the
neighbouring parts, &c. may either prevent the urine
from being fecreted, or may give rife to a fcanty or de¬
praved fecretion, or, finally, may obftruct its paffnge
into the bladder after it is fecreted.
The urine alfo, after it has entered the bladder,
is there frequently fuppreffed, by reafon of various
diferders to which that organ is liable, as an irritation
or inflammation, fpafm, acrid fubffances injebled, or
fyrapathy with the neighbouring parts $ or by reafon
of the texture of the bladder itfelf being deffroyed, or
from a palfy, fchirrus, ulcer, &c. in the bladder.
Or, laftly, the urine may be retained in the blad¬
der from a general ftupor, as from a difeafe of the
bi'ain, which happens in feme fevers, W'hen the pa¬
tient is neither fenfible of the ufual ffimulus, nor even
of one much greater, fo that the fibres can fcarcely
be excited to contraction by any means whatever.
This, in fevers, is always a bad fign, and fometimes
even proves fatal.
A fuppreflion of urine for any length of time
produces an immenfe diftention of the bladder, op-
preflion, uneafinefs, and pain, not only of the part
itfelf, but of the furrounding ones, and even of the
whole body ; a fpafm, or infuperable conffriClion of
the fphinfter •, an inflammation, gangrene, or lacera¬
tion of the bladder itfelf j a violent irritation of the
■whole habit; then a naufea, vomiting, vertigo, ge¬
neral ftupor, and an impregnation of the whole mafs of
blood with a humour of an urinous nature, which at
laft being poured out into various cavities of the body,
efpecially of the head, foon brings on a deep fleep,
convulfions, and death.
From the fame caufes, but afting with lefs force,
proceeds that difeafe called a dyfuria, when the urine
paffes with difficulty and pain, and is frequently
227
Diforders
of Secre¬
tion.
ri9
yfuria
V
CINE.
red, black, bloody, purulent, mucous, and Tandy 5
the reafon of all which appearances is very much un¬
known.—T he moft frequent complaint, however, in
making w-ater, is where the patient has a continual and
violent dcilre of paffing his urine, while at the fame
time only two or three drops can be paffed at once, 120
and that not without fome pain. This may be cccafion-Strangury
ed even in healthy people, by fome acrid lubftance tak¬
en into the ftomach; and is very common to old people,
who are generally fubjeCl to diforders of the kidneys
and bkidder. It srifes aifo frequently from a ftone
irritating the bladder, or from an inflammation of it,
or its being deprived of its mucus, or this laft being
fomchow or other ccri-upted } or laftly, from certain
cjxfeafijs, or fome particular ftate of the neighbouring
parts, as of the uterus, vagina, urethra, proftate
glaxxd^&c. . ° . . nt
Akin to the ftrangury is an incontinence of urine, XnCOnti-
when the patient’s water either comes away againftnence of
his will, or altogether without his knowledge. Thisunne‘
diforder may arife from debility, palfy, an ulcer or
wound, or any long-continued and violent irritation
of the bladder, efpecially of its fphincler, as from a
ftone, a general palfy, or in females difficult labour,
injuring the neighbouring parts.—This lymptom oc¬
curs in a great number of difeafes, efpecially in the
hydrocephalus.—Sometimes the urine is expelled with
violence, either by reafon of univerfal fpafms, or by
violent contx-aflions of the mufcles of refpiration, as in
fneezing, laughter, &c. I2-
Among the diforders incident to the urine we Urinary
may reckon the produ&ion of calculi, which frequently ca^cu'1,
bring on the moft excruciating, and dangerous difeafes.
—The urine, befides the water and falts, contains no
fmall ftiare of the glutinous part of the blood already
fomewhat corrupted, and {fill inclined to farther cor¬
ruption. Hence the urine even of the moft healthy
people depofits a fedircer.t after it has flood for fome
time ; and though none of this fediment be formed in
a healthy body, yet if the fmalleft particle of foreign
matter be introduced into the bladder, a cruft foon
gathers round it, and it is fare to become the bafts of
a concretion, which by degrees grows to a very great
fize. It is not unlikely, alfo, that fome unknown
fault of the fluids may contribute to the production
of thofe calculi, as the ftone is well known to be an
hereditary difeafe, and to be born with the patient*
Calculous perfons alfo are commonly fubjedl to com¬
plaints of the ftomacb, efpecially to an acidity of it j
and many have received no little relief from alkalefcent
or alkaline medicines.—From the fame caufes mav
calculi be formed in the kidneys 5 from which proceed
a horrid train of fymptoms deferibed in the fubfequent
part of this treatife.
It is now found, by accurate experiments of the
moft able chemifts, that urinary calculi do not, as was
once fuppofed, conftft almoft entirely of an earthy mat¬
ter. Their principal conftituent is a peculiar acid
approaching more nearly to the phofphoric found in
the bones than to any other. But the acid of cal¬
culus being in fome refpefts peculiar in its nature, has
among modern chemifts obtained a peculiar name, and
been diflinguilhed by the appellation of the I it hie or uric
acid. It is highly probable that this acid prefent in the
circulating mafs, is precipitated and difengaged by the
F f 2 introdudlion
228
Diibnier
of the
Glands.
123
Schirms.
MEDICINE.
introduflion of other acids, and thus thrown off in
greater quantities by the kidneys. Thus, then, we can
1 underftand the influence of acids as tending to the ge¬
neration of calculus, and of alkalies as tending to pre¬
vent it.
1 he lafl: diforder here to be taken notice of is a
diforder of the glands themfelves, owing to fome kind
of obftruclion, and is one of the mod dreadful dif-
eafes incident to human nature. Hence happens a
great fwelling and furprifmg hardnefs, not only without
pain, but fometimes even with a diminution of fenfation
in the part affected ; and when the gland is thus affect¬
ed, it is called a fchirrus. Sometimes it remains in
this date for a long time 5 but fooner or later produces
the mod excruciating torment. Ey degrees it is infedt-
ed with a flow and malignant fuppuration, degenerating
into an horrid ulcer, confuming not only the part itfelf,
Practi
but eating away the neighbouring ones, and corrupting Verfati
the whole body with the mod acrid and incurable poi- oHke 1
fon. This difeafe is called a cancer, of which the caufes ma“ 501
are very little knowm.
Of the organs in both fexes concerned in the fundiion
of generation, and of that fundi ion as far as we yet
know any thing refpedling it, an account has already
been given in Anatomy j and after what has been faid
of the different functions, and of the morbid affections,
to which thefe are fubjedted, we may conclude our re¬
marks on the theory of medicine, with mentioning the
remarkable verfatility of the human conditution j which,
more than that of any other anirrial, is capable of ac¬
commodating itfelf to every climate and to all kinds of
diet. Hence vye may conclude, that a large proportion
of the diteafes to which we are fubjedted are produced
by ourfelves.
I24
General
Arrange¬
ment of
Dtfeafes.
Practice of Medicine, or an Account of the principal Difeafcs to. which the Human
Body is fubjeded.
WE have already defined medicine to be the art of
preventing, curing, and alleviating, thofe difeafes to
which mankind are fubjedted. While thefe affedtions,
however, are in number almod infinite, each in its pro-
grefs is fubjedted to almod endlefs varieties from differ¬
ences in climate, conditution, treatment, and a variety
of other particulars. Hence we may readily explain
both the didiculty of didinguidiing morbid affedtions
from each other in adtual pradtice, and the diverfity of
names which have been affixed to them in the writings
of ancient phyficians. It may readily be fupp'ofed,
that in this, as well as other fubjedts, there has been a
gradual improvement from the progrelflve labours of
indultrious and ingenious men. And although much
yet remains t® be done in the proper arrangement and
didindtion of difeafes, or what has been called methodi¬
cal nofology, yet there cannot be a doubt, that during
the courfe of the 18th century, this fubjedl has re¬
ceived very great improvements. For thefe, we are,
in the fird place, highly indebted to the labours of
Francifcus Boiflier de Sauvages, an eminent profeffor
of medicine at Montpelier, who, following out an idea
iuggeded by the fagacious Dr Sydenham of England,
fird fuccefsfully attempted to arrange difeafes, as bo-
tanids had done plants, into claffes, orders, genera, and
fpecies. Since the publication of the Nofo/ogia Metho-
dica of Sauvages, this fubjedl has been fuccefsfully cul¬
tivated by feveral ingenious men, particularly by Sir
Charles Linnaeus of Upfal, to whole genius for arrange¬
ment every branch of natural hidory, but botany in
particular, has been fo highly indebted ; by Rudolphus
Augudus Vogel, an eminent profeffor at Gottingen ;
and by John Baptid Sagar, a didinguilhed phyfician at
Iglaw in Moravia : But of all the fydems of arrange¬
ment yet prefented to the medical world, that publidi-
ed by the late illudrious Dr William Cullen of Edin-
burgh, may judly be confidered as the bed. In treat-
ting, therefore, of the principal difeafes to which the
human body is fubje&ed, we lhall follow his plan, en¬
deavouring to deliver the bed edablilhed obfervations re-
fpefling the hidory, theory, and pra&ice of each. In
treating of particular genera of difeafe, although we
follow the arrangement of Dr Cullen, yet for the fatis-
faftion of the reader, we lhall often point out the
dalles to which the flame aftedlion is referred by the
other eminent writers whom we have mentioned. xVnd
on this account, it may not be improper briefly to enu¬
merate the general claffes to which each of them have
referred the affedions of the human body.
The Claffes of Sauvages are,
1. Vitia. 6. Debilitates.
2. Febres. 7. Dolores.
3- Phlegmafiae. 8. Vefanke.
4. Spafmi. 9. Fluxus.
5. Anhelationes. 10. Cachexise.
The Claffes of Linnseus are,
r. Exanthematici.
2. Critici.
3. Phlogidici.
4. Doloroli.
5. Mentales*.
6. Quietales.
7. Motorii.
8. Supprefforii.
9. Evacuatorii.
10. Deformes.
11. Vitia.
The Claffes of Vogel are,
1. Febres.
2. Profluvia.
3. Epifchefes.
4. Dolores.
5. Spafmi.
1 6. Adynamise.
7. Hyperaedhefes.
8. Cachexiae.
9. Paranoiac.
10. Vitia.
11. Deformitates.
The Claffes of Sagar are,
1. Vitia.
2. Palgae.
3. Cachexias.
4. Dolores.
5. Fluxus.
6. Supprefliones.
7. Spafmi.
8. Anhelationes,
9. Debilitates.
10. Exanthemata.
11. Phlegmafise.
12. Febres.
13. Vefaniac.
Befides
Pradice.
M E D I
General
Arrange¬
ment sf
Dil'eafes.
Beiides thefe, two other fyftems have been prefented
to the public, which may be conlidered as deferving at¬
tention ; thofe, viz. of the kite learned Dr M’Bride of
Dublin, and of the ingenious Dr Darwin of Derby.
The Claffes and Orders of M’Bride.
Clafs I. Univerfal Dfeafes.
Or. i. Fevers.
2. Inflammations.
3. Fluxes.
4. Painful difeafes.
5. Spafmodic difeafes.
6. Weakneffes or privation.
7. Afthmatic diforders.
8. Mental diforders.
Clafs II. Local Difeafes.
Or. 1. Of the internal fenfes.
2. Of the external fenfes.
3. Of the appetites.
4. Of the fecretions and excretions.
5. Impeding different actions.
6. Of the external habit.
7. Diflocations.
8. Solutions of continuity.
Clafs III. Sexual Difeafes.
Or. I. General proper to men.
2. Local proper to men.
3. General proper to women.
4. Local proper to women.
Clafs IV. Infantile Difeafes.
Or. 1. General.
2. Local.
The ClaiTes and Orders of Darwin.
Clafs I. Difeafes of Irritation.
Or. I. Increafed irritation.
2. Decreafed irritation.
3. Retrograde irritative motions.
Clafs II. Difeafes of Senfation.
Or. I. Increafed fenfation.
2. Decreafed fenfation.
3. Retrograde fenfitive motions,
Clafs III. Difeafes of Volition.
Or. 1. Increafed volition.
2* Decreafed volition.
Clafs IV. Difeafes of Affociation. .
Or. 1. Increafed affociated motions.
2. Decreafed affociated motions.
3. Retrograde afibciated motions.
After this fhort view of different claffifications, we
fliall next prefent to our readers a more particular ac¬
count of the arrangement of Dr Cullen ; which, al¬
though it can by no means be reprefented as free from
errors or imperfedh’ons, is yet in many refpefts the
bell that has hitherto been publifhed.
CINE.
229
Cullen’s Arrangement.
Class I. fi.YREXI.ZE. A frequent pulfe coming
on after a horror \ confiderable heat j many of the func¬
tions injured 5 the ftrength of the limbs efpecially di-
miniflied.
General
Arrange¬
ment of
Difeafes.
Order I. Febres. Pyrexia without any primary lo¬
cal affedtion, following languor, laffitude, and other
fymptoms of debility.
Seel. I. Intermittentes. Fevers ariflng from the mi-
afma of marfhes; with an apyrexia, or at leaft a very
evident remillion 5 but the diieafe returns regularly, and
for the moll part with a horror or trembling.
Genus I. Tertiana. Similar paroxyfms after an in¬
terval of about 48 hours, coming on moil commonly at
mid-day. A tertian hath either ;
I. An apyrexia interpofed.
1. Varying the duration of the paroxyfms.
A, The tertian wfliofe paroxyfius are not extended
beyond 12 hours.
B, The tertian with paroxyfms extended beyond 12
hours.
2. Varying in the return of paroxyfms.
C, The tertian returning every day with unequal
paroxyfms alternately limilar to one another,
D, The tertian returning every third day with two
paroxyfms on the fame day.
E, The tertian returning every day, with two pa¬
roxyfms on every third day, and only one on the inter¬
mediate ones.
F, The tertian returning every day, with an evident
remiffion interpofed between the odd and the even days,
but a lefs remarkable one between the even and the odd
days.
3. Varying in its fymptoms.
G, The tertian accompanied with a difpofition to
fleep.
H, Accompanied with fpafms and convullive mo¬
tions.
I, Accompanied with an efflorefcence on the Ikiu.
K, wuth phlegmafia.
4. Varying in being complicated with other difeafes.
5. Varying as to its origin.
II. With the interpofltion only of a remidion between
the paroxyfms.
Genus II. Quartana. Similar paroxyfms, with an
interval of about 7 2 hours, coming on in the afternoon.
I. With the interpofltion of an apyrexia.
1. Varying in the type.
A, The quartan with Angle paroxyfms, returnin
every fourth day, none on the other days.
B, With two paroxyfms every fourth day, and none
on the other days.
C, With three paroxyfms every fourth day, and
none on the intermediate days.
D, Of the four days having only the third free from
fever, with fimilar paroxyfms every fourth day.
E, The quartan coming on every day, with fimilar
paroxyfms every fourth day.
2. Varying in its fymptoms.
3. Varying in being complicated with other difeaf^a
II. With a remiflion only between the paroxyfms.
Genus III, Quotidiana. Similar paroxyfms with
an i
2 3°
M E D I
General
Arrange¬
ment of
Difeafes.
u- v—^—1
an interval of about 24 hours, coining on commonly
in the morning.
1. With the interpofition of an apyrexia.
1 I. Varies in being folitary.
■A, Univerfal.
E, Partial.
2. Complicated with other difeafes.
II. With a remiffion only between the paroxyfms.
Seft, II. Continue?. Fevers without evident inter-
mifhon, and not occafioned by marfh mjafmata •, but
attended with exacerbations and remiilions, though not
always very remarkable.
Genus IV. Synocha. Great heat 5 a frequent,
Prong, and hard pulfe ; high-coloured urine \ the func¬
tions of the fenforium a little difturbed.
Genus V. Typhus. A contagious difeafe ; the heat
not much above the natural j the pulfe Imall, weak,
and for the moft part frequent; the urine little changed \
the fundlions of the fenforium very much dillurbed, and
the ilrength greatly diminifhed.
jl'he fpecies are,
I. lyphus peteclnalis. Typhus for the moft part
with petechias.
Varying in degree. 1. Mild typhus. 2. Malignant
typhus.
II. J yphus id erodes. Typhus with a yellownefs
of the fkin.
Genus VI. Synochus. A contagious difeafe. A
fever compounded of fynocha and typhus 5 in the be¬
ginning a fynocha, but towards the end a typhus.
Order II. PitLEGMASiiE. A fynocha fever, with
inflammation or topical pain, the internal function of
the parts being at the fame time injured 5 the blood
drawn and concreted exhibiting a white coriaceous fur-
lace.
Genus VII. Phlogofis. Pyrexia ; rednefs, heat, and
painful tenfion, of fome external part.
The fpecies are,
I. ^ Phlogofis (phlegmone) of a vivid red colour; a
fwelling well defined, for the moft part elevated to a
point, and. frequently degenerating into an abfeefs,
with a beating or throbbing pain.
i he variations are, 1. In the form. 2. In the fttua-
tion.
vw* ^logofis (erythema) of a reddifh colour, va-
mflung by preflure ; of an unequal and creeping cir¬
cumference, wfith fcarce any fwelling ; ending in the
foaling off of the cuticle, in puftules, or bliflers.
Fhe variations are, 1. In the degree of violence.
2. In the remote caufe. 3. In being complicated with
other difeafes.
The confequences of a phlogofis are, an impofthume,
gangrene, fphacelus.
Genus VIII. Ophthalmia. A rednefs and pain of
the eye, with an inability to bear the light; for the
moft part with an effufion of tears.
The fpecies and varieties of the ophthalmia are
I. Idiopathic.
?* Ophthalmia (membranarum), in the tunica adnata,
and the membranes lying under it, or the coats of the
eye.
A, Varying in the degree of the external inflamma-
C I N E.
Practice.
B, In the internal coats affe&ed. General
2. Ophthalmia {tarji) of the eye-lids, with fwelling, Arrange-
erolion, and glutinous exudation.
II. Symptomatic.
1. From a difeafe of the eye itfelf.
2. From difeafes of other parts, or of the whole
body. *
Genus IX. Phrenitis. Violent pyrexia ; pain of the
head ; rednefs of the face and eyes; inability to en¬
dure the light or any noife ; watchfulnefs; a furious
delirium, or typhomania.
I. Idiopathic.
II. Symptomatic.’
Genus X. Cynanche. Pyrexia fometimes inclining
to a typhus; difficulty of /wallowing and breathing ;
with a fenfation of narrowmeis in the fauces.
The fpecies are,
I. Cynanche {tonjillaris) affe&ing the mucous mem¬
brane of the fauces, but efpecially the tonliis, with red¬
nefs and fwelling, accompanied with a fynocha.
II. Cynanche (maligna) affefiing th.. tqnfils and mu¬
cous membrane of the fauces ? :th fvvelling, rednefs,
and mucous crufts of a whitifh or aih-colour, creeping,
and covering ulcers; with a typhous fever and exanthe¬
mata. ^y.
III. Cynanche {trachealis) attended with difficult re-
fpiration, noify and hoarfe infpiration, loud cough,
without any apparent tumor in the fauces, fomevvhat
difficult deglutition, and a fynocha.
IV. Cynanche attended with rednefs in
the bottom of the fauces, very difficult and painful
deglutition, refpiration fufficiently free, and a fynocha.
V. Cynanche (parotideza) with great fwelling in the
parotids and maxillary glands appearing on the outfide:
the refpiration and deglutition but little injured ; a fy¬
nocha, for the moft part mild.
Difeafes of this genus are fymptomatic, either from
external or internal caules.
Genus XI. Pneumonia. Pyrexia, with a pain in
fome part of the thorax, difficult refpiration, and cough.
The Ipecies are,
1. Peripneumony, with a pulfe not always hard, but
fometimes foft; an obtufe pain of the breaft ; the re¬
fpiration always difficult ; fometimes the patient cannot
breathe unlefs in an upright pofture ; the face fwelled,
and of a livid colour ; the cough for the moft part
moift, frequently bloody.
t. Simple idiopathic peripneumonies.
Varying in degree.
2. Idiopathic peripneumonies complicated with fever.
3. Symptomatic peripneumonies.
II. Pleurify, with a hard pulfe ; for the moft part
attended with a pungent pain of one fide, augmented
chiefly during the time of infpiration ; an uneafinefs
when lying on the fide; a moft painful cough, dry in
the beginning of the difeafe, afterwards moift, and fre¬
quently bloody.
1. Simple idiopathic pleurifies.
2. Pleurifies, complicated, (1.) With fever. (2.) With
catarrh.
3. Symptomatic pleurifies.
4. Falfe pleurifies.
The confequences of pleurify are a vomica or em¬
pyema.
3
Genus
Practice. M E D I
General Genus XII. Carditis. Pyrexia ; pain*' about the
^Hientof" ^leart ’ anxiety ’ difficulty of breathing ; cough ; un-
Difeafes. e(lua^ Pu^e 5 palpitation of the heart, and fainting.
—Y—j I. Idiopathic.
II. Symptomatic.
Genus XIII. Peritonitis. Pyrexia; pain of the belly,
exafperated by an upright pofture, without the proper
iigns of other abdominal phlegmafiae.
I. Peritonitis (propria), fituated in the peritonaeum,
properly fo called, furrounding the infide of the abdo¬
men.
II. Peritonitis {omentalis), in the peritonaeum extend¬
ed through the omentum.
III. Peritonitis {niefenterica), in the peritonaeum
fpread through the mefentery.
Genus XIV. Gaflritis. Pyrexia inclining to a ty¬
phus ; anxiety ; pain and heat of the epigaftrium, aug¬
mented when any thing is taken into the ilomach ; an
inclination to vomit, and an immediate rejeflion of
every thing fwallowed ; an hiccough.
I. Idiopathic.
1. From internal caufes.
A, Gaftritis (phlegmonodcza), attended with acute
pain and violent pyrexia.
2. From external caufes.
B, Gaftritis (erysipelatofa), with a lefs violent fever
and pain : an eryfipelatous rednefs appearing on the
fauces.
II. Symptomatic.
Genus XV. Enteritis. Pyrexia of a typhous na¬
ture ; pungent pain of the belly, ftretching and twill¬
ing about the navel; vomiting ; the belly obftinately
bound.
1. Idiopathic.
x. Enteritis (phlegmonodaea), with acute pain, violent
fever, vomiting, and conftipation of the belly.
2. Enteritis (erysipe/atofa), with lefs acute fever and
pain, without vomiting ; but accompanied with a di¬
arrhoea.
II. Symptomatic.
Genus XVI. Hepatitis. Pyrexia ; tenfion and pain
of the right hypochondrium; fometimes pungent like
that of a pleurify, but more frequently obtufe ; a pain
reaching to the clavicle and top of the right ftioulder ;
a difficulty of lying on the left fide ; dyfpnoea ; dry
cough, vomiting, and hiccough.
Genus XVII. Splenitis. Pyrexia; tenfion, heat,
and fwelling of the left hypochondrium, the pain in-
creafmg by preflure ; without the figns of nephritis.
Genus XVIII. Nephritis. Pyrexia ; pain in the re¬
gion of the kidney, often following the courfe of the
ureter : frequent difcharge of urine, either thin and co-
lourlefs, or very red ; vomiting ; ftupor of the thigh ;
with a retratlion or pain of the tefticle of the fame fide.
The Ipecies are,
I. Idiopathic. Spontaneous.
II. Symptomatic.
_Genus XIX. Cyftitis. Pyrexia; [pain and fwelling
of the hypogaftrium : frequent and painful difcharge of
urine, or ifchuria ; and tenefmus. The Ipecies are,
I. Thofe arifing from internal caufes.
II. Thofe from external caufes.
Genus XX. . Hyfteritis. Pyrexia ; heat, tenfion,
fwelling, and pain of the hypogaftrium ; the os uteri
painful when touched ; vomiting.
CINE. 2r>1
Genus XXI. Rheumatifmus. A difeafe arifing General
from an external and frequently very evident caufe ; Arrange-
pyrexia; pain about the joints, frequently following “efntrof
the courfe of the mufcles ; infefting the knees and other ' '
large joints rather than thofe of the feet or hands; in-
creafed by external heat.
The fpecies are either idiopathic or fymptomatic.
The former varies in fituation.
A, In the mufcles of the loins
B, In the mufcles of the coxendix.
C, In the mufcles of the breaft.
Genus XXII. Odontalgia; a rheumatifm of the
jaws from a caries of the teeth.
Genus XXIII. Podagra An hereditary difeafe,
arifing without any evident external caufe, but for the
moft part preceded by an unufual afteftion of the fto-
mach; pyrexia; pain of a joint for the moft part of
the great toe of the foot, at leaft infefting chiefly the
wrifts and ankles ; returning by intervals; and often al¬
ternated with afteflions of the ftomach and other inter¬
nal parts.
I. Podagra [regularif), with a pretty violent inflam¬
mation of the joints remaining for fome days, and by
degrees going off with fwelling, itching, and defquama-
tion of the affe&ed part.
II. Podagra (atonica), with an atony of the ftomach,
or fome other internal part ; and either without the ufu-
al inflammation of the joints, or only with flight and
wandering pains; and frequently alternated with dy-
fpepfia, or other fymptoms of atony.
III. Podagra (retrograda), with the inflammation of
the joints luddenly difappearing, and an atony of the fto¬
mach and other parts immediately following.
IV. Podagra {abcrrans), with the inflammation of an
internal part either preceding or not, and fuddenly dif¬
appearing.
Genus XXIV. Arthropuofis. Deep, obtufe, and long-
continued pains of the joints or mufcular parts, fre¬
quently following contufions; with either no fwelling,
or a moderate and diffufed one ; no phlogofis; pyrexia,
at fir ft gentle, afterwards he61ic, aad at length an im-
pofthume.
Order III. Exanthemata. Contagious difeafes;
affecHng a perfon only once in his life ; beginning with
fever ; after a certain time appear phlogofes, for the
moft: part fmall and in confiderable number, and difper-
fed ever the Ikin.
Genus XXV. Eryfipelas. A fynocha of two or
three days, for the moft part attended with drowfinefs,
often with a delirium. In fome parts of the Ikin, moft
frequently the face, appears a phlogofis. The fpecies
are,
I. Eryfipelas {yejiculofum), with erythema, rednefs
creeping, occupying a large fpace, and in fome parts
ending in large bliiters.
II. Eryfipelas (pulyclcenodes'), with an erythema
formed of a number of papulae, chiefly occupying the
trunk of the body, ending in phlydenae or fmall
blifters.
The difeafe is alfo fymptomatic.
Genus XXVI. Peftis. An exceedingly contagious
typhus, with the higheft debility. On an uncertain day
ol the difeafe buboes and carbuncles break forth. It is
various .in degree, but the fpecies are uncertain.
Genus
232 ' M E D I
General Genus XXVII. Variola •, a contagious fynoclia, with
"ment of* vorn^t*nS> anc^ Pa*n on preffing the epigaftrxum. On the
Bifeafes. day begins, and on the fifth is finifhed, the erup-
 v-~-' tion of inflammatory puftules, which fuppurate in the
fpace of eight day#, and at laft go off in crufts j fre¬
quently leaving deprefled cicatrices or pockpits in the
Ikin. The fpecies are,
I. Variola (jdifcreta), wfith few, diftinct, turpid, puf¬
tules, having circular bafes •, the fever ceafing immedi¬
ately after the eruption.
II. Variola {conjluens'), with numerous, confluent, ir¬
regularly fhaped puftules, flaccid, and little elevated;
the fever remaining after the eruption.
Genus XXVIII. Varicella. Synochaj papulae break¬
ing out after a ftiort fever, fimilar to thofe of the fmall-
pox, but hardly ever coming to fuppuration ; after a
few days going off in fmall fcales, without leaving any
mark.
Genus XXIX. Rubeola. A contagious fynocha, with
fneezing, epiphora, and dry hoarfe cough. On the
fourth day, or a little later, break forth fmall, chartered,
and fcarcely elevated papulae j after three days going off
in very fmall branny fcales.
I. Rubeola (vulgaris'), with very fmall confluent co-
rymbofe papulae, fcarcely rifing above the fkin.
Varying,
1. In the fymptoms being more fevere, and the courfe
of the difeafe lefs regular.
2. In being accompanied with a cynanche.
3. With a putrid diathefis.
II. Rubeola {variolodes'), with diftin£lpapulae, raifed
above the fkin.
Genus XXX. Miliaria. Synochus with anxiety,
frequent fighing, unfluous fweat, and a fenfe of prick¬
ing as of pin points in the fkin. On an uncertain day
of the difeafe, break out red, fmall, diftindrt papulae,
fpread over the whole body as well as the face } the
apices of which, after one or two days, become very
fmall white puftnles, remaining for a fhort time.
Genus XXXI. Scarlatina. A contagious fynocha.
On the fourth day of the difeafe the face {wells a little;
at the fame time an univerfal rednefs occupies the fkin
in large fpots, at length running together; after three
days going off in branny fcales } frequently fucceeded
by an anafarca. The fpecies are,
I. Scarlatina (Jhnplex), not accompanied with cy¬
nanche. 1. v
II. Scarlatina {cijnanchica), with an ulcerous cy¬
nanche.
Genus XXXII. Urticaria, A quotidian fever.
On the fecond day of the difeafe, red fpots refembling
the flinging of nettles, almoft vanifhing during the
day, but returning in the evening with the fever,
and after a few days going off altogether in very fmall
fcales.
Genus XXXIII. Pemphigus. A contagious typhus.
On the firft, fecond, or third day of the difeafe, blifters
break out in feveral parts of the body, of the bignefs of
a bean, remaining for many days, and at laft pouring
out a thin ichor.
Genus XXXIV. Aphtha. Synochus j the tongue
lomewhat fwelled and of a livid colour, as well as the
fauces j efchars firft appearing in the fauces, but at
length occupying the whole internal parts of the mouth,
of a white colour, fometimes diftinft, often running to*
2
CINE. Practice.
gether; quickly growing again when taken off; and General
remaining for an uncertain time. Arrange-
The fpecies are, 1. Idiopathic. 2. Symptomatic. Difeaf”^
Order IV. HiEMORRHAGiiE. Pyrexia,* with a dif-
charge of blood, without any external violence : the
blood drawn from a vein hath the fame appearance as
in phlegmafise.
Genus XXXV. Epiftaxis. Pain or weight of the
head, rednefs of the face ; a difcharge of blood from
the nofe.
I. Idiopathic.
Varying according to the time of life.
1. Epiftaxis of young people, with fymptoms of an
arterial plethora. '
2. Epiftaxis of old people, with fymptoms of a venous
plethora.
II. Symptomatic.
1. From internal caufes.
2. From external caufes.
Genus XXXVI. Hsemoptyfis. Rednefs of the
cheeks; a fenfation of uneafinefs, or pain, and fome¬
times of heat in the breaft ; difficulty of breathing j
tickling of the fauces; either a fevere or lefs vio¬
lent cough, bringing up florid and frequently frothy
blood.
The idiopathic fpecies are,
1. Haemoptyfis (plethorica'), without any external
violence, and without being preceded by any cough or
fuppreffion of any cuftomary evacuation.
2. Hoemoptyfts {yiolenta), from external violence ap¬
plied.
3. Hsemoptyfis (phthijica), after a long-continued
cough, with a leannefs and debUity.
4. Htemoptyfis {calculofa), in which fome calculous
molecules, for the moft part of a calcareous nature, ire
thrown up.
5. Hsemoptyfis (viearia), after the fuppreffion of a
cuftomary evacuation.
Eefides thefe, there are a number of fymptomatic
fpecies mentioned by different authors. The confe-
quence of an hsemoptyfis is, a
Phthijis. A wafting and debility of the body, with
a cough, he&ic fever, and for the moft part a purulent
expeftoration. The fpecies are,
I. An incipient phthifis, without any expe&oration
of pus.
II. A confirmed phthifis, with an expedloration of
pus.
Both fpecies vary, 1. As to their remote caufe. 2. As
to the origin of the purulent matter.
Genus XXXVII. Hsemorrhois. Weight and pain
of the head j vertigo; pain of the loins; pain of the
anus ; livid painful tubercles, from which for the moit
part blood flows out; which fometimes alfo drops out
of the anus, without any apparent tumor. The fpecies
are,
1. Hoemorrhois (tumens), external from marifete.
Varying,
A, Bloody.
B, Mucous.
2. Hsemorrhois (procidens), external from a proci¬
dentia ani.
3. Hsemorrhois (Jiuens), internal, without any fuel¬
ling, or procidentia ani.
4. Hsemorrhois
Pra&ice. M E D I
General 4. Htemorrliois {caca), with pain and fwelling of the
raent of" anus’ wlthout any profuiion of blood.
Difeafes. Genus XXXVIII. Menorrhagia. Pains of the back,
v-  helly, and loins, like thofe of child-birth j an unufual-
ly copious flux of the menfes or blood from the vagina.
The fpecies are,
1 Menorrhagia (rubra), bloody in women neither
with child nor in child-birth.
2. Menorrhagia (abortus'), bloody in women with
child.
3- Menorrhagia (lochia/is'), bloody in women after
delivery.
4.^Menorrhagia (vitioruni), bloody from feme local
dileafe.
. S' Menorrhagia (a/ba), ferous, without any local
difeafe, in women not pregnant.
6. Menorrhagia (iSabothi), ferous in women with
child.
Order V. Profluvia. Pyrexia, with an increafed
excretion, naturallv not bloody.
Genus XXXIX. Citarrhus. Pyrexia frequently con¬
tagious ; an increafed excretion of mucus, at lealt eftbrts
to excrete it.
The fpecies are,
1. From cold.
2. From contagion.
Genus XL. Dyfenteria. Contagious pyrexia ; fre¬
quent mucous or bloody ftools, while the alvine fteces
are for the mod part retained ; gripes j tenefmus.
Varying,
x. Accompanied with wTorms.
2. vVith the excretion of fmall flelhy or febaceous
bodies.
3. With an intermittent fever.
4. Without blood.
5. With a miliary fever.
. ^LASS IT NEUROSES. A prseternatural affec¬
tion of lenfe and motion, without an idiopathic pyrexia
or any local affedlion.
. O'der I. Comata. A diminution of voluntary mo¬
tion, with fleep, or a deprivation of the fenfes.
. Genus XLI. Apoplexia. Almoft all voluntary mo¬
tion^ abolilhed, with deep more or lefs profound ; the
motion of the heart and arteries remaining.
J. he idiopathic fpecies are,
I* Apoplexia (janguinea'), with fymptoms of univer-
fal plethora, efpecially of the head.
2. Apoplexia ( ferofa'), w'ith a leucophlegmatia over
the whole body, efpecially in old people.
3 . Apoplexia (hydrocephalico'), coming on by degrees j
affecling infants, Dr thofe below the age of puberty,
mft with laffitude, a flight fever and pain of the head,
1 hen flownefs of the pulfe, dilatation of the pupil of the
eje, and drowfinefs.
4. Apoplexia (atrabiliaria), taking place in thofe of a
melancholic conftitution.
5- Apoplexia (traumatica), from fome external in¬
jury mechanically applied to the head.
6. Apoplexia (venenata), from powerful fedatives
taken internally or applied externally.
7- Apoplexia (menta/is), from an affeaion or emo¬
tion of the mind.
Vol. XIII. Part I.
CINE.
8. Apoplexia (cataleptica), the mufcles remaining
contradflile, by external motion of the limbs.
9. Apoplexia (fuffocata), from fome external fuffo-
cating power.
The apoplexy is frequently fymptomatic.
i Of an intermittent fever. 2 Continued fever.
3 Phlegmafla. 4 Exanthema. 5. Hyfteria. 6 Epileplia.
« 7 Podagra. 8 Worms. 9 I'churia. 10 Scurvy.
Genus XL 11. Paralyfis. Only fome of the volun¬
tary motions impaired, frequently with fleep.
The idiopathic fpecies are,
1. Paralyfis (partialis) of fame particular mufcles
only.
2. Paralyfis (hemiplegica) of one fide of the body.
Varying according to t; e conftitution of the body.
a, Hemiplegia in a plethoric habit.
b, In a leucophh gmat'c habit.
3. Paralyfis (paraplegica) of one half of the Body
taken tranfverfely.
4. Paralyfis (venenata) from fedative powers applied
either internally or externally.
A fymptom either of an Afthenia or Palfy is,
Tremor j an alternate motion of a limb by frequent
ftrokes and intervals.
The fpecies are, 1 Afthenic. 2 Paralytic. 3 Con-
vulfive.
233
General
Arrange¬
ment of
Difeafes.
Order II. AdYNAMliE. A diminution of the invo¬
luntary motions, whether vital or natural.
Genus XLIII. Syncope; a diminution, or even a
tptal ftoppage, of the motion of the heart for a Ikort
time.
I. Idiopathic.
1. Syncope (cardiaca), returning frequently without
any manifeit caufe, with violent palpitations of the heart
during tht intervals.—From a fault of the heart or
neighbouring veffels.
2. Syncope (occajionalis) arifing from fome evident
caufe —From an affeftion of the whole fyftem.
II. Symptomatic ; of difeafes either of the whole fy¬
ftem, or of other parts befides the heart.
Genus XLIV. Dyfpepfia. Anorexia, naufea, vomit-
ing, inflation, erudfation, rumination, cardialgia, gaftro-
dynia, more or fewer of thofe fymptoms at leaft concur¬
ring ; for the moil part with a conftipation of the belly,
and without any other dileafe either of the ftoraach itfelf
or of other parts.
I. Idiopathic.
II. Symptomatic.
1. From a difeafe of the ftomach itfelf.
2. From a difeafe of other parts, or of the wFole
body.
Genus XLV. Hypochondriafis. Dyfpepfia, with
languor, fadnefs and fear, without any adequate caufes
in a melancholy temperament.
Genus XLVI. Chlorolis. Dyfpepfia, or a defire
of fomething not ufed as food ; a pale or difcoloured
complexion ; the veins not well filled : a foft tumor of
the w’hole body ; afthenia; palpitation; fuppreflion of
the menies.
Order III. Spasmi. Irregular motions of the muf¬
cles or mufcular fibres.
Sedf. I. In the animalfunElions,
G g Genus
234
General
Arrange¬
ment of
Dxfeafes.
M E D I
Genus XLVII. Tetanus, A fpaftlc rigidity of al-
mofl the whole body.
Varying according to the remote caufe, as it rifes
either from fomething internal, from cold, or from a
wound. It varies likewife, from whatever caufe it may
a rite, according to the part of the body affedted.
Genus XLVIII. Trifmus. A fpailic rigidity of the
lower jawn—The fpecies are,
1. Tiifmus {nafcentium^) attacking infants under two
months old.
2. Trifmus {traumaticus), attacking people of all ages
either from a wound or cold.
Genus XLIX. Convulfio.—An irregular clonic con¬
traction of the mufcles without fieep.
I. Idiopathic.
II. Symptomatic.
Genus L. Chorea, attacking thofe who have not
yet arrived at puberty, molt commonly within the loth
or 14th year, with convulfive motions for the moft part
of one fide in attempting the voluntary motion of the
hands and arms, refembling the gefticulations of mounte¬
banks j in walking, rather dragging one of their feet
than lifting it.
Genus LI. Raphania. A fpaftic contradlion of the
joints, with a convulfive agitation, and moft violent pe¬
riodical pain.
Genus LII. Epilepfia. A convulfion of the muf¬
cles, with fleep. ,
The idiopathic fpecies are.
1. Epilepfia {cerebralls'), fuddenly attacking without
any manifeft caufe, without any fenfe of uneafinels
preceding, excepting perhaps a flight vertigo or dimnefs
of fight.
2. Epilepfia (fympathica'), without any manifeft
caufe, but preceded by the fenfation of a kind of air
rifing from a certain part of the body towards the
head.
3. Epilepfia {occajionalis), arifing from a manifeft
irritation, and ceafing on the removal of that irrita¬
tion.
Varying according to the difference of the irritating
matter. And thus it may arife,
From injuries of the head 5 pain 5 wrorms •, poifon 5
from the repulfion of the itch, or an effufion of any
other acrid humour *, from crudities in the ftomach j
from paflions of the mind 5 from an immoderate hae-
morrhagy ; or from debility.
Se<ft. II. In the vitalfun&ions.
In the action of the heart.
Genus LIII. Palpitatio. A violent and irregular
jr.otion of the heart.
In the aftion of the lungs.
Genus LIV. Afthma. A difficulty of breathing re¬
turning by intervals, with a fenfe of ftraitnefs in the
]>reaft, and a noify refpiration wdth huffing. In the be¬
ginning of the paroxyfm there is either no cough at all,
or coughing is difficult j but towards the end the cough
becomes free, frequently with a copious fpitting of mu¬
cus.—The idiopathic fpecies are,
1. Afthma (fpontaneuni), without any manifeft caufe
or other concomitant difeafe.
2. Afthma [exanthematicutn), from the repulfion of
the itch or other acrid effufion.
3. Afthma (plethon'cimi), from the fuppreffion of
General
Arrange¬
ment of
Difeafes.
C I , N E. • PradHce
m
feme cuftomary fanguineous evacuation, or from a fpon-
taneous plethora. •
Genus LV. Dyfpnoea. A continual difficulty of
breathing, without any fenfe of ftraitnefs, but rather 1
of fullnefs and infarftion in the breaft ; a frequent
cough throughout the whole courfe of the difeafe.
The idiopathic fpecies are,
1. Dyfpnoea {catarrhalis), with a frequent cough,
bringing up plenty of vifeid mucus.
2. Dyfpnoea (Jlcca), with a cough for the moft part
dry.
3. Dyfpnoea (aerea), increafed by the leaft change
of wreather.
4. Dyfpnoea (jerrea), bringing up wuth the cough
an earthy or calculous matter.
5. Dyfpnoea {aquofa), wdth fcanty urine and cede-
matous feet j wuthout any fluftuation in the breaft, or
other figns of an hydrothorax.
6. Dyfpnoea (jpinguedinofa), in very fat people.
7. Dyfpnoea {thoracica), from an injury done to the
parts furrounding the thorax, or from fome malcon-
formation of them.
8. Dyfpnoea (extrinfeca), from evident external
caufes.
The fymptomatic fpecies of dyfpnoea are confe-
quences,
1. Of difeafes of the heart or large veffels.
2. Of a fwelling in the abdomen.
3. Of various other difeafes.
Genus LVI. Pertuffis. A contagious difeafe 5 con¬
vulfive ftrangulating cough reiterated with noify infpi-
ration } frequent vomiting.
Se£l. III. In the naturalfunBlons.
Genus LVII. Pyrofis. A burning pain in the epi-
gaftrium, with plenty of aqueous humour, for the moft
part infipid, but fometimes acrid, belched up.
Genus LVIII. Colica. Pain of the belly, efpecially
twdfting round the navel j vomiting ; and a conftipa-
tion.
The idiopathic fpecies are,
1. Colica (fpafmodica), wdth retra&ion of the na¬
vel, and fpafms of the abdominal mufcles.
Varying, by reafon of fome fymptoms fuperadded.
Hence,
a, Colica, with vomiting of excrements, or of mat¬
ters inje6ted by the anus.
b, Colica, with inflammation fupervening.
2. Colica {pidlonuni), preceded by a fenfe of weight
or uneafinefs in the belly, efpecially about the navel ;
then comes on the colic pain, at firft flight and inter¬
rupted, chiefly augmented after meals : at length more
fevere and almofl continual, with pains of the arms and
back, at lafi; ending in a palfy.
Varying according to the nature of the remote caufe j
and hence,
a, From metallic poifon.
b, From acids taken inwrardly.
c, From cold.
d, From a contufion of the back.
3. Colica (Jlercorea), in people fubjeft to coftivenefs.
4. Colica {accidentalls), from acrid matter taken in¬
wardly.
5. Colica {mecomalis'), in new-born children from a
retention of the meconium.
6. Colica
Practice.
M E D X
General 6. Colica {callofa), with a fenfation of ftriaure in
Arrange- part of the intefiines, and frequently of a collec-
nierntr0f tion of flatus with feme pain ; which flatus alfo paffing
Dlfeafes' , through the part where the ftriaure is felt, gradually
vaniflies; the belly flow, and at laid pafling only a few
liquid faeces.
7. Colica (calculofa), with a fixed hardnels in iotne
part of the abdomen, and calculi fometimes paffed by
the anus.
Genus LIX. Cholera. A vomiting of bilious matter,
and likewife a frequent excretion of the fame by ftool j
anxiety j gripes j fpafms in the calves of the legs.
1. Idiopathic.
j. Cholera [^fpontunea), arifing in a warm feafon,
without any manifefl caufe.
2. Cholera {accidentalls), from acrid matters taken
inwardly.
II. Symptomatic.
Genus LX. Diarrhoea. Frequent ftools j the dif-
eafe not infedious j no primary pyrexia.
I. Idiopathic.
1. Diarrhoea {crapulofa^^ in which the excrements
are voided in greater quantity than naturally.
2. Diarrhoea {biliofa), in wdiich yellow faeces are
voided in great quantity.
3. Diarrhoea (pnucofa) in wdiich either from acrid
fubftances taken inwardly, or from cold, efpecially
applied to the feet, a great quantity of mucus is
voided. ... c
4. Diarrhoea {cceliaca\ in which a milky humour of
the nature of chyle is difeharged by {fool.
y. Diarrhoea {hentenai), in wdiich the aliments are
difeharged with little alteration foon after eating.
6. Diarrhoea {hepatirrhccain which a bloody fe-
rous matter is discharged without pain.
II. Symptomatic.
Genus LXI. Diabetes. A chronical profufion of
urine, for the moil part preternatural, and in immode¬
rate quantity.
I. Idiopathic.
1. Diabetes {?nelhtus')i with urine of the fmell, co¬
lour, and tafte of honey.
2. Diabetes (mjipidus'), with limpid, but not fweet,
urine.
II. Symptomatic.
Genus LXI1. Hyfteria. Rumbling of the bowels *,
a fenfation as of a globe turning itfelf in the belly,
afeending to the ftomach and fauces, and there threat¬
ening fuffocation j fleep j convulfions ■, a great quanti¬
ty of limpid urine j the mind involuntarily fickle and
mutable. , .
The following are by Sauvages reckoned diflinft
idiopathic fpecies $ but, by Dr Cullen, only varieties of
the fame fpecies.
A, From a retention of the menfes.
B, From a menorrhagia cruenta.
C, From a menorrhagia ferofa, or fluor albus.
D, From an obftrudfion of the vifeera.
E, From a fault of the ftomach.
F, From too great falacity.
Genus LXIII. Hydrophobia. A diflike and horror
at any kind of drink, as occafioning a convulfion of the
pharynx \ induced, for the molt part, by the bite of a
mad animal. The fpecies are,
CINE.
I. Hydrophobia {rabiofa), with a defire of biting
the byftanders, occauoned by the bite of a rabid ani¬
mal.
II. Hydrophobia {Jimplex'), without madnefs, or any
defire of biting.
General
Arrange¬
ment of
IJifeafes.
Order IV. VESANliE. Diforders of the judgement,
without any pyrexia or coma.
Genus LXIV. Amentia ; an imbecility of judge¬
ment, by wdiich people either do not perceive; or do
not remember, the relations of things. The fpecies
are,
I. Amentia [congenita), continuing from birth.
II. Amentia {fenilis), from the diminution of the
perceptions and memory through extreme old age.
HI. Amentia [acquijita), occurring in people for¬
merly of a found mind, from evident external caufes.
Genus LXV. Melancholia ; a partial madnefs, with¬
out dyfpepfia.
Varying according to the different fubje&s concern¬
ing which the perfon raves j and thus it is,
1. With an imagination in the patient concerning his
body being in a dangerous condition, from flight caufes;
or his affairs in a defperate ftate.
2. With an imagination concerning a profperous
ftate of affairs.
3. With violent love, without fatyriafis or nympho¬
mania.
4. With a fuperftitious fear of a future ftate.
5. With an averfion from motion and all the offices
of life.
6. With reftleffnefs, and an impatience of any fitua-
tion whatever.
7. With a wearinefs of life.
8. With a deception concerning the nature of the
patient’s (pecies.
Dr Cullen thinks that there is no fuch difeafe as
that called deemonomania, and that the difeafes mention¬
ed by Sauvages under that title are ekher,
1. Species of melancholy or mania ; or
2. Of fome difeafe by the fpeftators falfely aferibed
to the influence of an evil fpirit ; or
3. Of a difeafe entirely feigned ; or
4. Of a difeafe partly true and partly feigned.
Genus LXVI. Mania ; univerfal madnefs.
1. Mania [mentalis), arifing entirely from paftions of
the mind.
2. Mania {corporea), from an evident difeafe of the
body.
Varying according to the different difeafe of the
body.
3. Mania {obfeura), without any paflion of mind dr
evident difeafe of the body preceding.
The fymptomatic fpecies of mania are,
1. Paraphrofyne from poifons.
2. Paraphrofyne from paflion.
3. Paraphrofyne febrilis.
Genus LXVII. Oneirodynia. A violent and trou-
blefome imagination in time of fleep.
1. Oneirodynia [attiva), exciting to walking and va¬
rious motions.
2. Oneirodynia {gravans), from a fenfe of fome
weight incumbent, and prefting on the breaft ei'pe-
cially.
G g 2
Class
23G M EDI
General
merrt of Class HI. CACHLXI^E ; *sa,BC5bravec! habit of
Dii'eafes. the whole or greateft part of the body, without prirna-
v—— ry pyrexia or neurolk.
Order I. Marcores 5 emaciation of the whole
body.
Genus LXVIIL Tabes. Leannefs, afthenia, hedic
fever. The fpecies are,
1. Tabes (puru/enta), from an external or internal
ulcer, or from a vomica.
Varying in its fituation : hence,
2. I abes {fcrophulofa'), in fcrophulous confuta¬
tions.
3. Tabes (venenata), from poifon taken inwardly.
Genus LX1X. Atrophia. Leannefs and ailhenia,
without hedic fever. The fpecies are,
1. Atrophia (inanitorum), from too great evacua¬
tion.
2. Atrophia (fatnelicorum), from a want of nou-
rifhment.
3. Atrophia {cacochymica), from corrupted nourifh-
C I N E. ’ , Praclice.
3. Anafarca {cxanthematica), arifing after exanthe- General
mata, efpecially fucceeding eryfipelas. Arrange-
4. Anafarca (anemia), from the thinnefs of the IT5ent of
blood produced by haemorrhagy. ^Dileafes.
^.^Anafarca (debilwm), in weak people after long ' ^ '
difeafes, or from other caufes.
Genus LXXV. Hydrocephalus. A foft inejaflic
fwelling of the head, with the futures of the cranium
opened.
Genus LXXVI. Hydrorachitis. A foft, (lender
tumor above the vertebrae of the loins; the vertebrae
gaping from each other.
Genus LXXVII. Hydrothorax. Dyfpncea ; pale-
nefs of the face ; oedematous fwellings of the feet •
fcanty urine ; difficult lying in a recumbent polture 5 a
fudden and fpontaneous darting out of deep, with pal¬
pitation 3 water fluduating in the bread.
Genus LXXVIII. Afcites. A tenfe, fcarce eladic,
but fluduating fwelling of the abdomen. The ipecies are,5
1. Afcites (abdominalis), with an equal 1,reding of
the whole abdomen, and with a fiuAuation fudicicntly
evident. J
ment.
4. Atrophia (debtHum), from the fundion of nutri¬
tion being depraved, without any pxtraordinary evacua¬
tion or cacochymia having preceded.
Order II. Inttumescentge. An external fwelling
of the whole or greated part of the body.
Sed. I. Adtpofce.
^ Genus LXX. Polyfarcia } a troublefome fwelling
of the body from rat.
Sed. II. Flatuofce.
Genus LXXI. Pneumatofis 3 a tenfe eladic fwel-
Img of the body, crackling under the hand. The fpe¬
cies are,
1. Pneumatofis (ipontanea), without any manifed
caufe.
2. Pneumatoiis {traumatica}, from a wound in the
bread.
3. Pneumatofis {veneneta), from poifon injeded or
applied.
4- Pneumatofis {hysterica), with hyderia.
Genus LXXII. Pyrnpanitesj a tenfe, eladic, fo-
norous fwelling of the abdomen 3 codivenefs 3 a decay
of the other parts. The fpecies are, 3
x. I ympanites {intejhnahs), with a tumor of the
abdomen frequently unequal, and with a frequent eva¬
cuation of air relieving the tenfion and pain.
_2. Tympanites {abdominalis), with a more evident
node, a more equable tumor, and a lefs frequent emif-
don of flatus, which alfo gives lefs relief.
Genus LXXIII. Phyfometra 3 a flight elaflic fwel¬
ling in the epigadrium, having th? figure and fituation
or tne uterus.
Sed. III. Aquofce or Dropfies.
Genus LXXIV. Anafarca. A foft, ineladic dvel-
hng of the whole body, or fome part of it. The fpe-
cits are, *
1. Anafarca (ferofc), from a retention of ferum on
account of. the fuppreffion of the ufual evacuations
or from, an rncreafe of the ferum on account of too oreat
a quantity of water taken inwardly.
2. Anafarca [oppi/ata), from a compreffion of the
terns.
Varying according to the caufe.
A, From an obilrudion of the vifcera.
B, From debility.
C, From a thinnefs of the blood.
2. Afcites {faccatus), with a fwelling of the abdo¬
men, in the beginning at lead, partial, and with a lefs
evident fluduation..
Genus LXXfX. Hydrometra. A fwelling of the
hypogaflrium in women, gradually increafing, keeping
tire fhape of the uterus,, yielding to preffure, and fluc^
tuating 3 without ifchuria or pregnancy.
^ Genus LXXX.. Hydrocele. A fwelling of the
fcrotum, not painful 3 increafing by degrees, toft, fluc¬
tuating, and pellucid.
Sed. IV. Solidce.
Genus LXXXI. Phyfconia. A fwelling chiefly
occupying a certain part of the abdomen, gradually
increafing, and neither ionorous nor fluduating. The
fpecies are,
Phyfconia hepatica.
Piiyfconia fplenica.
Phyfconia renalis.
Phyfconia uterina.
Phyfconia ab ovario.
Phyfconia mefenterica.
Pi-yfconia inteiiinalis.
Phylconia omentalis.
Phyfconia polyiplachna.
Pbyfconia vifceralis.
Phyfconia externa lupialis.
Phyfconia externa fchirrhodea.
Phyfconia externa hydatidofa.
Phyfconia ab adipe fubcutaneo.
Phylconia ab excrefcentia.
Genus LXXXII. Rachitis. A large head, fwel-
Img mod m the fore part, the ribs depreffed 3 abdomen
ivvebed,. with a decay of the other parts.
Varying,
1. Simple, without any other difeafe.
2. Joined with other difeafes.
Order III.. Impetigines. Cachexies chiefly de¬
forming the Ikm and external parts of the body.
Genu?
Practice. M EDI
General Gemis LXXXIII. Scrophula. Swellings of the
Arrange- COnglobate glands, efpecislly in the neck} fwelling
m®nt ?t of the upper lip and of the nofe •, the face florid, ikin
, Dlleaich- £'njn> abdomen fwelled. The fpecies are,
1. Scrophula {vulgaris), lirople, external, and per¬
manent.
2. Scrophula (mefenterica), Ample, internal, with
palenels of the face, want of appetite, fwelling of the
abdomen, and unufual fetor of the excrements.
3. Scrophula {fugax), rooft Ample, appearing only
about the neck \ for the moft part proceeding from the
reforption of the matter of ulcers in the head.
4. Scrophula {Americana'), joined with the yaws.
Genus LXXXIV. Syphilis. A contagious difeafe ;
ulcers of the tonflls, after impure venery, and a difor-
der of the genitals \ cluftered pimples of the fkin,
efpecially about the margin of the hair, ending in crufts
and crufty ulcers 5 pains of the bones j exoftofes.
Genus LXXXV. Scorbutus; in cold countries,
attacking after putrefeent diet, efpecially fuch as is
fait and of the animal kind, where no fupply of frellr
vegetables is to be had aflhenia; ftomacace •, fpots
of different colours on the ikin, for the moft part li¬
vid, and appearing chiefly among the roots of the
hair.
Varying in degree.
a. Scorbutus incipiens.
b. Scorbutus crefcens.
c. Scorbutus inveteratus.
Varying alfo in fymptoms.
d. Scorbutus livid us.
e. Scorbutus petechialis.
f. Scorbutus pallidus.
g. Scorbutus ruber.
h. Scorbutus calidus.
Genus LXXXVI. ElephantiaAs ; a contagious dif¬
eafe ; thick, wrinkled, rough, undluous ikin, deilitute
of hairs, anasfthefla in the extremities, the face deform¬
ed with pimples, the voice hoarfe and nafal.
Genus LXXXVII. Lepra*, the ikin rough, with
white, branny, and chopped efehars, fometimes moift
beneath, with itching.
Genus LXXXVIII. Frambcefla -, fwrellings refemb-
ling fungi, or the fruit of the mulberry or rafpberry,
growing on various parts of the ikin.
■ Genus LXXXIX Trichoma j a contagious di^eafe j
the hairs thicker than ufual, and twifted into inextri¬
cable knots and cords.
Genus XC. Ifterus; yellownefs of the ikin and
eyes j white faeces 5 urine of a dark red, tinging what
is put into it of a yellow colour.
The idiopathic fpecies are,
1. Idlerus {ca/culofus), with acute pain in the epi-
gaftric region, increaftng after meals j biliary concre¬
tions voided by ftool.
2. Icterus fpafmodicus), without pain after fpafmo-
dic difeafes and paflions of the mind.
3. Icterus {hepaticus), without pain, after difeafes of
the liver.
4. Idterus (gravidarum), ariflng during the time of
pregnancy, and going off after delivery.
5. Icterus {infantum), coming on in infants a few
days after birth.
CINE. 237
General
Class IV. LOCALES. An affection of feme part, Arrar|ge-
but not of the whole body. Difeafes.
Order I. Dys^ESTHESL®. The fenfes depraved or de- v
ftroyed, from a difeafe of the external organs.
Genus XCI. Caligo. The fight impaired or total¬
ly deftroyed, on account of feme opaque fubftance in-
terpoled between the objedts and the retina, inherent in
the eye itfelf or the eyelids. The Ipecies are,
1. Caligo {leniis), occafioned by an opaque fpot be¬
hind the pupil.
2. Caligo (corneev), from an opacity of the cornea.
3. Caligo (pupillcc), from an obftrudtion of the pu-
pib ...
Varying according to the different caufes from which
it proceeds.
4. Caligo {humorum), from a difeafe or defedl of the
aqueous humour.
Varying according to the different ftate of the hu¬
mour.
5. Caligo {palpebrarum) from a difeafe inherent in
the eyelids.
Varying according to the nature of the difeafe in the
eyelids.
Genus XCII. Amaurofis. The fight diminifiied,
or totally abolilhed, without any evident dileale of the
eye } the pupil for the moft part remaining dilated and
immoveable. The fpecies are,
1. Amaurofis {comprejjioms), after the caufes and at¬
tended with the fymptoms of congeftion in the brain.
Varying according to the nature of the remote
caufe.
2. Amaurofis {atonica), after the caufes and accom¬
panied with fymptoms of debility.
3. Amaurofis {fpafmodica), after the caufes and
wdth the figns of fpafm.
4. Amaurofis {venenata), from poifon taken into
the body or applied outwardly to it.
Genus XCIII. Dyfopia. A depravation of the
fight, fo that objeffs cannot be dillincfly perceived, ex¬
cept at a certain diftance, and in a certain fituatien.
The fpecies are,
1. Dyfopia {tenebrarum), in wdiich objects are not
feen unlefs they be placed in a ftrong light.
2. Dyfopia (luminis), in which objefts are not di-
ftinftly feen unlefs by a weak light.
3. Dyfopia {difitorum), in which diftant objedls
are not perceived.
4. Dyfopia {proximorum), in which the neareft ob-
jefts are not perceived.
5. Dyfopia (lateralis), in which objects are not
perceived unlets placed in an oblique pofture.
Genus XCIV. Pieudoblepfis ; when the fight is dif-
eafed in fuch a manner that the perfon imagines he
fees things which really do not exift, or fees things
which do exift after fome other manner than they real¬
ly are. The fpecies are,
1. Pfeudoblepfis (imaginaria), in which the perfon
imagines he fees things which really do not exift.
Varying according to the nature of the imagina¬
tion.
2. Pfeudoblepfis (mutans), in which objefts really
exifting appear fomehow changed.
Varying
M E D I
238
Genetal \ arying according to the change perceived in the
rnentof an^ according to the remote caufe.
Difeafes. Genus XCV. Dyfecoea. A diminution or total
1 v~"' abolition of the fenfe of hearing. The fpecies are,
Dj'fecoea Qorganico'), from a difeafe in the organs
tranfmitting founds to the internal ear.
Varying according to the nature of the difeafe and
of the part affedfed.
2. Dyfecoea (atonica'), without any evident difeafe
of the organs tranfmitting the founds.
Varying according to the nature of the caufe.
Genus XCVI. Paracufis; a depravation of the
hearing. The fpecies are,
J. Paracufis (imperfefla'), in which though founds
coming from external objedts are heard, yet it is nei¬
ther difiindlly nor in the ufual manner.
Varying,
a. With a dulnefs of hearing.
b. With a hearing too acute and fenfible.
c. When a fingle external found is doubled by fome
internal caufes.
</, When the founds which a perfon defires to hear
are not perceived, unlefs fome other violent found is
raifed at the fame time.
.2- Paracufis (jmaginaria), in which founds not ex-
ifiing externally are excited from internal caufes.
Varying according to the nature of the found per¬
ceived, and according to the nature of the remote
caufe.
Genus XCVII. Anofmia j a diminution or aboli¬
tion of the fenie of fmell. Phe fpecies are,
1. Anofmia (organica), from a difeafe in the mem¬
brane lining the internal parts of the nofirils.
Varying according to the nature of the difeafe.
2. Anolmia (atonica), without any evident difeafe
of the membrane of the nofe.
, Genus XCVIII. Agheuftia ; a diminution or aboli¬
tion of the fenfe of tafte.
1. Agheultia (organico'), from a difeafe in the mem¬
brane of the tongue, keeping off from the nerves thofe
fubifances which ought to produce tafte.
2. Agheuftia without any evident difeafe
or the tongue.
Genus XCIX. Anaefthefia ; a diminution or abolition
of the fenfe of feeling. The fpecies from Sauvages, a-
dopted by Dr Cullen, are,
1. Anaefthefia a fpina bifida.
2. Anaefthefia plethorica.
3. Anaefthefia nafeentium.
4. Anaefthefia melancholica.
Order TL Dysorexue 5 error or defeft of appetite.
beet. I. slppetitus erronei.
Genus C. Bulimia*, a defire for food in greater
quantities than can be digefted.
The idiopathic fpecies are,
1. Bulimia (helluonum), an unufual appetite for food
without any difeafe of the ftomach.
2. Bulimia (fyncopalis), a frequent defire of meat
copeCC°Unt 3 fenfation of hunger threatening fyn-
3. Bulimia (emetica), an appetite for a great quan-
iTtaken116^’ lS thr0wn UP ‘mm€diately after it
CINE. Practice.
Genus CL. Polydipfia 5 an appetite for an unufual General
quantity of drink. Arrange-
The polydipfia is almoft always fymptomatic, and ™ent'of
varies only according to the nature of the difeafe which f
accompanies it. v
Genus ClI. Pica $ a defire of fwallowing fubftan-
ces not ufed as food.
Genus CIII. Satyriafis ; an, unbounded defire of ve-
nery in men. The fpecies are,
1. Satyriafis (juvenilis), an unbounded defire of
venery, the body at the fame time being little difor-
dered.
z. Satyriafis (furens), a vehement defire of venery
with a great diforder of the body at the fame time.
Genus .CIV. Nymphomania } an unbounded defire
of venery in women.
Varying in degree.
Genus CV. Noftalgia *, a violent defire in thofe
who are abfent from their country of revifiting it.
1. Noftalgia (Jimplex), without any other difeafe.
2. Noftalgia (complicata), accompanied with other
difeafes.
Seel. II. Appetitus dejicientes.
Genus CVI. Anorexia. Want of appetite for food.
Always fymptomatic.
1. Anorexia (humoralis), from fome humour loading
the ftomach.
2. Anorexia (atonica), from the tone of the fibres of
the ftomach being loft.
Genus CVII. Adipfia ; a want of delire for drink.
Always a fymptom of iome difeafe affefting the fenforium
commune.
Genus CVIII. Anaphrodifia 5 want of defire for, or
impotence to, venery.
The true fpecies are,
1. Anaphrodifia paralytica.
2. Anaphrodifia gonorrhoica.
The falfe ones are,
1. Anaphrodifia a marifeis.
2. Anaphrodifia ab urethrae vitio.
Order III. Dyscinesiye. An impediment, or de¬
pravation of motion from a diforder of the organs.
.Genus CIX. Aphonia; a total fuppreflion of voice
without coma or fyncope. The fpecies arq,
1. Aphonia (gutturalis), from the fauces or glottis
being fwelled.
2. Aphonia (tracheahs), from a compreflion of the
trachea.
3. Aphonia (atonica'), from the nerves of the larynx
being cut.
Genus CX. Mutitas ; a want of power to pronounce
words. The fpecies are,
1. Mutitas (organica), from the tongue beino- cut
out or deftroyed. *
2. Mutitas (atonica), from injuries done to the
nerves of the tongue.
3. Mutitas (furdorum), from people being born
deal, or the hearing being deftroyed during childhood.
Genus CXI. Paraphonia ; a depraved found of the
voice. The fpecies are,
1. Paraphonia (puberum) in which, about the time
of puberty, the voice from being acute and fweet, be¬
comes more grave and harfh.
I
2. Par aphonia
Practice, ^ D I
General 2. Paraphonia (rauca), in which, by reafon of the
Arrange- drynefs or flaccid tumor of tne fauces, the voice bs-
ment of comeS rough and hoarfe.
, Drfeafes. ^ ^ Pa'raphonia (refonans), in which, by reafon of an
v ebftrudlion in the noftrils, the voice becomes hoarle,
with a found hiffing through the noftrils.
4. Paraphoma (^palatina), in which, on account of
a defed or divilion of the uvula, for the moft part with
an hare-lip, the voice becomes obfcure, hoarfe, and un-
pleafant.
5. Paraphonia (clangens), in which the voice is
changed to one acute, fhrill, and fmall.
6. Paraphonia (comatofa), in which, from a relaxa¬
tion of the velum palati and glottis, a found is produced
during infpiration.
Genus CXII. Pfellifmus ; a defed: in the articula¬
tion of words. The fpecies are,
1. Pfelfifnaus nx which the words, efpe-
cially the firft ones of a difcourfe, are not eafily pro¬
nounced, and not without a frequent repetition of the
firft fyllable.
2. Pfellifmus (ringens). In which the found of the
letter R is always afpirated, and, as it w’ere, doubled.
3. Pfellifmus (lallans), in which the found of the
letter L becomes more liquid, or is pronounced in-
ftead of R.
4. Pfellifmus (emolliens), in which the hard letters
are changed into the fofter ones, and thus the letter S
is much ufed.
5. Pfellifmus (balbutiens), in which, by reafon of
the tongue being large, or fwelled, the labial letters are
better heard, and often pronounced inftead of others.
6. Pfellifmus (acheilos'), in which the labial letters
cannot be pronounced at all, or with difficulty.
7. Pfellifmus (/agrjflomatuni), in which, on account
of the divifion of the palate, the guttural letters are
lefs perfedly pronounced.
Genus CXIII. Strabifmus j the optic axes of the
eyes not converging. Ths fpecies are,
1. Strabifmus (habitualis), from a bad cuftom of
ufing only one eye.
2. Strabifmus (com/nodus), from the greater debility
or mobility of one eye above the other ; fo that both
eyes cannot be conveniently ufed.
3. Strabifmus (necejjarius), from a change in the
fituation or ffiape of the parts of the eye.
Genus CXIV. Dyfphagia j impeded deglutition, with¬
out pblegmafia or the refpiration being affe&ed.
Genus CXV. Contrallura ; a long-continued and
rigid contradftion of one or more limbs. The fpecies,
are,
1. Contraffura (primaria), from the mufcles becom¬
ing contracted and rigid.
a, From the mufcles becoming rigid by inflammation.
b, From mufcles becoming rigid by fpafm.
c, From mufcles contracted by reafon of their anta-
gonifts having become paralytic.
d, From mufcles contracted by an irritating acri¬
mony.
2. ContraCtura particularism, from ftiff joints.
Order IV. Apocenoses. A flux either of blood or
fome other humour flowing more plentifully than ufual,
without nyrex’a, or an increafed impulfe of fluids.
Genus CXVI. Profufio $ a flux of blood.
CINE.
Genus CXVII. Ephidrofis; a preternatural evacua¬
tion of fweat.
Symptomatic ephidrofes vary according to the na¬
ture of the difeafes which they accompany, the d;f- -
ferent nature of the fweat itfelf, and fometimes the dif¬
ferent parts of the body which fweat moft.
Genus CXVIII. *Epiphora y a flux of the lachrymal
humour.
Genus CXIX. Ptyalifmus; a flux of faliva.
Genus CXX. Enurefis *, an involuntary flux of urine
without pain. The fpecies are,
1. Enurefis (atouica), after difeafes injuring the
fphinder of the bladder.
2. Enurefis pirntatam, from a compreflion or irri¬
tation of the bladder.
Genus CXXI. Gonorrhoea ; a preternatural flux of
humour from the urethra in men, with or without a
defire of venery. The fpecies are,
1. Gonorrhoea (pura), in which, w-ithout any im¬
pure venery having preceded, a fluid refembling pus,
without dyfuria or propenfity to venery, flows from
the urethra.
2. Gonorrhoea pimpuram, in which, after impure
venery, a fluid like pus flows from the urethra with
dyfuria. The confequence of this is,
Gonorrhoea Pfjiucofam, in which after an Impure
gonorrhoea, a mucous humour flows from the urethra
with little or no dyfuria.
3. Gonorrhoea piaxorumm, in which an humour for
the moft part pellucid, without any ereCtion of the
penis, but wuth a ’propenfity to venery, flows from the
urethra while the perfon is awake.
4. Gonorrhoea pdormientiamP), in wffiich the feminal
liquor is throwm out, with ereClion and defire of venery,
in thofe who are afleep and have lafcivious dreams.
Order V. Epischeses •, fuppreffions of evacuations.
Genus CXXII. Obftipatio 5 the ftools either fup-
preffed, or flow’er than ufual. The fpecies are,
1. Obftipatio Pdebilium'), in lax, weak, and for the
moft part dyfpeptic perfons.
2. Obftipatio prigidorum), in people whefe fibres are
rigid, and frequently of an hypochondriac difpofition.
3 Obftipatio (ob/lrudloruni), with fymptoms of the
colica 1 ft, 2d, 4th, and 7th, above-mentioned.
Genus CXXIII. Ifchuria; an abfolute fuppreffion
of urine. The (pecies are,
1. Ifchuria [renalis'), coming after a difeafe of the-
kidneys, with pain, or troublefome fenfe of weight in
the region of the kidneys, and without any fwelling
of the hypogaftrium, or defire of making water.
2. Ifchuria [^ureterica), coming after a difeafe of the
kidneys, with a fenle of pain or uneafinefs in fome part
of the ureter, and without any tumor of the hypoga¬
ftrium, or defire of making water.
3. Ifchuria [yejicalis'), with a fwelling of the hypa-
gaftrium, pain at the neck of the bladder, and a fre¬
quent ftimulus to make water.
4. Ifchuria (urethra/is'), with a fwelling of the hy¬
pogaftrium, frequent ftimulus to make water, and pain
in fome part of the urethra.
All thefe fpecies are fubdivided into many varieties,
according to their different caufes.
Genus CXXIV. Dyfuria ; a painful, and fomehow
impeded emiffion of urine. The fpecies are,
1. Dyfuria
239
General
Arrange¬
ment of
Difeafes.
12 4° M E D I
General j. Dvfuria gardens'), with heat of urine, without any
"ri-cnt of" man^e^ diforder or the bladder.
Difeafe. 2‘ £)y-uria (fpafmodicd), from a fpafm communicated
t .... from the other parts to the bladder.
3. Dyfuria {cotnprcffionis), from the neighbouring
parts prefling upon the bladder.
4. Dyfuria {p/dogi/lica}, from an inflammation of the
neighbouring parts.
5. Dyfuria (irritata), with figns of a (lone in the
bladder.
6. Dyfuria (tnucofa), with a copious excretion of
mucus.
Genus CXXV. Dyfpermatifmus *, a flow, impeded,
and infufficient emiflion of femen in the venereal a£l.
The fpecies are,
1. Dyfpermatifmus (urethralls'), from difeafes of the
urethra.
2. Dyfpermatifmus (nodofus), from knots on the cor¬
pora cavernofa penis.
3. Dyfpermatifmus (prceputialis), from too narrow an
orifice of the prepuce.
4. Dyfpermatilmus (pnucofus), from mucus infar£fing
the urethra.
5. Dyfpermatifmus {hypertonicus), from too ftrong
an erection of the penis.
6. Dyfpermatifmus (ppilepticus), from a fpafmodic
epilepfy happening during the time of coition.
7. Dyfpermatifmus (apraBodes), from an imbecility
of the parts of generation.
8. Dyfpermatifmus {refluus), in which there is no
emiflion of femen, becaufe it returns from the urethra
into the bladder.
Genus CXXVI. Amenorrhoea. The menfes either
flowing more fparingly than ufual, or not at all, at their
ufual time, without pregnancy. The fpecies are,
1. Amenorrhoea [emanjioms), in thofe arrived at pu¬
berty, in whom, after the ufual time, the menfes have
not yet made their appearance, and many different mor¬
bid affedlions have taken place.
2. Amenorrhoea (fupprejjionis), in adults, in whom
the menfes which had already begun to flow are fup-
prefled.
3. Amenorrhoea (difficilis)y in which the menfes flow
fparingly, and with difficulty.
Order VI. Tumoresj an increafed magnitude of
any part without phlogofis.
Genus CXXVII. Aneuriima j a foft tumor, wfith
pulfation, above an artery.
Genus CXXVIil. Varix $ a foft tumor, without pul¬
fation, above a vein.
Genus CXXIX. Ecchymoma ; a diffufed, little emi¬
nent, and livid tumor. *
Genus CXXX. Schirrus ; an hard tumor of fome
part, generally of a gland, without pain, and difficult¬
ly brought to fuppuration.
Genus CXXXI. Cancer j a painful tumor of a
fchirrous nature, and degenerating into an ill-condi¬
tioned ulcer.
Genus CXXXII. Bubo j a fuppurating tumor of
a conglobate sfland.
Genus CXXXIII. Sarcoma j a foft fwelling, with¬
er t nain.
Genus CXXXIV. Verruca j a harder fcabrous fwell-
ing.
4
CINE.
Pradice
Genus CXXXV. Clavus j a hard, lamellated thick-
nefs of the Ikin.
Genus CXXXVI. Lupia. A moveable, foft tumor
below the Ikin, without pain.
Genus CXXXVII. Ganglion. A hard moveable
fw-elling, adhering to a tendon.
Genus CXXXVIII. Hydatis; a cuticular veficle fill¬
ed with aqueous humour.
Genus CXXXTX. Hydarthrusj a moft painful fwell¬
ing of the joints, chiefly of the knee, at firfi fcarce elevat¬
ed, of the lame colour with the Ikin, diminiffiing the
mobility.
Genus CXL. Exoftofis j a hard tumor adhering to
a bone.
General
Arrange¬
ment of
Difeafes.
Order VII. Ectopia ; tumors occafioned by the re¬
moval of fome part out of its proper iituation.
Genus CXLI. Hernia j an edlopia of a foft part as
yet covered with the ikin and other integuments.
Genus CXLII. Prolapfus 5 a bare edlopia of fome
fome foft part.
Genus CXLIII. Luxatio •, the removal of a bone
from its place in the joints.
Order VIII. Dialyses. A folution of continuity ;
manifeft to the fight or touch.
Genus CXLIV. Vulnus 5 a recent and bloody folu¬
tion of the unity of fomc foft part by the motion of
fome hard body.
Genus CXLV. Ulcus. A purulent or ichorous fo¬
lution of a foft part.
Genus CXLVI. Herpes ; a great number of phlyc-
tenae or {mail ulcers, gathering in clufters, creeping,
and obffinate.
Genus CXLVII. Tinea ; fmall ulcers among the
roots of the hair of the head, pouring out a fluid which
changes to a white friable feurf.
Genus CXLVIII. Flora. Itchy puffules and little
ulcers of an infectious nature, chiefly infe&ing the
hands.
Genus CXLIX. Fradlura j bones broken into large
fragments.
Genus CL. Caries \ an ulceration of a bone.
Having thus prefented to our readers Dr Cullen’s
general fyftematic view of all the difeafes to which the
human body is fubjedffed, we come next to give a more
particular account of the more important affe£Hons,
treating of them in the order which Dr Cullen has
arranged them.
Class I. PYREXLE, or the Febrile
Difeaies.
Ofder I. FEBRES,
Or Fevers flridbly fo called.
Sauvag. Clafs II. Vog. Clafs I. Sagar. Oafs XII.
Morbi Febriles Critici, Lin. Clafs II.
Sect. I. INTERMITTENTS.
Intermittentes of many authors •, Sauv. Clafs II. Or¬
der III. Lin. Clafs II. Order II. Vog. Clafs I. Or¬
der I. Sag. Clafs XII. Order III.
The
/
PraiUce. M E D I
Febres. The remittcntes of others, Sauv. Clafs II. Order II.
" Sag. Clafs XII. Order II.
Exacerbantes, Lin. Clafs II. Order III.
Continuae, Vog. Clafs I. Order II.
Genus I. TERTIANA 5 the Tertian Fever.
(Ter liana, Sauv. G. 88. Lin. 16. Hoffm. Stahl.
Clcghorn. Senac.)
The Genuine Tertian.
12S (Tertiana legitima, Senert. Hoffm. C/eg/iorn, Minorc.
Sauv. Sp. I.)
1. Deferipiion. This difeafe, in its mod; regular
form, confifts of repeated paroxyfms, returning every
lecond day, the patient during the intermediate period
enjoying apparently a date of good health. This is the
mod common form of ague, as it is commonly called in
Britain. Each paroxyfm confids of three parts, the
cold, the hot, and the fweating dages. The paroxyfm
commonly begins with a remarkable fhivering, increaf-
ing frequently to a convuldve fhaking of the limbs.
The extremities are always cold, fometimes remarkably
fo. The cold for the mod part is fird perceived about
the lumbar regions, from thence afeending along the
fpine it turns towards the pit of the domach. Sometimes
it begins in the fird joint of the fingers and tip of the
nofe. Sometimes it attacks only a particular part of
the body, as one of the arms, the fide of the head,
&c. This cold is often preceded by a heavy and fieepy
torpor, languor, and- laditude, which we are partly to
aferibe to real weaknefs and partly to mere languor.
To thefe fymptoms fucceed yawning and dretching ;
after which the cold comes on as above deferibed, not
unfrequently with a pain of the back, and a trouble-
fome fenfation of tendon in the precordia and hypo¬
chondria. To this lucceed naufea and vomiting : and
the more genuine the difeafe, the more certainly does
the vomiting come on 5 by which a great deal of tough
mucous matter, and fometimes bilious fluff or indi-
gefted food, is evacuated during the firft paroxyfm.
In fome there is only a violent draining to vomit,
without bringing up any thing : fometimes, indead of
the:e fymptoms, a diarrhoea occurs •, and this chiefly
in weak, phlegmatic, and aged people, or where an in-
digeded mucous faburra has long remained in the pri-
mae vise.
When thefe fymptoms have continued for an hour
or two, the cold begins to go off, and is fucceeded by
a laffrtude, languor, and flaccidity of the whole body,
but chiefly in the limbs, with an uneafy forenefs as if
the parts had been bruifed 5 excepting irr thofe cafes
where the naufea continues for a longer time. After
this languor, a heat comes on, the increafe of tvhich is
generally flow', but fometimes otherwife, wdth pain of
the head, third, and bitternefs in the mouth. The
pulie is quick and unequal j fometimes beating 130
flrokes in a minute. As foon as this heat has abat¬
ed, a little moifluve or fweat is obferved to break
forth ; not always indeed in the fird, but always in the
fucceeding paroxyfms, and the urine lets falls a quan¬
tity of lateritious fediment. The whole paroxyfm is
feloom over in lefs than fix hours, more frequent¬
ly eight, and in violent cafes it extends to 12 hours j
but that w hich exceeds ] 2 hours is to be reckoned a
ipurious kind, and approaching to the nature of conti*
VOL. XIII. Part I.
CINE. 241
nued fevers. All thefe fymptoms, however, are repeat- TertJana.
ed every fecond day, in fuch a manner that the patient' ^ '
is quite free from fever for at lead 24 hours. The pa¬
roxyfms return much about the fame time, though
fometimes a little fooner or later.
2. Caufes of this difeafe, andperfons fubjecl to it. The
genuine tertian attacks men rather than women, young
people rather than old : the latter being more fub-
jedl to anomalous tertians. It likewife feizes the
ludy and adtive, rather than the lazy and indolent.
Thofe, however, who are apt to naufeate their meat
fall eafily into a tertian fever. The caufe, according
to Dr Cullen, is the miafma of marfhes, and that
only. Other phyficians have taken in many more
caufes, almod every thing indeed which debilitates
the body : but the Doctor denies that any of thefe,
though they may dilpofe the body for receiving the
difeafe, or many augment it, can by any means produce
it without the concurrence of the marfh miafma; and
it cannot be denied, that it is a difeafe almod pe¬
culiar to marfliy fituations. Thus we find it very fre¬
quent in the fenny counties of Britain, although in
other parts of this illand it may be confidered as a very
rare difeafe 5 nay, in many it may perhaps be faid that
it never occurs. And it is alfo well known that inter-
mittents have almod entirely difappeared in many parts
of Britain, in which they were very common before the
marlhes of thefe places were drained.
3. Prognofis. The genuine fimple tertian, unlefs
improper medicines be adminidered, is generally very
eafily cured ; nay, the vulgar reckon it of fuch a falu-
tary nature, that after it they imagine a perfon be¬
comes more drong and healthy than before. Hippo¬
crates has obferved, that thefe fevers terminate of
their own accord after feven or nine paroxyfms.
Juncker tells us, that it frequently terminates before
the feventh paroxyfm, but; rarely before the fourth.
He alfo denies that any thing critical is to be obferved
in its going off; but in this he differs from Vogel,
who tells us, that the urine, for forae days after the
fever is quite gone off, appears flimy, and lets fall much
fediment. The latter alfo informs us, that befides the
common crifis by fweat and urine, the tertian hath one
peculiar to itfelf, namely, dry fcabby ulcers breaking
out upon the lips. Thefe fometimes appear about the
third or fourth paroxyfm ; and then we may venture
to foretel that the difeafe will go off fpontaneoufly
after the feventh. But though the difeafe be never
dangerous, in cold climates at lead, when properly
treated ; yet the improper ufe of hot and ftimulating
medicines may change it into a continued fever, more
or lefs dangerous according to the quantity of medi¬
cines taken and the conffitution of the patient; in
which cafe the prognofis mud be regulated by the par¬
ticular fymptoms which occur. In warm climates,
however, the tertian fever may be confidered as a
much more alarming difeafe ; and unlefs the mod
powerful remedies be employed, the patient is in dan¬
ger of falling a vidlim to every paroxyfm.
A variety of theories have been propofed for ex¬
plaining the phenomena of this affedion ; but we may
affert, that every thing hitherto faid upon the fub-
jeft is highly unfatisfaflory. For although it be now
almod univerfally admitted, that this fever does arife
from the effluvia of marlhes, yet in what manner the
H h action
M E I) I
action of thofe effluvia induces fever, end particularly'
why this fever returns in regular paroxylms, are quef-
tions with regard to which \7s are illli totally in the
dark. Dr Cullen, with much ingenuity, attempted
to prove, that the remote caufes of this, as well as of
other fevers, operate by inducing a {late of debility j
that this debility gives rife to fpafm, which induces in-
creafed action, from which the phenomena are to be ex¬
plained. But this theory is liable to no lefs numerous
and unfurmountable objections than the exploded hypo¬
thecs which had before been propofed by others. For
it is an undeniable truth, that debility often exifts, even
to the higheft imaginable degree, without any fever 5
nay, that when fever has taken place, the debility is
often much greater after it is entirely gone than at
any period during its courfe. When fpafm and in-
created action do take place, wre have no reafon to view
them in any other light than merely as iymptoms of
the difeafe ; and while they are often abfent in this
affedlion, they frequently occur in others where the
beknefs, anxiety, and other characterizing fymptoms
uf fever are entirely abfent : and, upon the whole, a
probable cr rational theory of intermittents, as well as
of other fevers, tlill remains to be difeovered.
Cure. The treatment of all genuine intermittents,
tvhether tertians, quotidians, or quartans, being almoft
precitely the iame, the general method of cure appli¬
cable to all of them may be here given, to w'hich it
tvuI be eafy to refer when we come to deferibe the
others.
In treating intermittent fevers, phyficians have formed
indications ot cure according to their different theories.
'I he followers of Boerhaave, Stahl, &c. who imagined
that the difeafe proceeded from a lentor or oti er dif-
o.ders in the blood, always thought it neceffary to cor-
reft and evacuate tbefe peccant humours by emetics and
purgatives, before they attempted to Hop the difeafe by
the Peruvian bark or any other medicine. Cinchona
indeed, among fonve, feems to be held invery littleefiima-
tion : fince Vogel affirms, that this medicine, inftead
of deferving to have the preference of all other febri¬
fuge medicines, ought rather to be ranked among the
lowed of the whole ; and for this reafon be aferibes the
cures, fatd to be obtained by the ufe of the Peruvian
bark, entirely to nature.
According to Dr Cullen, the indications of cure in
intermitting fevers may be reduced to the following :
1. In the time of intermiffion, to prevent the re¬
turn of the paroxyfms.
2. In the time of paroxyfms, to conduft thefe in
fuch a manner as to obtain a final folution of the difeafe.
3. To take off certain circurr.dances which might
prevent the fulfilling cf the two firit indications.
The firfl indication may be anfwered in two wavs :
I. By increafing the adlion of the heart and arteries
forne time before the period of acceffion, and fupport-
ing that increafed adlion till the period of acceffion be
over, and thus preventing the recurrence of that atony
^nd fpafm of the extreme veffels, which he thinks give
occasion to the recurrence of paroxyfms. 2. By fup-
porting the tone of the veftels, and thereby preventing
atony and the confequent fpafm, without increafing
the aBion of the heart and arteries, the recurrence of
paroxyfms may be prevented.
I he action of the heart and arteries may be increaf-
C I N E, F
ed, i. By various ftimulant remedies internally given
or externally applied, and that without exciting fweat.
2. By the fame remedies, or by others, managed in
fuch a manner as to excite fvveating, and to fupport that
fweating till the period of acceftlon be for fome time
pad. 3. By emetics, fupporting for the fame time
the tone and action of the extreme veffels.
The tone of the extreme veffels may be fupported
without increafing the aftion of the heart and arteries,
by various tonic medicines; as, x. Atfringents alone.
2. Bitters alone. 3. Allringents and bitters conjoin¬
ed. 4. Afiringents and aromatics conjoined. 5. Cer¬
tain metallic tonics ; and, 6. Opiates. A good deal
of exercife, and as full a diet as the condition of the
patient’s appetite and digefiion allow, will be proper
during the time of intermiffion, and may be confidered
as belonging to this head. Although many particulars
in this plan of cure are deduced from Dr Cullen’s theory,
yet there can be no doubt that the object chiefly to be
aimed at is to employ fuch remedies during the inter-
miffions as will prevent a recurrence of the paroxyfm.
Of ail the remedies hitherto employed with this inten¬
tion, the moll celebrated, perhaps the mod certainly
effectual, is the Peruvian bark ; or, to fpeak more pro¬
perly, the bark of the Cinchona ojficinalis of Linnaeus.
But it mud be obferved, that good effedbs are only to be
expended from this medicine when employed in fubftance
and in large quantity; and for its ute the following
rules or obfervations have been given :
1. The cinchona may with fafety be employed at any
period of intermitting fevers, providing that at the
fame time there be neither a phlogidic diathefis pre¬
vailing in the fydem, nor any connderable or fixed
congedion prefent in the abdominal vifeera.
2. The proper time for exhibiting the cinchona bn
intermittent fevers is during the time of intermiffion,
and it is to be abdained from in the time of paroxyfms.
3. In the cale of genuine intermittents, while a due
quantity of cinchona is employed, the exhibition of it
ought to be brought as near to the time of acceffion
as the condition of the patient’s ffomach will allow.
4. In all cafes of intermittents, it is not lufficient
that the recurrence of paroxyfms be Hopped for once
by the ufe of the cinchona ; a relapfe is commonly to be
expefted, and ffiould be prevented by the exhibition
of the cinchona repeated at proper intervals.
The advantage of adminidering the medicine as early
as poffible, was fully afeertained by Dr Lind in the years
1765,1766, and 1767, durng an uncommon prevalence
of intermittent*. When the dileafe wTas dopped by the-
cinchona immediately after the fird or fecond fit, which
was the cafe with 200 of the Do6lor’s patients as welh
as himtelf, neither r. jaundice nordropfy enfued ; where¬
as, when the cinchona could not be adminiftered, on
account of the imperfeft intermiffion of the fever, or
when the patient had neglecled. to take it, either a
dropfy, jaundice, or condant headach, were the certain
confequences, and the violence of the difeafe was in
proportion to the number of the preceding fits, or to
the continuance of the fever. By every paroxyfm the
dropfical fwellings were vifibly increafed, and the co¬
lour of the Ikin rendered of a deeper yellow. When
the fever continued a few days without intermifficn, the
belly and legs generally fwelled ; a violent headach,
likewife, and vertigo, for the mod part diftreffed the
patient ;
ee.
'I ertiana.
Practice.
MEDICINE.
24-3
Febrcs. patient} fo tlaat fome, even after the fever had left
them, were not able to walk, acrofs their chamber for
a fortnight or three weeks. When the returns of the
fever were regular and even, but flight, four or five fits
of a Ample tertian were fometimes followed by the
moft dangerous fymptoms j efpecially in the year 1765,
when thefe fevers raged with the greatefl: violence. If,
as frequently happened, a dropfical patient relapfed in¬
to the intermittent, there was an abfolute neceflity tor
putting an immediate flop to it by the cinc hona ; and in
upwards of 70 fuch patients, Dr Lind, obferved the moft
beneficial effefts to accrue from this practice. Without
regard to a cough, or any other chronical indifpofiiion,
he ordered it to be given in large dofes.
Cinchona has been often obferved to fall in removing
interm.ittents, from not continuing the ufe of it for a
fufficient length of time, from adminidering it in too
fmall a dole, or from giving it in an improper form. It
was a prevailing opinion, that an ounce, or an ounce
and an half, tak,en during cue intermilfion, was fuffici¬
ent to prevent the return of another paroxyfm. But
this is not always the cafe •, for a fevere fit will often
attack a patient who has taken fuch a quantity. When
this happens, the patient ought to perfevere during the
following intermiffions, with an increafe of the dofe, till
five or fix ounces at leafl have been taken. The medi¬
cine alfo ought not to be omitted as foon as one fit is
flopped, but fhould be continued in a fmaller dofe, and
after longer intervals, for at leaf! ten days or a fortnight.
Even for feveral months after the difeafe is entirely
removed, it would be advifable to take a little occafion-
ally in damp weather, or during an eaflerly wind, to
prevent a relapfe. Where the intervals between the fits
are fhort, as in quotidians and double tertians, from one
to two drams of it ought to be taken every two or
three hours.
The form in which this medicine is adminiflered is
of fome confequence. Mucilages and fyrups have
been recommended to conceal the talle of it •, but,
from various experiments, Dr Lind found nothing
mo’-e effedlual for this purpofe than fmall beer or
milk, efpecially the latter. A dram of bark mixed
with two ounces of milk, and quickly drank, may
eafily be taken by a perfon of the moft delicate tafte,
and by waffling the month afterwards with milk, there
will not remain the leaft flavour of the bark j but if
the mixture be not drank immediately, the bark will
impart a bitter tafte to the milk. This medicine is
commonly given in elefluaries or bolufes ; but Dr
Lind obferves, that in thefe fornjs it proves much lefs
efficacious than when adminiftered in juleps or draughts,
with the plentiful addition of wine or fpirits. He has
remarked, that fix drams of powdered bark, given
in a julep, confifting of one fourth or one third of
brandy, is as effectual as an ounce of the powder in
the form of an ele&uary, and proves lefs difsgreeable
to the ftomach. For patients unaccuftomed to wine
or fpirits, each draught Ihould be watmed with fpiri-
tus ammoniac, or tin£L myrrh, by both of which the
efficacy of the bark is he thinks increafed. Dr Lind is
alfo fully convinced that wine or fpirits improve the
virtues of the bark much more than elixir vitrioli, tinfb
rofar. or fuch other medicines as have been recommend¬
ed by different phyficians.
For thofe who naufeate cinchona from a weaknefs
of the ftomach or other caufe, lie advifes it to be Tertiana.
given in clyfters, in which form it is, he tells us, as effi-
cacious as when taken by the mouth. For this purpofe
the extradl is moft proper with the addition of a fufficient
quantity of the tindduru thebaica, in order to its being
longer retained. For children labouring under in¬
termitting fevers, Dr Lind orders the {'pine of the
back to be anointed, at the approach of the fit, with
a liniment compofed of equal parts of tin&ura the¬
baica and liniment, fapon. which has often prevent¬
ed it. If this ftiould not produce the defirecl effe£l,
he informs us that two or three tea-fpoonfuls of fyrup.
e mecon. given in the hot fit, will generally mitigate
the fymptoms. But for the entire removal of the difeafe,
after purging with magnefia alba, he preferibes a dram
of the extratt. cinchonas with a few drops of tintt. the¬
baic. in a clyfter, to be repeated every three hours for
a child of about a year old. When the ftomach is op-
preffed with phlegm, the magnefia frequently occafions
vomiting, which ihould be promoted with warm water.
The conftant heavinefs of the head occalioned by thofe
fevers in fuch tender conftitutions is belt relieved by
the application of a blifter to the back.
Cinchona has alfo proved effeflual for the cure of
intermittents in children, even when externally applied,
by putting die powder of it into a quilted waiftcoat.
OF its efficacy in this way feveral inftances are related
by Dr Samuel Pye in the fecond volume of Medi¬
cal Obfervations and Inquiries. In ftiort, fo effedlual
was it found in removing thefe fevers when properly ap¬
plied, that of between four and five hundred afflicted,
with them in the year 1765, Dr Lind loft only two,
neither of whom had taken this medicine.
In all thefe cafes, a vomit was adminiftered when¬
ever the patient complained of a ficknefs and retching
to vomit, or was feized with a fpontaneous vomiting j
and cinchona was never given till this ficknefs was
removed, or a purgative taken to clear more perfe&ly
the whole alimentary canal. In thofe patients who
were troubled with a cough, attended with a pain
in the fide affeding the breathing, when the pain
w'arm fomentations, the balfa-
by a blifter, Dr Lind gene-
ounces of blood to be taken
away, and endeavoured to flop the fever as foon as
poflible by the adminiftration of cinchona; having
found that every return of the fever increafed all fuch
pains.—When the headach was very violent, and
haraffed the patient during the intermiffions, the fuc-
cefs of cinchona was rendered more complete by the
application of a blifter to the back.—A giddinefs of
the head, which is the fymptom moft commonly re¬
maining after even a flight intermitting fever, was ge¬
nerally relieved by the fal C. C. and cinchona in wine.
The former of thefe was adminiftered in the following
manner.
R. Aq- Alex. Simp. §vii.
Sal C. C. 5fs.
Syr. e Cort. Aurant. 51. M. f. julep. Cap.
cochlear, ij. fubinde.
If from the continar.ee of the fever the patient was
diftreffed with a flatulence, a diflention of the abdomen,
and a {welling of the legs, a fpoonful of timftura fa-
era, with the addition of 30 drops of the fpirit. lavend.
compof. was ordered to be taken every night—A
Hh 2 continuance
was not relieved by
mum anodynum, or
rally ordered a few
244 M E D I
Feb:-es. continuance of cinchona, a change of air, and the cold
bath, were often-found requifite to prevent a relapfe.
Such is the method of cure recommended by this
experienced author, who has alfo dilcovered the effica¬
cy and fuccefs of opium in intermitting fevers. He
informs us, that he has preferibed an opiate to up¬
wards of 300 patients labouring under this difeafe 5
and he obferved, that, if taken during the intermiffion,
it had not the leaft effesft either in preventing or mi¬
tigating the fucceeding paroxyfm : when given in the
cold fit, it once or twice feemed to remove it ; but
when given half an hour after the commencement of
the hot fit, it generally gave immediate relief.-—
When given in the hot fit, the effebls of opium are
as follow : 1. It ffiortens and abates the fit ; and
this with more certainty than an ounce of cinchona
is found to remove the difeafe. 2. It generally gives a
fenfible relief to the head, takes off the burning heat
of the fever, and occafions a profufe fweat. This
fvveat is attended with an agreeable foftnefs of the
fkin, inftead of the burning fenfation which affedls
patients fweating in the hot fit, and is always much
more copious than in thofe who have not taken opium.
3. It oft en produces a foft and refreffiing lleep to a
patient tortured in the agonies of the fever, from which
he awakes bathed in fweat, and in a great meafure free
from all complaints.
Dr Lind has always obferved, that the effeiffs of
opium are more uniform and conffant in intermitting
fevers than in any other difeafe, and are then more
quick and obvious than thofe of any other medicine.
An opiate thus given foon after the commencement of
the hot fit, by abating the violence and leffening the
duration of the fever, •preferves the conflitution fo en¬
tirely uninjured, that, fince he ufed opium in agues, a
dropfy or jaundice has feldom attacked any of his pa¬
tients in thofe difeafes. When opium did not imme¬
diately abate the fymptoms of the fever, it never in-
creafed their violence. On the contrary, moff pa¬
tients reaped fome benefit from an opiate given in the
hot fit, and many of them bore a larger dofe at that
time than they could do at any other. He affures us,
that even a delirium in the hot fit is not increafed by
opium, though opium will not remove it. Hence he
thinks it probable, that many fymptoms attending thefe
fevers are fpafmodic; but more efpecially the headach.
However, if the patient be delirious in the fit, the
adminiftration of the opiate ought to be delayed until
' he recovers his fenfes, wffien it will be found greatly to
relieve the weaknefs and faintnefs which commonly fuc-
ceed the delirium. Dr Lind is of opinion, that opium
in this difeafe is the heft preparative for cinchona *, as it
not only produces a complete intermiffion, in which cafe
alone that remedy can be fafely adminillered ; but occa-
fions fuch a faiutary and copious evacuation by fweat,
as generally to render a much lefs quantity of cinchona
requifite. He commonly preferibes the opiate in about
two ounces of tinftura facra, when the patient is cof-
tive, who is to take the cinchona immediately after the
fit. By thefe means the paroxyfm is ffiortened,' and
the intefHnes are cleanfed, previous to the adminiftra¬
tion of cinchona ; as the opiate doth not prevent, but
only fomewffiat retards, the operation of the purgative.
When a vomit is given immediately before the parox¬
yfm, the adminiftration of the opiate fhould be poftpon-
td till the hot fit be begun.
C I N E: j PrAlee.
In the adminiftration of cinchona, care ftiould be Vertu -1.
taken that it be of a good quality. And different 
opinions have been entertained with refpedl t the choice,
even where there is no rcafon to believe that it has been
adulterated by the mixture of other articles. For a
long time, the preference was given to fmall quilled
pieces of pale-coloured bark j but of late the red
bark, which is generally in larger mafles, of an appar¬
ently coarfer texture, and evidently of a more refinous
nature, has been highly celebrated by Dr Saunders and
others. And in cafes where it does not difagree with
the ftomach or excite loofenefs, it is admitted by the
moft accurate observers to be more powerful in prevent¬
ing the return of intermittents. Whether the red bark
be the produft of a different fpecies of the cinchona, or
be obtained as well as the pale quilled bark from the
cinchona officinalis, is not yet afeertained with fufficient
accuracy. Cinchona of a yellowr colour has lately been
imported into Britain and highly extolled. Its botanical
hiftory is not afeertained. It contains more bitter ex¬
tractive matter, and more tannin and gallic acid, than
either the pale or red ; but lefs gum than the pale, and
lefs refin than the red. It feems to produce the fame
medical effefts in fmaller dofes. And it has fometimes
fucceeded in the- cure of intermittents where the pale
and red cinchona have before been employed in vain.
A fpecies of cinchona, diftinguiffied by the title of
cinchona JamaicenJis, has been difeovered in Jamaica
and other illands in the Weft Indies. A very accurate
defeription of it has been given by Dr Wright of Jamai¬
ca in the Philofophical Tranfaclions of London. The
bark of this fpecies alfo has been recommended in
the cure of intermittents; but the advantages of it
have not hitherto been fufficiently confirmed by experi¬
ence.
The barks of various trees readily cultivated in
Britain, particularly different fpecies of the falix, the
primus, the fraxinus, and the quercus, have by fome
been reprefented as no lefs efficacious than the cinchona.
But we may fafely venture to affert, that although
feveral of them may poffefs fome power in flopping in¬
termittents, yet that none hitherto tried can be confider-
ed as in any degree approaching to the cinchona in point
of efficacy.
But although the Peruvian bark be the beft cure
for intermittents hitherto difeovered, yet while it can by
no means be reprefented as the only cure, it is very
certain that other remedies have in different cafes fuc¬
ceeded after the cinchona has failed. Cures have of¬
ten been obtained by the ufe of different aromatics,
bitters, and aftringents. Many articles from the mi¬
neral kingdom alfo have been employed with advan¬
tage. And intermittents have unqueftionably been in
certain cafes flopped by different preparations of iron,
zinc, copper, lead, and mercury. But of all the ar¬
ticles of this nature, arfenic has of late been the moft
celebrated. Arfenic is on good grounds conjedured
to be the bafis of an article much employed in the
cure of intermittents in fome of the countries where
they are moft prevalent, and fold under the title of
the tajiclefs ague drop. The great fuccefs attending
the ufe of this article, led Dr Fowler, an ingenious phy-
fician of Stafford, to examine it with particular atten¬
tion. And in a treatife which he has lately publiffied,
entitled Medical Reports on the effects of arfenic in the
cure of agues, he has given a formula for an arfenical
foliation.
Pra^ice. E D X
Febrfes. ;olution, which he has found very fuccefsful in affec-
1—Y* tions of th - Li \ an winch is probably very nearly
the fame with the taitelefs ague drop. Dr Fowler’s
mineral folution, as he ftyles it, is found by diffolving
• 64 grains of arfenic and as much fixed vegetable al¬
kaline fait in a pound cf diftilled water. This folu¬
tion is given in doles from three to 1 2 drops, varied
according to the condition of the patient, and re¬
peated two or three times a-day. And where the
cinchona has failed in flopping intermittents, it feems
to be one of the moft powerful remedies yet dif-
covered. But after all remedies prove inetfeflual, in¬
termittents are often flopped by change of feafon and
of fituation.
But befides the remedies employed in tertians and
other intermittents, with the view of preventing the
return of paroxyfms, it is often alfo neceflfary to em¬
ploy powerful articles with other intentions, particu¬
larly to mitigate and fliorten the paroxyfm when pre-
fent ; to obviate urgent fymptoms, efpecially thofe of
an inflammatory or putrid nature ; and to obtain a
complete apyrexia or intermiflion from fever after the
paroxyfm has ceafed. With thefe intentions, recourfe
is not unfrequently had to emetics, laxatives, blood¬
letting, bliflers, opium, diluents, or fudorxfics, as the
circumftances of the cafe may require.
127 The Irregular or Spurious Tertian.
Sp. I. var. 1. B.
Tertiana notha five fpuria, Sauv. fp. 2. Sennert.
C/eghorn. Ihjjman.
The chara&eriftic marks of this fever are, that its
paroxyfms laft longer than 1 2 hours, and confequently
it inclines more to the quotidian or continued fever than
the former. Its paroxyfms have no dated hour of
attacking. The cure, however, is precilely the fame
with that above .defcribed, obferving the proper cau¬
tions already mentioned with regard to the ufe of the
cinchona.
ij8 The Double Tertian. Sp. I. var. 2. C.
Tertiana duplex, Sauv. fp. 13. Vog. G. I 2. Sennert.
Cleg horn.
Duplicata, Lin. 18.
The double tertian comes on every day 5 but diffeiJ5
from the quotidian in this, that its paroxyfms do not
anfwer to each other fingly, but alternately. The
firft day, for inftance, the fit will come on in the fore¬
noon, in the fecond in the afternoon, the third in the
forenoon, and the fourth in the afternoon.
Of thefe fevers we fliall give the following deferip-
tion from Cleghorn’s treatife on the difeafes of Mi¬
norca : “ They are called double tertians when there
are two fits and two intervals within the time of each
period. But commonly there is fome difference between
the two fits, either in refpeft of the hour they come
at, the time of their duration, or the nature and vio¬
lence of their concomitant fymptoms. Some double
tertians begin in this manner.—On the evening of
Monday, for example, a flight fit comes on, and goes
off early next morning ; but on Tuefday, towards the
middle of the day, a more fevere paroxyfm begins,
and continues till night. Then there is an interval to
Wednefday evening, when a flight fit commences a
new period of the fever, which proceeds in the fame
C I N~ E;* 24<
manner as the firfl \ fo that according to the way Teitiana.
phylimans calculate the days of difeafes, by beginning v
to reckon from the firft hour of their invafion), both
paroxyfms happen on the odd days, while the greateft
part of the even days is calm and undifturbed. But
in moft double tertians the patient has a fit every day
of the difeafe j the fevere one commonly appearing at
noon upon the odd days, the flight one towards even¬
ing on the even days; though iometirnes the worft of
the two fits happen on the even days.
“ There is a tertian fever fometimes to be met with,
during each period of which there are three different
fits, and as many intervals. For example, toxvards
Monday noon the patient is feized with a paroxyfm,
which declines about five or fix o’clock the fame even¬
ing j a lexv hours after, another fit begins, and con¬
tinues until morning : from which time there is an in¬
terval to Tuefday ex’ening, when a third fit comes on,
and lafts moft part of the night. On Wednefday
there are again two paroxyfms, as on Monday, and on
'I hurfday like that of Tuefday j and thus the fever
goes on with a double fit on each of the odd days,
and a fingle fit on the even days.
“ In double tertians, that interval is the molt con-
fiderable which follows the fevere fit ; for the flight fit
oftener ends in a remiflion than intermiflion, and fre¬
quently lingers till the other approaches: Flence it
is, that the night preceding the vehement fit is much
more refllefs than that which comes after it, as has
been obferved by Hippocrates. In double tertians,
the vehement fit often comes on a little earlier in each
period, while the flight fit returns at the fame hour,
or perhaps later and later every lecond day : lb that the
motions of one have no influence on thofe of the other ;
from whence it appears, that each of there fits hath
its oxvn proper independent caules.”
Duplicated Tertian, Sp. I. var. 2, D.
Tertiana duplicata, Sauv. fp. 14. Jones. li ver.
This hath two fits on the fame day, xvith an inter¬
mediate day on xvhich there are none. This allb does
not differ in any remarkable particular from thofe al¬
ready deferibed.
The Triple Tertian. Sp. I. var. 2. E.
Tertiana triplex, Sauv. fp. 15. Cleghorn.
Semitertiana, Hoffman.
Semitertiana primi ordinis, Spig.
This differs from the former in having a fingle and
double fit alternately : thus, for inftance, if there be
txvo fits the firft day, there is only one the fecond,
two the third, one the fourth, &c. Its cure is the fame
as before.
The .SV/w'-Tertian. Sp. I. var. 2. F.
Hemitritseus, Celf.
Semitertiana, Cleghorn.
Semitertiana fecundi ordinis, Spig.
Amphimerina hemitritaeus, Sauv. fp. 8.
Amphimerina pfeudo-hemitritams, Sauv. fp. 9.
The femitertian is deferibed by Dr Cullen as having
only an evident remiffion between its paroxyfms 5 more
remarkable between the odd and even day, but lefs
fo betxx-een the even and odd one. For this reafon,
he adds, that poflibly fome femitertians ought rather
to
246 INI E B I
, ^e!,rcs’ to be cJafled among tbe remittents ; and owns that it is
' difficult to fettle the boundaries between them. But
Cleghorn, whom he quotes, defcribes it in the follow¬
ing manner. “ A fit begins on Monday noon, for
example, and goes off the fame night. On Tuefday
afternoon a fecond fit comes on, and gradually in-
creafes till Wedenefday night, when it terminates. On
Thurfday morning there is fuch another interval as
happened on Tuefday morning : But on Tburfday
afternoon another long fit like the preceding com¬
mences; and returning regularly every fecond day, leaves
only a ffiort interval of ten or twelve hours during the
eight and forty.
Concerning the cure of thefe fevers Dr Cullen ob-
ferves, that though no entire apyrexia occurs, cinchona
may be given during the remiffions : and it Ihould be
given even though the remiffions be inconfiderable ^ if,
from the known nature of the epidemic, intermiflions
or confiderable remiffions are not to be expefted, and
that great danger is apprehended from repeated exa¬
cerbations.
^ The S/eefiy Tertian. Sp. I. var. 3. G,
Tertiana carotica, Sauv. fp. 10. Werlhof.
Tertiana hemiplegica, Sauv. fp. 20. IVerlhof.
Ouotidiana loporofa, Sauv. fp. 8. Car. Pif.
Febris caput impetens, Sydenham, ep. ad. R. Brady.
This, according to Vogel, is a molt dangerous fpe-
cies, and very commonly fatal; for which reafon he
ranks it among thofe intermittents which he calls ma¬
lignant. Sometimes he tells us the alarming fymptom
of a fleepinefs comes on, not at the beginning of the
difeafe, but will unexpe£t«d!y occur during the third,
fourth, fifth, or fixth paroxyfm. It commonly begins
with the cold fit, and continues during the whole time
of the paroxyfm, and, becoming ftronger at every fuc-
ceeding one, at laft terminates in a mortal apoplexy.
Sometimes fevers of this kind rage epidemically. Vo¬
gel relates, that he faw a Ample tertian changed irto
one of thefe dangerous fevers. The patient was a wto-
man of a delicate conftitution, and the fymptom ap¬
peared in confequence of her being put in a violent
paffion : however, it occurred but once, and die reco¬
vered. Hoffman mentions a earns in a double ter¬
tian occurringfeventimes without proving mortal; though
Vogel fays, that the powers of nature are very feldom
fufficient to conquer the difeafe.
In 1678, Dr Sydenham tells us that intermittents
raged epidemically at London, where none had ap¬
peared before from 1664. Of them “ it is to be noted
(fays he), that though quartans were mod frequent
formerly, yet now tertians or quotidians were mod
common, unlefs the latter be entitled double tertians ;
and likewife, that though thefe tertians fometimes
began with chilnefs and diivering, which were fuc-
ceeded fird: by heat, and foon after by fweat, and end¬
ed at length in a perfect intermiffion, returning again
after a fixed time ; yet they did not keep this order
,alter the third or fourth fit, efpecially if the patient
was confined to hii bed and uf^d hot cardiacs, which
increafe the difeafe. But afterwards this fever be¬
came fo ur.ufually violent, that only a remiffion hap¬
pened in the place of an intermiffion ; and approach-
k)g every day nearer the fpecies of continued fevers,
CINE. Pratfice.
it feized the head, and proved fatal to abundance of Tertiana.
perfons.” —
From this defeription of Sydenham’s we may have
an idea of tbe nature of the difeafe. As to its cure
he ftrongly recommends cinchona; telling us, that,
even in the moji continued kind of intermittents, “ the
nearer the intermittent approaches to a continued fe¬
ver, either fpontaneoufly, or from ufing too hot a re¬
gimen, fo much the more neceffary is it to exhibit a
larger quantity of the bark ; and that he took advan¬
tage of a remiffion, though ever fo fmall.”
The Spafmodic or Convuljive Tertian. Sp. I.
var. 3. H. ^
Tertiana afthmatica, Sauv. fp. 6. Bonnet.
Tertiana hyflerica, Sauv. fp. 8. IVedel. A. N. C.
Dec. I. A. II. obfi 193.
Hyfteria febricofa, Sauv. G. 13 c. fp. 8. A. N. C.
Dec. I. Ann. II.
Tertiana epileptica, Sauv. fp. 16. Calder. Lautter.
Quotidiana epileptica, Sauv. fp. 3. Edinb. Effays,
vol. v. art. 49.
Ecclampfia febricofa, Sauv. G. 139. fp. 17.
Epilepfia febricofa, Sauv. G. 134. Ip. 9.
Tertiana tetanodes Med. Beobacht I. Band.
Tetanus febricofus, Sauv. G. 122. fp. 10. Stork.
Ann. Med. II.
Tertians of this kind occur with very different
fymptoms from thofe of the true ones, and fometimes
even with thofe which are very extraordinary. In
fome they are attended ivith fymptoms of afthma,
in others with thofe of hylterics, in others with con-
vuliions. Where the fymptoms of afthma occur, the
dii’eafe muft be treated with diuretics and antifpafmo-
dics joined with cinchona. In the hyfteric afthma the
fit comes on with cold, yawning, cardialgia, terror
and dejedlion of mind. The difeafe is to be remov¬
ed by mild aperients and antihyfterics joine-d with cin¬
chona.
Of the convulfive tertian we have a moft remarkable
inftance in the Edinburgh Medical Effays, vol. v.
The patient was a farmer’s fon about 26 years of age,
of a ftrong plethoric habit of body. He had labour¬
ed under an ague half-a-year, and had taken a great
deal of Peruvian bark. While he was telling his cafe
to the furgeon (Mr Baine of Pembroke), he was fud-
denly taken with a violent damping of his feet; and
the convulfions gradually afeended from the foies of the
feet to his legs, thighs, belly, back, and ffioulders.
His bead was then moft: violently convulfed, with a
total deprivation of fpeech ; but he had a moft difmal
vociferation, which might have been beard at a con¬
fiderable diftance, his abdoraep and thorax working
and heaving violently and unufually in the mean time.
This fit having lafted half an hour, a profufe fweat
broke out over all his body, which relieved him; and
he then became capable of anfwering fuch queftions
as were put. Thefe extraordinary fits, he faid, had
been occafioned by a fright, and his neighbours had
concluded that he was bewitched. They returned
fometimes twice a-day, and alv/ays at the times the
ague ufed to return. During the paroxyfm his pulfe
was very high and quick, his face much intlamed,
and his eyes ready to ftart out of his head. After
the
3
f
Praaice. M E B I
Ftbres. the fit was ever, he complained of a mofl torturing
..j pain of the bowels. His tongue was generally mold,
and he had a fuppreffion of urine.—This formidable
difeafe, however, was totally fubdued by the ufe of
cinchona, mercurials, antifpafmodics, opiates, and laline
draughts.
334 The Eruptive Tertian. Sp. I. var. 3. I.
Tertiana petechialis, Sauv. fp. 3. Donat. Lautttf.
Tertiana fcorbutica, Wedel. A. N. C. Dec. I. A.
II. obf. 193.
Tertiana urticata, Sanv. fp. 22. Elanchon. Journ. de
Med. 1*6,. Cleghorn.
Tertiana miliaris, Sauv. fp. 21. Walthieri de Med.
Ger.
This ipecies of tertian is accompanied with red or
livid blotches on the Ikin, or an eruption like that oc-
cafioned by the flinging of nettles. In the latter cafe
Dr Cleg horn fays the difeafe is very dangerous ; and
as the former indicates an incipient diffolution and
putrefaftion of the blood, it muft alfo be reckoned of
very dangerous tendency.
*35 The Inflammatory Tertian. Sp. I. var. 3. K.
Tertiana pleuritica, Sauv. fp. 4. Valef. Lautt.
Pleuritis periodica, Sauv. G. 103. fp. 14.
Tertiana arthritica, Sauv. fp. 5. Morton. Lautt.
Sauvages informs us, that he has feen a true and
genuine pleurify having all the pathognomic figns of
the difeafe, but aiTuming the form of an intermittent j
that is, the patient is one day affe&ed with the pleuri¬
fy, and the next feemingly in perfect health. He alfo
tells us, that in the month of May 1760 a tertian
raged epidemically, which after the third fit imitated
a pleurify, the pain of the fide and difficulty of
breathing coming regularly on, and the fever from
an intermittent becoming remittent j the blood had
alfo the fame appearance rvith that of pleuritic per-
fons, and the diltemper yielded to bleeding and gentle
cathartics.—Morton alfo informs us, that he has ob-
ferved fimilar diforders an hundred times, which were
always certainly and fafely cured by the Peruvian
bark.
rj6 The Tertian complicated with other Diforders.
Sp. I. var. 4.
Tertiana fcorbutica, Sauv. f.'. 9. Etmuller. Tmucus.
Tertiana fyphilitica, Sauv. fp. 17. Deidier.
Tertiana verminofa, Sauv. fp^ 18. Stiffer. in aft.
Helmftad. Land/, de noxiis palud. Pringle.
Rama'zt&mi. Van den Bofch. de conif. vermin.
The fcorbutic tertian, according to Sauvages, is ex¬
ceedingly anomalous, its periods being fometimes much
anticipated, and fometimes much poftponed. It is ex¬
ceedingly obflinate, and will return if the body be
not cleared of Its fcorbutic taint. The patient is afFeft-
ed with lancinating pains of a wandering nature. The
mine lets fab a dufky red iediment, or a thick branny
matter is copmufly fcattered up and down in it, feem-
ogly Urged with blood. The uiual fymptoms of feur-
- y, v z. livid {pots, and rotten fetid gums, alfo fre-
quently occur. ^ For this the Peruvian bark is very ufe-
ful, both as a febrifuge and antifeorhutie.
A tertian accompanied rvith worms is taken notice
CINE. .24;
of by Sir John Pringle in his treatife on the difeafes of Tertiana.
the army. The worms, he tells us, were of the round v'“
kind •, and though we are by no means to reckon them
the caufe of the fever, they never failed to make it
worfe, occafioning obftinate gripings or ficknefs at flo-
mach. In tbefe cafes flitches were frequent; but, be¬
ing flatulent, were not often relieved by bleeding. The
worms were difeharged by vomiting as well as by ftool.
For difeharging thefe worms, he commonly gave half
a dram of rhubarb with 12 grains of calomel j without
obferving any inconvenience from fuch a large dofe of
mercury. Anthelmintics, which aft flowly, had little
chance of doing good j for though worms wall fome¬
times lie long in the bowels without giving much uneafi-
nefs to a perfon otherwife well, yet in a fever, efpecial-
ly one of a putrid kind (to which his intermittents al¬
ways feemed to incline), the worms being diliurbed by
the increafe of heat, and the corruption of the humours
in the prima vice, begin to move about, and ftruggle to
get out. Lancifius, who makes this remark, adds, that
upon opening the bodies of fome who had died at
Rome of fevers of this kind, wounds were found in
the inteftines made by the biting of the worms 5 nay,
that fome of them had even pierced through the coats-
of the guts, and lay in the cavity of the abdomen.-
Pringle never had any inftance of this j but knew
many cafes in which the worms efcaped by the pa¬
tient’s mouth, though there had been no previous-
^retching to bring them up. One foldier was thrown
j:/to violent convulfions, but wras cured by the above-
'rnentioned powder.
The Tertian varied from its Origin. Sp. I.
var'
Tertiana accidentalis, Sauv. fp. 1 2. Sydenham.
Tertiana a fcabie, Sauv. fp. 12. puncher, tab. 80.
Hoffman, II. p. 12.
The exiflence of fevers of this kind, as w’e have al¬
ready obferved, is denied by Dr Cullen; the acci¬
dental fever of Sauvages was faid to arife from any
flight error in the non-naturals, and confequently w’as
very eafily cured. That which arofe from the repul-
fion of the itch, was cured as foon as the eruption re¬
turned.
fits. Sp. II. tertiam
Tritaeophya, Sauv. Gen. 8 j. Sag. p. 695.
Tritaeus, Lin. 21.
Hemitritaea, Idn. 23.
Tertiar.se remittentes et continue Auftorum.
Tertianae fubintrantes,. proportionate, fubccntinuae,
Torti.
Tertiana fubcontinua, Sauv. fp. 19.
Quotidiana deceptiva, Sauvi fp. 2.
Amphirnerina femiquintana, Sauv. fp. 24.
Txitaeopbya deceptiva, Sauv. fp. 10.
Caufus Hippocratis.
Tritaeophya caufus, Sauv. fp. 2.
Febris ardens Boerhaavii, aph. 738.
Tertiana perniciofa, quae fimulata tertiani circuitus
effigie lethalis, et mille accidentibus peticulolifli-
mis implicata, exiilit. Lud. Mercatus.
Tertiana peflilens, P. Sal. Diverfus.
Tertiana
I
' M E D I
Tertiana maligna peftilens, Riven'i.
Morbus Hungaricus. Lang. Lemb. Sennert. Jor¬
dan.
Languor Pannonicus, Cober.
Amphimerina Hungaiica, Sauv. fp. 10.
Heniitritaeus peftilens, Sc/ienck. ex Corn. Gamma.
Febres peftilentes vEgyptiorum, Alpin.
Febris tertiana epidemica, Bartholin.
Febres epidemics;, autumni 1657 et 1658, Willis.
Febris fyneches epidemica, ab anno 1658 ad 1664.
et poftea ab anno 1673 ad 1691, Morton.
Feb res autumnales inci'pientes, Sydenham.
Aftedtus epidemicus Letdenfis, Fr. Sylvii.
Morbus epidemicus Leidenfis, 1669, Fanois.
Tertiange perniciofte et peftilentes, et febres caftren-
fes epidemicae, Lanciji.
Febres intermittentes anomalae et mali moris, FLoJf-
man.
Febris cholerica minus acuta, Hoffman.
Febris epidemica Leidenfis, anno 17*9, A'o£er apud
Haller, Difp. tom. v.
Amphimerina paludofa, Sauv. fp. 19.
Febris paludum, Pringle.
Bononienfis conftitutio hiemalis 1729, Beccari in
A. N. C. vol. iii.
Amphimerina biliofa, Sauv. fp. 22.
Febris caftrenfis, Pringle.
Febris putrida epidemica, Huxham de aere ad ann.
I729*. .
Febris biliofa Laufanenfis, Tiffot. k
Tritaeophya Wratiflavienfis, Sauv. fp. 3. Hahn.
Epidemia verna Wratiilav. in App. ad A. N. C.
vol. X.
Fritoeophya Americana, Sauv. fp. 12.
Febris anomala Batava, Grainger.
Morbus Naronianus, Pujati.
Febris continua remittens, Hitlarffs difeafes of Bar-
badoes.
Febris remittens Indiae Orientals, Lind. dilf. inaug.
1768.
Febris critica et febr. biliofa aeftatis, Rouppe.
Febris remittens regionum calidarum, Lind on the
difeafes of hot climates.
A. Tertiana cholerica five dyfenterica. Tort. Therap.
Special, lib. iii. cap. 1. Lautter. Hift. Med.caf. 6.
16. 17. 20. Morton, App. ad Exerc. II.
B. Tertiana fubcruenta five atrabiliaris, Tort. ibid. Ne¬
ver feen by C/eghorn.
C. Tertiana cardiaca. Tort. ibid. Lautter. Hift. Med.
caf. 15. 16. 23.
Amphimerina cardiaca, Sauv. fp. 5.
Tritaeophya aflbdes, Sauv. fp. 6.
Febris continua affodes, Vog. 27.
D. T ertiana diaphoretica, Tort. ibid.
Tritaeophya typhodes, Sauv. fp. 4.
Tritaeophya elodes, Sauv. fp. 5.
Febris continua elodes, Vog. 21.
E. Tertiana fyncopalis, Tor/, ibid. Lautter. caf. 11* 12.
^ 15- 16.
Tritaeophya fyncopalis, Sauv. fp. 1.
Amphimerina iyncopalis, Sauv. fp. 4.
Amphimerina humorofa, Sauv. fp. 6.
Febris continua fyncopalis, Vog. 29.
F. 1 ertiana algida, Tort. ibid. Lautter, caf. 13.
Amphimerina epiala, Sauv. fp. 3.
2
CINE.
Araphimerina phricodes, Sauv. fp. 7*
Tritaeophya leipyria, Sauv. fp. 9.
Tertiana leipyria, Sauv. fp. 23. Valcarenghi Med’.
Ration, p. 18.
Febris continua epiala et leipyria, Vog. 19. et. 24.
G. Tertiana lethargica, Tort. ib.
Tritseophya carotica, Sauv. fp. 7. Lautter. 1. 7. 14.
Tertiana apopledica, Morton. Exerc. 1. cap. ix.
hift. 25.
Tertiana foporofa, Werlhof. de febr. p. 6.
Febris epidemica Urbevctana, Lancif. de noxiis pal.
effluv. 1. II. c. 3.
The remittent fevers^are much more dangerous than
the true intermittents, as being generally attended with
much greater debility of the nevVous fyftem and ten¬
dency to putrefcency in the fluids than the latter. Sau-
vages divides his tritaeophya, a remittent tertian into
the following ipecies :
1. Tritceophya fyncopalis, or that attended with faint- I39
ing. It begins like a tertian, with cold fucceeded by
heat and profufe fweating 5 but attended with much
more dangerous fymptoms, fuch as cardialgia, enor¬
mous vomiting, great w’eaknefs, fmall contradled pulfe,
coldnefs of the extremities, and, unlefs timely afliftance
be given, kills during the fecond or third paroxyfm.
2. The caufus, or burning fever of Hippocrates, r4°
returns every third day without any new fenfation of
cold ; and is attended with great thirft, heat, but with¬
out diarrhoea or fweat, and continues only for one
week or two at the utmoft. It attacks chiefly young
people of a robuft and bilious habit of body, who have
been accuftomed to much exercife, and expofed to the
fun during the heats of fummer, and have alfo ufed a
phlogiftic regimen. The tongue is dry, fometimes
black ; the urine of a red or flame colour •, together
with pain of the head, anxiety, and fometimes other
fymptoms ftill more dangerous.
3. Tritceophya Vratijlavien/is, was a peftllential difeafe I4I
occafioned by famine, during which the people fed on
putrid aliments: the air was infefted by the vaft num¬
bers of bodies of thofe flain in battle, and the inhabitants
w7ere alfo dejelfed by reafon of being deprived of their
harveft, and other calamities} to all which was added
the continuance of a calm in the atmofphere for a long
time. It began wnth an acute fever, leipyria or coldnefs
of the external parts and a fenfation of burning heat
inwardly ; general w’eaknefs; pain of the head and prse-
cordia; ferous, or bilious diarrhoea; a delirium, in
fome furious, and accompanied with a dread of be¬
ing expoled to the air ; on the fecond day the thirft
was violent, attended with a bilious vomiting, as well
as diarrhoea, tough vifeid fpitting, fainting, burning
heat in the bowels, the tongue dry and feeming as if
burnt with a hot iron, a fuppreffion of the voice, anxi¬
ety, ftupor, after which quickly followed convulfions
and death. In fome fevers leipyria came on with an
exceeding great cold of the extremities, prefently fol-
low-ed by an intolerable heat of the vifeera, with fymp-
tomatic fweats, violent diarrhoea, followed by a very
itchy miliary eruption. On the fourth day came on
copious fweats, fpafms of the lower jaw', naufea, invo¬
luntary palling of urine, flight delirium, a flux of ichor¬
ous matter from the noftrils, an exceeding tough fpit¬
ting, an epilepfy, and death. Profeffor Hahn, who
PracHct
Tertiana
Febres.
Practice.
gives the hiftory of this difeafe, was himfelf attacked
by it, and fulfered in the following manner : On the
firft day wTas a violent feverifn partxyfm without rigor,
a (harp pain in the occiput, and immediately an inflam¬
matory pain ever the whole head *, the feet were ex¬
tremely cold, and the extremities rigid with fpafms.
The pain continued to increafe daily to fuch a degree,
that the contact of the air itfelf became at laft intoler¬
able ; a dejeftion of mind and incredible weaknels fol¬
lowed •, he paffed reftlefs nights with continual fweat-
ing, heavy and pained eyes, and an univerfal fenfation
of rheumatifm over the whole body. On the third
day the pains were afluaged, but he had a very bad
wight. On the fourth day all the fymptoms were worfe,
the feet quite chilled, the hands very red and agitated
with convulfive motions; he was terrified with appre-
herflions of death, and had a vomiting every now and
then : this day fponges dipped in cold water were ap¬
plied over the whole body, and he uled cold water for
his drink. On the eighth day the pulfe was convul¬
five ; and the pains were fo violent that they made him
cry out almoft continually. On the ninth day he was
delirious, and threw up fome grumous blood. On the
I ith his pulfe was more quiet, and he had a fweat; a
decodlion of cinchona was given : his voice was bro¬
ken, his fpeech interrupted, and his teeth chattered up¬
on one another. On the 12th his jaw was convulfed,
he had a rifus fardonicus, and deafnefs; after which
the paroxyfms returned lefs frequently, and only to¬
wards night. On the 14th he had a chilling cold over
the "whole body, a cold fweat 3 frequent lotions were
applied, and all the fymptems became milder. On the
18th he had a quick delirium, but fainted as foon as
taken out of bed 3 a fenfation of hunger, followed by
copious ftveats 3 profound fleep 3 an averfion from
noife 3 every thing appeared new and extraordinary.
On the 36th a cholera 3 on the 48th a fealing oft' of the
ikin, and falling oft’ of the nails. This epidemic car¬
ried oft’above 3000 people at Warfaw. Frequent lo¬
tion of the body either cold or tepid, w’atery glyfters,
and the copious introduction of watery fluids under
the form of drink, were of fervicc. But the moft fa¬
vourable crifis was under the form of fome cutaneous
eruption.
142 4. TritceopJiya typhodes. The principal fymptom of
this fever was a continual fweat with which the pa¬
tients were almoft always wet 3 with paroxyfms re-
• turning every third day. Sauvages tells us, that he
had twice an opportunity of obferving this fever 3 one
was in the teacher of an academy, about 40 years of
age, and of a melancholic temperament. He fweated
every fecond night fo plentifully, that he was obliged
to change his linen nine times 3 and even on the inter¬
mediate days was never perfeftly free of fever, and had
his {kin moiftened with fweat. The other was of a
Woman wTbo w’ent about in man’s clothes, and wTas dif-
covered only after her death. The difeafe began w-ith
a flight fenfation of cold, after wflnch (lie fweated for
eight hours. It was attended wfith the higheft de¬
bility, anxiety, and at the fame time an infatiable
hunger.
143- 5. Triucophya elodes, was an inflammatory epidemic,
but not contagious, terminating about the 14th or 2lit
day. ’Ihe difeafe came on in the night-time, writh
difturbed reft, unrverfal weaknefs, watchings, great
Vol. XIII. Part I.
MEDICINE.
349
heat and fweat, rednefs of the face and almoft of the Tertians
whole body, fparkling eyes, the tongue dry and white 5 ' * 
a hard, tenfe, and turgid pulfe : about the third day
a kind of frenzy frequently came on with the feverith
paroxyfm, the forerunner of an univerfal miliary erup¬
tion ; or, what wTas worfe, with purple fpots fo cicfe to¬
gether, that they looked like an eryfipelas of the
whole body. Sometimes blifters of the lize of fmall
pearls, filled with acrid ferum, appeared on the neck,
armpits, and trunk of the body, which W'ere of all the
fymptoms the moft dangerous. There was a variety of
the difeafe, which Sauvages calls the humoralis, and
in which the pulfe was loft and feeble, with greater
weaknefs over the whole body, and the difpofition to
fleep more frequent than in the other 3 the eyes lan¬
guid 3 the tongue very white, but not dry 3 and worms
W'ere fome times difeharged.
6. Tritceophya q/fodes. This fpecies arofe from a 14
foulnefs of the primse via?, and the effluvia of waters in
which hemp had been fteeped. It began with rigor,
followed by great heats, reftleflhefs, tolling of the
limbs, faintings, immoderate thirft, drynefs of tongue,
delirium, and at length exceflive watchings 3 thefe
lafl, however, were lefs dangerous than vertigo or a
comatofe difpofition, which brought on^convulfions or
apoplexies.
7. Triucophya carotka. This had exacerbations 145
every other evening ; and its diftinguilhing fymptom.
was an exceflive inclination to fleep, preceded by a fc-
vere headach, and followed by delirium, and fome-
times convullions 3 the tongue was black, and the pa¬
tient infenfible of thirft after the delirium came on.
In thofe cafes where the difeafe proved fatal, a fub-
fultus tendinum and other alarming fymptoms, came
on.
8. Tntaophya leipyria is only a variety of the tritse- 1415
ophya caufus, already deferibed.
9. Tritaophya decepthva. This fnecies at firft ailumes 147
the appearance of a continued fever ; but afterwards
degenerates into a remittent, or even an intermittent.
It is deferibed by Sydenham, but attended with no re¬
markable fymptoms.
10. The laft of Sauvages’s fpecies of Tritseophya I4*
belonging to the remitting tertian is the Americana.
This, according to Sauvages, is the ardent fever with
which the Europeans are ufuaily feized on their firft
arrival in America, and generally carries oft' one half
of them. Of this there are two varieties, the very
acute and the acute. The very acute ends before the
feventh day. It comes on -a few days after the per-
fon’s arrival, with lofs of appetite, with dyfpnoea and
fighing fromhveaknefs, headach, laffitude, and pain of the
loins : a pyrexia lucceeds, with great thirft, fweat, and
heat 3 the fickndfs increafes, naufea comes on, with vo¬
miting of ponaceous bile 3 the tongue rough, the ex¬
tremities often cold 3 watching, furious delirium 3 and
the patient frequently dies on the third day. Copious
fw'eats, and a plentiful hemorrhagy from the nofe on
the fifth day, but not fooner, are ferviceable 3 but a bi¬
lious diarrhoea is the beft crifis of all.
The acute kind terminates moft frequently on the
ninth, but very rarely goes beyond the fifteenth day.
Death frequently comes on between the fourth and fe¬
venth days. It begins with headach, pain in the
loins, and fometimes (hivering4 great latitude, dyf-
* ^ pnee^,
o
M EDI
L
Febres. pnoea, tliirfl: j burning fever, increafing every third day ;
^ inflation of the abdomen, pain at the pit of the flo-
mach, naufea, and bilious vomiting. Such is the ftate
of the 'difeafe within twenty-four hours. The eyes are
red, and full of tears ; the urine pellucid ; there is a
low delirium, and continual anxiety j the tongue is dry
and red, and fometimes, though rarely, black, which
is a dill worfe fign ; the pulfe, formerly ftrong and
full, fi nks about the fourth day, and becomes tenfe
and fpafmodic : if a earns then comes on, the patient
dies the fifth or fixth day ; but if the pulfe keeps up,
and no carus comes on, a criiis is to be expe£ted by
fweat, by a copious hemorrhagy from the nofe, or,
which is ftill more fafe, by a bilious diarrhoea, which is
never falutary if it comes on before the fifth day.
To the remitting tertian alfo belong the following
fpecies mentioned by Sauvages, viz.
i. Tertiana fubeuntinua. This begins like a genuine
tertian, and at firll hath diftincf paroxyfms ; but thefe
grow gradually more and more obfeure, the difeafe
acquiring daily more of the appearance of continued
fever, by which it is to be dillinguifhed from the
other varieties of this fpecies. It is not unfrequently
joined with thofe fymptoms which attend the fatal fe¬
ver already mentioned ; as cardialgia, cholera, fyncope,
&c. but in a much lefs degree. The difeafe commonly
begins with little or no fenfe of cold, but rather a fen-
fation of heat; when the tertian is doubled, it has firfl:
a flighter and then a more fevere fit ; and thus goes
on with an exacerbation on the even days: and though
it Ihould change from a double into a Angle tertian,
we are ftill to fufpeft it, if a weak fit is the forerunner
of a very ftrong one. This change of the tertian into
a continued fever is alfo to be prognofticated if a heat
remarkable to the touch is perceived on the day of in-
termiflion, together with fome difturbance of the pulfe,
thirft, and drynefs of the tongue j all of which lliow
a tendency to inflammation : the fame is foretold by
the urine being in fmall quantity, and very red, or of
a faftron colour; alfo an ulcerous or aphthous inflam¬
mation of the throat, with difficulty of fwallowing, or
any very fevere fymptom coming on in the beginning
of the difeafe, excepting only a delirium, which is eafily
■ removed.
*5° 2. ^uotidiana deceptiva. This is a diforder of an in¬
flammatory kind, with a ftrong tendency to putrefcency,
and fometimes afl'umes the form of a quotidian. In it
the patient frequently complains of cold when he really
is hot, and the remiffion is very indiftiinft. The difeafe
is known by the great languor of the patient and the
foulnefs of his tongue.
151 3. Amphimerina cardiaca is an acute malignant fever,
with daily exacerbations, attended with fainting and
vomiting of green bile. Afterwards, the weaknefs in¬
creafing, the patient’s extremities grow cold, and a pro-
fufe fweat comes on, which is frequently fucceeded by
death on the fourth day. Another fpecies refetnbling
this Sauvages calls thz fyncopalis ; but the cardiaca dif¬
fers from it in being attended with cardialgia.
*52 4. Amphimerina paludofa. This is the fever deferibed
by the Britiffi phyficians under many different names,
and appearing under various forms, according to the
cifferent conftitutions of the patients. This fever
in the Eaft Indies, according to Dr Lind of Windfor,
generally comes on luddenly, and begins with a fenfe
C I N E. Pradice.
of debility and a very great lownefs of fpirits. Thefe Tertiana.
fymptoms, are attended with a greater or lefs degree' v '
of chillinefs, vertig%, naufea, very acute pains in the
head and loins, and a trembling of the hands 5 the
countenance is pale, the Ikin commonly very dry and
corrugated, the eyes dull and heavy, the pulfe quick
and fmall, the breath generally difficult, and interrupt¬
ed with hiccough.
As the paroxyfm increafes, the chillinefs now and
then gives way to irregular heats, which foon become
violent and permanent 5 the naufea likewife increafes:
and in forae there comes on a vomiting, in which they
throw up a great deal of bile. Sometimes bile is
likewife voided by ftool. The fldn grows red j the
eyes appear fmall, and fometimes not a little inflamed.
The pulfe becomes fuller, and the breath more difficult,
attended with great reftleffnefs and a troublefome thirft j
not with ftanding which (fo great is the naufea) the pa¬
tient cannot endure any kind of liquids. The tongue
becomes foul, and the pain of the head and loins more
violent •> a delirium then follows; a flight moifture ap¬
pears on the face, and from thence fpreads to the other
parts j whilft the violence of the other fymptoms abates,
and (hows the beginning of a remiffion, which is com¬
pleted by plentiful fweats.
On the fever’s remitting, the pulfe returns almoft to
its natural ftate ; the pains of the head and loins ftill
continue, though fomewhat lefs violent, as likewife
the naufea and want of appetite. When the difeafe
gains ftrength, the remiffion is fcarcely obvious, and
is immediately followed by another paroxyfm ; which
begins, not indeed with fo great a fhivering, but is at¬
tended with a greater pain of the head, the greateft
anxiety, a heartburn, naufea, vomiting, and bilious
ftools. 7 he matter moft commonly evacuated by vo¬
mit and ftool is whitifh like chalk and water, or curd¬
led milk which is vomited by fucking children, when
the curd is much broke down. A heat, immoderate
thirft, and delirium, now come on. The tongue be¬
comes more foul j the teeth and infide of the lips are
covered with a black cruft ; the breath grows hot and
fetid : another remiffion enfues, attended with a fweat;
but this remiffion is both fliorter and lefs obvious than
the firft.
This fecond remiffion is fucceeded by a paroxyfm,
in which the fymptoms are far more violent than in
the former; that which the patient difeharges by vo¬
miting and purging is more fetid ; the mouth, teeth
and infide of the lips, are not only covered with a
black cruft,-but the tongue becomes fo dry and fliff,
that the patient’s voice can fcarce be heard. Vio¬
lent delirium, with reftleffnefs and anxiety, come on
chiefly during the paroxyfm ; nor do thefe fymptoms
abate till the fever remits, and the patient fweats.
When the fever becomes fo violent, during the third
fit, as to end in death, which is often the cafe, fome
of the fick have a coma ; in others the delirium becomes
more violent. The difeharges now become more fetid,
and have a cadaverous fmell ; the ftools are involuntary;
the pulfe is fo quick, fmall, and irregular, that it is
fcarce to be counted, or even felt ; a cold fweat is dif-
fufed over the whole body, efpecially the head and
neck : the face becomes Hippocratic and convulfed ;
the patient picks the bed-clothes ; a fubfultus tendinum
comes on; the fick He confiantly on their backs, and
infenfibly
Practice.
M £ D I
Febres. infenfibly tlide down to the foot of the bed ; their ex-
—-v"——' tremities grow cold j they are then feized with convul-
fions, with which the fcene clofes.
In this fever, the urine, which at the beginning is
pale, becomes of a deeper colour by degrees, but
without depofiting any fediment. There leldom or
never appear any petechiae, and the prickly heat which
was before on the {kin vanifhes on the ftrft appearance
of the fever. But though thefe were the general
fymptoms of this diforder, they varied in the different
fubiefts, and at different feafons of the fame year. The
pulfe, for example, in fome, was quick in the beginning
of the diforder •, in others, it varied with the other
fymptoms. The fkin was generally dry in the be¬
ginning of the fit; but in fome it was moift, and cover¬
ed with fweat from the very beginning of the di eafe.
In the month of September, when the diforder raged
moft, the remiffions were very imperfedt and obfcure ;*
but, on the return of wdnter and the healthy feafon,
they became more regular, and the difeafe aflumed the
appearance of an intermitting fever, to fuch a degree
as at length not to be diltinguifhed from it. In fome
the remiffions could fcarce be perceived, and the fever
continued for two weeks without any material change
for the better or the worfe. At this time numbers
were feized with it. When the diforder continued for
any time without a change, it generally ended in death;
while the weather grew better, it fometimes, in the
fpace of a few days, from a common fever became an
intermitting one, and the patient recovered, unlefs his
liver, which was fometimes the cafe, happened to be
affefted. The cure of an inflammation of the liver
proved uncertain and tedious •, as it was commonly fol¬
lowed by a colliquative diarrhoea, w'hich generally en¬
dangered the patient’s life.—Every fucceeding paroxyfm
was obferved to be more dangerous than the preceding j
the third generally proved fatal ; fome died during
the firfl. When this happened, the fever, in the lan¬
guage of the country, wras called a puca, that is a ftrong
fever.
This difeafe, according to Dr Lind of Haflar hof-
pital, is the autumnal fever of all hot countries, the
epidemic difeafe between the tropics, and the difeafe
moft fatal to Europeans in all hot and unhealthy cli¬
mates. All authors agree that intermittents in gene¬
ral, but particularly this dangerous kind of them, are
produced by beat and moiflure, but particularly the
evaporation of moifture from marfhes. Dr Lind of
Windfor remarks, that the European feamen are very
fuhjc6! to the fever above mentioned when they happen
to arrive at Bengal in autumn. They are predifpofed
to it from the nature of their food, their confinement on
board, the very great heats to wdiich they are expofed
durng the voyage, and their lying for hours together
expofed to the night colds.
Moft of the meat ufed by the crews of thofe fhips
is falted, and often in a putrid ftate, without any frefti
vegetables, they having only bifcuits, and feme other
farinaceous matters. The quantity of the vinous or
fpirituous Honors allowed them is, in his opinion, by far
too fmall to fubdue the putrefcen,t difpofition of their
animal-food. Their fluids coniequently become, from
day to day, more and more putrefeent, and of courfe
more apt to breed and contrad! this diforder. This
difpofition is likewife induced by their being flowed
CINE. 231
very clofe together, and that for a confiderable length Tertiana.
of time, and in a foul air, efpecially rvhen the weather * '
happens to be too ftormy to permit the hatches and port¬
holes to be kept open.
Though the heats they endure in the voyage to In¬
dia are lefs confiderable than thofe of the country it-
felf, yet they are too much for an European conftitution
to bear. The general heat at fea within the tropics is
about 84° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer, which is fuf-
ficient to relax them, and promote a corruption of their
humours, efpecially when it coincides with the above
caufes. It likewife creates a languor and indolence,
which alone are iuflicient to increafe that putrefcence.
Thefe caufes are apt, to be confiderably aggravated by
the men’s being often expofed, when on duty, for hours
together, to rain, damp, and cold air 5 a circumitance
w'hich frequently happens to them when working their
fhips up the river Ganges in the night-time. Hence
the perlpiration is checked, and the excrementitious
fluid which ufed to be difeharged by the fkin being re¬
tained in the body, contributes, he thinks, very muck
towards the predifpofition to this difeafe.
But the moft powerful of all the remote caufes is
juftly thought to be the effluvia of marfties replete with
putrid animal-fubftances. We have not, howxver,
been able to determine from what kind of putrid ani-
mal-fubftances thefe effluvia derive their virus. For
that every kind of putrefaefion has not fuch an effe£I
appears from this, that neither practical anatomifts, nor
thofe who by their trades are expofed to the putrid ef¬
fluvia of animals, for inftance fuch tanners and butch¬
ers as keep their {hops and flails very dirty, are more
fubjeff than others to putrid difeafes. Nor are the
fliip-ftewards and their fervants, wbofe bufinefs it is
to deliver out the provifions to the ihips crews, and
who fpend the moft of their time amongft the putrid
and rancid effluvia of the places in which thofe pro¬
vifions are kept, more fubjetl to putrid fevers than
their fhip-mates. But whatever be in this, we are W’ell
aflured that fome particular putrid fermentations pro¬
duce noxious vapours, which, united with thofe of
marfhes, render them more pernicious. Hence evi-.
dently proceeds the extreme unheahhfulnefs of a place
called Cu/pi, on the eaftern bank of the Ganges. The
fhores about it are full of mud, and the banks co¬
vered with trees. Oppofite to the place where the fhips
lie there is a creek, and about a mile from its entrance
ftands the towm of Culpi: the fliips lie about a mile
from the fliore. None of the failers on board the
fhips flationed at this place enjoyed their health. The
burying ground alfo contributed not a little to fpread
the infedfion. The ground being marlhy, the putrid
W'ater flowed from the old graves into the new ones*
wfflich infedfed the grave-diggers and thofe that at¬
tended the funerals *, and from this caufe many wrere
fuddenly feized while they w'ere performing the laft
duty to their companions. This place has ever been
remarkable for the unhealthfulnefs of its air. It was
once cuftomary to fend fome of the Company’s fer¬
vants here to receive the cargoes of the fliips, and fend
them to Calcutta ; but fo many of them died on this
duty, that the Company was at length obliged to difc
penfe with it.
Hence it plainly appears, hotv apt putrid animal
and vegetable fubftances are to render the effluvia of
I i 2 fenny
252 r M E t) I
, i thJes' . ieimy places more pernicious than they would other-
wife be. The reafon why great inundations of the
Niie and Ganges are followed by a healthy lea ion is,
that by this means the putrid animal and vegetable
fuLlances difperfed over the contiguous countries are
carried oft into tne fea.— 1 he noxious, vapours ariling
from fens fpread but a little way. Dr Lind has often
known (hips crews at a very little diftance from the
fhore quite free from this diforder. But although
thefe mar ill miafmata frit bring on the difeafe, yet
contagion particularly fpreads it, and renders it more
epidemic. ’{ hus the Drake Eaft Indiaman continued
tree from the diforder for two weeks together, when
ihe had no communication with ijie other ihips ; but
as foon as the diforder was brought on board, many
were fei/.ed with it within a few days in Inch a manner
as to leave no room to entertain the leaf doubt concern¬
ing its contagious nature.
Dr Lmd of Haflar hofpital has given a very curious
and learned account of the appearance of this fever
throughout the various parts of the globe. It was ve¬
ry common in England in the years 1765 and 1766,
one obvious caufe of which was the prevalence of the
eaftern wind. This wind in England is often faid to
bring with it a fog from the fea ; but the truth of the
matter is, that in many places of this ifland the eaft-
wind frequently raifes a copious vapour from water,
mud, and all marfliy or damp places. To this exhal¬
ing quality of the eafern wind Dr Lind has often
been an eye-witnefs. When the wind changes to the
call, the mud fometimes fends up a vapour as thick as
broke ; and the doclor has obferved two fifb-ponds in
bis neighbourhood, one of frefli and .the other of fait
water, which on the approach of an eafteily wind
fometimes alfo emit a denfe vapour, as from a pot of
boiling water. In order to view this phenomenon di-
fhnftly, the perlbn Ihould hand at about IOO yards
diftance from the mud or ponds. If the fun fhines
when the wind changes to the eaft, he will obferve a
conftant fleam of vapours arifing out of the ponds,
from about five to ten yards, in height, while the air
about him remains ferene. As the v'apour or fog ari-
ftng from other bocies glides along the furface of the
earth, and is brought by the eafterly wind to the
ponds, be will Hill be able, tor fome time, todiftinguifti
the vapours afcending perpendicularly out of the ponds
irom tbofe vrbich are carried in an horizontal dire&ion
by the wind ; efpecially if the fun continues to fhine,
though faintly.
This evaporating quality of the eaft-wind feems to
manifeft itfelf aifo by its effefts both on the thermo¬
meter and the human body j for a thermometer huno-
over a damp piece of ground during the fogs or exha¬
lations arifing from it, will often indicate a degree of
cold below the freezing point. The chillinefs of the
body, fo fenfibly perceived when in this fttuation, feems
to proceed from the fame caufe, and to produce nearly
the fame fenfations, which the damp ariling from the
wet floor of a chamber communicates to thofe who hap¬
pen to be in it.
Winds are not conftant in their effefhs. As we have
fometimes warm weather with a north-wind, and fome¬
times very little heat with one blowing from the fouth 5
io the fogs attending an eaft-wind are not conftant,
neither is the evaporation above mentioned at all times
C t N E. Prance,
to be perceived. It is poftible, however, that in all this Teitiana*
there may be a deception} and that inftead of fuppo-' v”-
fing the quantity of vapours exhaled to be increafed by
nn eafterly wind, the coldnefs of that wind may only
condenfe and render vifible the vapours in the air at
that time. But even this fuppofition is liable to great
objections, as our coldeft; north-winds feldom or never
produce fuch an eftedt, but on the contrary are attend¬
ed with dry and ferene weather.
Be this as it will, however, an eaft-wind Is ufually
accompanied with a cold, damp, and unwholefome va¬
pour, which is obferved to affect the health both of
animals and vegetables, and in many places to produce
obftinate intermitting fevers, and alio to occafion fre¬
quent relapfes. In particular fpots of the low damp
ifland of Portfea, the ague frequently prevails during
the autumnal feaion, and in fome years is much more
frequent and violent than in others. It is alfo obfer-
vable, that this difeafe always attacks ftrangers, or thofe
who have formerly lived on a drier foil, and in a more
elevated fituation, with greater feverity than thofe who
are natives of the ifland.
The year 1765 was remarkable, not only for the
long continuance of the eafterly winds, but for an ex-
ceffive degree of heat, which produced a more violent
and general appearance of thofe difeafes than had been
known for^ many years before. In the month of Au-
guft the quickfilver in Fahrenheit’s thermometer often
rofe to 8 2° in the middle of the day. This confiderable
addition of heat, together with the want of refrefliing
rains, greatly fpread the fever, increafed its violence,
and even changed its form in many places. At Portf-
moath, and throughout almofl: the whole ifland of
Portfea, an alarming continual or remitting fever ra¬
ged, which extended itfelf as far as Chichefter. At the
fame time, the town of Gofport, though diftant only
one mile from Portftnouth, enjoyed an almoft total ex¬
emption from ficknefs of every kind} whereas in the
neighbouring villages and farm-homes, a mild regular
tertian ague affeded whole families. The violence of
the fever, with its appearances in a continued, remit¬
ting, or intermitting form, marked in fome mealure
the nature of the foil. In Porcfmouth the fymptoms
were bad, worfe at Kingfton, and ftill more dangerous
and violent at a place called Hatf-way Houfes ; a ftreet
fo named, about half a mile from Portfmouth, where
fcarcely one in a family efcaped this fever, which ge¬
nerally made its firft attack with a delirium. In the
large fuburb of Portfmouth called the Common, it Teem¬
ed to rage with more violence than in the town, fome
parts excepted} but even whole ftreets of this fuburb,
together with the houfes in the dock-yard, efcap'ed its
attack.
The marines, who were three times a-week exercifed
early in the morning on South-fea beach, iuftered much
mom the eife(5il of the ftagnant water m an adjoining
rnorafs. Haifa dozen of them were frequently taken
ill in their ranks when under arms } fome being feiz-
ed with fuch a giddinefs of their head, that they could
fcarcely ftand } while others fell down fpeechlefs, and
upon recovering their fenfes complained of a violent
headach. . When fuch patients were received into the
hofpital, it was obferved that fome few had a regular
ague, but that far the greater number laboured under
a remitting fever, in which fometipaes indeed there
was.
practice. M EDI
Ftbres. was no perceptible leminion for feveral days. A con-
u—v-—' itant pain and giddinefs of the head were the moft in-
feparable and difirefling fyraptoms of this difeafe. Some
■were delirious, and a few vomited up a quantity of
bile ; but in all the countenance was yellow. A long
continuance of the fever produced a dropfy or jaundice,
6r both. Even a flight attack reduced the moft robuft
conilitution to a fiate of extreme debility j and this weak-
nefs, together with the giddinefs, continued for a long
time after the fever. A fcabby eruption now’ and then
made its appearance on the lips and the corners of the
mouth : but dry itchy fpots over the whole body, re-
fembling much the common itch, and feeming to par¬
take of the nature of that difeafe, were more frequently
obferved in the patients at Portfmouth, where there was
not the leaf! reafon to fufpefl: any infeflion.
Such is^the appearance cf the remitting fever occa-
fioned by maifh miafmata in England. In the Nether¬
lands its f\mptcms are not much different. Dr Lind
informs us, that at Middleburg, the capital of Weft
Zealand, a ficknefs generally reigns towards the latter
end of Auguft, cr the beginning of September, which
is always moft violent after hot fummers. It com¬
mences after the rains which fall in the end of July,
the fooner it begins the longer it continues, and it is
only checked by the coldnefs of the weather. Towards
the end of Auguft and beginning of September it is a
continual burning fever, attended with a vomiting of
bile, which is called theThis feve~, after
continuing three cr four days, intermits, and affumes
the form of a double tertian \ leaving the patient in a
fortnight, 'or perhaps fooner. Strangers that have
been accuftomed to breathe a dry pure air do not re¬
cover fo quickly. Foreigners in indigent circumftances,
fuch as the Scots and German foldiers, who are gar-
rifoned in the adjacent places, are apt after thofe fevers
to have a fwelling in their legs and a dropfy j of which
many die.
Thefe difeafes, the do£for obferves, are the fame with
the double tertians common within the tropics. Such
as are feized with the gall licknefs have at firft fame
fiufties of heat ever the body, a lofs of.appetite, a white
foul tongue, a yellow tinbb in the eyes, and a pale
colour in the lips. Such as live well, drink wine, and
have warm clothes and good lodgings, do not fuffer lb
much during the fickly fealon as the poor people; how¬
ever, thefe difeafes are not infebliaus, and feldom prove
mortal to the natives.
Sir John Pringle obferves, that the prevailing epi¬
demic of autumn in all matlhy countries, is a fevei of
an intermitting nature, commonly of a tertian form,
but of a bad kind; which, in the dampeft places and
word feafons, appears as a double tertian, a remitting,
or even an ardent fever. Tut however tbefe levers may
vary in their appearance according to the conftituticn
of the patient and other circumftances, tiny are all of
a fimilar nature. For though, in the beginning of the
epidemic, when the heat or rather the putrefadftion in
th e air is the greateft, they affume a contrrued or a re¬
taining form, yet by the end of autumn they ufualiy
terminate in regular intermittents.
In Zealand, where the air is more corrupted than in
other parts of the Netherlands, this dittemper is called
the ga/l-Jicknefs ; and indeed both the redundance arid
depravation of the.bile is lometimes lo great, that it has
C I N E.
been generally aferibed to the corruption and overflow¬
ing of that humour. But though it cannot with juftice
be faid to originate from corrupted bile, it is certain that
the difeafe may be continued, and the fymptoms ag¬
gravated, by an increafed fecretion and putrefaflion of
the bile occanoned by the fever. In proportion to the
coolnefs of the feafon, to the height and drynefs of the
ground, this diftemper is milder, remits or intermits
more freely, and removes further from the nature of a
continued fever. The higher ranks of people in ge¬
neral are leaft liable to the difeafes of the marfhes ; for
fuch countries require dry houfes, apartments raifed
above the ground, moderate exercife, without labour
in the fun or evening damps, a juft quantity of fer¬
mented liquors, plenty of vegetables, and frefti meats.
Without fuch helps, not only ftrangers, but the natives
themfelves, are fickly, efpecially after hot and clofe fum¬
mers. The hardieft conftitutions are very little except¬
ed more than others ; and hence the Britilh in the
Netherlands have always been liable to fevers.
By this diftemper the Britiih troops were harafled
throughout the whole of the war from 1743 to 1747.
It appeared in the month of Auguft 1743 j the pa-
roxyfms came on in the evening, with great heat, thirfh,
a violent headacb, and often a delirium. Thefe fymp¬
toms lafted moft of the night, but abated in the morn¬
ing, with an imperfect fweat, fometimes with an hoe-
morhagy from the nofe or a loofenefs. The ftomach
from the beginning wyas difordered with a naufea and'
fenfe of oppreftion, frequently with a bilious and of-
fenfive 'Vomuinu. If evacualicns were either negledb-
ed, or :oo fparingly ufed, the patient fell into a conti¬
nued fever, and lometimes grew yellow as in a jaundice.
When the feafon was further advanced, this fever was
attended with a cough, rheumatic pains, and fizy blood.
The officers being better accommodated than the com¬
mon men, and the cavalry who had cloaks to keep them
warm, were not fo fubjeff to it: and others who be¬
longed to the army, but lay in quarters, were leaft of
all affeffed ; and the lefs in proportion to their being
little expofed to heats, night-damps, and the other fa¬
tigues of the fervice.
In this manner did the remitting fever infeft the'
army for the remaining years of the war ; and that ex¬
actly in proportion to their diftance from the marfhy
places, t f which we have fcveral notable inftances in
Pringle’s obfervations. In Hungary the fame difeafe
appears with ftill more violence, and is readily compli¬
cated with fevers of a truly peftilential nature, by
which means it becomes extremely dangerous. Hun¬
gary is acknowledged to be the moft lickly climate in
Europe, and indeed as bad as any in the world. Here
it was where the crufaders in only marching through
the country to invade Ana, often loft half their num¬
ber by licknefs; and v.here the Auftrians not long
fince buried, in a few years, above 40,000 of their beft
troops, who fell a facrifice to the malignant difpofttion
of the Hungarian air. The reafon of this uncommon
malignity is, that Hungary abounds with rivers, which,
by often overflowing, leave that low flat country over-
fpread with lakes and ponds of ftagnating water, and
with large unwholefome marffies. So great is the im¬
purity of thefe itagnated waters, that by them the ri¬
vers, even the Danube, whole courie is flow, become
in feme places corrupted and ofienfive, The air is
\ * rooiftv.
M E D I
fnoift, and in fummer quite fultry. In the nights of
harveft, Kramer tells us, it was lb very damp, that the
Aufxrian lotdiers could not fecure themfelves from the
moifture even by a triple tent-covering. Here epide¬
mical diitempers begin conftantly to rage during the
hotteft months of the year j which are July, Augud,
and September: and thefe complaints, according to
the obfervations of the phylician above mentioned, are
the fame with thofe which are epidemic upon the coad
of Guinea, and in the fickly climates of the Ead and
Wed Indies, of which malignant fevers of the remit¬
ting and intermitting kind are the mod common and
dangerous.
The heat of the fun in Hungary is more intenfe than
m any other country of Europe •, and in proportion to
•the heat is the pedilential quality of the marfhy exhala¬
tions. It is condantly obferved, that the nearer any
city or fort is to a morafs or a large river with foul and
oozy banks, the more unhealthy are the inhabitants.
At fuch feafons and places, the air fwarms with num-
berlefs infers and animalcules, a fure fign of its malig¬
nant difpolition 5 and the hotter the fummer, the more
frequent and mortal are the difeafes. In Ihort, this
country, on account of its unhealthinefs, has been
termed the grave of the Germans; and in ftaly, the
Campania of Rome is almod equally unhealthy. Lan-
cilius, phyfician to Pope Clement XI. furnilhes us with
a very driking indance of the malignant quality of the
air of Campania. Thirty gentlemen and ladies of the
tird rank in Rome having made an excurfion, upon a
party of pleafure, towards the mouth of the Tyber, the
wind fuddenly drifting, blew from the fouth over the
putrid mardres, when 29 were immediately feized with
a tertian fever, only one efcap’mg.
The idand of Sardinia is annually vifited with an
epidemical ficknefs, which rages from June to Sep¬
tember, and is called by the natives the intemperies.
In fome years there is a want of rain for four or five
months; and then it is that this ficknefs exerts its
Utmod violence, being always more fatal in fome
places than in others, and in particular to drangers.
Of this the Britidi had a fevefe proof in 1758. Ad¬
miral Broderick, in the Prince fhip of war, anchored
in the bay df Oridagni, where 27 of his men, fent
adiore on duty, were feized with the epidemical didem-
per of this idand ; twelve of them in particular, who
had dept on diore, were brought on board delirious.
All of them in general laboured under a low fever
attended with great oppredion • at the bread and at
the pit of the domach, a condant retching, and fome-
times a vomiting of bile ; upon which a delirium often
enfued. . Thefe fevers changed into double tertians
and terminated in obdinate quartan agues. It is wor¬
thy of remark, that in this drip, which lay only two
miles from the land, none were taken ill but fuch as
had been on diore, of whom feven died. The prior
of a convent, making a vifit to the Englidi officers
informed them, that the intemperies of the idand was
a remitting or intermitting fever, and that he himfelf
had differed feveral attacks of it. Sardinia was for¬
merly fo remarkable for its unwholefome air, that the
Romans ufed to banidi their criminals thither ; and it
is at prefent but thinly peopled, owing to the morta¬
lity occafioned by this annual ficknefs. For although
is about 14.Q miles long, and in feveral places 7j
C IN E, Pra&ice.
miles broad, yet it is computed that the whole number Tertiana.
of its inhabitants does not exceed 250,000 : an incond-''""“v—”-'
derable number, when compared with the inhabitants
of the leffer, but comparatively more healthful, idand
of Corfica ; though even there the French lolt a num¬
ber of their troops by intermitting and remitting fe¬
vers. In the idand of Minorca, too, Dr Cleghorn in¬
forms us, that fevers of this kind prevail exceedingly ;
that their tvpes are various, their fympeoms violent,
the intermiflions fallacious, and that they frequently
and fuddenly prove fatal. It is more than probable,
he adds, from the accounts of feveral phydeians and
travellers, that epidemical tertians are not wholly con-
dned to the coafts and idands of the Mediterranean,
but that they are equally frequent and deftrudtive in
many other parts of the globe ; and perhaps may be
deemed the anniverfary autumnal diftempers of moft
hot countries in the world. And though in the mild
climate of Britain, a tertian may eafily be cured when
R is difeovered ; yet in warm climates, fuch is the ra¬
pid progrefs of the dideroper, that it is neceffary to
know it in the very beginning, which is very difficult
for thofe who have never feen any but the tertians ufual-
ly met with in Britain.
From Dr Cleghorn’s account of Minorca, however,
it doth not appear why that ifland ffiould be fo much
infefted with fevers of this kind, dnee it is far from be¬
ing a marfhy country ; nay, on the contrary, is very
dry.. The fouth wind, he obferves, is very unhealthy;
and it is the prevalence of this wind which brings on
the fever : but dill the difficulty is not removed, be-
caufe the fea air is fo far from bringing on fuch dan¬
gerous diieafes, that it is one of the gresteft preferva-
tives againft them. As to the moifftrre which muff ne-
ceffarily accompany an infular duration, that cannot
reafonably be admitted as a caufe of this or any other
difeafe. In the London Medical Oblervations we find
a paper on a fubjeft very dmilar to the prefent, namely,
the mifehrefs produced by lying in damp dieets, or be¬
ing expofed to moiff vapour. The author tells us, that
he hardly knows a diffemper the origin of which has
not by fome been alcribed to lying in a damp bed, or
fitting in a wet room ;.and yet he does not know' any
one which will certainly be produced by thefe caufes,
and people frequently expofe themfelves to fuch caufes
without differing any ill effects. “ It muff be owmed
indeed, (fays he), that the vapours aridng from the
bilge-water of drips tend to produce a feurvy. The
fw'ampy plains alfo near the mouths of great rivers
which are often overflowed, and low' grounds which
cannot readily be drained, and thofe trails of land
where the thicknefs and extent of the woods keep the
ground moiff: and half putrid for want of ventilation
are deffru61ive to the neighbouring inhabitants, by oc-
cafioning obffinate intermittents in the colder climates
and peftilential fevers in the hotter regions. But all
this mifehief arifes not merely from moiffure, but from
an un ventilated and pul rid moifture ; for the inoffen-
dvenefs of mere w’etnefs, untainted with putridity, may
be reafonably inferred from the following conddera-
tions. The air is often fully faturated with moiffure ;
and yet neither is any epidemical diffemper produced’
by it, nor are thofe remarkably aggravated with wffiich
the dek happen at that time to be affli&ed. The air
from rivers and from the fea is probably more replenifh-
ed
Practice. MED!
Febres. ed with vapours than inland countries cleared of their
1   woods : yet the moft celebrated of the ancient phyfi-
cians recommended the bank of a running river for the
lituation of a houfe, on account of its peculiar health-
fulnefs j and many invalids are fent by the modern phyfi-
cians to the fea fide, only for the benefit of the fea air.
“ Where the failors are cleanly, and not too much
crowded, they are often as healthy during long voy¬
ages at fea, as they would have been upon any part
of the land. Venice is not obferved to be lefs healthy
than London or Paris.
“ Thofe who are much difpofed to fweat, lie many
hours in bedclothes impregnated probably with a lefs
wholefome moiilure than would have been left in the
ilieets half-dried after wafhing 5 and there is no reafon
to think that any remarkable injury was done to the
health by the continuance of fuch fweats almoft every
night for weeks, and for months, except what arofe
from the too great copioufnefs of this evacuation.
“ Children, and fuch as are troubled with the ftone,
and thofe who, from other infirmities or age, conftantly
wet their beds with their urine, do not appear to fuffer
in their health on this account.
“ It is a common pra&ice, in fome diforders, to -go
to bed with the legs or arms wrapped in linen cloths
thoroughly foaked in Malvern water, fo that the flieets
will be in many places as wet as they can be ; and I
have known thefe patients and their bedfellows receive
no harm from a continuance of this praftice for many
months. Nor can it be faid that the Malvern water is
more innocent than any other water might be, on ac¬
count of any ingredients with which it is impregnated ;
for the Malvern water is purer than that of any other
fpring in England which I ever examined.
“ The greateft valetudinarians do not fcruple to
fprinkle lavender-water upon their Iheets; and yet,
when the fpirit is flown off, there is left what is as
truly water as if it had been taken from the river.
“ Is it obferved, that laundreffes are peculiarly un¬
healthy above other women, though they live half
their time in the midft of wet linen, in an air fully fa‘-
turated with vapours ? Many other employments might
be mentioned, the perfons occupied in which are
conftantly expofed to wet floors or pavements, or to
be furrounded with watery vapours, or to have their
clothes often wet for many hours together.
“ Is it the coldnefs of wet linen which is to be feared ?
' Eut fhirts and flieets, colder than any unfrozen water
cam be, are fafely worn and lain in by many perfons,
who, during a hard froft, neither warm their Ihirts
nor their fneets.—Or does the danger lie in the damp-
nefs ? But then how comes it to pafs, that a warm or
cold bath, and long-continued fomentations, can be
ufed, without the deftru&ion of thofe who ufe them >
Or is it from both together ? Yet we have long heard
of the thicknefs and continuance of the cold fogs in
the feas north-weft of England, but have never yet
been told of any certain ill effett which they have upon
thofe that live in thefe countries.”
With regard to the caufes of fevers, however, Dr
Lind is of opinion, that noxious vapours arifing from
the earth are for the moft part to be blamed. Even
in countries feemingly dry, and where violent rains are
not frequent, he thinks that the air may load itfelf
with putrid exhalations from the ground j and that,
C l N E. 255
except in the burning deferts of Arabia or Africa, Tertiana.
people ai'e nowhere exempt from dileales occafioned
by putrid moifture. In moft of the hot countries, the
pernicious effeifts of the putrid vapours are by no means
equivocal. In Guinea, they feem to be more extraor¬
dinary than anywhere elfe in the world j neither indeed
can it be fuppofed, that a hot and moift atmofphere can
be without putrefcency. It may in general be remark¬
ed, that in fultry climates, or during hot weather, in
all places fubjefl to great rains, where the country is
not cleared and cultivated, but is overrun with thick-
et-q fhrubs, or woods, efpecially if there are marfties or
ftagnating waters in the neighbourhood, ficknefs may
be dreaded, and particularly the remitting fever of
which we now treat. The fens, even in different coun¬
ties of England, are known to be very prejudicial to
the health of thofe who live near them, and liill more
fo to ftrangers •, but the woody and marihy lands in
hot countries are much more pernicious to the health
of Europeans. In all thofe unhealthy places, particu¬
larly during fogs or rains, a raw vapour, difagreeable
to the fmell, arifes from the earth, and efpecially in the
huts or houfes. But of all the vapours which infeff: the
torrid zone, the moft malignant and fatal are the fiar-
mattans : They are faid to arife from the conflux of fe-
veral rivers in the king of DormecPs dominions at Be¬
nin (^the molt unwholefome part of Guinea), where tra¬
vellers are obliged to be carried on men’s backs tor fe-
veral days journey, through fwampy grounds, and over
marlhes, amidft tlinking ooze, and thickets ot man¬
grove trees which are annually overflown. Thefe va¬
pours come up the coaft to a furprifing diftance, with
the fouth-eaft and north-eaft winds : and it lias been
obferved, that in their progrefs they have often chan¬
ged both the courfe of the winds and of the fea-cur-
rents. The times of their appearance at Cape Coaft
are the months of December, January, or February.
The north-eaft and fouth-eaft winds are always un¬
healthy, but particularly fo during the harmattan fea-
fon. In fome years this vapour is fcarcely perceptible $
but in others it is thick, noxious, and deftrudtive to
the blacks as well as whites.—The mortality is in pro¬
portion to the denfity and duration of the fog. It has
a raw putrid fmell j and is fometimes fo thick, that a
perfon or houfe cannot be difeerned through it at the
diftance of 15 or 20 yards : and it continues fo for 10
or 14 days ; during which it opens the feams of fhips,
fplits or opens the crevices of wood as if fhrunk or dried
with a great fire, and deftroys both man and beaft.—
In the year 1754 or 1755, the mortality occafioned in
Guinea by this ftinking fog was fo great, that imfeve-
ral negro towns the living were fcarce futficient to bury
the dead.—Twenty women brought from Holland by a
new governor to the Caftle del Mina, perilhed, toge¬
ther with moft of the men in the garrifon. The gates
of Cape Coaft caftle were Unit up for want of centinels
to do duty ; the blacks dying at this time as well as
the white people. It is lucky that it is only in fome
years that harmattans are fo very thick and noxious,
otherwife that part of the country would be depopu¬
lated. It is obferved that all fogs are extremely un-<
healthy in thofe parts, particulafly before and after the
rainy feafons $ but the above account of the harmat¬
tans appeared fo very extraordinary and incredible to
fomc of Dr Lind’s readers, that he thought proper to
publifti
M E D I
pub];ill a furtber corrobcration of the fa6b above men-
tioned. “ A gentleman (fays he), who had long re-
hded at Cape Coafl: calfle, informed me, that during
tne time of this fog, being in the upper chambers of
the fort, the boards of the floor flirunk fo much, that
he could difcern the candles burning in the apartments
below him (there are no plafter ceilings ufed in thofe
hot countries), and that he could then even diflinguifh
what people were doing in the apartments below; the
feams of the floor having opened above half an inch
while the fog laded, which afterwards, Upon its being
difpelled, became clofe and tight as before.”
In Africa the rains and dews feem to be pofTeffed of
qualities almofl equally pernicious with the fogs. This
much is certain, that in Guinea, many of the principal
negroes, and efpecially of the mulatto Portuguefe,
take the utmoft precaution to avoid being wet with
thofe rains, efpecially fuch as fall firft. At the fetting
in of the rainy feafon, they generally fhut themfelves
up in , a clofe well-thatched hut, where they keep a
conftant fire, fmoke tobacco, and drink brandy, as pre-
fervatives againft the noxious quality of the air at that
time. When wet by accident wdth the rain, they im¬
mediately plunge themfelves into falt- water, if near it.
I hofe natives generally bathe once a-day, but never in
the frefli water rivers wT.en they are overflowm with the
rains: at fuch times they prefer for that purpofe the
water of fprings. The firft rains which fall in Guinea
arc commonly fuppoled to be the moft unhealthy. They
have^been known, in 48 hours, to render the leather
of the (hoes quite mouldy and rotten ; they ftain clothes
more than any other rain ; and foon after their com¬
mencement, even places formerly dry and parched
fvvarm with frogs.. At this time fkins, part of the traf¬
fic of Senegal, quickly generate large worms ; and it is
remarked, that the fowls, which greedily prey on other
infe6ts, refufe to feed on thefe. It has been farther ob-
ferved, that woollen cloths wet In thofe rains, and af¬
terwards hung up to dry in the iun, have fometimes be¬
come full of maggots in a few' hours.—It is alfo proba¬
ble, tnat as in iome of thofe countries the earth, for
fix or eight months of the year, receives no moifture
from the heavens but what falls in dews, which every
night renew the vegetation, the furface of the ground
m many places becomes hard and incruftated with a
dry fcurf, which pens up the vapours below 5 until by
the continuance of the rains for fome time, this cruft is
io.tened, and the long pent up vapours fet free. That
thefe dews do not penetrate deep into the earth is evi¬
dent from the conftant drynefs and hardnefs of fuch
ipots of ground in thofe countries as are not covered
with grafs and other vegetables. Thus the large rivers
in the dry feafon being confined within narrow bounds
leave a great part of their channel uncovered which
having its moifture totally exhaled, becomes’a folid
hard cruft ; but no fooner the rains fall, than by de
frees this long parched up cruft of earth and clay gra-
dually foftens and the ground, which before had not
the leaft fmell, begins to emit a flench, which in four
or five weeks becomes exceedingly noifome, at which
time toe fickne.s is generally moft violent.
This ficknefs, howler, is not different from the
remitting , fever which has been defcribed under fo
many.various forms and names. An inflammatory
lever is iddoa} obierved, during the feafon of ficknefs,
3
CINE. Fra&ice.
in this part of the world ; and we (hall conclude our Tertians,
defcription of the amphimcrina paludofa with fome ex- '
tradls from the furgeon’s journal in a (hip that failed up
the rivers of Guinea.
“ On the 5th of April wTe failed up the river of
Gambia, and found all the Englifli in the fort in
perfedl health. I he furgeons of the fadlory informed
me, that a relaxation of tne ftomach, and confequent-
ly a vyeakened digeftion, feemed to bring on molt of
the difeafes fo fatal to Europeans in the fickly feafon.
They were generally of a bilious nature, attended
vyith a low' fever, fometimes of a malignant, at other
times of a remitting kind—On the 12th of April,
after failing 30 miles up the river St Domingo, wc
came to Catchou, a town belonging to the Portuguefe,
in I.at. 20° Nk In this town were only four white
people, the governor, and three friars. The number
ot whites in the trading (hips was 51. One morning,
towards the latter end of April, a little rain fell. On
the 13th of May there was a fecond (bower, accompa¬
nied with a tornado. On the 18th of May it rained
the whole day 5 and the rain continued, with but ftiort
intervals, until the beginning of Offober.
“ In the month of June, almoft two-thirds of the
white people were taken ill. Their ficknefs could not
be well charafterifed by any denomination commonly
applied to fisvers : it however approached neareft to
W'hat is called a nervous fever, as the pulfe was always
low, and the brain and nerves feemed principally af-
feefted. It had alio a tendency to frequent remiflions.
It began fometimes with a vomiting, but oftener with
a delirium. Its attack was commonly in the nioht;
and the patients, being then delirious, were apt to*run
into the open air. I ohferved them frequently recover
their fenfes for a ftiort time, by means of the heavy
rain which fell upon their naked bodies. But the de¬
lirium focn returned : they afterwards became coma-
tole, their pulle funk, and a train of nervous fymptoms
followed ; their (kin often became yeliow j bilious vo¬
mitings and flools w'ere frequent fymptoms. The fever
reduced the patient’s ftrength fo much, that it was ge¬
nerally fix weeks or two months before he was able to
walk abroad. A confuming flux, a jaundice, a dropfy,
or obftruclicns in the bowels, were the confequences
ot.it. Of 51 w’hite men, being the companies of four
(hips which were at Catchou, one third died of the
fever, and one-third mere of the flux, and other difeafes
confequen.t upon it; and of thefe not one was taken ill
till the rains began.
“ I believe, on the whole face of the earth, there
is hardly to be found a more unhealthy country than
this during the rainy feafon : and the idea I then con¬
ceived of our vyhite people was by making a comparifon
of their breathing fuch a noxious air, wdth a number of
river-filh put into ftagnating w'ater ; where, as the water
corrupts, the fifli grow lefs lively, they droop, pine away
and many die. ?
“ Thus fome perfons became dull, ina6h"ve, or (light¬
ly delirious, at intervals ; and, without being fo much
as confined to their beds, they expired in that delirious
and comatofe (fate in lefs than 48 hours, after being
in apparent good health. The white people in general
became yellow; their ftomach- could not receive much
food without loathing and retchings. Indeed, it is no
wonder that this ficknefs proved fo fatal, that recove-
% ries
M E D I
ries from it were fo tedious, and that they were at¬
tended with fluxes, dropfies, the jaundice, ague-cakes,
and other dangerous chronical diflempers. It feems
more wonderful to me that any white people ever reco¬
ver, while they continue to breathe fo peftiferous an air
as that at Catchou during the rainy feafon. We were,
as I have already obferved, 30 miles from the fea,
in a country altogether uncultivated, overflowred with
water, furrounded with thick impenetrable woods, and
overrun wflth flime. The air was vitiated, noifome,
and thick 5 infomuch that the lighted torches or candles
burnt dim, and feemed ready to be extinguiflied : even
the human voice loft its natural tone. The fmell of the
ground and of the houfes was raw and oftenfive 5 but the
vapour ariflng from putrid water in the ditches was much
worfe. All this, however, feemed tolerable, when com¬
pared with the infinite numbers of infects fwarming
every where, both on the ground and in the air ;
which, as they feemed to be produced and cheriflied by
the putrefadtion of the atmofphere, fo they contributed
greatly to increafe its impurity. The wild bees from
the wmods, together with millions of ants, overran
and deftroyed the furniture of the houfes ; at the fame
time, fwarms of cockroaches often darkened the air,
and extinguifhed even candles in their flight $ but the
greateft plague w'as the mufquettoes and fand-flies,
whofe inceffant buzz and painful flings w’ere more
infupportable than any fymntom of the fever. Be-
fides all thefe, an incredible number of frogs on the
banks of the river made fuch a conftant and dif-
agreeable croaking, that nothing but being accuftom-
ed to fuch an hideous noife could permit the enjoy¬
ment of natural fleep. In the beginning of Odlober,
as the rains abated, the weather became very hot ;
the woods wTere covered with abundance of dead frogs,
an'd other vermin, left by the recefs of the river; all
the mangroves and flirubs were likewife overfpread with
ftinking llime.”
After fo particular a defeription of the remitting
fever in many different parts of the world, we prefume
it will be needlefs to take notice of any little varieties
which may occur in the warm parts of America, as
both the nature and cure of the diftemper are radically
the fame : neither fhall we lengthen out this article
with further deicriptions of remitting fevers from the
works ■ of foreign authors, as, from what we have al¬
ready faid, their nature cannot eafily be miftaken.
Cure. The great difficulty in the cure of remitting
fevers arifes from their not being fimple difeafes, but
a complication of feveral. Fevers, properly fpeaking,
have but three or four different appearances which
they can'affume without a complication. One is, when
they are attended with a phlogiftic diathefis : another
is, when they afl'ume the form of genuine intermit-
tents ; a third is, when they produce a great debility of
the^ nervous fyftem ; and the fourth is, when along
with this debility there is alio a rapid tendency to pu-
trehiclion. If, therefore, all thefe Ipecies happen to
make an attack at once, the moft dangerous fever we
can imagine will be proauced ; and however contrary
it may be to our theories to admit the poflibility of
uich an attacK, the truth of the fadl is too often con-
fumed by fatal experience. In the beginning of remit¬
tent fevers, for inftance, the fymptoms indicate a high
degree of inflammation : rbut if the praflitioner at1-’
Vol. XIII. Part^J. ^
CINE.
tempts to remove this inflammation by blood-letting Tert
or other evacuations, the pulfe finks irrecoverably, and “"‘_Y
the perfon dies with fuch fymptoms as Ihow that the
nervous fyftem has been from the beginning greatly
affedled; at the fame time the high ftimulants and
cordials, or cinchona, which would have conquered
the nervous part of the difeafe, increafe the inflamma¬
tory part of it to fuch a degree, that, by a too early
exhibition of them, the patient alfo dies, but after ano¬
ther manner.
In the remitting fever of the Eaft Indies, Dr Lind
of Windfor formed the following indications of cure.
I. To allay the violence of the fever. 2. To evacuate
the putrid humours, and take great care to prevent the
body from inclining to putrefaction. 3. To keep up
the flrength of the patient as much as poflible during
the diforder. 4. To lofe n© time in preventing the
return of the paroxyfms.
To allay the violence of the fever, every thing that
can contribute to increafe it ought to be carefully
avoided or removed ; fuch as great heat, too ftrong a
light falling on the eyes, noife, and motion. If du¬
ring the paroxyfm the head and loins be affeCled with
violent pains, the pulfe be full and hard, and the heat
intenfe, bleeding may be ufed, but with the greateft
caution : for, however ufeful this operation may be in
cold climates, the fuccefs of it in warm ones is fo far
from being certain, that the lives of the patients have
been often very much endangered, nay even deftroyed
by it. Dr Badenoch, and the furgeon of the Ponfborne,
endeavoured each of them to relieve two patients by
blood-letting ; and the confequence was, that each of
them loft one patient. Dr Lind bled two patients ;
one of whom was Mr Richardfon, the firft mate of
the fhip, who complained of a moft violent pain in his
head, with a full hard pulfe. About four or five ounces
of blood were taken from him, by which he was
greatly relieved : nor was the cure retarded by it ;
nay, the fever afterwards became lefs irregular. At
the time the other patient was bled, the difeafe was
exceedingly frequent and violent. He was fo earneft
for bleeding, that he fired all the reft with -the fame
defire, fwearing, that by refufing them this only re¬
medy, every one of them would be fent to their graves.
To quiet them, therefore, and get quit of their impor¬
tunities, the doftor complied with their requeft, and
took about five or fix ounces from him who had been
the firft to require it. The confequence was, that he
immediately loft his ftrength ; and in lefs than an hour,
during which time he made his will, was carried off by
the next fit. It is neceflary, however, to obferve, and
indeed the dosftor himfelf makes the obfervation, with
regard to this patient, that he was bled at an improper
time,, namely, between the fits ; whereas, had he been
bled in the hot fit, it is poffible he might have been
relieved.
In fupport of the advantages to be derived from
bleeding under proper circumftances, we have the
authority both of Cleghorn and Pringle. As Dr
Cleghorn pradifed in a very hot country, his ob-
fervations muft in the prefent cafe have greater weight
than thofe of Pringle, who pra&ifed in a colder
one. The former acquaints us, that if he was called
in early enough, unlefs there was a ftrorig contra-indi¬
cation, he always ufed to take away fome blood from
K k people
M E D I
people of all ages; namely, from robuft adults, 10
or 12 ounces; from others a fmaller quantity, in
proportion to their flrength and years. And further,
if a violent headach, obftinate delirium, and heat or
pains of the bowels, were urgent, the bleeding wras re¬
peated within a day or two. By this feafonable evacua¬
tion, he found the vehemence of all the paroxyfms
fomewhat diminiihed ; the apyrexia became more com¬
plete ; the operation of emetics and cathartics render¬
ed fafer and more fuccefsful ; and the terrible fvmp-
toms which happened about the height of the ditlem-
per, fuch as raving fopor, difficulty of breathing, in¬
flammations of the abdominal vifeera, &c. were either
prevented or mitigated. But if the fever had conti¬
nued for fome time before he wras called, and the mafs
of blood appeared to be too much melted down or in¬
clined to a putrid diffolution, he either abflained from
bleeding entirely, or took away a very fmall quantity,
though fome urgent fymptoms might feem to require
a larger evacuation. As to the time of perform¬
ing the operation, he acquaints us, that it is fafe
enough, except when the cold fit lafls or is foon ex¬
pected, or while the Ikin is covered with critical
fweats ; and that he ufually opened a vein in the be¬
ginning of the hot fit; by which means the lick were
relieved, the immoderate heat of the body, which is
often productive of fatal efFeCts, was diminiihed, and
the critical fweats brought on fooner and in greater
abundance.
But though Dr Lind found venefeCticn to be of fuch
pernicious tendency in his patients, cooling acidulated
liquois were of the utmoll fervice, as they correCted
the putrid humours, leffered the heat and thirft, and
of co'urfe prevented the fever from arriving at fo great
an tuight as it wrould otherwife have done. Thofe
cooling liquors are the belt which are made up with
fome farinaceous fubflance, as they moll eafily unite
w ith our fluids. Foible acids too, and ciyftals of
tartar, efpecially the latter, are of confiderable ufe,
not only in this, but in other fevers. The neutral falls,
prepared wfith the juice of lemons, were likewife given
w ith fuccefs during the heat of the fever. They lefien
the naulea, the fits become more regular, and the re-
millions more full ; and they are particularly grateful
when given in a (late of effervefcence. The good ef-
fcCls of thefe draughts we are in a great meafure to
aferibe to the antifeptic quality of the fixed air extri¬
cated from them during the effervtfcence.
During the remiffion, it is proper to evacuate the
putrid humours by fmall dofes of ipecacuanha, or ra¬
ther tartar emetic.. The tartar emetic indeed appears
to be endowed with fome kind of febrifuge virtue,
which Dr Cullen thinks is owing to its relaxing the
febrile fpafm taking place in the capillary veffels.
But fhould there appear any fymptoms of a topi¬
cal inflammation in fome of the abdominal vifeera,
a thing which never happens unlefs the diforder
has been of fome Handing, vomiting is to be avoided,
and we are to depend upon purgatives alone for the
evacuation of the putrid bile. Thefe are always ufe-
ful in the cure of this diforder. But all acrid and
firong purgatives are to be carefully avoided, and only
the mild antifeptic ones made ufe of, fuch as cryftals
of tartar, or tamarinds made up with manna or with
Glauber’s fait.
C I N E. Practice.
Though in thefe diftafes there is a great quantity of Tertiana-
putrefeent bile colleffed in the body, yet it feems -v"-
much more probable that this is the effi’B than the
caufe of the diforder ; and therefore, though we carry
off the quantity collected everfo often, more of the fame
kind will ffill be produced by the putrefeent difpofition
of the other fluids, at the fame time that the firength
of the patient muft neceffarily be diminiihed by re¬
peated evacuations, when it ought rather to be kept
up by all poflible means. We ought well to obferve,
however, that the mineral acids have not that property
of fweetening putrid bile which the vegetable ones
have ; and therefore the fame relief will not be given
by them which might reafonably be expedled from vi¬
negar or lemon juice.
In order to keep up the flrength of the patient,
good food is abfolutely neceffary. Dr Lind allowed
the fick fmall mefles of panada made with boiled rice
and bailey mixed with currants or raifins and prunes,
feafoned with fugar and a little wine, efpecially claret.
During the paroxyfms, they had gruel made of flour
and rice, with fugar and the juice of acid fruit ; and
when the fit went off, a little wine was added to this
mixture.
The (hirts and bedding nsuff be very often changed
and well aired ; their ftools, and all filth and naflinefs,
are to be immediately removed ; the places where
they are lodged ihould be well aired and frequently
fprinkled with vinegar ; and, in the laft place, the fick
mufi be exceedingly well nurfed. Blifters, according
to Dr Lind, fliculd never be ufed till the fever has been
of long continuance, or the fpirits and pulfe of the pa¬
tient have begun to flag. But here cur author has im¬
plicitly followed Dr Huxham, whofe theory concern¬
ing the ufe of blillers is now found to be erroneous.
According to that celebrated author, blifters are ca¬
pable of doing confiderable hurt in all cafes where
there is a tendency to inflammation, by increafing the
motion of the fluids and the ofcillatory poiver of the
veflels, both of which are already too great. They
are alfo improper, according to him, where there is a
confiderable tendency of the fluids to putrefadlion ;
becauie he fuppofes the falts of thefe flies to operate
in the fame manner with volatile alkalies, that is, by
duTolving and putrefying the blood Hill farther. But
Sir John Pringle has ihown, that, in inflammatory
fevers as well as thofe of the putrid kind, both bliffers
and volatile falts may be of fervice ; the latter, parti¬
cularly, he hath experimentally proved to be fo far from
promoting putrefadlion, that they are exceedingly flrong
antifeptics.
In the Haft Indies, Dr Lind found it abfolutely
neceffary to exhibit the Peruvian bark in large quanti¬
ties, and as early as poflible. By this method he not.
only fecured the patient from the imminent danger of
death to which he was expofed at every fit, but likevvife
conquered thofe obflruftions which were apt to enfue
in the abdominal vifeera, and which are to be attri¬
buted to the continuance of the difbrder, and not to
the bark employed to cure it. He always gave the cin¬
chona during the feccnd remiflion, as all his care was
during the firft to cleanfe the primse viae. He obferves,
however, that it is to no purpofe to give the bark till
the neceffary purgations are over ; but affures us, that
H.tte^er fails, unlefs from the coming on of a vomiting
Pra&ice. M E D I
Febres. or diarrfieea it cannot te taken in fufficient quantities
''-"'v-—" before the return of a paroxyfm. To prevent the me¬
dicine from vomiting or purging, he mixed a few drops
of liquid laudanum with every dofe of it. Half a
dram was given every half hour in fome convenient
vehicle, beginning as foon as the fever had confide-
rably abated, and the pulfe was returned nearly to its
natural ftate 5 both which generally happened before
the fweats were over. An ounce of the bark was
lometimes found too little to check the fever, but an
ounce and a half never failed. It muft be continued
daily in fmall dofes till the patient has recovered his
ftrength, and then a greater quantity muft be given,
efpecially at the feafon when the rivers overflow the
country.
Dr Pringle found the autumnal remittents in the Ne¬
therlands complicated with a great many inflammatory
fymptoms; for which reafon it was generally found
neceflary to open a vein in the beginning. The ver¬
nal and later autumnal remitting fevers are accom¬
panied with pleuritic and rheumatic pains from the
coldnefs of the weather, and on that account require
more bleeding. A phyfician unacquainted with the
nature of the difeafe, and attending chiefly to the pa-
roxyfms and remiflions, would be apt to omit this eva¬
cuation entirely, and give the cinchona too foon, which
would bring on a continued inflammatory fever. In
thefe countries a vein may be fafely opened either du¬
ring the remiflion or in the height of a paroxyfm j and
our author alfo found good effe&s refulting from bleed¬
ing in the hot fits of the marlh fever, even after it had
almoft come to regular intermiflions. After bleeding, a
purgative was ufually exhibited, of which he gives us
the following formula.
]$>. Infufi fenae commun. ^iij.
Eleft. Lenitiv. §fs.
Nitr. pur. 3h
Tin£t. fen. 5vi. M.
Of this only one half was taken at once j and If it
did not operate twice in four hours, the remainder
was then taken. This potion agreed with the fto-
mach, purged plentifully, and therefore was a very
ufeful compofition. Next morning, when there was
almoft always fome remiflion, he gave one grain of
emetic tartar rubbed with 12 grains of crabs-eyes, and
repeated the dofe in two hours, if the firfl: had little
or no effeft ; or at any rate in four hours. This me¬
dicine was intended not only to vomit, but alfo to
operate by ftool, and excite a fweat. If thefe evacua¬
tions were procured, the fever generally became eafler,
and was even fometimes cured. This he prefers to the
ipecacuanha, and therefore in the latter years of his
praflice difufed that root entirely. The fame medi¬
cine was repeated next day or the day following ; or if
not, a laxative clyfter was thrown up : and this me¬
thod was continued till the fever either went off altoge¬
ther, or intermitted in fuch a manner as to be cured by
the cinchona.
A fimilar method was followed by Dr Huck in the
remitting fevers of the Weft Indies and North Ame¬
rica. In the beginning he let blood ; and jn the firft
remiffion gave four or five grains of ipecacuanha, with
from half a grain to two grains of emetic tartar. This
powder he repeated in two hours, taking care that the
CINE.
patient fliould not drink before the fecond dofe; for
then the medicine more readily pafled into the bowels
after it had operated by vomiting. If, after two hours
more, the operation either way was fmall, he gave a third
dofe, which commonly had a good effedl in opening
the firft paflages ; and then the fever either tvent quite
oft', or intermitted in fuch a manner as to yield to the
bark. On the continent, he found little difficulty after
the intermiffion; but in the Weft Indies, unlefs he gave
the cinchona upon the very firft intermiffion, though
imperfect, the fever was apt to affutne a continued and
dangerous form.
In the remitting fevers of hot countries, however,
it muft be obferved, that the lancet muft in all cafes bjf
much more fparingly ufed than in fimilar difeafes of
the colder regions ; and we mult alfo be fparing of vene-
feftion in thofe countries where the marlh effluvia are
very Itrong and prevail much. For this reafon Dr
Lind of Haflar greatly condemns the practice of in-
difcriminate bleeding when people firft arrive in hot
climates. The firft difeafes indeed which occur in a
voyage to the fouthward are, for the moft part, of an
inflammatory nature, and owing to a fudden tranfition
from cold to hot weather. This occafions a fullnefs
and diltenfion of the veffels; whence all Europeans,
on their firft arrival under the tropic, bear evacuations
much better than afterwards. The practice of indis¬
criminately bleeding, however, a number of the (hip’s
company when they firft come into a warm latitude, is
by no means found to anfwer the purpofe of a preven¬
tive. In fucb cafes, indeed, as plainly indicate a ple¬
thoric difpofition brought on by the heat, blood-let¬
ting is certainly ufeful. The Signs of this are a pain
and giddinefs in the head ; a heavinefs and dulnefs of
the eyes, which fometimes appear flightly inflamed :
there is alfo commonly a fenfe of weight and fulnefs
in the breaft, the pulfe at the fame time being quick
and oppreffed.
But the cafe is quite different after a longer conti¬
nuance of lultry weather, and when the conflitution is
in fome meafure habituated to the hot climate. For
it is then obferved, that the fymptoms of inflamma¬
tions in the bowels, even the moil dangerous, are not
near fo fevere in fuch climates as in cold countries ;
nor can the patients bear fuch large evacuations. The
phyfician, however, muft take care not to be milled
by the apparent mildnefs of the fymptoms: for he will
find,, notwithftanding fuch deceitful appearances, that
the inflammation makes a more rapid progrefs in hot
countries than in cold, fuppurations and mortifications
being much more fuddenly formed ; and that in general
all acute diftempers come fooner to a crifis in the warm,
than in. colder regions. Hence it is an important rule
of pra£Hce in thole climates, to feizc the moft early op¬
portunity,. in the commencement of all threatening
inflammations, to make frequent though not copious eva¬
cuations by blood-letting. For by delay the inflam¬
mation quickly pafles from its firft to its laft or fatal
ftage ; at leaft, an imperfect crifis in fuch inflammatory
fevers enfues, which fixes an obftruclion in the vifcera
extremely difficult to remove.
It is indeed a general maxim with fome phyfician
in the Weft Indies, that in moft acute diftempers bleed¬
ing in that country is prejudicial. This is founded
upon a ffippofition that the craffamentum. of the blood
K k 2 {g
*5®
Tertiana.
2 6o
Febres.
MEDICINE.
is thinned, and the folids greatly weakened, by the
heat of the climate. It is therefore objected, that
bleeding in fuch an habit of body weakens the powers
of nature, and withdraws the ilrength which is re¬
quisite to fupport the patient until the crilis of the
fever.
This reafoning is partly juft ; but, like all general
maxims, will admit of exceptions. Firft, with regard
to failors, it is to be remembered, that they are more
expofed to quick viciflitudes of heat, cold, damps, and
to various changes of the air and weather, than mold of
the other inhabitants of the Torrid Zone. Add to
this, that fheir intemperance, and the excefies they
are apt to fall into whenever it is in their power to
commit them, render them more liable to inflamma¬
tions than any other fet of people. Hence their dif-
eafes require more plentiful evacuations than the land-
inhabitants of thofe parts of the wmrld, and generally
they bear them better. But with regard to the natives
of the country, or thofe who have remained long there,
it muft be proper to bleed them very fparingly, making
allowance for the different feafons of the year, the
temperature of the air, and the lituation of the places
where they refide. Thus, in fome parts, even on the
illand of Jamaica, at particular feafons, the weather
is cool; wherefore, in thefe places, and at fuch fea¬
fons, the inhabitants having their fibres more rigid,
and a firmer crafts of their blood, bear venefeftion
much better.
In cold countries the ftate of the air greatly aflifts
in reftoring the impaired Ipring of the fibres ; where¬
as every thing almoft in warm weather, fuch as heat,
moifture, &c. concur to relax and weaken the habit
of body. Thus we may daily fee perfons in Britain,
after having fuffered a moft fevere fit of ficknefs, re¬
cover their ftrength and fpirits in a few days, and in
a very ftiort time their natural conftitution. But the
cale is very different in the fultry regions of the Torrid
Zone, or indeed in any part of the world where the
heat of the feafon caufes the mercury to ftand for any
length of time at the 77th degree and upward of
Fahrenheit’s thermometer. During fuch an excefs of
heat, debility after fevers is apt to remain with Eu¬
ropean conllitutions for feveral months. In Jamaica,
the convalefcents are fent to the cool fummits of the
mountains 5 but a retreat to a more northern climate
is often abfolutely neceffary to recover their wonted
tone and vigour of body. It is a well-eftablifhed
obfervation, that the negroes and aborigines of the
Torrid Zone cannot bear plentiful evacuations by the
lancet. They commonly mix the moft; ftimulating
poignant fpices with their ordinary light food, and
this is found by experience fuitable to their conftitu-
tions.
As proper preventives for the dangerous fevers of
which we are treating, Dr Lind on all occafions re¬
commends the avoiding of flagnant water, or putrid
marftiesj the ufe of proper food, cleanlinefs, and fo-
briety. Of the propriety of removing from the neigh¬
bourhood of thofe places whofe peftilential effluvia pro¬
duce the diford_ers, we cannot poflibly entertain a
doubt; and of the efficacy of proper food in prevent¬
ing putrid diforders he gives a remarkable inftance in
the Sheernefs man of war, bound to the Eaft Indies.
As they went out, the raen being apprehenftve of
ficknefs in fo long a voyage, petitioned the captain
not to oblige them to take up their fait provifions,
but rather to permit them to live upon the other fpe-
cies of their allowance. It was therefore ordered, that
they fliould be ferved with falt-meat only once a-week •,
and the confequence was, that, after a paflage of five
months and one day, the fhip arrived at the Cape of
Good Hope without having a iingle perfon lick on
board. As the ufe of Sutton’s pipes had been theu-
newly introduced into the king’s thips, the captain
was willing to afcribe part of fuch an uncommon
healthfulnefs to their beneficial effbcls; but it was foon
difcovered, that, by the neglect of the carpenter, the
cock of the pipes had all this while been kept ihut.
I his fhip remained in India fome months, where none
of the men, except the boats crew, had the benefit of
going on fhore j notwithftanding which, the crew con¬
tinued to enjoy the moft perfedt ftate of health j they
were, however, well fupplied with frefh meat. On
leaving India, knowing they were to flop at the Cape
of Good Hope, and trufting to a quick paflage, and
the abundance of refrelhments to be had there, they
ate their full allowance of fait meats, during a paftage
of only 10 weeks 5 and it is to be remarked the air-
pipes were now opened. The effeas of this was, that
when they arrived at the Cape, 20 of them were af-
ffiaed in a mofl: miferable manner with fcorbutic and
other diforders. Thefe, however, were fpeedily reco¬
vered by the refrefhments they met with on fhore. Be¬
ing now thoroughly fenfibla of the beneficial effects of
eating, in thefe fouthern climates, as little fait meat as
poffible when at fea, they unanimoufty agreed, in their
voyage home from the Cape, to refrain from their
too plentiful allowance of fait flefh. And thus the
Sheernefs arrived at Spithead, with her full comple¬
ment^ 0^160 men in perfeft health and with unbroken
conftitutions , having in tjtis voyage of 14 months and
days buried but one man, who died in a mercurial
falivation.
. Thus we fee, that a free and pure air is not a fuffi-
cient prefervative againft a putrefc-ent ftate of the
fluids, without proper food and, on the other hand,
we have a very remarkable inffance of the inefficacy
of the moft lalutary food to prevent putrid difeales,
in a very noxious liate of the atmofphere. In the year
I7I7> at th6 fiege °f Belgrade in Hungary, the fever
of the country, and the flux, occaftoned a moft extraor¬
dinary mortality among the troops. The dread of thefe
difeafes caufed every one, as may naturally be fup-
pofed, to have recourfe to different precautions for
feif-prefervation. Prince Eugene, the commander in
chief, had water and the provifions for his table fent
him twice a-week from Vienna. The pure ftream of
the river Kahlenberg was regularly brought to him :
he avoided all excefles, and lived regularly, or rather
abffemiouflyj refrelhed himfelf often by eating a cool
melon j and mixed his ufual wine, which was Bur¬
gundy, with water. Yet, notwithftanding his utmoft
care, he was feized with a dyfentery; which would
have quickly put an end to his 'life, had not the fpeedy
conclufion of that campaign permitted him to make a
quick retreat.
At this unhealthy feafon? when hardly one imperial
officer, much lefs their feveral domeilics, efcaped thofe
maLgnant difeafes, the renowned Count Bonneval and*
his
Pra<5ti
ce
Tertiana.
Practice. ^ EDI
Febres. his numerous retinue continued in perfeft health, to the
' ’ furprife, or to ufe the words, of Dr Kramer, to the en¬
vy, of all who beheld them. The only precaution he
ufed, was totake, trvo or three times a-day, a (mall quan¬
tity of brandy in which the Peruvian bark was infufed ;
and he obliged all his attendants and domefiics to fol¬
low his example. It is no lefs remarkable that the
count, placing his certain prefervation in the ufe of
this Angle medicine, lived for many years afterwards in
the moll unhealthy foots of Hungary, without any at¬
tack or apprehenfion of difeafe ; and continued to en¬
joy a perfedl Hate of health during the hotted and mod
fickly feafons. And thus, with an unbroken and
found conditution, which is feldom the cafe of thofe
who refide long .in fuch climates, he lived to a great
age. There is an indance produced by the fame au¬
thor, of a whole regiment in Italy having been pre-
ferved by the ufe of cinchona from the attack of triefe
malignant difeafes, viz. the flux, and bilious fever as it
is frequently called, when the red of the Audrian ar¬
my, not purfuing that method, became greatly annoyed
with them.
The intemperance and irregular living of thofe Eu¬
ropeans who vifit the hot climates is frequently accufed
as the caufe of their dedru&ion; but our author
thinks, without fuflkient reafon ; for though intem¬
perance will make the body more liable to receive fuch
difeafes, it will not bring them on. It mud by no
means, however, be imagined, that in thofe climates
Europeans may with impunity be guilty of exceffes in
eating or drinking: for the lead error in that way will
often prove fatal by debilitating the body, whofe ut-
mod drength in time of full health was perhaps fcarce
fufficient to refid the pedilential miafmata of the at-
mofphere.
It appears, therefore, from the concurrent tedimony
of the mod eminent phyficians, that the mod proper
medicine to be ufed, either as a preventive or cure for
remitting and intermitting diforders, is the Peruvian
bark, adniinidered with proper precautions and after the
primes vice have been evacuated of the putrid bilious
matter colle&ed in them. In thofe fpecies of tritceophja,
&.c. belonging to this clafs, enumerated by Sauvages,
the fame remedies only were ufeful; but in that pedi¬
lential didemper which he calls triteeophya Vratijlavi-
enjis, he tells us, that walhing the body with water
fometimes hot, Ibmetimes cold, watery clyders, and
plenty of aqueous drink, were likewife of ufe.
Genus II. QUARTAN A; the Quartan Fever.
Ouartana audtorum, SV/ivy. Gen. 89. Z1/7. 17. Vog.$.
^ Sag. 711. Hojfm. II. p. 23. Junck. tab. 81.
The Genuine Quartan, Sp. I. var. 1. A.
Quartana legitima, Sauv. fp. I. Sydenham de morb.
acut. cap. v.
Dcfcripiion. The genuine quartan, according to
Juncker, keeps its form more exaftly than other inter-
mittents *, fcarcely coming on at any other time than
four or five in the afternoon. The cold is lefs violent
than in the tertian j but is very perceptible, though it
doth not proceed to fuch a height as to make the
limbs drake ; it continues for about two hours. It is
preceded and accompanied by a languor both of body
C I N E.
and mind. There is feldom any vomiting unlefs when Qp
the domach is manifedly overloaded with aliment; nei¬
ther is there any diarrhoea, but the belly in general is
rather bound, not only on the days on which the pa-
roxyfm takes place, but alfo on the intermediate ones.
The heat, which flowly fucceeds the cold, is lefs
troublefome to the patient by its violence than by the
uneafy drynefs of the Ikin, which is fcarcely ever moi-
dened with fweat. This heat rarely continues longer
than four or five hours, unlefs perhaps at the fird or fe-
cond paroxyfm. It is accompanied alto with a giddi-
nefs and dull pain of the head. On the termination of
the paroxyfm, the patient returns to a middling date of
health, and continues in the fame for the red of the in¬
termediate days ; only there remains fomewhat of a
loathing, and a deep-feated pain as if the perfon was all
over bruifed or broken, which kind of fenfation the phy-
cians are wont to call ojleocopus. The fit returns every
fourth day, and that precifely at the fame hours, being
rarely poflponed.
Caufes of, and perfons fubjcci to, this diforderi The
fame general caufes concur in producing this as other
intermittents, namely marflr miafmata, and whatever can
difpofe the body to be eafily affected by them. Studi¬
ous people, and thofe of a melancholic turn, are faid
to be particularly fubjedt to quartans ; but what are
the immediate caufes which produce a return of the fits
every fourth day, indead of every day, or every third
day, mud probably lie for ever concealed, as depend¬
ing upon the fecret and inexplicable mechanifm of the
human body.
Prognojis. A Ample quartan, where there is no
reafon to dread any induration of the vifeera, may very
certainly admit of a cure; and the prognofis can
never be unfavourable, unlefs in cafes of extreme weak-
nefs, or where the didemper hath been unlkibully
treated.
Cure. This does not in the lead differ from that
which hath been fully laid down for the Ample tertian,
and which it is therefore needlefs to repeat here.
The Duplicated Quartan. Sp. I. var. 1. B.
Quartana duplicata, Sauv. fp. 4. Bonet.
This is entirely fimilar to the duplicated tertian al¬
ready mentioned ; proper allowance being made for the
difference between the type of a tertian and quartan.
The Triplicated Quartan. Sp. I. var. 1. C.
Quartana triplicata, Sauv. fp. 16.
This hath three paroxyfms every fourth day, ■while
the intermediate days are entirely free from fever.
The Double Quartan. Sp. I. var. 1. D.
Quartana duplex, Sauv. fp. 3. Vbg^fp. 13.
In the double quartan, the fits come on every day
except the third ; but fo that the fird paroxyfm anfvyers
to the third, the fecond to the fourth, and fo on.
The Triple Quartan. Sp. I. var. 1. E.
Quartana triplex, Sauv. fp. 5. Vog. fp. 14. Bar¬
tholin. H. anat. c. 1. 95.
This comes on every day, but the quartan type is
dill.
262 M E D I
, fiil! preferved by tlie times of acceflion ; that is, the
time of the fourth paroxyfm’s coming on anfwers to
that of the firft, the fifth to the fecond, the fixth to the
third, &c.
The Quartan, accompanied with Symptoms of other
difeafes. Sp. I. var. 2.
*57 Ouartana cataleptica, Sauv. fp. 7. Bonet. polyalth.
vol. i. p. 805.
Quartana comatofa, Sauv. fp. 15. Werholf de febr.
C. Pifonis Obferv. de morbis a colluvie ferof. obfi
166, 167, 168, 169, 171, 172, 173, 174.
f)uartana epileptica, Sauv. fp. 8. Scholxii Conf.
379, 380.
Quartana hyfterica, Sauv. fp. 10. Morton, Pyret.
exerc. t. cap. ix. H. 10, 11.
Ouartana nephralgica, Sauv. fp. 9.
Quartana metaftatica, Sauv. fp. 17.
Quaitana amens, Sauv. fp. 12. Sydenham de morb.
acut. cap. v.
Quartana fplenetica, Sauv. fp. 2. Etmuller, Coll,
confult. caf. 25.
The Quartan complicated with other Difeafes. Sp. I.
var. 3.
15S Quartana fyphilitica, SauV. fp. 6. Plateri, obferv.
L. III. p. 676. Edin. Eff. art. xlvii. obf. 8.
Ouartana arthriticia, Sauv. fp. 11. Mufgr. de Arthr.
fympt. cap. ix. H. 4. et 5.
Arthritis febrifequa, Sauv. fp. 10.
Arthritis febricofa, Sauv. fp. 10. Werlhof. de febr.
Cochburn de morbis navigantium, obf. 19.
Quartana fcorbutica, Sauv. fp. 14. Barthol. de med.
Dan. diff. iv. Tim. L. VIII. caf. 18.
The Remitting Quartan. Sp. II.
Tetartophya, Sauv. gen. 85. Sag. 699. Lin. 21.
Quartana remittens au&orum.
Var. 1. Tetartophya fimplex, Sauv. fp. 1.
2. Amphimerina femiquartana, Sauv. fp. 23.
3. Tetartophya femitertiana, Sauv. fp. 5.
4. Tetartophya maligna, Sauv. fp. 6. Lautter.
Hift. med. caf. 21. M. Donat. L. III.
cap. 14. ex M. Gatenaria Horf. L. I.
_ ohf. 15.
5. Tetartophya carotica, Sauv. fp. 4. Wcrlhof.
de febr. Bianchi Hift. hep. pars III, con ft,
ann. 1718, p. 751.
6. Tetartophya fplenalgica, Sauv. fp. 2.
7. Tetartophya hepatalgica, Sauv. 3. Car.
. Pif. in prefat. p. 33.
8. Amphimerina fpafmodica, Sauv. fp. 16.
To the tertian or quartan fevers alio belong the Er-
raticce of authors. As all thofe above mentioned dif¬
fer only in the ilight circumftance of the type from the
intermitting and remitting tertians already defcribed at
length, it is unnecefiary here to take up time in de-
fcribing every minute circumftance related by phyficians
concerning them, efpecially as it could contribute
nothing towards the laying down a better method of
Clue thaj} what hath been already fuggefted.
CINE. Pradtice.
Quotidiana.
Genus III. QUOTIDIANA j the Quotidian ' 
Fever.
Quotidiana au&orum, Sauv. gen. 86. Lin. 15.
Vog. I. Hoffm. II. 33. Junck. tab. 79.
The Genuine Quotidian. Sp. I. var. 1. A.
Quotidiana fimplex, Sauv. fp. 1.
Quotidiana legitima, Sennert. de febr. cap. 18.
Defcription. This kind of fever generally comes on
about fix or feven o’clock in the morning, beginning
with a confiderable degree of cold and fhivering, which
lafts for about an hour ; and is often accompanied with
vomiting or fpontaneous diarrhoea, or both. It is
fucceeded by a pretty ftrong heat, accompanied with
thirft, reftleflhefs, and pain of the head. When the
heat abates a little, a fpontaneous Sweat commonly fol¬
lows, and the whole paroxyfm rarely exceeds fix hours.
It returns, however, every day almoft always at the
fame hour, unlefs it be evidently difturbed.
Caufes of and perfons fubjeB to, the difeafe. The
fame general caules are to be affigned for the quotidian
as for other intermittents. This kind occurs but rare¬
ly j and is faid to attack people of a phlegmatic tempe-,
rtiment rather than any ether: alfo old people rather
than young, and w7omen rather than men.
The prognofis and method of cure are not different
from thofe of tertians and quartans.
The Partial Quotidian. Sp. I. var. 1. B.
Quotidiana partialis, Sauv. fp. 16. Cnoffel, E. N. C. 161
D. I. A. III. obf. 205. Edin. Med. Eff. vol. i.
art. 31. vol. ii. art. 16.
Quotidiana cephalalgica, Sauv. fp. 6. Mart, pyretol.
exerc. i. hift. 27. Pan Swieten in Boerh. p. 534.
Cephalalgia intermittens, Sauv. fp. 7.
Cephalma febricofa, Sauv. fp. 4.
Quotidiana ophthalmica, Morton, ibid. hift. 17. Van
Swieten, ibid.
Ophthalmia febricofa, Sauv. fp. 23.
Thefe diftempers attack only fome particular part of
the body, as the head, the eye, arm, &c. producing
periodical affeflions of thofe parts returning once in
24 hours ; they are to be cured by cinchona, as other
intermittents. They are known to belong to this clafe
by the evident intermiflion of the pain or other affeftion
of the part. The quotidiana hysterica, Sauv. fp. 3.
quotidiana catarrhalis, Sauv. fp. 9. and quotidiana fran-
guriofa, Sauv. fp. 11. feem to be fymptomatic difor-
ders.
The Remitting Quotidian. Sp. II.
Amphimerina, Sauv. gen. 84. Lin. 20.
Quotidiana continua, Vog. 15.
Quotidiame remittentes et continuae au£!orum.
Amphimerina latica, Sauv. fp. 1.
Febris continua lymphatica, Etmuller, Coll, conf,
caf. 32. River. Obf. cent. 1. obf. 57.
Amphimerina fingultuofa, Sauv. fp, 14.
Febris continua Lyngodes, Vog. 26.
Concerning thefe alfo nothing remains neceffary to
be mentioned in this place, having already fo fully dif-
cuffed the remitting fevers in all the different parts of
the
Practice. ^ ^ ^
I'ebres. the 'world. IVIsny other varieties of thefe fevers men-
u-"''v tioned by different authors are to be accounted merely
fymptomatic.
Sect. II. CONTINUED FEVERS.
Continue, Sauv. clafs ii. ord. I. Vog. clafs i. ord. 2.
Sag. 666. Boerh. 727.
Continentes, Lin, clafs ii.- ord. l. Stahl. Caf. mag.
35. Caf. min. 87. 'junck. 38. Senmrt. de febr.
L. ii. cap. 2. et 10.
Genus IV. SYNOCHA.
163 Synocha, gen. 80. Lin. \1. Junck. 58.
Synocha, five febris acuta fanguinea, Hofrn. ll. 105.
Synochus, Vog, 16.
Continua non putris, Boerh. 720.
Ephemera, Sauv. g. 79. Boerh. 728. June. 37.
Diaria, Lin. 11.
Febris inilammatoria auflorum.
Defcription. The moft fimple kind of fynocha is
the ephemera or diary fever. It begins without any
fenfation of cold or ihivering, unlefs there be fome in¬
ternal inflammation, or the fmall-pox or meafles hap¬
pen to be prefent. A continual heat without any in-
termiflion conftitutes the eflence of this difeafe. The
heat, however, is more tolerable than in the fynocha
properly fo called. In fome, the pains of the head are
pungent and throbbing, anlwering to the pulfations
of the arteries ■, but in others they are dull and heavy.
The face is red and bloated ; and there is a remarkable
lafiitude of the limbs, with a ftrong, full, and frequent
pulfe. The urine is red, and depofits a fediment almoft
of the colour of orange-peel ; and in the very firft day
of the difeafe, figns of concoaion (according to the
Hippocratic phrafe) appear. I he fever commonly
goes off with a gentle fweat ^ but fometimes,.- though
more rarely, with a hemorrhagy by the nofe. Its
fhorteft period is 24 hours *, but if it goes beyond the
fourth day, it is then a fynocha properly Uncalled.
The fimple fynocha, according to Vogel, begins
with cold and fhivering, fiicceeded by vehement heat,
rednefs, and drynefs of the fkin. I ne face, efpecial-
ly, is very red, and the third intenfe. The head is
either pained or heavy. The patient\either doth not
deep at all, or is difturbed with dreams. A moift
fweat then breaks out all over the fkin. I he puife is
full, quick, and frequent; the judgement is fometimes
a little difturbed 5 young people are apt to be terri¬
fied with imaginations; and they for the moft part
incline to fleep ; the refpiration is difficult, and the
belly coftive ; at the fame time that a tenfive kind of
laflitude is perceived over the whole body. A com¬
plete crifis takes place either on the fourth or at the
fartheft on the eleventh day. rI he charafferiftic marks
of the fimple fynocha, therefore, are, A rednefs of
the face, moifture of the fkin, a ftrong and frequent
puTe
Caufes of, andperfons fubjeB to, this difeafe. As we have
already remarked of intermittents, fo muft vre alfo now
remark of continued fevers, that it is impoflible to dif-
cover thofe minute caufes which occafion the difference
of type betwixt one inflammatory fever and another,
though rpoft authors pretend to enumerate tbefc with
CINE. 263
great certainty. Thus Juncker tells us, that the eaufe Synocha. ^
of the Ample ephemera is plethora, together with any v
immoderate agitation and commotion of the fluids
while in that ftate. Vogel reckons among the caufes
of his febris diaria, paflions of the mind, pain, want,
expofure to the fun, &c. j a repulfion or abforption
of certain humours ; wounds, fraftures, luxations, &c. j
fo that in general we may reckon every thing tending
to increafe the action of the arterial fyftem to be in
certain circumftances a caufe of inflammatory fever.—
Hence we find thofe are mofl: fubjed to the fynocha
whofe conftitution is either naturally robuft, or who
are expofed to thofe caufes which tend to produce an
increafed aflion of the arterial fyftem j fuch as hard,
labour, high living, &c.
Prognojis. The moft fimple kind of fynocha, that
is, the ephemera or diary fever, is commonly cured
without the aftiftance of medicine, and therefore the
prognofis is for the moft part favourable : yet, if it be
improperly treated by heating medicines, it may eafily
be converted into the other kind ; or, if there be a pu¬
trid difpofition of the fluids, into a fever of a very
dangerous nature. The fame thing is to be underftood
even of the moft violent kind } for fimple inflamma¬
tory fevers are not dangerous unlefs complicated with
an affedftion of fome particular part, as the pleura, fto-
mach, &c.
Cure. Dr Cullen obje&s to the plan of thofe who
are for leaving the cure of continued fevers to the
operations of nature j becaule thefe operations are nei¬
ther certain in themfelves, nor are they fo well under¬
ftood as to enable us to regulpte them properly j and
it is likewife poflible to fuperfede them by art. The
plan therefore on which he proceeds is, to form his
indications of cure upon the means of obviating the
tendency to death in fevers } and thefe he reduces to
three. 1. To moderate the violence of re-aftion.—
2. To remove or obviate the caufes of debility •, and,
3. To obviate or correft the tendency of the fluids to
putrefa&ion.
The frjl indication may be anfwered, I. By all
thofe means wrhich diminifh the a<fhon of the heart and
arteries. 2. By thofe which take off the fpafm of the
extreme veflels, which, according to his theory, is the
chief caufe of violent re-afftion.
I. The aftion of the heart and arteries may be dimi-
nifhed, 1. By avoiding or moderating thole irritations
which, in one degree or other, are almoft conftantly
applied to the body. 2. By the ufe of certain feda-
tive powers. 3. By diminifhing the tenfion or tone of
the arterial fyftem.
[1.] The irritations above-mentioned are the im-
preflions made upon our fenles, the exercife of the body
and mind, and the taking in ot aliments, dhe avoid¬
ing of thefe as much as poflible, or the moderating
their force, makes what is properly called the antiphlo- _
giflic regimen, proper to be employed in almojl every
continued fever, d his regimen is to be diredted in tne
following manner. -
1. Impreflions on the external fenfes, as ftimulant
to the fyftem, and a chief fupport of its activity,
fhould be avoided as much as poflible ; efpecially fuch
as are of a ftronger kind, and which give pain and
uneafinefs. No impreflion is to be more carefully5 *
guarded againft than that of external heat } and at the
farkt-i.-.::
1
264 M E D I
t Ffcbres. fame time every other means of increafing the heat of
the body is to be ihunned. Both thefe precautions
are to be taken as foon as a hot ftage is fully formed,
and to be attended to during its continuance, except
in certain cafes, where a determination to fweating is
necelTary, or where the ftimulant effedls of heat may
be compenfated by circumlfances which determine it to
produce a relaxation and revullion.
2. All motion of the body is to be avoided as tirtich
as poflible, and that pollute only chofen which employs
the feweft mufcles, and keeps none of then long in a
flate of contraction. Speaking, as it accelerates refpira*
tion, is particularly to be avoided. It muft alfo be ob-
ferved, that every motion of the body is more ftimulant
in proportion as the patient is weaker.
3. The exercile of the mind is alfo to be avoided,
as being a ftimulus to the body 5 but here an exception
is to be made in the cafe of a delirium coming on,
when the prefenting of accuftomed objedls may di¬
vert the irregular train of ideas then ariftng in the
mind.
4. The prefence of recent aliment in the ftomach
proves always a ftimulus to the fyftem, and ought
therefore to be as moderate as poflible. A total ab-
ftinence for fome time may be of fervice ; but as this
cannot be long continued with fafety, we muft avoid
the ftimulus of aliment by choofing that kind which
gives the lead. Alimentary matters are alfo to be ac¬
counted more ftimulant in proportion to their alkalef-
cent qualities 5 and this leads us to avoid all animal,
and ufe only vegetable food. For the fame reafon,
aromatic and fpirituous liquors are to be avoided;
and in anfwering the prefent indication, we muft ab-
ftain from all fermented liquors except thofe of the
loweft quality. Other ftimuli are, the fenfation of
thirft, crudities or corrupted humours in the ftomach,
a preternatural retention of the faeces in the inteftines,
and a general acrimony of all the humours, which is
in moft fevers to be fufpedled. Thefe are to be re¬
moved by fuch methods as the urgency of the fymp-
toms require, by diluting liquors, vomiting, the ufe of
adds,, laxative clyilers, and large quantities of antifep-
tic drinks.
[2.] I he fecond method of moderating the vio¬
lence of reaction is by the employment of certain fe-
uative powers, with a view to diminilh the adlivity of
the whole body, and particularly that of the fangui-
ferous fyftem. The fhft of thefe to be mentioned is
the application of cold. Heat is the chief fupport of
the activity ot the animal-lyftem 5 and the iyftem is
therefore provided with a power of generating heat ;
but at the fame time we may oblerve, that this
would go to excefs, were it not conftantly moderated
by a cooler temperature in the furrounding atmofphere.
When,, therefore, the generating power of heat in the
fyftem is increafed, as is commonly the cafe in fevers,
it is neceffary not only to avoid all further means of
increafing it, but alfo to apply air of a cooler tempe¬
rature 5 or at leaft to apply it more entirely and freely
than in a ftate of health. This is fhown, from fome
ate obfervations, to be a very powerful means of mo-
deiating tne violence of re-adion : but what is the mode
of its operation, to what circumftances of fever it par-
tmuuny applies, or what limitations it requires, are not
yet fully alcertained.
C I N E. Practice.
Another feda'tive power very frequently employed Synocha.'
in fevers, is that of certain medicines known in the —"—v—' *
materia medica by the name of refrigerants, The
chief of thefe are acids of all kinds w hen fufficiently
diluted, and wdiicli are, in feveral refpe&s, remedies
adapted to continued fevers. Thofe efpecially in ufe
are the fulphuric and vegetable ; and on many accounts
the latter are to be prefeired. Another fet of refrige¬
rants are the neutral falts formed of the fulphuric, ni¬
trous. or vegetable acids, with alkalies either fixed or
volatile. All thefe neutralsj while they are diffolved
in water, generate cold ; but as that cold ceafes foon
after the diftclution is finilhed, and as the falts are ge¬
nerally exhibited in a diffolved ftate, their refrigerant
power in the animal body does not all depend^ upon
their power of generating cold with water. Nitre is
the refrigerant chiefly employed j but all the others,
compounded as above mentioned, partake more or lefs
of the fame quality. Befides thefe neutrals, fome me¬
tallic falts have alfo been employed in fevers, particu¬
larly the acetite of lead : but the refrigerant powers*of
this fait are by no means afeertained, and its deleteri¬
ous qualities are too well known to admit of its beinp-
freely ufed. a
[3.] The third geneial method of diminiftiinv
the. readion, is by lefiening the tenfton, tone, and
aflivity of the fanguiferous fyftem. As the acti¬
vity of the fyftem in a great meafure depends upon the
tone, and this again upon the tenfion, of the* vefiels
given to.them by the quantity of fluids they contain’
it is evident, that the diminution of the quantity of
thefe muft diminifli the aftivity of the fanguiferous
fyftem. .The moft: efficacious means of diminiftiing
the quantity of fluids is by the evacuations of blood¬
letting and purging. The former is evidently one of
the rnoft powerful means of diminifhing the activity of
the whole body, and efpecially of the fanguiferous* fy¬
ftem 5 and it muft therefore be the moft effectual
means, of moderating the reasftion in fevers. When
the violence of reatfion, and its conftant attendant
a phlogiftic diathefis, are fufficiently evident j when
thefe conftitute the principal part of the difeafe, and
may be expeded to continue through the whole of it,
as. in. the cafes of fynocha ; then blood-letting is the*
principal remedy, and may be employed as far as the
iymptom.s of the difeafe may feem to require, and the
conftitution of the patient will bear. It muft, how¬
ever, be remarked, that a greater evacuation than is
neceffary may occafion a flower recovery, and render
the peifon more liable to a relapfe, or bring on other
difeafes. It is alfo to be obferved, that this evacu¬
ation is the more effedual, as the blood is more fud-
denly drawn off, and as the body is at the fame time
more free from all irritation, and therefore when
it is in a pofture in which the feweft mufcles are in
aftion.
WT.th regard, to purging, when we confider the
quantity of fluids conftantly prefent in the cavity of
the inteftines, and the quantity which may be drawn
off from the innumerable excretories that open into
this cavity, it will be obvious, that a very great eva¬
cuation may be made, in this way ; and if this be done
by a ftimulus that is not at the fame time communi¬
cated to the. reft of the body, it may, by emptying
both the cavity of the inteftines and the arteries which
furnilh
Pra&ice. MED!
Febres. furniili the excretions poured into it, induce a confi-
^ ^ derable relaxation in the whole fyflem; and is there¬
fore fuited to moderate the violence of reaction in fe¬
vers. But it is to be obferved, that as the fluid drawn
from the excretories opening into the inteftines is not
all drawn immediately from the arteries, and as what
is even more immediately drawn from thefe is drawn
off flewdy *, fo the evacuation will not, in proportion to
its quantity, occafion fuch a fudden depletion of the
red veflels as blood-letting does j and therefore cannot
adl fo powerfully in taking off the phlogiftic diathefis
of the fyftem.
At the fame time this evacuation may induce a con-
fiderable degree of debility ; and therefore, in thofe
cafes in which a dangerous ftate of debility is likely to
occur, purging is to be employed with a great deal of
caution 5 and this caution is more difficult to be ob¬
ferved than in the cafe of blood letting : and it is fur¬
ther to be noticed, that as purging takes off in fome
meafure the determination of the blood to the veffels
on the furface of the body, it feems to be lefs adapted
to the cure of fevers.
II. The other method of moderating the violence
of readiioh in fevers is by the exhibition of thofe re¬
medies fuited to take off the fpafm of the extreme vef¬
fels, fuppofed to be the irritation which chiefly fup-
ports the reaftion. The means to be employed for
this purpofe are either internal or external.
Firjl, The internal means are, 1. Thofe which de¬
termine the force of the circulation to the extreme vef¬
fels on the furface of the body, and by refloring the
tone and adlivity of thefe vefl'els, overcome the fpafm
on their extremities. 1. Thofe medicines which have
the pow7er of taking off fpafm in any part of the fy-
fiem, and which are known under the title of Anti-
SPASMODICS.
(I.) Thofe remedies which are fit to determine to
the furface of the body are, 1. Diluents. 2. Neutral
falls. 3. Sudorifics. 4. Emetics.
1. Water enters, in a large proportion, into the
compoiition of all the animal fluids, and a large quan¬
tity of it is always diffufed through the whole of the
common mafs. In a found ftate, the fluidity of the
whole mafs depends upon the quantity of water pre-
fent in it. Water therefore is the proper diluent of
our mafs of blood, and other fluids are diluent only in
proportion to the quantity of water they contain.
In a healthy ftate, alfo the fulnefs of the extreme
veffels and the quantity of excretion are in proportion
to the quantity of w^ater prefent in the body. But in
fever, though the excretions be in fome meafure inter¬
rupted, they continue in fuch quantity as to exhale
the more fluid parts of the blood ; and, while a por¬
tion of them is at the fame time neceffarily retained in
the larger veffels, the fmaller, and the extreme vef-
feis, both from the deficiency of fluid and their own
contradled ftate, are lefs filled, and therefore allowed
to remain in that condition. To remedy this con-
tradled ftate, nothing is more necefl'ary than a large
fupply of v/ater or watery fluids taken in by drinking
or otherwife ; for as any fuperfluous quantity of wa¬
ter is forced off by the feveral excretories, fuch a force
applied may be a means of dilating the extreme veffels,
and of overcoming the fpafm affefting their extremi¬
ties. Accordingly, the throwing in a large quan-
Vot.XIII. Part I.
G I N E.
25
tity of watery fluids, has been, at all times, a remedy Synocha.
much employed in fevers j and in no inliance more re- v
markably than by the Spaniih and Italian phyficians,
in the ufe of wdiat they call the diceta aquea. This
praftice confifls in taking away every other kind of
aliment and drink, and in giving, in divided portions,
every day for feveral days together, ftx or eight pounds
of plain water, generally cold, but fometimes warm.
This, however, is to be done only after the dif-
eafe has continued for fome time, and at leaft for a
week.
2. A fecond mean of determining to the furface of
the body, is by the ufe of neutral halts. Thefe neu¬
trals, in a certain dole, taken into the ftomach, produce
foon after a fenfe of heat upon the fur lac 3 ot the body j
and, if the body be covered clofe and kept warm, a
fweat is readily brought out. The fame medicines taken
during the cold ftage of a fever, very ofun put an end
to it, and bring on the hot one j and they are alio re¬
markable for flopping the vomiting which fo frequently
attends the cold ftage of fevers. All this ft.ows, that
neutral falls have a power of determining the blood to
the furface of the body, and may therefore be of ufe in
taking oft' the fpafm which fubfifts there in fevers. The
neutral moft commonly employed in fevers, is that
formed of an alkali with the native acid of vegetables.
But all the other neutrals have more or lefs of the
fame virtue j and perhaps fome of them, particularly
the ammoniacal falls, poffefs it in a lironger degree.
As cold water taken into the ftomach often {hows the
fame diaphoretic effedls with the neutral falls, it is pro¬
bable that the effect of the latter depends upon their re¬
frigerant powers.
3. A third method of determining to the furface of
the body, and taking off the fpafm fubftiting there, is
by the ufe of fudorifics and by {wealing. The propriety
of this practice has been much difputed ; and many fpe-
cious arguments may be adduced both for and againft
it. In its favour may be urged, 1. That in healthy per-
fons, in every cafe of increaled aftion of the heart and
arteries, a fweating takes place, and is, feemingly, the
means of preventing the bad effects of fuch increaled
adlion. 2. That, in fevers, their moft ufual folution
and termination is by fpontaneous fweating. 3. That,
even when excited by art, it has been found ufeful at
certain periods, and in certain fpecies of fever.—On ihe
other hand, it may be urged againft the pradlice of
fweating, 1. That in fevers, as a fpontaneous fweating
does not immediately come on, there are fome circum-
ftances different from thofe in the ftate'of health, and
which may render it doubtful whether the fweating can
be fafely excited by art. 2. That in many cafes the
practice has been attended with bad confequences. The
means commonly employed have a tendency to produce
an inflammatory diathefis 5 which, if not taken off by
the fweat fucceeding, muft be increafed with much dan¬
ger. Thus fweating employed to prevent the acceflrons
of intermitting fevers has often changed them into a
continued form, which is always dangerous. 3. The
utility of the praftice is doubtful; as {'wealing, when
it happens, does not always give a final termination,
as muft be manifeft in the cafe of intermittents, and
in many continued fevers which are fometimes in the
beginning attended with fweatings which do not prove
final} and, on .the contrary, whether they be fponta-
L 1 neous
M E D I
neou5 or excitet! by ar’c, tbey ieem often to aggravate
the difeafe.
From thefe confiderations, it is doubtful it tbe prac¬
tice of fvveating can be admitted very generally 5 but,
at the fame time, it is alfo very doubtful it the failure
of the practice, or the mifchiefs laid to arife from it,
have not been owing to the improper condu6f of the
practitioner. With refpeCt to the lad, it is annolt
agreed among phyficians, 1. That fweating has been
generally hurtful when excited by ftimulant, heating,
and inflammatory medicines. 2. That it has been
hurtful when excited by much external heat, and con¬
tinued with a great increafe of the heat of the body.
3. That it is always hurtful when it does not relieve }
and rather increafes the frequency and hardncfs of the
pulfe, the anxiety and difficulty of breathing, the
headach, and delirium. 4. That it is always hurtful
if it be urged when the fweat is not fluid, and when
it is partial and on the fuperior parts of the body
only.
In thefe cafes, it is probable, that either an inflam¬
matory diathefls is produced, which increafes the fpafm
on the extreme veflels \ or that, from other caufes, the
fpafm is too much fixed to yield eafily to the increafed
aftion of the heart and arteries : and upon either fup-
pofition it muff be obvious, that urging the fweat may
produce determinations to fome of the internal parts,
with very great danger.
Notwithftanding thefe doubts, hotvever, it flill re¬
mains true, 1. That fweating has been often ufeful in
preventing the acceffions of fevers when they have
been certainly forefeen, and a proper conduCf em¬
ployed. 2. That even after fevers have in fome mea-
fure come On, fw^eating has interrupted their progrefs
when properly employed, either at the very beginning
of the difeafe, or during its approach and gradual for¬
mation. 3. That even after pyrexim have continued
for fome time, fweating has been fuccefsfully employ¬
ed in curing them, as is particularly exemplified in
the cafe of a rheumatifm. 4. That certain fevers pro¬
duced by a very powerful fedative contagion, have been
generally treated moft fuccefsfully by fweating.
Thefe inftances are in favour of fweating, but give
no general rule 5 and it muft be left to farther experi¬
ence to determine how far any general rule can be efla-
blilhed in this matter. In the mean time, if the prac¬
tice of fvveating is to be attempted, the fellouing rules
may be laid down for the conduft of it : 1. That a
fweat ffiould be excited without the ufe of ftimulant
inflammatory medicines. 2. That it ffiould be excit¬
ed with as little external heat, and with as little in¬
creafe of the heat of the body, as poffible. 3. That,
when excited, it ffiould be continued for a due length
of time •, not lefs than 12 hours, and fometimes for 24
or 48 hours ; always, however, fuppofing that it pro¬
ceeds without the dangerous circumftances already
mentioned. 4. That for fome part of the time, and
as long as the perfon can eafily bear, it ffiould be
carried on without admitting of fleep. 5. That it
ffiould be rendered univerfal over the whole body ; and
therefore particularly that care ffiould be taken to
bring the fweating to the lower extremities. 6. That
the praftice ffiould be rendered fafer by moderate pur¬
ging excited at the fame time. 7. That it ffiould not
CINE. Plaice.
be fuddenly checked by cold anyhotV applied to the Synocha. >
body.
When attention is to be given to thefe rules, the
fweating may be excited, 1. By warm bathing, or a
fomentation of the lower extremities. 2. By frequent
draughts of tepid liquors, chiefly water, rendered more
grateful by the addition of a light aromatic, or more
powerful by that of a fmall quantity of wine. 3. By
giving fome dofcs of neutral falts. 4. Moft effeftually,
and perhaps moft fafely, by a large dofe of an opiate,
joined with a portion of neutral falts, and of an eme¬
tic.
The fourth mean of determining to the furface, of
the body, and thereby taking off the fpafm affe&ing
the extreme veffels, is by the ufe of emetics. Thefe,
particularly of the antimonial kind, have been em¬
ployed in the cure of fevers ever fince the introduction
of chemical medicines 5 but though of late their uftr
has become very general, their efficacy is ftill difput-
ed, and their manner of operating is differently ex¬
plained.
Vomiting is in many refpedts ufeful in fevers } as it
evacuates the contents of the ftomach, as it emulges
the biliary and pancreatic dufts, and evacuates the
contents of the duodenum, and perhaps a],fo of a large
portion of the inteftines 5 as it agitates the whole of
the abdominal vifcera, it expedes the circulation in
them, and promotes their feveral fecretions *, and, laft-
ly, as it agitates alfo the vifcera of the thorax, it has
like effedts there.
It is not to this caufe, however, that we are to im¬
pute the effe«t vomiting has in determining to the fur-
face of the body. This muff be attributed to the par¬
ticular operation of emetics upon the mufcular fibres
of the ftomach, whereby they excite the adlion of the
extreme arteries on. the furface of the body, and by this
means effeff ually determine the blood, to thefe veffels,
remove the atony, and take off the fpafm affe&ing
them. For this purpofe they are exhibited in two
different ways j that is, either in fuch dofes as may
excite full and repeated vomitings, or in fuch dofes as
may excite ficknefs and naufea only, with little or no
vomiting at all.
Full vomiting is well fuited to determine to the fur¬
face of the body, and thereby to obviate the atony and
fpafm which lay the foundation of fever. Thus, vo¬
miting excited a little before the expefled acceffion of
the paroxyfm of an intermittent, has been found to
prevent the paroxyfm altogether. It has been obferv-
ed alfo, that when contagion has been applied to a
perfon, and firft difcovers its operation, an emetic given
lias prevented the fever which might ©therwife have
been expe<fted.
Thefe are the advantages to be obtained by exciting
vomiting at the firft; approach of fevers, or of the pa¬
roxyfm of fevers \ and they may alfo be applied after
fevers are formed, to take off, perhaps entirely, the
atony and fpafm, or at leaft to moderate thefe, fo that
the fever may proceed more gently and fafely. It is
feldom, however, that vomiting is found to produce a
final folution of fevers4 and after they are once form¬
ed, it is commonly neceflary to repeat the vomiting fe¬
veral times} but this is attended with inconveniency,
and fometimes with difadvantage. The operation of
mil
Pra&ice. M E D I
Feb res. full vomiting is tranfitory, and the exercife of vomit-
1—^   Ing is a debilitating power j and therefore, when the
vomiting does not remove the atony and fpafm very
entirely, it may give occafion to their recurrence with
greater force. For thele reafons, after fe\ers are fully
formed, fome phyficxans have thought proper to em¬
ploy emetics in naufeating doles only. I hefe are ca-
- pable of exciting the aftion of the extreme veflfels,
and their operation is more permanent. _At the fame
time they often ftrow their power by exciting fome de¬
gree of fweat, and their operation is renueied more
fafe by their commonly producing fome evacuation by
ftool. But naufea continued for any great length of
time, is to molt patients a ienfation highly diftreffing,
and almod infufterable.
The emetics chiefly in ufe at prefent are, ipecacu¬
anha and antimony. The former may be employed for
determining to the furface of the body : but, even in
very fmall dofes, it fb readily excites vomiting, that it
is with difficulty employed for the purpofe of naufeat-
inv only } and in whatever manner employed, there is
reafon to fufpeft that its effiefts are lefs permanent,
and lefs powerfully communicated from the ftomach to
the reft of the fyftem, than thofe of antimony. This
laft is therefore generally preferred j and its prepara¬
tions, feemingly various, may all be reduced to two
heads 5 one comprehending thofe in which the regu-
line part is in a condition to be afted upon by acids,
and therefore on meeting with acids in tne ftomach it
becomes aaive *, and another, comprehending thofe
preparations in which the reguline part is already join¬
ed with an acid, rendering it aftive. Of each kind
there are great numbers, but not differing effentially
from one another ; the two moft worthy of notice are,
the calx nitrata cmtimonii, and emetic tartar, or tartrite
of antimony, of the Edinburgh Difpenfatory. Both
thefe are very efficacious medicines j but the latter
feems preferable, becaufe its dofe is capable of being
better afeertained; though the former, on account ot
its flower operation, may have fome advantages,^ and in
certain cafes be more efficacious as a purgative and
fudorific. ... „ • 1 j •
The calx nitrata antimonu, when firfr introduced in¬
to the pharmacopoeia of the Edinburgh college was
fuppofed to be very nearly, if not precifely, the fame
with a medicine which has of late been highly cele¬
brated in the cure of fevers, Dr James’s powder. But
from more accurate obfervations, there is rea¬
fon to believe that the pulvis antimonialis pf the
London Pharmacopoeia, formed by the calcination
of antimony with hartfhorn, approaches mere nearly
to that celebrated arcanum. But at any pate, the
calx antimonii nitrata, the pulvis antinjomahs, and
James’s powder, are probably not effentially different
from each other. The two latter, however, have the
moft near refemblancej and accordingly the Edinburgh
college, in their Pharmacopoeia, have introduced an ar¬
ticle under the title of antimonwm calcareo-phofphora-
tum, which they confider as fo much fimiiar to James s
powder, that they have ufed as a fynonyme for it, the
title of pulvis Jacobi. _ . .
The time moft; proper for exhibiting thefe medicines
is a little before the acceffion, when that can be cer¬
tainly known. In continued fevers the exacerbations
are not always very obfervable j but there is reafon to
C I N E.
267
believe, that one commonly happens about noon or t Synccha,.
foon after it ; and that thefe, therefore, are the moft 1 l,rnr-y *
proper times for exhibiting emetics.
With refpedf to the manner of adminiftration, that
of the calx nitrata is Ample, as the whole of what is
thought a proper dofe may be given at once and no
more can be properly given till the next acceflion.
The adminiftration of the emetic tartar is different. It
is to be given in fmall dofes, not fufficient to excite vo¬
miting ; and thefe dofes are to be repeated after fhort
intervals for feveral times, till ficknefs, naufea, and
fome, though not much, vomiting come on. The dif¬
ference of adminiftration muft depend upon the dofe,
and the length of the interval at which it is given. I!
it be intended that the medicine fliould certainly ope¬
rate by ftool, the dofes are made fmall, and the inter¬
vals long. On the contrary, when vomiting is proper,
or ivhen much purging ought to be avoided, and there¬
fore fome vomiting muft be admitted, the dofes are
made larger, and the intervals (horter. With refpe<ft
to both kinds of preparations, the repetition is to be
made at the times of acceffion, but not very often : for
if the firft exhibitions, duly managed, have little effeft,
it is feldom that the after exhibitions have much 5 and
it fometimes happens that the repeated vomiting, and
efpecially repeated purging, does harm by weakening
the patient.
(2.) The other fet of internal medicines which are
fuppofed ufeful in taking off the fpafm of the extreme
veffels, are thole named antifpafmodics. But whatever
may be the virtues of fome of them in this way, fuch
is their power of ftimulating at the fame time, that
very few of them can with lafety be adminiftered in
fevers of an inflammatory nature. Aimoft the only
one which can with fafety be exhibited in thefe cafes
is camphor j and the operations of this are by no means
well afeertained. Dr Huxham mentions it as a cor-
reftor of the acrimony of cantharides •, and affures us,
that it very effeftually promotes a diaphorefis. But
from the remarks of other pra&itioners, we have no
juft reafon to fuppoie that it a£ts perceptibly in a dofe
of five or fix grains, though in 15 or 20 it produces a.
particular kind of intoxication.
Secondly, The external means fuited to take off the
fpafm of the extreme veffels, are bliftering and warm
bathing.
1. Wffiat are the effefts of bliftering fo frequently
employed in fevers, is not yet agreed among phyfi-
cians. Dr Cullen is of opinion, that the fmall quan¬
tity of cantharides abferbed from a bliftering plafter,
is not fufficient to change the confiftence of the mals
of blood > and therefore, that fuch. a quantity can nei¬
ther do good by refclving phlogiftic lentor if it exilts,
nor do barm by increafing the diffolution of the blood
arifing from a putrid tendency in it. I he effedls of
cantbarides upon the fluids, therefore, may be entirely
negledted. The inflammation produced by the appli¬
cation of cantharides to the fkin, affords a certain proof
of their ftimulant power : but in many perfons the ef-
feft of that ftimulus is not confiderable 5 in many it is
not communicated to the whole iyftem 5 and even when
it does take place in the whole fyftem, it feems to be
taken off very entirely by the effufion and evacuation of
ferum from the bliftered part. It may be concluded,
therefore, that neither much good is to be expecled,
L 1 2 nor
M E D I
nor much harm to be apprehended, from the ftimulant
power of bliftering ; and the certainty of this conclu-
fion is eftablifhed by the great benefit arifing from the
proper practice of Wittering in inflammatory difeafes.
Much has been imputed to the evacuation made by
bliftering 5 but it is never fo coniiderable as to affedl
the whole fyftem ; and therefore can neither, by a hid¬
den depletion, relax the fanguiferous fyftem, nor by any
revulfion afifedt the general diftribution of the fluids.
The evacuation, however, is lo confiderable as to affedl
the neighbouring velfels ; and the manifelf utility of
blittering near the part affedted in inflammatory difeafes
leads us to think, that blittering, by deriving to the
Ikin, and producing an effution there, relaxes the fpafm
of the deeper feated velfels. It is in this manner, mod
probably, that the tumor of a joint, from an effufion
into the cellular texture under the tkin, takes off the
rheumatic pain formerly affedting that joint. Analo¬
gous to this, probably, is the good effedf of bliftering
in continued fevers, arifing from the relaxation of the
fpafm of the extreme veffels by a communication of
the bliftered part with the reft of the fkin. A blifter
may be employed at any period in continued fevers ;
but it will be of moft advantage in the advanced ftate
of fuch fevers, when, the readtion being weaker, all
ambiguity from the ftimulatmg power of bliftering is
removed, and when it may belt concur with other
circumftances tending to a final folution of the
fpafm.
From this view of the matter, it will appear, that
the part of the body to w’h?ch blifters ought to be ap¬
plied is indifferent, except upon the fufpicion of topical
affedlion, when the bliftering is to be made as near as
poftible to the part affedfed. Whether finapifms and
other rubcfacientia adt in a manner analogous to what
has been fuppofed of bliftering may be doubtful j but
their eftedfs in rheumatifm and other inflammatory
difeafes render it probable.
^ 2. The other external means of taking off the fpafm
ot the extreme veffels is warm bathing. This was
frequently, and in different circumftances, employed
by the ancients j but has, till very* lately, been ne-
giedted by modern phyficians. As the heat of the
bath ftimulates the extreme veffels, and, with the con¬
currence of moifture, alfo relaxes them, it feems to be a
fafe. flimulus, and well fuited to take off the fpaim af-
fedfing thefe veffels. It may be applied to the whole
body by immerfion j but this is in many relpedls incon¬
venient. From extenfive experience it appears, that
thou cf the puipofes of warm bathing can Jpe obtained
by a fomentation of the legs and feet, if properly admi-
r.iftered, and continued for a due length of time, not
lefs than an hour. The marks of the good effedts of
fuch a fomentation are, the patient’s bearing it eafily,
its relieving delirium, and inducing Deep. °
Gp||kus V. T\ i'HUS j the Typhous F^yER.
' lyphus, Sauv. gen. 82. Sag. 677.
I. Typhus mitior, or the d’/ozu Nervous FEyER. Sp. I.
var. 1.
Fekj‘s mallgna bedlica convulfiva, five lues
Willis, ds morb. convuliiv. cap. 8.
Feeds peftilens, Fraca/lor. de morb. contag. 1. ii.
c.ap>.4, G
C I N E. Praaice.
Febris peftilens fine charadlere veneni, Forejl 1. vi. Typhus,
obf. 26.  v'"—
Febris hedfica peftilens, Forejl, 1. vi. obf. 3 2.
Febris nova ann. 1685, Sydenham., Sched. monitor.
Febris putrida nervofa, Winiringh. Com. Nofolog. ad
ann. 1720, 1721.
Febris lenta nervofa, Huxham on fevers, chap. 8.
Febris contagiofa, Lind on fevers and infedtion,
pajjim.
Typhus nervofus, Sauv. fp. 2.
Typhus comatofus, Sauv. fp. 3.
Tritaeophya typhodes Mangeti, Sauv. fp. 11. Raym.
Fort, de febribus.
Defcription. Of all the deferiptions we have of the
nervous fever, that of Dr Huxham is perhaps the befte
According to him, the patient at find grows fomewhat
liftlefs, and feels flight chills and fhudders, with un¬
certain fiufhes of heat, and a kind of wearinefs all
over, like what is felt after great fatigue. This is al¬
ways attended with a fort of heavinefs and dejedlion
ef fpirit, and more or lefs of a load, pain, or giddi-
nefs of the head •, a naufea and difrelifh of every thing
foon follows, without any confiderable thirft, but fre¬
quently with retching to vomit, though little but in-
fipid phlegm is brought up. Though a kind of lucid
interval of feveral hours fometimes intervenes, yet the
lymptoms return with aggravation, efpecially towards
night •, the head grows more giddy or heavy ; the heat
greater ; the pulfe quicker, but weak j with an op-
preflive kind of breathing. A great torpor, or obtufe
pain and coldnefs, affeds the hinder part of the head
frequently, and oftentimes a heavy pain is felt on the
top all along the coronary future-, this, and that of
t.ie back part of the head, generally attend nervous
fevers, and are commonly fucceeded by fome degree
ot a delirium. In this condition the patient often
continues for five or fix days, with a heavy, pale, funk
countenance j feemingly not very fick, and yet far
from being well reftlefs, anxious, and commonly
quite void of deep, though fometimes very drowfy and
heavy ; but although he appears to thofe about him
aflually to fleeja, he is utterly infenfible of it. The
Puke during all tnis time is quiciv, weak, and unequal j
fometimes fluttering, and fometimes for a few moments
flow nay, even intermitting, and then, with a fudden
flufh in the face, immediately very quick, and perhaps
foon after furprifingly calm and equal 5 and thus alter¬
nately. ^ The heats and chills are as uncertain and un-
equul j fometimes a fudden colour and glow anfe in the
cheeks, while the tip of the nofe and ears is cold, and
tue forehead at the fame time in a cold dewy fweat.
Nay, it is very common, that a high colour and heat
appear in the face, when the extremities are quite cold.
I he urine is commonly pale, and often limpid; frequent¬
ly of a whey colour, or like vapid fmall beer, in which
there is either no manner of fediment, or a kind of
looie matter like bran irregularly fcattered up and down
m it. The tongue at the beginning is feldom or never
dry or difcoloured, but fometimes covered with a thin
whitifh mucus : at length, indeed, it often appears very
dry, led, and chapped, or of the colour of pomegranate
rind ; but this chiefly at the clofe of the difeafe : yet
however dry the tongue and lips feem, the patient'fel¬
dom complains of thirft, though fometimes of a heat in
the tongue. About the feventh or eighth day, the
giddinefsy
Practice. M E D I
Febres. giddinefs, pain, or heavinefs of the head become much
* v  greater, with a conftant noife in it, or tinnitus aurium ;
which is very difturbing to the fick, and frequently
brings on a "delirium. Ihe load on the prsecoroia,
anxiety and faintnefs, grow- much more urgent $ and pa¬
tients often fall into an a&ual deliquium, efpecially if
they attempt to fit up *, cold fweats luddenly come out
on the forehead, and on the backs of the hands (though
at the fame time there be too much heat in the cheeks
and palms), and as fuddenly go off. _ If the urine now
grow more pale and limpid, a delirium is certainly to
be expe&ed, with univerfal tremors and fubfultus ten-
dinum ; the delirium is feldom violent, but as it were a
confufion of thought and a&ion, muttering continually
and faltering in their fpeech. Sometimes they a-
wake only in a hurry and confufion, and preiently
recollefl themfelves, but forthwith fall into a mut¬
tering dozy Hate again. The tongue grows often
very dry at the height, efpecially in its middle part,
with a yellowiih lift on each fide, and trembles greatly
when the fick attempts to put it out. Frequently pro-
fufe fweats pour forth all at once, about the ninth,
tenth, or eleventh day, commonly coldifti and clammy-
on the extremities •, oftentimes very thin ftools are dif-
charged, and then nature finks apace } the extremities
grow cold, the nails pale or livid ; the pulfe may be
faid to tremble and flutter, rather than to beat, the
vibrations being fo exceedingly weak and quick that
they can fcarce be diftinguilhed j though fometimes
they creep on furprifingly flow, and very frequently
intermit. I he fick become quite infenfible and ftupid,
fcarce affebfed with the loudeft noife or the llrongeft
light} though, at the beginning, ftrangciy finceptible
of the impreflions of either. The delirium now ends
in a profound coma, and that loon in death. 1 tie ftools,
urine, and tears, run off involuntarily, and denounce a
fpeedy diffolution, as the tremblings and twitchings of
the nerves and tendons are preludes to a general con-
vulfion, which at once fnaps the thread _ot life. In
one or other of thefe ways are the fick carried off, after
having languiihed for 14, 1^, or 20 days j nay, fome¬
times much longer. Moft patients grow deaf and ftupid
towards the end of this difeafe (fome extiemeiy deaf),
though too quick and apprehenlive at the beginning ;
infomuch that the leaft noife or light greatly offended
them. Many from their immoderate fears feem to hurry
themfelves out of life, where little danger is apparent
at the beginning ; nay, fome will not allow therofelves
to fleep, from a vain fear of dozing quite away ; and
others from the vaft hurry, anxiety, and confufion of
which they are fenfible either during fleep or at their
waking. .
Caufes of, andperfons JubjeEi to, this difordt-r. aim
nervous fever is moft frequently the confequence of
contagion. It moft commonly attacks perions of
weak nerves, a lax habit of body, and a poor thin
blood; thofe who have fuffered great evacuations, a
long dejedlion of fpirits, immoderate watchings, ftu-
dies, fatigue, &c. ■, alio tnofe who have uled much
crude unwholefome food, vapid impure drinks, or
who have been confined long in damp foul air j who
have broken the vigour of their conftitutions by fali-
vations, too frequent purging, immoderate venery, &c.
Hence we fee how the difeafe is connedfed with an ex¬
treme debility of the nervous fyftem } for when people
CINE. 2
are prepared for this fever by having their nerves al- Typh
ready weakened, the contagious particles immediately
attack the nervous fyftem, without fo much affedling
the ftate of the blood or juices, though the latter are
greatly affefted in the putrid malignant fevers.
Prognojis. In nervous fevers, the prognofis is very
much the fame with that of the putrid malignant kind.
And although death be not fo frequent as in that mo¬
dification of fever, yet it may juftly be conlidered as a
very fatal difeafe.
Cure. As this fever is produced by contagion af-
fedling the nervous fyftem of a perlon already debi¬
litated, and thus producing wreaknefs in an extreme
degree, wTe have now occalion to confider Hr Cullen’s
two indications of cure omitted under the Synocha;
namely, to remove the caufe and obviate the effefls of
debility, and to corrcft the putrefcent tendency of
the fluids •, for though, in the beginning of nervous
fevers, the tendency to putrefaction be not remark¬
able, it becomes exceedingly great towards their con-
clufion.
[1.] In anfwering the firft indication, Dr Cullen ob-
ferves, that moft of the fedative powers inducing de¬
bility ceafe to aCt foon after they have been firft ap¬
plied ; and therefore the removing them is not an
objeft of the prefent indication. 'I here is only one
which may be fuppofed to continue to a£t for a long
time, and that is the contagion applied j but we know
nothing in the nature of contagion that can lead us to
any meafures for removing or correfting it. We know
only its effeCls as a fedative pow?er inducing debility,
or as a ferment inducing a tendency to putrefaClion in
the fluids, the former of which at prefent -falls under
our confideration.—The debility induced in fevers by
contagion, or other caufes, appears elpecially in the
weaker energy of the brain 3 but in what this confifts,
or how it may be reftored, we do not well know; but
as nature, feemingly for this purpofe, excites the mo¬
tion of the heart and arteries, vve muft aferibe the con¬
tinuance of the debility to the wreaker reaClion of the
fanguiferous fyftem : the means, therefore, which we
employ for obviating debility, are immediately direft-
ed to fupport and increale the aftion of the heart and
arteries 3 and the remedies employed are tonics or fti-
mulants.
In contagious difeafes we know, both from the
effeCts which appear, and from diffeCtions, that the
tone of the heart and arteries is ccnfrderably dimi-
niftied 3 and that tonic remedies are therefore proper¬
ly indicated. We are to confider thefe remedies as of
twm kinds 3 1. The power of cold 3 2. That of tonic
medicines.
The power of cold as a tonic in fevers may be em¬
ployed in two ways : either as thrown into the ftomach,
or as applied to the furface of the body. As we have
already pbferved that the power of cold may be com¬
municated from any one part to every other part of the
fyftem, fo it will be readily allowed that the ftomach
is a part as fit as any other for this communication, and
that cold drink taken into the flcmach may prove an
ufeful tonic in fevers. This the experience of all ages
has confirmed 3 but at the fame time it has been fre¬
quently obferved, that, in certain circumftances, cold
drink taken into the ftomach has proved very hurtful 3
and therefore that its ufe in fevers requires fome fimi-
tations,.
M E f> I C I N E.
t?‘ions. Whsi tnefe limitations fhould be, and what
are all the circumdances which may forbid the ufe of
cold drink, it is difficult to determine; but it feems
clearly forbidden in all cafes where a phlogiffic dia-
thefis prevails in the fyffem, and more efpecially
when there are topical affe&ions of an inflammatory
nature.
The other met.hod of employing cold as a tonic,
is by applying it to the furface of the body, as a re¬
frigerant power fit to moderate the violence of re¬
action ; but probably it may here alfo be confidered
properly as a tonic, and ufeful in cafes of debility.—
Not only cool air, but cold water alfo may be applied
to the furface of the body as a tonic. The ancients
frequently applied it with advantage to particular
parts as a tonic j but it is a difcovery of modern
times, that, in the cafe of putrid fevers attended with
much debility, the body may be waftied all over with
cold water. This was firft pradlifed at Breflaw in
Silefia, as appears from a differtation under the title
of Epidcmia Verna, qiue Wratiflaviam anno 1737 af-
flixit, to be found in the AH a Nat. Curiof. vol. x.
And from other writei's it appears, that the praflice
has paffed into fome of the neighbouring countxnes.
But in Britain the ufe of cold water externally applied
has of late been more extenfively introduced than into
any other country of Europe. For this we are chiefly
indebted to the late ingenious Dr Currie of Liverpool.
He has recommended the dafhing cold water over the
whole furface of the body, as a means not only of obvi¬
ating heat, delirium, and other fymptoms molt urgent ;
but of putting an immediate flop to the difeafe. And
there can be no doubt that the praflice has often been
attended with the moft falutary confequences. But it
is by no means fo generally advantageous as Dr Currie
and fome others are inclined to believe. It is in but
very rare inftances that an artificial termination of
fever can thus be obtained j and even as obviating
fymptcms, it is not unfrequently attended with bad con¬
fequences. It can never be employed with fafety un-
lefs where the heat is very urgent. And perhaps all
the advantages of cold immerfion m-ay be obtained
merely from cold waffling, a practice now very common
in Britain.
The medicines which have been employed in fevers
as tonics are various. If the acetite of lead hath been
found ufeful, it is probably as a tonic rather than as
a refrigerant j and the ens veneris, or other prepara¬
tions of iron which have been employed, can aft as
tonics only. The preparations of copper, from their
effefts in epilepfy, are prefumed to poffefs a tonic
power ; but whether their ufe in fevers be founded on
their tonic or emetic powers, is uncertain. And upon
the whole there may no doubt occur fome inftances of
fevers being cured by tonics taken from the foflil king¬
dom ; but the vegetable tonics are the moft efficacious,
and among thefe the cinchona certainly holds the firft
place.
The cinchona has commonly been confidered as a
fpecific, or a remedy of which the operation was not
underftood. We muft obferve, however, that, as in
many cafes the effefts of the bark are perceived foon
alter its being taken into the ftomach, and before it
cpn. poffibly be conveyed to the mafs of blood, we may
conclude, that its effefts do not arife from its operating
3
Pra&ice.
on the fluids; and muft therefore depend upon ks Typhus,
afting on the nerves of the ftomach, and being there- '-—v——^
by communicated to the reft of the nervous fyftem.
This operation feems to be a tonic power, the bark be¬
ing a remedy in many cafes of debility, particularly in
gangrene ; and if its operation may be explained from
its poffeffing a tonic power, we may eafily perceive
why it is improper when a phlogiflic diathdis prevails;
and from the fame view we can alcertain in what cafes
of continued fever it may be admitted. Thefe cafes
are either where confiderable remiffions have appear-
ed, when it may be employed to prevent the return of
exacerbations, on the fame footing as it is ufed in in¬
termitting fevers j or in the advanced (late of fevers,
when all fufpicion of an inflammatory condition is remo¬
ved, and a general debility prevails in the fyftem j and its
being then employed is fufficiently agreeable to the pre-
fent praftice.
Another fet of medicines to be employed for ob¬
viating debility and its effefts, are the direft ftimu-
lants. Thefe, in fome meafure, increafe the tone of
the moving fibres 5 but are different from the tonics,
as they more direftly excite and increafe the aftion of
the heart and arteries. This mode of operation renders
their ufe ambiguous j and when an inflammatory dia-
thefts is prefent, the effefts of the ftimulants may be
very hurtful j but it is ftill probable, that in the ad¬
vanced flate of thefe fevers, when debility prevails^
they may be ufeful.
Of all the ftimulants which may be properly em¬
ployed, wine feems to be the moft eligible, "it has
the advantage of being grateful to the palate and
ftomach, and of having its ftimulant parts fo much di¬
luted, that it can be conveniently given in fmall dofesj
and therefore it may be'employed with fufficient fafety.
—It may be fufpefted that wine has an operation ana¬
logous to that of opium ; and on good grounds. But
we can diflunftly remark its ftimulant powrer only; which
renders its effefts in the phrenetic delirium manifeftly
hurtful; and in the mild delirium depending on debili¬
ty as remarkably ufeful.
£2.] We muft now proceed to the other indication
of cure, namely, to correft or obviate the tendency in
the fluids to putrefaftion. This may be done, 1. By
avoiding any new application of putrid or putrefcent
matter. 2. By evacuating the putrid or putrefcent
matter already prefent in the body. 3. By correft-
ing the putrid or putrefcent matter remaining in the
body by diluents and antifeptics. 4. By fupporting
the tone of the veffels, and thereby rdifting further
putrefaftion, or obviating its effects. 5. By moderat¬
ing the violence of reaftion, confidered as a means of
increafing putrefaftion.
The further application of putrid or putrefcent mat¬
ter may be avoided, 1. By removing the patient from
places filled with corrupted air. 2. By pxeventing the
accumulation of the patient’s own effluvia, by a conftant
ventilation, and by a frequent change of bedclothes and
body linen. 3. By the careful and fpeedy removal of
all excremental matters from the patient’s chamber.
4. By avoiding animal food.
The putrid or putrefcent matter already prefent in
the body, may be evacuated partly by frequent evacu¬
ations of the contents of the inteftines; and more
effeftually ftill by fupporting the excretions of perfpi-
ratioa
Practice. M E D I
Febres. ration and urine "by the plentiful ufe of diluents. That
  v  which remains in the body may be rendered more mild
and innocent by the ufe of diluents, or may be correct¬
ed by the ufe of antifeptics. Thefe lalt are of many
and various kinds ; but which of them are conveniently
applicable, or more particularly fuited to the cafe of
fevers, is not well afcertained. Thofe molt certainly
applicable and ufefuHre accident aliments, particularly
fruits, acids of all kinds, and neutral falls.
The progrefs of putrefa&icn may be confiderably
retarded, and its effects obviated, by fupportmg the
tone of the veffels j and this may be done by tonic
medicines, of which the chief are cold, and the Peru'
vian bark, as already mentioned. The violence of
reaftion increafing the tendency to putrefadion, may
be moderated by the means already mentioned under
Sunocha. . , r , .
^ Thefe are the proper indications to be oolerved in
the cure of the flow nervous fever-, and they are
chiefly fulfilled by cleanlinefs, cool air, and diluents
which, perhaps upon the whole are more ufeful in
fevers, than all other pradices put together. Dr
Huxham obferves, that evacuations (efpecially bleed¬
ing), are improper even at the_ beginning. Even a
common purgative given at this time hath been follow¬
ed by furprifing languors, fyncope, and a train of other
ill fymptoms. It may, however, fometimes be necef-
fary to cleanfe the ftomach and primae viae by a gentle
emetic, or a mild laxative. Indeed, where naufea, fick-
nefs and load at ftomach are urgent, as is frequently
the cafe in the beginning of this fever, a vomit is ne-
ceffary. Clyfters of milk, fugar, and fait, may be
injeded with fafety and advantage every fecond 01
third day, if nature wants _ to be prompted to ftcol.
The temperate, cordial, diaphoretic medicines, are
certainly, according to our author, moft: proper in thele
fevers \ and a well-regulated, fupporting, diluting diet
is neceffary. The latter of itfelf, judicioufty managed,
will go a great way in the cure, efpecially if affined by
well-timed and well-applied blifters, and a due care to
keep the patient as quiet as poffible both in beoy and
mind. But it Ihould be noted, that ftrong opiates are
commonly very pernicious, however much i.r.e want of
fteep and reftleffnefs may feem to demand them.. Mild
diaphoretics, fuch as neutral ciraugnts or elixir paie-
goricum, have much better effeCfs -, which, by raifing a
gentle eafy fweat, or at leaf! a plentiful perspiration,
calm the hurry of the fpirits, and a refreshing fteep.en-
fues. Where the confufion and dejefticn of fpints
are very confiderable, blifters have been advhed to oe
applied to the neck, occiput, or behind the ears; and
during all this a free ufe of thin wine whey, feme plea-
fant ptifan or gruel, with a little pure wane, mull be.di-
redled. Indeed the patients, in this cafe ftiould drink
frequently: though fuch quantities may not be necef¬
fary as in the ardent or even putrid malignant fevers.}
yet they fhould be fufficient to carry on the work of di¬
lution, fupport the fweats, and fupply the blood with
frefti and wholefome fluids, in place of tnat noxious
matter which is continually palling off. In this view
alfo a thin chicken-broth is of fervice, both as food
and phyfic, efpecially towards the decline of the dif-
eafe } and for the fame reafon thin jellies of hartftiorn,
fago, and panada, are ufetul, adding a little wine to
them, and ihe juice of orange or lemon.
CINE.
It is obfervable, that the flek are never fo eafy as Typhus. ^
when they are in a gentle fweat for this foon removes *
the hurry of fpirits, exacerbations of heat, &c. ^ But
profufe fweats fliould never be encouraged, much lefs
induced, by very ftrong heating medicines, efpecial-
ly in the beginning or advance of the fever } for they
too much exhauft the vital powers, and are followed
by a vaft deje£lion of fpirits, tremors, ftartings of the
tendons, and fometimes end in rigors, cold clammy
fweats, fyncope, or a comatole difpofition. Some¬
times irregular partial heats and flufhes fucceed, with
great anxiety, reftleffnefs, delirium, difficulty of breath¬
ing, and a vaft load and oppreffion in the praecor-
dia, fo as to incline the lefs cautious obferver to think
there may be fomething pneumonic in it} but even
here we muft beware of bleeding, as the pulfe will be
found very fmall and unequal, though very quick. h\or
is bleeding contraindicated only by the weaknefs and
fluttering of the pulfe, but alfo by the pale, limpid,
and watery urine which is commonly attendant. Thefe
fymptoms denote the load, anxiety, and. oppreffion on
the praecordia to proceed from an affeftion of the ner¬
vous fyftem, and not from a pneumonic obftru&ion. or
inflammation. The breathing in this cafe, though thick
and laborious, is not hot, but a kind ot fighing or fob¬
bing refpiration, nor is there ofteu any kind of cougn
concomitant; fo that it has been conjeaured to proceed
from fome fpafm on the vitals.. Here therefore the
nervous cordial medicines are indicated, and blifters to
the thighs, legs, or arms.
The above-mentioned difficulty of breathing, anxie¬
ty, and oppreffion, many times precede a miliary erup¬
tion, w'bich often appears on the fevemb, ninth, or
eleventh day of the fever, and fometimes later.. In¬
deed great anxiety and oppreffion on the praecordia al¬
ways precede puftular eruptions of any kind in cul
farts of fevers. This eruption ftiould be promoted by
foft eafy cordials and proper diluents } to vyhich ffiould
be fometimes added fome gentle aromatics. Thefe
tend to calm the univerfal uneafmefs commonly, com¬
plained of, and alfo very effeaual.ly promote a diapho-
refls, with which the miliary eruptions freely and eafily
advance. But however advantageous thefe commonly
are, profufe fweats are feldom or never fo, even though
attended with a very large eruption. Two or three -
crops of thefe miliary puftules have been known to fuc¬
ceed one another, following profufe fweats, not cnlj
without advantage, but with great aetriment to the
patients, as they were thereby reduced to an extreme
degree of weaknefs } fo that they may juftly be reckon¬
ed fymptcmatic rather than any thing elte, and the con-
fequent eruption is often merely.the fymptom of a fymp-
tom. „
In thefe profufe colliquative fweatings a little gener¬
ous red wfine (diluted fomewhat, if neceffary) may be.,
given with the greateft advantage ; .as it preiently mo¬
derates the fweats, fupports the patient, and keeps up
the miliary papulae if they happen at attend, fovvards
the decline of the fever -alfo, where the fwe.ats are a-
bundant and wTeakening, fmall dofes cf tne tincture eft
cinchona with faffron and fnakeroot may be given with
the greateft advantage, frequently interpofing a dofe
of rhubarb to carry off the putrid colluvies in the firft
paffages which withal makes the remiffions or inter-
miffiens that often happen in the. decline of nervous -
fevers'
272 MED
, Febres. fevers more diftindt and manlfeft, and gives a fairer
'r ^'J opportunity of throwing in the bark 5 for in the pro¬
per exhibition of this medicine w7e are to place our
chief hope of curing both the nervous and putrid ma¬
lignant fevers.
l6tJ II. Typhus gravior, or the putrid, pejiilential, or ma¬
lignant Ff.I'ER. Sp. I. var. 2.
Febris peflilens, P. Sal. I)iverf. de febre pefli-
lenti.
Febris peftilens iEgyptiorum, Alpin. de med. 2TI-
gypt. 1. i. cap. 14.
Typhus ./Egyptiacus, Sauv. fp. 6.
Febris peftilens maligna, Sennert. de febribus, 1. iv.
cap. 10.
Febris maligna peftilens, River, 1. xvii. fedt. iii.
cap. 1.
Febris peftilens maligna, ann. 1643, Willis, de fe¬
bribus, cap. 14.
Typhus carcerum, Sauv. fp. 1.
Febris nautica peftilentialis, Huxham de acre ad. ann.
x740*
Miliaris nautica, Sauv. fp. g.
Febris putrida contagiofa in carceribus genita, Hux-
ham de acre ad ann. 1742.
Miliaris purpurata, Sauv. fp. h.
Febris carcerum et nofocomiorum. Pringle, Difeafes
of the army, p. 294. Van Szvicten, Maladies des
armes, p. 136.
Typhus caftrenfis, Sauv. fp. 5.
Febris caftrenfis, quam vulgo cephalalgiam epidemi-
cam vocant, Pie nr. Mail et ^4. Ph. Koph. Dilf.
apud Hallerum, tom. v.
Febris Hungarica five caftrenfts, Juncker, 74. et
plurium auBorum. »
Febris caftrenfts Gallorum in Bohemia, ann. 1742,
Scnnci. Diff. apud Haller, tom v.
Febris petechialis, Sennert. 1. iv. cap. 13. River.
prax. 1. xvii. fedt. iii. cap. 1. Hoffm. ii. p. 84.
Juncker, 73. Huxham on fevers, chap. 8. Lud¬
wig. Inft. med. clin. N° 146. Schreiber von er-
kentnefs, und cur der Krank heiten. p. 126.
Monro, Difeafes of military hofpitals, p. 1.
Febris catarrhalis maligna petechizans, Juncker, <7 2.
Hoffm. ii. 75. Eller de cogn. et cur. morb.
fedl. vi.
Febris quae lenticulas, pundticula, aut peticulas
vocant, Fracajlorius de morb. contag. lib. ii.
cap. 6.
Febris peticularis Tridenti, ann. 1591. Roboretus
febr. peticul.
Febris petechialis epidemica Coloniae, ann. 1672.
Donckers, Idia febris petechialis.
Febris petechialis epidemica Pofonii, 1683, C. F.
Loeu in App. ad A. N. C. vol. ii.
Febris petechialis epidemica Mutinae, 1692. Ra-
tnazzini. Conft. Mutinenfis, oper. p. 177.
Febris maligna petechizans, ann. 1698. Hoffm. ii.
p. 80.
Febris petechialis Wratiflaviae, ann. 1699. Hel-
wich, Ephem. Germ. D. III. A. VII. et VIII.
obf. 132. p. 616.
Febris epidemica Lipfiae, 1718. M. Adolph. A.
N. C. III. obf. 131. p. 296.
Febris endemica et epidemica Corcagienfis, .ann.
4
I C I N E. Practice.
1708, 1718, et feq. Rogers, Effay on Epidemic Typhus,
difeafes. , v 1
Febris continua epidemica Corcagienfis, an-n. 1719.
et feq. M. O^Connel, Obf. de morbis.
Febris petechialis epidemica Cremonae, 1734. VaL
. charenghi Med. ration, fedl. 3.
Febris petechizans Petropoli, 1735. Weitbrecht.
Diff, apud Haller, tom. v.
Febris petechialis, ann. 1740, 1741, in Haffia,
Ritter. A. N. C. vol. vii. obf. 4.
Febris maligna petechialis Rintelli, 1741. Furjle-
nau, A. N. C. vol. vii. obf. 5.
Febris petechialis epidemica Silefiae, 1741, et feq.
Bandhorjl. Diff. apud Haller, tom. v.
Febris petechialis epidemica Vienna;, I*]SP Hafc-
nohrl. Hift. med. cap. 2.
Febris petechialis epidemica Lipfiae, 1757. Ludu-
vig. Adverfar. tom. i. pars 1. (
Febris petechialis epidemica variis Germanise locis
ab ann. 1755 ad 1761. Struck de morbo cum
petechiis.
Defcription. This difeafe has been fuppofed to dif¬
fer from the former in degree only ; and there are
many circumftances which would lead us to conclude,
that both frequently originate from a contagion pre-
cifely of the fame nature. In the fame manner we
fee, during different feafons, and in different circum-.
fiances, various degrees of malignity in fmallpox.
Though every inftance of the difeafe depends on the
introdudlion of a peculiar and fpecific contagion into
the body, yet this contagion in particular epidemics
evidently poffeffes peculiar malignancy. The fame is
probably the cafe with the typhoid fever : But whether
this obfervation be well founded or not, there cannot
be a doubt that the typhus gravior or putrid fever is
a difeafe of the moll dangerous nature, as, befides
the extreme debility of the nervous fyftem, there is a
rapid tendency of the fiuids to putrefaftion, which
fometimes cuts off the patient in a few days, nay, in
the warm climates, in 12 or 14 hours ; or if the patient
recovers, he is for a long time, even in this country,
in an exceedingly weak ftate, and requires many weeks
to recover his former health.
The putrid fevers, according to Huxham, make
their attack with much more violence than the flow
nervous ones •, the rigors are fometimes very great,
though fometimes fcarce felt ; the heats much fharper
and permanent ; yet, at firft, (udden, tranfient, and re¬
mittent : the pulfe more tenfe and hard, but common¬
ly qmck and fmall; though fometimes flow, and feem-
ingly regular for a time, and then fluttering and une¬
qual. The headach, naufea, and vomiting, are much
more confiderable even from the beginning. Some¬
times a fevere fixed pain is felt in one or both temples,
or over one or both eyebrow’s 5 frequently in the bot¬
tom of the orbits of the eyes. The eyes always appear
very dull, heavy, fometimes yellowifh, and very often
a little inflamed. The countenance feems bloated,
and more dead-coloured than ufual, Commonly the
temporal arteries throb much, and a tinnitus aurium is
very troublefome : a ftrong vibration alfo of the caro¬
tid arteries frequently takes place in the advance of the
fever, though the pulfe at the vvrift may be fmall, nay
even flow ; this is a certain fign of an impending deli¬
rium,
Practice. M E D I
Fibres, rium, and generally proceeds from fome confiderable
‘ v obftruftions in the brain.
The proftration of fpirits, weaknefs, and faintnefs,
are often furprifingly great and fudden, though no in¬
ordinate evacuation happens • and this too fometimes
when the pulfe feems tolerably Itrong. The refpira-
tion is molt commonly laborious, and interrupted with
a kind of lighing or fobbing, and the breath is hot and
offenfive.
Few or none of thefe fevers are without pain in the
back and loins ; always an univerfal wearinefs or fore-
nefs is felt, and often much pain in the limbs. Some¬
times a great heat, load, and pain, afifeft the pit of the
flomach, with perpetual vomiting of porraceous or black
bile, and a moil troublefome fingultus ; the matter dif-
charged is frequently of a very naufeous fmell. The
tongue, though only white at the beginning, grows
daily more dark and dry •, fometimes of a Ihining livid
colour, with a kind of dark bubble at top •, lometimes
exceeding black ; and fo continues for many days to¬
gether ; nor is the tinft to be got off many times for
feveral days, even after a favourable crifis : at the height
of the difeafe, it generally becomes very dry, ftiff, and
black, or of a dark pomegranate colour. Hence the
fpeech is very inarticulate, and Icarce intelligible. I he
third: in the increafe of the fever is commonly very
great, fometimes unquenchable j and yet no kind of
drink pleafes, but all feem bitter and mawkilh ; at
other times, however, no third: is complained of,
though the mouth and tongue are exceedingly foul
and dry ; this is always a dangerous fymptom, and
ends in a frenzy or coma. The lips and teeth, efpe-
cially near the height, are covered with a very black
tenacious fordes. At the commencement of the fever, the
urine is often crude, pale, and vapid, but grows much
higher coloured in the advance, and frequently refembles
a drong lixivium, or citrine urine, tinged with a fmall
quantity of blood j it is without the lead fediment or
cloud, and fo continues for many days together : by
degrees it grows darker, like dead drong high-colour¬
ed beer, and fmells very rank and offenfive. In pe¬
techial fevers, the urine has often been feen almoft
black and very fetid. The dools, efpecially near the
height, or in the decline of the fever, are for the mod:
part intolerably fetid, green, livid, or black, frequent¬
ly with fevere gripes and blood. When they are more
yellow or brown, the lefs is the danger •, but the high-
elt when they run off infenfibly, whatever their colour
may be. It is likewife a very bad fymptom when the
belly continues tenfe, fwollen, and hard, after profufe
flools •, for this is generally the confequence of an in¬
flammation or mortification of the intedines. A gentle
diarrhoea is often very beneficial, and fometimes feems
to be the only way which nature takes to carry off the
morbific matter.
Sometimes black, livid, dun, or greenifh fpots appear
on different parts of the Ikin, particularly on the bread,
which, always indicate a high degree of malignity j but
the more florid the fpots are, the lefs danger is to be
feared. It is alfo a good flgn when the black or violet
petechia: become of a brighter colour. The large,
black, or livid fpots, are almoit always attended with
profufe haemorrhagies ; and the fmall, dulky, brown
fpots, like freckles, are not much lefs dangerous than
Vol. XIII. Part I.
CINE.
the livid or black ; though they are feldom accom¬
panied with fluxes of blood : exceffively profufe, cold,
clammy fweats are often concomitant, by which allb
they fometimes vanifli, though without any advantage
to the patient. The eruption of the petechise is uncer¬
tain ; fometimes they appear on the fourth or fifth
day, though fometimes not till the eleventh, or even
later. The vibices, or large dark, blue, or greenilh
marks, feldom appear till very near the fatal period.
Frequently alfo we meet with an efflorefcence like the
meafles in malignant fevers, but of a much more dull
and livid hue •, in which the Ikin, efpecially' on the
bread, appears as it wrere marbled or variegated. This
in general is an ill fymptom, and is often attended with
fatal cpnfequences.
Sometimes about the nth or 14th day, on the oc¬
currence of profufe fweat?, the petechiEe difappear, and
vail quantities of white miliary pudules break out.
This is feldom found of any confiderable advantage 5
but an itching, fmarting, red ralh, commonly gives
great relief \ and fo do the large, fretting, watery
bladders, which many times rife upon the back, bread-,
Ihoulders, &c. A fcabby eruption likewife about the
lips and nofe is one of the falutary fymptoms; and
the more hot and angry it is, fo much the better. But
of much more uncertain and dangerous event are the
brown-coloured aphthae ; nor are thofe that are ex¬
ceeding white and thick, like lard, of a very promifing
afpeft. They are foon fucceeded by great difficulty
of fwallowing, pain and ulceration of the fauces,
oefophagus, &c. and with an inceffant fingultus : the
whole prime? vi<e become at lad: affedffed ; a bloody
dyfentery comes on, followed by a fphacelation of the
intedines 5 as is evident from the black, fanious, and
bloody dools, extremely fetid and infedlious. Vibices,
or large, black, and bluilh marks refembling bruifes,
are frequently feen towards the clofe of the fever ;
and, when attended with lividity and coldnefs of the
extremities, are certain tokens of approaching death,.
In fome cafes, the blacknefs has been known to reach
almod to the elbows, and the hands have been dead-
cold for a day or two before the death of the patient.
Such are the general appearances of the putrid ma¬
lignant fever in this country, among thofe who enjoy
a free air, and are not crowded together, or expofod
to the caufes of infeftion : but, in jails, hofpitals, or
other places where the dek are crowded, and in fome
meafure deprived of the benefit of the free air, the
fymptoms are, if poffible, more terrible. Sir John
Pringle, who had many opportunities of obferving it,
tells us, that the jail or hofpital fever, in the begin¬
ning, is not eafy to be ditlinguidied from a common
fever. The firlt lymptoms are dight interchanges of
heat and cold, a trembling of the hands, fometimes a
fenfe of numbnefs in the arms, weaknefs of the limbs,
lofs of appetite ; and the diforder increafing towards
night, the body grows hot, the deep is interrupted,
and not refrediing. With thefe fymptoms, for the
mod part, there is fome pain or confufion in the head ;
the pulfe at firft is a little quicker than natural, and
the patients find themfelves too much indifpofed to go
about bufinefs, though too well to be wholly confined.
When the fever advances, the above-mentioned fymp¬
toms are in a higher degree 5 and in particular the
M n» patient
273
Typhus.
274 M EDI
Febre?. patient complains of a laffitude, naufea, pains in his
v back, a more conilant pain and confufion in his head,
attended with an uncommon dejedtion of fpirits. At
this time the pulfe is never funk, but beats quick, and
often varies in the fame day both as to ilrength and
fulnefs. It is little affe&ed by bleeding, if a moderate
quantity of blood be taken away j but if the evacuation
be large, and efpecially if it be repeated, to anfwer a
falfe indication of inflammation, the pulfe, increaiing
in frequency, is apt to fink in force, and often irre¬
coverably, whilit the patient becomes delirious. But
we muft obferve, that, in every cafe, independent of
evacuations, the pulfe fooner or later finks, and then
gives certain evidence of the nature of the difeafe. The
appearance of the blood is various •, for though it be
commonly little altered, yet fometimes it will be fizy,
not only on the firft attack, but after tire fever is form¬
ed. The worft appearance is when the craffamentum
is diffolved ; though this does not happen till the adr
vanced ftate of the fever : indeed this feems not eafy
to be afcertained, as blood has been fo feldom taken
away at that time. The urine is alfo various. Some¬
times it is of a reddiflr or flame colour, which it preferves
a long time j but it is oftener pale, and changes from,
time to time in colour as well as crudity, being fome¬
times clear, fometimes clouded : towards the end, upon
a favourable crifis, it becomes thick, but does not al¬
ways depofit a fediment. If the fick lie warm, and
have had no preceding flux, the belly is generally
bound •, but when they lie cold, as they often do in
field-hofpitals, the pores of the fkin being (hut, a di¬
arrhoea is a common fymptom, but is not critical. In
the worft cafes, a flux appears in the laft ftage ; then
the ftools are involuntary, colliquative, ichorous, or
bloody, and have a cadaverous fmell •, the effects of a
mortification of the bowels, and the fign of approach¬
ing death. When the hofpitals are filled with dyfen-
teric patients, fome of the nurfes will be infefted with
the flux only, and others with this fever, ending in
thefe bloody and gangrenous ftools.
In the beginning the heat is moderate ; and even in
the advanced ftate, on firft touching the fkin, it feems
mconfiderable : but upon feeling the pulfe for fome
rime, we are fenfible of an uncommon heat (the ca-
lor mar dicans, as it has been called), leaving an un-
pleafant fenfation on the fingers for a few minutes.
A day or two before death, if care be not taken, the
extremities become cold, and the pulfe is then hardly
to be felt. The fkin is generally dry and parched j
though fometimes there are longer or fhorter fweats,
especially in the beginning. Such as are produced by
medicine are of no ufe, except on the firft attack, at
which time they will often remove the fever; and na¬
tural fweats are never critical till the diftemper begins
to decline. Thefe laft are rarely profufe, but gentle,
continued, and equally diffufed over the body : fome-
tnnes the difeafe will terminate by an almoft impercep¬
tible moifture of the fkin; the fweats are ufually fetid,
and offenfive even to the patient himfelf.
'I he tongue is commonly dry 5 and, without conftant
care of the nurfe, becomes hard and brown, with deep
chops: but this fymptom is common to moft fevers.
At. other times, though rarely, the tongue is foft and
moift to the laft, but with a mixture of a greenifli or
yellowifh colour., rl he third is fometimes great, but
G I N E. Practice,
more frequently moderate. In the advanced ftate, the Typhus,
breath is offenfive, and a blackifh furring gathers about"'V—
the roots of the teeth.
Some are never delirious, but all lie under a ftupor
or confufion ; few retain their fenfes till death : many
lofe them early, and from two caufes; either from im¬
moderate bleeding, or the premature ufe of warm and
fpirituous medicines. They rarely fleep; and, unlefs de¬
lirious, have more of a dejedled and thoughtful I00L
than what is commonly feen in other fevers. The face
is late in acquiring either a ghaftly or a very morbid
appearance ; yet the eyes are always muddy, and ge¬
nerally the white is of a reddifti call as if inflamed.
’I he confufion of head commonly rifes to a delirium,
efpecially at night; but, unlefs by an unfeafonable hot
regimen, it feldom turns to rage, or to thole high
flights of imagination common in other fevers. When
the delirium comes to that height, the face is flufhed,
the eyes red, the voice is quick, and the patient ftruggles
to get up. But when that fymptom is owing to large
evacuations, or only to the advanced ftate of the dif¬
eafe, the face appears meagre ; the eye-lids in flumbers
are only half fhut; and the voice, which is commonly
low and flow, finks to a degree fcarce to be heard.
From the beginning there is generally a great dejec¬
tion and failure of ftrength. A tremor of the hands is
more common than aftarting of the tendons ; and if the
fubfultus occurs, it is in a Idler degree than in many
other fevers. In every ftage of the difeafe, as the pulfe
finks, the delirium and tremors increafe ; and in pro¬
portion as the pulfe rifes, the head and fpirits are re¬
lieved. Sometimes in the beginning, but for the moft
part in the advanced ftate, the patient grows dull of
hearing, and at laft almoft deaf. When the fever is
protra&ed, with a flow and low voice, the fick have a
particular craving for fomething cordial, and nothing
is fo cordial or fo acceptable as wine. They long for
no food, yet willingly take a little panada if wine be
added. But fuch as are delirious, with a quick voice,
wild looks, a fubfultus tendinum, or violent adions,
though their pulfe be funk, yet bear neither hot medi¬
cines, wine, nor the common cordials.
Vomiting, and complaints of a load and ficknefs at
ftomach, though ufual fymptoms, are not eflential to
the difeafe ; nor are pleuritic flitches, difficulty in
breathing, or flying pains, to be referred fo much to
it as to the conftitution of the patient, or to a preced¬
ing cold.
A petechial efflorefcence is a frequent, though not
an infeparable, attendant of this fever. It fometimes
appears of a brighter or paler red, at other times of a
livid colour, but never rifes above the fldn. The (pots
are fmall ; but generally fo confluent, that at a little di-
ftance the* fkin appears only fomewhat redder than or¬
dinary, as if the colour was uniform ; but upon a nearer
infpedtion interftices are feen. For the moft part this
eruption is fo little confpicuous, that unlefs it be look¬
ed for attentively, it may efcape notice. The fpots ap¬
pear thickeft on the back and breaft, lefs on the legs
and arms, and Sir John Pringle never remembers to have
feen any on the face. As to the time of their appear¬
ance, he agrees entirely with Dr Huxham. Thefe
fpots are never critical, nor are they reckoned among
the mortal fymptoms; but only concur with other
figns to afcertain the nature of the difeafe. The nearer
they
Practice. M E D I
Febr^s. they approp.c'h to put pie, the more they are to be
u—-v— dreaded.1 In a few cafes, inftead of fpots, purple ftreaks
and blotches were obferved. Sometimes the petechim
did hot appear till after death •, and there was one cale
In which, after bleeding, the petechia; were feen only
on the arm below the ligature, and nowhere elfe on the
Ikin.
The hofpital fever, though accounted one ol the con¬
tinued kind, yet has generally fome exacerbation at
night, with a remiffion and often partial fweats in the
day ; and after a long continuance it is apt to change
into a heftic, or an intermitting form. The length of
the difeafe is uncertain. Sometimes it was terminated,
either in death or recovery, in feven days after the pa¬
tient took to his bed 5 but in the hofpkals jt generally
continued from 14 to 20, and fome died or recovered
after four weeks. From the time of the finking of the
pulfe until death or a favourable crifis, there js per¬
haps lefs change to be feen from day to day in this
than in moft other fevers. When its courfe is long, it
fometimes terminates in fuppurations of the parotid
or axillary glands ■, and when thefe do not appear, it
is probable that the fever is kept up by the formation
of fome internal abfeefs. Fhe parotid glands themlelves
do not fuppurate, but only fome of the lymphatic glands
that lie over them. Sir John Pringle obferved one in-
ftance of a fwelling of this kind on both fides, with¬
out any previous indifpofition, when the perfon, not
fufpe&ing the caufe, and applying ^ difeudent cata-
plafms, was, upon the tumor fubfiding, feized. with
the hofpital-fever. Many patients after the cjdfis of
this lever complain of a pain in the limbs and want of
red ; and almoft all of them mention great weaknefs,
confufion in their head, vertigo, and a noife in their
ears.
Ten of the bodies of thofe who died of this diftem-
per in Houghton’s regiment were opened. In fome,
all the cavities were examined •, in others, only the
brain and the bowels. In fome of them, the brain ap¬
peared to be fuppurated. The firll of this kind Sir John
Pringle met with at Ghent-, but the man being brought
into the hofpital from the barracks no earlier than two
days before he died, he could only conje£ture from the
fymptoms and the imperfedf accounts he had of him,
that his death was owing to a fever of this kind, after
lingering near a mouth in it. About three ounces of
purulent mattef were found in the ventricles of the
brain, and the whole cortical and medullary fubfiance
was uncommonly flaccid and tender-, nay, iome of
the km e kind ot matter was found in the fubftance of
the upper part of the cerebellum : yet this perfon, with
fome ftupor and deafnefs, had his fenfes till the night
before lie died ; fo far, at leaft, that he anfwered di-'
flindlly when roufed and fpoken to 5 but about that
time the mufcles of his face began to be convulfed. Of
two other inflances of men who undoubtedly died of
this fever, in one the cerebrum was fuppurated, in the
other the cerebellum. In the former cafe, the patient
was under a ftupor, with deafnefs from the beginning -,
but was never delirious, nor altogether infenfible. Has
pulfe funk early j and about ten days before his death
his head began to fwell, and continued very large till
within two days before he died, when it fubfided a little.
For feveral days before his end, he would tafte nothing
but cold water, and during his illnefslre lay conftantly
CINE.
upon one fide. The head being opened, an abfeefs as
large as an egg was found in the fubftance of the fore¬
part of the right hemifphere of the brain, full of thin
matter like whey. At that time five more, ill of the
fame fever, had the like fwelling of their heads, but
recovered. In the other cafe, the abfeefs in the cere¬
bellum was about the fize of a fmall pigeon s egg, and
contained alfo a thin ichorous matter } nor had this
patient ever been fo thoroughly infenfible as not to an-
fwer reafonably when fpoken to. JLwo days beiore be
died his urine turned pale.
Thefe fuppurations, however, were not conftant;
for another who died about the fame time, and had
been ill about the fame number of days with tne^iike
fymptoms, the pale water excepted, had no ahfeeis ei¬
ther in the brain or cerebellum, i wo were opened,
afterwards, in whom the cortical fubftance of the brain
had an inflammatory appearance, but no luppuration.
In one of them the large inteftines were corrupted :
that man went oft' with a loofenefs -, and juft before he
died, an ichorous matter was difeharged from nis nofe.
In the military hofpital at Ipfwich, one who unexpeft-
edly died of this fever after having been feemingly in a
fair way of recovery, had no fuppuration in his brain
but in another, who died after an abfeefs in botn orbits,
the brain was found flaccid, and about two ounces of a
thin ferum in the ventricles.
Caufes of, and perfons fubjeft to, this diforder. The
caufe of this fever, as well as that of the ftow-mervous
fever, is an infe<ftion or contagion from fome difeafed
animal-body, or from corrupted vegetables j and there¬
fore is very little, if at all, different from thofe pefti-
lential diforders which have atifen after battles, where
great numbers of dead bodies were allowed to lie above
ground, and infefl the air with their effluvia. This is
confirmed by an obfervation of Foreftus, who was eye-
witnefs to a diftemper of this kind (which indeed he
calls a plague') owing to the fame caufe, attended with
buboes and a liigh degree ot contagion. 1 he fame au¬
thor alfo gives an account of a malignant fever break¬
ing out at Egmont in North-Hoiland, occafioned by
the rotting of a whale which had been left on the ihoie.
We have a like obfervation of a fever affecling the
crew7 of a French (hip, by the putretaflion of fome cav.-
tle which they had killed on the ifland of Nevis in the
Weft Indies. ' Thefe men were feized with a pain in
their head and loins, great weaknefs, and a diforder
of the ftomach, accompanied with fever. Some had
carbuncles ^ and on others purple fpots appealed after
death.
Galen afligns two caufes for peftilential fevers:
1. The great heat of the weather, when the humours
happen to be in a more putrefeent (late than uiual.
2. A putrid (late of the air, arifing either from a mul¬
titude of dead bodies left unburied, as after a batde,
or from the evaporation of corrupted lakes and marfhes.
One of the moft remarkable difeafes incident to an
army is related by Diodorus, as breaking out am mg
the Carthaginians at the (lege of Syracufe. 1 hat au¬
thor not only relates fome of its moft diftinguifning
fymptoms, but reafons well about its came. He ib-
ferves, that pains in the back and eruptions (QXvxTcttvcti)
were common 5 that fome had bloody (tools} tnat
others were feized with a delirium, fo as to run about
and beat all that came in their way ; that the phyfi-
M m 2 cians
M E D I
• clans knew no cure ; and that it was tlie more fatal as
the lick were abandoned by every bod • on account of
the contagion. As to the caufe, the author takes no¬
tice of the multitude of people confined within a nar¬
row compafs; of the fituation of the camp in low
and wet ground ; of the fcorching heats in the middle
of the day, iucceeded by the cold and damp air from
the marfhes in the night-time; to thefe he adds, the
putrid fleams arifing firft from the marfhes, and after¬
wards from the bodies of thole who lay unburied.—
This diflemper feems to have been a compound of the
marlli and pefUiential fever.
Foreftus remarks, that, from the putrefadlion of
the water only, the city of Delft, where he pradlifed,
was fcarce ten years together free from the plague or
fome peflilential diftemper. He adds, that the ma-
giftrates, upon his reprefentation of the caufe, eredl-
ed a wind-mill for moving and refrelhing the water.
At that time Holland was much more fubjedl to inun¬
dations and the flagnation of water than at prefent.
In 1694, a fever broke out at Rochfort in France,
which, on account of the uncommon fymptoms and
great mortality, was at firfl believed to be the plague.
-But M. Chi rac, who was fent by the court to inquire
into its nature, found the caule to arife from fome
tnarlhes that had been made by an inundation of the
iea; and oblerved, that the corrupted fleams, which
fmelled like gun-powder, were carried to the town by
the wind, which had long blown from that quarter.
About twe-thirds of thofe who were taken ill died,
in fuch as were opened, the brain was found either in¬
flamed or loaded with blood 5 the fibres of the body
were uncommonly tender; and the bowels had either
fuppurated or were mortified.
It is needlefs to mention more inftances of peflilen¬
tial fevers being brought on by the fleams of corrupt¬
ed fubflances, whether animal or vegetable. In ge¬
neral it may be remarked, that the putrefa&ion of
thefe fubftances in a dry air is more apt to bring on a
lever of the continued form ; but in a rnoifl air has
a greater tendency to produce remitting fevers. But
it mud alfo be obferved, that, even in cafes where the
mod malignant fevers prevail, all perfons are not
equally difpofed to receive the infeflion, though equally
expefed to it with others. Some, through mere vigour
of body and mind, cannot be infe£led with the mod
contagious difeafes 5 while, on the other hand, thofe
vvhofe bodies are debilitated by a former difeafe, by
dudy, low diet, og want, cr thofe who have laboured
Under any of the depreding paffions cf the mind for
feme time, feldom or never efcape. Men, therefore,
who have been weakened by accidents (as thofe who
have undergone a mercurial falivation) are very apt to
fall into this diftemper. Thofe who are taken into
crowded hofpitals, ill of the fmallpox, however good
the fo/t may be., fall readily into this fever, and run a
greater rife of dying of it than others. The fecond
jever is attended with double danger, feeing the patient
has been fo much weakened by the firfl. A fure fign
qf the corruption of the air in an hofpital is when many
of the nurfes fall fick,
P.- ogriqfis. In thefe fevers we cannot draw a pro^-
uCuic Jiom any fymptom by itfelf j and perhaps all of
loan together are more fallible than in others. Ge-
C I xV E. Pra&i
nerally the following are good : To have litile deli- iTvph
rium •, the flrength little impaired ; turbid urine in the
decline of the difeafe ; and at that time a gentle fweat
or moiflure diffufed over the body, or even the fkin
foft and the tongue moift j or to have fome ioofe ftools
fucceeded by a diapborefis; the pulfe to rile by wine
or cordials, with an abatement of the flupor, tremor*
and other alTefrions of the brain. Deafuefs is rather
a good fign. A fediment in the urine, without other
changes for the better, is no fure fign of recovery ; and
fome have recovered in whofe urine there was no fedi¬
ment.—The bad figns are, a fubfultus tendinum ; the
eyes much inflamed and flaring ; the fpeech quick, and
the found of the voice altered j a high delirium ; per¬
petual watchfulnefs 5 conflant ficknefs at the ftomach,
and vomitings j frequent ftools, with a finking pulfe,
and the diforder of the head increafed ; coldnefs of the
extremities, and a tremulous motion of the tongue.
It is obferved to be among the word figns when the
patient complains of blindnefs •, when he fwallows with
difficulty, or cannot put out his tongue when defired
to do it 5 when he can lie on his back only, and pulls
up his knees} or when infenfible he endeavours to
uncover his bread, or makes frequent attempts to get
out of bed without affigning any reafon. If to any
of thefe are added ichorous, cadaverous, and involun¬
tary ftools, it is a fign of a mortification of the bowels
and approaching death. It will not feem ftrange to
find moil of thefe prognoftics common to the advanced
ftate of other fevers, when we confider, that from
whatever caufe fevers begin, by a long continuance
the humours are corrupted, and the brain and nerves
affe£led much in the fame manner as in thofe which
arife from infection.
Prevention and cure. As diftempers of the putrid
kind never arife without an infeblion received from
fome quarter or other, the methods of prevention mull
evidently be reduced to two general heads, i. To
avoid receiving'the infe£lion into the body ; and, 2. To
put the body in fuch a fituation as may enable it to
refill the infedlion when received. On both thefe me¬
thods fcarce any writer hath equalled Dr Lind of Haf-
lar, whofe opinions and directions therefore vve ffiall
give pretty fully.
As putrid difeafes are very common and violent in
the hot countries, it is very neceffary for Europeans
who vifit thefe elima’.ts to be well informed, in the firft
place, of the figns of an unhealthy country, that they
may be upon their guard as foon as they enter any fo¬
reign region. Thefe figns are by this author enume¬
rated as follows.
1. A fudden and great alteration in the air, at fun-
fet, from intolerable heat to a chilling cold. This is
perceived as foon as the fun is down, and is for the moil
part accompanied with a very heavy dew : it fliow's an
unhealthy fw'ampy foil, the nature of wffiich is fuch,.
that no fooner the fun-beams are withdrawn, than the
vapours emitted from it render the air damp, raw, and
chilling, in the moft fultry climates y fo that even un¬
der the equator, in fome unhealthy places, the night-
air is very cold to an European conftitution.
2. Thick noifome fogs, chiefly after funfet, arifing
from the valleys, and particularly from the mud, fiime,
or other impurities. In hot countries, the fmell of
thefe.
, M E D I
thefe fogs may be compared to that of a new-cleaned
ditch. Dlfeafes therefore, arifing from this c^u‘e» ge"
nerally take place in the night, or before funrifing. _
2. Numerous fwarras of flies, gnats, and other in¬
fects which attend ftagnated air and unhealthy places
covered with wood. .
4. When all butchers meat foon corrupts, and in a
few hours becomes full of maggots j when metals aie
quickly corroded on being expofed to the air } and
when a corpfe becomes intolerably offenfive in lefs than
fix hours 5 thefe are proofs of a clofe, hot, and un-
wholcfome country. And in fuch places, during ex
ceflive heats and great calms, it is not altogether un¬
common for Europeans, efpecially fuch as are^ of a
grofs habit of body, to be feized at once with the
moft alarming and fatal fymptoms of what is called
the yellow fever, without even any previous complaint
of ficknefs or other fymptoms of the difeafe. 'I here
has firft been perceived an uneafy itching fenfation,
commonly in the legs; and upon pulling down the
itockings, ftreams of thin diffolved blood followed, a
ghaftly yellow colour quickly dirfafed itfelf over the
whole bJ-ly, and the patient has been carried off in
Jefs than forty-eight hours.
5. A fort of fandy foil, commonly a fmall, loole,
white fand. as that at Penfacola, Whydah, and the
ifland of Bonavifta, which is found by experience to
be injurious to health. The pefliferous vapour an-
fing, during the fummer months and in the heat of
the day, from iuch a fandy foil, is befl^cnara£terized
by its efl'efls in the extenfive deferts of Ana and Africa.
It there con flit utes what is called the Samiel-wind; a
bl a ft which, in the parched defert, proves iuftantly
fatal both to man and bead 5 but when it paffes over
a foil well covered with grafs and vegetables, has its
effe&s greatly mitigated ; it is, however, even tnen,
productive of ficknefs : thus the foutherly winds, while
they blow from the deferts of Libya during the fum¬
mer, at Algiers, Tunis, and iripoli, produce^ an un¬
healthy feafon; and at Madras the winds, which, in
the months of April and May, pais over a large tiaA
of fand, are always hot, difagreeable, and unwhole-
fome.
During thefe land-winds, hidden guffs or a more
hot and fuffocating nature are otten obferved to come
from thefe fands once or twice, or even more frequent¬
ly, in a day, which feem to be this vapour in a puier
form. Thefe guffs pafs very quickly, and affeeff per-
lons who happen to ffand with tneir races, towaids
them in the fame manner as the hot air which iffues
from a burning furnace, or from a heated oven., and
obliges them immediately to turn away fium it in or¬
der to recover breath. The efledf oi tins hot funoca-
ting blaff or vapour on the human body, even when
mitigated by pafling through a moiff atmofpnere, is
the fame as that of intenfe cold •, it fhuts up. every pore
of the fkin, and entirely flops the perfpiration of inch
as are expofed to it. Ihefe blafts come only in the day¬
time, and alxvays from the deferts. Water is the only
known coneCtor or antidote againff them: hence,
coarfe thick clothes, kept conftantly wet, and hung up
at the windows or doors, greatly mitigate their violence.
A houfe fo built as to have no windows or doors to¬
wards the deferts, is an excellent prote&ion againff:
their pernjcipus effefts. The hot land-winds conftantly
CINE.
blow at Madras and other places on the coaft of Coro¬
mandel, at that feafon, from midnight till noon 5 the
fea-breezes then begin, which relieve the difficulty m
breathing, and the obftruaed perfpiration, which the
former occafioned.
That the heat of thefe land-winds, as aflo of the
fudden guffs which accompany them, pioceed from
large tracls of fand heated by the fun, is evident from
the increafed heat and fuffocating quality of iiioie
winds, in proportion as the day advances, and as. the
heat of the feafon is increafed. The oppoffte winds,
blowing from each fide of the Balagate mountains,
are a farther proof of this. ihefe mountains, run¬
ning from north to fouth, divide the hither Penm-
fula of India into two equal parts, and feparate
what is called the Malabar from trie C01 otnandel ccajL
To the former they are very near, but at a great oii-
tance from the'latter. The winds blowing from thofe
hills are on the IMalabar coaft always remaikably
cool ; but on the coaft of Coromandel, in the months
of April, May, June, and July, are extremely hot
and fuffocating, as they pafs over a large tract of in¬
termediate fand, heated during thofe months by an al-
moft vertical fun. Hence the Malabar coaft is always
covered with an agreeable verdure ) whereas the Co¬
romandel coaff, during the continuance, of thefe hot
winds, feems a barren wildernefs, nothing appearing
green except the trees. On the contrary, the. winds
that pafs over thefe fands, after being wet with the
rains, are the coldeft which blow at Madras. Bottles
of liquor inclofed in bags of coarfe cloth, kept con-
ftantly v et, and fufpended in the ftiade, where thofe
hot winds may have accefs to them, become as cold,
as if they had been immerfed in a folution of nitre 5
an effedl owing undoubtedly to the conftant evapora¬
tion of water from the furface.
It is an obfervation of the natives on the coaft of
Coromandel, which is confirmed by the experience of
many Europeans, that the longer the hot land-winds
blow, the healthier are the en.fuing months \ them
winds, as they exprefs it, purifying the air. Are not
the winds therefore the caufe why the air on the coaft
of Coromandel, except during tneir continuance, is
more healthy than in other parts of India where thele
winds do not blow ? Does not this alio fuggeft a veiy
‘probable reafon, why the plague in Egypt generally
ccafes in the beginning of June ; the periodical hot
winds which come from the deferts of Nubia and E-
thiopia having then rendered the air of Egypt pure
and wholefome ? Many have aferibed that effect to
the north winds 5 as the plague not only chafes when
they blow, but all infedted goods, hou.ehold-furni¬
ture, and wearing apparel, are then faid to become en«
tirely free from the contagion: thefe, however, can¬
not be the caufe, as the moft deftruaive plague is a-
bated in its violence, if not wholly eradicated, before
thev fet in. . With equal propriety we may rejedt the
opinion that the overflowing of the Nile is produ ive
of that falutary effedf, as the plague generally ceales-
before the increafe of that river is perceptib.w. ^ .
Thus the plague, the greateft calamity winch can
afflieff mankind, feems to be deftroyed by thofe. hot
winds, which are otherwife fo pernicious to animal
and vegetable life. And although, during the conti¬
nuance of thefe. winds, the moft fruitful fields wear
M E D I
toe aipecl of a paixhed delert, yet no fooner the rains
hill, but vegetation is reilored, the plants revive, and a
-beautiful verdure is again fpread over the face of the
country.
Having thus given an account of the figns of an un-
nealthy country, Hr Hind next proceeds to mention
fuch employments as are particularly dangerous to Eu¬
ropeans on their firft arrival. One of thefe is the cut-
ing down of trees, fhrubs, &c. or clearing the ground,
as it is called. Of the unhealthinefs of this employ¬
ment he gives two inftances. At the conclufion of the
lau: peace, the captain of a fliip of war went on fhore
at the ifland of Dominica, with 12 of his men, to cut
down the wood, and to clear a piece of ground which
he intended to have purchafed i but, in a few days,
iicknefs obliged him to defift from this dangerous
work, the captain and 11 of his men being ieized
with violent fevers, which terminated in ohftinate in-
termittents, and of which feveral died. The furvivors
huiTered lo much in their conflitutions, that, even after
they came to England, the return of an eaft-wind was
apt to bring on a violent fit of the ague. The Lud-
low-Caftle, a fliip of war of 40 guns, in a voyage to
the coaft of Guinea, alfo loft 25 of her men at Sierra
Leona, who were employed in cutting down wood for
the fhip. This is an occupation which has often pro¬
ved deftruftive to Europeans in thofe climates, and in
which they ought never to be employed, efpecially du¬
ring the rainy feafon ; there being numberlefs inftan-
ces of white perfons, when cutting down the woods at
that feafon, who have been taken ill in the morning,
and dead before night.
Another evil, lefs known, and lefs fufpe&ed, but
no lefs dangerous, is the fending Europeans in open
boats after funfet, where the loil is fwampy, or w'here
there are great night-fogs. The Angle duty alone of
retching frefh-killed butchers meat at night for the ufe
of our ftiips companies in the Eaft and Weft Indies,
has deftroyed every year feveral thoufand feamen. In
thofe parts of the world, butchers meat muft be brouo’nt
on board at night immediately after it is killed, other-
ivife it will not be fit for ufe the next day j but a con-
trad! made with the natives to fend it on board at that
time, which might be done for a trifling fum, would
be the means of preferving many ufeful lives. During
the fickly feafon at Batavia, a boat belonging to the
Medway, which attended on ftiore every night was
three times fucceffively manned, not one having furvi-
ve,d that ^rvice. They were all taken ill in the night
when on ftiore, or when returning on board j fo that
at length the officers were obliged to employ none but
the natives on that bufinefs. Great numbers of men
have periffied from being employed in this manner at
Bengal where the European ftiips often anchor in the
moft unhealthy Ipots of the river ; and even when the
great night-fogs arife, after the rainy feafon, the men
are often obliged to perform fuch night-fervices in
boats Now fince it is fo dangerous for Europeans in
unhealthy countries, particularly during a feafon of
nckneis, to_ be expofed in an open boat to the Way
night-air, it muft appear that fending them unfnel-
tered, in open boats, far up rivers, in unhealthy
fouthen, climates, for the fake of wood, water, trade
PT/eS’, mMr be with the moil del
liructitc and fatal ccnfequences.
C 1 N E- Praaice.
Burying the dead in fwampy countries is another Typhus.
occupation which has proved fatal to many, and which ’— J
ought to be entrufted to negroes or the natives of the
country. 1 he effluvia from the ground when newly
opened, whether from graves or ditches, are far more
dangerous than from the fame fwampy foil when the
furface is undifturbed ; nay, in fome places, it has been
found almoft certain death for an European to dig a
grave, unlefs long feafoned to the country. In fuch a
place, the attendance of friends at funerals ought to be
diipenfed ivith.
_ In all cafes where it is prafticable, the fliips which
vilit thefe unhealthy countries ftiould anchor at as great
a diftance as poffible from fflore 5 or if obliged to an¬
chor near marftiy grounds or fwamps, efpecially during
fummer or in hot weather, and when the wind blows
diredlly frorn thence, the gun-ports which would ad¬
mit the noxious land-breeze ought to be kept {hut
efpecially at night. Or if the (hip rides with her head
to the wind, a thick fail ought to be put upon the
fore-maft, along which the fmoke from the fire-place
niigh* be made conftantly to play and afcend. If the
lail ftiould occafion a little fmoke between decks, this
inconvenience will be fufficiently compenfated by its
keeping oft the diredl ftream of the fwampy fhore efflu¬
via ; which now being obliged to form a curve before
they reach the more diftant parts of the veffel, muft
needs be greatly diverted and fcattered.
The heft preferyative againft the mifchievous im-
preuions of a putrid fog, or of a marftiy exhalation
is a clofe, fheltered, and covered place 5 fuch as the
lower apartments in a ftiip, or a houfe in which there
are no doors or windows facing the fwamps. If in
fuch places a fire be kept either at the doors and other
inlets to a houfe, or in the chambers, as is pra&ifed
m lome unhealthy countries during the rainy or foggy
feafon, it will prove an excellent and effeftual protec¬
tion againft the injuries of a bad air. On board of
fflips alfo fires may be made at the hatchways; and of
the good effe&s of this we have the following exam-
p.e. When the Edgar, a ftnp of war of 60 guns, was
upon the coaft of Guinea in the year 1768, her men
were very fickly, and many of them died : however it
was obferved, that in a {loop of war, which was con¬
ftantly in company with her, few were taken ill, and
n6t one died during the whole voyage. This could be
alcnbed to no other caufe, but that in the {loop the
fire-place for cooking viduals was on the fame level
with the deck where the men lay ; and every morning
when the fire was lighted, efpecially when there was
but little wind, the. fmoke from the cook-room fpread
itfelf all over the {hip, and particularly over thofe parts
where the men lay ; but from the conftruaion of the
fire-place of the Edgar, no fmoke from it ever came
between her decks.
Perfons on board any ftiip whatever, are much more
lafe, and their fttuation is much preferable to that of
thofe who make diftant inland excurfions in fmall
boats upon the rivers, and who are for the moft part
ignorant of the caufe of thofe maladies which deftroy
tnem. The intolerable heat at noon often obliges
luch pedons to go in a manner half naked ; while a
free and plentiful perfpiration ifflues from every pore
A near approach to putrid fwamps at this time is apt"
to produce an immediate ficki efs, vomiting, and
afterwards
Practice - M E D I
Fibres, afreruanls a low nervous or malignant fever. If
  v—- they happen to pafs them at night, or lie near them
in an open boat, the air from thofe fwamps is per-
ceived to be ojinte chill and cold ^ in io much that
warm thick clothing becomes abfolutely requiiite to
guard the body againft the impreffions of fo great an
alteration in the air, and againft its cold and incle¬
ment quality : for the effe6ts of-it then, even on the
moft healthy and vigorous conftitution, is frequently a
chilling cold fit of an ague, terminating in a fever
with delirium, bilious vomitings, and purging, or even
death itfelf.
Where fuch expofure becomes unavoidable, the only
method is to defend the body as much as poffible againft
the pernicious miafmata with which the air abounds.—
AH thofe who are employed in cutting down w'oods, or
in other laborious and dangerous fervices in hot climates,
during the heat of the day, ought to have their heads
covered with a bladder dipt in vinegar, and to walk
their mouths often with the fame liquor •, never to fw-al-
low their fpittle, but rather to chew a little rhubarb or
feme other bitter, and fpit it out frequently •, to flop
their noftrils with a fmali bit of linen or tow dipped in
camphorated vinegar } and to infufe fome Peruvian bark,
garlic, and rhubarb, in brandy, of which a dram is to
be taken, either by itfelf or diluted with water, morning
and evening.
In the evening before funfet they fliould leave off
work, and not return to their labour in the morning
till tho fun has difperfed the unwholefome dews and
vapours. Thofe who mud of neceffity remain on ftiore,
and fleep in dangerous places, ftiould take care not to
fleep upon the ground expofed to the dews, but in
hammocks in a clofe tent, ftanding upon a dry fand,
gravel, or chalk, near the lea ftiore, and where there is
no lubterraneous water for at leaft four feet below the
furface of the ground. 1 he door of this tent fhould
be made to open towards the fea ; and the back part
of it, which receives the land breeze, muft be wrell
fecured by double canvas, or covered with branches
of trees. But in fuch circumftances, a hut, when it
can be procured, is preferable to a tent, efpecially if
it be well thatched, fo as to prove a defence both
againft the exceftive heat of the fun by day, and the
noxious dews -which fall at night. Here the men may
be enjoined to fmoke tobacco. When the air is
thick, rnoift, and chill, the earth being overfpread
with cold dew, a conftant fire muft be kept in and
about the tent or hut, as the moft excellent means of
purifying fuch unwholefome air, and of preferving the
health of thofe who either fleeping or waking are ex¬
pofed to its influence. The centinels who guard the
water-calks, ought likewife at fuch a time to have a
fire burning near them. All old'and forfaken habi¬
tations, natural caves and grottos in the earth, where
the men may be induced to take up their abode, muft
before their admiflion be perfe&ly dried and purified
with fufticient fires. Fire and fmoke are undoubtedly
the great purifiers of all tainted and unwholefome air,
and the moft excellent prefervatives againft its noxious
influence. It is the cuftom of the negroes in Guinea,
and alfo of fome Indians (who both fleep for the moft
part on the ground), to have a fire, producing a little
fmoke, conftantly burning in their huts where they
fleep. This not only correfts the moifture of the
C I N E>
night, but alfo, by occafioning more fmoke than heat,
renders the damp from the earth lefs noxious’; of which
Dr Lind gives the following remarkable inftance.
A Guinea Ihip being up one of the rivers for the fake
of trade, it was found to be very dangerous to fleep
on fliore; without which their trade could not be lo
conveniently carsied on. Firft the captain, then the
mate, and two or three of the feamen, were taken ill ;
each of them, the morning after they had lain on ftiore.
By thefe accidents the men were greatly intimidated
from lying afliore ; till the furgeon boldly offered to
try the experiment on himfelf. Next morning when
he waked, he found himfelf feized, as the reft, with a
giddinefs and pain, in the head, He immediately
acquainted one of the negroes with his condition,^ who
carried him to his hut, and fet him down in the Imoke
of it ; when his Ihiverings and giddinefs foon left him.
He then took a dram of the bark bitter; and found
himfelf greatly relieved, efpecially by breathing fome
time in the fmoke.—Thus inftrufted by the negro, he
ordered a large fire to dry the hut he flept in ; and
afterwards had every night a fmall fire lufficient to
raife a gentle fmoke, without occafioning a trouble-
fome heat : and by this means he and feveral others,
ufing the fame precautions, flept many nights on fliore
without any inconvenience.
Fire and fmoke indeed are found to be certain cor-
reftors, or rather deftroyers, of infeftion in all cafes,
whether ariflng from the noxious effluvia of marfties,
or from the contagion of difeafed bodies. Even thofe
moft extraordinary and fatal damps called harmattans,
are unable to refill the falutary efteifts of fmoke. In
other cafes, Dr Lind remarks, that, under fome cir¬
cumftances, the fourceof an infection in a lick cham¬
ber or any other place, may be removed or deftroyed.
by accidental means, for which we cannot account,
and which we often cannot afeertain. But it oftener
happens, that it is very difficultly rooted out ; and
that exact cleanlinefs, with the benefit of a pure air,
often proves infufficient to remove the evil. Smoke,
however, has never been known to fail. It is not to.
be doubted, that, excepting - the true plague, there'
has been an infection fully as peftilential and as mortal
in fome fliips as in any other place whatever; yet
it has never been heard, that any Ihip, after having
been carefully fmoked, did not immediately become
healthy : and if afterwards they turned fickly, it was
eafy to trace that ficknefs from other infedted fliips,
jails, and the like places.
There are three methods pra£tifed for purifying
veflels after the men have been removed out of them.
The firft is by burning of tobacco. A quantity of
tobacco is fpread on feveral fires, made with iuch old
pieces of rope as are called junk.
into different places of the fliip,
fmoke afterwards clofely confined
rable time.—The fecond method
ftrewed with br.mftone. i he heat and iteam of thefe
burning materials muft alio be long and dole ihut up :
but, although this fume, properly applied, has been
found by experience to purify moft effedtually tainted
apartments, (hips, clothes, &c. yet there are fome kinds
of vermin which it wall not deftroy, particularly lice.
The third method of purification is performed by the
addition of .arfenic to the materials of the fecond pro-
«eB:
Thefe are difperfed
and their heat and
below for a confide-
is by charcoal fires
/
2 8o
Feb res,
M E D r
eefs In the’ following manner. After carefully ftop-
■' ping up all the openings and every fmail crevice of the
ihip (as was alfo neceffary in the preceding proceffes),
a number of iron pots, properly fecured, are to be pla¬
ced in the hold, crlope, gun-deck, &c. Each of thefe
is to contain a layer of charcoal at the bottom, then
a layer of brimftone, and fo alternately three or four
layers of each, upon which the arfenic is to be fprink-
led, and on the top of it fome oakum dipped in tar is
to be laid to ferve as a match. The men, upon fet-
ting fire to the oakum, muft fpeedily leave the place,
limiting clofe the hatchway by which they came up.
From the known and experienced efficacy of thefe
procefles, it appears, that fire and fmoke are powerful
agents for annihilating infection •, and, it may be prefum¬
ed, even the plague itfelf. This is in fome meafure
agreeable to what we learn from the ancient records of
phylic. But the prepofterous ufe, or rather abufe, of
fire on fuch occafions, has caufed its effefts to be dif-
regarded by fome, and to be fuipedled of mifchief by
others. The modern practice of burning large fires in
the open air, in the flreets, and about the wails of
towns infected with the plague or other contagion, is
founded on principles groundiefs and erroneous ; and
has therefore been found by experience not only unfuc-
cefsful, but hurtful. But though this muft be allowed,
it does not thence by any means follow, that when once
a houfe hath been infected, and the patients removed
from it, the doors and windows at the fame time being
ftmt, that fuch fires will then prove hurtful ; or that, by
this method of purification, all the feeds of contagion
may not be effeflually deftroyed. Whenever, therefore,
perfons die of a fpotted fever, a malignant fore throat,
the fmall-pox, or any diftemper found to be communica¬
ble from the fick to the found, the corpfe ought quickly
after death to be removed into another room ; that in
which the perfcn died ftiould be wTell aired, by having
the window’s opened, till a charcoal fire be kindled, with
fome rolls of fulphur upon it j after which, both doors
and windows ftiould be kept (hut for a confiderable time,
not lefs than eight or ten hours, till the room be
thoroughly fmoked. In feveral ftiips, where there are
the faireft opportunities of trying and judging things of
tins nature, the contagion of the fmall-pox has been
entirely flopped by wTood-fires, fprinkled with brimflone,
kept burning and clofely confined in the infefted place.
In a word, a judicious and proper application of fire and
fmoke is a powerful agent for the deftrufh’on and utter
extimftion ofthemoft malignant fources of difeafe and
they are befides great purifiers of all bad and tainted
air.
Next to the fmoke of wmod for purifying a tainted
air, that of gun powder is to be efteemed the heft ; and
it has this further good property, that it is entirely in-
oftenfive to the lungs. The cafcaril!a-bark, when burn-
ing, gives a moft agreeable feent to the chamber of the
fick ; thus it is at leaft an elegant prefervative, and may
prevent bad fmelis from taking effeff. The fleam of
camphorated vinegar, warmed, is ftill more powerful for
this purpofe. But, befides corre&ing the ill quality
of the air, and purifying the chamber, another good
effeift is produced from fuch fleams and fmoke as are
inoffenfive to the lungs. As foon as the vapour be¬
comes denfe, the nurfes and patients become defirous
<?fi the admiffion of frefh air by the door or windows.
3
CINE.
Practice.
Now it is certain, that the air in the chambers of the
fick cannot be too often changed, provided the patient
be wTeli covered, and the curtains of his bed, if necef¬
fary, be drawn clofe. No argument is fo forcible to
obviate the danger of foul air in a room or w’ard (oc-
caficned by the obftinacy of nurfes or relations), as or¬
dering it to be frequently fumigated or fmoked : A
practice more frequent in other countries than in this,
but of great benefit to the fick.
Laftly, with regard to the method of purifying
goods, moveables, clothes, &c. which are fuppoied to
harbour infection, it mult be obferved, that the ufual
cuftom of only unpacking and expofing fuch materials
to the open air, is in many inftances infufficient to de-
ftroy the latent feeds of difeafe. It is certain indeed,
that in moft cafes the contagious particles are more
readily and fatally communicated from the clothes of
a fick perfon than from his body. The fpreading a-
broad, therefore, of contaminated clothes to dry or to
be aired, without a previous fumigation of them, may
be of dangerous and fatal confequence. All fuch fuf-
pefled fubftances fhould be firft fumigated in a clofe
place, and in the fame manner as an infefted chamber,
after which they may be fpread abroad and expofed to
the air. In infedlious difeafes, efpeciaily fevers, the
linen of the fick, or fuch clothes about them as will
admit of being waffied, ought never at firft to be put
in warm water, as it is dangerous to receive the fleam
that may hence arife. It is neceflary to fteep them
firft either in cold water or in cold foap-lees for feve¬
ral hours, that the filth may be waffied off.
But although the deftrudlion of contagion by fmoke
is unqueftionably a very important practice, yet it cannot
now be faid, that it is the moft powerful agent for this
purpofe. By the ingenious obfervations and experiments
ofM. Morveau in France, and of Dr Smyth Carmichael
in England, it is now afeertained, that wye poffefs ftill
more powerful means of deftroying contagions, either
in the muriatic or nitrous acid gas. The former may
eafily be detached from common fea fait, and the latter
from nitre, by means of the fulphuric acid. Roqms
may, with the utnaoft fafety and cafe, be filled with
thefe fumes, although the fick be not removed from
them. But for difinfecling a room, w’ard, or flop,
when empty, the moft powerful article yet difeovered
is the oxygenated muriatic acid gas, detached from a
mixture of manganefe and fea fait, by means of the
fulphuric acid.
We muft now proceed to give an account of the me¬
thod of cure, after thefe means of preventing the in¬
ferior! from being received into the body have either
been neglefted or proved ineffedtual. Here it is of the
utmoft importance to take the difeafe in the very
beginning, before it^has time to corrupt the fluids to
fucb a degree as to endanger life. In flight de¬
grees of infedlion, a vomit properly adminiftered, e-
fpecialiy if fucceeded by a blifter, never fails to re¬
move the dilbrder, and prevent the fever which would
otherwife unavoidably follow. Of this Dr Lind
gives the following inftances. A lady afflifled with
the bilious cholic, had intolerably fetid difeharges ot
corrupted matters upwards and downwards. A gentle¬
woman, only in paffing the room, was immediately
feized with a retching and ficknefs, which continued
24 hours. The nurfe who attended was fuddenly fei¬
zed
Typhus.
Pradlice. ^ Bt E D I
Febres. zed with a giddinefs and vomiting from the bad fmell,
' v   which, as fhe expreiTed it, reached into her ftomach.
The vomiting became more fevere at night, accompa¬
nied with a purging and frequent fhiverings. Ey
means of an emetic both evacuations were flopped :
notwithftanding which, for fome days afterwards, flie
continued to have frequent tremors, and a violent head-
acb, with a low irregular pulfe j and did net recover
fo foon as the patient.
Such flight degrees of infedlion have been often ob-
ferved to be derived fx'om patients of a grofs habit of
body, when labouring under inflammatory diftempers,
and even other complaints. A man was fent to Haf-
lar Hofpital, fuppofed to have a fever. He was fu-
rioufly delirious, with a quick full pulfe. Notwith-
ftanding plentiful evacuations, this delirium continued
for two months with Ihort intervals: when the cafe
was found to be plainly maniacal. A nurfe, upon rai-
fxng this perfon up in her arms, perceived an intole¬
rably bad fmall, and was inflantly feized with fliiver-
ings, ficknefs, and headach. Finding herfelf very ill,
Ihe took a vomit in fix hours afterwards, and palled the
night in profufe fweats by means of a fudorific draught.
Next morning the violence of the headach was but
little abated ; upon every attempt to move, fixe com¬
plained of a burning heat and pain in her forehead,
and became giddy. Her inclination to drink was fre¬
quent, and her pulfe low and quick. A blifter was im¬
mediately applied to the back ; as foon as the blifter
took effeff, the headach and thirft entirely left her,
and the pulfe was calm. Next day Ihe arofe and was
well.
Many fimilar inftances of infeblion have been obfer-
ved fi'om putting the dead into their coffins. In par¬
ticular, one man, from performing that duty to
his meffmate, was fo ill, even after the operation of the
vomit, as to require a blifler, Ib the courfe of one
week two nurfes were infefted by a perfon in the fmall-
pox. Both were feized in like manner with fliiverings,
ficknefs, and headach j the one upon receiving the
patient’s breath, the other upon making his bed. In
one, a pain darted into her breaft •, in the other, into
the breaft and in the fmall of the back. The com¬
plaints of the former were fpeedily removed by a vo¬
mit, though flie continued to have irregular returns of
ftiiverings for three days afterwards. But in the latter,
though the headach, ficknefs, and rigors, w7ere great¬
ly abated by the vomit, yet a conftant heat and thirft,
with a low pulfe, and a violent pain in the breaft, in¬
dicated the neceftity of applying a blifter to the affeft-
ed parts, which next morning removed all her com¬
plaints.
A perfon is often immediately fenfible of his having
received infeftion from the firft attack : they gene¬
rally compare the firft impreflion to an earthy, difa-
greeable fmell, reaching down, as they exprefs it, into
their ftomach, as from a grave newly opened, but not
quite fo raw as the cadaverous ftench •, and the effefts
of it, {hivering and ficknefs, are inftantaneous. It is
a fmell difficult to deferibe ; but it is well known to the
nurfes and attendants about the fick, as it ufually ac¬
companies fevers of extreme malignity, and, with the
peculiar difeharges from the bliftered parts, may the
reckoned among the moft conftant fymptoms of a bad
fever. Some compare the fmell to that of rotten ftraw,
Vol.XIII. Part I.
CINE.
281
It often refembles the difagreeable fmell of a perfon Typhus,
labouring under the confluent fmall-pox at their turn, - v-1 "■
though not fo ftrong. One perfon, on receiving the in¬
fection, was fenfible of fomething like an electric thock
through his body. But many are not fenfible of any
effeCt from infeCtion at firlt ; and an infection from
a fever will fometimes continue for many days, nay
weeks, difeovering itfeif chiefly by irregular ihiverings,
fometimes fo fevere as to oblige the patients to have
recourfe to their beds once or twice a-day 5 fometimes
every other day. Among a number thus affeded, it
alfo appears, that fuch as are put into unfeafoned cham¬
bers, or have fat down on the cold ground, lain in raw
damp apartments, &c. ai'e immediately feized with a
ficknefs at flomach, fometimes with a dangerous pur¬
ging, and often with fevers accompanied with bad fymp¬
toms, which others have entirely efcaped.
It now remains to confider the proper method of
curing putrid fevers, on the fuppofition that the infec¬
tion has been allowed to operate till the blood becomes
radically tainted, and of confequence the nervous fyftem
affsCled to fuch a degree, that its power cannot be re-
ftored by any of the Ample praClices above mentioned.
Here all authors agree, that a change of air, when it
can be effeded, is highly advantageous, and often con¬
tributes more towards the removing of the difeafe than
all the medicines that can be exhibited. The utility of
this change will appear from what has been formerly
faid ; and we (hall only further mention one inftance
from Dr Lind, in which the effeds of bad air appear
to a degree almoft incredible. “ It is remarkable (fays
he), that, in the laft war, the Englilh (hips which touch¬
ed at Batavia fuffered more by the malignant and fatal
difeafes of that climate, than they did in any other part
of India, if we except a fatal feurvy which once raged in
that fleet at fca. Soon after the capture of Manilla, the
Falmouth, a flxip of 50 guns, wrent to Batavia, where fixe
remained from the latter end of July to the latter end of
January ; during which time ftxe buried 100 foldiers of
the 79th regiment and 75 of the fhip’s company 5 not
one perfon in the fliip having efcaped a fit of fleknefs, ex¬
cept her commander Captain Brereton. The Panther, a
fliip of 60 guns, was there in the years 1762 and 1764 ;
and both times during the rainy feafon. In the former
of thefe years, fixe buried 7© of her men j and 92 of
them were very ill when (he left the place. In the
year 1764, during a (hort ftay, 25 of her men died.
The Medway, which was in company with her, loft
alfo a great number of men. Nor was the ficknefs at
that time confined to the ftiips: the whole city afford¬
ed a feene of difeafe and death : ftreets crowded with
funerals, bells tolling from morning to night, and horfes
jaded with dragging the dead in herfes to their graves.
At that time a flight cut of the Ikin, the leaft fcratch
of a nail, or the moft inconfiderable Wound, turned
quickly to a fpreading putrid ulcer, which in 24 hours
confumed the fleflx even to the bone. This faft is fo
extraordinary, that upon a Angle teftimony, credit would
hardly be given to it; yet on board the Medway and
Panther they had the moft fatal experience of it, and
fuffered much from it.”
But wdiere a change of air is impra&icable or in-
effesftual, and where the fever has already made fome
progrefs, Sir John Pringle generally took away fome
blood if the pulfe was full. When the fymptoms run
N n
282 M E D I
Febres. high, a plentiful evacuation of that kind feemed indi-
v cated ; yet it was obfervtd, that large bleedings gene¬
rally did harm, by finking the pulfe, and affecting the
head. Nor was a moderate bleeding to be repeated
without caution j even thofe whofe blood was fizy, un-
lefs their lungs were inflamed, were the worfe for a fe-
cond bleeding. If the head only fuffered, it was much
fafer to ufe leeches than to open a vein in the arm j
but in the delirium with a funk pulfe, even leeches were
hurtful. Many recovered without letting blood, but
few who loft much of it.
Emetics alfo muft be ufed with caution j for though
they may be of fervice by way of prevention, yet in the
advanced ftate of the diteafe, when the patient has all
along complained of a ficknefs at ftomach, they are
evidently unfafe. Here the antifeptic quality of fixed
air is of much ufe, and the neutral draughts given in
the aft of effervefcence are generally attended with
happy effefts. Nay, clyfters of fixed air itfelf have
been found very ferviceable. Even in very bad ftages
of the diftemper, where a putrid and colliquative loof-
nefs has taken place, clyfters of fixed air have been
known to alleviate the fymptoms. We muft not,
however, put too much confidence in medicines of
this kind. Mild tonic cordials, efpecially wine and
cinchona, are the only refources in theie diforders.
Concerning the former, Sir John Pringle obferves,
in the low ftate of thefe fevers, and in great link¬
ings, which either come after unfeafonable bleedings
or long want of nourifhment, it was a moft grateful
and efficacious cordial, to which nothing was compa¬
rable. The common men had an allowance, from a
quarter to half a pint in a day, of a ftrong kind, made
into wThey, or added to the panada which was their or¬
dinary food. But to others out of the hofpital, he
ufually piefcribed Rhenilh or a fmall French wine,
whereof fome confumed near a quart per day, and part
of that undiluted. Nay, fo great was the virtue of
wine in this ftage of the fever, that feveral wrere known
to recover from the loweft condition, when, refufing the
bark on account of its tafte, they took nothing but a
little panada with wine, and a volatile diaphoretic mix¬
ture, every two or three hours by turns. Perhaps there
is no rule more neceffary in this ftate, than not to let
the patient w’hen low remain long without taking fome-
thing cordial and nourifhing 5 as many have been ob-
ferved paft recovery, by being fuffered to pafs a whole
night without any fupport about the time of the crifis.
In the advanced ftate of this fever the lick are remark¬
ably low ; and therefore Hoffman advifes in fuch cafes,
that they fhould be conftantly kept in bed, and not per¬
mitted even to fit up in it. In the laft ftage of this
fever, as well as in that of the fea-fcurvy, it would feem
that the force of the heart was too fmall to convey the
blood to the brain, except when the body is in a hori¬
zontal pofture.
But, however neceffary wine and cinchona may be
in the low ftage of this fever, w'e muft remember, that
thefe remedies are to be adminiftertd only as antifep-
tics and fupporters of the vis vitce, without aiming at
thoroughly railing the puife or relieving the head or at
forcing a fweat by them, before nature points that vvay,
and which Sir John Pringle feldom obferved before the
14th day.
la the low Hate of the hofpital fever, a ftupor was a
CINE. Practice.
conftant attendant, which was very apt, m the evening, Typhus,
to change to a flight delirium. If this was all, nothing -v——'
was done. But if the delirium increafed upon ufing
wine, if the eyes looked wild, or the voice became
quick, there was reafon to apprehend a phrenitis; and
accordingly it wTas obferved, that at fuch times all in¬
ternal heating medicines aggravated the fy mptoms j and
in tbefe cafes, bliftevs tvere of the greateft fervice. Fo¬
mentations of vinegar and warm w^ater for the feet.
Sir John Pringle is of opinion, would anfwer better than
either finapifms or blifters, provided they were long
enough and often enough applied. In the inflamma¬
tory fevers, he has known thefe fomentations have lit¬
tle effeft for the firft hour, and yet fucceed afterwards.
For internal medicine, cinchona was omitted for fome
time, but the patient was continued wfith an acidulated
drink, viz. barley-water and vinegar j and treated alfo
with camphire, pu/vis contrayervce compojitm, and nitre,
as was ufual in the beginning of the fever. If the de¬
lirium was of the low kind, a decoftion of cinchona
and wine were the only remedies; for in no inftance
was the delirium perfeftly removed till the time of the
crifis. It muft alfo be obferved, that a delirium may
arife in putrid fevers from two oppofite errors; one
from large and repeated bleedings, and the other from
wine and the cordial medicines being taken too early.
It appears, therefore, how nice the principles are that
regard the cure ; as neither a hot nor a cool regimen
will anfwer with every patient, or in every ftate of the
difeafe.
If a diarrhoea came on in the decline of the fever, it
was moderated, but not fuppreffed, by adding an opiate
to the ufual medicines. For though the loofenefs may
be confidered as critical; yet as the fick were too low
to bear evacuations, there was a neceffity for reftrain-
ing it in fome meafure ; and it has often been obfer¬
ved, that when it has been treated in this manner, about
the ufual time of the crifis, the patient has fallen in¬
to a gentle fw?eat, which has carried off the difeafe.
In the worft cafes of this fever, and efpecially when
it coincides with the dyfentery, the ftools are frequent¬
ly bloody; in which dangerous ftate, if any thing
could be done, it was attempted by medicines of the
fame kind. In proportion to the putrid nature of the
ftools, opiates and aftringents were ufed with the greater
caution.
If the difeafe terminate in a fuppuration upon one of
the parotid glands, the abfcefs was opened without
waiting for a fluftuation, which might never happen ; the
pus being often here fo vifcid, that after it was ripe
the part felt nearly as hard as if the fuppuration had
not begun.
Almoft every patient, after the fever, complained
of want of reft, frequently of a vertigo or confufion
of the head, of a continuation of the deafnefs, or of
other fymptoms commonly called nervous. An opi¬
ate was then given at night; and in the day fome
ftrengthening medicines, fuch as cinchona and the ful-
phuric acid. In thefe cafes, the bark was found not only
to be the beft ftrengthener, but the fureft prefervative
againft a return of the difeafe. For this laft intention
the convalefcent was ordered about three drams a-day
for fix or feven days together; and afterwards, if
he remained longer in the hofpital, fome fmaller quan¬
tity daily. But if there was any appearance of a hec-
Practice. MED!
Febres. tic fever frovn an inward abfcefs, the cafe was treated
-y—*——* acCordingly. Upon comparing iome of the remain-
ing fymptoms of thole who recovered^ with tl. e con¬
dition of the br?in in thofe who died and were open¬
ed Sir John Pringle was induced to think, that fome
part even of that fubftance might fuppurate, and yet the
perfon recover.
Sometimes the patient falls into an irregular inter¬
mittent } which, if not of a hedfic nature from an inter¬
nal abfcefs, may proceed from negledting to clear the
primee vice. For it is eafy to conceive, that after a long
fever of fuch a putrid nature, often attended with lan¬
guor of the bowels, the feces may be fo much accumu¬
lated, and fo corrupted, as to occalion new diforders.
In fuch cafes, after proper evacuation by a purge, cin¬
chona was almoft an infallible remedy.
The Yellow Feper.
Typhus cum flavedine cutis.
Typhus idleroides, Sauv. fp. 7.
i6. Febris jlava Indice Occidentalism Warren. Malignant
Fever of Barbadoes, Hillary's Difeafes of Bar-
badoes. Lining on the Yellow Fever of South
Carolina, Edin. Phyf. and Liter. Effays, vol. ii.
M'Kittrich de Febre Flava Indite Occidentalis,
Edin. 1766.
Defcription. This is one of the moft fatal difeafes
to which the inhabitants of warm climates are fubjeft,
and is the fame with that called, from one of its worft
fymptoms, the blach vomit, which is fo terribly deftruc-
tive in fome of the warm parts of America, particularly
at Carthagena j and which of late has proved fo fatal
in Philadelphia, New York, and the Britifh Weft In¬
dia illands, as defcribed by J)rs Rufh, Chifholm, Clerk,
■and other late writers. This, though by fome con-
fidered as a new difeafe, is evidently from the fame con¬
tagion which has produced fatal fevers on many former
cccafions.
The yellow or putrid bilious fever has been in par¬
ticular minutely defcribed by Dr Hillary. It moft com¬
monly feizes the patient at firft with a faintnefs, then
with a ficknefs at ftomach, accompanied in general with
a giddinefs of the head 5 and foon after with a flight
chilnefs and horror, very rarely with a rigor. Thefe
fymptoms are foon followed by a violent heat and high
fever, attended with acute darting pains in the head and
back. A fluftiing in the face, with an inflamed red-
nefs and a burning heat in the eyes, great anxiety and
oppreflion about the praecordia, are the pathognomonic
figns of the diftemper, efpecially when attended with
ficknefs at ftomach, violent retchings, and bilious yel¬
low vomitings, with frequent iighing. The pulfe is
now generally very quick, high, foft, and fometimes
throbbing, but never hard : in fome it is very quick,
foft, low, and oppreffed ; the refpiration quick, full, and
fometimes difficult ; the fkin very hot, and fometimes
dry, though more frequently moift. Blood taken from
the patient, even at the very beginning of the difeafe, is
often of an exceeding florid red colour, without the leaft
appearance of ftze 5 and the craffamentum, when it has
itood till it is cold, will fcarce cohere, but fluctuates j
the ferum is often yellows
Moft of the above-mentioned fymptoms continually
increafe, and are much aggravated : the retching and
vomiting become almoft inceffant *, the anxiety great,
CINE.
and fighing frequent j great reftleffnefs \ continual
toffing $ no eafe in any pofture ; little fleep, and that
difturbed and uneafy, and without any refreffiment to
the fick. When they are fainting, they turn yel¬
low about the face and neck, inftead of turning pale;
and as the fainting goes off, they recover their natural
colour. Thefe lymptoms generally continue to the
third day, though fometimes not longer than the firft
or fecond j in others to the end ©f the fourth : the firft
{hows the greater diffolution of the blood, and the
greater malignity of the difeafe j the laft, the contrary ;
which the improper manner of treating the difeafe
fometimes haftens and increafes, or the proper method
retards. This may be called the firft ftadium of the
difeafe, and generally ends on the third day.
Blood taken from the fick on the fecond or third day,
is much more diffolved, the ferum more yellow, and the
craffamentum florid, loofe, fcarcely cohering, but undu¬
lates like fizy water when ftiaken, and fometimes has
dark blackifh fpots on its iurface, ftiowing a ftrotig gan-
grenefcent diathefis.
About the third day, the pulfe, which was quick
and full before, now generally finks greatly, and be¬
comes very low : though fometimes it remains very
quick, yet in others it is not much quicker than when
the patient was in health, but is always low j the vo¬
miting becomes almoft inceffant if not fo before, and
the matter thrown up is black ; the patient then be-
'comes comatofe, with interrupted delirium. The third
in fome is very great, in others but little j the pulfe
ftill low and quick, attended with cold clammy fweats,
and fometimes with deliquium. The eyes, which were
inflamed and red before, .and began to be of a more
dufkiftr colour, now turn yellow ; and this yellownefs
alfo foon after appears round the mouth, eyes, temples,
and neck, and in a fhort time diffules itfelf all over the
body. But this yellownefs is fo far from being always
an encouraging prognoftic, as fome would have it,
that it moft commonly proves a mortal fymptom.
Sometimes indeed, though feldom, this fiaffufion of
bile upon the furface has proved critical j hue then it
did not come on till the eighth or ninth day, nor ap¬
pear till the coma and all the other bad fymptoms be¬
gan to abate ; and then in proportion as the yellownefs
increafes, all the bad fymptoms decreafe. But the
cafe is moft commonly quite the reverfe 5 efpecially
w’hen the yellownefs comes foon on : and then it uftiers
in the moft fatal fymptoms of the difeafe, viz. a deep
coma, a low, vermicular, and intermitting pulfe, great
haemorrhages from various parts of the body, a delirium
with laborious and interrupted refpiration, great anxiety,
deep fighing, reftleffnefs, a fubfultus tendinum, coldnefs
of the extreme parts firft, and then all over the body, a
faltering of the fpeech, tremors, and convulfions, which
are fbon after followed by death. So that from the
firft appearance of the yellownefs we may fay the pa¬
tient is in the laft ftage of the difeafe, whether it ter¬
minates in death or recovery.
It has been obferved, that, in fome ftrong fanguine
conftitutions, when the patients have not been bled to
a fufficient quantity in the beginning of the difeafe,
the pulfe has continued full, ftrong, and rapid, but ne¬
ver hard •, the face fluffed, eyes inflamed; the tongue
dry, with great thirft and heat, till the fecond or
laft ftage of the fever is come on, when the pulfe has
N n 2 fuddenly
M E D I
fuddenly funk, and death foon after enfued. Yet in
others, who feemed to be of a plethoric habit, the
tongue has been moift all along, though they have
been delirious moft of the time, and the heat of their
fkin and the ftrength and quicknefs of their pulfe have
continued, after the firft ftage of the difeafe was over,
pretty near to that of their natural (late in health, till
within a few hours of death ; and when they have had
a coma on them, one who is not well acquainted with
the nature of this difeafe would, from the pulfe, heat,
breathing, and other fymptoms, have taken them to be
in a natural deep. Others, when the pulfe has begun
to fink, and the fatal period feemed to be juft approach¬
ing, to the great furprife of all prefent have recovered
their fenfes, fat up and talked pretty cheerfully for an
hour or two, and in the midft of this feeming fecurity
have been fuddenly feized with convulfions which car¬
ried them off immediately.
In the latter ftage of this fever, the blood is fo atte¬
nuated and diflblved, that we frequently fee it flowing
not only out of the nofe and mouth, but from the
eyes, and even through the pores of the fkin •, great
quantities alfo of black, half-baked, or half-mortified
blood, are frequently voided both by vomiting and by
ftool, with great quantities of yellow and blackifh pu¬
trid bile by the fame paffages •, and the urine, which was
before of a high idleritious colour, is now almoft black,
and is frequently mixed with a confiderable quantity
of half-diflblved blood. The pulfe, which wTas much
funk before, now becomes very low7, unequal, and in¬
termitting j the breathing difficult and laborious ; and
the anxiety inexpreffible j an oppreffion with a burn¬
ing heat about the praecordia comes on, though the
extremities are cold, and often covered with cold clam¬
my fweats : a conftant delirium follows ; and then a
total lofs of the outw'ard fenfes as u7ell as the judge¬
ment, wdth livid fpots in many parts of the body,
efpecially about the praecordia ; and fometimes gan¬
grenes in other parts of the body, wkich are very foon
fucceeded by death.
In a ffiort time after death, the body appears much
more full of livid, large, mortified fpots, particularly
about the praecordia and hypochondres, efpecially the
right *, which parts feem, even from the firft feizure, to
be the principal feat of this terrible difeafe ; and, upon
opening the bodies of thofe who die of it, w7e generally
find the gall-bladder and biliary dufts turgid, and filled
with a putrid blackiffi bile ; and the liver, ftomach,
and adjoining parts, full of livid or blackiffi mor¬
tified fpots j and the wffiole corpfe foon putrefies
after death, and can be kept but a few hours above
ground.
Dr Lind is of opinion, that the remarkable diffolu-
tion of the blood, the violent haemorrhages, black vo¬
mit, and the other fymptoms which characterize the
yellow fever, are only accidental appearances in the
common fever of the Weft Indies ; that they are to be
efteemed merely as adventitious, in the fame manner
as purple fpots and bloody urine are in the fmallpox,
or as an hiccough in the dyfentery : like thefe they only
appear when the difeafe is attended with a high de¬
gree of malignity, and therefore always indicate great
danger. I his opinion, he thinks, is confirmed by an
observation of Dr Wind’s, that in 1750 the crew of
a Dutch ffiip of war were difiretTed by the yellow fe-
C I N E. ' PratfHce.
ver, accompanied wdth the black vomit ; but when the Tvphus.
ffiip left the harbour, and changed the noxious land air ' v—^
for one more healthy, the fever continued, but wras not
accompanied w'ith the black vomit.
Dileafes fimilar to this fever, Dr Lind informs us,
may arife in any part of the world where the air
is intenfely hot and unwholefome ; and therefore he
treats as chimerical the notion of its being imported
from one part of the world to another. An example
of "this happened at Cadiz in Spain, in the months of
September and October 1764, when exceffive heat, and
want of rain for fome months, gave rife to violent, epi¬
demic, bilious diforders, refembling thofe of the Weft
Indies, of which 100 perfons often died in a day. At
this time the winds blew principally from the fouth, and
after funfet there fell an unufual and very heavy dew.
But his opinion on this fubjeCt is liable to ftrong ob¬
jections. And however the difeafe may originate, yet
the late introduction of it from Spain into thefortrefs of
Gibraltar, from which, by proper attention, it had been
excluded in former epidemics, demonftrates the contagi¬
ous nature of this fever beyond all poffibility of doubt.
It has been a matter of much dilpute, whether the
yellow fever is of an infe&ious nature or not. Some
time ago it became an objeft of confideration before
the Right Hon. the Lords Commiffioners of Trade and
Plantations, where it was urged among other reafons,
for not removing the feat of government and jaftice in
the ifland of Jamaica from Spaniffi Town to Kingfton,
that there was danger from Greenwich hofpital, lituat-
ed near Kingfton, of an infeCHon from the yellow fever
being frequently communicated to that town. On this
affair a phyfician was confulted, who had long praftifed
in that illand, and who gave it as his opinion, that from
the yellow fever in that ifland there was no infeaion.
This was the opinion not only of that gentleman, but
of many others wffio had an opportunity of being well
acquainted with this fever in Jamaica. But this opinion
probably only arofe from thefe praCHtioners having con¬
founded the ordinary remittent fever of the Weft Indies,
W’hich is often accompanied with bilious fymptoms, and
is from thence often denominated the yellow fever, with
the typhus iCferoides, a difeafe effentially different from
the bilious remittent which often prevails both in the
Weft and Eaft Indies. Dr Lind gives a remarkable
inftance of its being of an infectious nature.—A gen¬
tleman dying at B irbadoes of a yellow fever, his wear-
ing apparel and linen, packed up in a cheft, were fent
to his friends at Philadelphia; where, upon opening the
cheft, the family was taken ill ; ana the clothes being*
unluckily hung abroad to be aired, they prefently dif-
fufed the contagion of the yellow fever over the whole
town, by wfliich 200 perfons died.
In the defcription of the fame fever by Dr Lining,
as it appeared in South Carolina, there are feveral parti¬
culars confiderably different from that by Dr Hillary.
According to the former, people complained for a day
or two before the attack, of a headach, pain in the loins
and extrem'ties, efpecially in the knees and calves of
the legs, lofs of appetite, debility, arid a fpontaneous
laffitude. Some, however, were feized fuddenly, with¬
out any fuch previous fymptoms. After a chillinefs
and horror, with which this difeafe generally invade*,
a fever fucceeded. The pulle was very frequent, till
near the termination of the fever, and was generally
full,
Fraciice. M E D I
Fcbres. full, hard, and confequently ftrong : in fome, it was
  fmall and hard ; in others, loft and imall j but m all
thofe cafes, it frequently varied in its fulnefs and hard-
nefs. Towards the termination of the fever, the pulfe
became fin a Her, harder, and lels fiequent* In i.ome
there was a remarkable throbbing in the carotids and
in the hypochondria *, in the latter of which it was
fometimes fo great, that it caufed a conftant tremulous
motion of the abdomen. The heat generally did not
exceed 102 degrees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer-, in
fome it was lefs j it varied frequently, and was com¬
monly nearly equal in all parts, the heat about the prce-
cordia being feldom more intenfe than in the extremi¬
ties when thefe were kept covered. On the firfl day
of the difeafe, fome had frequent returns of a fenfe of
chillinefs, though there was not any abatement^ of the
heat. In a few, there happened fo great a remiflion of
the heat for fome hours, when at the fame time the
pulfe was foft and lefs frequent, and the lk.in fo moift,
that one from thefe circumftances might reafonably
have hoped that the fever would only prove a remittent
or intermittent. About the end of the fecond day, the
heat began to abate. The Ikin was fometimes (though
rarely) dry, but oftener, and indeed generally, it was
moift, and difpofed to fweat. On the firft day, the
fweating was commonly profufe and general j on the
fecond day, it was more moderate : but on both thefe,
there happened frequent and ftiort remiffions of the
fweatings; at which times the febrile heat increafed,
and the patient became more uneafy. On the third
day, the difpofition to fweat was fo much abated, that
the Ikin was generally dry *, only the forehead and
backs of the hands continued moift. The refpiration
was by no means frequent or difficult j but was foon ac¬
celerated by motion, or the fatigue of drinking a cup
of any liquid. The tongue was moift, rough, and white,
even to its tip and edges. On the fecond day, its
middle in fome was brown. On the third day, the
whitenefs and roughnefs of the tongue began to abate.
The thirft in very few was great. A naufea, vomiting,
or frequent retchings to vomit, efpecially after the ex¬
hibition of either medicines or food, came on generally
the third day, as the fever began to leflen ; or rather
as the fulnefs of the pulfe, heat, and difpofition to fweat,
began to abate. Some indeed, but very few, on the
firft day, had a vomiting, either bilious or phlegmatic.
Very few complained of anxiety or oppreffion about the
prsecordia or hypochondria, nor was there any tenfion
or hardnefs about the latter. On the firft day they ge¬
nerally dozed much, but were afterwards very watch¬
ful. Reftleffnefs and almoft continual jaflations came
on the fecond day. A great defpondency attended
the fick, and the ftrength was much prolhrated from
the firft attack. The pain in the head, loins, &c. of
which they had complained before the attack, was
much increafed, and in fome the pain in the fore¬
head was very acute and darting -, but thofe pains
went generally off the fecond day. I he face was
ftufhed ; and the eyes were hot, inflamed, and unable
to bear much light. On the firft day, many of them
at times were a little delirious, but afterwards not
until the recefs of the fever. The blood drawn by ve-
nefeclion had not any infiammatory cruft j in warm
w-eather, it was florid like arterial blood, and conti¬
nued in one foft homogcneous-like mafs, without any
CINE. 285
reparation of the ferum after it w-as cold. When T^Pnus- _
there was any reparation, the craffamentum was of a ' v~
very lax texture. I. he ftools, after the firft day, w-ere
fetid, inclined to a black colour, and were very rarely
bilious, foft, or liquid, excepting when forced, by art}
for an obftinate coftivenefs attended the febrile ftatc.
The urine was difcharged in a large quantity, was
pale, fometimes limpid, and rarely of a higher than a
ft raw colour, except when the weather w-as very warm,
and then it w-as more faturated, of a deep colour, and
difcharged in fmaller quantities. It had a large cloud,
except when it w-as very pale or limpid ) but more ge¬
nerally it had a copious white fediment, even on the
firft day of the fever. On the fecond day, the urine
continued to be difcharged very copioufly 5 in lome
it was then turbid, and depofited a more copious fedi¬
ment than on the firft: day -, this fediment .was ffime-
times of a browmiffi colour j in which cafe it w-as ge¬
nerally follow-ed by bloody urine, either about the
end of the fecond or beginning of the third day.-—
The colour and quantity of the urine, difcharged in
equal times, were remarkably variable, being now
limpid, then of a deeper colour now difcharged in a
larger, then in a fmaller quantity j which could not be
afcribed to any change made either in the quantity or
quality of the drink.
The fever accompanied with thofe fymptoms ter¬
minated on the third day, or generally in lefs than 72
hours from the firft attack, not by any .affimilation or
coftion and excretion of the morbid matter: for if by
the latter, there would have been fome critical dii-
charge by fweat, urine, ftool, or otherw'ife, none 01
which happened 5 and if by the former, nothing then
would have remained but great debility. 1 his fever,
however, did not terminate in either of thefe falutary
ways, excepting in fome, who wTere happy enough to
have the difeafe conquered in the beginning by proper
evacuations, and by keeping up a plentiful fwreat, till
the total folution of the fever, by proper mild dia¬
phoretics and diluents. But in thole w:ho had not that
good fortune, however tranquil things might appear,
yet the face of affairs was quickly changed : or this
period w-as foon fucceeded by the fecond Jladium; a
ftate, though without any fever, much more teu.
than the firft : the fymptoms in which were the fonoy
ing. The pulfe, immediately after the recefs of the
_ ver, was very little more frequent than in health, but
hard and fmall. However, though it continued fmall, it
became, foon afterwards, flower and very foft ; and
this foftnefs of the pulfe remained as long as the pulfe
could be felt. In many, in this ftage of the diieafe,
the pulfe gradually lubfided, until it became fcarce
perceptible j and this, notwithftanding all the means
ufed to fupport and fill it ; and when this w-as the
cafe, the idleritious-like fuffufion, the vomiting, de¬
lirium, reftleffnefs, &c. increafed to a great degree.
In fome, the pulfe, after being exceedingly. Imall and
fcarce perceptible, recovered confiderably its fulnefs j
but that favourable appearance was generally of but
fliort continuance. I he heat did not exc; ed the na¬
tural animal heat j and when the pulie lubnd d, the
Ikin became cold, and the face, breaft, and extremi¬
ties acquired fomewhat of a livid colour. 1 he ft. in
was dry when the weather was cold, but was moiii and
clammy when the weather was hot. The refpiration
Pebres.
M E D I
Was natural, or rather flow. T he tongue was moift,
and much cleaner than in the former ftage ; its tip and
edges, as alfo the gums and lips, were of a more florid
red colour than ufual. Very few complained of thirft,
though they had a great defire for cold liquors. The
vomiting or retching to vomit increafed, and in fome
was fo conftant that neither medicines nor aliment of
any kind were retained. Some vomited blood j others
,9nly what was laft exhibited mixed with phlegm; and
others again had what is called the black vomit. The
retching to vomit continued a longer or (horter time
according to the ftate of the pulfe j for as that became
fuller, and the* heat greater, the retching to vomit abat¬
ed, and <? contra. The inquietude was very obflinate j
and when they dozed, their flumbers were but
fhort and unrefrefhing. There were fome who were
drowfy ; but thefe always awaked, after the fhorteft
llumbers, with a great deje&ion of fpirits and ftrength.
The ja&ations or reftleflhefs were furprifing : it was
frequently fcarce poflible to keep the patients in bed ;
though, at the fame time, they did not complain of
any anxiety ©r uneafinefs j but if afked how they did ?
the reply was, Very well. The debility was fo great,
that, if the patient was raifed ere& in the bed, or, in
fome, if the head was only raifed from the pillow,
while a cup of drink was given, the pulfe funk imme¬
diately, and became fometimes fo fmall, that it could
fcarce be felt; at this time, they became cold, as in a
horripilatio, but without the anferine-like {kin : their
lips and {kin, efpecially about the neck, face, and ex¬
tremities,^ together with their nails, acquired a livid
colour. The delirium returned and increafed ; it was
generally conftant in thofe whofe pulfe was fmall and
fubfiding. The inflammation of the tunica conjunftiva
or white of the eyes increafed much, but without
pain. A yellownefs in the white of the eyes, if it did
not appear before in the febrile ftate, became now
very obfervable, and that itteritious tinft was foon dif-
fufed over the whole furface of the body, and was conti-
-nually acquiring a deeper faffron-like colour. In fome,
indeed, no yellownefs was obfervable, excepting in the
white of the eyes, until a little before death, when it
increafed very quickly, efpecially about the breaft and
neck.. There were many fmall fpecks, not raifed above
the Ikm, which appeared very thick in the breaft and
neck, but lefs fo in the extremities, and were of a fear-
let, purple, or livid colour. In women the menftrua
flowed, and fometimas exceflively, though not at their
regular period.
There was fuch a putrid diffolution of the blood in
this ftadium of the difeafe, that, there were hemorrhages
from the nofe, mouth, ears, eyes, and from the parts
which were bbftered with cantharides. Nay in the
years 1739 and 1743, there were one or two mftances
of an hemorrhage from the {kin, without any apparent
puncture or lofs of any part of the fcarf-lkin.
An obftinate coftivenefs continued in fome : in others
the ftooIs were frequent and loofe ; in fome they were
black, liquid, large, and greatly fatiguing : in others
when the {tools were moderate, even though they were’
black, they gave great relief; in others, again, the
lo0ur^nnTco„fitocbekd tar “ tenacity, co-
Ihe unne was difeharged in a large quantity in
^operuon to the drink retained by fhe patienp ”t
4
c I N E. Practice.
was pale if the patient wTas not yellow ; but if yellow, Typhus,
then it was of a deep faffron-colour : in either cafe, ^
it had a fediment, or at leaft a large cloud, which
remained at the bottom of the glafs; in fome, it w’as
very turbid ; in others it was bloody : and the quan¬
tity of blood difeharged with the urine bore always
fome proportion to the ftate of the pulfe *, when that
became fuller, the quantity of blood in the urine was
diminilhed ; when the pulfe fubfided, the bloody
urine increafed, and even returned after it had ceafed
fome days, foon after the pulfe became fmaller. This
ftage of the difeafe continued fometimes feven or eight
days before the patient died.
When this ftadium of the difeafe terminated in
health, it was by a recefs or abatement of the vomit-
ing, haemorrhages, delirium, inquietude, jattations, and
ifteritious-like fuffufion of the {kin and white of the
eyes ; while, at the fame time, the pulfe became fuller,
and the patient gained ftrength, but very {lowly. But
when it terminated in death, thofe fymptoms not only
continued, but fooner or later increafed in violence, and
were fucceeded with the following, which may be
termed the third Jladtum of the difeafe, w7hich quickly
ended in death. The pulie, though foft, became ex¬
ceedingly fmall and unequal j the extremities grew
cold, clammy,. and livid 5 the face and lips, in fome,
were fluftted ; in others, they were of a livid colour 5
the livid fpecks increafed fo faft, that in fome the whole
breaft and neck appeared livid ; the heart palpitated
ftrongly • the heat about the prsecordia increafed
much ; the refpiration became difficult, with frequent
fighing 5 the patient now became anxious, and ex¬
tremely reftlefs; the fweat flowed from the face, neck,
and breaft; blood flowed from the mouth, or nofe,
or ears, and in fome from all thole parts at once ; the
deglutition became difficult 5 the hiccoughs and fub-
fiiltus tendinum came on, and w^ere frequent ; the pa¬
tients trifled with their fingers, and picked the naps of
the bedclothes ; they grew comatole, or were conftant-
ly delirious. In this terrible ftate, fome continued eight,
ten, or twelve hours before they died, even after they
had been fo long fpeechlefs, and without any percep¬
tible pulfation of the arteries at the wrifts ; whereas, in
all other acute difeafes, after the pulfe in the wrifts
ceafes, death follows almoft immediately. When the
difeafe was very acute, violent convulfions feized the
unhappy patient, and quickly brought this ftadium to
its fatal end. After death, the livid blotches increafed
faft, efpecially about the face, breaft, and neck, and
the putrefaction began very early, or rather increafed
very quickly.
Such was the progrefs of this terrible difeafe through
its feveral ftadia. But in hot weather, and when the
fymptoms in the firft ftage were very violent, it paffed
through thofe ftages with fuch precipitation that there
was but little opportunity of diftinguiftiing its different
ftadia, the whole tragedy having been finiftied in lefs
than 48 hours. It wras remarkable, that, 1. The in¬
fection was increafed by warm and leffened bv cold
weather. 2. The fymptoms in the feveral ftadium were
more or lefs violent, according to the heat or coolnefs
of the w7eather. In hot days, the fymptoms wrere not
only more violent, but in thofe who feemed in mode¬
rate weather to be on the recovery, or at leaft in no
danger, the fyipptoms were all fo greatly heightened,
when
Practice. M E D I
Febres. when the weather grew confiderabiy warmer, as fre-
quently to become fatal. In cool days, the fymptoms
were not only milder, but many who were apparently
in great danger in hot days were faved from the very
jaws of death by the weather becoming happily cooler,
q. The difeafe was generally more fatal to thofe who
lay in fmall chambers not conveniently fituated for the
admiffion of frefti air, to thofe of an athletic and full
habit, to ftrnngers who were natives of a cold cli¬
mate, to thofe who had the greateft dread of it, and
to thofe who before the attack of the difeafe had
overheated themfeives by exercife in the fun, or by
exceflive drinking of ftrong liquors j either of which
indeed feemed to render the body more fufceptible of
the infedlion. Laftly, The difeafe proved moft certain¬
ly fatal to valetudinarians, or to thofe who had been
weakened by any previous difeafe.
Caufes of, and perfons fubjeB to, this difeafe. The
yellow fever attacks principally Europeans, efpeaially
thofe who have but lately arrived in the hot climates.
Negroes are entirely exempt from it, though the mu-
lattoes and tawnies are as liable to be feized with it as
the whites themfeives. The caufe of the difeafe feems
to be a particular kind of contagion *, but Dr Lind
feems to be of opinion, that the immediate caufe of
the fymptoms is a difpofition in the glutinous part of
the blood to feparate from the others, and to become
putrefcent. In ibrne perfons w7ho have been bled in the
yellow fever, the blood has been obferved very vif-
cid •, the cralfamentum covered with a yellow gluten
half an inch in thicknefs, and impenetrable to the fin¬
ger unlefs cut by the nail; the ferum being at the fame
time of the confiftence of a thin fyrup, and of a deep
yellow tinff. This ferum tafted bitter, and refembled
a compofition of foot. The appearances on diffec-
tion, with his conclufions from them, we (hall give in
his owm words : “ In a man who died on the eleventh
day of a yellow fever, whofe body emitted no bad
fmell 36 hours after death, and v-as dill yellovv, I
found all the bowels of the abdomen found 5 the liver
and fpleen were remarkably fo ; as alfo the (lomach
and inteftines. There was no fuffufion of the bile ei¬
ther in the intedines or domach. The gall-bladder,
of the natural fize, contained the ufual quantity
of bile, fomewhat thicker than common, and gru-
mous (b).
“ Upon examining further, this difeafe was found
to have lain wholly on the left fide, where, within the
bread, was found near a quart of yellowifli water, in
which were many large dakes of yellowidi gluten, ap¬
pearing, by comparifon, precifely the fame with the
thick pellicle which had covered the blood taken from
his arm. Thefe flakes bore in feveral places a refem-
blance to a membranous fubdance beginning to be
converted into a purulent jelly. The pleura, both on
its infide and outfide, as alfo its continuation, the in-
veding membrane of the lungs, were covered with
cakes of this gluten, hanging in fome places loofely, in
others adhering more drongly : and all in different
CINE. 287
dates of yellow or purulent corruption. The right ca- Typhus. ^
vity of the bread, and all the other parts of his body, ~
were found entirely free from difeafe..
“ His complaints had been chiefly in his bread j and
a fmall quantity of blood, taken from him two days be¬
fore his death, was covered with an impenetrable, yel¬
low, thick gluten ; the red portion below it being quite
loofe.
“ In thofe fevers, I have alfo (een (fays Dr Lind)
the difeafe entirely confined to the heart and pericar¬
dium. In one who died on the tenth day of the fever,
wuthout having been yellow, a quantity of pus and pu¬
rulent cruds were found mixed with the water of the
pericardium. The heart in different places was exco¬
riated ; and, together with the infide of the pericar¬
dium, wras lined with a thick membranous cake, fimilar
to that already mentioned on the lungs and pleura. In
fome places this cake had a purulent, in others a gela¬
tinous appearance, exadlly refembling the coagulum of
the blood. His complaints had been, a great oppref-
fion on the bread, and an extreme didiculty of breath¬
ing. In a third perfon, who died on the thirteenth
day of the fever, above two quarts of pus and purulent
jelly were found in the cavity of the belly, ihe fource
of fuch an extraordinary quantity of matter was not
from any preceding inflammation, nor any impodhume,
that we could difcover ; but from innumerable ulcera¬
tions on the furface of the intedines, omentum, mefen-
tery, and peritoneum. Neither did thofe ulcerations
(or excoriations, as they rather appeared in feveral
places) feem to be the primary fountains of the matter,
but to have been occafioned by its acrimony.
“ This purulent appearance feems to arife merely
from an extravafation of one of the component parts
of the blood, the gluten or fibrine as it is now' called.
Blood taken from perfons in a fever, and frequently
even from perfons in perfeft health, after danding in a
clean veffel for a (hort time, commonly feparates into
three didimff portions ; viz. the ferum, or w'ater of the
blood, the red concreted mafs, and a vifcid pellicle
termed thewhich fpreads itfelf on the top of the
red concretion. Some time ago, when making expe¬
riments with the blood taken from perfons in the
fcurvy, I was furprifed to find it often covered with
that fizy crud. This induced me to extend my expe¬
riments to large quantities of blood from different
fubje&s, which I had opportunities of infpefting at
once in fo large an hofpital. For this purpofe I one
morning ordered ten patients in the fcurvy to be bled,
taking two ounces from each. A larger quantity was
taken, for its infpeftion, from two men in health.
That day I had occafion to prefcribe bleeding to a
w’onaan in labour, two hours before her delivery j to a
girl of fixteen years of age afdidted with a lunacy pro¬
ceeding from the chlorofis j to three patients in the
rheumatifm 5 and to a perfon labouring under an ob-
druflion of the liver.
“ From a nice comparifon, and an examination of
the blood in thefe cafes, I found in general, that the
more
(b) In others who died in this yellow date, the bile in the gall-bladder was found of a thick ropy confidence
like pitch, but the liver never appeared in the lead affedled. Dr Lind at fird in feveral bodies opened the head
only 3 but afterwards judged that all the cavities ought to be infpe&ed*
288
MEDICI M E.
Fra&ice.
Febres.
inore fize there was on the top, and the thicker and
more vifcid this white pellicle fhowed itfelf, the con¬
cretion below it was of a more loofe coherence. This
was not fo obfervable when only fome flight white
'llreaks appeared on the top. But when much fize had
feparated itfelf, the red mafs became very foft at the
bottom of the veffel, and lefs compadt in its different
parts, in proportion to their diflance from the furface,
towards which this whitifh portion had afcended.
“ From this and from other experiments it appears,
that this cruft or pellicle is the natural gluten which be¬
comes flrongly difpofed, in certain circumftances and
difeafes, to feparate itfelf. And whereas the ferum and
red concretion are eafily incorporated together, it will
be found, that this glue, after its feparation, becomes
immifcible wdth either. We have, by gentle drying,
converted it into a perfectly tough elaftic membrane ;
and, by the means of a fmall portion of the red mafs
being left adhering to it, into a fubftance refembling
mufcular flelh ; and it is capable of undergoing various
changes into corruption, in the fame manner as either
of thefe.
“ Now, I can fee no reafon why this gluten, in its
morbid ftate, may not feparate itfelf from the circulat¬
ing blood, and be depofited in the cavities of the body,
as readily as the ferum does in dropftes ; the former
having always a lefs difpofition than the latter to incor¬
porate with the mafs.
“ In diffedfting perfons who died of fevers in Lon¬
don and Minorca, and where no infeftion was fufpeft-
ed, appearances limilar to thefe have alfo fallen under
the infpedlion of thofe accurate anatomifts Drs Hunter
and Cleghorn. Hence it may be prefumed very diffi¬
cult to diftinguifh fevers that are produced by infeflion,
from fome others. I cannot, however, be induced to
think, as thofe gentlemen feem to do, that thefe pre¬
ternatural fubftances which wrere found in the cavities
of the body are the confequence, but rather that they
are the caufe, of the inflammation and excoriations. I
believe thefe fubftances to be at firft difeafed extravafa-
ted gluten, and conjedlure their different ftates greatly
to depend upon the different times at which they
were depofited.
“ I have remarked, in a variety of dead bodies,
three different kinds of extravafation ; thefe occurred in
fuch as had died of the fcurvy, of confumption, and of
fevers. In the former of thofe difeafes, red coagulated
blood is found extravafated in almoft all parts of the
body, not only into the tela cellulofa, but into the bel¬
lies of the mufcles, particularly of the legs and thighs,
which often become quite fluffed and even diftorted
with large grumous maffes. The inteftines and mefen-
tery are often fpotted alfo with extravafated blood ; and
I have feen large ecchymofes on the ftomach. Thofe
appearances at firft fight refembled fo many diftinft
mortifications*, and by this appearance fome anatomifts
have been deceived *, but, upon a nice examination, the
texture of the parts is found to be found and firm.
There is likewife, in that difeafe, fometimes, an extra¬
vafation of w^ater, chiefly colle&ed in the tela cellu¬
lofa.
“ But as, in the limbs of fcorbutic perfons, it is ex¬
tremely difficult to make a good diffeaion by reafon of
luch quantities of extravafated blood that everywdiere
-obftruct the operator j fo, on the contrarv, the lower
extremities of *hofe who have died confumptive, with Typhus,
fwelled legs, are, of all Subjects, in the belt ftate o
afford a fatisfa&ory view of the mufcles. Ti e wa¬
ter enclofed in their legs having infinaated itfelf, by
paffir\g the tela cellulofa, into the fpaces between the
mufcles, the mufcles are eafily feparated from each
other ; and their feveral origins and rnfertions may be
diftinclly traced by means of their having been cleanfed
and waffied by the water in the inverting cellular mem¬
brane. Thus there are extravafations of three forts;
viz. Firft, The grumous mafs in the fcurvy j and this
I have often remarked where no ferum was obferved.
Secondly, The ferum alone in anafarcous fwellings.
The third and laft is what was taken notice of in thofe
wffio died of fevers, being the gluten of the blood, ac¬
companied for the moft part with fome ferum 5 both of
them altogether confined to the large cavities of the
body.
“T conje61ure, that in thofe fevers there is always
an ulcerous or purulent difpofition in the blood j and
that the gluten is greatly difeafed. I have frequently
feen it have a true purulent appearance foon after it was
drawn off, when the patient feemed not very ill.
“ And I further conjecture, that the mifehief often
lies within the breaft ; as alfo that the great benefit de¬
rived from the very early application of blifters, in a
great meafure flows from fo many ulcerations and vents
being timely provided for the free di(charge of thofe
purulent and tainted particles from the body.
“ If an infeftion depends, as many have imagined,
on the admiffion of certain foreign particles into the
blood, this gluten feems to be primarily affefted by it;
and a difeharge of this, by wafliing thofe particles out
of the body, tends in a great meafure to remove that
difeafe.
“ It is an obfervation of the beft practical writers,
that iffues and fetons are moft excellent preferva-
tives againft receiving an infeClion, even that of the
plague itfelf. And indeed a fuppuration and plentiful
difeharge from a proper ulcer, whether produced by
nature or by art, feems to open a channel the beft ap¬
propriated for an exit out of the body to fome of the
moft malignant poifons. Thus the moft favourable
crifis in the plague, and in moil peftilential fevers, hap¬
pens when nature excites tumors kindly fuppurating
in the groin or armpits, by wbofe beneficial and plen¬
tiful difeharge the deadly poifon is expelled from the
conflitution.
“ I have obferved it to be amongft the moft certain
charaCleriftics of the W'Orft fevers, that the blifters ei¬
ther do not rife and fill, or difeharge fuch yellow,
greeniffi, fetid, and highly offenfive fluff, that even ex¬
perienced nurfes could give a pretty certain conjec¬
ture from the blifters of the different degrees of ma¬
lignity in the fever. We have more than once endea¬
voured to conceal the bad ftate of fome patients in the
hofpital j but a difeovery was always made of their
condition in the wafhhoufe, from the linen fent there
ftained with the difeharges from the bliftered parts.
And indeed a careful infpedion of the fiate and dif¬
eharge from the blifters, together with their effeCls,
furnifhes us, in thofe difeafes, with fome of the moft
certain diagnoftics of their nature, and prognoftics of
their event.”
Prognojis. This diftemper, where it attacks with
violence,
Practice. M E D I
Febres. violence, is generally fatal j tire prognofis therefore
— muft be commonly unfavourable, and always uncer¬
tain ; neither can any thing more be faid on this fub-
je.£l, than that an abatement of the fymptoms already
enumerated affords a favourable prognoftic, and an in-
creafe of them the contrary.
Cure. The cure of this terrible difeafe, according
to Dr Hilary, is very eafy and fimple. His indications
are, i. To moderate the too great and rapid motion of
the fluids, and abate the too great heat and violence of
the fever in the two firfl days of the difeafe, as much
and as fafely as we can. 2. To evacuate and carry out
of the body as much of the putrid bile and other hu¬
mours, and as expeditioufly and fafely as pofhble.
3. To put a flop to the putrefcent difpofition of the
fluids, and to prevent the gangrenes from coming on,
by fuitable antifeptics.
The firft indication is anfwered by bleeding, which,
in the firfl: ftage of this fever, is fometlmes abfolutely
neceflary in feme degree : the quantity to be taken
away muft be determined by the age and ftrength of
the patients, the degree of plethora, fulnefs of the
pulfe, &c. When called at the beginning, he orders
12, 14, 16, 18, or 20 ounces of blood to be taken
®way on the firft or fecond day 5 and if the patient’s
pulfe rife after the firft bleeding, or if the fever ftill
continue high and the pulfe full, he repeats the bleed¬
ing once on the days above mentioned. But bleeding
a third time is feldom or never required ; neither is
bleeding on the third day almoft ever neceflary j and
when it is performed on that day, it ought to be done
with the greateft caution and judgement : neither fhould
a vein be opened after the third day in this fever, unlefs
fome very extraordinary fymptoms and circumftances
require it ; which feldom or never happen. On that
day, indeed, the pulfe generally finks, and the blood
is in fuch a diffolved ftate, that bleeding muft be ac¬
counted highly pernicious. Neverthelefs, it is indif-
penfably neceffary in the beginning of the diftemper ;
and if omitted at that time, the violent heat and mo¬
tion of the blood increafe the putrefcence of the hu¬
mours to fuch a degree as to bring on the fatal confe-
' quences much fodner than would otherwife have hap¬
pened. If blood-letting be thus advifed by Dr Hilary,
it has been ftill more ftrongly recommended by Dr
Rufti, who, in his firft publication on the fubjeef of the
dreadful yellow fever which proved fo fatal at Phila¬
delphia, reprefented it as an almoft infallible remedy
for the difeafe. But the obfervations and experience
of others have by no means confirmed the practice which
he recommended.
After bleeding, we come to the fecond indication
Tof cure, namely, to evacuate as much of the bilious
and putrid humours as foon and as fafely as we can.
'The great irritation of the ftomach, by the putrid bi¬
lious humours conftantly attending this fever, with
almoft continual retchings and violent vomitings, feem
to indicate the giving of an emetic : but the ftomach
is always obferved to be fo violently ftimulated and ir¬
ritated, and moft commonly inflamed, by the acrimony
of the putrefcent bile, that any emetic, even the moft:
mild and gentle, given in the fmalleft dofe, brings on
an inceflsnt vomiting, which continues, in fpite of all
remedies, till a mortification and death enfue. Inftead
of this, it is proper to give large draughts of warm
XIII. Part I.
CINE.
289
water, which, without any additional ftimulus to the
ftomach, evacuates its acrid and putrid contents, com¬
monly with great relief to the patient: the warm water
alfo a6fs as an emollient fotus to the inflamed coats of
the ftomach j and thus abates the inflammation, and
prevents gangrene and mortification from coming on.
After the patient has by this means vomited feven
or eight times, or oftener, and difeharged a great
quantity of yellow and blackifh bilious matter, a grain
or a grain and a half of thebaic extraft is given, in or¬
der to procure fome refpite from the violent retching,
vomiting, and anxiety. The perfon is defired to take
nothing into his ftomach for two hours after this, by
which means it is feldom or never rejefted $ and thus
all the fymptoms are confiderably abated, the retching
and vomiting either totally ceafe or are very much lef-
fened, fo that medicines may now be exhibited which
the ftomach would not have retained before. Thefe
are cooling acid juleps, or other antifeptic remedies ;
but neither nitre nor any of its preparations will com¬
monly be found to ftay on the ftomach, nor, according
to Dr Hilary, are the nitrous medicines, or even the
common antiemetic draughts, proper to be given in this
difeafe, even though they Ihould agree with the ftomach,
on account of their attenuating property.
If the patient has not a ftool or two after drinking
the warm water and vomiting, it is neceflary to give a
gentle purging clyfter j and when fix or eight hours
reft have been obtained, a gentle antiphlogiftic and an¬
tifeptic purge, in order to evacuate by ftool as much of
the bilious matter as we poflibly can. Or if the pa¬
tient has a purging before, which fometimes though
very rarely happens, a dofe of toafted rhubarb is given,
and an antifeptic anodyne after it has operated, to abate
and check the too great purging, but not to flop it, as
this evacuation has been always obferved to be of fer-
vice, provided it be not very violent.
After this indication is completely anfwered, the
next is to exhibit fuch proper antifeptic medicines as
may ftop the putrefcent difpofition of the fluids. Here
the cinchona would feem to be the moft proper reme¬
dy ; but unluckily the ftomachs of the patients in this
difeafe are fo much irritated, and fo apt to rejeft every
thing, that it cannot be retained in any form whatever.
In this cafe Dr Percival recommends columbo root,
the infufion of which is found to be a powerful anti¬
emetic and antiputrefeent medicine, and might perhaps
fo far alter the ftate of the ftomach as to make it bear
the bark. Dr Hillary, however, who was ignorant of
the virtues of columbo, fubftituted the radix ferpenta-
rice Virginiance with fuccefs. A flight infufion of this
root not only fat eafiiy on the rtomach of the patients,
but moderately raifed the pulfe and fever, both of
which are now too low. The following receipt was
found the moft agreeable and efficacious.
Typhus.
Rad. ferpent. Virginian. Jij.
Croc. Ang. 3 fs. M. et infunde vafe claufo in aq.
bul. q. per horam unam ut col. 3yj. Adde aq.
menth. fimp. Jij. Vin. Maderienf. Jiv. Syr. croc,
vel fyr. e mecon. Ji. Elix. vitriol, acid. q. f. ad
grat. acid. fap. Exhibe cochlearia duo vel tria fin-
gulis horis vel bihoris, vcl fsepius pro re nata.
By the ufe of this medicine, and foft light nourifli-
ment taken in fmall quantities, the pulfe is ufually kept
O o up
290
Febres.
M E D I
up and the diftemper goes ofF. But if, after taking
this a little while, we find that the pulfe does not rife,
but on the contrary that a coldnefs of the extreme parts
comes on, the medicines muft be made more warming,
by increafing the quantity of the fnakeroot and faffron,
or by adding vinum croceum, confeciio cardiaca, or the
like, but not by the ufe of volatile fpirits and falts,
which hurt by their ftimulating and diffolving qualities.
Blifters Dr Hilary reprobates in the ftrongelt terms,
and affirms that he has feen the place where a blifter
was applied turned perfe&ly black and fphacelated ; fo
that if the fpine and end of the ribs had not hindered,
a large fquare paffage would have been opened into the
cavity of the thorax, had the patient lived a few hours
after it.
At the fame time that the ftrength of the patient is
kept up by the medicines above mentioned, or by
others fimilar, he gave repeated gentle purgatives eve¬
ry fecond or third day, and fometimes, when the fymp-
toms were very urgent, every day, for four or five days
fucceffively. But if proper methods be taken in the
beginning of the difeafe, it is feldom that fuch a repe¬
tition of purging is neceffary.
Dr Hilary’s plan of treating the yellow fever is, in
our opinion, as judicious as any that has yet been pro-
pofed. But, among the late writers, fome have re¬
commended mercury, particularly under the form of
calomel, as the moft efficacious remedy which can be
employed. In fome cafes it has certainly been given
to an almoft incredible extent, in a very ffiort time,
without exciting either purging or falivation. And it
cannot be denied, that patients have not unfrequently
recovered under the ufe of it. But calomel can no
more be reckoned an infallible remedy for this difeafe
than blood-letting.
Since the introduftion of cold affufion, in the cure
of typhus fevers, by Dr Currie, it has been imagined by
fome, that this praftice would afford a very efficacious
remedy in the typhus i&eroides, as well as in the typhus
mitior. But experience has not yet confirmed the uti¬
lity of this praftice.
Some have fuggefted the internal ufe of the oxyge¬
nated muriatic acid, properly diluted, as an article
from which great benefit may be expefted in the yel¬
low fever. This pra&ice deferves, we think, a fair
trial: but the utility of it ftill remains to be determin¬
ed by experience.
To the genus of typhus alfo belong all thofe fevers
attended with very profufe and debilitating fweats, and
which have fometimes, not without good reafon, been
accounted plagues ; fuch as the Engliffi fweating-fick-
nefs, Miliaris fudatoria, Sauv. fp. 5. Ephemera fuda-
toria, Souv. fp. 7, Ephemera Britannica, Caius de
ephetn. Britan.
Genus VI. SYNOCHUS.
Synochus, Sauv. gen. 81. Lin. 13.
Lenta, Lin. 14.
Phrenitis, Vog. 18.
Eebris continua putrida, Boerh. 730.
This is a contagious diftemper, being a complication
of a fynocha and typhus $ for the defcription and cure
of which, we muft of confequence refer to what hath
been already faid concerning thefe difeafes.
CINE.
PracUce.
The Hettic Fever.
He&ica, Sauv. gen. 83. Lin. 24. Vog. 80. Sag. 684.
Hediica.
This difeafe is reckoned by Dr Cullen to be merely
fymptomatic ; as indeed feems very probable, fince it
generally accompanies abforption of pus into the
blood from internal fuppurations, or indeed from fuch
as are external, provided they be very large or of a
bad kind.
Defcription. The beft, perhaps the only proper, de¬
fcription of this diforder we have is that by Dr Heber-
den. According to him, the appearance of the heftic
fever is not unlike that of the genuine intermittent ;
from which, however, the difeafe is very different in
its nature, while at the fame time it is much more
dangerous. In the true intermittent, the three ftages
of cold, heat, and fweat, are far more diftin&ly mark¬
ed, the whole fit is much longer, the period which it
obferves is more conftant and regular, and the inter-
miffions are more perfedl, than in the heftic fever.
For in the latter, even during the cleareft remiffion,
there is ufually a feveriffi quicknefs perceptible in
the pulfe, which feldom fails to exceed the utmofl
limit of a healthy one by at leaft 10 ftrokes in a mi¬
nute.
The chilnefs of the heflic fever is fometimes fucceed-
ed by heat, and fometimes immediately by a fweat
without any intermediate ftate of heat. The heat will
fometimes come on without any remarkable chilnefs
preceding *, and the chilnefs has been obferved to go
off without being followed either by heat or fweat.
The duration of thefe ftages is feldom the fame for
three fits together •, and as it is not uncommon for one
of them to be wanting, the length of the whole fit
muft vary much more than in the true intermittent $
but in general it is much ffiorter.
A patient fubjefted to heffic fever is little or nothing
relieved by the occurrence of the fweat ; but is often
as anxious and reftlefs under it as during the chilnefs or
heat. When the fweat is over, the fever will fome¬
times continue $ and in the middle of the fever the chil¬
nefs will return j which is a moft certain mark of this
difeafe.
The hedlic fever will return with great exa&nefs,
like an intermittent, for two or perhaps three fits} but
Dr Heberden informs us, that he does not remember
ever to have known it keep the fame period for four
fits fucceffively. The paroxyfm will now and then keep
off for 10 or 12 days j and at other times, efpecially
when the patient is very ill, it will return fo frequent¬
ly on the fame day, that the chilnefs of a new fit will
follow immediately the fweat of the former. It is not
unufual to have many threatenings of a ffiivering in
the fame day •, and fome degree of drowfinefs is apt to
attend the ceffation of a fit.
The urine in a true intermittent is clear during the
fits and turbid during the intervals j but in the hetftic
fever it is liable to all kinds of irregularity. It will be
equally clear or turbid in both ftages j or turbid in the
fits and clear in the intervals ; and fometimes it will be,
as in a true intermittent, clear during the fever, and
thick at the going off.
He61ic» patients often complain of pains like thofe
of the rheumatifm, which either affedt by turns almoft
every
Practice.
M E D I
Febres. every part of the body, or eife return conftantly to the
 * 1 fame part ; which is often at a great diitance from the
feat of the principal diforder, and, as. far as is known,
without any peculiar connexion with it. Thofe pams
are fo violent in fome patients, as to requue a laige
quantity of opium. As far as Dr Ueberden has ob-
ferved, they are moft common where the hedtic arifes
from fome ulcer open to the external air, as in cancers
of the face, breaft, &c. Joined with this fever, and
anfing probably from one common caufe, he has been
furprifed to fee fwellings of the limbs, neck, or trunk
of the body, rife up almoft in an inftant, as if the part
was all at once grown fatter. Thefe fwellings are not
painful, hard, or difcoloured, and they continue for fe-
veral hours.
Dr Heberden has feen this fever attack thofe. who
feemed in tolerable health, in a fudden and violent
manner, like a common inflammatory one.; and like
that, alfo, in a very fhort time bring them into immi¬
nent danger of their lives; after which it has begun to
abate, and to afford hopes of a perfea recovery. But
though the danger might be over for the prefent, and
but little of a fever remain ; yet that little has foo^1 de-
monftrated, that it was kept up by fome great mifchief
within, and, proving unconquerable by any remedies,
has gradually undermined the health of the patient, and
never ceafed except with his life. This manner of its
beginning, however, is a rare occurrence. It much
oftener diffembles its ftrength at firft ; and creeps on fo
flowly, that the fubjedls of it, though they be not per-
feftly well, yet for fome months hardly think them-
felves ill ; complaining only of being fooner tired with
exercife than ufual, of want of appetite, and of falling
away. But gentle as the4 fymptoms may feem, if the
pulfe be quicker than ordinary, fo as. to have the artery
to beat 90 times and perhaps 120 times in a minute,
there is the greateft reafon to be apprehenfive of the
event. In no diforder, perhaps, is the pulfe of. more
ufe to guide our judgement than in the hedlic fever :
yet even here we muft be upon our guard, and not
truft entirely to this criterion; for one in about twenty
patients, with all the worfl figns of decay from fome
incurable caufe, which irrefiftibly goes on to deftroy
his life, will fhow not the fmalleft degree of quicknefs,
nor any other irregularity of the pulfe, to the day of
his death.
Caufesy &c. This fever will fupervene. whenever
there is a great colleftion of matter formed in any part
of the body; but it more particularly attends upon the
inflammation of a fcirrhous gland, and even upon one
that is flight and only juft beginning; the fever grow¬
ing worfe in proportion as the gland becomes more in¬
flamed, ulcered, or gangrenous. And fuch is the ling¬
ering nature of thofe glandular diforders, that the firft
of thofe ftages will continue for many months, and the
fecond for fome years.
If this fcirrhous inflammation be external, or in the
lungs, or fome of the abdominal vifcera, where the
difturbance of their fundlions plainly points out the
feat of the diforder, no doubt can be entertamed con¬
cerning the caufe of the fever. But if the part affedl-
ed be not obvious to the fenfes, and its precife func¬
tions be not known, the he&ic, which is there only
part of the train of another diieafe, may be miftaken
for the primary or only affc&ion.
CINE. 291
Lying-in-women, on account of the violence fu- Hectica. ^
ftained in delivery, generally die when affedted with Y“"“
this fever. Women of the age of near 50 and up¬
wards are particularly liable to it. For, upon the
ceffation of their natural difcharge, the glands of
the breafts, ovaries, or womb, too commonly begin
to grow fcirrhous, and proceed to be cancerous.
Not only thefe, but the glandular parts of all the
abdominal vifcera, are difpofed to be affedled at this
particular time, and to become the feats ot incuraole
diforders.
The injuries done to the ftomach and liver by hard
drinking are attended with fimilar fymptoms, and ter¬
minate in the fame manner.
Dr Heberden obferves, that the flighteft wound by
a fine-pointed inftrument is known upon fome occa-
fions to bring on the greateft difturbances, and the
moft alarming fymptoms, nay even death itfelf. For
not only the wounded part will fwell and be painful,
but by turns almoft every part of the body ; and very
diftant parts have been knowm to come even to fuppu-
ration. Thefe fymptoms are conftantly accompanied
with this irregular intermittent, which lafts as long as
any of them remain.
Prognq/is. This anomalous fever is never lefs dan¬
gerous than when it originates from a kindly fuppura-
tion, into which all the difeafed parts are melted down,
and for which there is a proper outlet.
The fymptoms and danger from fome fmall punc¬
tures, with their concomitant fever, moft frequently
give way in a few days ; though in fome perfons they
have continued for two or three months, and in others
have proved fatal.
The inflammation of internal fcirrhous glands, or of
thofe in the breafts, fometimes goes off, and the fever,
which depended upon it, ceafes ; but it much oftener
happens, that it proceeds to cancerous and gangrenous
ulcers, and terminates only in death. Death is alfo,
almoft univerfally, the confequence of hedfic fever
from tubercles of the lungs, which have in general at
leaft been confidered as glandular bodies in a fcirrhous
ftate.
Cure. It is not to be expedled that the fame re¬
medies will in every cafe be adapted to a fever
which, arifing from very different caufes, is attend¬
ed with fuch a variety of fymptoms. A mixture of
affafoetida and opium has in fome perfons feemed Angu¬
larly ferviceable in this fever, when brought on by a
fmall wound ; but in moft other cafes the principal if
not the foie attention of the phyfician muft be employ¬
ed in relieving the fymptoms, by tempering the heat,
by preventing both coftivenefs and purging, by procur¬
ing lleep, and by checking the fweats. If, at the fame
time, continues Dr Heberden, he put the body into as
good general health as may be, by air, exercife, and a
proper courfe of mild diet, he can perhaps do nothing
better than to leave all the reft to nature. In fome
few fortunate patients, nature appears to have fuch re~
fources, as may afford reafon for entertaining hopes of
cure, even in very bad cafes. For lome have recovered
from this fever attended with every fymptom of an
abdominal vifcus incurably difeafed, after all proba¬
ble methods of relief from art had been tried in vain,
and after the fleftr and ftrength were fo exhaufted as to
leave fcarce any hopes from nature. In thbfe deplora-
O o 2 ble
292 M E D I
Pharma- ble circumilances, there has arifen a fwelling not far
i 1,x‘ from the probable feat of the diforder, and yet without
any difcoverable communication with it. This fwell¬
ing has come to an abfcefs; in confequence of which
the pulfe has foon returned to its natural ftate, as have
alfo the appetite, fiefli, and ftrength. What nature
has performed in thofe rare cafes, Dr Heberden ac¬
quaints us, he has often endeavoured to imitate, by
making iffues or applying bliflers near the feat of the
difcafe ; but he cannot fay with the fame fuccefs.
It feems at prefent, Dr Heberden obferves, to be
the opinion of many practitioners, that gangrenes will
be flopped, and fuppuration become more kindly, by
the ufe of Peruvian bark j and therefore this remedy
is always either advifed or permitted in the irregular fe¬
ver joined with fuppurations and gangrenes. But he
affirms he does not remember ever to have feen any
good effedl from cinchona in this fever unattended with
an apparent ulcer ; and even in gangrenes it fo often
fails, that in luccefsful cafes, where it has been admini-
flered, there mull be room for fufpicion that the fuc¬
cefs was owing to another caufe. Dr Heberden ac¬
knowledges at the fame time, that he never faw any
harm from cinchona, In thefe, or indeed in any- other
cafes, except a flight temporary purging or ficknefs,
where it has happened to difagree with the ffomach, or
where the latter has been loaded by taking the medi¬
cine too fall, efpecially in dry bolufes wrapped in wafer-
paper.
In he£tic illnefies, where all other means have proved
ineffedfual, a journey to Bath is ufually propofed by
the friends, and wiihed for by the tick ; but Dr He¬
berden juftly obferves, that, befides the fatigue and
many inconveniences of a journey to a dying perfon,
the Bath waters are peculiarly hurtful in this fever,
which they never fail to increafe, and thereby aggra¬
vate the fufFerings and haften the death of the pa¬
tient.
Do Order II. PHLEGMASIA.
Phlegmafiae membranofte et parenchymatofle, Sauv.
Clafs HI. Ord. I. II. Sag. 605.
Morbi febriles phlogiftici, Lm. Clafs III.
Febres continue compofitae inflammatoriae, Fog.
Morbi acuti febriles, Boer/i. 770.
Febres inflammateriae, Hojfm. II. 105. Junck. 61.
I he phlegmafiae, .or topical inflammations, are a
very numerous affemblage of difeafes. Their great
chara&eriftics are, the general fymptoms of fever, and
a topical inflammation, attended with the lefion of fome
important fundtion. In moft inftances, when blood is
drawn, it is found upon coagulation to be covered with
a buffy coat. Under this order, many important ge¬
nera are comprehended, each requiring a feparate con-
fideration.
D* Genus VII. PHLOGOSIS.
Sp. I. Phlogosis phlegmone.
Phlegmone au&orum, Sauv. gen. 15. Lin. 39. Fog.
351-
Inflammatio, Lin. 231. Boerh. 370. 'Juncli. 20. -
This difeafe is a fynocha fever, accompanied with an
C I N E. Praflice.
inflammation of fome particular part either external or Phlogofis.
internal, and confequently it varies very much in its'’"*—
form and the degree of danger attending it, accord¬
ing to the fituatien and fundtions of the part aflhdfed
with topical inflammation. To this fpecies, therefore,
belong the following difeafes :
Furunculus, Sauv. gen. 18. Fog. 352.
Terminthus, Fog, 381.
Pupula, Lin. 275. Sauv. p. 6.
Varus, Fog. 436. Lin. 269. Sauv, p. 7.
Bacchia, Lin. 270.
Gutta rofea, Sauv. gen. 4.
Gutta rcfacea, Fog. 437.
Plordeolum, Sauv. gen. 27. Lin. 276. Fog. 434.
Otalgia, Sauv. gen. 197. Lin. 44. Vog. 148.
Dolor otalgicus, Hrffrn. II. 336.
Parulis, Fog. 362.
Maftodynia, Sauv. gen. 210. Fo%. 133.
Paronychia, Sauv. gen. 21. Lin. 258. Fog. 345.
Arthrocace, Sauv. gen. 78. Lin. 256.
Paedarthrocace, Fog. 419.
Spina ventofa, Boerh. 526.
Phimofis, Sauv. gen. 22. Lin. 297. Fop, 248.
Paraphimofis, Fog. 349.
For the cure of inflammations, Dr Cullen lays down
the following indications. 1. To remove the remote
caufes when they are evident and continue to operate.
2. To take off the phlogiftic diathefis affedting the
whole fyftem, or the particular part. 3. To take off
the fpafm of the particular part, by remedies applied to
the whole fyllem, or to the part itfelf.
The means of removing the remote caufes will readi¬
ly occur, from confidering the particular nature and
circumftances of the different kinds. Acrid matters
muff be removed, or their aftion muft be prevented,
by the application of demulcents. Comprefiintr and
overftretching powers muft be taken away ; and**from
their feveral circumftances, the means of doing fo will
be obvious.
The means of taking off the phlogiftic diathefis of
the fyftem are the fame with thofe already mentioned
under the cure for fynocha. The means of taking off
the fpafm alfo from the particular part, are much the
fame with thofe already mentioned. Only it is to be
remembered, tnat topical bleedings, fuch as cupping
with fcarifications, applying leeches, &c. are in this
cafe much more indicated ; and that fome of the other
remedies are to be diredled more particularly to the
part affedled, as ffiall be more fully confidered when
we treat of thofe difeafes attended with particular in¬
flammations.
When a tendency to fuppuraticn is perceived, the
proper indication is to promote the production of per¬
fect pus as much as poffible. For this purpofe various
remedies, fuppofed to poffefs a fpecific power, have
been propofed : but it does not appear that any of them
are poffeffed of a virtue of this kind ; and, in Dr Cul¬
len s opinion, all that can be done is to favour the
fuppuration by fuch applications as may fupport a mo¬
derate heat in the part, by fome tenacity confine the
perfpiration, and by an emollient quality may weaken
the cohefion of the teguments, and favour their erofion.
As all abfeeffes are occafioned by the effufion of fluids,
and as in the cafe of certain effufions a fuppuration be¬
comes
Practice. M E D I
phW'.n a comes not only unrvoi3able but dcfirable, it may be
Use- fuppofed that rooft of the means of procuring a refo-
' v-  lution, by diminifhing the force of circulation, &c.
ought to be avoided. But as we obferve on the one
hand, that a certain degree of increafed impetus, or of
the original fymptoms of inflammation, is neceflary to
produce a proper fuppuration ; fo it is then efpecially
recefl'ary to avoid thofe means of refolution which may
diminilh too much the force of circulation. And on
the other hand, as the impetus of the blood, when vio¬
lent, is found to prevent the proper fuppuration ; fo, in
fuch cafes, though a tendency to fuppuration may have
begun, it may be proper to continue thofe means of
refolution which moderate the force of the circulation.
With refpeci to the opening of abfceffes when com¬
pletely formed, fee the article Surgery.
When an inflammation has taken a tendency to gan¬
grene, that event is to be prevented by every poffible
means 5 and thefe muft be different according to the
nature of the feveral caufes : but after a gangrene has
in iome degree taken place, it can be cured only by
the feparation of the dead from the living parts. This
in certain circumftances can be performed, and moft
properly, by the knife. In other cafes it can be done
by exciting a fuppuratory inflammation on the verge
of the living part, whereby its coheflon with the dead
part may be everywhere broken off, fo that the latter
may fall off by itfelf. While this is doing, it is pro¬
per to prevent the further putrefadlien of the part, and
its fpreading wider. For this purpofe various antifep-
tic applications have been propofed : but Dr Cullen is
of opinion, that while the teguments are entire, thefe
applications can hardly have any effe£t j and therefore,
that the fundamental procedure muff be to fcarify the
part lb as to reach the living fubffance, and, by the
wounds made there, to excite the fuppuration required.
By the fame inch*ons alfo we give accefs to antifeptic:-',
which may both prevent the progrefs of the putrefac¬
tion in the dead, and excite the inflammation neceffary
on the verge of the living parts.
When the gangrene proceeds from lofs of tone, and
when this, communicated to the neighbouring parts,
prevents that inflammation which, as we have faid, is
requifite to the feparation of the dead parts from the
living, it will be neceffary to obviate this lofs of tone
by tonic medicines given internally 5 and for this pur¬
pofe cinchona has been found to be moft effedfual.
But when the gangrene arifes from the violence of in¬
flammation, the bark may not only fail of proving a
remedy, but may do harm : for its power as a tonic is
efpecially fuited to thofe cafes of gangrene which pro¬
ceed from an original lofs of tone, as in the cafe of palfy
and oedema ; or in thofe cafes where a lofs of tone takes
place after the original inflammatory fymptoms are re¬
moved .
On the other hand, Mr Bell is of opinion, that in-
cifions made with a view7 to admit the operation of an¬
tifeptic remedies in gangrenes, as well as the remedies
themfelves, muff: be pernicious from the irritation they
occafion, and from the danger of wounding blood-
veffels, nerves, or tendons, and alfo by allowing a free
pafiage for the putrefcent fluids into the parts not
yet affefted. And unlefs they be carried fo deep as
to reach the found parts, applications of the antifeptic
kind can. never have any effect in anfvvering the pur-
C I N E.
pofe for which they were intended. The fame author Pb
alfo remarks, that all the advantages commonly obfer-
ved from the great number of applications recommend¬
ed for gangrene, are obtained with more eafe, and ge¬
nerally too with more certainty, from the ufe of feme
gentle flimulating embrocation ; which, by exciting a
flight irritation upon the furface, efpecially when afiiff-
ed by a free ufe of cinchona, produces for the moft
part fuch a degree of inflammation as is wiflied for.
With this view he has frequently known a weak folu-
tion of fal ammoniac, a dram of the fait to two ounces
of vinegar and fix of water, form a mixture of very pro¬
per ftrength for every purpofe of this kind. But the
degree of ftimulus can eafily be either increafed or di-
minifhed according to circumftances, by ufing a larger
or fmaller proportion of the fait.
Whenever, either by the means recommended, or by
a natural exertion of the fyftem, a flight inflammation
appears between the difeafed and found parts, we may
in general, with tolerable certainty, expeft, that in due
time the parts will be feparated ; and when a full fup¬
puration is once fairly eftablifhed, there can be little
doubt that the mortified parts will be foon and eafily
removed.
A complete feparation being effefled, the fore is to
be treated in the manner deferibed under the article
Surgery ; with a proper attention, at the fame time,,
to the fupport of the general fyftem by the continuance
of nourilhing diet, and cinchona with fuch quantities of
wine as may feem neceflary.
With regard to the bark, however, it is proper to
take notice of another cafe of mortification in which it
is likewife unfuccefsful, as well as in that attended with
a high degree of inflammation 5 and that is, in thofe
mortifications of the toes and feet, common in old
people, or which arife from any caufe increaling the
rigidity of the veflels to fuch a degree as to prevent the
motion of the fluids through them. In tin’s cafe Mr
Pott has difeovered, that all kinds of warm applications
are very unfuccefsful ; but by the free ufe of opium, to¬
gether with fedatives and relaxants externally applied,
he has frequently feen the tumefa&ion of the feet and
ankles fubfide, the Ikin recover its natural colour, and
all the mortified parts feparate in a very ihort time,
leaving a clean fore. But as to fcarifications, or any
other attempt to feparate artificially the mortified troru
the found parts, he thinks them very prejudicial, by-
giving pain ; which is generally of itfelf violent in this
difeafe, and which feems to have a great fhare in pro¬
ducing the other evils.
The other terminations of inflammation either do
not admit of any treatment except that of preventing
them by refolution, or properly belong to the article
Surgery.
Sp. II. Pmlogosis erythema.
Erythema, Sauv. gen. 11.
Eryfipelas au6torum, Vog. 343.
Hieropyr. Vog. 344.
Anthrax, Sauv. gen. 19. Ltn. 272. Vog. 353.
Carbo et carbunculus amftorum.
Erythema gangraenofum, Sauv. fp. 7.
Erythema a frigore.
Erythema pernio, Sauv. fp, 4.
Pernio, Lin. 25,9. Vog. 350.
Erythema
M E D I
Erythema ambuftio, Sauv. fp. 2.
Eryfipelas ambuftio, Sauv. fp. 4.
Combuftura, Lin. 245.
Combuftio, Boet'h. 476.
Encauiis, Vog. 347.
Erythema ab acri alieno applicato.
Eryfipelas Sinenfe, Sauv. fp. 7.
Erythema ab acri inquilino.
Erythema intertrigo, Sauv. fp. 5’.
Intertrigo, Lin. 247. Vog. 502.
Erythema a compreilione.
Erythema paratrima, Sauv. fp. 6.
Erythema h punftura, Sauv. fp. 9.
Eryfipelas a vefpis, Sauv. fp. 19.
Pfydracia a vefpis, Sauv. fp. 2.
Erythema cum phlegmone.
Eryfipelas phlegmonodes au&orum.
Erythema cum oedemate.
Eryfipelas fymptomaticum, Sauv. fp. 6.
The word erythema does not apply to any primary
difeafe, but to a great number of thofe cutaneous in¬
flammations denominated by another general term, viz.
the et'ysipelas, or “ St Anthony’s fire;” and which being
commonly fymptomatic of fome other inflammation or
diforder, are to be removed only by removing the pri¬
mary difeafe : the erythema is found fcarcely to bear
any kind of warm application to.itfelf; and is very apt,
if treated as a primary difeafe, to terminate in a gan¬
grene of the part aftedted, or fome other diforder ftill
more dangerous. The difference between the phlegmon
or preceding fpecies, and erythema, according to Dr
Cullen, is, that, in the former, the inflammation feems
particularly to affeft the veffels on the internal furface
of the fkin, communicating with the lax adjacent cel¬
lular texture ; whence a more copious effufion, and that
too of ferum convertible into pus, takes place. In
the erythema the affe£lion is of the veffels on the ex¬
ternal furface of the fkin communicating with the rete
mucofum. I his affedlion does not admit of any effufion
but what feparates the cuticle, and gives occalion to the
formation of a blifler, while the fmaller fize of the vef¬
fels admits only of the effufion of a thin fluid very fel-
dom convertible into pus. For the cure of the fever
attended with erythema or erysipelas, fee below ; and
for the external treatment of erythema, fee Surgery,
,74 Genus VIII. OPHTHALMIA.
Inflammation of the Erns.
Ophthalmia, Sauv. gen. 196. Lin. 43. Vog. 341.
Sag. 231. Junck. 24.
Chemofis, Vog. 46.
Ophthalmites, Vog. 47.
Inflammatio oculorum, Hoflm. II. 165.
Ophthalmia taraxis, Sauv. fp. 1.
Ophthalmia humida, Sauv. fp. 8.
Ophthalmia chemofis, Sauv. fp. 1 2.
Ophthalmia eryfipelatofa, Sauv. fp. 7.
Ophthalmia puflulofa, Sauv. fp. 6.
Ophthalmia phlyftaenodes, Sauv. fp.' 21.
Ophthalmia choroeidea, Sauv. fp. 13.
Ophthalmia tenebricofa, Sauv. fp. 10,
Ophthalmia trachoma, Sauv. fp. 4,
Ophthalmia ficca, Sauv. fp. 5.
3
294
Plilegma-
fise.
CINE.
Ophthalmia angularis, Sauv. fp. 14.
Ophthalmia tuberculofa, Sauv. fp. 3.
Ophthalmia trichiafis, Sauv. fp. 2.
Ophthalmia cancrofa, Sauv. fp. 15.
Ophthalmia a fynechia, Sauv. fp. 16.
Ophthalmia a lagophthalmo, Sauv. fp. 17.
Ophthalmia ab elcomate, Sauv. fp. 18.
Ophthalmia ab ungue, Sauv. fp. 19.
Ophthalmia a corneae fiftula, Sauv. fp. 20.
Ophthalmia uveae, fp. 22.
Ophthalmia metaftatica, Sauv. fp. 24.
Ophthalmia fcrophulofa, Sauv. fp. 9.
Ophthalmia fiphylitica, Sauv. fp. 11.
Ophthalmia febricofa, Sauv. fp. 23.
From reading this long lift of diftin&ions which
authors have invented in the opththalmia, it is evident,
that by far the greateft part of them are fymptomatic,
or merely the confequences of other diforders prefent
in the habit ; and therefore the remedies muft be
directed towards the removal of thefe primary difor¬
ders ; and when they are gone the ophthalmia will be
removed of courfe. Dr Cullen obferves, that the in¬
flammation of the eye may be confidered as of two
kinds; according as it is feated in the membranes of
the ball of the eye, when it is named ophthalmia mem-
branarum; or as it is feated in the febaceous glands
placed in the tarfns, or edges of the eyelids, in which
cafe it may be termed ophthalmia tarfl. Thefe two
kinds are very frequently connedted together, as the
one may excite the other; but they are ftill to be di-
flinguifhed according as the one or the other may hap¬
pen to be the primary affedlion.
1. The inflammation of the membranes of the eye af-
fedts efpecially, and moft frequently, the adnata, and
appears in a turgefcence of its veffels ; fo that the red
vcffels which are naturally there, become not only in-
creafed in fize, but many more appear than in a na¬
tural ftate. This turgefcence of the veffels is attended
with pain, efpecially upon the motion of the ball of the
eye ; and this irritation, like every other, applied to
the furface of the eye, produces an effufion of tears
from the lachrymal gland.
The inflammation commonly, and chiefly, affedts
the adnata fpread on the anterior part of the bulb of
the eye; but ufually fpreads alfo along the continua¬
tion of the adnata on the infide of the palpebrae ; and
as that is extended on the tarfus palpebrarum, the ex-
cretories of the febaceous glands opening there are
alfo frequently affedted. When the affedlion of the
adnata is confiderable, it may be communicated to the
fubjacent membranes of the eye, and even to the reti¬
na itfelf; which thereby acquires fo great fenfibility,
that every impreffion of light becomes painful. The
inflammation of the membranes of the eye is in differ¬
ent degrees, according as the adnata is more or lefs
affedled, or according as the inflammation is either of
the adnata alone, or of the fubjacent membranes alfo;
and upon thefe differences, different fpecies have been
eftablilhed ; but they feem all to differ only in degree,
and are to be cured by the fame remedies more or lefs
employed.
The proximate caufe of ophthalmia is not different
from that of inflammation in general; and the dif¬
ferent circumftances of ophthalmia may be explained
by
Practice.
Ophthal¬
mia.
i
Practice. M E D I
Phlegma- by tbe difference of its remote caufes, and by the dif-
fiae. ferent parts of the eye which it happens to affeft j as
may be underftood from what has been already faid.
We (hall therefore proceed to give an account of the
method of cure.
The great obje&s to be aimed at in the treatment
of ophthalmia, are, in the firft place, the refolution
of the inflammation which has already taken place j
and, fecondly, the removal of thofe confequences which
frequently arife from the inflammation, efpecially if it
have been of long (landing. But befides thefe, while
it has appeared from former obfervation, that there is
a peculiar difpofition to the difeafe, practices may often
be fuccefsfully employed to combat this difpoiition, and
thus prevent the return of the affeflion.
The ophthalmia membranarum requires the reme¬
dies proper for inflammation in general j and when the
deeper-feated membranes are affefled, and efpecially
when a pyrexia is prefent, large general bleedings may
be neceffary. But this laft is feldom requilite, and,
for the mod part, the ophthalmia is an affedion mere¬
ly local, accompanied with little or no pyiexia. Ge¬
neral bleedings therefore have little effed upon it, and
the cure is chiefly to be obtained by topical bleedings,
that is, blood drawn from the veffels near the inflamed
part; and opening the jugular vein, or the temporal
artery, may be confidered as in fome meafure of this
kind. It is commonly fufficient to apply a number of
leeches round the eye ; but it is perhaps dill better
to draw blood by cupping and fcarifying from the
temples. In many cafes, the mod effedual remedy
is to fcarify the internal furface of the inferior eye¬
lid, and to cut the turgid veffels upon the adnata itfelf.
Befides bloodletting, purging, as a remedy fuited
to inflammation in general, has been confidered as pe¬
culiarly adapted to inflammation in any part of the
head, and therefore to ophthalmia ; and it is fomctimes
ufeful : but, for the reafons given before with refpeft
to general bleeding, purging in the cafe of ophthal¬
mia does not prove ufeful in any proportion to the eva¬
cuation excited.—For relaxing the fpafm in the part,
and taking off the determination of the fluids to it,
blidering near the part has commonly been found ufe¬
ful. When the inflammation does not yield to the ap¬
plication of blifters after topical bleeding, great bene¬
fit is often obtained by fupporting a difcharge from
the bliftered part, under the form of an iffue, by which
means a more permanent determination of blood from
the part is obtained.
It is probably alfo on the fame principle that the
good effefts obtained from the ufe of errhine medicines
in obdinate cafes of ophthalmia are to be accounted
for. By thefe errhines, in particular, which occafion
and fupport for fome time a great difcharge from the
nofe, great benefit has often been obtained. Fhe
powder of afarabacca, or the infufion of hippocadanum,
(huffed up the nofe at bedtime in proper dofes, are often
produ&ive of the bed effedls, when many other reme¬
dies have been tried in vain.
Ophthalmia, as an external inflammation, admits of
topical applications. All thofe, however, which in-
creafe the heat and relax the veffels of the part, prove
hurtful; and the admiflion of cool air to the eye, and
the application of cooling and adringent medicines,
CINE. _ _ 29S
which at the fame time do not produce irritation, prove Ophthal-
ufeful. Of all thefe the folution of acetite of lead, af-, rn‘d' _ :
fiduoufly applied, is perhaps the bed. In the cure of
this didemper, indeed, all irritation mud carefully be
avoided, particularly that of light} and the only cer¬
tain means of doing this is by keeping the patient in a
very dark chamber.
2. In the ophthalmia tarji, the fame medicines may be
neceffary, as have been already recommended for the
ophthalmia membranarum. However, as the ophthal¬
mia tarfi may often depend upon an acrimony depofit-
ed in the febaceous glands of the part, fo it may re¬
quire various internal remedies according to the variety
of tbe acrimony in fault j for which we mud refer to
the confideration of (crophula, fiphylis, or other dif-
eafes with which this ophthalmia may be connedled \
and where thefe (hall not be evident, certain remedies
more generally adapted to the evacuation of acrimony,
fuch as mercury, may be employed. In the ophthal¬
mia tarfi, it almod conflantly happens that fome ul¬
cerations are formed on the tarfus. 1 hefe require the
application of mercury and copper, which alone may
fometimes cure the whole affe&ion j and they may be
ufeful even when the difeafe depends upon a fault of
the whole fyflem.
Both in the ophthalmia membranarum, and in the
ophthalmia tarfi, it is neceffary to obviate that gluing
together of the eyelids which commonly happens in.
lleep ; and which may be done by infinuating a littie
of any mild undtuous medicine between the eyelids be¬
fore the patient (hall go to deep.
The dighter kinds of inflammations from the duff
or the fun, may be removed by fomenting with warm
milk and water, adding a fmall portion of brandy j
and by anointing the borders of the eyelids with un-
guentum tutice, or the like, at night, efpecially when
thofe parts are excoriated and fore. But in bad cafes,
after the inflammation has yielded a little to evacua¬
tions, the cataplajma aluminis of the London Pharma-
copceia fpread on lint, and applied at bedtime, has been
found the bed external remedy. Before the ufe of
the latter, the folution of fulphate of zinc is prefcribed
with advantage j and in violent pains it is of fervice
to foment frequently with a decodlion of white poppy-
heads. One of the mod common and mod difagree-
able confequences of ophthalmia, is an oftufcation of
the cornea, fo far obilrutling the paffage of light as
to diminifh or prevent vifion. This is fometimes fo
confiderable as to admit of removal by operation :
but in (lighter cafes it may often be removed by the
application of different gentle efcharotics; and in this
way, without the lead danger of any inconvenience,
good effedls are often obtained, from gently introdu¬
cing into the eye at bedtime a powder confiding of
equal parts of fupertartrite of potafs and fugar, reduced
together to a fine powTder.
Where there is a difpofition to frequent returns of
this affeflion, cinchona is often employed with fuc-
cefs in combating it : But nothing in general anfwers
better than frequent and regular cold bathing of the
eyes.
Befides the various fpecies of ophthalmia which were
before known in Britain, another has lately been intro¬
duced, that contagious ophthalmia, viz. with which the
BritKh-t
296 M EDI
Phlegma- Britifli troops were affe^ed in Egypt, and which they
, have imported into this ifland on their return from
thence.
Of this affe£lion many interefting accounts have been
publiihed. Perhaps the belt is an elaborate treatife by
Mr Edmonfton, who has had many opportunities of
witnefiing the affeftion, and extenfxve practice in the
treatment of the difeafe, both in Egypt and in Britain.
To his work therefore we may refer thofe who wifli for
the moft full information refpedling it. We lliall only
obferve, that now, no doubt can be entertained refpedl-
ing the contagious nature of the difeafe j and that
therefore the firfl great objehf neceffary in the treat¬
ment is the complete feparation of the difeafed from the
found.
x75 Genus IX. PHRENITIS.
Phrenst, or Inflammation of the Brain.
Phrenitis, gen. 101. Lin. 2$. Sag. gen. 301.
Boerh. 771. Hoffm. II. 131. Junch. 63.
Phrenifmus, Vog. 45.
Cephalitis, Sauv. gen. top. Sag. gen. 310.
Sphacelifmus, Lin. 3 2.
Phrenitis vera, Sauv. fp. 1. Boerh. 771.
Phrenitis idiopathica, Junck. 63.
Cephalalgia inflammatoria, Sauv. fp. 9.
Cephalitis fpontanea, Sauv. fp. 3.
Cephalitis Uriahs, Sauv. fp. 4.
Siriafis, Vog. 34.
Cephalitis Littriana, Sairu. fp. 5.
Dr Cullen obferves, that the true phrenitis, or in¬
flammation of the membranes or fubflance of the brain,
is very rare as an original difeafe : but, as a fymptom
of others, much more frequent; of which the following
kinds are enumerated by different authors :
Phrenitis fynochi pleuriticae, Sauv. fp. 2.
Phrenitis fynochi fanguineae, Sauv. fp. 4.
Phrenitis calentura, Sauv. fp. it.
Phrenitis Indica, Sauv. fp. 1 2.
Cephalitis JEgyptiaca, Sauv. fp. 1.
Cephalitis epidemica anno 1510, Sauv. fp. 6.
Cephalitis verminofa, Sauv. fp. <7.
Cephalitis cerebelli, Sauv. fp. 8,
Phrenitis miliaris, Sauv. fp. 3.
Phrenitis variolofa, Sauv. fp. 5.
Phrenitis morbillofa, Sauv. fp. 6.
Phrenitis a plica, Sauv. fp. 8.
Phrenitis aphrodifiaca, Sauv. fp. 9.
Phrenitis a tarantifmo, Sauv. fp. 14.
Phrenitis hydrophobica, Sauv. fp. 1 c.
Phrenitis a dolore, Sauv. fp. 13.
Cephalitis traumatica, SauvAp. 2.
Defcription. The figns of an impending phrenitis
are, immoderate and continual watchings; or if any
fleep be obtained, it is difturbed with dreams, and
gives no refrelhmentj acute and lading pains, efpe-
cially m the hind part of the head and neck ; little
thirft } a great and flow refpiration, as if proceeding
from the bottom of the bread ; the pulfe fometimes
imall and flow, fometimes quick and frequent; a fup-
predion of urine ; and forgetfulnefs. The diflemper
vvhcn Pre‘ent ma7 be known by the following figns:
C IN E. Practice,
The veins of the head fwell, and the temporal arteries Phrenitis.
throb much ; the eyes are fixed, fparkle, and have a   \ 1
fierce afpeft; the fpeech is incoherent, and the pa¬
tient behaves very roughly to the bydanders, with
furious attempts to get out of bed, not indeed conti¬
nually, but returning as it were by paroxyfms ; the
tongue is dry, rough, yellow, or black ; there is a
coldnefs of the external parts ; a pronenefs to anger ;
chattering of the teeth ; a trembling of the hands,
with which the lick feem to be gathering fomethintr,
and adtually do gather the naps off the bed-clothes.
Caufes of, andperfons fabject to, this dflordef. People
of a hot and bilious habit of body, and fuch as are of .
a paffionate difpofition, are apt to be affedled with
phrenitis. In the fame danger are thofe who make
much ufe of fpices, or are given to hot and fpirituous
liquors; who have been expofed more than ufual to the
fun, or obliged to undergo immoderate dudies or watch¬
ings ; wrho are fubje£f to headachs, or in whom fome
cudomary hemorrhages have been flopped ; or the dif¬
eafe may arife from fome injury offered to the head
externally. Sir John Pringle obferves, that the phrenitis,
when confidered as an original difeafe, is apt to attack
foldiers in the dimmer-feafon wdien they are expofed
to the heat of the fun, and efpecially when afleep and
in liquor. A fymptomatic phrenitis is alfo more fre¬
quent in the army than elfewhere, on account of the
violence done to all fevers when the fick are carried in
waggons from the camp to an hofpital, where the very
node or light alone would be fufficient, with more de¬
licate natures, to raife a phrenfy. From thefe and fi-
milar caufes, a date of adlive inflammation, affediing
feme parts within the cranium, is produced : and there
can be no doubt, that from this all the fymptoms of
the difeafe arife, and particularly that peculiar delirium
which chara&erizes it. But in what manner local
difeafes, even of the brain itfelf, produce affediorts of
the mind, we are dill totally in the dark.
Prognofls. Every kind of phrenitis, whether idio-
pathic or fymptomatic, is attended with a high degree
of danger ; and, unlefs removed before the fourth day,
a gangrene or fphacelus of the meninges readily takes
place, and the patient dies delirious. The following
are the mod fatal fymptoms : A continual and furious
delirium, with watching; thin watery urine, white
faeces, the urine and flools running off involuntarily,
or a total fuppreflion of thefe excretions : a ready dif¬
pofition to become dupid, or to faint; trembling, ri¬
gor, chattering of the teeth, convulfions, hiccough,
coldnefs of the extremities, trembling of the tongue,
flirill voice, a fudden ceffation of pain, with apparent
tranquillity. The following are favourable : Siveats,
apparently critical, breaking out; a feeming effort of
nature to terminate the difeafe by a diarrheea ; a large
hemorrhagy from the nofe ; fwellings of the glands
behind the ears ; haemorrhoids.
Cure. From what has been faid of the theory of
this difeafe, the cure mud entirely depend on obtaining
a refolution of the inflammation. The obje&s chiefly
to be aimed at with this view are, 1. The removal of
fuch exciting caufes as continue to operate. 2. The
diminution of the momentum of the blood in the cir¬
culating fydem in general. 3. The diminution of
impetus-at the brain in particular : and, 4. The avoid¬
ing
"Practice.
M E t) I
Phlegma- ing clrcuniftHnces winch tend cither to accelerate ihe
f £e- motion of the blood or to give determination to the
* head. .
Different prftdlices may be uied with thefe inten¬
tions ; but the moft powerful remedies are to be im¬
mediately employed. Large and repeated bleedings
are efpecially neceflary •, and thefe too taken from
veffels as near as poflible to the part affetted. The
opening the temporal artery has been recommended,
and with fome reafon : but as the praftice is attended
with inconveniences, perhaps the opening ot the ju¬
gular veins may in general prove more effeflual 5 with
which, however, may be joined the drawing of blood
from the temples by cupping and Scarifying. It is alfo
probable, that purging may be of more ufe in this than
in fome other inflammatory affedtions, as it may ope¬
rate by revulfion. For the fame purpofe of revulfion,
warm pediluvia are a remedy, but rather ambiguous.
The taking off the force of the blood in the veffels ©f
the head by an ere£l pofture is generally ufeful. Bli-
ftering is alfo ufeful, but chiefly when applied near to
the part affe&cd. In Ihort, every part of the antiphlo-
giftic regimen is here neceffary, and particularly the
admiflion of cold air. Even cold fubftances applied
to the head have been found ufeful j and the applica¬
tion of fuch refrigerants as vinegar is certainly proper.
Opiates are thought to be hurtful in every inflammatory
Hate of the brain. On the whole, however, it muff be
remarked, that praftitioners are very uncertain with re¬
gard to the means proper to be ufed in this difeafe 5 and
the more fo, that the fymptoms by which the difeafe is
commonly judged to be prefent, appear fometimes
without any internal inflammation ; and on the other
hand, diffedlions have Ihown that the brain has been
inflamed, where few of the peculiar fymptoms of inflam¬
mation had appeared before death.
Genus X. CYNANCHE.
Cynanche, Sauv. gen. no. Lin. 33. Sag. gen. 300.
Angina, Vog. 49. Hoffm. II. 1 25. Jit nek. 30.
Angina inflammatoria, Buerh. 798.
Sp. I. Cynanche tonsillaris.
The Inflammatory ghriNsr.
Cynanche tonflllaris, Sauv. fp. 1.
Angina inflammatoria, fp. 5. Boerh. 805.
Defcription. This is an inflammation of the mucous
membrane of the fauces, affedling principally that con¬
geries of mucous follicles which forms the tonflls ^ and
from thence fpreading along the velum and uvula, fo
as frequently to affe£t every part of the mucous mem¬
brane. The difeafe appears by fome tumour and rednefs
of the parts ", is attended wdth a painful and difficult
deglutition *, a treublefome clamminefs of the mouth
and throat \ a frequent but difficult excretion of mu¬
cus •, and the whole is accompanied with pyrexia. The
inflammation and tumour are commonly at firfl: moft
confiderable in one tonfil; and afterwards, abating in
that, increafe in the other. This difeale is not con¬
tagious.
Caufes of, and per fans fubjeci, to this dtforder. This
difeafe is commonly occafioned by cold externally ap¬
plied, particularly about the neck. It affefts efpecially
the young and fanguine ; and a difpofition to t s often
VOL. XIII. Part I.
176
177
this
im-
the
and
CINE. 297
acquired by habit. It occurs efpecially in the fpring Cynandie ^
and autumn, when viciffitudes of heat and cold fre- v
quently take place.
Prognojis. This fpecies of cynanche terminates fre¬
quently by refolution, fometimes by fuppuration, but
hardly ever by gangrene ; though in fome cafes floughy
fpots appear on the fauces : the prognofis therefore is
generally favourable.
Cure. As the principal morbid affeiflion in
difeafe, on which all its chara&erifing fymptoms
mediately depend, is the adlive inflammation in
tonffls and neighbouring parts, the objedl lirft .
principally to be aimed at in the cure is to obtain a
refolution of this inflammation. Sometimes, however,
it is neceffary to have recourfe to pradlices, with the
view of obviating urgent fymptoms before, a refolution
can be affedled : and in other cafes, where a refolution
cannot be obtained, it muft be the aim of the prafti-
tioner to promote a fpeedy and favourable fuppuration.
After fuppuration has taken place, the proper means
of promoting a difeharge of the purulent matter will
conclude the cure. Here fome bleeding may be ne¬
ceffary j but large and general evacuations are feldom
beneficial. The opening of the ranular veins is an in-
fignificant remedy, according to Dr Cullen, but is recom¬
mended as efficacious by Sir John Pringle : more benefit,
however, may in general be derived from leeches to the
external fauces. The inflammation may be often reliev¬
ed by moderate aftringents, and particularly by acids
applied to the parts affefted. In many cafes, nothing
has been found to give more relief than the vapour of
warm water received into the fauces.
Befides thefe, bliftering, and ftill more frequently
rubefacient medicines, are applied with fuccefs, as well'
as antiphlogiftic purgatives ; and every part of the an-
tiphlogiftic regimen is to be obferved, except the ap¬
plication of cold. Sir John Pringle recommends a
thick piece of flannel moiftened with two parts of
common fwreet oil, and one of fpirit of hartfhorn (or
in a larger proportion, if the ikin will bear it), to be ap¬
plied to the throat, and renewed once every four or five
hours. By this means the neck, and fometimes the
whole body, is put into a fweat, which after bleeding
either carries off or leffens the inflammation. When
the difeafe has a tendency to fuppuration, nothing
will be more ufeful than receiving into the fauces the
fleams of w’arm water. Benefit is alfo obtained from
poultices applied to the external fauces. When the
abfeefs is attended with much fwelling, if it break not
fpontaneoufly, it ought to be opened by a lancet *, and
this does not require much caution, as even the in¬
flammatory ftate may be relieved by fome fcarification
of the tonfils. When this difeafe runs very rapidly to
fuch a height as to threaten fuffocation, it is fometimes
neceffary to have recourfe to bronchotomy as the only
mean of faving the life of the patient. But there is
reafon to believe that this operation has fometimes been
employed where it was not neceffary: and we may
fafely venture to fay, that it is but feldom requifite j
infomuch that Dr Cullen tells us, he has never in
his praiftice feen any cafe requiring bronchotomy.
Sp. II. Cynanche maligna. /7s
The malignant, putrid, or ulcerous Soke Throat.
Cynanche maligna,AWn. fp 3.
P p Cynanche
\
M E D I
Cynanehe ulcerofa, Sauv. var. a. Journ. de Med.
^ i753*
Cynanche gangraenofa, Sauv. var. b. Journ. de
Med. 1756.
Ulcera faucium et gutturis anginofa et lethalia, Hil-
panis Garroti/lo, Lud. Mercat. confult. 24.
Angina ulcerofa, Fothergilds Account of the ulce¬
rous fore throat, edit. 1751. Huxham pn the ma¬
lignant ulcerous fore throat, from 1751 to 1753.
Febris epidemica cum angina ulcufculofa, Douglas'’^
Practical Hilfory, Bofton 1736.
Angina epidemica. Ruffe/, Oecon. Natur. p. 105.
Angina gangrsenofa, Withering's Difl'ert. Inaug. E-
dinb. 1766.
Angina fuffocativa, Bard's Inquiry, New York,
I771, . . . - ,
Angina maligna, ffohnjlone on the malignant Angina,
Worcefter, 1779.
Hi/lory and Defcription. This diftemper is not par¬
ticularly defcribed by the ancient phyficians ; though
perhaps the Syrian and Egyptian ulcers mentioned by
Aretmus Cappadox, and the peftilent ulcerated tonfils
we read of in Aetius Amideus, were of this nature.
Some of the fcarlet fevers mentioned by Morton feem
alfo to have approached near to it. In the beginning
of the lait century, a difeafe exaftly fimilar to this is
defcribed by the phyflcians of that time, as raging
with great violence and mortality in Spain and feme
parts ot Italy ; but no account of it W'as publilhed in
this country till the year 174S, when a very accurate
one was drawn up by Dr Fothergill, and in 1752 by
Dr Huxham. The latter obferves, that this difeafe
was preceded^ by long, cold, and wet feafons ; by which
probably the bodies of people were debilitated, and
more apt to receive contagion, which poffibly alfo might
be produced by the ftagnant and putrid waters.
The attack of this difeafe was very different in dif¬
ferent perfons. Sometimes a rigor, with fulnefs and
forenefs ef the throat, and painful ftiffnefs of the neck,
were the firlf fymptoms complained of. Sometimes
alternate chills and heats, with feme degree of giddi-
nefs, drowfinefs, or headach, ulhered in the diltemper.
It feized others with more fevere feverifh fymptoms *,
great pain of the head, back, and limbsj a vail op-
preffion of the prcecordia, and continual lighing. Some
grown perfons went about for days in a drooping
flate, with much uneafmefs and anxiety, till at laff they
were obliged to take to their beds.—Thus various was
the difeafe, fays Dr Huxham, at the onfet. But it com¬
monly began with chills and heats, load and pain of
the head, ferenefs of throat, and hoarfenefs; fome
cough, ficknefs at ftomach, frequent vomiting and
purging, in children efpecialiy, which were fometimes
very fevere j though a contrary ftate w^as more com¬
mon to the adult. There was in all a very great de-
jeftion of fpirits, very fudden weaknefs, great heavi-
nefs on the breaft, and faintnefs, from the very begin¬
ning. . The pulfe in general was quick, fmall, and
fluttering, though fometimes heavy and undulating.
I he urine was commonly pale, thin, and crude j how¬
ever, in many grown perfons, it ivas paffed in fmall
quantities and high-coloured, or like turbid whey.
I he eyes wer£ heavy, reddilh, and as it were weeping j
298
fise.
CINE. Praaice.
the countenance very often full, flufhed, and bloated, Cynanche.
though fometimes pale and funk. w—v
How flight foever the diforder might appear in the
day-time, at night the fymptoms became greatly ag¬
gravated, and the feverifh habit very much increafed,
nay, fometimes a delirium occurred on the very firft.
night; and this exacerbation conftantly returned through
the whole courfe of the difeafe. Indeed, when it was
confiderably on the decline, our author fays he has
been often pretty much furprifed to find his patient
had paffed the whole night in a phrenfy, whom he had
left tolerably cool and fedate in the day.
Some few hours after the feizure, and fometimes
cotemporary with it, a fwelling and forenefs of the
throat was perceived, and the tonfils became very-
tumid and inflamed, and many times the parotid and
maxillary glands fw-elled very much, and very fud-
denly, even at the very beginning •, fometimes fo
much as even to threaten ftrangulation. The fauces
alfo very foon appeared of a high florid red, or rather
of a bright crimlon, colour, very fliining and gloffy 5
and moft commonly on the uvula, tonfils, velum pa-
latinum, and back part of the pharynx, feveral whitifli
or aih-coloured fpots appeared fcattered up and down,
which oftentimes increafed very faff, and foon covered
one or both the tonfils, uvula, &c. : thofe in the event
proved floughs of fuperficial ulcers (which fometimes,
however, ate very deep into the parts). The tongue
at this time, though only white and moiff at the tip,
was very foul at the root, and covered with a thick,
yellowifh or brown coat. The breath alfo now be¬
gan to be very naufeous ; which offenfive fmell in¬
creafed hourly, and in fome became at length intole¬
rable, and that too fometimes even to the patients
themfelves.
The fecond or third day every fyfnptom became
much more aggravated, and the fever much.more con-
fiderable ; and thofe that had ftruggled with it tole¬
rably well for 30 or 40 hours, were forced to fubmit.
The reftleffhefs and anxiety greatly increafed, as well
as the difficulty in fwallewing. The head was very
giddy, pained,^ and loaded j there was generally more
or Id's of a delirium ; fometimes a pervigilium and per- A
petual phrenfy, though others lay very ffupid, but
often darting and muttering to themfelves. The Ikin
was very hot, dry, and rough ; there was very rarely
any difpofition to fweat. The urine was pale, thin,
crude; often yellowilh and turbid. Sometimes vo¬
miting wTas urgent, and fometimes a very great loofe-
nefs, in children particularly. The floughs were now
much enlarged, and of a darker colour, and the fur¬
rounding parts tended much more to a livid hue. The
breathing became much more difficulty with a kind
of a rattling ftertor, as if the patient was a&ually
drangling, the voice being exceeding hoarfe and hol¬
low, exactly refembling that from venereal ulcers in
the fauces : this nolle in fpeaking and breathing was
io peculiar, that any perfon in the lead converfant with
the difeafe might eafily know it by this odd noife y
from whence indeed the Spaniffi phyficians gave it the
name of garotillo, expreffing the noife made by perlons-
when they are drangled with a rope. Dr Fothergill ne¬
ver obferved in one of them the fluid barking noife
that we frequently hear in inflammatory cynanche. The
breath
Pra&ice. M E D I
Phiegma. breath of all the difeafed was very naufeous j of fome
fise. infufferably fetid, efpecially in the advance of the dx-
*y n to a crifis j and many about the fourth or fifth
day fplt off a vaft quantity of (linking purulent mucus
tinged fometxmes with blood ; and fometimes the mat¬
ter rvas quite livid, and of an abominable fmell. The
noffrils likewife in many were greatly inflamed and ex¬
coriated, continually dripping down a very (harp ichor
or fanious matter, fo exceflively acrid, that it not only
corroded the lips, cheeks, and hands of the children
that laboured under the difeafe, but even the fingers
and arms of the very nurfes that attended them : as
this ulceration of the noftriis came on, it commonly
caufed an almoft inceffant fneezing in the children-,
but few adults were affefled with it, at lead to any
confiderable degree. It was furprifing what quantities
of matter fome children difcharged this way, which
they would often rub on their face, hands, and aims,
and b'iifter them all over. A hidden (loppage of this
rheum from the mouth and noflrils a finally choaked
feveral children $ and fome fwallowed fuch quantities
of is, as occafioned excoriations of the inteftines, vio¬
lent gripings, dylentery, &c. nay, even excoriations
of the anus and buttocks. Not only, the nollrils, fau¬
ces, &c. were greatly affefled by this extremeiy (harp
matter, but the wind-pipe itfelf was fometimes much
corroded by it, and pieces of its internal membrane
were fpit up, with much blood and corruption j and
the patients lingered on for a confiderable time, and
at length died tabid j though there were more frequent
inftances of its falling fuddenly and violently on the
lungs, and killing in a peripneumomc manner.
Dr Huxham was aftoniftied fometimes to fee feveral
fwallow with tolerable eafe, though the tumour of the
tonfils and throat, the quantity of thick mucus, and the
rattling noife in breathing, were very terrible ; which
he thinks pretty clearly (hows, that this malignant
angina was more from the acrimony and abundance of
the humours than the violence of the inflammation.
Mod commonly the angina came on. before the ex¬
anthemata } but many times the cuticular eruption
appeared before the fore-throat, and was fometimes
very conliderable, though there was little or no pain
in the fauces : on the contrary, a very fevere angina
feized fome patients that had no manner of. eruption ;
and yet, even in thefe cafes, a very great itching and
defquamation of the (kin fometimes enfued } but this
was chiefly in grown perfons, very rarely in children.
In general, however, a very confiderable efflorefcence
broke out on the furface of the body, particularly in
children and it mod commonly happened the (econd,
third, or fourth day : fometimes it was partial, fome¬
times it covered almod the whole body, though very
feldom the face : fometimes it was of an eryfipela-
tous kind j fometimes more puftular: the pudules
frequently eminent, and of a deep fiery red co¬
lour, particularly on the bread and arms but often¬
times they were very fmall, and might be better felt
than feen, and gave a very odd kind of roughnefs to
the (kin. The colour of the efflorefcence was com¬
monly of a crimfon hue, or as if the (kin had been
fmeared over with juice of rafberries, and this even to
the fingers ends $ and the (kin appeared inflamed and
fwollen, as it were j the arms, hands, and fingers, were
often evidently fo, and very diff, and fomevvhat paia-
C I N E. 299
ful. This crimfon colour of the (kin feemed indeed Cynanche..
peculiar to this difeafe. Though the eruption, feldom ' v
failed of giving fome manifed relief to the patient, as
to anxiety, (icknefs at domach,. vomiting, purging,
&c. yet there was obferved an univerfal fiery eruption
on fome perfons, without the lead abatement of tne
fymptoms, nay almod every fymptom feemed more, ag¬
gravated, particularly the fever, load at bread, anxiety,
and delirium ; Dr Huxham knew more than one or two
patients die in the mod raging phrenfy, covered with
the mod univerfal fiery ralh he ever faw : fo that, as in
the highly confluent fmallpox, it feemed only to de¬
note the quantity of the difeafe, as he terms it.
He had under his care a young gentleman, about
12 years of age, whofe tongue, fauces, and ton¬
fils, were as black as ink, and be fwallowed with ex¬
treme difficulty 5 he continually fpit off immenfe quan¬
tities of a black, fanious, aud very fetid matter, for
at lead eight or ten days :—about the feventh day, his
fever being fomewhat abated, he fell into a bloody
dyfentery, though the bloody, fanious, fetid expec¬
toration dill continued, with a /noil violent cough.
He at length indeed got over it, to the very great
furprife of every one that faw him. Now, in this pa¬
tient, a fevere and univerfal ralh broke out upon
the fecond and third day j and the itching of his
(kin was fo intolerable, that be tore it all over his
body in a mod (hocking manner : yet this very
great and timely eruption very little relieved his fever
and phrenfy, or prevented the other dreadfui fymp-
toms mentioned.
An early and kindly eruption, however, was mod
commonly a very good omen } and, when fucceeded by
a very copious defquamation of the cuticle, one of the
mod favourable fymptoms that occurred : but when the
eruption turned of a dufky or livid colour, or prema¬
turely or fuddenly receded, every fymptom grew
worfe, and the utmod danger impended, efpecially
if purple or black fpots appeared up and down, as
fometimes happened j the urine grew limpid, and
convulfions came on, or a fatal fuffocation foon doled
the tragedy.
The difeafe was generally at the height about the
fifth or fixth day in young prrfons, in the elder not
fo foon ; and the crifis many times was not till the
nth or 12th, and then very imperfedl; fome adults,
however, were carried off in two or three days;
the didemper either falling on the lungs, and killing
in a peripneumonic manner $ or on the brain, in which
cafe the patient either died raving or comatofe. In fome,
the difeafe bronght on a very troublefome cougb, puru¬
lent expefloration, hoemoptoe, and heftic fever ;. in
which they lingered on for feveral weeks, and then died
tabid. #
If a gentle eufy fweat took place on the third or fourtn
day 5 if the pulfe became more dow, firm, and equsl ;
if the (loughs of the fauces call off in a kindly manner,
and appeared at the bottom tolerably clean and florid ;
if the breathing was more foft and free, and (ome de¬
gree of vigour and quicknefs returned in the eyes 5 all
was well, and a falutary crifis followed foon. by a con¬
tinuance of the fweat, and a turbid, fubfiding, farina¬
ceous urine, a plentiful expectoration, and a very large
defquamation of the cuticle. But if a rigor came on,
and the exanthemata fuddenly difappeared or turned
P p 2 - livid 3
30©
.Phlegma-
iiae.
M E D I
livid; if the pulfe grew very fmall and quick, and the
j Ikin rexnained hot and parched as it were, the breath¬
ing more diflicult, the eyes dead and glafly, the urine
pale and limpid, a phrenfy or coma fucceeded, with a
coldilh clammy fweat on the face or extremities ; life
was defpaired of, efpecially if a fingultus and choak-
ing or gulping in the throat attended, with fudden,
liquid, involuntary, livid ftools, intolerably fetid. In
fome few patients Dr Huxham obferved, fome time be¬
fore the fatal period, not only the face bloated, fallow,
Ihining and greafy as it were, but the whole neck very
much fwollen, and of a cadaverous look; and even the whole
body became in fome degree oedematous; and the im-
preAion of a finger would remain fixed in a part, the
Ikin not rifing again as ufual; an indication that the
blood Aagnated in the capillaries, and that the elafti-
city of the fibres ivas quite loft.
Medical writers are ftill much divided in opinion,
whether the cynanche maligna is to be confidered as
the fame difeafe with the fcarlatina anginofa, after¬
wards to be treated of, or not. Thij- queftion will
afterwards come to be more fully difcuffed. At pre-
fent we may only obferve, that although ulcerous fore
throats of a malignant nature often appear fporadical-
ly> yet that the difeafe above deferibed appears only
as an epidemic, and is always the confequence of con-
t igion.
We have, therefore, no doubt that the cynanche ma¬
ligna of Huxham, Fothergill, and Cullen, is precifely
the fame difeafe with the fcarlatina anginofa of Sauvage,
W inhering, and other late writers. Xhis is abundantly
demonArated by the diverfities which take place in the
appearance of the difeafe among children of the fame
family during the fame epidemic.
Prognojis. This may be eafily gathered from the
above defeription. ’ The malignant and putrid tendency
of the difeafe is evident, and an increafe of the fymp-
toms which arife from that putrefeent difpofition of the
body muft give an unfavourable prognoftic. On the
contrary, a decreafe of thefe, and an apparent increafe
of the vis vitcp) are favourable : in general, what is
obferved to be favourable in the nervous and putrid
malignant fevers, is alfo favourable in this, and vice
verfa.
Caufes. Since the accurate accounts given by Dr
Fotheigill and Huxham of the epidemics which pre¬
vailed about 50 years ago, this difeafe has frequently
been obferved at times epidemic in almoft every diffe¬
rent part of Britain. Like fmall-pox, meafles, and chin-
cough, it feems in every cafe to be the effeft of a pe¬
culiar and fpecific contagion. It has been obferved
to prevail equally generally in every fituation, and at
every leafon ; and on expofure to the contagion, no
age, lex, or condition, is exempted from it. But the
m1 I0”0/ had,tiie (eems in this affection to
afford the fame fecurity againft future contagion as in
the imail-pox : at leaft inftances,' where it can be laid
t“at the teme individual has been twice affeded with it
are oth very rare and very doubtful, as well as in
Ima.i pox.
Cure. Llk^ otker febrile contagions, the maliV-
nant ulcerous fore throat is terminated only by a na-
t.u courfe ; and the chief bufinefs of the pradi-
V* C , 'sr to. comhat urravouiable occurrences. In
this the feptic tendency of .the diicafe is chiefly to
CINE. Pfa^Hce.
be kept in view. The debility with which it is at- Cynanche^
tended renders all evacuations by bleeding and pur-  '
ging improper, except in a few inftances where the
debility is lefs, and the inflammatory fymptoms more
confiderable. The fauces are to be preferved from the
effeds of the acrid matter poured out upon them, and
are therefore to be frequently waftied out by antifeptic
gargles or injedions ; and the putrefeent ftate of the
whole fyftem ftiould be guarded again!! and correded
by internal antifeptics, efpecially by the Peruvian bark
given in the beginning and continued through the
courfe of the difeafe. Great benefit is alfo often de¬
rived from the liberal ufe of the mineral acids. Both
the fulphuric and muriatic, in a ftate of proper dilution,
have been highly extolled by different medical writers,
and are produdive of the belt effeds in adual pradice,
when they can be introduced to a fufficient extent.
In particular, the oxygenated muriatic acid, as recom¬
mended by Mr Braithwaite, has been found produdive
of the greateft advantages. Emetics, both by vomit¬
ing and naufeating, prove ufeful. When any confide¬
rable tumor occurs, blifters applied externally wdil be
of fervice, and in any cafe may be proper to moderate
the inflammation.
Very lately, the internal ufe of the capficum annu-
um, or Cayenne pepper as it is commonly called, has
been highly celebrated in this affedtion ; and it is
particularly laid to have been employed with lingular
fuccefs in the Weft Indies.
But of all the remedies lately propofed, none has
been more highly extolled than the external ufe of cold
water. It has even been contended by fome that by
dalhing cold water on the furface of the body, an im¬
mediate artificial cure of this difeafe may be obtained.
We are, however, fully perfuaded, that cold water will
no more deftroy the contagion of this difeafe than of
fmallpox ; and w>e cannot help thinking that the prac¬
tice is feldom neceflary, and fometimes hurtful.
Sp. III. Cynanche trachealis.
The Croup.
Cynanche trachealis, Sat/v. fp. 5.
Cynanche laryngea audforuin, Eller de cogn. et cu*
rand. morb. feel. 7.
Anginas inflammatoriae, fp. 1. Boerh. Ifoi.
Angina latens et difficilis, Dodon. obf. 18.
Angina interna, Tulp. 1. 1. obf. 51.
Angina perniciofa, Greg. Horjl. Obf. 1. iii. obf. 1.
Suffocatio ftridula, Home on t-Pic Croup.
Afthma infantum, Millar on the Afthma and Chin-
cough.
Afthma infantum fpafmodicum, Rufh, Differtation,
Lond. 1770.
Cynanche ftridula, Crawford Differt. Inaug. Edin.
1771.
Angina epidemica anno 1743. Molloy apud Rutnfs
Hfltory ot the weather.
Morbus ilrangulatorius, Starr, Phil. Tranf N° 495..
Morbus truculentus infantum, Francof ad Viadrum
et in vicinia frraffans arm. 17;8. C. a Bergen.
A nova. N. C. tom. ii. p. 1 57.
Catan’- us fuffocarivus Barbadenfis ann. 17 c8. HU-
lanfs Difeafes of Barbadoes,
Angina
Practice^ ^ M E D I
Phlegtwa- Angina inflammatoria infantura, Ruffel, Oecon. nat.
t p. yo.
Angina polypofa live membranacea Michealis. Ar-
gentorati 177B, et audlores ab eo allegati.
The beft defcription of this difeafe we have in Dr
Cullen’s Pra&ice of Phyfic. He informs us, that it
confifts in an inflammation of the glottis, larynx, or
upper part of the trachea, whether it affedt the mem¬
branes of thefe parts or the mufcles adjoining. It
may arife firft in thefe parts, and continue to fubfift: in
them alone j or it may come to affedl thefe parts from
the cynanche tonfillaris, or maligna, fpreading into
them.
In either way it has been a rare occurrence, and few
inftances of it have been marked and recorded by phy-
ficians. It is to be known by a peculiar croaking found
of the voice, by difficult refpiration, with a fenfe of
ftraitening about the larynx, and by a pyrexia attend¬
ing it.
From the nature of thefe fymptoms, and from the
difledtion of the bodies of perfons who died of this dif¬
eafe, there is no doubt of its being of an inflamma¬
tory kind. It does not, however, always run the courfe
of inflammatory affedfions *, but frequently produces fuch
an obftrudtion of the paffage of the air, as fuffbcates,
and thereby proves fuddenly fatal.
It particularly proves fatal, in confequence of the
trachea being obftrudled by a membranous fubftance
lining the infide of it, and very nearly approaching in
appearance to the inflammatory exudation often dif-
covered on the inteftinal canal in thofe dying of en¬
teritis.
If we judge rightly of the nature of this difeafe,
it will be obvious, that the cure of it requires the
moff powerful remedies of inflammation to be em¬
ployed upon the very flrff appearance of the fymptoms.
When a fuffocation is threatened, whether any reme¬
dies can be employed to prevent it, is not yet deter¬
mined by fufficient experience : but it is evident, that
in certain cafes the life of the patient can be preferved
only by the removal of that matter which obftrudls the
paifage of air through the trachea.
The accounts which books have hitherto given us
of inflammations of the larynx, and the parts connedl-
ed with it, amount to what we have now faid ; and
many inftances are recorded of the difeafe happening
in adult perfons : but there is a peculiar affe&ion
of this kind happening to infants, which has been lit¬
tle taken notice of till lately. Dr Francis Home is the
firft who has given any diftinft account of this difeafe ;
but, fin? e he wrote, feveral other authors have taken
notice of it, and have given different opinions concern¬
ing it.
This difeafe feldom attacks infants till after they
have been weaned. After this period, the younger
they are, the more they are liable to the difeafe. J he
frequency of it becomes lefs as children become more
advanced ; and there are few inftances of children a-
bove 12 years of age being aft'efled with it. It attacks
children of the midland countries, as well as thole
who live near the fea ; but it occurs much more fre¬
quently at certain laces than at others. It does not
appear to be contagious", and its attacks are fre¬
quently repeated in the lame child. It is often ma-
C I N E, 3° I
nifeftly the effe£I of cold applied to the body j and Cynanche^
therefore appears moft frequently in the winter and
fpring feafons. It very commonly comes on with the
ordinary fymptoms of a catarrh •, but fometimes the
peculiar fymptoms of the difeafe (how themfelves at
the very firft:.
Thefe peculiar fymptoms are the following : A
hoarfenefs, with fome ftirillnefs and ringing found,
both in fpeaking and coughing, as if the noife came
from a brazen tube. At the fame time, there is a
fenfe of pain about the larynx, fome difficulty of re¬
fpiration, with a whizzing found in infpiration, as if
the paffage of the air were ftraitened. The cough
which attends it, is commonly dry j and if any thing
be fpit up, it is matter of a purulent appearance, and
fometimes films refembling portions of a membrane.
With all thefe fymptoms, there is a frequency of
pulfe, a reftleffnefs, and an uneafy fenfe of heat.
When the internal fauces are viewed, they are fome¬
times without any appearance of inflammation j but
frequently a rednefs, and even fwelling, appears j and
fometimes there is an appearance of matter like to
that rejected by coughing, together with the fymp¬
toms now defcribed, and particularly with great dif-
firulty of breathing, and a fenfe of ftrangling in the
fauces, by which the patient is fometimes luddenly
taken off.
Many diffe£lions have been made of infants who
had died of this difeafe, and alrnort 'conftantly there
has appeared a preternatural fubftance, apparently
membranous, lining the whole internal furface of the
upper part of the trachea, and extending in the fame
manner downwards into fome of its ramifications.
This preternatural membrane may be eafily feparated,
and fometimes has been found feparated in part from
the fubjacent proper membrane of the trachea. I his
laft is commonly found entire, that is, without any
appearance of erofion or ulceration j but it frequent¬
ly fliows the veftiges of inflammation, and is cover¬
ed by a matter refembhng pus, like to that rejedled
by coughing j and very often a matter of the fame
kind is found in the bronchiEe, fometimes in confide-
rable quantity.
From the remote caufes of this difeafe ; from the
catarrhal fymptoms commonly attending it •, from the
pyrexia conftantly prefent with it; from the fame
kind of preternatural membrane being found in the
trachea when the cynanche maligna is communicated
to it j and from the veftiges of inflammation on the
trachea difcovered ur>on diffeflion ; we muft conclude,
that this difeafe confifts in an inflammatory affection
of the mucous membrane of the larynx and trachea,
producing an exudation analogous to that found on
the furface of inflamed vifcera, and appearing partly
in a membranous cruft, and partly in a fluid form re¬
fembling pus.
Though this difeafe confifts in an inflammatory af¬
fection, it does not commonly end either in fuppuration
or gangrene. The moft troublefome circumftance of it
feem.' to confift in a fpafm of the mufcles of the glot¬
tis, threatening fuflocation.
When this difeafe terminates in health, it is by re-
folution of the inflammation, by ceafing .of the fp rm .
of the glottis, by an exneeloration o' the matter - x-
uding from the trachea, and of the crufts formed
there,.
iSo
tnere, ar.d frequently it ends without any expeftora-
t?on, or at iealf with fuch only as attends an ordinary
catarrh. But in fome inftances, a falutary termina¬
tion has very fpeedily taken place, in confequence of
the diicharge of the membranous fubftance from the
trachea, even under its proper tubular form.
\Vhen the difeafe ends fatally, it is by a fuffocation
feetnmgly depending upon a fpafm aftefling the glot¬
tis •, but fometimes, probably, depending upon a quan¬
tity of matter tilling the bronchiae, or obflruflinti the
trachea.
r we ^uPPofe the difeafe to be an inflammatory af¬
fection, fo we attempt the cure of it by the ufual re-
meoies of inflammation. Bleeding, both general and
topical, has often given immediate relief, and, by be¬
ing repeated, has entirely cured the difeafe. Bl’ifler-
mg alio, near to the part affected, has been found ufe-
ful. Upon the firff attack of the difeafe, vomiting,
immediately after bleeding, feems to be of confider-
able ufe, and fometimes fiiddenly removes the difeafe.
emetics are fiill more ufeful in advanced periods.
By the employment of thefe, the matter obftruaing
the trachea, and inducing fpafmodic affefiions, has of¬
ten been fuccefsfully removed, when the fituation of
the patient feemed to be almoft defperate. And as
in the progrefs of the difeafe frefh effufions of this
matter are very apt to take place, the frequent repe¬
tition of emetics becomes neceffary. It is often ne-
ceiTaiy to have recourfe to thofe operating the moil
expedition fly, fuch as fulphate of zinc even in large
doles. In every flage of the difeafe, the antiphlogi¬
stic regimen is neceffary, and particularly the frequent
me of laxative glyfters. Some pradlitioners confider
mercuiy, particularly under the form of calomel, as an
almoft infallible remedy in this difeafe. It has particu¬
larly been extolled by Mr James Anderfon, an emi¬
nent [urgeon in Edinburgh. But we are forry to lay
that in lome cafes at lead, after the faireft trial," it has
m^-0Und t0 we fuppofe that a fpafm
aitechng the glottis is often fatal in this difeafe, anti-
palmodic medicines have not in general been found of
great fervice. Some, however, have ftrongly recom¬
mended the ufe of afafeetida under the form of WHon :
others place great confidence in oil, or oily mixtures,
taken by the mouth : but more immediate benefit is de-
rived from tepid bathing, and the employment of fulphu-
nc ether, both externally and internally.
w^en t^ie difeafe is fpafinodic, it is often
juccefsfully removed. But by much the moft dan¬
gerous form of the difeafe is. the inflammatory date
giving, the exudation. And when this inflammatory
exudation has even been removed from the upper part
ol the trachea, yet it has fometimes proved fatal, from
the inflammation and exudation extending to the branches
° a‘Pera arteria. . By fuch an occurrence, the win¬
ter o- the prefent article had the misfortune to lofe a
lavounte ton j an aimable youth, in the fourteenth
year o. his age, who was highly admired and fincerely
icgretted by all to whom he was known.
Sp. IV. Cynanche pharyngea.
Qrnanche pharyngea, Sauv. fp. 6. E//er de coerfl.
et cur. fe6>. <7. 0
Anginae inflammatoriae, fp. 4. Boer/i. 804.
This is not materially different from the cynanche
3
M E D I C I N E. Praaice.
tonfillaris j only that the inflammation is faid to begin Pneumo¬
in the pharynx, though Dr Cullen fays he never knew ™a-
an inftance of it. rl he fymptoms are almoft the fame,.' v_
and the cure is precifely fo with that of the cynanche
tonfillaris.
Sp. V. Cynanche parotid^ea.
Cynanche parotidaea, Sauv. fp. 14, Gallls Oreie-
lons et Ourles, Tight Avis au peuple, N° 116.
Encijc/opedie, au mot Oreillons.
Angina externa, Anglis the Mumps, Rujfel eecon,
natur. p. 114. Scotis the Branks.
Catarrhus Bellinfulanus, Sauv. fp. 4.
Offervazioni di Giro/. Gaffiari, Venez. 1731.
Offervazioni di Targ. Tozetti, Racolta ima, p. 176.
This is a difeafe well known to the vulgar, but
little taken notice of by medical writers. It^is ’often
epidemic, and manifeftly contagious. It comes on
with the ufual fymptoms of pyrexia, which is foon af¬
ter attended with a confiderable tumor of the exter¬
nal fauces and neck. I he fwelling appears firft as
a glandular moveable tumor at the corner of the
lower jaw j but it foon becomes uniformly diffufed
over a great part of the neck, fometimes on one fide
only, but more commonly on both. The fwelling
continues to.increafe till the fourth day; but from
tnat period it declines, and in a few days more goes
off entirely. As the fwelling of the fauces recedes,
it not unfrequently happens that fome tumor affedts
the tefticles in the male fex, or the breafts in the
female, ihefe tumors are fometimes large, hard, and
icmewhat painful; but are feldom either very painful
or of iong continuance. The pyrexia attending this
dilea e is commonly flight, and goes off with the
welling of the fauces ; but fometimes, when the
fvvelimg of the tefficles does not fucceed to that of
the fauces, or when the one or the other has been fud-
oemy reprefled, the pyrexia becomes more confiderable
is often attended with delirium, and has fometimes
proved fatal.
As this difeafe commonly runs its courfe without ei¬
ther.dangerous or troublefome fymptoms, fo it hardly
requires any remedies. An antiphlogiftic regimen, and
avo. ing coid, aie all that will be commonly neceffary.
But when, upon the receding of the fwellings, the py¬
rexia comes to be confiderable, and threatens an affec¬
tion of the brain, it will be proper, by warm fomen¬
tations, to. bring back the fwelling ; and by vomit¬
ing, bleeding, or bliftering, to obviate the confequen-
ces of its abfence.
Genus XI. PNEUMONIA.
Febris pneumonica, Eloffm. II. 136.
Sp. I. Peripneumonia.
Peripneumony, or Inflammation of the Lungs.
Peripneumonia, Sauv. gen. 11 2. Lin. 34. Vog. rr.
%. gen. 311. Boer/. 820. Juncker 67.
Peripneumonia pun five vera Auftorum, Sauv. fp. 1.
Peripneumonia gaflrica, Sauv. fp. ji. Motgarh.
de cauf. et led. Epift. xx. art. 30, 31.
Peripneumonia catarrhalis, Sauv. fp. 6. '
Peripneumonia
181
1S3
Practice.
Phlegma-
f]£E.
1^4
M E D I
Peripneumonia notha, Sydenh. feft. 6. cap. 4.
Boerh. 867. Morgagni de cauj'. et fed. Epilt.
xxi. 11.—15.
Peripneumonia putrida, Sauv. fp. 2.
Peripneumonia ardens, Saitv. fp. 3.
Peripneumonia maligna, Sauv. fp. 4.
Peripneumonia typhodes, Sauv. fp. 5.
Amphimerina peripneumonica, Sauv. fp. 15.
Sp. II. Pl.EURITIS.
The P/eurif!/, or Inflammation of the Pleura.
Pleuritis, Sauv. gen. 103. Lin. 27. Vog. 36. Sag,
gen. 303. Boerli. 875. Junch. 67.
Paraphrenefis, Sauv. gen. 10 2. Lin. 26.
Paraphrenitis, Vog. 55. Boerh. 907.
Diaphragmitis, Sag. gen. 304.
Pieuritis vera, Sauv. fp. 1. Boerh. 875. Verna
princeps morb. acut. pleuritis, 1. I. cap. 2. 3.
Zeviani della parapleuritide, cap. 3. Morgagni
de fed. et cauf. morb. Epift. xx. art. 56. xxi. 45.
Wendt de pleuritide, apud Sandifort, thef. ii.
Pleuritis pulmonis, Sauv. fp. 2. Zevian. dell, para-
pleur. iii. 28, See.
Pleuropneumonia, pleuro-peri pneumonia, peripneu-
mo-pleuritis AuSforum. Baronius de pleuri-pnpu-
monia. 111. Halleri opufcul. patholog. obf. 13.
Morgagni fed. et Cauf. Epift. xx. and xxi. paf-
fim. Cleghorn, Minorca, p. 247. Triller de pleuri¬
tide, aph. 1, 2, 3, cap. i. 8. Huxham, Differt.
on pleurifies, &c. chap. i. 111. Pringle, Dif. of
the army.
Pleuritis convulliva, Sauy. fp. 13. Bianch. Hift. hep.
vol. i. p. 234.
Pleuritis hydrothoracica, Sauv. fp. 15. Morgagni
cauf. et fed. xx. 34.
Pleuritis dorfalis, Sauv. fp. 3. Verna, p. 3. cap. 8.
Pleuritis mediaftini, Sauv. fp. 3. P. Sal. Div. de
affbe. part. cap. 6. Friend, Hift. Med. de Aven-
zoare.
Mediaftina, Vog. 52.
Pleuritis pericardii, Sauv. fp. 5. Verna, p. iii.
cap. 9.
Parapleuritis, Zeviani della parapleuritide.
Pleurodyne parapleuritis, Sauv. fp. 19.
Paraphrenefls diaphragmatica, Sauv. fp. 1. De Plaen.
Rat. med. i. 7. iii. p. 31.
Paraphrenefis pleuritica, Sauv. fp. 2.
Paraphrenefis hepatica, Sauv. fp. 3.
Under the general head of Pneumonia, Dr Cullen,
comprehends all inflammattions of the thoracic vif-
cera, or membrane lining the infide of that cavity 5
as the fymptoms do not always fufficiently difiinguilh
the feat of the affe6fion, nor does a difference in the
fituatiofi of the aflefted place make any difference in
the cure.
Defcription. Pneumonic inflammation, however va¬
rious in the feat, always difeovers itlelf by pyrexia,
difficult breathing, cough, and pain in feme part of
the ..thorax. It almoft always comes on with a cold
ftage, and is accompanied with the other fymptoms of
pyrexia*, though in fome few inflances the pulfe may
not be more frequent, nor the heat of the body increa-
fed beyond what is natural. Sometimes the pyrexia is
CINE.
from the beginning accompanied with the other fymp¬
toms ; but frequently it is formed fome hours before ,
them, and particularly before the pain be felt. The
pulfe for the moft part is frequent, full, Itrong, hard,
and quick 5 but, in a few inftances, efpecially in the
advanced ftate of the difeafe, it is weak, foft, and at
the fame time irregular. The difficulty of breathing
is mod: conflderable in infpiration, both becaufe the
lungs do not eafily admit of a full dilatation, and be¬
caufe the dilatation increafes the pain attending the
difeafe. The difficulty of breathing is alfo greater
when the patient is in one pofture of the body rather
than another. It is generally greater when he lies on
the fide affedted ; though fometimes the contrary hap¬
pens. Very often the patient cannot lie upon either
fide, and can find eafe only when lying on the back j
and fometimes he cannot breathe readily, except svhen.
in fomewhat of an ereft pofture. The cough, in
different cafes, is more or lefs urgent or painful. It
is fometimes dry, or without any expectoration,- efpe¬
cially in the beginning of tbe dil'eafe; but more com¬
monly it is, even from the beginning, moift, and the
matter fpit up various both in confidence and colour,
and frequently it is ftreaked with blood. The pain is
alfo different in dift'erent cafes, and felt in different parts
of the thorax, but moft frequently in one fide. It has
been faid to affedt the right fide more frequently than
the left *, but this is uncertain, and we are fare that the
left fide has been very often affected. Sometimes it is
felt as if it was under the fternum 5 fometimes in the
back between the {boulders *, and when in the fides, its
place has been higher or lower, more fonvard or back-
ward ; but the place of all moft frequently affedted is
about the fixth or feventh rib, near the middle of its
length, or a little more forward. The pain is often fe-
vere and pungent j but fometimes more dull and ob-
tufe, with a fenfe of weight rather than of pain. It is
moft efpecially fevere and pungent when occupying the
place laft mentioned. For the moft part it continues
fixed in one part, but fometimes (hoots from the fide to
the fcapuia on one hand, or to the fternum and clavicle
on the other.
Dr Cullen fuppofes that the difeafe is always feat-
ed, or at leaft begins, in fome part ef the pleura, ta¬
king that membrane in its greateft extent, as now
commonly underftood ; that is, as covering not only
the internal furface of the cavity of the thorax, but al¬
fo as forming the mediaftinum, and as extended over
the pericardium, and over the whole furface of the
lungs. But as the fymptoms never clearly indicate
where the feat of the difeafe is, there is but little foun¬
dation for the different names by which it has been
dirtinguifhed. The term p/eurify is improperly limited
to that inflammation which begins in and chiefly af-
fedls the pleura coftalis. This Dr Cullen thinks is a
rare occurrence ; and that the pneumonia much more
frequently begins in the pleura inverting the lungs,
producing ail the fymptoms which belong to what
hath been called the pleuritis vera. The wrord peri-
pneumony has been applied to an inflammation begin¬
ning in the parenchyma, or cellular texture of the
lungs, and having its feat chiefly there. But to Dr
Cullen it feems very doubtful if any acute inflamma¬
tion of the lungs, or any difeafe which has been call¬
ed/WLi?/ey.7Z(3-7y, be of that kind. It feems probable,
that;
303
PneHmo-
3°4
Phleema-
fiis.
M E D I
that every achte inflammation begins in membranous
parts j and in every ditTedlion of perfons who ha\re died
of peripneumony, the external membrane of the lungs,
or fome part of the pleura, has appeared to have been
confiderably affedled. An inflammation of the pleura
covering the upper furface of the diaphragm, has been
diftinguilhed by the appellation oiparaphrcnitts, as {up-
poled to be attended with tlie peculiar fymptoms of
deliriurp, rifus far dometts ^ and other convulfive motions:
but it is certain, that an inflammation of that portion
of the pleura, and affecting alfo even the mufcular fub-
flance of the diaphragm, has often taken place with¬
out any of the fymptoms above-mentioned ; and neither
the difledtions which have fallen under Dr Cullen’s
•obfervation, nor any accounts of diffeflions, fupport tire
opinion that an inflammation of the pleura covering the
diaphragm is attended with delirium more commonly
than any other pneumonic inflammation.— It is to be ob-
ferved, however, that though the inflammation may be¬
gin in one particular part of the pleura, the morbia af¬
fection is commonly communicated to the whole extent
of the membrane.
The pneumonic inflammation, like others, may ter¬
minate by refolution, fuppuration, or gangrene : but
it has alfo a termination peculiar to itfelf j namely,
when it is attended with an effufion of blood into the
cellular texture of the lungs, which, foon interrupt¬
ing the circulation of the blood through the vifeus,
produces a fatal fuffocation. Ihis indeed appears to
be the moll common termination of pneumonic inflam¬
mation when it ends fatally, for upon the difledtion
of almoft every perfon who has died of this difeafe, it
appears that fuch an effufion had happened. From
the fame diffedtions wre learn, that pneumonic inflam-
jnation commonly produces an exludation from the in¬
ternal furface of the pleura, which appears partly as a
foft vifeid cruft, often of a compadt membranous form,
covering every where the furface of the pleura, and
particularly thofe parts where the lungs adhere to the
pleura coftalis, or mediaftinum *, and this cruft feems
always to be the cement of fuch adhefion. T. he fame
exfudation (hows itfelf alfo by a quantity of a ferous
fluid commonly found in the cavity of the thorax j and
fome exfudatien or effufion is ufually found to have
been made into the cavity of the pericardium. It
feems likewife probable, that an effufion of this kind
is fometimes made into the cavity of the bronchiae j
for in fome perfons who have died after labouring
under a pueumonic inflammation for a few days only,
the bronchiae have been found filled with a confider-
able quantity of ferous and thickifti fluid, which mull
be confidered rather as the effufion abovementioned,
having had its thinner parts taken off by refpiration,
than as a pus fo fuddenly formed in the inflamed part.
It is, however, not improbable, that this effufion, as
well as that made into the cavities of the thorax and
pericardium, may be a matter of the fame kind with
that which in other inflammations is poured into the
cellular texture of the parts inflamed, and there con¬
verted into pus *, but in the thorax and pericardium it
does not always put on this appearance, becaufe the
cruft covering the furface prevents the abforption of
the thinner part. This abforption, however, may be
compenfated in the bronchiae, by the drying power of
the air j and therefore the effulion into them may af-
C I N E. Pradice,
fume a more purulent appearance. In many cafes of Pneumo-
pneumonic inflammation, when the expedloration is, ,f
very copious, it is difticult to fuppofe that the whole'
proceeds from the mucous follicles of the bronchiae j
and it feems probable that a great part of it may come
from the effufed ferous fluid juft mentioned } and this
too will account for the appearance of the expedora-
tion being fo often purulent. Perhaps the fame thing
will account for that purulent matter found in the
bronchiae, which Mr de Haen fays he had often ob-
ferved when there was no ulceration in the lungs,
and which he accounts for in a very ftrange manner,
namely, by fuppofing a pus formed in the circulating
blood.
Dr Cullen is of opinion, that the effufiou into the
bronchiae above-mentioned often concurs with the ef¬
fufion of red blood into the cellular fubftahee of the
lungs to occaflon the fatal fuffocation which frequent¬
ly terminates peripneumony ; that the effufion of ferum
alone may have this effed : and that the ferum poured
out in a certain quantity, rather than any debility in
the powers of expedoration, is the caufe of that ceffa-
ticn of fpitting which precedes the fatal event j for in
many cafes the expedoration has ceafed, when no other
fymptoms of debility have appeared, and when, upon
diffedion the bronchise have been full of liquid matter.
Nay, it is even probable, that in fome tafes fuch an
effufion may take place without any fymptoms of vio¬
lent inflammation ; and in other cafes the effufion ta¬
king place may feem to remove the fymptoms of in¬
flammation which had appeared before, and thus ac¬
count for thofe unexpeded fatal terminations which have
fometimes happened.
Pneumonic inflammation feldom terminates by refo¬
lution, without being attended with fome evident eva¬
cuation. An haemorrhagy from the nofe happening on
fome of the firft days of the difeafe has fometimes put
an end to it; and it is faid, that an evacuation from
the hsemorrhoidal veins, a bilious evacuation by ftool,
and an evacuation of urine with a copious fediment,
have feverally had the fame effed •, but fuch occur¬
rences have been rare. The evacuatiom moft frequent¬
ly attending, and feeming to have the greateft effed in
promoting refolution, is an expedoration of a thick,
white, or yellowifti matter, a little ftreaked with blood,
copious, and brought up without much or violent
coughing. Very frequently the refolution of this dif¬
eafe is attended with, and perhaps produced by, a fweat,
if it be warm, fluid, copious, over the whole body,
and attended with an abatement of the frequency of
the pulfe, heat of the body, and other febrile fymp¬
toms. Although, from the hiftory now given, it ap¬
pears that pleurify and perip»eumony cannot with
propriety be confidered as different difeafes, yet it is
certain that in different cafes this affedion occurs
with an affemblage of fymptoms feparate and diftind.
Thus even Dr Cullen himfelf, in his Nofology, has
defined pleuritis to confift in pyrexia, attended with
pungent pain of the fide, painful refpiration, difficulty
of lying down, particularly on the affeded fide, and
diftrefling cough, in the beginning dry, but afterwards
humid, and often with bloody expedoration. While
again he has defined peripneumony to confift in pyrexia,
attended with a dull pain under the fternum and be¬
tween the fhoulders, anxiety, difficulty of breathing, hu-
i mid
r
Pra&ice.
M E D I
Phlegma- mid cough, expectoration generally bloody, a foft pulfe,
, liai and a tumid livid appearance of the countenance. It is
“’""v highly probable, that the firft of thefe fets of fymptoms
chiefly arifes from a flate of aftive inflammation, and
the fecond from effulion. Thus, in certain cafes, the
fymptoms may appear perfeftly feparate and diftinft j
but more frequently both inflammation and effufion are
united j and thus the fymptoms in both definitions are
in general combined in the fame patient. But ftill
pleuritis, ftrictly fo called, may be confidered as charac¬
terized by the acute pungent pain at a particular fpot
of thecheft, and that pain much aggravated on a full in-
fpiration j while proper peripneumonia is diflinguiflied by
the dull gravative pain extended over the whole cheft,
and by the laborious refpiration.
Caufes of, andperfonifubjeSi to, this diforder. The
remote caule of pneumonic inflammation is commonly
cold applied to the body, obftrufting perfpiration, and
determining to the lungs, while at the fame time the
lungs themfelves are expofed to the adlion of cold.
'I hefe circumftances operate chiefly when an inflamma¬
tory diathefis prevails in the fyftem; and therefore
thefe principally aft'edled with this difeafe are perfons of
the greateft vigour, in cold climates, often in the winter
feafon, but particularly in the fpring, when viciflitudes
of heat and cold are frequent. This difeafe, however,
may arife in any feafon when fuch varieties take place.
Other remote caufes alfo may have a (hare in produ¬
cing this diflemper j fuch as every means of obdruft-
mg, draining, or otherwife injuring, the pulmonary
organs. The pneumonic inflammation has fometimes
been fo much an epidemic, that it hath been fufpedl-
ed of depending on a fpecific contagion ; but Dr
Cullen never met with an indance of its being conta¬
gious.
Prognofis. In pneumonic inflammations, a violent
pyrexia is always dangerous. The danger, however,
is chiefly denoted by the difficulty of breathing. When
the patient can lie on one fide only ; when he can lie on
neither fide, but only on his back; when he cannot
breathe with tolerable eafe, except when the trunk of
his body is ereft; when even in this poflure the breath¬
ing is very difficult, and attended with a turgefcence
and fludiing of the face, with partial fweats about the
head and neck, and an irregular pulfe; thefe circum-
flances mark the difficulty of breathing in different de¬
grees ; and confequently, in proportion, the danger of
the difeafe. A frequent violent cough, aggravating the
. pain, is always the fymptom of an obdinate difeafe ;
and as the difeafe is feldom or never refolved without
ibme expedtoration, fo a dry cough mud always be an
unfavourable fymptom.
The proper charadleridics of the expedloration have
been already laid down; and though an expectoration
which has not thefe marks mud indicate a doubtful
, flate of the difeafe, yet the colour alone can give no cer-
t dn prognodic. An acute pain, very much interrupt¬
ing infpiration, is always the mark of a violent difeafe ;
but not of a more dangerous dileafe than an obtufe pain,
attended with very difficult refpiration, demondrating
effufion into the cells.
W hen the pains, which had at firfl affedled one fide
only, (hall afterwards fpread into the other ; or when,
leaving the fide firfl aftedled, they pafs entirely into the
other; thefe are always marks of a dangerous difeafe.
Vol, XIII. Part I.
G I N E. 305
A delirium coming on during a pneumonic inflamma- Pneumo-
tion is always a fymptom denoting much danger. ma-.
When pneumonic diforders terminate fatally, it is '"v
on one or other of the days of the firfl week, from the
third to the feventh. This is the mod common cafe;
but, in a few indances, death has happened at a later
period. When the difeafe is violent, but admitting of
refolution, this alfo happens frequently in the courfe of
the fird week ; but in a more moderate difeafe the re¬
folution is often put off to the fecond week. The dif¬
eafe generally fuffers a remiflion on fome of the days
from the third to the feventh : which, however, may
be often fallacious, as it fometimes returns again with
as much violence as before; and in fuch a cafe
with great danger. Sometimes it difappears on the
third day, while an eryfipelas makes its appearance on
fome external part; and if this continue fixed, the
pneumonic inflammation does not recur. If the difeafe
continue beyond the 14th day, it will terminate in a
fuppuration, or Phthisis. The termination by gan¬
grene is much more rare-than has been imagined : and
when it does occur, it is ufually joined with the termi¬
nation by effufion ; the (ymptoms of the one being
hardly diflinguithable from thofe of the other.
Cure. This mud proceed upon the general plan
mentioned under Synocha ; but, on account of the
importance of the part affected, the remedies mud be
employed early, and as fully as poflible : and thefe are
chiefly direffed with one of three views, viz. for ob¬
taining a refolution of the inflammation in the thorax,
for mitigating the urgent fymptoms before a refolution
can be effedted, and for counteracting or obviating the
confequences of the difeafe. Venefedtion is the re¬
medy chiefly to be depended on ; and may be perform¬
ed in either arm, as the furgeon finds mod convenient;
and the quantity taken away ought in general to be as
large as the patient’s flrength will allow. The remif-
fion of pain, and the relief of refpiration, during the
flowing of the blood, may limit the quantity to be then
drawn ; but if thefe fymptoms of relief do not appear,
the bleeding fliould be continued to a confiderable ex¬
tent, unlefs fymptoms of a beginning fyncope come on.
It is feldom that one bleeding, however large, will cure
this difeafe; and though the pain and difficulty of
breathing may be much relieved by the fird bleeding,
thefe fymptoms commonly and after no long interval
recur, often with as much violence as before. In this
cafe the bleeding is to be repeated even on the fame
day, and perhaps to the fame quantity as before.
Sometimes the fecond bleeding may be larger than the
fird. There are perfons who, by their conflitution,
are ready to faint even upon a fmall bleeding ; And in
fuch perfons this may prevent the drawing fo muck
blood at fird as a pneumonic inflammation may require:
but as the (ame perfons are found to bear after-bleed¬
ings better than the firfl, this allows the fecond ami
fubfequent bleedings to be larger, and to fuch a quan¬
tity as the fymptoms of the difeafe may feem to re¬
quire.
Bleedings are to be repeated according to the flate
of the fymptoms-, and they will be more effedlual when
pradfifed in the courfe of th6 fird three days than af¬
terwards ; but they are not to be omitted though four
days of the difeafe may already have elapfed. If the
phyfician has not been called in time, or the fird bleed-
Q_q ing»v
M E D I
in"S have not been fnfficiently large, or even though
they ihould have procured fome remiflion, yet upon
the return of the urgent fymptoms, bleeding may be
repeated at any time within the firft fortnight, or even
after that period, if a fuppuration be not evident, or it
after a feeming folution the difeafe (hall have returned.
With refpeft to the quantity of blood which may
be taken away with fafety, no general rules can be gi¬
ven ; as it mult be very different according to the itate
of the difeafe, and the conftitution of the patient. In
an adult male of tolerable ftrength, a pound of blood is
a full bleeding. Any quantity above 20 ounces is a
large, and any quantity below 1 2 is a fmall, bleeding.
An evacuation of four or five pounds, in the courfe or
two or three days, is generally as much as mod patients
will bear 5 but if the intervals between the bleedings,
and the whole of the time during which the bleedings
have been employed, have been long, the quantity taken
upon the whole may be greater.
When a large quantity of blood has been tascen
from the arm, and it is doubtful if more can be taken
in that manner with fafety, fome blood may ftiU be
taken by cupping and fcarifying. This will efpecially
be proper, when the recurrence of the pain, rather than
the difficulty of breathing, becomes the urgent fymp-
tom •, and then the cupping and fcarification ffiould oe
made as near as poffible to the pained part.
An exoedloration fometimes takes place very early
in this difeafe ; but if the fymptoms continue urgent,
the bleedings muff be repeated notwithftanding the ex-
pedloration : but in a more advanced flate, and when
the fymptoms have fuffered a confiderable remiffion, we
may then trull the cure to the expe&oration alone. It
is not obferved that bleeding, during the firll days of
the difeafe, Hops expe&oration 5 on the contrary, it
has been often found to promote it •, and it is only in
a more advanced Hate of the difeafe, when the patient
has been already exhaulled by large evacuations and a
continuance of his illnefs, that bleeding feems to put
a flop to expectoration •, and even then, this ftoppage
feems not to take place fo much from the powers of
expectoration being weakened by bleeding, as by its
favouring the ferous effufion in the bronchiae, already
taken notice of.
Befides bleeding, every part of the antiphlogiltic re¬
gimen ought here to be carefully employed : the pa¬
tient mult keep out of bed as much as he can bear 5
mult have plenty of warm diluting drinks, impregnat¬
ed with vegetable acids, accompanied with nitre or
fome other cooling neutral fait 5 and the belly alfo
ought to be kept open by emollient clylters or cool¬
ing laxative medicines. Vomiting in the beginning
is dangerous $ but in a fomewhat advanced Itate of the
difeafe emetics have been found the belt means of pro¬
moting expectoration. Fomentations and poultices
to the pained part have been found ufefulbut blilter-
ing is found to be much more effectual. A blilter,
however, ought not to be applied till at lealt one bleed¬
ing has been premifed, as venefeCtion is lefs effectual
when the irritation of a blilter is prefent. If the dif¬
eafe be moderate, a blilter may be applied immediately
after the firlt bleeding *, but in violent cafes, where it
may be prefumed that a fecond bleeding may foon be
neceffary after the firft, it will be proper to delay the
blifier till after the fecond bleeding, when it may be
C I N E. Practice.
fuppofed that the irritation occafioned by the blilter p^umo-
will be over before another bleeding becomes necellary.
It may frequently ' be of ufe in this dileafe to repeat
the bliftering •, and in that cafe the plafters Ihould al¬
ways be applied fomevvhere on the thorax, for when
applied to more diftant parts they have lefs effed. The
keeping the bliltered parts open, and making what is
called a perpetual blijicr, has much lefs effeCt than a re¬
peated bliftering.
Many methods have been propofed for promoting
expeCloration, but none appear to be fufficiently effec¬
tual ; and fome of the expeClorants, being acrid itimu-
lant fubftances, are not very fafe. The gums ufually
employed feem to be too heating •, the fquills. Ids lo i
but they are not very powerful, and fometimes inconve¬
nient, by the conftant naufea they occafien. The vo¬
latile alkali may be of fervice as an expeCtorant, buu
it ought to be referved for an advanced Hate of ths
difeafe. Mucilaginous and oily demulcents appear to
be ufeful, by allaying that acrimony of the mucus
which occafions too frequent coughing j and which
coughing prevents the liagnation and thickening of
the mucus, and thereby its becoming mild. The re¬
ceiving into the lungs the fteams of w:arm wTater, im¬
pregnated with vinegar, has often proved ufeful m
promoting expeCloration •, and, for this purpofe, the
machine called the Inhaler, lately invented by Dr
Mudge of Plymouth, promifes to be of great fervice.
But of all others, the antimonial emetics, given in
naufeating dofes, are perhaps^ the moft povyerful for
promoting expeCloration. The kermes mineral has
been greatly recommended ; but does not feem to be
more efficacious than tartnte of antimony or antimonial
wine 5 and the dofe of the kermes is much more uncer¬
tain than that of the others.
Though this difeafe often terminates by a fpontaneous
fweating, this evacuation ought not to be excited by
art, unlefs with much caution. When, after fome ic-
miflion of the fymptoms, fpontaneous fweats arife, they
may be encouraged 5 but it ought to be without much
heat, and without ftimulant medicines. If, however,
the fweats be partial and clammy only, and a great dif¬
ficulty of breathing ftill remain, it will be very danger¬
ous to encourage them.
Phyficians have differed much with regard to the
ufe of opiates in pneumonic affedlions. It appears-,
however, that in the beginning of the difeale, and
before bleeding and bliftering have produced fome re¬
miffion of the pain, and of the difficulty of breathing,
opiates have had a bad tendency, by their increalmg
the difficulty of breathing and other inflammatory
fymptoms. But in a more advanced ftate of the dif¬
eafe, when the difficulty of breathing has abated, and
when the urgent fymptom is a cough, proving the
chief caufe of the continuance of pain and want of
reft, opiates may be employed with great advantage and
fafetv. The interruption of the expe&oration which
they'feem to occafion, is for a ftiort time only •, and they
feem often to promote it, as they occafion a ftagnation
of what was by frequent coughing diffipated infenfibly :
and therefore give the appearance of what phyficians
have called concoSled matter.
Opium combined with calomel has of late been high¬
ly extolled in this and other inflammatory diieafes by
Dr Hamilton of Lynn Regis j wdio has given a full ac¬
count
Practice. ^ ^ ^ ^
Phle^ma- count of tLe fuccefs attending his pradlice with this re-
fise. medy, for the fpace of 16 years, in the 9th volume ot
  the Edinburgh Medical Commentaries. And fince his
recommendation, the fame remedy has often been em¬
ployed by others with great benefit.
j36 Vomica, ox Abfcefs oi'C&t Lungs,
Vomica, Boerh. 835. 'Junck. 35.
* Pleurodyne vomica, Sauv. fp. 21.
Phthifis fometimes follows pneumonia, though the
cafe is not frequent. The fymptoms of it fo mu..h re-
femble ordinary phthifis, that it can moll ptoperly be
treeted of under that head.
j-Sy Empyema.
This is another confequence of a pneumonia termi¬
nating unfavourably, and is occafioned by the effufion
of a quantity of purulent matter into the cavity of the
thorax, producing a lingering and painful diforder, very
often incurable. .
Defcription. The firll fign of an empyema is a cel-
fation of the pain in the breaft, which before was con¬
tinual : this is followed by a fenfation of weight on the
diaphragm *, and a fluauation of matter, fometimes
making a ncife that may be heard by the byftanders:
the acute fever is changed into a heaic, with an exa¬
cerbation at night: a continual and troublefome dry
Cough remains. 1 he refpiration is exceedingly diffi¬
cult, becaufe the lungs are preverited by the matter
from fully expanding themfelves. The patient can lie
eafily on that fide where the matter is effufed, but not
on the other, becaufe then the weight of the matter
on the mediaftinum produces uneafinefs. The more
the hedic heat is augmented, the more is the body
emaciated, and its ftrength decayed. In fome there
is danger of fuffocation when they Hoop down, which
goes off when they alter that pollute of the body ; and
in fome there is a purulent fpitting.—1 hefe fymptoms
are accompanied with great anxiety, palpitations of the
heart, and faintings. Sometimes the patients have a
fenfation like a hot vapour afcending from the cavity
of the thorax to their mouth. Others, in a. more
advanced date of the difeafe, have a putrid tafte in the
mouth. At the fame time, profufe night fweats walle
the body, and greatly weaken the patient. The face
at firll nrows red on that fide where the matter lies, at
lall the Hinpocratic face comes on, and the eyes become
hollow. The pulfe is quick, but more frequently in¬
termitting. Sometimes the nails are crooked, and puf-
tules appear on the thorax ; and frequently, according to
the tefiimony of Hippocrates, the feet fwell and, on
the affeaed fide of the breall, there is an inflation and
{welling of the {kin.
Cavfes, &c. An empyema may anfe either from
the burning of a vomica of the lungs, or from a fup-
puration taking place after the inflammatory ftage of
pneumonia •, or fometimes from a fuppuration m the cale
of a quinfy, when the inflammation had extended to the
afpera arteria, from whence arifes a kind of bloody
fpittle, and the patients are affli6led with an empyema,
unlefs they die on the 7th day of the difeafe, according
to the obfervation of Hippocrates. It may arne alio
from external violence, as wTounds of the thorax, &c.
blood extravafated, corrupted, or changed into pus.
C I N E. 307
Like the vomica, it is a rare diilemper, but may attack Peritonitis.
all thofe fubjedl to pneumonia.
frognojis. Very few recover after an empyema^
has been once formed, efpecially if the operation of
paracentefis be neglefted. After this operation is
performed, if a great quantity of bloody fetid pus be
difeharged, if the fever contmue, and if the patient fpit
up a purulent, pale, frothy, livid, or green matter, with
a decay of ftrength, there is no hope : But when a
fmall quantity of pus, of a white colour, not very fetid,
is difeharged 5 when the fever and thirft prefently ceafe,
the appetite returns, and faeces of a good confiflence
are difeharged, the ftrength alfo returning in fome
degree; there is then hope of a perfedl recovery. If
the matter be not dried up in feven weeks time, the
difeafe readily changes to a fiftulous ulcer, which is
very difficult to cure. An empyema affeaing both
fides of the thorax is more dangerous than that which
affe&s only one.
Cure. This confifts in evacuating the purulent mat¬
ter contained in the cavity of the thorax, wffiich is
bell done by the operation of paracentefis of the tho¬
rax. See Surgery. Afterwards.the ulcer is to be
treated with abilergent and confolidating medicines,
and the fame internal ones are to be given as in a
Phthisis.
Genus XIII. CARDITIS.
InSammation of the Hxart. 185.
Carditis, Sauv. gen. ill. Vog 54.
Pericarditis, Vog. 53. ^ ,
Carditis fpontanea, Sauv. fp. 1. Senac. Iraite de
Coeur, 1. iv. c. 7. Meckel, Mem. de Berlin, 1756.
Eryfipelas pulmonis, Lomm. O’oferv. lib. ii.
Defcription. This difeafe is attended with all the
fymptoms of pneumonia, but in a higher degree 5 it
is befides faid to be accompanied with hydrophobic
fymptoms, fainting, palpitation of the heart, a feem-
ing madnefs, a funk and irregular pulfe, watery eyes,
and a dejedled countenance, with a dry and black
tongue. On diffcaion, the heart and pericardium are
found very much inflamed, and even ulcerated, with
many polypous concretions.
Caiifes, &c. The fame as in the pneumonia.
Prognojis. In the carditis the prognofis is more un¬
favourable than in the pneumonia j and indeed, unlefs
the difeafe very quickly terminates, it mull prove fatal,
on account of the conftant and violent motion of the
heart, which exafperates the inflammation, and increafes
all the fymptoms.
Cure. Here bleeding is neceffary m as great a de¬
gree as the patient can poffibly bear, together with
bliilering, and the antiphlogiftic regimen likewife car¬
ried to a"greater height than in the pneumonia ; but the
general method is the fame as in other inflammatory
difeafes.
Genus XIV. PERITONITIS. lt>
Inflammation of the Peritoneum.
Sp. I. Inflammation of tthe Peritoneum properly fo
called.
Peritonitis, Pof. 62. Lieulad. Hid. anat. med. lib. t.
ft q 2 °bf-
ipo
M K D I
obf. 3. Raygci'us apud eund. lib. i. obf. 341.
gagn. de fed. LVIT. 20.
Sp. II. Inflammation of tl:e Pkritonjeum extended
over the Omentum.
Epiploitis, Sauv. gen. 106. Sag. gen. 308.
Omentitis, 6f.
Omenti intlammatio, Boerh. 985. et 111. Van Swie~
ten, Comm. Stork. An. Med. I. 132. Hu/me on
the puerperal fever.
T5I Sp. III. Inf animation of the Pfri tonjS u m flretched
over the Mefentery.
Mefenteritis, Vog. 60.
Enteritis mefenterica, Sauv. fp. 4.
Genus XV. GASTRITIS.
192
Inflammation of the Stomach.
T53
A. Gastritis Phlegmonodjea, ox the genuine Gaflritis.
Gaftritis legitima, Sauv. fp. I. FJ/er. de cogn. et
cur. morb. feet. xii. Haller, obf. 14. hilt. 3. Lieut.
Hilt. Anat. Med. lib. i. 74.
Gaftritis eryiipelatofa, Sauv. fp. 4.
Cardialgia inflammatoria, Sauv. fp. 13. Tralles, de
opio, fe£t. ii. p. 231.
Thefe difeafes Dr Cullen has thought proper te con-
fjder all under the general head of Gastritis, as there
are no certain figns by which they can be diftinguilhed
from each other, and the method of cure mult be the
fame in all.
Defcription. The inflammation of the ftomach is at¬
tended with great heat and pain in the epigaflric re¬
gion, extreme anxiety, an almoft continual and pain-
fhl hiccough, with a molt painful vomiting of every
thing taken into the ftomach. Sometimes a temporary
xnadnefs enfues } and there is an inftance in the Edin¬
burgh Medical Effays of the diforder being attended
with an hydrophobia. The pulfe is generally more
funk than in other inflammations, and the fever inclines
to the nature of a typhus. The diforder is commonly
of the remitting kind, and during the remiihons the
pulfe frequently intermits. During the height of the
difeafe, a mortal phrenfy frequently fupervenes. The
difeafe terminates on the fourth, Ceventh, or ninth day,
or from the eleventh to the fifteenth •, and is more apt
to end in a gangrene than pneumonic inflammations,
and more frequently in a feirrhus than in an abfeefs.
Caufes, &c. The inflammation of the ftomach may
arife from any acrid fubftance taken into it ; from
a vehement paffion, too large draughts of cold liquor,
efpecially when the perfon is very hot 5 from a furfeit j
^ ftoppage of perfpiration ; repulfion of the gout ; in¬
flammations of the neighbouring vifeera ; or from
external injuries, fuch as wounds, contufions, &c. 
It affefts chiefly thofe of a" plethoric habit and hot
bilious conftitution.
Prognojis. Ibis difeafe is always very dangerous,
and the prognofis doubtful, which alfo mufl: alwrays be
in proportion to the feverity of the fymptoms. A
ceffatiou of pain, coldnefs about the praecordia, great
CINE. PraaicE
debility, with a languid and intermitting pulfe, with Gaftritis.
an abatement of the hiccough, denote a gangrene and —~v— J
fpeedy death. From the fenfibility of the ftomach
alfo, and its great connexion with the reft of the
fyftem, it muft be obvious, that an inflammation of
it, by whatever caufes produced, may be attended with
fatal confequences 5 particularly, by the great debility
it produces, it may prove fuddenly fatal, without run¬
ning through the ufual courfe of inflammations.—Its
tendency to admit of refolution may be known by its
having arifen from no violent caule, by the moderate
ftate of the fymptoms, and by a gradual remiflion of
thefe fymptoms in the courfe of the firft or at moil of
the fecond week of the diteafe. The tendency to
gangrene may be fufpecled from the fymptoms con¬
tinuing with unremitting vielence, notrvithftanding the
ufe of proper remedies 5 and a gangrene already begun
may be known by the fymptoms above mentioned,
particularly great debility and hidden ceffation of pain.
The tendency to fuppuration may be known by the
fymptoms continuing but in a moderate degree for
more than one or two weeks, and by a confiderable re-
miffion of the pain,,while a fenfe of weight and anxiety
ftill remain. When an abfeefs has been formed, the
frequency of the pulfe is firft abated : but foon after
it increafes, withe frequent cold ftiivertng, and an exa¬
cerbation in the afternoon and evening 5 followed by
night fweats, and other fymptoms of he6tic fever. Thefe
at length prove fatal, unlefs the abfeefs open into the
cavity of the ftomacb, the pus be evacuated by vomit¬
ing, and the ulcer foon healed.
Cure. It appears from diffeciions, that the ftomach
may very often be inflamed when the charafferiftic
marks of it have not appeared ; and therefore we are
often expofed to much uncertainty in the cure. But
when we have fufficient evidence that a ftate of adlivc
inflammation has taken place in the flomach, the prin¬
cipal ohjeft to be aimed at is to obtain a refolution.
Before, however, this can be accompliflied, it will
often be neceffary to employ meafures with the view of
obviating urgent fymptoms. When the fymptoms ap¬
pear in the manner above deferibed, the cure is to be
attempted by large and repeated bleedings employed
early in the difeafe ; and from thefe we are not to be
deterred by the weaknefs of the pulfe, for it will com¬
monly become fuller and fofter after the operation.
A blifler ought alfo to be applied to the region of the
ftomach j and the cure will be affifted by fomenta¬
tions of the whole abdomen, and by frequent emollient
and laxative clyfters. The irritability of the ftomach
in this difeafe wnll admit of no medicines being thrown
into it 3 and if any can be fuppofed neceffary, they
muft be exhibited in clyfters. Diluting drinks may be
tried 5 but they muft be of the very mildeft kind, and
given in very fmall quantities at a time. Opiates, in
whatever manner exhibited, cannot be retained in the
ftomach during the firft days of the difeafe 3 but when
the violence of the difeafe ftiall have abated, and when
the pain and vomiting recur at intervals only, opiates
give in clyfters are frequently employed with advan¬
tage 3 and after bleeding and blifters no remedy is
more effectual either in allaying the pain or vomiting.
As foon as the ftomach will retain any laxative, gentle
refrigerant cathartics, taken by the mouth, fuch as
the foda phofphorata, foda tartarifata, cr the like,
aje.
Practice; M E D I
Fhlesma- are productive of great benefit. A tendency to gan-
fia;. grene in this difijafe is to be obviated only by the
v means juft now mentioned ; but when it does actually
fupervene, it admits of no remedy. A tendency to
fuppuration is to be obviated by the fame means em¬
ployed early in the difeafe. After a certain period it
cannot be prevented by any means whatever j and,
when actually begun, muft be left to nature j the only
thing that can be done by art being to avoid all irri¬
tation.
*94 B. Gastritis Erysifelatosa, or the Enjfipclatous
Gq/Iritis.
Defcription. This fpecies of inflammation takes
place in the flomach much more frequently than the
fctmer. From diffe&ions it appears that the flomach
has been often affecfed with inflammation, when
neither pain nor fever had given any notice of it ; and
fuch is juftly looked upon to have been of the eryfipe-
latous kind. This kind of inflammation alfo is efpe-
cially to be expended from acrimony of any kind ap¬
plied to tha flomach ; and would certainly occur much
more frequently, were not the interior furface of this
organ commonly defended by mucus exfuding in large
quantity from the numerous follicles placed immediate¬
ly under the villous coat. On many occafions, how¬
ever, the exfudation of mucus is prevented, or the
liquid poured out is of a lefs vifcid kind, fo as to be
lefs fitted to defend the fubjacent nerves; and it is in
fuch cafes that acrid matters may readily produce an
eryfipelatous affeftion of the ftomacb.
In many cafes this kind of inflammation cannot be
difcovered, as it takes place without pain, pyrexia, or
vomiting : but in fome it may •, namely, when it
fpreads into the oefophagus, and appears on the pharynx
and on the whole internal furface of the mouth. When
therefore an eryfipelatous inflammation affe<fls the mouth
and fauces, and there fliall be at the fame time in the
ftcmach an unufual fenfibility to all acrids, and alfo a
frequent vomiting, there can be little doubt of the
flomach’s being afiefled in the fame manner. Even when
no inflammation appears in the fauces, if fome degree
of pain be felt in the ftomacb, if there be a want of
appetite, an anxiety and frequent vomiting, an unufual
fenfibility with regard to acrids, fome third, and fre¬
quency of pulfe, there wall then be room to tuipeft an
inflammation in the ftomach ; and lucb fymptoms, after
feme time, have been known to difeover their caufe by
the inflammation rifing* to the fauces or mou'h. In¬
flammation of this kind is often difpefed to pafs from
one place to another on the fame furface, and, in doing
fo, to leave the place it had at firft occupied. Such an
inflammation has been known to fpread fucceflively
along the whole traft of the alimentary canal ; occa-
floning, when in the inteftines, diarrhoea, and in the
flomach vomitings 5 the diarrhoea ceafing when the
vomitings came on, and the vomitings on the coming
on of the diarrhoea.
Caufes, &c. An eryfipelatous inflammation may
arife from acrid matters taken into the ftomach •, or
from fome internal caufes not yet w7ell known. It fre¬
quently occurs in putrid dlfeafes, and in thofe recover¬
ing from fevers.
Cure. When the difeafe is occafioned by acrid mat-
C I N E.
ters taken internally, and thefe may be fuppofed ftiil En
prefent in the ftcmach, they are to be walhed out
by drinking a large quantity of w7arm and mild medi¬
cines, and exciting gentle vomiting. At the fame time,
if the nature of the acrimony and its proper corredftor
be known, this ftrould be thrown in ; or if a fpecific
correiftor be not known, fome general demulcents
ftiould be employed.
Thefe meafures, howTever, are more fuited to pre¬
vent than to cure inflammation after it has taken
place. When this laft may be fuppofed to have hap¬
pened, if it be attended with a fenfe of heat, with
pain and pyrexia, according to the degree of thefe
lymptoms, the meafures propofed for the cure of the
other kind are to be more or lefs employed. When
an eryfipelatous inflammation of the ftomach has arifen
from internal caufes, if pain and pyrexia occur, bleed¬
ing may be employed in perfons not otherwife weak¬
ened *, but in cafe of its occurring in putrid difeafes,
or where the patients are already debilitated, bleeding
is inadmiftible ; all that can be done being to avoid
irritation, and only throwing into the ftomach what
quantity of acids and acefcent aliments it (hall be
found able to bear. In fome conditions of the body
in which this difeafe is apt to occur, cinchona and bit-t
ters may feem to be indicated ; but an eryfipclatous
ftate of the ftomach with feldom allow them to be ufed.
Genus XVI. ENTERITIS.
Inflammation of the Intestines.
Enteritis, Sanv. gen. 105. Lin. 29. Vog. 57. Sag.
gen.'3C7. _
Inteftinorum inflammatio, Boerh. 959.
Febris inteftinorum inflammatoria ex mefenterio,
Hojfm. ii. 170.
Sp. I. Enteritis Phlegmonodjba, or the Acute En¬
teritis.
Enteritis iliaca, Sauv. fp. 1.
Enteritis colica, Sauv. fp. 2. Boerh. 963.
Defcription. This difeafe (hows itfelf by a fixed pain .
in the abdomen, attended with fever, vomiting, and co-
ftivenefs. The pain is often felt in different parts of the
abdomen, but more frequently fpreads over the whole,
and is particularly violent about the navel.
Caufes, &c. Inflammations of the inteftines may arife
from the fame caufes as thofe of the ftomach 5 though
commonly the former will more readily occur from cold
applied to the lower extremities, or to the belly itfelf,_
It is alfo found fupervening on the fpafmo.dic colic, in¬
carcerated hernia, and volvulus.
Pfognofs. Inflammations of the inteftinesdiave the.
fame terminations with thofe of the ftomach, and the
prognofis in botji.cafes is much the fame.
Cure. The cure of enteritis is in general the fame
with that of gaftritis •, but in this difeafe there is com¬
monly more opportunity for the introdu£Hon of li¬
quids, of acid, acefccnt, and other cooling remedies,
and even of laxatives; but as a vomiting frequently
attends the enteritis, care muft be taken not to excite
that vomiting by the quantity or quality of any thing
thrown into the ftcmach. With regard to the fuppu-
raticn \
19l
M E D I
ration and gangrene of the inteftines following the en¬
teritis, the obfervations made refpe&ing thefe termina¬
tions of gaftritis are equally applicable in this diieafe.
Sp. II. Enteritis Erysipelatosa, or Erysipelatous
Enteritis.
Concerning this nothing farther can be faid, than
what hath been already delivered concerning the gaf¬
tritis.
Genus XVII. HEPATITIS.
Inflammation of the Liver.
Hepatitis, Sauv. gen. 113. Lin. $5, Vog. 58. Sag.
gen. 312. Boerh. 914. Hojfm. ii. 14. Junck. 66.
Defcription. The inflammation of the liver is
thought to be of two kinds, acute and chronic 5 but
the latter very often does not difcover itfelf except by
an abfcefs found in the liver after death, and which
is fuppofed to have been occafioned by fome degree of
inflammation ; for this reafon the chronic inflammation
often efcapes obfervation, and we fhall here only treat
of the acute hepatitis.
The acute hepatitis is attended rvith confiderable fe¬
ver j a frequent, ftrong, and hard puife ; high colour¬
ed urine; an acute pain in the right hypochondrium,
increafed by prefling upon the part. The pain is very
often in fuch a part of the flde as to make it appear
like a pleurify $ and frequently, like that, is increafed
on infpiration. The difeafe is alfo commonly attended
with a cough, which is generally dry, though fometimes
moift j and when the pain thus refembles a pleurify, the
patient cannot lie eafily except upon the fide afie&ed.
The pain is frequently extended to the clavicle, and to
the top of the (boulder 5 and is attended fometimes
with hiccough, and fometimes with vomiting. Some
have added jaundice, or a yellownefs of the eyes, to
the fymptoms of this diftemper j but experience (hows
that it has often occurred without any fuchfymptom.
When hepatitis is of the chronic kind, depending
more on an accumulation and effufion in the liver,
than on an increafed action of its fmall veffels, the pa¬
tient complains rather of a fenfe of weight than of
pain $ and the fever is by no means either acute or
conftant : but it often returns in paroxyfms fome-
what refembling the attacks of an intermittent. This
difeafe is very flow in its progrefs, frequently continu¬
ing for many months, and at lafl terminating in a very
confiderable fuppuration. In mod cafes, however, it
may be difcovered by careful examination of the re¬
gion of the liver externally. By this means, a con¬
fiderable enlargement of that vifcus may in general be
dete£led.
Caufes, &.c. The remote caufes of hepatitis are not
always, to be difcerned, and many have been afligned
on a very uncertain foundation. It is principally a
difeafe of warm climates. It has been fuppofed that
the difeafe may be an affedlion either of the ex¬
tremities of the hepatic artery, or thofe of the vena
portarum ; and the fuppofition is by no means impro¬
bable. The opinion, however, mod commonly adopted
is, that the acute hepatitis is an affeflion of the exter¬
nal membrane of the liver, and the chronic kind an af-
C I N E.
Praftice.
fe61ion of the parenchyma of that vlfcus. The acute Hepatitis.^
diieafe may be feated either on the convex or concave v
furface of the liver j and in the former cafe a more
pungent pain and hiccough may be produced, and the
refpiration is more confiderably affedted. In the lat¬
ter there occurs lefs pain ; and a vomiting is produ¬
ced, commonly by fome inflammation communicated
to the flomach. The inflammation on the concave
furface of the liver may be readily communicated to
the gall-bladder and biliary dufts: and this, perhaps,
is the only cafe of idiopathic hepatitis attended with
jaundice.
Prognofls. The inflammation of the liver, like
others, may end by refolution, fuppuration, or gan¬
grene $ and the tendency to the one or to the other of
thofe events may be known from what has been al¬
ready mentioned concerning the prognofis in gaftritis.
The refolution of hepatitis is often the confequence of,
or is attended with, evacuations of different kinds. A
haemorrhage fometimes from the nofe, and fometimes
from the haemorrhoidal vefiels, gives a folution of the
difeafe. Sometimes the fame thing is accompliftied by
a bilious diarrhoea 5 and fometimes the refolution is
attended with fweating, and an evacuation of urine
depofiting a copious fediment. Sometimes it may be
cured by an eryfipelas appearing in fome external part.
When the difeafe has ended in fuppuration, the pus
colledled may be difeharged by the biliary duffs ; or,
if the (uppurated part does not adhere anywhere clcfe-
ly to the neighbouring parts, it may be difeharged
into the cavity of the abdomen : but if, during the firfi
(fate of inflammation, the affeffed part of the liver (hall
have formed a clofe adhefion to fome of the neighbour¬
ing parts, the difeharge after fuppuration may be va¬
rious, according to the different feat of the abfcefs.
When feated on the convex part of the liver, if the ad¬
hefion be to the peritonaeum lining the common tegu¬
ments, the pus may make its way though thefe, and be
difeharged outwardly : or if the adhefion (hall have
been to the diaphragm, the pus may penetrate .through
this, and into the cells of the lungs j from whence it
may be difeharged by coughing. When the abfcefs is
feated on the concave part of the liver, in confequence
of adhefions, the pus may be difeharged into the
flomach or inteftines; and into thefe laft, either diredl-
ly, or by the intervention of the biliary dudls. Upon
a confidcration of all thefe different circumftances,
therefore, together with the general principles of in¬
flammation, muft the prognofis of this difeafe be efta-
bliftied.
Cure. For the cure of hepatitis, we muft have re-
courfe to the general means of refolving other inflam¬
matory diforders. Bleeding is to be ufed according
to the degree of fever and pain. Blifters are to be
applied : fomentations of the external parts, emollient
clyfters, gentle laxatives, diluents and refrigerants,
are alfo ufeful. The cure, however, particularly in
w?arm climates, where the difeafe is much more com¬
mon than it is in Britain, is chiefly trufled to mercury.
Not only in cafes of the chronic kind, but in acute
hepatitis alfo, after an attempt has been made to al¬
leviate the urgent fymptoms by bleeding and blifter-
mg, recourfe is immediately had to this powerful mi¬
neral, It is employed by different pra&itioners, and
in
2
Pra^ice. M E D I
Fhle-ma- in different cafes, under various forms. Some are
very fond of the ufe of calomel. But the preference
'   is in general given, and perhaps with juftice, to fric¬
tion with mercurial ointment over the region of the
liver But under whatever form it may be employed,
it is neceffary that it fhould be introduced to uch an
extent as to keep the patient on the verge of falivation
for fome length of time ; the duration being regulated
bv the circumfiances of the cafe.
From the liberal ufe of mercury, there can be no
doubt that a fuccefsful refolution has been .obtained
in many cafes, which would otherw.fe have infallibly
terminated in fuppuration. . But notwithftanding the
mod careful employment of it m feme cafes, fuppura¬
tion will enfue •, and then it is very doubtful whether
any benefit will be derived from the continuance of it.
But when a fuppuration has been formed, and the ab-
feefs points outwardly, the part muff be opened the pus
evacuated, ajid the ulcer healed according to the ordi¬
nary methods in ufe for healing abfeeffes and ulcers in
Chronic hepatitis often terminates _ m feirrhus.
Againft this, after mercury has failed, nitric acid tak¬
en internally has fometimes been employed with iuc-
cefs.
Genus XVIII. SPLENITIS.
*99
Inflammation of the Spleen.
Splenitis, Sauv. gen. 114- Lin. 36. Vog. 59.
Junck. 67. Sag. gen. 313.
Lienis inflammatio, BoerL 958. et Van Swieten,
SplenkiTphlegmonodaea, Sauv.^.u Forff.xx.
ubf. 5,6. De Haen, apud Van SwietenT p. 958.
Pleuritis fplenica, SWu. fp- 19-
Splenalgia fuppuratoria, Sauv. fp. 3.
Befcription. This difeafe, according to
comes on with a remarkable (hivering fucceeded by a
mod intenfe heat and very great third ; a pain and
tumour are perceived in the left hypochondrmm, and
the paroxyfms for the mod part affume a quartan form.
Whin the patients expofe themfelves for a little to
the free air, their extremities immediately grow very
cold. If a haemorrhage happens, the blood dows out
of the left noftril. The other fymptoms are the lame
with thefe of the hepatitis. _ Like the liver, the fpleen
is alfo fubieft to a chronic inflammation, which
ten happens after agues ; and the tumourwlnch fuc-
ceeds the inflammation is m many cafes very confide-
able, and is called the ague cake,, though that "anJf
alfo frequently given to a feirrhous tumour of the liver
fucceeding intermittents. •
Caufes, &c. The caufes of this diflemper are g -
neral the fame with thofe of other mflammatory d.for.
ders ; but thofe which determine the inflammation to
that particular part more than another, are very much
unknown. It attacks perfons of a very plethoric and
fancmine habit of body rather than others. >
Progno/is. What has been faid of the inflammation
of the liver applies alfo to that of the fpleen, though
the latter is lefs dangerous than the former. Here ado
CINE.
a vomiting of black matter, which in other acute dif-
eafes is fuch a fatal fymptom, fometimes proves criti¬
cal, according to the tedimony of Juncker. Sometimes
the haemorrhoids prove critical ; but very often the in¬
flammation terminates by feirrhus.
Cure. This is not at all different from what has been
already laid down concerning the hepatitis.
Genus XIX. NEPHRITIS.
Inflammation of the Kidneys.
Nephritis, Sauv. gen. 115. Lin. 37. Vog. 65.
Sag\ gen. 314. -
Nephritis vera, Sauv. Ip. I.
Deflcription. The nephritis has the fame fymptoms
which take place in other inflammations ; but its diflin-
guifliing mark is the pain in the region of the kidney,
which is fometimes obtufe, but more frequently pun¬
gent. The pain is not increafed by the motion ot the
trunk of the body fo much as a pain of the rheumatic
kind affedling the fame region. It may alfo frequently
be didinguifhed by the pain (booting along the courle
of the ureter, and it is often attended with a drawing up
of the tedicle, and a numbnefs of the limb on the iide
affefted ; though indeed thefe Symptoms mod common¬
ly attend the inflammation arinng from a calculus m
the kidney or ureter. The difeafe is alfo attended wit 1
frequent vomiting, and often with cofliyenefs and colic
pains. The urine is mod commonly of a deep red co¬
lour, and is voided frequently and in a fmall quantity
at a time. In more violent cafes the urine is common¬
ly colourlefs. r
Caufes, &c. The remote caufes of this dileaie may
be various; as external contufion, violent or long-
continued riding ; drains of the mufcles of the back
incumbent on the kidneys; various aends in the courfe
of circulation conveyed to the kidneys ; and perhaps
fome other internal caufes not yet well known : the
mod frequent is that of calculous matter obdrufling
the tubuli uriniferi, or calculi formed in the pelvis of
the kidneys, and either dickmg there or falling into the
^pl'ognofts. This is not different from that of other
indammatory difeafes.
Cure. When any of thofe caufes operating as in¬
ducing the indammation dill continue to aft, the hrd
obi eft in the cure mud be the removal of theie ; but
the principal intention to be had in view, is the relolu-
tion of the inflammation which has already taken p ace.
But when, notwithdanding efforts for this purpose,,
the difeafe terminates in fuppuration, it mud be the en¬
deavour of the praaitioner to promote the difeharge ot
purulent matter, and the healing of the ulceration in
Thefe different objeas are principally accomphflied.
by bleeding, external fomentation, frequent emollient
clyders, antiphlogistic purgatives, and by the free ufe
of mild and demulcent liquids. The ufe of bliders is
fcarce admiffible, or at lead will require great care to
avoid any condderable abforption of the cantharides.
The other fpecies of nephritis enumerated by authors-
are only fymptomatic. p
311
Nephritis.
ZOO
M E D I
Genus XX. CYSTITIS.
Inflammation of the Bladder.
Cyflitis, Sauv. gen. 108. Lin. 31. Vog. C6. Sag.
gen. 309.
Inflammatio veficae, Heflin, ii. 137.
The Cystitis from Internal Caufles.
Cyftitis fpontanea, Sawn. fp. 1.
The Cystitis from External Caufles.
Cyftitis a cantharidibus, Sauv. fp. 2.
Cyftitis traumatica, Sauv. fp. 3.
The inflammation of the bladder from internal caufes
is a very rare diftemper ; and when it does at any time
occur, is to be cured in the fame manner with other
inflammations, avoiding ouly the ufe of blifters. When
the difeafe arifes from the internal ufe of thefe flies, cam¬
phor is recommended, befides other cooling medicines,
and particularly cooling and emollient clyfters.
2^4 Genus XXL HYSTTRITIS.
Inflammation of the Uterus.
Hyfteritis, Lin. 38. Vog. 63.
Metritis, Sauv. gen. 107. Sag. gen. 313.
Inflammatio et febris uterina, Hflm. II. 136.
Deflcrifytion. This difeafe is often confounded with
that called the puerperal or child-bed fever; but is
eflentially diftinft from it, as will be (howri in its pro¬
per place. The inflammation of the uterus is often
apt to terminate by gangrene : there is a pain in the
head, with delirium ; and the uterine region is fo ex¬
ceedingly tender, that it cannot bear the moft gentle
preffure without intolerable pain. When the fundus
uteri is inflamed, there is great heat, throbbing, and
pain, above the pubes; if its pofterior part, the pain is
more confined to the loins and redlum, with a tenefmus}
if its anterior part, it (hoots from thence towards the
neck, of the bladder, and is attended with a frequent ir¬
ritation to make water, which is voided with difficulty ;
and if its fides or the ovaria are affedfed, the pains will
then dart into the infide of the thighs.
Caufles, &c. Inflammations of the uterus, and in¬
deed of the reft of the abdominal vilcera, are very apt
to take place in child-bed women 5 the reafon of which
feems to be the hidden change produced in the habit,
and an alteration in. the courfe of the circulating
blood by the contradlion of the uterus after delivery.
The preflure of the gravid uterus being fuddenly taken
off from the aorta deflcendens after delivery, the refift-
ance to the impulfe of the blood paffing through all
the veffels derived from it, and diftributed to the con¬
tiguous vifcera, will be confiderably leffened : it will
therefore rufh into thofe veffels with a force fuperior
to their refiftance ; and, by putting them violently on
t e “retch, may occafion pain, inflammation, and fe¬
ver. . I his contradlion of the uterus alfo renders its vef-
iels impervious to the blood which had freely paffed
' tllrough them for the fervice of the child during precr.
pancyj and confequently .a much larger quantity-will
he thrown upon the contiguous parts, which will .ftiU
3
31 2
‘Phlegroa-
fia;.
203
CINE.
PradHce.
add to their diftention, and increafe their tendency to Rheumat*-
inflammation. - mus.
Prognofls. An inflammation of the uterus may in l’" *
general be expedted to produce an obftrudlion of the lo¬
chia ; but the fever produced feldom proves fatal, un-
lefs the inflammation be violent, and end in a gan¬
grene.
Cure. J his is to be attempted by the fame general
means already recommended, and the management of
this diforder entirely coincides with that of the puerpe¬
ral fever.
Genus XXIL RHEUMATISMUS. 203'
The Rheumatism.
Rheumatifmus, Sauv. gen. 185. Lin. 62. Vog. 138.
Boerh. 1400. Junck. 19.
Dolores rheumatici et arthritici, Hoffm. II. 317.
Myelitis, Sag. gen. 301.
The Acute Rheumatism.
Rheumatifinus acutus, Sauv. fp. 1.
Rheumatifirms vulgaris, Sauv. fp. 2.
A. The Lumbago, or Rheumatiflm in the Muflcles of the 70<>
Loins.
Lumbago rheumatica, Sauv. gen. 212. Sag. p. 1.
Nephralgia rheumatica, Sauv. fp. 4.
B. The Sciatica, Iflchias, or Hip-Gout. 207
Ifchias rheumaticum. Sauv. 213. fp. 10.
C. The Baflard Bleurisy, or Rheumatiflm in the Muflcles 208
of the Thorax.
Pleurodyne rheumatica, Sauv. gen. 148. fp. 3.
Pleuritis fpuria, Boerh. 878.
The other fpecies, which are very numerous, are all
fymptomatic •, as,
Lumbago plethorica, Sauvi fp. 3.
Ifchias fanguineum, Sauv. fp. 2.
Pleurodyne plethorica, Sauv. fp. 1.
Rheumatifmus hyftericus, Sauv. fp. 7.
Pchias hyftericum, Sauv. fp. 3.
Pieurodyne hyfterica, Sauv. fp. 6.
Rheumatifmus faltatorius, Sauv. fp. 8.
Pleurodyne flatulenta, Sauv. fp. 4.
Pleurodyne a fpafmate, Sauv. fp. 9.
Rheumatifmus fcorbuticus, Sauv. fp. 4.
Lumbago fcorbutica, Sauv. fp. 5.
Pleurodyne fcorbutica, Sauv. fp. 11.
lichias fyphiliticum, Sauv. fp. 7.
Pleurodyne venerea, Sauv. fp. 5.
Lumbago fympathica, Sauv. p. 13.
Lumbago a faburra, Sauv. fp. 8.
Pleurodyne a cocochylia, Sauv. fp. 7.
Rheumatiimus faltatorius verminofus, Sauv. fp. 8.
Ifchias verminofum, Sauv. fp. 8.
Pleurodyne verminofa, Sauv. fp. 2.
Rheumatifmus metallicus, Sauv. fp. 10.
Lumbago a hydrothorace, Sauv. fp. 14.
Lumbago pfeudoifehuria, Sauv. fp. 16.
Pleurodyne a rupto cefophago, Sauv. fp. 20.
Pleurodyne rachitica, Saat;. fp. 13.
Ifchias a fparganofi, Sauv. fp. if.
Pleurodyne catarrhaih, Sauv. ip. 14.
Rheumatifmus
PracUce.
Ph'eg'ma-
fiae.
M E D I
Rlieiimatifraus necrofeos, Sauv. fp. 14.
Rlaeumatirmus dorfalis, fp. n.
Lumbago & fatyriafi, Sauv. fp. 15.
Rheumatifmus febncofus, Sauv. fp. 9.
Lumbago febrilis, Sauv. fp. 4.
&c. Sec.
Defcription. The rheumatifm is particularly diftin-
guifhed by pains alFedling the joints, and for the moft
part the joints alone ; but fometimes a!fo the mufcular
parts. Very often they Ihoot along the courfe of the
mufcles from one joint to another, and are always much
increafed by the adlion of the mufcles belonging to the
joint or of joints aflfe&ed. The larger joints are thofe
moft frequently affecled, fuch as the hip joint and
knees, ot the lower extremities, and the (boulders and
elbows of the upper ones. The ancles and wrifts are
alfo frequently affedled •, but the fmaller joints, fuch as
thofe of the toes or fingers, feldom buffer. Sometimes
the difeafe is confined to one part of the body, yet
very frequently it affedls many parts *, and then it begins
with a cold ftage, which is immediately Succeeded by
the other fymptoms of pyrexia, and particularly by a
frequent, full, and hard pulfe. Sometimes the pyrexia
is formed before any pains are perceived *, but more
commonly pains are felt in particular parts before any
fymptoms of fever occur. When no pyrexia is prefent,
the pain may be confined to one joint only j but when
any confiderable pyrexia takes place, though the pain
may chiefly be felt in one joint, yet it feldom hap¬
pens that it does not affect feveral joints, often at the very
fame time, but for the moft part (hifting their place, and
having abated in one joint they become more violent in
another. They do not commonly remain long in the
fame joint, but frequently (hift from one to another, and
fometimes return to joints formerly affedted ; and in this
manner the difeafe often continues tor a long time.
The fever attending thefe pains has an exacerbation
every evening, and is moft confiderable during the
night, when the pains alfo become more violent; and
it is at the fame time that the pains (hift their place
from one joint to another. Thefe feem to be alfo in¬
creafed during the night by the body being covered
mere clofely, and kept warmer.
A joint, after having been for fome time affedled
with pain, commonly becomes alfo affedled with fome
fwelling and rednefs, which is painful to the touch. It
feldom happens that a fwelling coming on does not
take off the pain entirely, but it rarely fecures the joint
againft a return of it. This difeafe is commonly attend¬
ed with more or lefs fweating, which occurs early, but
is feldom free or copious, and feldom proves, critical,
though it may give temporary relief of the pain. Lhe
urine is high-coloured, and in the beginning without
fediment. ' This, however, does not prove entirely
critical, for the difeafe often continues long after fuch a
fediment has appeared in the urine, i he blood is
always fizy. The acute rheumatifm differs from all
other inflammatory difeafes, in not being liable to ter¬
minate in fuppuration : this almoft never happens; but
the difeafe fometimes produces effufions of a tranfparent
gelatinous fluid into the (heaths of the tendons : but if
thefe effufions be frequent, it is certain that the liquor
xnuft often be abforbed; for it very feldom happens,
that confiderable or permanent tumours have been pro-
Vol. XIII. Part I.
CINE. 313
duced, or fuch as required to be opened and to have Rheumatif-
the contained fluid evacuated. Such tumors, however, m^s' ,
have fometimes occurred, and the opening made in them
has produced ulcers very difficult to heal.
Sometimes rheumatiltn will continue for feveral
weeks ; but it feldom proves fatal, and it is rare that
the pyrexia continues to be confiderable for more than
two or three weeks. While the pyrexia abates in
its violence, if the pains of the joints continue, they
are lefs violent; more limited in their place, being
confined commonly to one or a few joints only; and
are lefs ready to change their place.
It is often a very difficult matter to diftinguifti
rheumatifm from gout : but in rheumatifm thei'e in
general occurs much lefs afte£Iion of the ffomach j it
affedts chiefly the larger joints, and feveral of theie
are often affecled with feveve pain at the fame time :
it occurs at an earlier period oi life than gout; it is
not obferv*d to be hereditary ; and it can in general
be traced to fome obvious exciting caufe, particularly
to the adlion of cold.
Caufes, &c. This difeafe is frequent in cold, and
more uncommon in warm climates. It appears moft
frequently in autumn and fpring •, leis frequently in
winter, while the froft is conftant •, and very feldom
during the heat of iummer. It may, however, occur
at any feafon, if viciflitudes of heat and cold be for the
time frequent. For the moft part, the acute rheuma¬
tifm ariies from the application of cold to the body
when unufually warm *, or when the cold is applied
to one part of the body, whilft the other parts are
kept warm ^ or laftly, when the application of the
cold is long continued, as when moift or wet clothes
are applied to any part of the body.— Ihefe caufes
may affedl perfons of all ages j but the rheumatifm
feldom appears either in very young or in elderly
perlons, and mod commonly occurs from the age of
puberty to that of 35. Thefe caufes may alfo affedt
perfons of any conltitution, but they moft commonly
aft’eft thofe of a (anguine temperament.
With refpeft to the proximate caufe of rheumatifm,
there have been various opinions. It has been im¬
puted to a peculiar acrimony •, of which, however,
there is no evidence ; and the confideration of the re¬
mote caufes, the fymptoms, and cure, render it very
improbable. A difeafe of a rheumatic nature, how¬
ever, may be occafioned by an acrid matter applied to
the nerves, as is evident from the toothach, a rheu¬
matic affe&ion generally ariling from a carious tooth.
Pains arifing from deep-feated fuppurations may alio
referable the rheumatihn •, and many cafes have oc¬
curred in which fuch fuppurations occafioned pains
refembling the lumbago and ifehias } but from what
has been already faid, it feems improbable that ever
any pure rheumatic cafe (hould end in fuppuration.
The proximate caufe of rheumatiim has by many
been fuppo(ed to be a lentor in the fluids obftrucling
the veffels of the part ; but in the obfervations formerly
made, fufficient reafons have been already laid dowm
for rejecting the do&rine of lentor. While we cannot
therefore find either evidence or reafon for fuppofing
that the rheumatifm depends on any change in the
ftatg of the fluids, we muft conclude that the proxi¬
mate caufe of it is the fame with that of other inflam¬
mations not depending upon a diredlftimulus.
R r In
3i4 M E D I
Phlegma- In the cafe of riieumatifm, it is fuppofed that the
^tE‘ moil common remote caufe of it, that is, cold applied,
v operates efpecially on the veileis of the joints, thefe
being lefs covered by a cellular texture than thofe of
the intermediate parts of the limbs. It is farther
luppofed, that the application of cold produces a con-
ftriftion of the extreme veffels, and at the fame time
an increafe of tone or phlogiftic diathefis in the couife
of them, from which anfes an increaled impetus oi
the blood, and at the fame time a refiftance to the
free pafl'age of it, and confequently inflammation and
pain. It is alfo fuppofed, that the refiftance formed
excites the vis medicatrix to a further increafe of the
impetus of the blood ; and to fupport this, a cold
ftage arifes, a fpafm is formed, and a pyrexia and phlo¬
giftic diathefis are produced in the whole fyftem.
Hence the caufe of rheumatifm appears to be exa£!ly
analogous to that of inflammations depending on an
increafed afflux of blood to a part while it is expofed
to the attion of cold. But there feems to be further
in this difeafe fome peculiar affeftion of the mufcular
fibres. Thefe feem to be under fome degree of rigi¬
dity } and therefore lefs eafily admit of motion, and
are pained upon the exertions of it. T-his alfo feems
to be the affection ■which gives opportunity to the
propagation of pains from one joint to another, and
wfliich are moft feverely felt in the extremities termi¬
nating in the joints, becaufe beyond thefe the ofcilla-
tions are not propagated. This affe£lion of the muf¬
cular fibres explains the manner in which ftrains and
fpafms produce rheumatic affe£Hons 5 and, on the
whole, (hows, that with an inflammatory affedlion of
the fanguiferous fyftem, there is alfo in rheumatifm a
peculiar aireftion of the rnufcular fibres, which has a
confiderable {hare in producing the phenomena of the
difeafe. And it would even appear, that in what has
commonly been called acute rheumatifm, in contradi-
ftinflion to the chronic, of which we are next to
treat, there exifts not only a ftate of active inflamma¬
tion in the affected parts, but alfo of peculiar irrita¬
bility } and that this often remains after the inflamma¬
tion is very much diminiflied or has even entirely
ceafed. Hence a renewal of the inflammation and re¬
currence of the pain take place from very flight caufes;
and in the treatment of the difeafe both the ftate of
inflammation and irritability muft be had in view.
Cure. For counteracting the ftate of aftive inflam¬
mation, the chief aim of the praClitioner muft be to
diminilh the general impetus of the circulation, and
the impetus at the part particularly affeded. For
counteracting the ftate of irritability, he muft; endea¬
vour to remove the difpofition to increafed aCtion in
the veffels *, to prevent the aCHon of caufes exciting
painful fenfations $ and to obviate their influence on
the part. The cure therefore requires, in the firft
place, an antiphlogiftic regimen, and particularly a to¬
tal abftinence from animal food, and from all fermented
or fpirituous liquors ; fubftituting a mild vegetable or
milk diet, and the plentiful ufe of foft diluting liquors.
On this principle alfo, blood-letting is the chief remedy
of acute rheumatifm. The blood is to be drawn in large
quantity ; and the bleeding is to be repeated in pro¬
portion to the frequency, fulnefs, and hardnefs of the
itulfe, and the, violence of the pain. For the moft:
CINE. Pradice.
part, large and repeated bleedings during the firft P.heumatif-
days of the difeafe feem to be neceffary, and accord- — r<-
ingly have been very much employed : but to this
fome bounds are to bs fet \ for very profuie bleedings
occafion a flow recovery, and are ready to produce a
chronic rheumatifm.
To avoid that debility of the fyftem which general
bleedings are apt to occafion, the urgent fymptom of
pain may be often relieved by topical bleedings j and
when any {welling or rednefs has come upon a joint,
the pain may very certainly be relieved by this
evacuation : but as the pain and continuance of the
difeafe feem to depend more upon the phlogiftic dia¬
thefis of the whole fyftem than upon the affe&ion of
particular parts, fo topical bleedings wall not fupply
the place of the general bleedings propofed above in
moft inftances.
To take off the phlogiftic diathefis prevailing in this
difeafe, purging may be ufeful, if procured by medi¬
cines which do not ftimulate the whole fyftem, as neu¬
tral falts, and other medicines which have a refrigerant
power. Purging, how^ever, is not fo ufeful as bleed¬
ing in removing the phlogiftic diathefis ; and w7hen the
difeafe has become general a»d violent, frequent ftools
are inconvenient, and even hurtful, by the motion and
pain which they occafion.
Next to blood letting, nothing is offo much fervice,
both in alleviating the pains in this difeafe and in re¬
moving the phlogifiic diathefis, as the ufe of fudo-
rifics : and of all the medicines belonging to this clais,
what has commonly been known by the name of Do¬
ver’s powTder, a combination of powder of ipecacuan
and opium, is the moft convenient and the moft ef-
feflual. Copious fweating, excited by this medicine,
and {upported for IO or 12 hours by tepid diluents,
fuch as decoction of the woods, or the h»ce, will in
moft inftances produce a complete remiffion of tne
pain : and by this praftice, combined with blood¬
letting and proper regimen, the difeafe may often be
entirely removed.
If, however, after complete intermiflions from pain
for fome length of time have been obtained by thefe
means, it be found that there is a great tendency to a
return of the pains without any obvious caufe, recourfe
may be had with very great benefit to the. ufe of the
Peruvian bark. By tne early ufe of this, where a
complete intermiftion from pain is ootained, the ne-
ceffity of repeated blood-letting and fweating is often
fuperfeded •, but where a complete remiffion cannot be-
obtained, it has been fufpefted by fome to be hurtful:
and in thefe cafes, when blood-letting and fudorifics
have been puflied as far as may be thought pruuent,
without being productive of the defired effcCt, very
great benefit is often derived from the ufe 01 calomel
combined with opium, as recommended in the Edin-^
burgh Medical Commentaries, by Dr Hamilton of
Lynn-Regis.
In this difeafe, external applications are of Jittle
fervice. Fomentations in the beginning of the difeafe
rather aggravate than relieve the pains. The rubefa¬
cients and camphire are more effedual : but they
commonly only move them from one part to another,
and do not prove any cure of the general affeClion.
Bliftering may alfo be very effeftual in removing the
phlegma-
fix.
pradice.
pain from a particular part > but will be oi little
ufe, except where the pains are much confined to one
place.
2 ^ ARTHRODYNIA, or Chronic Rheumatism.
Rheumatifmus chronicus Au&orum.
medicine.
Defcription. When the pyrexia attending the acute
rheumatifm has ceafed •, when the fwelling and rednels
of the ioints are entirely gone, but pains ftill continue
to affect certain joints, which remain ft iff, feel unealy
upon motion, changes of weather, or in the night time
only, the difeafe is then called the chronic rheumatijm,
as it often continues for a very long time.
The limits between the acute and chronic rheutna-
tifms are not always exaftly marked. When the
pains are ftill ready to ftiift their place ; when they
are efpecially fevere in the night time ; when, at the
fame time, they are attended with fome degree of py¬
rexia, and with fome fwelling, and efpecially fome
rednefs of the joints; the difeafe is to be confidered as
partaking of the nature of the acute rheumatifm. -But
when there is no longer any degree of pyrexia remam-
irm; when the pained joints are without rednels j
when they are cold and ftiffwhen they cannot eafily
be made to fweat j or when, while a free and warm
fweat is brought out on the reft of the body, it is only
clammy and cold on the pained joints j and when, fur¬
ther, the pains of thefe are increafed by cold, and re¬
lieved by heat, applied to them } the cafe is to be con¬
fidered as that of a purely chronic rheumatnm : or
perhaps more properly the firft of the conditions now
defcribed may be termed the ftate of irritability, and
the fecond the ftate of atony.
The chronic rheumatifm, or rather the atonic, may
affedt different joints; but is efpecially apt to affett
thofe which are furrounded with many mufcles, and
thofe of which the mufcles. are employed in the moft
conftant and vigorous exertions. Such is the cafe o
the vertebrae of the loins, the affeaion of which is
named lumbago ; or of the hip-joint, when the difeafe
is named ifchias or fciatica. .
Violent {trains and fpafms occurring on fudden and
fomewhat violent exertions, bring on rheumatie affec¬
tions, which at firft partake of the acute, but very foon
change into the nature of the chronic, rheumatifm.
Such are frequently the lumbago, and other affections,
which feem to be more feated in the mufcles than in
the joints. The diftinaion of the rheumatic pains
from thofe refembling them which occur in the fiphy-
lis and fcurvy muft be obvious,, either, from the feat of
the pains, or from the concomitant fymptoms peculiar
to thofe difeafes. The diftinaion of the rheumatifm
from the gout will be more fully underftood from what
is laid down under the genus Podagra.
Caufes, &c. The phenomena of the purely chronic
rheumatifm lead us to conclude, that its proximate
caufe is an atony both of the blood-veffels and of the
mufcular fibres of the part affeaed., together with
fuch a degree of rigidity and contraaion in the latter
as frequently attend them in a ftate of atony : and in¬
deed this atony, carried to a certain extent, gives rile
to a ftate of paralyfis, with an almoft total lofs of mo¬
tion in the affhaed limbs. The paralytic ftate of
jhpumatifm therefore may be pointed out as a fourth
3T5
condition of the difeafe, often claiming the attention Rheumatd-
of the praaitioner. # —v '
Cure. From the view juft now given of the proxi¬
mate caufe of chronic rheumatifm, the chief indication
of cure muft be, to reftore the aaivity and vigour of
the part, which is principally to be done by increafmg
the tone of the moving fibres, but which may iome-
times alfo be aided by giving condenfaticm to the
fimple folid. When, however, the difeafe has dege¬
nerated into the ftate of .paralyfis, the objeas to be
aimed at are, the reftoration of a due condition to the
nervous energy in the part affeaed *, the obtaining
free circulation of blood through the veffels of the
part •, and the removal of rigidity in membranes and
ligaments. .
For anfwering thefe purpofes, a great variety of re¬
medies, both external and internal, are had recourie
to. The chief of the external are, the fupporting the
heat of the part, by keeping it conftantly covered with
flannel *, the increafing the heat of the part by exter¬
nal heat, applied either in a dry or humid form ; the
diligent ufe of the flefli-brufh, or other means of fnc-
tion
non j the application of electricity in iparks.or (hocks $
the application of cold water by affufion or immerfion j
the application of effential oils of the moft warm an
penetrating kind j the application of fait brine •, the
employment of the warm bath or of the vapour baths,
either to the body in general or to particular parts j
and, laftly, the employment either of exercife of toe
part itfelf as far as it can eafily bear, or by riding or
other modes of geftation.
The internal remedies are, large dofes of etten-
tial oils drawn from refinous fubftances, luch as. tur¬
pentine ; fubftances containing fuch oils, as guaiac. ;
volatile alkaline falts, &c. Thefe or other medicines
are direfted to procure Iweat j and calomel, or fome
other preparation of mercury, in {mall dofes,. may he
continued for fome time. But of all the remedies whicn
have been found ufeful in atonic rheumatifm, perhaps
the beft is cinchona. It is particularly ferviceable in
the earlier periods of the difeafe. It has often been
highly efticacious in preventing the degeneracy of t.ie
inflammatory into the atonic ftate ©f the diieafe ; and
by fome praditioners, particularly Dr Haygarth of Bath,
it has been highly extolled in acute rheumatifm. Befides
thefe, there are feveral other remedies recommended.
The cicuta, aconitum, and hyofciamus, have in par¬
ticular been highly extolled 5 and an infufion of the
rhododendron chryfanthum is faid to be employed b).
the Siberians with very great fucce.fs. An account ot
the Siberian mode of practice is given by Dr Matthew
Guthrie of Peterfburgh, in the fifth volume of the
Edinburgh Medical Commentaries, and has been fol¬
lowed with fuccefs at other places. Among other inter¬
nal remedies for rheumatifm, the ufe of arfeme has of
late been recommended by Dr Bardfley of Liverpool.
It is advifed to be given under the form of the mi¬
neral folution propofed by Dr Fowler as a remedy in
intermittent fever and in periodic headachs. Under
this form, it is now afeertained by extenfive experience
that arfenic may be taken internally with as much
fafety as any other aflive medicine j and in fome cafes
of rheumatifm in which it has been employed at Edin¬
burgh, there is reafon to believe that it has been pro-
du&ive of benefit.
316
Hilcgma-
fiae.
XI l
MEDICINE.
Genus XXIII. ODONTALGIA, the Toothach.
45- 145-
Arthritis rachialgica, Sauv. fp. ix.
Arthritis aiftiva, Sauv. fp. 4.
Practice.
Podagra.
2*2
Odontslgia, Sauv, gen. ipS. Lin.
Sag. gen. 159. Junck. 25.
Odontalgia five rheumatifmus odontalgicus, Hoffm.
330-
Odontalgia cariofa, Sauv. fp. x.
Odontalgia fcorbutica, Sauv. fp. 4.
Odontalgia catarrhalis, Sauv. fp.
Odontalgia arthritica, Sauv. fp. 6.
Odontalgia gravidarum, Sauv. fp. 2.
Odontalgia hyfterica, Sauv. fp. 8.
Odontalgia ftomachica, Sauv. fp. 9.
Defa-'iption. This well known difeafe makes its at¬
tack by a moft violent pain in the teeth, moft frequent¬
ly in the molai'es, more rarely in the incifores, reaching
lometimes up to the eyes, and fometimes backward
into the cavity of the ear. At the fame time there is
a manifeft determination to the head j and a remarkable
tenfion and inflation of the vetfels takes place, not only
in the parts next to that where the pain is feated, but
over the whole head.
Caufes, &c. The toothach is fometimes merely a
rheumatic affedlion, arifing from cold, but more fre¬
quently from a carious tooth. It is alfo a fyrnptom of
pregnancy, and takes place in fome nervous diforders 5
it may attack perfons at any time of life, though it is
moft frequent in the young and plethoric.
Cure. Many empirical remedies have been propofed
for the cure of the toothach, but none have in anv
degree anfwered the> purpofe. When the affecftion is
purely rheumatic, bliftering behind the ear will almoft
always remove it but when it proceeds from a cari¬
ous tooth, the pain is much more obftinate. In this
cafe it has been recommended to touch the pained
part with a hot iron, or with fulphuric acid, in order to
deftroy the aching nerve ; to hold flrong fpirits in the
mouth -, to put a drop of oil of cloves into the hollow
o, the tooth, or a pill of equal parts of opium and
camphor but one of the moft ufeful applications of
this kind is flrong nitrous acid, diluted with three or
four times its weight of fpirit of wine, and introduced
into the hollow of a tooth from which great pain arifes
either by means of a hair pencil or a little cotton.
Cinchona has alfo been recommended, and perhaps with
more juftice, on account of its tonic and antifeptic
powers ; but very often all thefe remedies will fail, and
the only infallible cure is the extracTon of the tooth
See Surgery.
Genus XXIV. PODAGRA, the Gout.
Podagra, Vog. 175. Boerh. 1254.
Febris podagrica, Fog. 69.
Arthritis, Sauv. gen. 185. Lin. 60. Vog. icm Sat-
gen. 142. a-
Dolor podagric us et arthriticus verus, Hoffm II
339- '
Dolores arthritici, Hojhi. II. 317.
Afteftus fpaftico-arthritici, Junck. 46.
Sp. I. The Regular Gout,
Arthritis podagrica, Sauv. fp. x.
Sp. II. The Atonic Gout.
Arthritis melancholica, Sauv. fp. 6.
Arthritis hiemalis, Sauv. fp. 2.
Arthritis chlorotica, Sauv.f^. 5.
Arthritis afthmatica, Sauv. fp. 9.
Sp. III. The Retrocedent Gout.
Sp. IV. The Mifplaced Gout.
Defcription. What we call a paroxyfm of the gout is
principally conftituted by an inflammatory aflfeflion of
fome of the joints. I'his fometimes comes on fudden-
ly, without any warning, but is generally preceded by
feveral fymptoms ; fuel) as the ceafing of a fweating
which the feet had been commonly before aflfe&ed
with ; an unulual coldnefs of the feet and legs; a fre¬
quent nutnbnefs, alternating with a fenle of pricklinn-
along the whole of the lower extremities ; frequent
cramps of the mufcles of the legs; and an unufual tur-
gefcence of the veins.
While thefe fymptoms take place in the lower ex-
tiemities, tne body is affefted with fome degree of
torpor and languor, and the fun&ions of the ftomach
m particular are more or lefs difturbed. The appe¬
tite is diminifhed j and flatulency, or other lymptoms
of indigeftion, are felt. Thefe fymptoms take place
for feveral days, Ibmetimes for a week or two, before
a paroxyfm comes on 5 but commonly, upon the day
immediately preceding it, the appetite becomes keener
than ufual.
The circumftances of paroxyfms are chiefly the fol¬
lowing. They come on moft commonly in the fpring,
and fooner or later according as the vernal heat fuc-
ceeds fooner or later to the winter’s cold, and, per¬
haps, fooner or later alfo, according as the body may
happen to be more or lefs expofed to viciflitudes of
heat and cold.
The attacks are fometimes felt firft in the evening,
but more commonly about two or three o’clock in the'
morning. I he paroxyfm begins w-ith a pain aflfedling
one foot, moft frequently in the ball or firft joint of the
great toe, but fometimes in other parts of the foot.
W ith the attack of this pain, there is commonly more
or lefs of a cold ftiivering 5 which, as the pain in-
creafes, gradually ceafes; and is fucceeded by a hot
ftage of pyrexia, which continues for the fame time
with the pain itfelf. From the firft attack, the pain
becomes, by degrees, more violent, and continues in
this ftate with great reftleflnefs of the whole body till
next midnight, after which it gradually remits ; and
after it has continued for twenty-four hours from the
commencement of the firft attack, it commonly ceafes
almoft entirely ; and? with the coming on of a gentle
fweat, allows the patient to fall afteep. The patient,
upon coming out of this fleep in the morning, finds the
pained part affefted with fome rednefs and fwellino-,
which, after having continued for fome days gradual¬
ly abate. ’ &
. yhen * paroxyfm has thus come on, although the
violent pam after 24 hours be confiderably abated
the patient is not entirely relieved from it. For fome
days
213
214
s
Practice. M E D I
Phlegma- days he has every evening a return of. more confider-
fi®. abjg pain and pyrexia, and thefe continue with more
' v  or lefs violence till morning. After going on, in this
manner, for feveral days, the difeafe fometimes goes
entirely off, not to return till after a long interval.
When the difeafe, after having thus remained for
fome time in a joint, ceafes entirely, it generally
leaves the perfon in very perfeft health, enjoying
greater eafe and alacrity in the functions of both bo¬
dy and mind than he had for a long time before expe¬
rienced.
At the beginning of the difeafe, the returns of it are
fometimes only once in three or four years : but as it
advances, the intervals become (liorter, and at length
the attacks are annual; afterwards they come twice
each year j and at length recur feveral times during the
courfe of autumn, winter, and fpring ; and as, when
the fits are frequent, the paroxyfms become alfo longer,
fo, in the advanced Hate of the difeafe, the patient is
hardly ever tolerably free from it, except perhaps for
two or three months in funamer.
The progrefs of the difeafe is alfo marked by the
parts which it affedls. At firft, it commonly affedds
one foot only ; afterwards every paroxyfm affedds both
feet, the one after the other •, and as the difeafe pro¬
ceeds, it not only affedls both feet at once, but, after
having ceafed in the foot which was laft attacked, re¬
turns again into the firft, and perhaps a fecond time
alfo into the other. Its changes of places are not only
from one foot to another, but from the feet into other
joints, efpecially thofe of the upper extremities •, lb
fo that there is hardly a joint of the body, which, on
one occafion or another, is not affedfted. It fometimes
aft'edls two different joints at the very fame time ; but
more commonly it is at any one time fevere in a fingle
joint only, and paffes in fucceflion from one joint to
another ; fo that the patient’s afflidftion is often protradft-
ed for a long time.
When the difeafe has often returned, and the pa¬
roxyfms have become very frequent, the pains are com¬
monly lefs violent than they were at firft j but the pa¬
tient is more affefted with ficknefs, and the other
fymptoms of the atonic gout, which fnall be hereafter
mentioned.
After the firft paroxyfm of the difeafe, the joints
which have been affedfted are entirely reftored to their
former fupplenefs and ftrength : but after the difeafe
has recurred very often, the joints affected do neither
fo fuddenly nor entirely recover their former ftate, but
continue weak and ftift'; and thefe effects at length pro¬
ceed to fuch a degree, that the joints lofe their motion
entirely.
In many perfons, but not in all, after.the difeafe has
frequently recurred, concretions of a chalky nature are
formed upon the outfide of the joints, and for the moft
part immediately- under the fkin. The matter feems
to be deoofiied at firft in a fluid form, afterwards be¬
coming dry and firm. In their firm ftate, thefe con¬
cretions are a hard earthy fubltance, very entirely folu-
ble in acids. After they have been formed, they con¬
tribute, with other circumftances, to deftroy the mo¬
tion of the joint.
In moft perfons wftio have laboured under the gout
for many years, a nephritic affe6fion comes on, and
djfcovers itfelf by all the fymptoms which ufually at-
G I N E. 317
tend calculous concretions in the kidneys, and which Podagra.
we fhall have occafion to defcribe in another place.* —v—
All that is nectffary to be obferved here is, that the
nephritic affeClion alternates with paroxyfms of the
gout j and that the two affetftions, the nephritic and
the gouty, are hardly ever prtfent at the fame time.
This alfo may be obferved, that children of gouty or
nephritic parents commonly inherit one or other of
thefe difeafes 5 but whether the principal difeafe of the
parent may have been either gout or nephritis alone,
fome of the children have the one and fome the other.
In fome of them, the nephritic affetftion occurs alone,
without any gout fupervening 5 and this happens to be
frequently the cafe with the female children of gouty-
parents.
In the whole of the hiftory already given, we have
defcribed the moft common form of the difeafe, and
which therefore, however diverfified in the progrefs of
it, may be ftill called the regular ftate of the gout.—
Upon fome occafions, however, the difeafe affumes
different appearances : but as we fuppofe the dil'eafe
to depend always upon a certain diathefls, or difpofi-
tion of the fyftem ; fo every appearance which w^e can
perceive to depend upon that fame difpofition, we ftill
confider as fymptomatic, and view the difeafe to be a
cafe of the gout. The principal circumftance, in what
we term the regular gouty is the inflammatory affedlion
of the joints \ and whatever fymptoms we can perceive
to be connefted with, or to depend upon, the difpofi¬
tion which produces that inflammatory affedlion, but
without its taking place or being prefent at the fame
time, w7e name the irregular gout.
Of fuch irregular gout there are three different ftates,
which may be named the atonic^ the retrocedent, and
the mifplaced gout.
The firft is, when the gouty diathefis prevails in the
fyftem \ but, from certain caufes, does not produce the
inflammatory affedlion of the joints. In this cafe, the
morbid fymptoms which appear, are chiefly affeftions
of the ftomach, fuch as lofs of appetite, indigeftion, and
its various attendants of ficknefs, naufea, vomiting, fla¬
tulency, acid eru&ations, and pains in the region of.
the ftomach. Thefe fymptoms are frequently accompa¬
nied with pains and cramps in feveral parts of the trunk
and the upper extremities of the body, which are re¬
lieved by the djfcharge of wind from the ftomach.
Together with thefe affedlions of the ftomach, there
commonly occurs a coftivenefs; but fometimes a loofe-
nefs,. with colic pains. Thefe affeflions of the alimen¬
tary canal are often attended with all the fymptoms of
hypochondriafis, fuch as dejection of mind, a conftant
and anxious attention to the flighteft feelings, an ima¬
ginary aggravation of thefe, and an apprehenfion of
danger from them.
In the fame atonic gout, the vifcera of the thorax al¬
fo are fometimes affected, and palpitations, faintings,
and afthma, occur. *
^ In the head aifo occur headachs, giddinefs, apoplec- -
tic and paralytic affecftions.
When the feveral fymptoms now mentioned occur
in habits having the marks of a gouty difpofition,
this may be fufpedled to have laid the foundation for
thepa j and efpecially when either, in fuch habits, a
manifeft tendency to the inflammatory affedtion has
formerly appeared, or when the fymptoms mentioned
are
Phlegraa- are intermixed with, and are relieved by feme degree
of the inflammatory gout. In fuch cafes there can
v be no doubt of confidering the w'hole as a ftate of the
gout.
Another ftate of the difeafe we name the retrocedent
gout. This occurs when an inflammatory ftate of the
joints has, in the ufual manner, come on, but without
arifing to the ordinary degree of pain and inflamma¬
tion 3 or at leaft without thefe continuing for the ufual
time, or without their receding gradually in the ufual
manner 3 thefe affedtions of the joints fuddenly and en¬
tirely ceafe, while fome internal part becomes affedted.
The internal part moft commonly attacked is the fto-
mach 3 w7hich then is affe£ted with anxiety, ficknefs,
vomiting, or violent pain : but fometimes the internal
part is the heart, which gives occafion to a fyncope 3
fometimes it is the lungs, which are affected with afth-
ma 3 and fometimes it is the head, giving occafion to
apoplexy or palfy. In all thefe cafes there can be no
doubt that the fymptoms are all a part of the fame dif¬
eafe, however different the affedlion may feem to be in
the parts which it attacks.
The third ftate of irregular gout, which we name
the mifplaced, is when the gouty diathefis, inftead of
producing the inflammatory afte£lion of the joints,
produces an inflammatory affeftion of fome internal
part, and which appears from the fame fymptoms that
attend the inflammations of thofe parts arifing from
other caufes.
Whether the gouty diathefis does ever produce fuch
inflammation of the internal parts without having firft
produced it in the joints, or whether the inflammation
of the internal part be always a tranflation from the
joints previoufly affefted, we dare not determine 3 but,
even fuppofing the latter to be always the cafe, we
think the difference of the affeftion of the internal part
muft ftill diftinguilh the mifplaced from what we have
named the retrocedent gout.
With regard to the mifplaced gout, Dr Cullen,
whom we here follow, tells us, that he never met wdth
any cafes of it in his praflice, nor does he find any di-
ftinftly marked by practical waiters, except that of a
pneumonic inflammation.
There are two cafes of a tranflated gout 3 the one
of which is an affeftion of the neck of the bladder,
producing pain, ftrangury, and a catarrhus vejicce:
the other is an affe&ion of the reftum, fometimes in¬
dicated by pain alone in that part, and fometimes by
hsemorrhoidal fymptoms. In gouty perfons fuch affec¬
tions have been known to alternate with inflammatory
affe&ions of the joints 3 but wdiether thefe belong to the
retrocedent or to the mifplaced gout, Dr Cullen pre¬
tends not to determine.
It is commonly fuppofed, that there are fome cafes
of rheumatifm which are fcarcely to be diftinguifhed
from the gout: but thefe, Dr Cullen thinks, are but
few j and that the two difeafes may be for the moft
part diftinguifhed with great certainty, by obferving
the predifpofition, the antecedent circumftances, the
parts affefted, the recurrences of the difeafe, and its
connexion with the fyftem 3 which circumftances, for
the moft part, appear very differently in the two dif¬
eafes.
_ Caufes, &c. The gout is generally an hereditary
difeafe : but fome perlons, without any hereditary dif-
4
CINE. Praaice.
pofition, feem to acquire it 3 and in fome an hereditary | Podagra. ^
difpofition may be counteracted from various caufes.v——'
It attacks the male fex efpecially 3 but it fometimes,
though more rarely, attacl s alfo the female. The fe¬
males liable to it are thofe of the more robuft and full
habits j and it very often happens to thofe before the
menftrual evacuation has ceafed. Dr Cullen hath aifo
found it occurring in feveral females whofe menftrual
evacuations wTere more abundant than utual.
The gout feldom attacks eunuchs 5 and when it does,
feems to fall upon thofe who happen to be of a robuft
habit, to lead an indolent life, and to live very full. It
attacks efpecially men of robuft and large bodies, who
have large heads, are of full and corpulent habits, and
whofe Ikins are covered with a thick rete mucofum,
which gives a coarfe furface. To fpeak in the ftyie of
the ancient phyficians, the gout will feldom be found to
attack thofe of a fanguine, or fuch as are of a purely
melancholic temperament 3 but very readily thofe of a
cholerico-fanguine temperament. It is, however, very
difficult to treat this matter with precifion. The gout
feldom attacks perfons employed in conftant bodily
labour, or thofe who live much upon vegetable ali¬
ment. It does not commonly attack men till after
the age of 35 3 and generally not till a ftill later pe¬
riod. There are indeed inftances of the gout appear¬
ing more early 3 but thefe are few’ in comparifon of
the others. When the difeafe does appear early in life,
it feems to be in thofe who have the hereditary difpofi¬
tion very ftrong, and to wffiom the remote caufes here¬
after mentioned have been applied in a very confider-
able degree.
As the gout is an hereditary difeafe, and affe&s
men particularly of a certain habit, its remote caufes
may be confidered as predifponent and occafional.
The predilponent caufe, as far as expreffed by exter¬
nal appearances, has been already marked 3 and phy¬
ficians have been very confident in affigning the occa¬
fional caufes : but in a difeafe depending fo much up¬
on a predifpofition, the affigning occafional caufes
muft be uncertain 3 as in the predifpoied the occa¬
fional caufes may not always appear, and in perfons
not predifpofed they may appear without effect 3 and
this uncertainty muft particularly affedt the cafe of the
gout.
The occafional caufes of the difeafe feem to be of
twTo kinds. Firft, Thofe which induce a plethoric
ftate of the body. Secondly, Thofe which in ple¬
thoric habits, induce a ftate of debility. Of the firft:
kind are a fedentary, indolent manner of life, and a
full diet of animal food. Of the fecond kind of occa-
fional caufes which induce debility are excefs in venery;
intemperance in the ufe of intoxicating liquors 3 indi-
geftion, produced either by the quantity or quality of
the aliments 3 much application to ftudy or bufinefs,
night watching, exceffive evacuations 3 the ceafing of
ufual labour 3 a fudden change from a very full to a
very fpare diet 3 the large ufe of acids and acefcents 3
and, laftly, cold applied to the lower extremities.
The former feem to adt by increafing the predifpofi¬
tion 3 the latter are commonly the exciting caufes,
both of the firft attacks, and of the repetitions of the
difeafe.
With refpedl to the proximate caufe of the gout, it
has generally been thought that it depends on a cer-
taiji
practice.
M E D I
phlegma- tain morbific matter always prefent in the body •, and
fv*- that this matter, by certain caufes, thrown upon tne
^ joints or other parts, produces the feveral phenomena
of the difeafe. .
This doftn’ne, however ancient and generally re¬
ceived, appears to Dr Cullen to be very doubtful.
Firft, There is no direft evidence of any morbific
matter being prefent in perfons difpofed to the gout.
There are no experiments or obfervations which (how
that the blood or other humours of gouty perfons are
in any refpedl different from thofe of the found. Pre¬
vious to attacks of the gout, there appear no marks of
any morbid Hate of the fluids 5 for the difeafe generally
attacks thofe perfons who have enjoyed the mofi: perfect
health, and appear to be in that ftate when the difeafe
comes on. At a certain period of the difeafe, a pecu¬
liar matter indeed appears in gouty perfons ; but this,
which does not appear in every inftance, and which
appears only after the difeafe has fubfifted for a l°”g
time, feems manifeftly to be the effeft, not the caufe,
of the difeafe. Further, Though there be certain acnds
which, taken into the body, feem to excite the gout,
it is probable that thefe acrids opeiate otherwife in
exciting the difeafe, than by affording the material
caufe of it. In general, therefore, Dr Cullen thinks
there is no proof of any morbific matter being the
caufe of the gout.
Secondly, The fuppofitions concerning the particu¬
lar nature of the matter producing the gout, have been
fo various, and fo contradi&ory, as to allow us to con¬
clude, that there is truly no proof of the exiftence of
any of them. With refpea to many of thefe_ fuppofi¬
tions, they are fo inconfiftent with chemical philofophy,
and with the laws of the animal economy, that they
muff be entirely rejeaed. ^
Thirdly, The fuppofition of a morbific matter as the
caufe, is not confident with the phenomena of the dif-
' eafe, particularly with its frequent and hidden tranfla-
tions from one part to another.
Fourthly, The fuppofition is further rendered im¬
probable by this, that, if a morbific matter did exift,
its operation (hould be fimilar in the feveral parts which
it attacks; whereas it feems to be very different, being
ftimulant, and exciting inflammation, in the joints •, but
fedative and deftroying tone in the ftomach j which,
upon the fuppofition of the fame particular matter. a£f-
ing in both cafes, is not to be explained by any differ¬
ence in the part affefted.
Fifthly, Some fads alleged in proof of a morbific
matter, are not confirmed } fuch as thofe which wTould
prove the difeafe to be contagious. There is, however,
no proper evidence of this, the faiffs given being not
only few, but exceptionable, and the negative obierva-
tions innumerable.
Sixthly, Some arguments brought in favour of a
morbific matter are founded upon a miftaken explana¬
tion. The difeafe has been fuppofed to depend upon
a morbific matter, becaufe it is hereditary. But the in¬
ference is not juft 1 for moft hereditary difeaies do not
depend upon any morbific matter, but upon a particular
conformation of the ffrudlure of the body tranfmitted
from the parent to the offspring •, and this laft appears
to be particularly the cafe in the gout. It may be alfo
ebferved, that hereditary difeafes depending upon a
CINE, 319
morbific matter, appear always much more early in life Pod^ra- .
than the gout commonly does.
Seventhly, The fuppofition of a morbific matter be¬
ing the caufe of the gout, has been hitherto ufelels, as
it has not fuggefted any fuccefsful method of cure.
Particular theories of gout have often corrupted the
praaice, and have frequently led from thofe views
which might have been ufeful, and from that practice
which experience had approved. Furthei, I hough
the fuppofition of a morbific matter has been generally
received, it has been as generally neglefted in prac¬
tice. When the gout has affe&ed the ftomach, nobody
thinks of correcting the matter fuppofed to be preicnt
there, but merely of reftoring the tone of the moving
fibres.
Eighthly, The fuppofition of a morbific matter is
quite fuperfluous : for it explains nothing, without lup-
pofing that matter to produce a change in the ftate of
the moving powers j and a change in the ftate ot the
moving pow’ers, produced by other cau>es, explains
every circumftance without the fuppolition of a morbinc
matter j and it may be obferved, that many of the cauU-s
exciting the gout, do not operate upon the ftate of the
fluids, but direCHy and folely upon that of the moving
powers.
Laltly, Dr Cullen contends that the fuppofition ot
a morbific matter is fuperfluous j becaufe, without that,
the difeafe can be explained, he thinks, in a manner
more confiftent with its phenomena, with the laws of
the animal economy, and with the method of cure
which experience has approved. We now proceed to
give this explanation 5 but, before entering.upon it, we
mult premife fome general obfervations which Dr Cul¬
len ftates. . ... r .
The firft obfervation is, That the gout is a dileale o.
the whole fyftem, or depends upon a certain general
conformation and ftate of the body, which manifeftly
appears from the faffs above mentioned. But the ge¬
neral ftate of the fyftem depends chiefly upon the ftate
of its primary moving powers j and therefore the gout
may be fuppofed to be an affeCtion of theie.
The fecond obfervation is, lliat the gout is mani¬
feftly an affeCtion of the nervous fyftem *, in which the
primary moving powers of the whole fyftem are lodged.-
The occafional or exciting caufes are almoft all luch
as aCf direCUy upon the nerves and nervous fyftem •,,,
and the greater part of the fymptoms of the atonic or
retrocedent gout are maniieftly affe£fions of the fame
fyftem. This leads us to feek for an explanation of the
whole of the difeafe, in the laws of the nervous fyftem,
and particularly in the changes which may happen in
the balance of its feveral parts.
The third obfervation is, That the ftomach, which
has fo univerfal a confent with the reft of the fyftem,
is the internal part that is the moft frequently, and
often very confiderably, affefted by the gout. I he pa-
roxyfms of the difeafe are commonly preceded by an af¬
fection of the ftomach •, many of the exciting caufes aCI
firft upon the ftomach j and the fymptoms of the atonic
and retrocedent gout are moft commonly and chiefly
affeCtions of the fame organ. This obfervation leads
us to remark, that there is a balance fubfifting between
the ftate of the internal and that of the external parts j
and, in particular, that the ftate of the ftomach is con¬
nected with that of the external parts, fo that the
ftate
320 M E D I
Fhlegma- ftate of tone in One one may be communicated to the
, other.
Thefe obfervations being premifed, Dr Cullen offers
the following pathology of the gout.
In fome perfons there is a certain vigorous and ple-
•thoric (late of the fyftem, which at a certain period of
life is liable to a lofs of tone in the extremities. This
is in fome meafure communicated to the whole fyftem,
but appears more efpecially in the functions of the fto-
rnach. When this lofs of tone occurs while the energy
of the brain ftill retains its vigour, the vis medicatrix
naturae is excited to reftore the tone of the parts ; and
accomplithes it, by exciting an inflammatory affeftion
in fome part of the extremities. When this has fub-
iifted for fome days, the tone of the extremities and
of the whole fyftem is reftored, and the patient returns
to his ordinary ftate of health.
This is the courfe of things in the ordinary form of
the difeale, which we name the regular gout; but there
are circumftances of the body, in which this courfe is
interrupted or varied. Thus, when the atony has ta¬
ken place, if the reaction do not fucceed, the atony
continues in the ftomach, or perhaps in other internal
parts; and produces that ftate which Dr Cullen, for
reafons now obvious, named the atonic gout.
A fecond cafe of variation in the courfe of the gout
is, when to the atony the readtion and inflammation
have to a ceitain degree fucceeded, but from caufes
either internal or external the tone of the extremities
and perhaps of the whole fyftem is weakened ; fo that
the inflammatory ftate, before it had either proceeded
to the degree, or continued for the time, reqfffite for
reftoring the tone of the fyftem, fuddenly and entirely
ceafes : whence the ftomach, and other internal parts,
relapfe into the ftate of atony 5 and perhaps have that
increafed by the atony communicated from the extre¬
mities : all which appears in what has been termed the
retrocedent Jlate of the gout.
A third cafe of variation from the ordinary courfe
of the gout, is, when to the atony, ufually preceding,
an inflammatory reaction fully fucceeds, but has its
ulual determination to the joints prevented by fome
.circumftances; and is therefore dire&ed to fome inter-
aial part, where it produces an inflammatory affe&ion,
and that ftate of things ■which we have named the mif
placed gout.
' hough this theory of Dr Cullen’s be fupported
with much ingenuity, yet we may confidently ‘venture
to affert, that.on this fubjecl he has been lels fuccefs-
lul in eftablifhing his own opinions, than in combating
thofe of others; and this theory, as well as other!
formerly propofed, is liable to numerous and unfur-
mountable objections. According to the hypothcfis
a vigorous and plethoric habit ihould in every cafe5
cxift prior to the appearance of gout ; which is by no
means confident with faft : nor is it true that a vi¬
gorous and plethoric habit is liable at a certain age
to a lofs of tone in the extremities 5 which is another
neceffary condition in the hypothefis. Lofs of tone
often, occurs in the extremities without exerting any
peculiar influence on the ftomach •, and why a lofs of
tone in the ftom.ach ftiould excite the vis medicatrix na-
/^ra-.to reftore it, by exciting an inflammatory affec¬
tion in fome part of the extremities, is very incon¬
ceivable. Vv ere the hypothefis true, every dyfpeptic
C I N E. Practice.
patient ftiould infallibly be affeCled with gout j which Podagra,
however, is by no means the cafe. In fhort, every ftep —
in the theory is liable to unfurmountable objections 5
and it by no means, any more than former hypothe-
fes, explains the phenomena of the difeafe, particu¬
larly what Dr Cullen has himfelf fo accurately point¬
ed out, the connection of gouty with calculous com¬
plaints.
A very ingenious work has lately been publifhed by
an anonymous author, entitled “ a Treatife on Gravel
and upon Gout j” in which the fources of each are in-
veftigated, and effectual means of preventing or re¬
moving thefe difeafes recommended. In this treatife
an attempt is made to prove, that both difeafes de¬
pend upon a peculiar concreting acid, the acid of cal¬
culi, or the lit hie or uric acid, as it has been ftyled by
fome. He fuppofes this acid, conftantly prefent to a
certain degree in the circulating fluids, to be precipita¬
ted by the introduction of other acids ; and in this man¬
ner he explains the influence of acid wines and other
liquors, as claret, cyder, Sec. inducing gout; for he
confiders the circumftance chiefly conftituting the dif¬
eafe as being an inflammation in parts of which the
functions have been interrupted by the redundant
acid precipitated. Although this theory be fupported
with much ingenuity, yet it is alfo liable to many ob¬
jections. The hidden attack of the affeCtion ; its hid¬
den tranfition from one part of the body to another ;
the inftant relief of one part when another comes to be
affeCted ; and the various anomalous forms which the
difeafe puts on, having an exaCt refemblance to differ¬
ent affedtions ; are altogether irreconcileable to the idea
of its depending on any fixed obftruCtion at a particular
part arifing from concreting acid. Nor does the plan
ot prevention and cure which he propofes, and which
confifts chiefly in abftinence from acid, and in the de-
ItruCtion of acid, by any means correfpond in every
particular to the heft eftablilhed faCts refpeCting the
treatment of gout; to which we next proceed.
Cure. In entering upon this, we muft obferve, in the
firft place, that a cure has been commonly thought im-
poffible ; and w7e acknowledge it to be very probable,
that the gout, as a difeafe of the whole habit, and
very often depending upon original conformation, can¬
not be cured by medicines, the effe&s of which are al¬
ways very tranfitory, and feldom extend to the pro¬
ducing any confiderable change of the whole habit.
It would perhaps have been happy for gouty per¬
fons if this opinion had been implicitly received by
them ; as it would have prevented their having been
lo often the dupes of felf-interefted pretenders, who
have either amufed them with inert medicines, or have
rafhly employed thofe of the moft pernicious tendency.
Dr Cullen, who has treated of the cure of the difeafe
with great judgement, as he has done the theory with
much ingenuity, is much difpofed to believe the impofli-
bility of a cure of the gout by medicines ; and more
certainly ftill inclined to think, that, whatever may be
the poflible power of medicines, yet no medicine for
curing the gout has hitherto been found. Although
almoft every age has prefented a new remedy, all
hitherto offered have, very foon after, been neither ne¬
glected as ufelefs, or condemned as pernicious.
. But, though unwilling to admit the power of medi¬
cines, yet he contends, that a great deal can be done
towards
PraCdce.. M E ^ ^
Phlegm a- towards the cure of the gout by a regimen : and he
fiie. is firmly perfuaded, that any man who, early in life,
 1 will enter upon the cotiftant practice of bodily labour,
and of abflinence from animal food, will be preferved
entirely from the difeafe.
Whether there be any other means of radically cur¬
ing the gout, the DoiSlor is not able to fay. There
are hiftories of cafes of the gout, in which it is faid,
that by great emotions of mind, by wounds, and by
other accidents, the fymptoms have been iuddenly
relieved, and never again returned ; but how far
thefe accidental cures might be imitated by art, or
would fucceed in other cafes, is at leafl extremely un¬
certain.
The practices proper and neceffary in the treatment
the gout, are to be confidered under two heads:
Fir/}, As they are to be employed in the intervals of
paroxyfms 5 or, fecondly. As during the time of thefe.
In the intervals of jparoxyfms, the indications are, to
prevent altogether the return of paroxyfms •, or at leaft
to render them lefs frequent and more moderate. Dur¬
ing the time of paroxyfms, the indications are, to mo¬
de ate the violence and Ihorten the duration of them
as much as can be done with fafety.
It has been already obferved, that the gout may be
entirely prevented by confiant bodily exercife, and by
a low diet j and Dr Cullen is of opinion, that this pre¬
vention may take place even in perfons who have a he¬
reditary difpofition to the difeafe. Even when the dif-
poiition has difeovered itfelf by feveral paroxyfms of
infla mmatory gout, he is perfuzded that labour and
abtlinence will abfolutely prevent any returns of it for
the reft of life. Thefe, therefore, are the means of an-
fwering the firft indication to be purfued in the inter¬
vals of paroxyfms.
Exercife in perfons expofed to the gout, in Dr Cul¬
len’s opinion, operates by anfwering two purpofes :
One of thefe is the ftrengthening of the tone of the
extreme veffels j and the other, the guarding againft a
plethoric ftate. For the former, if exercife be em¬
ployed early in life, and before intemperance has weak¬
ened the body, a very moderate degree of it will an-
fwer the purpofe •, and, for the latter, if abftinence be
at the fame time obferved, lefs exercife will be necef-
fary.
With refpecl to exercife, this in general is to be ob¬
ferved, that it Should never be violent •, for if violent, it
cannot be long continued, and muft always endanger
the bringing or. an atony in proportion to the violence
of the preceding motions.
It i< alfo to be obferved, that the exercife of gefta-
tion, though confiderable and conftant, will not, if it
be entirely without bodily exercife, anfwer the purpofe
of preventing the gout. For this end, therefore, the
exercife muft be in fome meafure that of the body j and
muft be moderate, but at the fame time conftant and
continued through life.
In every cafe and circumftance of the gout in which
the patient retains the ufe of his limbs, bodily exer¬
cife, in the intervals of paroxyfms, will be always ufe-
ful ; and in the beginning of the difeafe, wThen the
difpofition to it is not. yet ftrong, exercife may prevent
a paroxvfm which othenvife would have come on. In
more advanced Rates of the difeafe, however, whe,n
there is fome difpofition to a paroxyfin, much walking
VOL. XIII. Part I.
C I N E.
will bring it on ; either as it weakens the tone of the Podagra,
lower extremities, or as it excites an inflammatory '“"“"v “
difpofition in them ; and thus it feeras to be that
fprains or contufions often bfing on a paroxyfm of the
gout.
Abftinence, the other part of the regimen for pre¬
venting the gout, is of more difficult application. If an
abftinence from animal food be entered upon early in
life, while the vigour of the fyftem is yet entire, Dr
Cullen has no doubt of its being both fafe and effeftual;
but if the motive for this diet {hall not have occurred
till the conftitution has been broken by intemperance,
or by the decline of life, a lowr diet may then endanger
the induclion of an atonic ftate.
Further, If a low diet be entered upon only in the
decline of life, and be at the fame time a very great
change from the former manner of living, the with¬
drawing of an accuftomed ftimulus of the fyftem may
readily throw it into an atonic ftate.
The fafety of an abftemious courfe will be greater
or lefs according to the management of it. Ani¬
mal food efpecially difpofes to the plethoric and in¬
flammatory ftate, and that food is to be therefore
efpecially avoided ; but, on the other hand, vegeta le
aliment of the loweft quality is in danger of weak¬
ening the fyftem too much by not affording fufficient
nourilhment, and more particularly of weakening the
tone of the ftomach by its acefcency. It is therefore
a diet of a middle nature that is to be chofen ; and
milk is precifely of this kind, as containing both ani¬
mal and vegetable matter.
As approaching to the nature of milk, and as being
a vegetable matter containing the greateft portion of
nourilhment, the farinaceous feeds are next to be cho¬
fen, and are the food moft proper to be joined with
milk.
With refpeef to drink, fermented liquors are ufeful
only when they are joined with animal food, and that
by their acefcency ; and their ftimulus is only necef¬
fary from cuftom. When, therefore, animal food is
to be avoided, fermented liquors are unneceffary ; and
by increafing the acefcenc/' of vegetables, thefe liquors
may be hurtful. The ftimulus of fermented or fniri-
tuous liquors is not neceifary to the young and vigor¬
ous, and when much employed impairs the tone of
the fvftem. Thefe liquors, therefore, are to be avoid¬
ed, excepting as cuftom and the declining ftate of the
fyftem may have rendered them neceffary. For prevent¬
ing or moderating the regular gout, water is the only
proper drink.
With refpeft to an abftemious courfe, it has been
fuppofed, that an abftinence from animal food and
fermented liquors, or the living upon milk and fari-
nacea alone for the fpace of one year, might be fuf¬
ficient for a radical cure of the gout : and it is poffible
that, at a certain period of life, in certain circumftances
of the conftitution, fuch a meafure might anfwer the
purpofe. But this is very doubtful: and it is more
probable, that the abftinence muft, in a. great meafure,
be continued, and the milk diet be perfifted in, for the
remainder of life. It is well known, that feveral per¬
fons who had entered on an abftemious courfe, and
had been thereby delivered from the gout, have, how¬
ever, upon returning to their former manner of full
living, had the difeafe return upon them with as m ch
S s violence
M E D I
a violence ac. before, or in a more irregular and more dan¬
gerous form.
It has been alleged, that, for preventing the return
of the gout, blood-letting or fcarifications of the feet,
frequently repeated, and at dated times, may be prac¬
ticed with advantage *, but of this Dr Cullen tells us
he has had no experience ; and the benefit of the prac¬
tice is not, as far as we know, confirmed by the obfer-
yation of any other pra&itioner.
Exercife and abdinence are the means of avoiding
the plethoric date which gives the difpofition to the
gout ; and are therefore the means propofed for pre¬
venting the paroxyfms, or at lead for rendering them
lefs frequent and more moderate. But many circum-
dances prevent the deadinefs r.eceffary in purfuing
thefe meafures: and therefore in fuch cafes, unlefs
great care be taken to avoid the exciting caufes, the
difeafe may frequently return, and, in many cafes,
the preventing of paroxyfms is chiefly to be obtained
by avoiding thofe exciting caufes already enumerated.
A due attention in avoiding thefe different caufes
will certainly prevent fits of the gout ; and the taking
care that the exciting caufes be never applied in a
great degree, will certainly render fits more moderate
when they do come on. But, upon the whole, it will
appear, that a very drift attention to the general conduft
of life, is in this matter neceifary $ and therefore, when
the predifpofkion has taken place, it will be extremely
difficult to ^avoid the difeafe.
Dr Cullen is firmly perfuaded, that, by obviating
the predifpofition, and by avoiding the exciting caufes,
the gout may be entirely prevented : but, as the mea¬
fures neceffary for this purpofe will, in mod cafes, be
purfued with difficulty, and even with reluftance, men
have been very defirous to find a medicine which might
anfwer the purpofe without any redraint on their man¬
ner of living. To gratify this defire, phyficians have
propofed, and, to take advantage of it, empirics have
feigned, many remedies. Of what nature feveral of
thefe remedies have been, it is difficult to fay : but of
thofe which are unknown, we conclude, from their
having been only of tempo*,try fame, and from their
having foon fallen into negleft, that they have been
either inert or pernicious. We diall therefore make no
inquiry after them ; and fhall now remark only upon
one or two known remedies for the gout which have
been lately fadiionable.
One of thefe is what has been named in England
the Portland powder. This is not a new medicine,
but. is mentioned by Galen, and, with fome little va¬
riation in its compofition, has been mentioned by the
writers of almod every age fince that time. It ap¬
pears to have been at times in faflrion, and to have a-
gain fallen into negleft ; and Dr Cullen thinks that
this lad has been owing to its having been found to
be, in many indances, pernicious. In every indance
which he has known of its exhibition for the length
of time preferibed, the perfons who had taken it were
indeed afterwards free from any indammatory affec¬
tion of the joints 5 but they were affefted with many
fymptoms of the atonic gout ; and many, foon after
finilhing their courfe of the medicine, have been at¬
tacked with apoplexy, adhma, or dropfy, which proved
fatal.
Another remedy which has had the appearance of
G 1 N E. Practice.
preventing the gout, is alkali in various forms ; fuch as Podagra.
the fixed alkali, both mild and caudic, lime water, 
foap, and abforbent earths ; and of late the alkaline
aerated water has been more faduenable than any
other. Since it became common to exhibit thefe me¬
dicines in nephritic and calculous cafes, it has often
happened that they were given to thofe who were at
the fame time fubjeft to the gout ; and it has been
obferved, that under the ufe of thefe medicines, gouty
perfons have been longer free from the fits of their
difeafe. That, however, the ufe of thefe medicines
has entirely prevented the returns of gout, Dr Gullet}
does not know 5 becaufe he never puflied the ufe of
them for a long time, being apprehenfive that the
long-continued ufe of them might produce a hurtful
change in the date of the fluids.
As the prevention of gout depends very much on fup-
porting the tone of the domach, and avoiding indigef-
tion ; fo codivenefs, by occafioning this, is very hurtful
to gouty perfons. It is therefore neceffary for fuch per-
fbns to prevent or remove codivenefs, by a laxative
medicine, when needful ; but it is at the fame time
proper, that the medicine employed ffiould be fuch
as may keep the belly regular, without much purging.
Aloetics, rhubarb, magnefia alba, oleum ricini, or
flowers of fulpbur, may be employed, as the one or the
other may happen to be bed fuited to particular per¬
fons.
Thefe are the feveral meafures to be purfued in the
intervals of the paroxyfms ; and we are next to men¬
tion the meafures proper during the time of them.
As during the time of paroxyfms the body is in a
feveridi date, no irritation ffiould then be added to it j
every part, therefore, of the antiphlogidic regimen,
except the application of cold, ought to be Itriftly ob¬
ferved.
An exception to the general rule, however, may oc¬
cur when the tone of the domach is wTeak, and when
the patient has been before much accudomed to the ufe
of drong drink ; for then it may be allowable, and
even neceffary, to give feme animal food and a little
wine.
1 hat no irritation is to be added to the fydem du¬
ring the.paroxyfms of gout, except in the cafes men¬
tioned, is agreed upon among phylicians : but it is a
more difficult matter to determine, whether, during
the time of paroxyfms any meafures may be purfued
to moderate the violence of reaftion and of inflamma¬
tion. Dr Sydenham has given it as his opinion, that
tne more violent the inflammation and pain, the pa-
roxyfm will be the ffiorter, as well as the interval be¬
tween the prefent and the next paroxyfm longer j
and, if this opinion be admitted as jufl, it will forbid
the ufe of any remedies which might moderate the
mdammationg which is, to a certain degree, undoubt¬
edly neceffary for the health of the body. On the
other hand, acute pain preffes for relief; and although
a certain degree of inflammation may feem abfolutely
neceffary, there is reafon to believe, a moderate degree
of it may anfwer the purpofe ; and it is even pro¬
bable, that in many cafes the violence of inflammation
may weaken the tone of the parts, and thereby invite
a return of paroxyfms. It feems to be in this way,
that, as the difeafe advances, the paroxyfms become
more frequent.
From-
Pra&ice. M E D I
VUegma- From tlcfe Lift coirfidevauom, it fecms probable,
fisc. that, during the time of paroxyfms fome meafures
*-—v- may be taken to moderate the violence of the inflam¬
mation and pain, and particularly, that in firft pa¬
roxyfms, and in the young and vigorous, blood-letting
at the arm may be pra61ifed with advantage : but this
practice cannot be repeated often with fafety 5 becaufe
blood-letting not only weakens the tone of the fy-
ftem, but alfo contributes to produce plethora. How¬
ever, bleeding by leeches on the foot, and upon the
inflamed part, may be pra&ifed and repeated with
greater fafety •, and inflances have been known ot its
having been employed with fafety to moderate and
fliorten paroxyfms •, but how far it may be carried, we
have not had experience enough to determine.
Befides blood-letting and the antiphlogiftic regi¬
men, it has been propofed to employ remedies for mo¬
derating the inflammatory fpafm of the part aiTe^ied,
fuch as warm bathing and emollient poultices. Thefe
have fometimes been employed with advantage and
fafety, but, at other times, have been found to give
occafion to a retroceflion of the gout. _ .
Bliftering is a very effe&ual means of relieving and
difcufling a paroxyfm of the gout; but has alio fre¬
quently had the effe& of rendering it retrocedent.
The Hinging with nettles is analogous to bliftering ;
and probably wmuld be attended with the fame danger.
The burning with moxa, or other fubftances, is a re¬
medy of the fame kind ; but though not found hurtful,
there is no fufficient evidence of its proving a radi¬
cal cure. ... ,
Camphor, and fome aromatic oils, have the power
of allaying the pain, and ot removing the inflammation
from the part affeded : but thefe remedies commonly
make the inflammation only thift from one part to an¬
other, and therefore with the hazard of its falling up¬
on a part where it may be more dangerous; and they
have fometimes rendered the gout retrocedent.
Among other remedies ^hich have of late been
highly extolled during a paroxyfm of gout, fome have
recommended the ufe of ttrong purgatives frequently
repeated ; others have highly extolled the afliduous ap¬
plication of cold water to the affeded foot. But we
may fafely venture to affert that both practices are very
doubtful, if not very dangerous.
From thefe refledions it will appear, that fome dan¬
ger muft attend every external application to the parts
afleded during a paroxyfm and that therefore the
common pradice of committing the perfon to patience
and flannel alone, is eftabliftied upon the beft founda¬
tion. Opiates give the moft certain relief from pain ;
but, when given in the beginning of gouty paroxyfms,
it has by fome been thought that they occafion theie
to return with greater violence. When, however, the
paroxyfms (hall have abated in their violence, but itill
continue to return, fo as to occafion painful and relj*
lefs nights, opiates may be given wuth fafety and ad¬
vantage ; efpecially in the cafe of perfons advanced in
life, and who have been often affeded with the 1 -
eafe. When, after paroxyfms have ceafed, fome Iwel-
ling and ftiffnefs ftill remain in the joints, thefe O'01?'
toms are to be difeuflfed by the diligent ufe of the
flefti-brufti. Purging immediately after a paroxylm
will be always employed with the hazard of bringing
it on again ; but keeping the belly gently open even
CINE.
during the continuance of the paroxyfm is highly pro- , Fc^agra\
per.
Thus far of the regular gout. We now proceed
to conlider the management of the difeafe when it has
become irregular.
In the atonic gout, the cure is to be accomphfhed
by carefully avoiding all debilitating caufes; and by
employing, at the fame time, the means of ftrengthen-
mg the fyftem in general, and the ftomach in particu-
For ftrengthening the fyftem in general, Dr Cullen
recommends frequent exercife on horfeback, and mo¬
derate walking. Cold bathing alfo may anfwer the
purpofe ; and may be fafely employed, if it appear to
be powerful in ftimulating the fyftem, and be not ap¬
plied when the extremities are threatened with any
pain. .
For fupporting the tone of the fyftem in general,
when threatened with atonic gout, fome animal food
ought to be employed, and the more acefcent vege¬
tables ought to be avoided. In the fame cafe, iome
wine alfo may be neceffary ; but it ftiould. be in m°'
derate quantity, and of the leaft acefcent kinds, and if
every kind of wine (hall be found to increafe the aci¬
dity of the ftomach, ardent fpirits and water muft be
employed. . j r n
For ftrengthening the flomach, bitters and the Pe¬
ruvian bark may be uled ; but care muft be taken tha^
they be not conftantly employed for any great length
°f time. , . ,
The moft effe£lual medicine for ftrengthening the
ftomach is iron, which may be employed under various
preparations ; but the beft appears to be the ruft in
fine powder, which may be given in large dofes.
For fupporting the tone of the ftomach, aromatics
may be exhibited ; but fliould be ufed with caution,
as the frequent and copious ufe of them have an op-
pofite effect ; and they flrould therefore be given only
in compliance with former habits, or for palliating pre-
fent fymptoms. . r
When the ftomach happens to be liable to indigei-
tion, gentle vomits may be frequently given, and pro¬
per laxatives fhould be always employed to obviate or
to remove coftivenefs.
In the atonic gout, or in perfons liable to it, to
cruard againft cold is efpecially neceflary ; and the moft
certain means of doing this, is by repairing to a warm
climate during the winter feafon. In the more violent
cafes, bliftering the lower extremities may be ufeful ;
but that remedy ftiould be avoided when any pain
threatens the extremities. In perfons liable to the
atonic gout, iffues may be eftabliftied in the extremi¬
ties as in fome meafure a fupplement to the^ difeaiS.
A fecond cafe of the irregular gout, is the retro*
When this affefts the ft*mach and inteftines, relief
is to be inftantly attempted by the free ufe of ftrong
wines, joined with aromatics, and given warm; or, if
thefe (hall not prove powerful enough, ardent fpirits
muft be employed, and are to be given in a large dofe.
In moderate attacks, ardent fpirits, impregnated with
garlic or with afafoetida, may be ufed; or, even
without the ardent fpirits, a folution of afafoetida
with the volatile alkali, may anfwer the purpofe. O-
piates are often an effe&ual remedy; and may be
S s 2 join#
324 M E D I
Phlegma- joined with aromatics, as in the eleftuarium opiatum 5
. ^ or they may be ufefully joined with volatile alkali and
camphor, Mufk has likewife proved ufeful in this
difeafe.
When the affeftion of the ftomach is accompanied
■with vomiting, this may be encouraged, by taking
draughts of warm water, at firft with wine, and af¬
terwards without it; having at length recourfe, if ne-
ceiTary, to fome of the remedies above mentioned, and
particularly the opiates.
In like manner, if the inteflines be affecled with
diarrhoea, this is to be at firft encouraged by taking
plentifully of weak broth ; and when this fhall have
been done fufficiently, the tumult is to be quieted by
opiates.
When the retrocedent gout fhall affefl the lungs,
and produce afthma, this is to be cured by opiates, by
antilpafmodics, and perhaps by bliftering on the back
or breaft.
When the gout, leaving the extremities, fhall affett
the head, and produce pain, vertigo, apoplexy, or palfy,
our refources are very precarious. The moft probable
means of relief is, bliftering the head ; and, ii the gout
fhall have receded very entirely from the extremities,
blifters may be applied to thefe alfo. Together with
thefe blifterings, aromatics, and the volatile alkali,
may be thrown into the ftomach.
1 he third cafe of t e irregular place is the mifplaced;
that is, when the inflammatory affeblion of the gout,
inftead of falling upon the extremities, falls upon fome
internal part. In this cafe, the difeafe is to be treat¬
ed by blood-letting, and by fuch other remedies as
would be proper in an idiopathic inflammation of the
fame parts.
W hether the tranflation fo frequently made from the
extremities to the kidneys, is to be confidered as an
inftance of the mifplaced gout, feems uncertain : but
Dr Cullen is difpofed to think it fomething different j
and therefore is of opinion, that, in the nephralgia cal-
culofa produced upon this occafion, the remedies of in¬
flammation are to be employed no farther than they
may be fometimes neceffary in that difeafe, arifing from
other caufes than the gout.
Befides what have been mentioned, a variety of other
pratfices may be neceffary and proper againft the vari¬
ous anomalous fymptoms, which are at times produced
by irregular gout. But of thefe we cannot propofe to
treat. And w^e may conclude with obferving, that in
every form of gout, the cure principally depends on
avoiding occafional caufes, particularly luxury and lazi-
nefs.
Genus XXV. ARTHROPUOSIS.
Lumbago pfoadica, Sauv. fp. 6. Fordyce, Praaice
of Phyfic, part ii. p. 70.
Lumbago apoftematofa, Sauv. fp. 1 5.
Lumbago ab arthrocace, Sauv. p. 17.
Ifchias ex abfceffu, Sauv. fp. 6.
Morbus coxarius, JDe Haen, Rat. Med. Vol. I.
c. xxxii.
Tusis a difeafe very much refembling the rheuma-
pim ; but differing both from it and the gout, in that
it occpfions suppurations, which they feldom or never
-. o. It frequently, according to Sauvages, attacks the
C I is[ E. Fradice*
pfbas mufcle 5 and occafions excruciating pains, and Eryfipelas.
then coliedhons of purulent matter. * ■ ■ v-~1 .j
Fhe only cure, if fuppuration cannot be prevented, is
to lay open the part wrhere the matter is contained,
which would otherwife be abforbed, and occafion a
fatal hedtic.
Order III. EXANTHEMATA. 2I7
Exanthefnata, Sag. Clafs X.
Phlegmafise exanthematicae, Sauv. Clafs III. Ord. I.
Morbi exanthematici, Lin. Clafs I. Ord. II.
Febres exanthematicae, Vog. Clafs I. Ord. II.
Genus XXVI. ERYSIPELAS.
St ^nthonFs Fire.
Eryfipelas, Sauv. gen. 97. Lin. 10. Sa^. gen. 296.
Febris eryiipelacea, Vog. 68. Floffm. II. 98.
Sp. I. Erysipelas with Bli/lers.
Eryfipelas rofeum, Sauv. fp. 1. Sennert. de febr. lib.
ii. c. 15.
Eebris eryfipelatofa, Sydenham, fedl. vi. cap. 5.
Eryfipelas typhodes, Sauv. fp. 2.
Eryfipelas pellilens, Sauv. fp. 5.
Eryfipelas contagiofum, Sauv. fp. 9.
Defcription. The eryfipelas of the face, wEere this
affection very frequently appears, comes on with a
cold fhivering, and other fymptoms of pyrexia. The
hot ftage of this is frequently attended with a confu-
fion of the head, and fome degree of delirium ; and
almoft always with drowfinefs, and perhaps coma.
T. he pulfe is alw’ays frequent, and commonly full and
hard.—When thefe fymptoms have continued for one,
two, or at moft three days, an erythema appears on
fome part of the face, 'l ifts at firft is of no great
extent ; but gradually fpreads from the part it firft
occupied to the other parts of the face, till it has
affedled the whole j and frequently from the face it
fpreads over the hairy fcalp, or defcends on fome
part of the cheek. As the rednefs fpreads, it com¬
monly leaves, or at leaft is abated in the parts it had
before occupied. All the parts which the rednefs
ariecls are alio afledled with fume fuelling, which
continues for feme time after the rednefs has abated.
•The whole face becomes conliderably turgid ; and
the eyelids are often fo much fwelled as entirely to
Ihut up the eyes. When the rednefs and fwelling
have continued for fome time, there commonly arile,
fconer or later, blifters of a larger or fmaller fize on
feveral parts of the face. Thefe contain a thin colour-
lefs liquor, which fooner or later runs out. The fur-
face of the fkin, in the bliftered places, fometimes be¬
comes livid and blackiih j but this leldom goes deeper,
or difeovers any degree of gangrene affe&ing the cutis
vera. On the parts of the face not affetfed with blifters,
the cuticle fuffers, towards the end of the difeafe, a con-
fiderable defquamation. Sometimes the tumor of the
eyelids ends in a fuppuration.
The inflammation coming upon the face does not
produce any remiflion of the fever which had before
prevailed ; and fometimes the fever increafes with the
Spreading and increafing inflammation. The inflamma¬
tion.
Practice. M E 13 T
Exanthe tion commonly continues for eight or ten days ; and
mata. £or t^e fame time, the fever and fymptoms attending
it alfo continue. In the progrefs of the difeafe, the
delirium and coma attending it fometimes go on ,in-
creafing, and the patient dies apople£tic on the feventh,
ninth, or eleventh day of the difeafe. In fuch cafes
it has been commonly fuppofed, that the difeafe is
tranllated from the external to the internal parts.
"But Dr Cullen thinks that the affection of the brain
is merely a communication from the external aft'eftion,
as this continues increaling at the fame time with the
internal. When a fatal event does not take place,
the inflammation, after having affefled the whole face,
and perhaps the other external parts of the head,
ceafes, and with that the fever alfo j and, without
any other crilis, the patient returns to his ordinary
health. This difeafe is not commonly contagious j
but as it may arife from an acrid matter externally
applied, fo it is poffible that the difeafd may fome¬
times be communicated from one perfon to another •,
and certainly there are feveral well authenticated in-
fiances of its prevailing in fuch a manner, even in par¬
ticular wards of hofpitals, as to leave no doubt re-
fpecting its contagious nature. Per'ons who have
once laboured under this difeafe are liable to returns
of it.
Prognojis. The event of this difeafe may be fore-
feen from the Hate of the fymptoms which denote
more or lefs the affection of the brain. If neither
delirium nor coma come on, the difeafe is leldom
attended with any danger •, but when thefe fymp¬
toms appear early in the difeale, and are in a con-
ftderable degree, the utmoit danger is to be agpre-
hended.
Cure. The eryfipelas of the face is to be cured,
according to the opinion of moft practitioners, much
in the fame manner as phlegmonic inflammations ; by
blood-letting, cooling purgatives, and by employing
every part of the antiphlogiftic regimen. Many ob-
fervations, however, would lead us to conclude, that
in not a few cafes the concomitant lever has here a
tendency to the typhoid type ■> and therefore evacua¬
tions, apparently ferviceable in the firft inftance, have
afterwards a bad effect. The evacuations of blood¬
letting and purging are to be employed more or lefs
according to the urgency of fymptoms ; particularly
thofe which mark an affedlion of the brain. As the
pyrexia continues, and often increafes with the inflam¬
mation of the face, fo the evacuations, above mention¬
ed are to be employed at any time of the difeafe.
When, however, the fever, in place of marks of the
phlogiftic diathefis, particularly a full, hard, and ilrong
pulfe, is attended with fymptoms of great debility,
and with a fmall pulfe ealily comnreflible •, evacua¬
tions, particularly under the form of blood-letting,
mud: be uled with very great caution. Even in fuch
cales, however, the ufe of refrigerant cathartics may
frill be perfilted in with more fafety and greater ad¬
vantage. But whether evacuants have been employed
or not, when fymptoms of debility run to a great
height, and marks of a putrefeent tendency appear,
recourfe mull be bad to wine and the cinchona.
In cafes which at the commencement require evacua¬
tion, thefe are often in the after periods employed with
yery great benefit.
C 1 N E. 325
In this, as in other difeafes of the head, \vhen that ^
part happens to be the feat of eryfipelas, it is proper 'y
to put the patient, as often as he can eafily bear it,
into fomewhat of an ereS potlure ; and as there is al¬
ways an external affection, fo various external applica¬
tions have been propofed to be made to the part affedl-
ed ; but almoft all of them are of doubtful effect.
An eryfipelas frequently appears on other parts of
the body befides the face, and fuch other eryfipelatous
indammations frequently end in fuppuration j but thefe
cafes are feldom dangerous. At coming on they are
fometimes attended with drowfinefs, and even with fome
delirium ; but this feldom happens, and thefe fymptoms
do not continue after the inflammation is formed $ and
Dr Cullen does not remember to have feen an in¬
ftance of the tranflation of an inflammation from the
limbs to an internal part •, and though thele inflam¬
mations of the limbs be attended wdth pyrexia, they
feldom require the fame evacuations as the eryfipelas
of the face.
Sp. II. Erysipelas with PUyBencc.
Eryfipelas zofler, Sauv. fp. 8.
Zona ; Anglis, The Shingles, Ruffel de tab. gland,
p. 124. Hi ft. 35.
Herpes zoiler, Sauv. fp. 9.
This differs from the former in no other way than
in being attended with an eruption of phlydlenae or
fmall watery bladders on feveral parts of the body.—
The method of cure is the fame.
Genus XXVII. PESTIS, the Plague. asx ■
Peftis, Sauv. gen. 91. Lin. 2 Junch. 78.
Febris pellilentialis, Fog. 33. Hoffm. II. 93.
Peilis benigna, Sauv. Ip. 2. Peftis Maflrlienfis,
Clafs III. Traite de la pefie, p. 41. Ejufdem
peftis, Cl. 5ta, Traite, p. 228.
Peftis remittens, Sauv. fo. 9.
Peftis vulgaris, Sauv Ip. 1. Peftis Maffil. Cl. II.
Tnite, p. 38. Ejufd. Cl. III. et IV. Traite,
p. 225, &c. Waldfchnidt. de pefte Holfaffca,
apud Halleri, Diff. Pradt. Tom. V. Chenot. de
pefte Tranfylvanica, 1755, 1759, De Haen, Rat.
Med. pars xiv.
Peftis Egyptiaca, Sauv. fp. 11. Alpin. de Med,
Egypt.
Peftis interna, Sauv. fp. 3. Peft. Maflil. Cl. I.
Traite, p. 37—224.
Hi/lory. Of this diftemper Dr Cullen declines giv¬
ing any particular hiltary, becauie he never faw it j
from the accounts, of other authors, , however, he is
of o inion, that the circumftances peculiarly charac-
teriftic of it, ef ecially of its more violent and dan¬
gerous ftatts, are, 1. The great lofs of ftrength in
the animal fun£Hons, which olten appears early in the
d feafe. 2. The ftupor, giddineis, and confequent
ftaggering, which refembles drunkennels, or the head-
ach and various delirium, all of them denoting a great
diforder in the functions of the bram. 3. Anxiety,
palpitation, fyncore, and efpecially the weaknets and
irregularity of the pulfe, denoting a conliderable di-
fturbance in the aftion of the heart. 4 Naufea and.
vomiting, particularly the vomiting of bile, which ihows
326 M E D I
Exant’ne- an accumulation of vitiated bile in the gall-bladder and
mata. biliary dudls, and from thence derived into the in-
•V’—'‘V'',L' tedines and ftomach j and which denote a confiderable
fpafm, and lofs of tone in the extreme veflels on the
furface of the body. 5. The buboes and carbuncles,
which denote an acrimony prevailing in the fluids;
and, laftly, The petechias, haemorrhages, and colliqua¬
tive diarrhoea, which denote a putrefcent tendency pre¬
vailing in a great degree in the mafs of bleed.
To thefe charafteriflics of the plague enumerated
by Dr Cullen, we fhall add one mentioned by Sir John
Pringle, which, though perhaps lefs frequent than
the others, yet feems worthy of notice. It is this,
That in the plague there is an extraordinary enlarge¬
ment of the heart and liver. In nine ditfedlions of
bodies dead of the plague at Marfeilles, this extraor¬
dinary enlargement of the heart is taken notice of in
all of them, and of the liver in feven of them. The
account was fent to the Royal Society by M. Didier,
one of the phyflcians to the king of France, and has
been publiflied in the Philofophical TranfaCtions. In
the fir ft cafe, the author takes notice, that “ the heart
was of an extraordinary bignefs; and the liver was of
double the natural fize.—Cafe 2. The heart was of a
prodigious bignefs, and the liver much enlarged.—
Cafe 3. The heart double the natural bignefs.—Cafe 4.
The heart was very large, and the liver was bigger
and harder than ordinary.—Cafe 5. The heart was of
a prodigious bignefs.—Cafe 6. The heart was larger
than in its natural ftate 5 the liver alfo wras very large.
.—Cafe 7. The heart was of a prodigious fize, and
the liver was very large.—Cafe 8. The heart was
much larger than natural, and the liver of a prodi¬
gious fize.—Cafe 9. The heart was double the natural
bignels, and the liver wras larger than ordinary.”—
This preternatural enlargement, Sir J. Pringle thinks, is
owing to the relaxation of the folid parts, by which
means they become unable to refill the impetus of blood,
and therefore are eafily extended j as in the cafe of in¬
fancy, where the growth is remarkably quick. And a
fimilar enlargement he takes notice of in the fcurvy, and
other putrid difeafes.
A very elaborate work has lately been publilhed on
the fubjedl of the plague by Dr Patrick Ruflel, for¬
merly phyfician to the Britilh fadlory at Aleppo. In
this work, a very full hiftory is given of the various
forms and varieties of the difeafe. He makes particular
obfervations on the following fymptoms, which, in ad¬
dition to the peftilential eruptions, he conliders as the
molt important concomitants of plague, viz. fever, deli¬
rium, coma, impediment or lofs of fpeech, deafnefs,
muddinefs of the eyes, white tongue, ftate of the pulfe,
refpiration, anxiety, pain at the he.-rt, inquietude, de¬
bility, fainting, convulfion, appearances of the urine,
perfpiration, vomiting, loofenefs, and hsemorrhage $ and
he concludes thefe remarks with fome obfervations on
the occurrence of the plague with pregnant women.
To point out more diftinftly the liable varieties of the
difeafe, he arranges the pellilential cafes which fell un¬
der his obfervation at Aleppo under fix clafles : and he
concludes his defcription with a very minute and parti¬
cular account of the pellilential eruptions, appearing
under the form either of buboes, carbuncles, or other
exanthemata. The prefence of the two firll, he ob-
ferves. either feparately or conjundlly, leaves the nature
3
CINE. Pradice.
of the diftemper unequivocal. But fatal has been the Peftis.
error of ralhly pronouncing a diftemper not to be a —v——»■
plague from their ablence. Buboes aftefled the in¬
guinal, axillary, parotid, maxillary, and cervical glands.
But the firft were the rnoft commonly affected, and the
two latter feldom obferved to fwell, without either the
parotid fwelling at the time, or foon after. Of the
carbuncles, Dr Ruflel defcribes five diflerent varieties.
The other exanthemata, which he obferved fometimes,
though lefs frequently, attending the plague, were pe-
techiae, a marbled appearance of the Ikin, an eryfipe-
latous rednefs, llreaks of a reddifh purple or livid co»
lour, vibices or weals, and large blue or purple fpots,
the tnaculce magtue of authors. In forae cafes, an ex¬
traordinary concurrence of eruptions took place, w'hich
was chiefly obferved among children under 10 years
of age.
CaufeXy &lc. From a confideration of the fymptoms
above mentioned, Dr Cullen concludes, that the plague
is owing to a fpecific contagion, often fuddenly pro¬
ducing the moil confiderable debility in the nervous
fyftem, or moving powers, and a general putrefcency
in the fluids. Dr |RulTel alfo conflders the difeafe as
being univerfally the confequence of what may be call¬
ed pejiilential contagion ; and has judicioufly repelled
the objections which have been brought againft this
doftrine.
Prevention. Here we muft refer to all thofe me¬
thods of preventing and removing' the incipient con¬
tagion of putrid fevers, which have been fo fully enu¬
merated. Dr Cullen is perfuaded that the difeafe ne¬
ver arifes in the northern parts of Europe, but in con¬
fequence of being imported from fome other country.
The magiftrate’s firft care, therefore, ought to be, to
prevent the importation j and this may generally be
done by a due attention to bills of health, and to the
proper performance of quarantines.—With refpeCl to
the latter, he is of opinion, that the quarantines of
perfons may with fafety be much lefs than 40 days j
and if this were allowed, the execution of the quaran¬
tine would be more exadl and certain, as the tempta¬
tion to break it would be in a great meafure avoided.
With refpedl to the quarantine of goods, it cannot be
perfeCt unlefs the fufpeCted goods be unpacked, duly
ventilated, and other means be employed for correct¬
ing the infeClion they may carry j and if all this be pro¬
perly done, it is probable that the time commonly pre-
Icribed for quarantine may be alfo fhortened.
A fecond meafure in the way of prevention is re¬
quired, when an infeClion has reached and prevailed in
any place, to prevent that infeClion from fpreading in¬
to others. This can only be done by preventing the
inhabitants or the goods of any infeCted place from,
going out of it till they have undergone a pr#per
quarantine.
The third meafure, and which ought to be em¬
ployed with great care, is, to prevent the infeClion
from fpreading among the inhabitants of a place in
which it has arifen. And in this cafe, a great deal
may be done by the magiftrate : 1. By allowing as
many of the inhabitants as are free from infeClion, and
are riot neceffary to the fervice of the place, to go out
of it. 2. By difcharging all aflemblies, or unnecef-
fary intercourfe of the people. 3. By ordering fome
neceflary communications to be performed without
contad.
Practice. M E D I
Exanthe- cental. 4. Ey ir aking fuck arrangements and^ pro-
mata. yifiens as may render it eafy for the families remaining
to f]lut themfelves up in their own heufes. 5. By al¬
lowing peifons to quit heufes where an infe&icn ap¬
pears, upon condition that they go into lazarettos.
6. By ventilating and purifying, or deftroying, at the
public expence, all infe&ed goods. 7. By avoiding
hofpitals, and providing feparate apartments for infedt-
ed perfons.
The fourth and lad part of the bufmefs of preven¬
tion refpedls the conduct of perfons neceffarily remain¬
ing in infedted places, efpecially thofe obliged to have
fame communication with perfons infedted. Thofe
obliged to remain in places infedled, but not to have
any near communication with the lick, mud avoid all
near communication with other perfons or their goods ;
and it is probable, that a fmall diftance will ferve, if,
at the fame time, there be no dream of air to carry
the effluvia of perfons or goods to fome didance. 'I hofe
who are obliged to have a near communication with
the fick ought to avoid any of the debilitating caufes
which render the body fufceptible of infedlion, as a
fpare diet, intemperance in drinking, excefs in venery,
cold, fear, or other deprefiing padions of the mind.
A full diet of animal food is alio to be avoided, be-
caufe it increafes the irritability of the body, and fa¬
vours the operation of contagion 5 and indigedion, whe¬
ther from the quantity or quality of the food, contri¬
butes very much to the fame end.
Beddes thefe, it is probable that the moderate ufe
of wine and fpirituous liquors, moderate exercife, and
the cold bath, may be of ufe 5 tonic medicines alfo, of
which cinchona is dcfervedly accounted the chief, may
be ufed with fome probability of fuccefs. If any
thing is to be expe&ed from antifeptics, Dr Cullen
thinks camphor preferable to every other. In gene¬
ral, however, every one is to be indulged in the medi¬
cine of which he has the bed opinion, provided it is
not evidently hurtful. Whether ifiues be ufeful in pre-
ferving from the effefls of contagion, is a matter of
doubt. Dr Ruffel in his treatife enters very fully
into the confideration of the means of prevention,
both with refpedd to quarantines, lazarettos, and bills
of health. He is of opinion, that the prefent laws on
thefe fubjects are in many refpedts defective : and he
thinks, that a fet of new regulations would have the
bed chance of a deliberate and impartial difeufflon in
the fenate, if the inquiry were taken at a time free
from all apprehenfion of immediate danger.
Cure. According to Dr Cullen, the indications- are
the fame as in fever in general, but are not all equally
important. The meafures for moderating the violence
of rea&ion, wfflich operate by dimiruPning the action of
the heart and arteries, have feldom, he thinks, any
place here, excepting that the antiphlogidic regimen is
generally proper. Some phylicians have recommended
bleeding, and Sydenham even teems to think it an ef¬
fectual cure j but Dr Cullen fuppofes, that for the mod
part it is unneceffary, and in many cafes might do much
hurt. Dr Ruflel, however, who on this fubjedt (peaks
from experience and aCtual obfervation, is of a diffe¬
rent opinion. With mod of his patients, a fingle bleed¬
ing w as employed with advantage ; and even wdiere
the fick under his infpedtion were bled oftener than
CINE.
once, he did not find that the low date was thereby
hurried on. Purging has alfo been recommended 5 and
in (ome degree it may be ufeful in drawing off the
putrefeent matter frequently prefent in the intedines 5
but a large evacuation in this way may certainly be
hurtful.
The moderating the violence of reaftion, as far as
it can be done, by taking off the fpafm of the ex¬
treme veffels, is a meafure, in Dr Cullen’s opinion,
of the utmod necefflty in the cure of the plague j and
the whole of the meairt formerly mentioned, as fuited
to this indication, are extremely proper. I he giving
an emetic, at the firft approach of the difeafe, would
probably be of great fervxce ; and it is probable, that,
at fome other periods of the difeafe, emetics might be
ufeful, both by evacuating bile abounding in the ali¬
mentary canal, and by taking off the fpafm of the ex¬
treme veffels. Indeed Baron Adi, and fome other
of the Rudian praftitioners, reprefent the early and
repeated ufe of emetics as the only effeclual mode of
cure.
According to the obfervations of Dr de Mertens,
who wrote a very intereding treatife on the fatal plague
which raged at Mofcow in 1771, and which carried off
upwards of 20,000 inhabitants in the fpace of one
month, emetics were often of the greated fervice.
From forae principles with refpect to fever in gene¬
ral, and with refpeft to the plague in particular, Dr
Cullen is of opinion, that after the exhibition of the
fird vomit, the body fhould be difpofed to fweat j but
this fweat Urould be raifed only to a moderate degree,
though it mud be continued for 24 hours or more if
the patient bears it eafily. The fweating is to be ex¬
cited and condmSled according to the rules laid down
under Synocha *, and mud be promoted by the plenti¬
ful ufe of diluents rendered more grateful by vege¬
table acids, or more powerful by being impregnated
with fome portion of neutral falts. To fupport the
patient under the continuance of the fweat, a little
weak broth, acidulated with the juice of lemons, may
be given frequently, and fometimes a little wine if
the heat of the bodv be not confiderable. If fudorific
medicines be judged neceffary, opiates will be found
more effefiual and fafe } but they diculd not be com¬
bined with aromatics, and probably may be more effec¬
tual if joined with a portion of emetics and of neutral
falts. But if, notwithdanding the ufe of emetics and
fudorifics in the beginning, the difeafe diould dill con¬
tinue, the cure mud turn upon the ufe of means for ob¬
viating debility and putrefcency •, and for this purpofe
tonic medicines, efpecially cinchona and cold drink, are
the mod proper.
327
Peftis.
Genus XXVIII. VARIOLA.
The Smallpox.
Variola, Sauv. gen. 92. Lin. 3. Sag- Sen‘
Febris variolora, Vog. 35. Hoffni. II. 49.
Variola;, Boerh. 3371. 'junrt. 76.
Sp. 1. The Di/Hnti Smallpox. ■
Variola dxfcreta benigna, Sauv. fp. 2.
Variola; repulares diferetae, Sydenh. fe&. iii. cap. 2.
Vaviolae
M E D I
Variolse pifcrclrc fmvprices, Htlvet, Ob. fp, I.
Variola difcreta complicata, Sauv. Ip. 2. He/vet.
1'p. 2.
Variolae ancmalae, Sijdenh. feft. iv. cap. 6.
Variola difcreta dyienteriodes, Sauv. tp. 4. Sij¬
denh. febl. iv. cap. I.
Variola difcreta veficularis, Sauv. fp. 5.
Variola difcreta cryftallina. Mead, de variol. Cap. 2.
Var:ola difcreta verrucofa, Sauv. fp. 6. Mead
ibid.
Variola difcreta filiquofa, Sauv. fp. 7. Freind
t Oper. p. 358- . .
Variola difcreta miliaris, Sauv. fp. 8. He/vet. Obf.
fy- 3-
Sp. II. The Confluent Smallpox.
Variola confluens, Sauv. fp. 9.
Vari olae regulares confluentes, arm. fbby. Sjden-
ham, fe£f. iii. cap. 2.
Variolae confluentes limpliceg, He/vet. Obf. fp. 1.
Variola confluens cryftallina, Sauv. ip. 10.
Variola japonica, Kempfer.
Veficulae dlvoe Barbarse, C. Pis. Obf. 149.
Variola confluens maligna, Helvet. Qoi. fp. 1.
Variola confluens coliaerens, Sauv. fp. 11.
Variola confluens maligna, Helvet. fp. 2.
Variola confluens nigra, iSVrz/y. ip. 12. Sydenham,
feft. v. cap. 4.
Variola confluens maligna, Helvet. fp. 3.
Variola fanguinea, Mead de variolis, cap. 2.
Variola confluens corymbofa, Sauv. fp. 13.
Variola confluens maligna, Helvet. fp. 4.
Defcription. In the diftindt fmallpox, the difeafe
begins with a fynocha or inflammatory fever. This
fever generally comes on about mid-day, with fome fymp-
toms of a cold ftage, and commonly with a confi-
derable languor and drowfinefs. A hot ftage is foon
formed, and becomes more confiderable on the fecond
■and third day. During this courfe children are liable
to frequent ftartings from their flumbers ; and adults,
if they are kept in bed, are difpofed to much fweat-
ing. On the third day, children are fometimes
affedted with one or two epileptic fits. Towards the
end of the third day the eruption commonly appears,
and gradually increafes during the fourth ; appearing
firft on the face, and fucceftively on the inferior
parts, fo as to be completed over the whole body on
the fifth day. From the third day the fever abates,
and by the fifth it entirely ceafes. The eruption
appears firft in fmall red fpots hardly eminent, but by
degrees rifing into pimples. There are generally but
few on the face 5 but, even when more numerous, they
are feparate and diftindt from one another. On the
fifth or fixth. day, a fmall veficle, containing an almoit
colourlefs fluid, appears on the top of each pimple.
For two days thefe veficles increafe in breadth only,
and there is a fmall hollow pit in their middle, fo that
they are not railed into fpheroidical puitules till the
eighth day. Thefe puftules from their firft formation
continue to be furrounded with an exadlly circular in¬
flamed margin, which when they are numerous diffules
fome intlammation over the neighbouring fkin, fo as to
give fomewhat of a damafk rofe colour to the fpsces
between the puftules. As the puftules increafe i ’ fize
224
C I N E. Practice.
the face fwells confiderably if they are numerous Variola,
on it and the eye-lids particularly are fo much
fwelled, that the eyes are entirely (hut. ' As the difeafe
proceeds, the matter in the puftules becomes by degrees
more opaque and w’hite, and at length affumes a
yellowifh colour. On the 1 ith day the fwelling of
the- face is abated, and the puftules feem quite full.
On the top of each a darker fpot appears; and at this
place the puftule, on the utli day, or foon after, is
fpontaneoufly broken, and a portion of the matter
oozes out 5 in confequence of which the puftule is
fhrivelled, and fubfides ; while the matter oozing out
dries, and forms a cruft upon its furface. Sometimes
only a little of the matter oozes out, and what remains
in the puftule becomes thick and even hard. After
fome days, both the crufts and the hardened puftules
fall off, leaving the fkin which they covered of a
brownifh red colour •, nor doth it refume its natural
colour till many days after. In fome cafes, where
the matter of the puftules has been more liquid, the
crufts formed from it are later in falling off, and the part
they covered fuffers fome defquamation, which occa-
fions a fmall hollow or pit.
On the legs and hands the matter is frequently
abforbed; fo that at the height of the difeafe, thefe
puftules appear as empty as veficles. On the 10th
and 11th days, as the fwelling of the face fubfides,
a fwelling arifes in the hands and feet j but which
again fubfides as the puftules come to maturity^
When the puftules on the face are numerous, fome
degree of pyrexia appears on the 10th and nth
days ; but difappears again after the puftules are fully
ripened, or perhaps remains in a very flight degree
till the puftules on the feet have finiflied their courfe ,
and it is feldom that any fever continues longer in the
dirtimft fmallpox. When the puftules are numerous
on the face, upon the fixth or feventh day fome uneafi-
nefs of the throat, with a hoarfenefs of the voice, comeS
on, and a thin liquid is poured out from the mouth.
Thefe fymptoms increafe with the fwelling of the
face; and the liquids of the month and throat be¬
coming thicker are with difficulty thrown out ; and
there is at the fame time fome difficulty in fwallowing,
lo that liquids taken in to be fwallowed are frequently
rejeded or thrown out by the nofe. But all thefe
affe&ions of the fauces are abated as the fwelling of
the face fubfides.
In the confluent fmallpox all the fymptoms above-
mentioned are much more fevere. The eruptive fever
particularly is more violent ; the pulfe is more fre¬
quent and more contrafted, approaching to that ftate
of pulfe which is obferved in typhus. The coma is
more confiderable, and there is frequently a delirium.
Vomiting alfo frequently attends, efpecially at the
beginning of the difeafe. In very young infants
epileptic fits are fometimes frequent on the firft days
of the difeafe, and fometimes prove fatal before any
eruption appears, or they uflier in a very confluent
and putrid fmallpox. But at the fame time, it has
been juftly remarked by Dr Sydenham, and other ac¬
curate obfervers, that epileptic attacks more frequent¬
ly precede diftimft and mild than malignant and confluent
fmallpox. The eruption appears in the confluent more
early on the third day, and it is frequently preceded or
accompanied with an eryfipelatous effiorefcence. Some¬
times
Pra^lice. M E D I
Exanthe. times tlic eruption appears in clufters, like the mealies.
mata. when the erupt ran is completed, the pimples are al-
^ v ways more numerous upon the face, and at the fame
time fmaller and lefs eminent. Upon the eruption the
fever fuffers fome rvmillion, but never goes off entire¬
ly ; and after the fifth or fixth day it increafes again,
and continues to be confiderable throughout the re¬
maining part of the difeafe. The veficles formed on
the top of the pimples appear fooner ; and while they
increafe in breadth, they do not retain a circular, but
are every way of an irregular figure. Many of them
run into one another, infomuch that very often the
face is covered with one veficle rather than with a
number of puflules. The veficles, as far as they are
any w?ay feparated, do not arife to a fpheroidal form,
but remain flat, and fometimes the wdrole of the face
appears an even furface. When the puftules are in any
meafure feparated, they are not bounded by an in¬
flamed margin, but the part of the fkin that is free
from puftules is commonly pale and flaccid. The li¬
quor that is in the puftules changes from a clear to an
opaque appearance, and becomes whitifh or browmilh,
but never acquires the yellow colour and thick con-
fiftence that appears in the diftinft fmallpox. The
fvvelling of the face, which only fometimes attends
the diftinff fmallpox, always attends the confluent
kind •, it alfo comes on more early, and arifes to a
greater height, but abates confiderably on the tenth
or eleventh day. At this time the puftules or veficles
break and (hrivel ; pouring out at the fame time a
liquor, which is formed into brown or black crufts,
which do not fall off for a long time after. Thofe
of the face, in falling off, leave the Ikin fubjedl to a
defquamation, which pretty certainly produces pit-
tings. On the other parts of the body the puftules
of the confluent fmallpox are more dillindl than on
the face •, but never acquire the fame maturity and
confiftence of pus as in the properly diftindt kind.—
The falivation, wrhich fometimes only attends the
diftincl fmaljpox, very conftantly attends the conflu¬
ent ; and both the falivation and the affedfion of the
fauces above-mentioned occur, efpecially in adults, in a
higher degree. In infants a diarrhoea comes frequent¬
ly in place of a falivation.
in this kind of fmallpox there is often a very con-
fidcrable putrefcency of the fluids, as appears from
petechiae, from ferous veficles, under wdiich the fkin
ftiows a difpofition to gangrene, and from bloody urine
or other haemorrhages •, all of which fymptoms fre¬
quently attend this difeafe. In the confluent fmall¬
pox alfo, the fever, which had only fuffered a remiflion
from the eruption to the maturation, at or immediate¬
ly after this period is frequently renewed again wu’th
confiderable violence. This is what has been called
the feconclary fever, and is of various duration and
event.
Caufes, &c. It is evident that the fmallpox is origi¬
nally produced by a contagion ; and that this contagion
is a ferment with refpedf to the fluids of the human
body, which aflimilates a confiderable portion of them
to its own nature : or, at leaft, we have every reafon to
believe that a fmall quantity of contagious matter in¬
troduced, is fomehow multiplied and increafed in the
circulating fluids of the animal body. . This quantity
paffes again out of the body, partly "by infenfible per-
Vql/ XIII. Part I,
CINE.
fpiration, and partly by being depofited in puftules :
The caufes which determine more of the variolous mat¬
ter to pafs by perfpiration, or to form puftules, are
probably certain circumftances of the fkin, which de¬
termine more or lefs of the variolous matter to flick in
it, or to pafs freely through it. The circumftance of
the fkin, which feems to determine the variolous matter
to flick in it, is a certain ftate of inflammation de¬
pending much on the heat of it : thus we have many
inftances of parts of the body, from being more heated,
having a greater number of puftules than other parts.
Thus parts covered with plafters, efpecially thofe of
the ftimulant kind, have more puftules than others.
*—Certain circumftances alfo, fuch as adult age,
and full living, determining to a phlogiftic diathefis,
feem to produce a greater number of puftules, and
vice verfa. It is therefore probable, that an inflam¬
matory ftate of the whole fyflem, and more particu¬
larly of the fkin, gives occafion to a greater number of
puftules j and the caufes of this may produce mod of
the other circumftances of the confluent fmallpox, fuch
as the time of eruption, the continuance of the fever,
the effufion of a more putrefcent matter, and lefs fit
to be converted into pus, together wdth the form and
other circumftances of the puftules.
Prognojis. The more exadlly the difeafe retains
the form of the diftindt kind, it is the fafer ; and the
more completely the difeafe takes the form of the
confluent kind, it is the more dangerous. It is only
when the diftindt kind fhow7s a great number of pu¬
flules on the face, or otherw-ife by fever or putref¬
cency, approaching to the circumftances of the con¬
fluent, that the diftindt kind is attended with any
danger.*
In the confluent kind the danger is always very
confiderable j and the more violent and permanent
the fever is, the greater the danger ; and efpecially
in proportion to the increafe of the fymptoms of pu¬
trefcency. When the putrid difpofition is very great,
the difeafe fometimes proves fatal before the eighth
day 5 but in moft cafes death happens on the ele¬
venth, and fometimes not till the fourteenth or feven-
teenth day.
Th ough the fmallpox may not prove immediatelv
fatal, the more violent kinds are often followed by a
morbid ftate of the body, fometimes of very dan¬
gerous event. Thefe conlequences, according to Dr
Cullen, may be imputed fometimes to an acrid matter
produced by the preceding difeafe, and depofited in
different parts •, and fometimes to an inflammatory
diathefis produced and determined to particular parts
of the body.
Since the introdu£lion of fmallpox into Europe, there
is perhaps no difeafe which has produced a greater
number of deaths. But, fortunately, a difcovery is now
made, by which there is reafon to hope that this loath-
fome difeafe may be altogether exterminated j its pre¬
vention, viz. by the inoculation of the vaccine or cowpox.
This moft important difcovery we owe to the fuc-
cefsful exertions of Dr Edward Jenner 5 to whom, for
thefe exertions, repeated rewards have been voted by
the Britifh legiflature, but who unqueftionably enjoys
a much higher reward in the fatisfadlion of having con¬
ferred an ineftimable bleffing on the human fpe-
cies.
T t For
329
Variola.
33°
Exanthe¬
mata.
MEDICINE.
Practice.
For an account of the progrefs of this difcoveiy, we
muft refer our readers to Dr tenner’s publication. Here
we (hall only obfervey that it had long been remarked
in feme parts of England, particularly in the neigh¬
bourhood of Berkley, where Dr .Tenner refided, that
cows were liable to a puflular difeafe on their udders,
fomewhat refembling frnallpox 5 that this difeafe was
communicated by contact to the fingers of thofe em¬
ployed in milking the cows; and, finally, that thofe
thus infefted with cowpox, were completely protected
againfi: the contagion of fmallpox.
Founding on thefe obfervations, Dr .Tenner afeertain-
ed by experiment, that the inoculation of vaccine mat¬
ter was an infallible preventive of fmallpox j and that
this vaccine matter had equal power in preventing va¬
riola, when transferred from one human fubjeft to an¬
other, as when obtained immediately from the cow.
It is not therefore wonderful that this practice of vac¬
cine inoculation fliould foon have become general,
both in Britain and in every quarter of the world.
Nor is it perhaps furprifing, that it fhould have been
violently oppofed by ignorafit and obftinate men.
Hence numerous publications have of late appeared
both for and againft this praffice. Many miftakes have
undoubtedly been committed by ignorance and inatten¬
tion ; and thus the preventive has been fuppofed to
fail. For the bell account both of the method of per¬
forming the operation, of conveying the vaccine mat¬
ter from one place to another, and of the tells of con-
llitutional affection in thofe cafes in which the inflam¬
mation is flight, and in which no fever is perceptible,
we may refer our readers to a treatife publiihed at E-
dinburgh in 1802, by Mr James Bryce, entitled Prac¬
tical Obfervations on the Inoculation of Cowpox.
Of the efficacy of vaccine inoculation as a preventive
of fmallpox few candid men will entertain any doubt,
after the following report on vaccination, from the
Royal College of Phyficians in London, ordered to be
printed on the 8th of July 1807, by the Britilh parlia¬
ment.
REPORT, See. -
The Royal College of Phyficians of London, hav¬
ing received his majefty’s commands, in compliance
with an addrefs from the houfe of commons, “ to in¬
quire into the Hate of vaccine inoculation in the united
kingdom, to report their opinion and obfervations up¬
on that pra(Slice, upon the evidence which has been
adduced in its fupport, and upon the caufes which have
hitherto retarded its general adoption —have applied
themfelves diligently to the bufinefs referred to them.
Deeply imprefled with the importance of an in¬
quiry which equally involves the lives of individuals,
and the public profperity, they have made every exer¬
tion to invefligate the fubjeft fully and impartially. In
aid of the knowledge and experience of the members
of their own body, they have applied feparately to each
of the licentiates of the college j they have ccrrefpond-
ed with the colleges of phyficians of Dublin and Edin¬
burgh ^ with the colleges of furgeons of London, Edin¬
burgh, and Dublin *, they have called upon the focie-
ties eftablifhed for vaccination, for an account of their
praftice, to what extent it has been carried on, and
what has been the refult of their experience} and they
have, by public notice, invited individuals to contri- Variola
bute whatever information they had feverally colledled.*
They have in confequence been furniffied with a mafs
of evidence communicated writh the greateft readinefs
and candour, which enables them to fpeak with confi¬
dence upon all the principal points referred to them.
I. During eight years which have elapfed fince Dr
.Tenner made his difeovery public, the progrefs of vac¬
cination has been rapid, not only in all parts of the
united kingdom, but in every quarter of the civilized
world. In the Britifh iflands feme hundred thoufands
have been vaccinated, in our poffeffions in the Eaft In¬
dies upwards of 800,000, and among the nations of
Europe the praclice has become general. Profeffional
men have fubmitted it to the fairefi: trials, and the pub¬
lic have, for the moll part, received it without preju¬
dice. A few indeed have flood forth the adversaries
of vaccination, on the fame grounds as their predecef-
fors who oppofed the inoculation for the fmallpox,
falfely led by hypothetical reafoning in the invefiiga-
tion of a fubjedf which muff be fupported, or rejedfed,
upon fadls and obfervation only. With thefe few ex¬
ceptions, the teflimony in favour of vaccination has
been moll ftrong and fatisfadlory, and the pradlice of
it, though it has received a check in lome quarters, ap¬
pears Hill to be upon the increafe in moll parts of the
united kingdom.
II. The college of phyficians, in giving their obfer¬
vations and opinions on the pradlice of vaccination, think
it right to premife, that they advance nothing but
what is fupported by the multiplied and unequivocal
evidence which has been brought before them, and
they have not confidered any fads as proved but what
have been Hated from adual ohfervation.
Vaccination appears to be in general perfedly Cafe j
the inllances to the contrary being extremely rave.
The difeafe excited by it is flight, and leldcm prevents
thofe under it from following their ordinary occupa¬
tions. It has been communicated with fafety to preg¬
nant women, to children during dentition, and in their
earliell infancy •, in all which refpeds it poffeffeS mate¬
rial advantages over inoculation for the fmallpox $
which, though produdive of a difeafe generally mild,
yet fometimes occafions alarming fymptems, and is in a
few cafes fatal.
The fecurity derived from vaccination againll the
fmallpox, if not abfolutely perfed, is as nearly fo as
can perhaps be expeded from any human dilcovery ^
for amonglt feveval hundred thoufand cafes, with the
refults of which the college have been made acquaint¬
ed, the number of alledged failures has been furprifing-
ly frnall, fo much fo, as to form certainly no reafonable
objedion to the general adoption of vaccination ; for it
appears that there are not nearly fo many failures, in a
given number of vaccinated perfons, as there are deaths
in an equal number of perfons inoculated for the fmall¬
pox. Nothing can more clearly demonftrate the llipe-
riority of vaccination over the inoculation of the fmall¬
pox, than this confideration; and it is a moll import¬
ant fad, which has been confirmed in the courie of
this inquiry, that in almoft every cafe, where the fmall¬
pox has fucceeded vaccination, whether by inoculation
or by cafual infedion, the difeafe has varied much from
its ordinary courfe ; it has neither been the fame in the
violence, nor in the duration of its fymptoms, but has,
with
PradUce. M E D I
Exanthe- with very few exceptions, been remarkably mild, as if
mala. t]ie fmallp0X had been deprived, by the previous vac-
v 0f ;ts ufuai malignity.
The teftimonies before the college of phyficians are
very decided in declaring, that vaccination does lefs
mifchief to the conllitution, and lefs frequently gives
rife to other difeafes, than the fmallpox, either natural
or inoculated.
The college feel themfelves called upon to ftate this
ftrongly, becaufe it has been objefted to vaccination,
that it produces new, unheard-of, and monftrous dif¬
eafes. Of fuch affertions no proofs have been produ¬
ced, and, after diligent inquiry, the college believe
them to have been either the inventions of defigning,
or the miivakes of ignorant men. In thefe refpe£ls
then, in its mildnefs, its fafety, and its confequences,
the individual may look for the peculiar advantages of
vaccination. The benefits which flow from it to fo-
ciety are infinitely more confiderable, it fpreads no in¬
fection, and can be communicated only by inoculation.
It is from a confideration of the pernicious effects of
the fmallpox, that the real value of vaccination is to be
eftimated. The natural fmallpox has been fuppofed to
deftroy a fixth part of all whom it attacks } and that
even by inoculation, where that has been general in
parifhes and towns, about one in 300 has ufually died.
It is not fufficiently known, or not adverted to, that
nearly oue-tenth, fome years more than one-tenth of
the whole mortality in London, is occafioned by the
fmallpox ; and however beneficial the inoculation of the
fmallpox may have been to individuals, it appears to
have kept up a conftant fource of contagion, which has
been the means of increafing the number of deaths by
what is called the natural difeafe. It cannot be doubt¬
ed that this mifchief has been exterfded by the inconfi-
derate manner in which great numbers of perlons, even
fmce the introduftion of vaccination, are flill every
V ear Inoculated with the fmallpox, and afterwards re¬
quired to attend two or three times a-week at the
places of inoculation, through every flage of their ill-
nefs.
From this, then, the public are to expeft the great
and uncontroverted fuperiority of vaccination, that it
communicates no cafual infeftion, and, while it is a
prote&ion to the individual, it is not prejudicial to the
public.
III. The college of phyficians, in reporting their
obfervations and opinions on the evidence adduced in
fupport of vaccination, feel themfelves authorifed to ffate
that a body of evidence fo large, fo temperate, and fo
confident, wTas perhaps never before collefled upon any
medical queftion. A difcovery fo novel, and to which
there was nothing analogous known in nature, though
refting on the experimental obfervations of the inventor,
was at firif received with diffidence : it was not, how¬
ever, difficult for others to repeat his experiments, by
which the truth of his obfervations was confirmed, and
the doubts of the cautious were gradually difpelled by
extenfive experience. At the commencement of the
practice, almoft all that were vaccinated were after¬
wards fubmitted to the inoculation of the fmallpox ;
many underwent this operation a fecond, and even a
third time, and the uniform fuccefs of thefe trials
quickly bred confidence in the new difcovery. But the
evidence of the fecurity derived from vaccination againft
CINE.
the fmallpox does not reft alone upon tbofe who after- V
wards underwent variolous inoculation, although a-
mounting to many thoufands j for it appears, from nu¬
merous obfervations communicated to the college, that
thofe who have been vaccinated are equally fecure
againft the contagion of epidemic fmallpox. Towns,
indeed, and diftridls of the country, in which vaccina¬
tion had been general, have afterwards had the fmall¬
pox prevalent on all fides of them without fuffering
from the contagion. There are alfo in the evidence a
few examples of epidemic fmallpox having been lub-
dued by a general vaccination. It will not, therefore,
appear extraordinary that many who have communicat¬
ed their oblervations ffiould flate, that though at firft
they thought unfavourably of the praftice, experience
had now removed all their doubts.
It has been already mentioned, that the evidence is
not univerfally favourable, although it is in truth near¬
ly fo, for there are a few' who entertain fentiments dif¬
fering widely from thofe of the great majority of their
brethren. The college, therefore, deemed it their du¬
ty, in a particular manner, to inquire upon what
grounds and evidence the oppofers of vaccination refted
their opinions. From perfonal examination, as well as
from their writings, they endeavoured to learn the full
extent and weight of their obje£!ions. They found
them without experience in vaccination, fupporting
their opinions by hearfay information and hypothetical
reafoning j and, upon inveftigating the fails which
they advanced, they found them to be either mifappre-
hended or mifreprefented } cr that they fell under the
defeription of cafes of imperfeif fmallpox, before noti¬
ced, and which the college have endeavoured fairly to
appreciate.
The practice of vaccination is but of eight years
Handing, and its promoters, as well as opponents, muft
keep in mind, that a period fo ftiort is too limited to af-
certain every point, or to bring the art to that perfec-
tion of which it may be capable. I he truth of this
will readily be admitted by thofe acquainted with the
hiftory of inoculation for the fmallpox. Vaccination is
nowT, however, well underftood, and its charadler accu¬
rately deferibed. Some deviations from the ulual courfe
have occafionally occurred, which the author of the
pradlice has called fpurious cowpox, by which the pub¬
lic have been mifled, as if there were a true and a falfe
cowpox ; but it appears, that nothing more was meant,
than to exprefs irregularity or difference from that com¬
mon form and progrefs of the vaccine puftule from
which its efficacy is inferred. Thofe who perform vac¬
cination ought therefore to be w7ell inftrudled, and
ffiould have watched with the greateft care the regular
progrefs of the puftule, and learnt the moft proper time
for taking the matter. There is little doubt that fome
of the failures are to be imputed to the inexperience of
the early vaccinators, and it is not unreafonable to ex-
pe£I that farther obfervation will yet fuggeft many im¬
provements that will reduce the number of anomalous
cafes, and furniffi the means of determining, with great¬
er precifion, when the vaccine difeafe has been effec¬
tually received.
Though the college of phyficians have confined them¬
felves in eftimating the evidence to fuch fads as have
occurred in their own country, becaufe the accuracy of
them could belt be afeertained, they cannot be infenfi-
T t 2 ble
332 M E D I
Exanthe- ble to the confirmation thefe receive from the reports of
, n'ata' the fuccefsfui mtrodudtion of vaccination, not only into
every part of Europe, but throughout the vaft conti¬
nents of Afia and America.
IV. Several caufes have had a partial operation in re¬
tarding the general adoption of vaccination 5 fome writ¬
ers have greatly undervalued the fecurity it affords,
while others have confidered it to be of a temporary na¬
ture only ; but if any reliance is to be placed on the
flatements which have been laid before the college,, its
power of protecting the human body from the fmall-
pox, though not perfeCI indeed, is abundantly fufficient
to recommend it to the prudent and difpallionate, efpe-
cially as the fmallpox, in the ferv inftanc#s where it has
fubfequently occurred, has been generally mild and
tranlient. The opinion that vaccination affords but a
temporary fecurity is fupported by no analogy in na¬
ture, nor by the faCIs which have hitherto occurred.
Although the experience of vaccine inoculation be on¬
ly of a few years, yet the fame difeafe, contradled by
the milkers of cows, in fome diftrifts has been long
enough known to afcertain that in them, at leaf! the
unfufceptibility of the fmallpox contagion does not wear
out by time.
Another caufe, is the charge againft vaccination of
producing various new difeafes of frightful and monftrous
appearance. Reprefentations of fome of thefe have been
exhibited in prints in a way to alarm the feelings of pa¬
rents, and to infufe dread and apprehenfion into the minds
of the uninformed. Publications with fuch reprefenta-
tions have been widely circulated, and though they origi¬
nate either in grofs ignorance, or wilful mifreprefentation,
yet have they leffened the confidence of many, particu¬
larly of the lower claffes, in vaccination j no permanent
effe&s, however, in retarding the progrefs of vaccina¬
tion, need be apprehended from fuch caufes, for, as
foon as the public {ball view them coolly and without
furprife, they will excite contempt, and not fear.
Though the college of phyficians are of opinion that
the progrefs of vaccination has been retarded in a few
places by the above caufes, yet they conceive that its
general adoption has been prevented by caufes far
more powerful, and of a nature wholly different. The
lower orders of fociety can hardly be induced to adopt
precautions againft evils which may be at a diftance 5
nor can it be expe&ed from them, if thefe precautions
are attended with expence. Unlefs therefore, from
the immediate dread of epidemic fmallpox, neither vac¬
cination nor inoculation appear at any time to have
been general, and when the caufe of terror has paffed
by, the public have relapfed again into a ftate ef indif¬
ference and apathy, and the falutary praaice has come
to aftand. Risnoteafyto fuggeft a remedy for an
evil fo deeply imprinted in human nature. To inform
and inftrua the public mind may do much, and it will
probably be found that the progrefs of vaccination in
different parts of the united kingdom will be in propor¬
tion to that inftruaion. Were encouragement given to
vaccination, by offering it to the poorer claffes without
expence, there is little doubt but it would in time fu-
perlede the inoculation for the fmallpox, and thereby
various lources of variolous infe&ion would be cut off •
but till vaccination becomes general, it will be impob
bble to prevent the conftant recurrence of the natural
Imallpox by means of thofe^yho are inoculated, except
C I N E. Pra&ice.
it fliould appear proper to the legiilature to adopt, in Variola,
its wdfdom, fome meafure by which thofe who ftill, v
from terror or prejudice, prefer the fmallpox to the
vaccine difeafe, may, in thus confulting the gratifica¬
tion of their own feelings, be prevented from doing
mifehief to their neighbours.
From the whole of the above confiderations, the col¬
lege of phyficians feel it their duty ftrongly to recom¬
mend the praftice of vaccination. They have been
led to this conclufion by no preconceived opinion, but
by the moft unbiaffed judgement, formed from an irre-
fiftible weight of evidence which has been laid before
them. For when the number, the refpeflability, the
dilintereftednefs, and the extenfive experience of its ad¬
vocates, is compared with the feeble and imperfect tef-
timonies of its few oppofers j and when it is conndered
that many, who were once adverfe to vaccination, have
been convinced by further trials, and are now to be
ranked among its warmeft fupporters, the truth feems
to be eftablifhed as firmly as the nature of fuch a quef-
tion admits ; fo that the college of phyficians conceive
that the public may reafonably look forward with fome
degree of hope to the time when all oppofition (hall
ceaie, and the general concurrence of mankind (hall at
length be able to put an end to the ravages at leaft, if
not to the exiftence, of the fmallpox.
LUCAS PEPYS, President.
Royal College of Pl.yftcians, 7
icth of April, 1S07. 5
Ja. Hervey, Regifler.
APPENDIX.
No. I.
To the Royal College of Physicians of London.
Gentlemen,
I am ordered by the Xing and Queen’s College of
Phyficians, in Ireland, to thank the Royal College of
Phyficians of London for the commumcation they have
had the honour to receive from them, of certain propo-
fitions relative to vaccination, whereon his majefty has
been pleafed to direft an inquiry to be inllituted, and
in the profecution of which, the co-operation of the
college in Ireland is requefted.
And I am direfted to acquaint you, that the faid
college having referred the inveftigations of thefe pro-
pofitions to a committee, have received from them a re¬
port, of which the inclofed is a copy j and that they
defire the fame may be confidered as containing their
opinion upon the fubjedl.
I have the honour to be,
Gentlemen,
Your moft obedient humble fervant,
By order of the King and Hugh Ferguson,
Queen’s College of Pby- Regl/lcr.
ficians in Ireland.
Dublin, nth Nov. 1806.
‘‘ The praflice 01 vaccination was introduced into
this
Pra&iee. M E D I
Ex.nthe- this city about the beginning of the year 1801, and ap-
mnta. pears to have made inconfiderable progrefs at firih. A
^^ variety of caufes operated to retard its general adoption,
amonglh which the novelty of the praclice, and the ex¬
traordinary effetls attributed to vaccination, would na¬
turally take the lead.
“ Variolous inoculation had been long, almofl exclu¬
sively, in the hands of a particular branch of the pro-
fefTion, rvhofe prejudices and interefts were ftrongiy op-
profed to the new praflice •, and by their being the ufual
medical attendants in families, and ef’pecially employed
in the difeafes of children, their opinions had greater
effeci upon the minds of parents. The fmallpox is ren¬
dered a much lefs formidable difeafe in this country by
the frequency of inoculation for it, than it is in other
parts of his majefly’s dominions, where prejudices a-
gainft inoculation have prevailed •, hence parents, not
unnaturally, objedled to the introduction of a new dif¬
eafe, rather than not recur to that, with the mildnefs
and fafety of which they were well acquainted.
“ In the beginning of the year 1804, the cowpox
inftitution was eftablifhed under the patronage of the
earl of Hardwicke, and it is from this period that we
may date the general introduction of vaccination into
this city, and throughout all parts of Ireland.
“ The fuccefs of the inftitution, in forwarding the
new praCtice, is to be attributed in a great meafure to
the refpeCtability of the gentlemen who fuperintend it,
and to the diligence, zeal, and attention of Dr Labatt,
their fecretary and inoculator. In order to fhew the
progrefs which has been made in extending vaccination,
your committee refer to the reports of the Cowpox In-
ftitution for the lad two years, and to extraCls from
their regider for the prefent year.
Patients
Inoculated.
Packets [[filed
to PraH’tion
er sin general
Packets to
Army
Surgeons.
1804
1^°5
1806
578
1032
!356
776
1124
*34°
2 36
178
220
Total
2966
3240
634
“ In the above datement, the numbers are averaged
to the end of the prefent year, on the fuppodtion of pa¬
tients reforting to the indituticn as ufual. The corre-
fpondence of the inditution appears to be very general
throughout every part of Ireland, and by the accounts
received, as w’ell from medical praftitioners as others,
the fuccefs of vaccination feems to be uniform and ef¬
fectual. At the prefent period, in the opinion of your
committee, there are few individuals in any branch of
the profedion, who oppofe the praCtice of vaccination in
this part of his majedy’s dominions.
“ It is the opinion of your committee, that the prac¬
tice of ccwpox inoculation is fafe, and that it fully
anfwers all the purpofes that have been intended by its
introduction. At the fame time, your committee is
uilling to allow that doubtful cafes have been reported
to them as having occurred, of perfons fuffering frem
fmallpox, who had been previoufly vaccinated. Upon
CINE.
333
minute inredigation, however, it has been found, that Variola,
thefe fuppofed indances originated generally in error, v~~“
mifreprefentation, or the difficulty of diferiminating be¬
tween fmallpox and other eruptions, no cafe having
come to the knowledge of your committee, duly authen¬
ticated by refpeCfable and competent judges, of genuine
fmallpotf fucceeding the regular vaccine difeafe.
“ The praCfice of vaccination becomes every day
more extended ; and, when it is conddered that the
period at which it came into general ufe in Ireland is to
be reckoned from fo late a date, your committee is of opi¬
nion, that it has made already as rapid a progrefs as
could be expeCted.
(Signed) “ James Cleghorx.
“ Daniel Mills.
“ Hugh Ferguson.”
N°. II.
Phyficians Hall, Edinburgh, 26th Nov. 1806.
Gentlemen,
THE Royal College of Phydcians of Edinburgh
have but little opportunity themfelves of making ob-
fervations on vaccination, as that praCiice is entirely
conduCled by furgeon apothecaries, and other medical
praftitioners not of their college, and as the effeCts pro¬
duced by it are fo incondderable and flight, that the aid
of a phylician is never required.
The College know that in Edinburgh it is univerfal-
ly approved of by the profeffion, and by the higher and
middle ranks of the community ; and that it has been
much more generally adopted by the lowrer orders of
the people than ever the inoculation for fmallpox.
was, and they believe the fame to obtain all over Scot¬
land.
With regard to any caufes which have hitherto pre¬
vented its general adoption, they are acquainted with
none except the negligence or ignorance of parents
among the common people, or their miflaken ideas of
the impropriety or criminality of being acceifary to the.
produCIion of any difeafe among their children, or the
difficulty or impoffibility, in forne of our country di-
flrids, of procuring vaccine matter, or a proper perfon
to inoculate.
The evidence in favour of vaccination appeared to
the Royal College of Phyficians of Edinburgh fo itrong
and decifive, that in May laft, they fpontaneoufly and
unanimoufly eleCted Dr Jenner an honorary fellow of
their college ;—a mark of difiinftion which they very
rarely confer, and which they confine almofl. exclufively
to foreign phyficians of the firft eminence.
They did this with a view to publiffi their opinion
writh regard to vaccination, and in teftimony of their
conviction of the immenfe benefits which have been,
and which will in future be derived to the wrorld, from*
inoculation for the cowpox, and as a mark of their
fenfe of Dr Jenner’s very great merits and ability ia
introducing and promoting this invaluable praCtice.
I have the honour to be
Gentlemen,
Your mod obedient humble fervant,
Th. Spens, C. R. M. Ed. Pr.
To the Royal College of
Phvficians of London,
N°. 111.
M E D I
334-
Exanthe-
N°. III.
At a fpecial court of afliilants of the Royal
College of Surgeons, convened by order of
the Matter, and holden at the College on
Tuefday the 17th day of March 1807 ;
Mr Governor Lucas in the chair;
Mr Long, as chairman of the board of curators, re¬
ported, that the board are now ready to deliver their
report on the fubjedf of vaccination.
It was then moved, feconded, and refolved, that a
report from the board of curators, on the fubjedl of
vaccination, which was referred to their confideration by
the court of afliflants, on the 21ft day of November
laft, be now received.
Mr Long then delivered to Mr Governor Lucas
(prefiding in the abfence of the matter) a report from
the board of curators.
It was then moved, feconded, and refolved, that the
report, delivered by Mr Long, be now read} and it
was read accordingly, and is as follows ;
To the Court of Afliflants of the Royal College of
Surgeons in London.
THE report of the Board of Curators, on the
the fubjed of vaccination, referred to them
by the court, on the 21ft day of November
]8o6j made to the court on the 17th of
March 1807.
I HE court of afliflants having received a letter from
the Royal College of Phyficians of London, addreffed
to this college, ftating, that his majefty had been gra-
cioufly pleafed, in compliance with an addrefs from the
honourable Houfe of Commons, to dired his Royal
College of Phyficians of London to enquire into the
ftaty of vaccination in the united kingdom, to report
their obfervations and opinion upon that pradice, upon
the evidence adduced in its fupport, and upon the
caufes which have hitherto retarded its general adop¬
tion ; that the college were then engaged in the in-
veftigation of the feveral propofitions thus referred to
them, and requefting this college to co-operate and
communicate with them, in order that the report there¬
upon might be made as complete as poflible.
And having, on the 21ft day of November laft, re¬
ferred fuch letter to the confideration of the board of
curators, with authority to take fuch fleps refpeding
the contents thereof as they ihould judge proper, and
report their proceedings thereon, from time to time, to
the court: the board proceeded with all pofl'ible dif-
patch to the confideration of the fubjedft.
The board being of opinion, that it would be proper
to addreis circular letters to the members of this col¬
lege, with a view of collefling evidence, they fub-
mitted to the confideration of the court, holden on the
15th day of December laft, the drafts of fuch letter
as appeared to them beft calculated to anfwer that end •
and the lame having been approved by the court, they
earned copies thereof to be fent to all the members
ot the co lege in the united kingdom, whofe refi-
dence could be afeertained, in the following form :
C I N E. Pradice.
“ Sir, Variola.
“ The Royal College of Surgeons being defirous' v
to co-operate with the Royal College of Phyficians of
London, in obtaining information refpedling vaccina¬
tion, lubmit to you the following queftions, to which
the favour of your anfwer is requefted.
“ By order of the Court of Afliflants,
“ Okey Belfour, Secretary.'1'1
Lincoln’s-Inn Fields,
Dec. 15. 1806.
“ 1 ft. How many perfons have you vaccinated ?
^ “ 2d. Have any of your patients had the fmailpox
after vaccination ? In the cafe of every fuch occurrence,
at what period was the vaccine matter taken from the
vehicle ? How was it preferved ? How long before it
was inferted ? What was the appearance of the inflam¬
mation ? And what the interval between vaccination
and the variolous eruption ?
“ 3d. Have any bad effefks occurred in your expe¬
rience in confequence of vaccination ? And if fo, what
were they ?
“ 4th. Is the pra61ice of vaccination increafing or de-
creafing in your neighbourhood } ii decrealing, to what
caufe do you impute it ?”
To fuch letters the board have received 426 an-
fwers : and the following are the refults of their in-
veftigation :
'1 he number of perfons, ftated in fuch letters to have
been vaccinated, is 164,381.
The number of cafes in which fmailpox had follow¬
ed vaccination is y6.
The board think it proper to remark under this head,
that, in the enumeration of cafes in which fmailpox has •
fucceeded vaccination, they have included none but
thole in which the fubjeft was vaccinated by the fur-
geon reporting the fails.
The bad confequences which have afifen from vacci¬
nation are, eruptions of the fldn in 66 cafes, and inflam¬
mation of the arm in 24 inftances, of which three proved
fatal.
Vaccination, in the greater number of counties frem
which reports have been received, appears to be in¬
creafing 5 it may be proper however to remark, that, in
the metropolis, it is on the decreafe.
The principal reafons afligned for the decreafe are,
Imperfeil vaccination,
Inftances of fmallpox after vaccination,
Suppofed bad confequences,
Publications againft the pradlice,
Popular prejudices.
And fuch report having been confidered, it was
moved, feconded, and
Refolved, That the report now read, be^dopted by
this court, as the anfvrer of the court to the letter of
the Royal College of Phyficians, of the 23d day of Oc¬
tober laft, on the fubjeft of vaccination.
Refolved, That a copy of thefe minutes and refolu-
tions, figned by Mr Governor Lucas (prefiding at this
court in the prefence of the mafter) be tranfmitted by
the ^ fecretary to the legifler of the Royal College of
Phyficians.
(Signed) Wm Lucas.
2
‘ .U*
N°. IV.
Practice. M E D I
Exanthe¬
mata. N°. IV.
Sir, Rdinburgh, March 3. 1807.
I mention'ed in my former letter, jthat I would
take the earlieft opportunity of laying before the
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the com¬
munication with which the Royal College of Phyficians
of London had honoured them, on the 23d of 0£lo-
berlad :
I am now directed by the Royal College to fend the
following anfwer on that important fubjeft.
The practice of vaccine inoculation, both in private,
and at the vaccine inftitution eltablilhed here in 1801,
is increasing fo rapidly, that for two or three years paft,
the fmallpox has been reckoned rather a rare occur¬
rence, even among the lower orders of the inhabitants
of this city, unlefs in feme particular quarters about
twelve months ago ; and, among the higher ranks of
the inhabitants, the difeafe is unknown. ^
The members of the Royal College of Surgeons have
much pleafure in reporting, that, as far as their experi¬
ence goes, they have no doubt of the permanent fecuri-
ty againlt the fmallpox which is produced by the con-
llitutional affe&icn of the cowpox *, and that fuch
has hitherto been their fuccefs in vaccination, as alfo
to gain for it the confidence of the public, infomuch
that they have not been required, for fome years
paft, to inoculate any perfon with fmallpox who had
not previoufly undergone the inoculation wdth the cow-
pox.
The members of the Royal College have met with
no occurrence in their praftice of cow-pox inoculation
which could operate in their minds to tis disadvantage j
and they beg leave particularly to notice, that they
have feen no inftance of obftinate eruptions, or of new
and dangerous difeafes, which they could attribute to
the introdu&ion among mankind this of mild preventive
of fmallpox. The Royal College of Surgeons know
of no caufes which have hitherto retarded the adop¬
tion of vaccine inoculation here } on the contrary, the
pradlice has become general within this city 5 and
from many thoufand packets of vaccine matter having
been fent by the members of the Royal College, and the
vaccine inftitution here, to all parts of the country, the
Royal College have reafon to believe that the praftice
has been as generally adopted throughout this part
of the united kingdom as could have been expefted
from the diftance of fome parts of the country from
proper medical aftiftance, and other circumftances of
that nature.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your moft obedient Servant,
Wm Far qdharson,
Prefident of the Royal College and Incorpo¬
ration of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
N°. V.
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland,
Sir, Dublin, February \th, 1807.
I am direfted to tranfmit to you the inclofed report
of a committee of the College of Surgeons in Ireland,
to whom was referred a letter from the Royal College
CINE.
of Phyficians in London, relative to the prefent ftate of
vaccination in this part of the united kingdom ; and to
ftate, that the College of Surgeons will be highly gratifi¬
ed by more frequent opportunities of corresponding with
the Englilh College of Phyficians on any fubjedl which
may conduce to the advancement of Science, and the
welfare of the public.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your moft obedient humble Servant,
James Henthorn, Secretary,
At a meeting of the Royal College of Surgeons
in Ireland, holden at their Theatre, on Tuef-
day the 13th day of January 1807.
Francis M‘Evoy, Esq_. Prejident.
Mr Johnfon reported from the committee, to whom
was referred a letter from the College of Phyficians,
London, relative to the prpfent ftate of vaccination in
the united kingdom, &c. &c. that they met, and came
to the following refolutions :
That it appears to this committee, That inoculation
with vaccine infedlion is now very generally adopted
by the Surgical pradlitioners in this part of the united
kingdom, as a preventive of fmallpox.
That it appears to this committee, that from the
25th day of March 1800 to the 25th of November
1806, 11,504 perfons have been inoculated with vac¬
cine infection at the difpenfary for infant poor, and
2831 at the corvpox inftitution, making a total of
14,335, exclufive of the number inoculated at hofpi-
tals and other places, where no regiftry is made and
preferved.
That it is the opinion of this committee, that the
cowpox has been found to be a mild difeafe, and rarely
attended with danger, or any alarming fymptom, and
that the few cafes of fmallpox which have occurred in
this country, after fuppofed vaccination, have been fa-
tisfadlorily proved to have arifen from accidental cir¬
cumftances, and cannot be attributed to the want of
efficacy in the genuine vaccine infedlion as a preventive
of fmallpox.
That it is the opinion of this committee, that the
caufes which have hitherto retarded the more general
adoption of vaccination in Ireland, have, in a great
meafure, proceeded from the prejudices of the low7er
claffes of the people, and the intereft of fome irregular
praftitioners.
To which report the College agreed.
Extrafl from the minutes,
James Henthorn, Secretary.
After this report, we cannot help thinking that the
Britifti legiftature would be fully warranted for paffiug
an a6l prohibiting the inoculation of fmallpox under
very Severe penalties, and ordering all thofe who may
be fubje&ed to fmallpox by accidental contagion to be
confined to lazarettos, or at leaft to their ow'n houfes,
under a proper guard, to prevent the communication oh
infeftion, till their complete recovery. By fuch an
adl, there is good ground to believe, that the loathfome
and dangerous difeafe of fmallpox would in a few years
be ^xjer^ijr^t^ jn
But
S36 .
Exanthe-
M E D I
Eat althougli providence lias thus furniHied mankind
with an eafy mode of preferving their offspring from
the danger of fmallpox, by the inoculation of the cow
pox at an early period of Iffe, yet not a few deaths
from the natural fmallpox have occurred in Britain even
during the courfe of the prefent year.
When the preventive has not been duly employed;
after the contagion of variola is introduced into the
body, nothing yet known will prevent the difeafe from
tunning its courfe, either under the mild or confluent
form ; and the endeavours of the imrdmal praftitioner
are altogether to be employed in rendering that courfe
as favourable as poflible by mitigating fymptoms.
In the mild or diflinft fmallpox, the ftridtell anti-
pblogiftic regimen |s to be enioined. Gentle refriger¬
ant cathartics are often ufeful, and mild diluents fliould
be copioufly employed. Under thefe remedies the dif¬
eafe will generally run its courfe without much incon¬
venience. But it will fometimes be necefi'ary to em¬
ploy remedies for obviating particular urgent fymptoms,
fuch as gargarifms or biiders for affections of the
throat.
In the malignant fmallpox, befides the fame refriger¬
ant plan of cure which is heft accommodated to the
mild, *s the fecondary fever fliews evident marks of a
putrid tendency, it is neceffary to employ thofe reme¬
dies which are accommodated to typhus, and arcord-
ingly recourfe is not only had to opiates and cardiacs,
^111 to wine, cinchona, and the mineral acids.
Genus XXIX. VARICELLA.
Chickenpox.
Varicella, Vog. 42.
Variola lymphatica, Sauv. fp. I.
Anglis, T/ie Chickenpox, Edin. Med. Effays, vol. ii.
art. 2. near the end. Heberden, Med. TranfadE
art. 17. The Watekx-Pox.
This is in general a very flight difeafe ; and is at¬
tended with'fo little danger, that it would not merit
any notice, if it were not apt to be confounded with
the fmallpox, and thus give occafion to an ©pinion
that a perfan might have the fmallpox twice in his
life ; or they are apt to deceive into a falfe fecurity
thofe who have never had the fmallpox, and make
them believe that they are fafe when in reality they
are not. This eruption breaks out in many, accord¬
ing to Dr Heberden, without any illnefs or previous
fign ; in others it is preceded by a flight degree of
chilnefs, laflitude, cough, broken fleep, wandering
pains, lofs of appetite, and feverilh Hate for three
days.
In fome patients the chickenpox make their firft ap¬
pearance on the back •, but this perhaps is not con-
ffant. Moll of them are of the common fize of the
fmallpox, but fome are lefs. Dr Heberden never faw
them confluent, nor very numerous. The greatell
number was about 12 on the face, and 200 over the
reft of the body.
On the firft day of the eruption they are reddilh.
On the fecond day there is at the top of moll of them
a very fmall bladder, about the fize of a millet feed.
1 his is fometimes full of a watery and colqurlefs, fome-
C I N E.
Pra£Tice.
times of a yellowiih liquor, contained between the cu¬
ticle and fldn. On the fecond, or, at the fartheif, on
the third day from the beginning of the eruption, as
many of thefe pocks as are not broken feem arrived at
their full maturity ; and thofe which are fulled of that
yellow liquor very much referable what the genuine
fmallpox are on the fifth or fixth day, efpecially where
there happens to be a larger fpace than ordinary oc¬
cupied by the extravafated ferum. It happens to moll
of them, either on the firft day that this little bladder
arifes, or on the day after, that its tender cuticle is
burli by the accidental rubbing of the clothes, or by
the patient’s hands to allay the itching which attends
this eruption. A thin fcab is then formed at the top
of the pock, and the fwelling of the other part abates,
without its ever being turned into pus, as it is in the
fmallpox. Some few efcape being burfi: ; and the little
drop of liquor contained in the veficle at the top of
them, grows yellow and thick, and dries into a Icab.
On the fifth day of the eruption they are almoft all
dried and covered with a flight cruft. The inflamma¬
tion of theft pocks is very fmall, and the contents of
them do not feem to be owing to fuppuration, as in the
fmallpox, but rather to what is extravafated under the
cuticle by the ferous veffels of the fkin, as in a common
blifler. It is not wonderful, therefore, that this liquor
appears fo foon as on the fecond day *, and that, upon
the cuticle being broken, it is prefently fucceeded by a
flight fcab ; hence too, as the true fldn is fo little af-
feded, no mark or fear is likely to be left, unlefs in one
or two pocks, where, either by being accidentally much
fretted, or by fome extraordinary (harpnefs of the con¬
tents, a little ulcer is formed in the fkin.
The patients fcarce fuffer any thing throughout the
whole progrefs of this illnefs, except fome languidnefs
of ftrength, fpirits, and appetite ; all which is pro¬
bably owing to the confining of themlelves to their
chamber.
Remedies are not likely to be much wanted in a dif¬
eafe attended with hardly any inconvenience, and which
in fo fhort a time is certainly cured of itfelf.
The principal marks by which the chickenpox may
be diftinguifhed from the fmallpox are,
1. The appearance, on the fecond or third day from
the eruption, of that veficle full of ferum upon the top
of the pock.
2. The cruft, which covers the pocks on the fifth
day ; at which time thofe of the fmallpox are not at
the height of their fuppuration.
Foreign medical writers hardly ever mention the
name of this diftemper : and the writers of our own
country fcarce mention any thing more of it than its
name. Morton fpeaks of it as if he fuppofed it to be
a very mild genuine fmallpox. But thefe two diftem-
pers are certainly totally different from one another,
not only on account of their different appearances above
mentioned, but becaufe thofe who have had the fmall¬
pox are capable of being infedled with the chicken-
pox ; but thofe who have once had the chickenpox
are not capable of having it again, though to fuch as
have never had this diftemper, it feems as infe£lious as
the fmallpox. Dr Heberden rvetted a thread in the
moft conccffed pus-like liquor of the chickenpox
which he could find j and after making a flight inci-
fion,
Varicelia
2
practice. M E D I
Exanthe- fion, it was confined upon the arm of one who had for-
t mata- merly had it} the little wound healed up immediately,
and fliowed no figns of any infeclion.
From the great fimilitude between the two diftem-
pers, it is probable, that inftead of the fmallpox, lome
perfons have been inoculated from the chickenpox j
and that the diftemper which has fucceeded, has been
miftaken for the fmallpox by hafty or unexperienced
obfervers.
There is fometimes feen an eruption, concerning
which Dr Heberden is in doubt whether it be one of
the many unnoticed cutaneous dileafes, or only a more
malignant fort of chickenpox.
This diforder is preceded for three or four days by
all the fymptoms which forerun the chickenpox *, but
in a much higher degree. On the fourth or fifth day
the eruption appears, with a very little abatement of the
fever : the pains likewife of the limbs and back ftill
continue, to which are joined pains of the gums. The
pox are redder than the chickenpox, and fpread wider $
pnd hardly rife fo high, at lead not in proportion to
their fize. Inftead of one little head or veficle of a
ferous matter, thefe have from four to ten or twelve.
They go off juft like the chickenpox, and are diftin-
guifhable from the fmallpox by the fame marks j be-
fides which, the continuance of the pains and fever af¬
ter the eruption, and the degree of both thefe, though
there be not above 20 pocks, are circumftances never
happening in the fmallpox.
^7 Genus XXX. RUBEOLA.
Measles.
Rubeola, Sauv. gen. 94. Lw. 4. Sag. 293.
Febris morbillola, Vog. 36. Hojftn. II. 62.
Morbilli, ’junck. 76.
Sp. I. The Regular Measles.
Rubeola vulgaris, Sauv. fp. 1.
Morbilli regulates, Sydenh, fe£t. iv. cap. 5.
Var. 1. The Anomalous Measles.
Rubeola anomala, Sauv. fp. 2.
Morbilli anomali, Sydenh. fe<fl. v. cap. 3.
Yar. 2. The Measles attended with ^uinfy.
Var. 3. The Measles, with Putrid Diathejis of the
Blood.
Sp. II. The Variolodes.
In Scotland commonly called the Nirles.
Rubeola varolodes, Sauv. fp. 3.
Defcription. This difeafe begins wuth a cold ftage,
which is foon followed by a hot, with the ordinary
fymptoms of thiift, anorexia, anxiety, ficknefs, and
vomiting ; and thefe are more or lefs confiderable in
different cafes. Sometimes from the beginning the
fever is (harp and violent : often, for the firft two days,
it is obfeure and inconfiderable •, but always becomes
violent before the eruption, which commonly happens
cn the fourth day. This eruptive fever, from the be¬
ginning of it, is always attended with hoarfenefs, a
frequent hoarfe dry cough, and often with fome diffi¬
culty of breathing. At the fame time, the eyelids
Vot. XIII. Part I.
CINE.
are fomewhat fu'elled ; the eyes are a little inflamed,
and pour out tears •, and with this there is a coryza,
and frequent fneezing. For the mod part, a conflant
drowfinefs attends the beginning of this difeafe. The
eruption, as we have faid, commonly appears upon the
fourth day, firff on the face, and fucceffively on the
lower parts of the body. It appears firft in fmall red
points 5 but, foon after, a number of thefe appear in
clufters, which do not arife in vifible pimples, but, by
the touch, are found to be a little prominent. This
is the cafe on the face *, but, in other parts of the
body, the prominency, or roughnefs, is hardly to be
perceived. On the face, the eruption retains its red-
nefs, or has it increafed for two days j but on the
third, the vivid rednefs is changed to a brownith red ;
and in a day or two more the eruption entirely difap-
pears, while a mealy defquamation takes place. Du¬
ring the whole time of the eruption, the face is fome¬
what turgid, but feldom confiderably fwelled. Some¬
times, after the eruption has appeared, the fever ceafes
entirely : but this is feldom the cafe 5 and more com¬
monly the fever continues or is increafed after the
eruption, and does not ceafe till after the defquama¬
tion. Even then the fever does not always ceafe, but
continues with various duration and effect. Though
the fever happen to ceafe upon the eruption’s taking
place, it is common for the cough to continue till af¬
ter the deiquamation, and fometimes much longer. In
all cafes, while the fever continues, the cough alfo
continues, generally with an increafe of the difficulty
of breathing $ and both of thefe fymptoms fometimes
arife to a degree which denotes a pneumonic affeftion.
This may happen at any period of the difeafe $ but
very often it does not come on till after the defqua¬
mation of the eruption.
After the fame period, alfo, a diarrhoea frequently
comes on, and continues for fome time.
It is common for meafles, even when they have not
been of a violent kind, to be followed by inflammatory
affeftions, particularly ophthalmia and phthifis. If
blood be drawn from a vein in the meafles, with cir¬
cumftances neceffary to favour the feparation of the
fibrine, this always appears feparated, and lying on the
furface of the craffamentum, as in inflammatory dif-
eafes. For the moft part, the meafle*, even when vio¬
lent, are w'ithout any putrid tendency $ but in fome
cafes, fuch a tendency appears both in the courfe of
the difeafe, and efpecially after the ordinary courfe of
it is finilhed.
Caufes. The meafles are occafioned by a peculiar
kind of contagion, the nature of which is not under-
ftood j and which, like that of the fmallpox, affeifts a
perfon only once in his life.
Prognqjis. From the defeription of this diftemper
already given, it appears that the meafles are attended
with a catarrhal affeftion, and with an inflammatory
diathefis to a confiderable degree ; and therefore the
danger of them is to be apprehended chiefly from the
coming on of a pneumonic inflammation.
Cure. In meafles, as w’ell as in fmallpox, the dif¬
eafe from its nature muft neceffarily run a determined
courfe ; and therefore the foie aim of a praftitioner is
to conduft this courfe in the eafieft manner, by prevent¬
ing and obviating urgent fymptoms.
JTrom the confideration mentioned in the prognofis,
y u k
337
Rubeola.
M E D I
the- {t will be obvious, that the remedies efpecially neceffary
ta' are thofe which may obviate and diminilh the inilam-
matory diathefis 5 and therefore, in a particular man¬
ner, blood-letting. This remedy may be employed at
any time in the courfe of the dileafe, or after the or¬
dinary courfe of it is flnifhed. It is to be employed
more or lefs, according to the urgency of the fymp-
toms of fever, cough, and dyfpnoea ; and generally
may be employed very freely. But as the fymptoms
of pneumonic indammation feldom come on during the
eruptive fever, and as this is fometimes violent imme¬
diately before the eruption, though a fufficiently mild
difeafe be to follow ; bleeding is ieldom very neceffary
during the eruptive fever, and may often be referved
for the times of greater danger which are perhaps to
follow.
In all cafes of mealies, where there are no marks of
putrefcency, and where there is no reafon, from the
known nature of the epidemic, to apprehend putref¬
cency, bleeding is the remedy moft to be depended
upon : but affiftance may alfo be drawn from cooling
purgatives 5 and from bliftering on the fides or between
the fhoulders. The dry cough may be alleviated by
the large ufe of demulcent pefforals, mucilaginous,
oily, or fweet. It may, however, be obferved, with
Tefpedl to thefe demulcents, that they are not fo power¬
ful in involving and corredfing the acrimony of the
mafs of blood as has been imagined 5 and that their
chief operation is by lubricating the fauces, and thereby
defending them from the irritation of acrids, either ari-
ling from the lungs or diftilling from the head. For
moderating and quieting the cough in this difeafe, opi¬
ates certainly prove the moft effectual means, whenever
they can be fafely employed. In the meafles, in which
an inflammatory date prevails in a condderable degree,
opiates have indeed by fome been fuppofed to be inad-
miflible : but experience abundantly demonftrates, that
the objeftion made to their ufe is merely hypothetical :
and even in cafes where, from a high degree of pyrexia
and of dyfpnoea, there is reafon to fear the prefence, or
at lead the danger, of pneumonic indammation, opiates
are highly ufefwl, after bleeding, to obviate or abate
the inflammatory date, has been duly employed : in
fuch cafes, while the cough and watchfulnefs are the
urgent fymptoms-, opiates may be fafely exhibited, and
with great advantage. In all the exanthemata, there
is an acrimony diffufed over the fydem, w-hich gives a
conhderable irritation ; and, for obviating the effe&s
of this, opiates are ufeful, and always proper, wdien
no particular contraindication prevails.
When the defquamation of the meades is finidied,
though then there diould be no diforder remaining,
phydcians have thought it neceffary to purge the pa¬
tient feveral times, with a view to draw off what have
been called the dregs of this difeafe ; that is, a portion
of the morbific matter which is fuppofed to remain
long in the body. Dr Cullen does not reject this fup-
pofition j but at the fame time cannot believe that the
remains of the morbific matter, diffufed over the w-hole
mafs of blood, can be wholly drawn off" by purging ;
and therefore thinks, that, to avoid the confequence
«f the meafles, it is not the drawing off the morbific
matter which we need to lludy, fo much as to obviate
and remove the inflammatory ftate of the fyftem which
had been induced by the difeafe. With this lad view,
CINE.
Practice.
indeed, purging may dill be a proper remedy ; but
bleeding, in proportion to the fymptoms of inffam-
niatory difpobtion, is dill more fo.
From our late experience of the ufe of cold air in
the eruptive fever of the fmallpox, fome pbyficians
have been of opinion that the pra£tice may be tranf-
ferred to the meades ; but this point has not yet been
determined by fufficiently extendve experience. We
are certain, that external heat may be very hurtful in
the mealies, as in mod other inflammatory difeafes j
and therefore, that the body ought to be kept in a
moderate temperature during the whole courfe of the
difeafe : but how far, at any period of the difeafe,
cold air may be applied with fafety, is dill uncertain.
Analogy, though fo often the refource of phydcians,
is frequently fallacious 5 and further, though the ana¬
logy with the fmallpox might lead to the application of
cold air during the eruptive fever of the meades, the
analogy with catarrh feems to be againd the prac¬
tice.
When the eruption is upon the fkin, there are many
indances of cold air making it difappear, and thereby
producing much diforder in the fydem 5 and there are
alfo frequent indances of thefe fymptoms being removed
by redoring the heat of the body, and thereby again
bringing out the eruption.
Upwards of 20 years ago, inoculation for the meafies
wTas propofed, and pra£lifed in feveral indances with
fuccefs, by Dr Home of Edinburgh. His method of
communicating the infection was, by applying to an
incidon in each arm cotton moidened with the blood
of a patient labouring under the meades; but with
others who have made dmilar trials, the attempt has
not yet fucceeded. Attempts have been made to ino¬
culate this difeafe by means of the duid difcharged
under the form of tears, the fquamse falling from the
fur face, and the like ; but there is reafon to believe,
that where it was imagined the infedtion had thus been
communicated, the contagion was only carried about
the perfon inoculating and communicated in the ordi¬
nary way.
From inoculation of the meades, it is imagined that
feveral advantages may be obtained j and among others,
it is thought the forenefs of the eyes may be mitigat¬
ed, the cough abated, and the fever rendered lefs fe-
vere. But the praftice was never much employed, and
now is fcarce ever heard of.
Miliaria.
Genus XXXI. MILIARIA.
The Miliary Fe^er.
Miliaria, Lit:. 7.
Miliaris, Sauv. gen. 95. Sag. gen. 295.
Febris miliaris, Vog. 37.
Febris purpurata rubra et alba miliaris, Hojfm. II. 68.
Febris purpurea feu miliaris, Juttch. 75.
Germanis der Friefel. God. Welfch. Hid. Med. de
novo puerperarum morbo, qui der Friefel dicitur,
Lipf. 1655.
Hamilton, de febr. miliar. 1710. Font anus, de febr.
mil. 1747. Allioni de miliar. 1758. Fordijce, de
febr. mil. 1748. Fifcher, de febr. mil, 1767. De
Haen, de divif. febr. 1760, et in Ration, rned. paf-
fim, Matt, Collin ad Baldinger de miliar. 1764.
Miliaris
Practice.
M E D I
Miliaiis benigna, Sduv- ip- I-
Miliarls maligna, Sauv. Tp. 2.
Miliarls recidivans, Sauv. fp. 3.
Miliaris Germanica, Sauv. fp. 5.
Miliaris Boia, Sauv. fp. a.
Miliaris Britannica, Sauv. fp. 1.
Miliaris nova febris, Sijdenh. Schecl. raonit.
fp. d.
Miliaris fudatoria, Sauv. fp. e.
Miliaris nautica, Sauv. fp. g.
Miliaris purpurata, Sauv. fp. h.
Miliaris laftea, Sauv. fp. c.
Miliaris puerperarum, Sauv. fp. k.
Miliaris fcorbutica, Sauv. fp. /.
Miliaris critica, Sauv. fp. b.
Sauv.
Hiftonj and Defcription. This difeafe is faid to have
been unknown to the ancients, and that it appeared
for the firft time in Saxony about the middle of the
laft century. It is faid to have fince fpread from
thence into all the other countries of Europe ; and
fince the period mentioned, to have appeared in
many countries in which it had never appeared be-
fore.
From the time of its having been firtl taken notice
of, it has been defcribed and treated of by many dif¬
ferent writers j and by all of them, till very lately, has
been confidered as a peculiar idiopathic difeafe. It. is
faid to have been conftantly attended with peculiar
fymptoms. It comes on with a cold ftage, which is
often cqnfiderable. The hot ftage, whicn follows, is
attended with great anxiety, and frequent fighing.
The heat of the body becomes great, and foon. pro¬
duces profufe fweating, preceded, however,, with a
fenfe of pricking, as of pin points in the 1km ; and
the fweat is of a peculiar rank and difagreeable odour.
The eruption appears fooner or later in different per-
fons, but at no determined period of the difeafe. It
feldom or never appears upon the face * but appears
firft upon the neck and breaft, and from thence often
fpreads over the whole body.
The eruption named miliary, is faid to be of two
kinds ; the one named the red, the other the white mi¬
liary. The former, which in Englilh is ftriaiy named
a ruth, is commonly allowed to be a fymptomatic af¬
fection ; and as the latter is the only one that has
any pretenfions to be confidered as an idiopathic dit-
cafe, it is this only that we (hall more particularly de-
fcribe and treat of under this genus.
What is then called the white miliary eruption, ap¬
pears at firft like the red, in very fmall red pimples,
for the moft part diftina, but fometimes cluftered .to¬
gether. Their little prominence is better diftingmlh-
ed by the finger than by the eye. Soon after the ap¬
pearance of this eruption, and, at leaft, on the iecond
day, a fmall veficle is vifible upon the top o. the Pim-
ples. At firft the veficle is whey-coloureo : but foon
becomes white, and Hands out like a little globule.
In two or three days, thefe globules break, or are rub¬
bed off •, and are fucceeded by fmall crufts, which foon
after fall off in fmall fcales. While one fet of pimples
takes this courfe, another fet arifes to run the fame ; fo
that the difeafe often continues upon the fkin^ for many
days together. Sometimes when one crop of this erup¬
tion has difappeared, another, after fome interval, is
CINE. 3
produced. And it has been further obferved, that in Ahliana.
fome perfons there isfuch a difpofition to this difeafe, that
they have been affeCfed with it feveral times in the courle
of their lives.
This difeafe is faid to affedl both fexes, and perfons
of all ages and conftitutions : but it has been obferved
at all times, to afteif efpecially, and moft frequently,
lying-in wromen.
It is often accompanied with violent fymptoms, and
has frequently proved fatal. The fymptoms, however,
attending it are very various j but no fymptom, or
concourfe of fymptoms, aie fteadily the lame in different
perfons, fo as to give any fpecific chara&er to the difeafe.
When the difeafe is violent, the moft common fymptoms
are phrenetic, comatofe, and convulfive affedb.ons, which
are alfo fymptoms of all fevers treated by a very warm
regimen.
While there is fuch a variety of fymptoms appear¬
ing in this difeafe, it is not to be expected that any
one particular method of cure can be propofed ; and,
accordingly, we find in different writers different me¬
thods and remedies prefcribed j frequent diiputes about
the moft proper ; and thofe received and recommended
by fome oppofed and deferted by others.
" It appears, however, to Dr Cullen, very improbable,
that this was really a new difeafe, wThen it was firft
confidered as fuch. There are very clear traces of it
authors who wrote long before that period; and
m   „ .
though there were not, we know that ancient defenp-
tions" were often inaccurate and imperfeft, particularly
with I'efpeft to cutaneous afteftions •, and we know alio
that thofe affe&ions which commonly appeared as fymp¬
tomatic only, were often neglected, or coniounded to¬
gether under a general appellation.
The antecedent fymptoms of anxiety, fighing, and
pricking of the Ikin, which have been fpoken of as pe¬
culiar to this difeafe, are, however, common to many
others j and perhaps to all thofe in which fweatings
are forced out by a warm regimen. Of the fymptoms
faid to be concomitant of this eruption, there are none
which can be affirmed to be conftant and peculiar but
that of iweating. This, indeed, always precedes and ac¬
companies the eruption : and, while the miliary erup¬
tion attends many different difeafes, it never, however,
appears in any of thefe but after fweating ; and in
perfons labouring under the fame difeafes it does not
appear, if in fuch perfons fweating be avoided. It is
therefore probable, that the eruption is the effed of
fweating : and that it is the eflfed of a matter not be¬
fore prevailing in the mafs of blood, but generated
under particular circumftances in the Ikin itfelf. That
it depends upon particular circumftances of the Ikin,
is alfo probable from its being obferved that the erup¬
tion feldom or never appears upon the face, although
it affeds the whole of the body befides •, and that it
comes upon thofe places efpecially which are more
clofely covered 5 and that it can. be. brought out upon
particular places by external applications..
It is to be obferved, that this eruptive difeafe dif¬
fers from the other exanthemata in many circumftan¬
ces, efpecially the following 5 that it is not contagious,
and therefore never epidemic ; that the eruption ap¬
pears at no determined period■ of the difeafe; that the
eruption has no determined duration ; that fucceffive
eruptions frequently appear in the courfe of the fame
U u 2 fever.
r<~i •;
34® , M E D I
Exanths- fever, and that fuch eruptions frequently recur in the
i ni“td' courfe of the fame perfon’s life. All this renders it
very probable, that, in the miliary fever, the morbific
matter is not a fubfiliing contagion communicated to
the blood, and thence, in confequence of fever and
aifimilation, thrown out upen the furface of the body,
but a matter occafionally produced in the fldn itfelf
by fweating.
This conclufion is further rendered probable from
hence, that, while the miliary eruption has no fym-
toms or concourfe of fymptoms peculiar to itfelf, it,
upon occafions, accompanies almoit every febrile dif-
eafe, whether inflammatory or putrid, if thefe happen
to be attended with fweating $ and from thence it may
be prefumed, that the miliary eruption is a fympto-
xnatic affedlion only, produced in the manner wehavefaid.
But as this fymptomatic afife&ion does not always
accompany every inftance of fweating, it may be pro¬
per to inquire, what are the circumflances which efpe-
cially determine this eruption to appear ? And to this
Dr Cullen gives no full and proper anfwer. He can¬
not fay that there is any one circumftance which in all
cafes gives occafion to this eruption j nor can he fay
what different caufes, in different cafes, may give oc¬
cafion to it. There is only one obfervation that can be
made to the purpofe ; and it is, that thefe perfons, fweat-
ing. under febrile difeafes, are efpecially liable to the
miliary eruption, who have been previoufly weakened
by large evacuations, particularly of blood. This will
explain why it happens to lying-in women more fre¬
quently than to any other perfons; and to confirm this
explanation, hehasobferved,that the eruption hashappen-
ed to other women, though not in childbed, but who
had been much fubje£ted to a frequent and copious
menftruation, and to an almoft conftant/z/or albus. He
has alfo obferved it to have happened to men in fevers,
after wounds from which they had buffered a great lofs
of blood.
Further, That this eruption is produced hy a certair
ftate of debility, is, he thinks, probable, from its fo of¬
ten attending fevers of the putrid kind, which are al¬
ways accompanied with great debility. It is true, thal
it alfo fometimes attends inflammatory difeafes, when it
cannot be accounted for in the fame manner; but he
believes it may be obferved, that it efpecially attend-
thole inflammatory difeafes in which the fweats have
been long protra&ed, or frequently repeated, and
which have thereby produced a debility, and perhaps
a debilitating putrid diathefis.
That, however, the miliary eruption is not neceffarihy
or even generally connedied with a certain ftate of de-
bihfy, is abundantly evident from its being entirely
wanting in by much the greater number of inftance-
of typhoid fever, and in a variety of other difeafes
where every poffible degree of debility occurs : ^nd
that it is not connefted with any certain ftate of debi-
u7; rtlil ^arther. appears, both from the condition ol
thole affefted with it in different inftances, which in
point of ftrength is very various j and likewife from
the continuance of frefh eruptions with the fame indi¬
vidual, although during that time in very different
ftates with refpea to debility. It appears; therefore,
much more probable, that it depends on fome peculiar
n °f the furface, induced by the concurrW in-
fluence of ceitain predifpofing and occafional caufe's.
CINE. Practice.
It appears fo clearly that this eruption is always a Miliaria.
fymptomatic and fadlitious affe&ion, that Dr Cullen '
is perfuaded it may be, in molt cafes, prevented mere¬
ly by avoiding fweats. Spontaneous fweatings, in the
beginning of difeafes, are very rarely critical j and
all fweatings not evidently critical fliould be pre¬
vented, or at leaft moderated ; and the promoting
them, by increafing external heat, is commonly very
pernicious. Even critical fweats Ihould hardly be en¬
couraged ^ by fuch means. If, therefore, fpontaneous
fweats arife, they are to be checked by the coolnefs
of the chamber; by the lightnefs and loofeneis of the
bedclothes ; by the perfons laying out their arms and
hands ; and by their taking cold drink : and in this
way Dr Cullen thinks he has frequently prevented
miliary eruptions, which were otherwile likely to have
appeared, particularly in puerperal women.
But it may happen, when thefe precautions have
been negle&ed, or from other circumftances, that a mi¬
liary eruption does a&ually appear \ and the queliion
will then be put, how the cafe is to be treated ? This
is a queftion of confequence ; as there is reaibn to be¬
lieve that the matter here generated is often of a vi¬
rulent kind ; it is often the offspring of putrefcency ;
and, when treated by increafing the external heat of
the body, it feems to acquire a virulence which produ¬
ces thofe fymptoms mentioned above, and proves cer¬
tainly fatal. /
It has been an unhappy opinion with moft phyfi-
cians, that eruptive difeafes were ready to be hurt by
cold \ and that it was therefore neceffary to cover up
the body very clofely, and thereby increafe the exter¬
nal heat, We now know that this is a miftaken opi¬
nion ; that increafing the external heat of the body is
very generally mifehievous ; and that feveral eruptions
not only admit, but require the application of cold air.
Dr Cullen is perfuaded, therefore, that the pra&ice
which formerly prevailed in the cale of miliary erup¬
tions, of covering up the body clofely, and both by
external means and internal remedies encouraging the
fweatings which accompany this eruption, was highly
pernicious, and commonly fatal. He is therefore of
opinion, that even wrhen a miliary eruption has appear¬
ed, in all cafes in which the fweating is not manifeilly
critical, we fhould employ all the means of flopping
the fweating that are mentioned above \ and he has
fometimes had occafion to obferve, that even the ad-
miflion of cool air was fafe and ufeful.
This is, in general, the treatment of miliary erup¬
tions : but at the fame time, the remedies fuited to the
primary diieafe are to be employed j and therefore
when the eruption happens to accompany inflamma¬
tory affe£lions, and the fulnefs and hardnefs of the
pulfe or other fymptoms (how an inflammatory ftate
prefent, the cafe is to be treated by blood-letting,
purging, and other antiphlogiftic remedies.
On the other hand, when the miliary eruption
attends difeafes, in which debility and putrefcency
prevail, it will, be proper to avoid all evacuations, and
to employ tonic and antifeptic remedies, particularly
the cinchona, cold drink, and cold air.
The moft diftreifing circumftance attending this af¬
fection, is the almoft unfupportable ficknefs at fto-
mach which frequently occurs, and which is often ob¬
ferved to precede frefti eruptions taking place during,
the
Fra&ice.
M E D I
Exanthe- the courfe of the dlfeafe. With the view of counter-
mata- ^ afting and alleviating this fymptom, recourfe is had to
Y wine and other cordial medicines. But with many
patients nothing is found to have fo much influence
as the ufe of camphor, particularly when introduced
gradually in fmall dofes, under the form of the mijlu-
ra camphorata of the London Pharmacopoeia, or of
the emulfio camphorata of that of Edinburgh.
3<5
Genus XXXII. SCARLATINA.
Scarlet fe^er.
Scarlatina, Sauv. gen. 98. Vbg. 39. Sag. 294.
Junck. 75.
Sp. I. The Mild Scarlet freer.
Scarlatina febris, Saw. fp. 1. Sydenham, fefl; vi.
cap. 2.
Sp. II. The Scarlet Fever with Ulcerated Sore
Throat.
Scarlatina anginofa. Withering on the Scarlet Fe¬
ver.
The mild fcarlet fever is defcribed by Sydenham,
who tells us that he can fcarce account it a difeafe ;
and indeed nothing more feems to be neceflary in the
treatment of it than an antiphlogiftic regimen, avoid¬
ing the application of cold air and cold drink. The
difeafe, however, often rages epidemically, and is attended
with very alarming fymptoms, in which cafe it is
called fcarlatina anginofa.—The beft defcription of this
diftemper has been publilhed by Dr Withering in the
year 1778, This difeafe made its appearance, we are
told, at Birmingham and the neighbouring villages,
about the middle of May 1778. It continued in all its
force and frequency to the end of O&ober •, varying,
however, in fome of its fymptom', as the air grew colder.
In the beginning of November it was rarely met with j
but towards the middle of that month, when the air
became warmer, it increafed again, and in fome meafure
refumed thofe appearances it poffeffed in the fummer
months, but which it had loft during the cold winds in
Oilober.
It affe&ed children more than adults; but feldom
occurred in the former under two years of age, or in
the latter if they had paffed their fiftieth year.
Defcription. With various general fymptoms of
fever, the patient at firft complains of a dejetlion of
fpirits, a flight forenefs or rather ftiffnefs in the neck,
with a fenfe of ftraitnefs in the mufcles of the neck
and ftioulders, as if they were bound with cords.
The fecund day of the fever this forenefs in the throat
increafes, and the patients find a ditnculty in fwallorv-
ing : but the difficulty feems lefs occafioned by the
pain excited in the attempt, or by the ftraitnefs of
the paflage, than by an inability to throw the ne¬
ceflary mufcles into action. The flvin feels hot and dry,
but not h rd; and the patients experience frequent,
fmall, pungent pains, as if touched with the point of
a needle. The breath is hot and burning *0 the lips,
and third makes them whh to drink ; but the ten¬
dency to ficknefs, and the exertions neceflary in deglu¬
tition, are fo unpleafant, that they feldom care to
CINE. 541
drink much at a time. They have much uneafinefs Scarlatina,
alfo from want of reft during the night. In the y
morning of the third day, the face, neck and breaft,
appear redder than ufual : in a few hours this rednefs
becomes univerfal; and increafes to fuch a degree of
intenfity, that the face, body, and limbs, referable a
boiled lobfter in colour, and are evidently fwollen.
Upon preflure the rednefs vaniffies, but foon returns
again. The fkin is fmooth to the touch, nor is there
the leaft appearance of pimples or puftules. The
eyes and noftrils partake more or lefs of the general
rednefs ; and in proportion to the intenfity of this
colour in the eyes, the tendency to delirium prevails.
Things continue in nearly this ftate for two or
three days longer, when the intenfe fcarlet gradually
abates, a brown colour lucceeds, and the ikm be¬
coming rough, peels off in fmall fcales. The tume-
fa&ion fubfides at the fame time, and the patients
gradually recover their ftrength and appetite.
During the whole cour'e of the difeafe, the pulfe
is quick, fmall, and uncommonly feeble, the urine
fmall in quantity; the fub-maxillary glands lomewhat
enlarged and painful to the touch. The velum pen¬
dulum palati, the uvula, the tonfils, and gullet, as far
as the eye can reach, partake of the general rednefs
and tumefaftion ; but although colieftions of thick
mucus, greatly refembling the fpecks or floughs in
the putrid fore throat, fometimes occur, yet thofe are
eafily wafhed off \ and real ulcerations of thofe parts-
were never obferved.
Thefe are the moft ufual appearances of this difor-
der ; but it too frequently affumes a much more fatal
form. In fome children the delirium commences in a
few hours after the firft attack 5 the Ikin is intenfely
hot •, the fcarlet colour appears on the firft or fecond
day, and they die very early on the third. Others
again, who furvive this rapid termination, inftead of
recovering, as is ufual, about the time the Ikin begins
to get its natural colour, fall into a kind of lingering,
and die at laid in the courfe of fix or eight weeks.
In adults, circular livid fpots were frequently ob¬
ferved about the breaft, knees, and elbows 5 alfo large
blotches of red, and others of white intermixed, and
often changing places.
In the month of Oflober, when the air became
colder, the fcarlet colour of the fkin was both lefs
frequent and lefs permanent. Many patients had no
appearance of it at all j while others, efpecially adults,
had a few minute red pimples, crowned with white
pellucid heads. The infide of the throat was con-
fiderably tumefied, its colour a dull red, fometimes
tending to a livid. The pulfe beat in general 130
or 140 ftrokes in a minute j was fmall, but hard,
and fometimes fufficiently fo to juftify the opening of
a vein *, and the blood thus taken away, in every in-
ftauce, when cool, appeared fizy, and the whole crafla-
mentum firm.
Happy would it be, Dr Withering obferves^ if the
baneful influence of this diforder terminated with the
febrile fymptoms.. But in ten or fifteen days from
the ceffation of the fever, and when a complete re¬
covery might be expedled, another train of fymptoms
occurs, which at laft frequently terminate fatally.
The patients, after a few days amendment, feel a.
foraething that prevents their farther approach to
6 - health; ■
312 M E D I
Exant he- hep-ltb ; an unaccountable languor and debility pre-
i iri:'-t?l- vails, a ftiffnefs in the limbs, an accelerated pulle,
dilimbed deep, difrelilh to food, and a fcarcity of
uritie. Thefe fyrnptoms, we are told, are Icon fuc-
ceeded by dwellings of a real droplical nature, form¬
ing fometimes an anafarca, and on other occalions an
afcite;- ; and not unfrequently fcarlatina has proved fa¬
tal, from fupervening hydrothorax in confequence of
the effulion of water into the cbeft. It is unneceflary
to remark, that v\hen this happens, a fatal termina¬
tion is more hidden than from any other modification
of dropfy.
Dr Withering, after examining the accounts given
of this difeafe by different authors, proceeds to the
diagnofis. It may be difiinguifhed, he obferves, from
the petechial fever, by the eruption in the latter ap¬
pearing feldom before the fourth day, by the regula¬
rity and diftin&nefs of the fpots, and by its princi¬
pally occupying the neck, the back, and the loins.
On the other hand, in the fcarlet fever, the eruption
generally appears about the third day ; and eonfilts either
of broad blotches, or elfe one continued rednefs,
which fpreads over the face and the whole body.
In the fever called purpura, the puftules are pro¬
minent, keep their colour under preffure, and never
appear early in the difeafe j whereas in the fcarlet fe¬
ver, the eruption appears more early, is not prominent,
but perfectly fmooth to the touch, and becomes quite
white under preffure.
Although the purple fever and fcarlatina may be
conne6fed by fome general caufe, yet our author takes
occafion to obferve, that they cannot be mere modifi¬
cations of the fame eruption : for examples occur,
he fays, of the fame perfon being firlt feized with one
of thefe diforders, and afterwards with the other;
but he never met with an inffance of the fame perfon
having the fcarlet fever twice \ and he believes it to
be as great an improbability as a repetition of the
fmallpox.
This diforder is particularly diftinguilhed from the
meafes, we are told, by the want of that cough, wa¬
tery eye, and running at the nofe, which are known
to be the predominant fymptoms in the early ftate
of the mealies, but are never known to exilt in the
fcarlatina.
From the erysipelas this difeafe is diftinguilhable,
by the limited feat of the former, together with its
not being contagious.
The cynanche maligna, however, is according to Dr
Withering more difficult to diifinguiffi from this difeafe
than any other; and yet the diftinaion is, he thinks, a
matter of the greateft importance, as the method of
treatment, according to him, ought to be extremely
different.—Although, in a number of circumftances,
thefe two difeafes bear a very great refemblance, yet,*
with a little attention, the one may in general, he thinks
be diftinguilhed from the other. From Dr Fother-
gill’s account of the fore throat attended with ulcers
our author has made out the following charaaerilli-
cal circumftances of the two difeafes, contrafted to one
another.
Scarlatina Anginofa.
Seafon. . Summer . . Au¬
tumn.
4
Angina Gangrenofa.
Seafon. . Spring . . Win¬
ter.
CINE.
Scarlatina Anginofa.
Air. . Hot . . . Dry.
Places. High . . Dry . , .
Gravelly.
Subjects. Vigorous. Both
lexes alike. . Robuft: in
moft danger. . . .
Skin. Full fcarlet . . . .
fmooth . . If pimply,
the pimples white at
the top . . Always dry
and hot.
Eyes. Shining, equable,
intenfe rednefs, rarely
watery.
Throat. In fummer, ton-
fils, &c. little tume¬
fied 5 no flough . . In
autumn, more fwelled.
Integuments feparat-
ing . . Sloughs wffiite.
Breath. Very hot, but not
fetid.
Voice. In fummer, natural.
Bowels. Regular at the
acceffion.
Blood. Buffy. . Firm.
Termination. The 3d, 3th,
8th, or nth day.
Nature. Inflammatory.
Practice.
Angina Grangenofa. Scarlatina.
Air. .Warm . . Moift. ' v”' '"J
Places. Clofe. . Low . .
Damp. . Marfhy.
SukjeEls. Delicate . . Wo¬
men and female chil¬
dren. Robuft adults not
in danger.
Skin. Red tin£t . . pim¬
ply. . The pimples red¬
der than the interftices
. . bedewed with fweat
towards morning.
Eyes. Inflamed and wa¬
tery, or funk and dead.
Throat. Tonfils, &c. con-
fiderably fwelled and
ulcerated . . . Sloughs
dark brown.
Breath. Offenfive to the
patients and affiftants.
Voice. Flat and rattling.
Bowels. . Purging at the
acceffion.
Blood. . Florid . . Tender.
Termination. No ftated
period.
Nature. Putrid.
It is not pretended, Dr Withering remarks, that all
the above-contrafted fymptoms will be met with in
every cafe. It is enough, he obferves, that fome of
them appear; and that if, conjoined with the confi-
deration of the prevailing conftitution, they enable us
to direft that mode of treatment which will moft con¬
tribute to the relief of the fick.
But notwithftanding the attention which Dr Wi¬
thering has beftowed upon this fubjeft, we are ftill
decidedly of opinion, that the difeafe which he has fo
accurately deferibed under the title of fcarlatina angino¬
fa, is in reality the fame affection with the malignant
ulcerous fore throat of Huxham and Fothergill. 'Dur-
ing different epidemics, this difeafe, like fmallpox and
meafles in different feafons, is confiderably varied in
its appearance. But ftill there occurs fuch a fimila-
rity as clearly marks the famenefs of the affeftion.
And indeed this, as in the cafe of the fmallpox, is
abundantly demonftrated by infection from one con¬
tagion giving protedion againft fucceeding ones, al¬
though the appearances be much varied. This has par¬
ticularly appeared at Edinburgh, where the difeafe has of
late prevailed as an epidemic on five different years viz.
I774-75» 1782-83, 1789-90, 1797-98, and 1804-5!
During the firft of thefe occafions, in the greater part of
patients, the fore throats were of a very gangrenous
and malignant nature : during the fecond, the difeafe
more commonly appeared under the form of what might
be calledfcarlatina : and during the other epi¬
demics, the contagion was, if we may be allowed the ex-
preflion, of an intermediate nature. But it is farther to
be remarked, that during every one of thofe epidemics,
when feverai children of a family were at the fame time
fubje&ed
{Si
pradice. M E D I
Jlxamhe- futjjeclecl to die infeflion, in one the difeafe would have
mata. attended with almoit all the fympton-iS mentioned
u'"''v ^ 5n the column of fcarlatina anginofa, with refpedd to
ikin, eyes, throat, breath, bowels, termination of the
affeftions, &c. In another, would have occurred all
the fymptoms with refpedl; to thofe particulars which
he has mentioned under the column of angwa gan-
grenofa. While at the fame time, in numberlefs m-
itances, even in the fame patient, the difeafe at its
commencement has fhown evident marks of an inilam-
matory, and at its termination of a putrid tendency.
And there cannot be a doubt, that both the fcarlatina
anginofa of Withering, and the cynanche maligna, as
defcribed bv Fothergill and Huxham, have occurred in
every feafon and lituation, and have affefled perlons of
every age and conflitution not before fubjedled to either
difeafe.
Caufes. Dr Withering affirms, that the immediate
caufe of this difeafe is a poiion or a peculiar kind com¬
municable by contagion.
2. That this poiion firft takes poffeffion of the
mucous membrane lining the fauces and the nofe j
and either by its aftion upon the fecretory glands,
or upon the mucus itfelf, affimilates that mucus to its
own nature.
3. That it is from this beginning, and from this on¬
ly, that it fpreads to the ftomach, &c. and at length
afts upon the fyftem at large.
4. That its firft a&ion upon the nerves is of a feda-
tive or debilitating nature.
g. That in confequence of certain laws of the ner¬
vous fyftem, when the debilitating eftedls operate upon
the fenforium commune, a reaftion takes place ; and
that this reaction is, catens paribus, proportioned to the
debilitating power. # .
6. That, in confeciuence of this reaftion of tne
nervous fyftem, the vibratory motion ot the capillary
blood-veffels dependant thereon is greatly increafed ;
an unufually large quantity of blood is accumulated in
thofe veffels 5 the heart and large blood-veffels are de¬
prived of their cuftomary proportion 5 and hence, though
ftimulated to more frequent contraftion, the pulfe muft
neceffarily be feeble.
n. That as violent exertions are followed by debility,
upon the ceffation of the fever, the capillary^ veffels,
which had afted with fuch unufual violence, are left
in a ftate of extreme debility, and are long in recover¬
ing their tone } hence it is that fo many patients after¬
wards become dropfical.
Dr Withering next proceeds to the confideration of
the different remedies, which either are at prefent in
common ufe, or have been recommended as proper in
this difeafe.
Cure. Blood-letting has been recommended by au¬
thors j but fuch was the ftate of the pulfe in this di -
order, at leaft during the fummer months, that it wras
not in any inftance thought advifable to take away
blood. In fome cafes, indeed, where the fiery red-
nefs of the eyes feemed to demand the ufe of leeches,
they were had recourfe to, but never with any ad¬
vantage. In the harveft months, when the pulfe was
more firm, and when fuffocation feemed to be threaten¬
ed from the fwelling in the fauces, blood-letting was
fometimes advifed j but ftill with lefs advantage than
CINE. 343
one would have expected in almoft any other fitua Scarlatina.
tion.
Vomiting.] This, Dr Withering obferves, feems to
be the remedy of nature •, and he is furprifed how it
Ihould have been omitted by feveral authors who have
gone before him. Vomiting, he fays, moft amply ful¬
fils the indications arifing both from a confideration of
the caufe and of the effe£fs ; and a liberal ufe of the re¬
medy he holds forth as the true foundation for fu«-
cefsful pra£tice in fcarlet fever and fore throat. His
common form of emetic is a combination of tartar
emetic and ipecacuanha, given in pretty fmart dofes •,
and thefe are to be repeated-at leaft once in 48 hours,
and in the worft cafes fo often as twice in 24 hours.
Purging.] The a£!ion of purgatives is confidered
by Dr Withering as altogether repugnant to the cu¬
rative indications in this diieale : for the poifons, as for¬
merly remarked, being received into the fyftem by the
fauces, the operation of a purge, inftead ol difeharging
it, can only promote its diffufion along the alimentary
canal 5 and in fa£t, we are told, that when even a
a fpontaneous purging fupervenes in this dil'eafe, the
patients fink fo amazingly fall, that it is not within
the reach of art to fupport them. When, however, a
confiderable quantity of acrid matter palling from the
fauces into the ftomach, makes its wTay to the reftuxn,
a confiderable degree of loofenefs often takes place.
And although evacuations from the fyftem in general
by means of cathartics may be hurtlul, yet patients
often obtain great relief from a free difeharge of this
matter; and by difeharging it, purgatives have the
effeft even of preventing an evacuation from the fyftem,
which wTould otherwife take place.
Sudorifics. Cordials. Alexipharmics.] None of
thefe remedies were found beneficial. With refpeft to
cordials, Dr Withering oblerves, that although they
feem to be indicated by the great lofs of ftrength and
feeble pulfe, yet the certain confequence of their ufe
always was, an increafe of reftleffnefs, of the delirium,
and of the heat.
Diuretics.] Thefe were found very beneficial. The
vegetable fixed alkali is recommended as the moft pro¬
per article of this kind : a dram or twTo may be eafily
fwallowed every 24 hours, by giving a Imall quantity
in every thing the patient drinks. Diuretics, how?ever,
have been found principally ferviceable, by practi¬
tioners in general, in thofe cafes where the urine is ob-
ferved to be fcanty, and where dropfical fymptoms have
taken place.
Cinchona. ] No medicine, we are told, ever had
a fairer trial in any difeafe than the Peruvian bark
had in this epidemic •, for the feeble pulfe, great pro-
ftration of ftrength, with here and there a livid fpot,
were thought to be fuch undeniable evidences of a pu¬
trid tendency, that cinchona was poured down not
with a fparing hand. But this was only at firft } for
thefe livid fpots and the Houghs in the throat being
found to be the effeas of inflammation inftead of pu-
trefaaion, and the bark inftead of diminilhing, rather
increafing thefe fymptoms, it was at laft entirely laid
afide by Dr Withering in his praaice. But although
cinchona may not have been fuccefsful wjth a particu¬
lar epidemic at a particular place } yet from the con¬
curring teftimony of many pra&itioners, it is very com-
® manly
M E D I
- rnonly found to be productive of good eft’eCts : And
there is perhaps no remedy on which greater depend-
ance is in general put, particularly in the advanced pe¬
riods of the difeafe, where thefoetor is confiderable.
Upon the fame principles that cinchona was pre-
•fcribed, fixable air was at firft likewife advifed, but
with no evident effe&s either one way or another.
Dulcified acids were alfo had recourfe to, but with no
advantage.
Opiates.] Thefe, although recommended by fome
authors for the removal of inquietude and watchfulnefs,
yet in this epidemic, inftead of effecting thefe purpofes,
always increafed the diltrefs of the patient.
B'iflers.] In the fummer appearance of the difeafe,
blitters were univerfally detrimental •, they never failed
to hatten the delirium ; and if the cafe was of the
worft kind, they too often confirmed its fatal tendency.
But although this may have been the cafe during the
epidemic which Dr Withering defcribes, it has by no
means been generally obferved. On the contrary, by
the early application of blitters to the external fauces,
both the glandular fwellings and likewife the dilcbarge
from the mouth and Buces have been much diminilh-
ed ; and pra&itioners have believed, net without pro¬
bable reafon, that the after-affeCtions of the throat
were lefs confiderable than would otherwife have been
the cafe.
InjeCted gargles of contrayerva decoCtion, fweeten-
ed with oxymel of fquills, &c. were found very bene¬
ficial in bringing always large quantities of vifeid ropy
Huff from the fauces.
The immerfion of the feet and legs in warm water,
although it did no harm, yet did not either procure
fleep or abate the delirium, as it frequently does in
other kinds of fever.
As in fummer it was found difficult to keep the pa¬
tients fufficiently cool, they were ordered to lie upon
a mattrefs inltead of a feather-bed ; a free circula¬
tion of air was kept up j and where the patients ftrength
would admit of it, they were ordered frequently out
of doors. Animal food and fermented liquors were
denied them, and nothing allowed but tea, coffee,
chocolate, milk and water, gruel, barley-water, and
fuch articles.
With refpeCI to the dropfical diforder which fo fre¬
quently fucceeds to this complaint, it was never obfer^
ved, Dr Withering remarks, when the preceding fymp-
toms had been properly treated.
When called upon to patients in the dropfical Hate,
he began his .practice by a dofe of calomel at night,
and a purgative in the morning. When a febrile
pulfe attended the other fymptoms, emetics were use¬
ful, as well as the faline draughts and other neutral
falls. When great debility, comatofe or peripneu-
monic fymptoms occurred, blifters were found very fer-
viceable : but when dropfical fymptoms were the prin¬
cipal caufe of complaint, fmall dofes of rhubarb and
calomel were advifed j recourfe was alfo had to diluted
folutions of fixed alkalies, fquills, Seltzer waters, and
and other diuretics.
When the urine flows freely, fleel and other tonics
are recommended ; together with gentle exercife, high-
leafoned food, wine, and the wearing of flannel in con-
ta£t with the fkin.
Dr Withering concludes his effay with an enumera-
3
CINE. Praaice.
tion of feveral cafes, treated according to the principles Urticaria,
above laid down. The fuccefsful termination of thefe ^ rr'1
cafes demonflrates the propriety of the pradtice which
he has recommended $ at lead for the epidemic under
the form in which it then appeared.
Since Dr Withering’s publication, two other practices
have obtained confiderable celebrity in this difeafe.
The one is daffiing cold water on the furface of the
body in the manner recommended by Dr Currie in
proper fevers. It is, however, very certain that al¬
though this may obviate fymptems, and particularly di-
minilh the heat when very urgent, yet it never pro¬
duces an artificial termination of the difeafe as fome
have alleged. When the contagion of fcarlatina is
introduced into a human body, never before fubjedted
to the difeafe, it muft, like fmallpox and mealies,
run a certain courfe, and the attention of the practi¬
tioner mufl merely be employed in endeavouring to
render that courfe as mild as he can, principally by ob¬
viating urgent fymptoms.
The other remedy, lately introduced, and highly
commended in fcarlatina anginola, is the oxygenated
muriatic lead. This has been particularly extolled by
Mr John Ayrey Braithwaite, furgeon at Lancafter.
One dram of the oxygenated muriatic acid is mixed
with eight ounces of diltilled water. This quantity he
direCls to be taken by a patient at the age of puberty
every day. But the quantity mult be regulated by the
age and fituation of the patient. This remedy alfo is
only ufeful as obviating fymptoms, particularly the af-
feCtion of the throat. But with this intention we have
often employed it with great advantage.
Genus XXXIII. URTICARIA.
231
NsTTLM-RjtSB.
Febris urticata, Vog, 40.
Uredo, Lin. 8.
Purpura urticata, Junck. 75.
Scarlatina urticata, Sauv. fp. 2.
Eryfipelalis fpecies altera, Sydenham, fed. vi.
cap. 6.
Febris fcarlatina, et febris urticata, Meyferey, Mai.
des armees, 291 et feq.
Defcription. This difeafe has its Englilh name of
nettle-raih from the refemblance of its eruption to that
made by the flinging of nettles. Thefe little elevations
upon the lkin in the nettle-raffi often appear inftant-
aneoufly, efpecially if the Ikin be rubbed or fcratched,
and feldom flay many hours in the fame place, and
fometimes not many minutes. No part of the body is
exempt from them j and where many of them rife to-r
gether, and continue an hour or two, the parts are
often confiderably fwelled ; which particularly happens
in the face, arms, and hands. Thefe eruptions will
continue to infeft the Ikin, fometimes in one place and
fometimes in another, for one or two hours at a time,
two or three times every day, or perhaps for the
greateft part of the 24 hours.—In fome perfons they
laft only a few days, in others many months; nay,
fometimes the difeafe has lafted for years with very
Ihort intervals.
But though the eruption of the urticaria refembles,
as already obferved, that produced by the flinging of
nettles,
Practice. M E D I
Exanthe- nettles, it is fometimes accompanied with long weals,
, mata- as if the part had been ftruck with a whip. What¬
ever be the fhape of thefe eminences, they always ap¬
pear folid, without having any cavity or head con¬
taining either water or any other liquor : and this
affords an eafy mark whereby this difeafe may be di-
ftinguifhed from the itch. For it often happens, that
the infufferable itching with which this eruption is at¬
tended, provokes the patient to fcratch the parts fo
violently, that a fmall part of the cuticle on the top of
thefe little tumors is rubbed off; a little fcab fucceeds ;
and, when the fwelling is gone down, there is left an
appearance hardly to be diftinguiffied from the itch,
but by the circumdance juft now’ mentioned. The net-
tle-ralh alfo further differs from the itch, in not being in¬
fectious.
Caufes, &.c. Dr Heberden is inclined to aferibe
this diftemper to fome mechanical caufe outwardly ap¬
plied to the Ikin. He obferves, that moft people fuf-
fer in a fimilar manner from the real flinging of nettles.
Cowdrage, or, as it is corruptly called, cow-itch, a
fort of phafeolus, or French bean, the pod of which
is covered over with a kind of down or hair, and the
effeCt of which upon the Ikin is much the fame as that
of nettles j and almoft any hairs cut equally ftmrt, and
fprinkled upon the fldn, whenever they happen to flick
in it, will make the part itch or fmart in fuch a man¬
ner as to give great uneafinefs 5 it is alfo a conftderable
time before the fkin can be cleared of the finer ones,
when once they are ftrewed upon it.
Reaumur, in the fourth memoir of his Hiftory of
InfeCts, deferibes a fpecies of caterpillars to which be¬
long a fort of hairs almoft invifible to the naked eye,
which are eaftly detached, and frequently float in the
air round their neft, though it have not been at all
difturbed. The touch of thefe hairs has a fimilar effeCl:
with the cowT-itch \ that is, they occaffon intolerable
itchings, with little bumps and rednefs, arifing fome¬
times to a flight inflammation. Thefe he found would
continue four or five days, if the animal or the neft
had been much handled $ and though they had not
been touched at all, yet, by only walking near their
nefts, the fame effeCls would be brought on, but for a
fhorter time. Thefe hairs affeCt the fkin in this man¬
ner by flicking in it, as he could perceive with a glafsof
a great magnifying power-, for with one of a fmall pow-er
they were not vifible. The uneafy fenfations caufed by
thefe fmall wmunds, not only, as he fays, laft feveral
days, but move from one part of the body to another; fo
that they will ceafe upon one wrift, and immediately
begin on the other} from the wrift they will go to the
fingers or the face, or even to the parts of the body
which are covered. He fuppofes, that the motions of
the body, when much of ttois fine down lies near or upon
the fkin, may drive it from one part to another, or
change what was lying there inoffenfively to a fituation
fit to inake it penetrate into the fkin. Neither cold
water, nor oil, nor fpirit of wine, with which the
parts affefted were bathed, had any effeft in removing
the itching. He thinks the moft efficacious remedy
which he tried for this complaint was, to rub the parts
ftrongly with parfley, which inftantly leffened the fen¬
fations, and after two or three hours, entirely freed the
patient from them. It is alfo w-ell known, that many
fpecies of caterpillars, by only walking over the hands,
Vol,XIII. Fart I.
G 1 N E. 345
will produce fomething like this effe£t on the parts Urticaria,
which they touch, and undoubtedly from the fame *
caufe.
Dr .Heberden afks, Is it impoflible that the nettle,-
rafh fhould arife from the lame caufes, or from others
fimilar, which we mils by looking too deeply for
them in the blood and humours ? Such, fays he, may
have been its origin in fome inftances, where it has
lafted only a .few days; but where this affeftion has
continued for fome years, in perfons who change then-
linen every day, and who bathe frequently all the
time, it can hardly be aferibed to fuch an external
caufe. He has obferved it frequently to arife from
cantharides : but though it has continued many weeks
after the removal of the blifter, yet it might be fu-
fpedted that this arole from the fine fpiculee of the
cantharides flicking all this time about the Ikin ; it
being cuftomary to fttew much of the dry powder of
the cantharides over the blifter-platter, whence it may
readily be carried to other parts of the body. But it
is certain that fimilar effedts will fometimes follow the
internal ufe of wild valerian root, or the eating of filh
not fufticiently dreffed ; mufcles, thrimps, and even
honey, and the kernels of fruits, will alfo fometimes
produce fymptoms of a fimilar kind. But whatever
be its caufe, Dr Heberden never faw any reafon to
fuppofe that the nettle-raih had in any way vitiated
the humours to fuch a degree as to require the ufe of
internal remedies 5 and if the itching could be cer¬
tainly and expeditiouffy allayed, there would be no
occafion for any farther cure. He concludes this
hiftory of the diforder with a cafe communicated
to him by Dr Monfey, phyfician of Chelfea College,
and in which the difeafe appeared with uncommon
violence.
W. A. aged near 30, of a thin fpare habit, was
feized with a diforder attended with fymptoms of a
very uncommon kind. Whenever he went into the
air, if the fun ftrined bright, he was feized with a
tickling of his flelh on thole parts expofed to the fun :
this tickling, by his continuing in the air, increafed ta
a violent itching, attended with great heat and pain :
the Ikin would then be almoft as red as vermilion, and
thicken like leather ; and this remained till he wentout
of the open air, and then abated in about 15 or 20 mi¬
nutes. This happened only wftien the fun was above
the horizon ; at other times he was what he called
quite well.—But it was not owing to the heat of the
fun ; for the fun in winter affefted him full as much,
if not more, and the heat of the fire had no fuch ef-
fedt. Thus he was confined to the houfe for 10 years.
He tried feveral hofpitals, and had advices from many
phyficians, without the leaft abatement of his com¬
plaints. At laft it was agreed by a confultatior\ of
phyficians, that he fhould try dipping in fait water j
which he did at Yarmouth for 13 weeks, without any
vifible amendment. One hot day, having pulled off
his clothes and gone into the fea in the middle of the
day, the heat diffufed itfelf fo violently all over his
body, that, by the. time he had put on his clothes,
his eyefight began to fail, and he was compelled to lie
down upon the ground to favehimfelf from falling. The
moment he lay down, the faintnefs went off: upon this
he got up again ; but had no fooner arifen, than he
found hirafelf in the former condition : he therefore lay
X x down
/
346 M E D I
Exanthe- down again, and immediately recovered. He continued
, niata. alternately getting up and lying down, till the diforder
v began to be exhaufted, which was in about half an
hour ; and he wTas frequently obliged to have recourfe
to the fame expedient.
Having at laid accidentally met with Dr Monfey,
this phyfi'cian queftioned him concerning the caufe of
the difcrder ; but nothing could be gueffed at,^ ex¬
cepting that the patient owned he had one winter
lived entirely upon bullock’s liver and porter, from
inability to purchafe better vi&uals. A comrade lived
with him at that time, on the fame provifions 5 and
he alfo was affe&ed in a fimilar manner, though in a
lefs degree, and had recovered. This patient was then
firft put upon a courfe of Dover’s fweating powder
without any effedd, and afterwards tried a courfe of ni¬
trous ones with the fame bad fuccefs. At laid Dr
Monfey determined to try the effedd of mercury, which
happily proved effeddual in removing this obflinate and
uncommon dildemper. The patient began with taking
five grains of calomel for three nights running, and a
cathartic next morning. In this courfe he went on for
near a fortnight, at the end of which he found him-
felf very fenfibly relieved. This encouraged him to go
on rather too boldly, by which means a flight faliva-
tion enfued 5 however, tdiat went off foon, and in about
fix weeks he was quite well.—Some time after, he was
threatened with a return of his diforder ; but this was
effeddually relieved by a dofe of calomel, which he had
afterwards occafion to repeat for the fame reafon, and
wfith the fame fuccefs} but at laid the diforder feemed
to be radically cured, by his having no further fymp-
toms of a relapfe.
Genus XXXIV. PEMPHIGUS.
Pemphigus, Sctuv. gen. 93. Sag. 291.
Morta, Lin. 1.
Febris bullofa, fog. 41.
Pemphigus major, Sauv. fp. 1.
Exanthemata ferofa, C. Vifon. Obf. 150.
Febris pemphygodes, Ephem. Germ. D. I. A. viii.
Obf. 56.
Pemphigus caftrenfis, Sauv. fp. 2.
Febres fyneches, cum veficulis per peddus et col-
lum fparfis, Morton. App. ad Exerc. II.
Pemphigus Helveticus, Sauv. fp. 3. Langhans in
Add. Helvet. vol. ii. p. 260. et in Befchreib»ng
des Siementhals, Zurich 1753.
This is a very rare difeafe, infomuch that Dr Cul¬
len declares he never faw it. He declines taking the
deferiptions of foreign phyficians: we fhall therefore
content ourfelves with giving an inftance of this very
uncommon dildemper, as it was obferved in the Infir¬
mary at Aberdeen, and was treated by the late Dr
David Stuart, then phyllcian to that hofpital, who
ifoon after publilhed an account of it in the Edinburgh
Medical Commentaries. A private foldier of the 73d
regiment, aged eighteen years, formerly a pedlar, and
naturally of a healthy conftitution, was received into
the hofpital at Aberdeen on the 25th of April. About
twenty days before that, he had been feized with the
meafles when in the country ; and, in marching to
town, on the fecond day of their eruption, he was ex-
pofed to cold 3 upon which they fuddenly difappeared.
CINE.
Practice.
Having arrived at Aberdeen, he wras quartered in a Pemphigus,
damp, ill-aired, under-ground apartment. He then
complained of ficknefs at ftomach, great oppreflion
about the praecordia, headach, laflitude, and weari-
nefs, on the leafi: exertion 3 with ftiffnefs and rigidity
of his knees and other joints. The furgeon of the re¬
giment vifited him : he was purged, but with little
benefit. About ten days before, he obferved on the
infide of his thighs a number of very fmall, diftindt,
red fpots, a little elevated above the furface of the
Ikin, and much refembling the firlt appearance of fmall-
pox. This eruption gradually fpread itfelf over his
whole body, and the puflules continued every day to in-
creafe in fize.
Upon being received into the hofpital, he complain¬
ed of headach, ficknefs at ftomach, oppreflion about
the praecordia, thirft, fore throat, with difficulty of
fwallowing 5 his tongue wras foul, his fldn felt hot and
feverilh 3 pulfe from 110 to 120, rather depreffed 3
belly coftive 3 eyes dull and languid, but without deli¬
rium. The wrhole furface of his flan was interfperfed
with weficles, or phlydlmnte, of the fize of an ordinary
walnut 3 many of them were larger, efpecially on the
arms and breaft. In the interftices, between the vefi-
cles, the appearance of the fkin was natural, nor was
there any rednefs round their bale 3 the diftance from
one to another was from half an inch to a hand-
breadth or more. In fome places two or three w'ere
joined together, like the puftules in the confluent fmall-
pox. A few vehicles had burft of themfelves, and form¬
ed a whitilh fcab or cruft. Thefe were chiefly on the
neck and face 3 others Ihowed a tolerably laudable pus.
However, by far the greateft number were perfe&ly
entire, turgid, and of a bluifti colour. Upon opening
them, it jWas evident that the cuticle elevated above
the cutis, and diftended with a thin, yellowifh, femi-
pellucid ferum, formed this appearance. Nor was the
furface of the cutis ulcerated or livid 3 but of a red
florid colour, as when the cuticle is feparated by a
blifter, or fuperficial burning. No other perfon la¬
boured under a fimilar difeafe, either in the part of the
country from which he came, or when he refided in
Aberdeen.
This cafe was treated in the following manner. The
largeft of the veficles were fnipped, and drefl'ed with
unguent, e lap. calaminari. In the evening he was vo¬
mited with a folution of tartar emetic, given in fmall
quantities and at intervals. This alfo procured two
loofe ftools. And he was ordered for drink, water-
gruel acidulated with lemon juice.
“ April 16. He ftill complained of ficknefs, fome
oppreflion about his breaft, and fore throat 3 he had
flept little during the night 3 his tongue was foul and
blackifti 3 his Ikin, however, was not fo hot as the pre¬
ceding day 3 his urine was high-coloured, but had the
appearance of feparation 3 his pulfe 90, and foft 3 moft
of the fores on the trunk of the body looked clean.
Others, particularly where the veficles were confluent,
feemed beginning to ulcerate, and to have a bluifh fub-
livid appearance. They were dreffed afrelh with ce¬
rate, and he was ordered the following medicines:
JJo Decofl, Cort. Peruvian. Sjvj. Vini rubr. Lufitan-,
fiij. M. Hujus mixturte capiat 3E, tertia qua-
que hora.
« His
mata.
Pradice. M E D I
Exanthe- “ His acidulated drink was continued •, and on ac¬
count of the very offenfive fmell on approaching near
him, fome vinegar was placed in a bafon before the
bed, and fprinkled on the floor j and the room was
kept properly aired.
“ April 17. His fores looked tolerably clean, un-
Icfs on his arms and thighs j where they were livid, a
little ulcerated, and difcharged a bloody ichor.
“ His headach, ficknefs, &c. were almoft gone ; his
tongue was rather cleaner *, pulfe 68, and foft. As
the decoftion of the bark fat eaflly on his ftomach, the
following prefcription was ordered :
R Pulv. fubtiliff. Cort. Peruv. 5^- ^ini rubri Lu-
fitan. Aquae fontan. aa |fs. M. ft. Haul!, tertia
quaque hora repetend.
The acidulated drink was continued, and frefli dreflings
applied to the fores. . ,. , , • ,
« April 18. The little ulcers in his arms and thighs
foil difcharged a bloody ichor, and looked ill j his other
complaints were better j pulfe 82. The bark had not
naufeated him, and it was continued as well as his for¬
te April IQ- His fores looked much cleaner and
better; the fever was gone, his pulfe natural, and he
had no complaint but weaknefs and a troubleiome
itching of the fkin : The Peruvian bark, &c. were con-
Un«e Aoril 20. Some of the ulcers flill poured forth a
bloody 'ichor ; moft of them, however, looked well,
and had begun to heal-fever gone—medicines conti-
n°4^ From the 2ifl of April, he went on gaining
flrength, and his fores appeared to heal faftj he was
defired to take only four dofes every dayand by the
27th his fores, &c. were totally dried up—he had no
complaint, and was difmiffed cured.” . ,
Since the publication of this cafe of pemphigus by
Dr Stuart, obfervations on this difeafe have been pu-
blifhed by Dr Stephen Dickfon of Dublin, in the 1 ranf-
adfions of the Royal Irifli Academy. In °b-
fervations, an account is given of fix different cafes
which Dr Dickfon has had an opportunity of feeing.
Judging from thefe, Dr Dickfon thinks that Dr Cul¬
len’s definition of this difeafe requires correction , an
that it ought to be defined, “ a fever accompanied
with the fucceflive eruption, from different parts of the
body, internal as well as external, of veficles about the
fize'of an almond, which become turgid with a faintly
yellovvifti lerum, and in three or four days fubnde.
y From the cafes which have fallen under Dr Dick-
fon’s obfervation, he concludes, that the difeafe varies
confiderably as to its mildnefs or malignity. In three
of the cafes which he has feen, the fymptoms were ex¬
tremely mild, but in the other three ftrong fymptoms
of putrefeency were manifeaed, and the life of the pa¬
tient was in great danger. With .refpea to he me¬
thod of cure, he is of opinion, that the general fymp¬
toms of weaknefs, and tendency to putrefaaion obvi-
oufiy point out the proper treatment. Nounftiment
muft be fupplied, and the Peruvian bark and wine caie-
fully adminiftered; and when veficles appear 011 ^ er'
r.al parts, irritation muft be guarded agamft by opiates,
-demulcents, and gentle laxatives. r A nf npm
Some additional obfervations on the fub^edt 01 pem-
C I N E.
phigus have lately been publiihed in the London Me¬
dical Journal by Mr Thomas Chriftie. From a cafe
which Mr Chriftie deferibes, he is difpofed to agree
with Dr Dickfon in thinking that fometimes at leait
pemphigus is not contagious. He remarks, however,
that the pemphigus deferibed by fome foreign writers
was extremely infedious j which he thinks may lead
to a divifion of the difeafe into two fpecies, the pem¬
phigus ftmplex and complicatus; both of which but
Specially the laft, feem to vary much with relped to
rtiildnefs and malignity.
Genus XXXV. APHTHA.
The Thrush.
Aphtha, Sauv. gen. 100. Lin. 9. Sag. 298.
Boerh. 978. Hoffm. II. 478. Junci. itf.
Febris aphthofa, Vog. 44.
The only idiopathic fpecies is the thrufti to which
infants are fubjeft j (Aphtha laftucimen, Sauv. ip. I-)
The aphthse are whitifti or afli-coloured puftules, in¬
vading the uvula, fauces, palate, tonlils, infide of the
cheeks, gums, tongue, and lips. Itiey for the moft
part begin at the uvula, fending forth a glutinous mu¬
cus, and the puftules covering all or the greateft
number of the parts above mentioned, with a thick
whitifti cruft adhering moft tenacioufly. Ibis crult
does not induce an efehar on the parts on which it
lies by eating into them, but comes off in whole pieces
after the puftules have arrived at maturity. Phis wi
often happen in a ftiort time, fo that the throat and
internal parts of the mouth are frequently obferved to
be clean, which a few years before were wholly cover¬
ed with white crufts. Neither is this difeafe confined
to the throat and fauces, but is faid to affeft the odo-
pliagus, ftomach, and all parts of the alimentary canal.
Of this indeed there is no other proof, than that, after
a great difficulty of fwallowing, there is fometimes an
irnmenfe quantity of aphtha, evacuated by ftool and
vomiting, inch as the mouth could not be thought ca¬
pable of containing.
Caufes, &c. The aphthous fever feems to be pro.
duced by cold and moifture, as it is found only in the
northern countries, and efpecially in marlhy places,
and in them the aphthae often appear without any fever
^ frognojis. There is no fymptom by which the
coming out of aphtha can be foretold though they are
common in many fevers , but they them elves are in
general a bad fymptom, and always fignfty a very te¬
dious diforder: the danger denoted by them is in pro¬
portion to the difficulty of
rhoea accompanying them is likeuife M .
deed generally carries off old people when they be¬
come affeded with aphthae. Ihe dark-coloured aph¬
tha alfo are much more dangerous than mch as are of
a brown or affi colour •, but it is a good fign when he
appetite returns, and the dark-coloured ones are fuc-
ceeded by others of a whiter colour. Neither are thofe
which Je unaccompanied with fever fo dangerous as
the^other kmd.^^ are feldom a primary difeafe,
we muft generally endeavour to remove the dr order
upon which they depend, after which they will fall
r Y v 2 011 ?
233
348
Hsemcr-
rhagise.
off*, but in the mean time we are not to neglect appli¬
cations to the aphthae themfelves, fuch as detergent
and foftening gargles made of the decoftion of figs,
with the addition of honey of rofes, a little vinegar,
and fome tinfture of myrrh.
234 Order IV. HiEMORRHAGLE.
Hemorrhages.
Hoemorrhagiae, Vog. Clafs II. Ord. I. Hofftn. II.
194. Junck. 5.
Sanguifluxus, Sauv. Clafs IX. Ord. I. San.
Clafs V. Order I.
235 IGenus XXXVI. EPISTAXIS.
Bleeding at the Nose.
Hsemorrhagia, Satw. gen. 239. Lin. 173. Sag.
gen. 174^
Haemorrhagia narium, Hojm. II. 196. Janch. 6.
Haemorrhagia plethorica, Sauv. fp. 22. Hoffm. II.
198.
The other fpecies enumerated by authors are all
fymptcmatic.
Defcription. The milder fpecies of this haemorrhage
comes on more frequently in fummer than in winter,
and for the moft part without giving any warning, or
being attended with any inconvenience ; but the’ lefs
benign kind is preceded by feveral remarkable fymp-
toms. Thefe are, congeftions of the blood fometimes
in one part, and fometimes in another, and which are
often very troublefome in the fides of the head : there
is a rednefs of the cheeks ; an inflation of the face,
and of the veffels of the neck and temples ^ a tinnitus
curium ; a heavy pain of the eyes, with a prominence,
drynefs, and fpaiks ^ there is a vertiginous affedfion of
the head, with an itching of the noftrils, and a fenfe of
weight, especially about the root of the nofe. In fome
the deep is ditiurbed with dreams about blood, fire, &c.
frequently the belly is cofHve, there is a diminution of
the quantity of urine, a fuppreflion of fweat, coldnefs of
the lower extremities, and tenfion of the hypochondria
efpecially the right one.
. Caufes, &c. Phis haemorrhage may occur at any
time ol life ; but moft commonly happens to young
perfons, owing to the peculiar fiate of the fyftem at
that time. Sometimes, however, it happens after the
and during the ftate of manhood, at which time
it is to be imputed to a plethoric ftate of the fyftem • to
a determination of the blood, by habit, to the veffels
of the nofe ; or to the particular weaknefs of thefe vef-
fels.
In all thefe cafes the difeafe may be confidered as an
arterial haemorrhage, and depending upon an arterial
plethora *, but it fometimes occurs in the decline of
lire, and may then be confidered as the fign of a ve
nous plethora in the veffels of the head. It often hap"
pens at any period of life in certain febrile difeafes
which are altogether or partly of an inflammatory na¬
ture, and which ftiow a particular determination of the
veiM» of the head. As by this evacua-
c n, other dimafes are often removed, it may on thefe
MEDICINE.
Pra&ice.
occafions be deemed truly critical. It happens to per- Epiftaxis.
ions of every coniiitution and temperament j but moft ——v—
frequently to the plethoric and fanguine, and more com¬
monly to men than women.
Prognojis. In young people, the bleeding at the
nofe may be confidered as a flight difeafe, and fcarce
worth notice. But, even in young perions, when it re¬
curs very frequently and in great quantity, it is alarm¬
ing 5 and is to be confidered as a mark of an arterial
plethora, which in the decline of life may give the
blood a determination to parts from which the&hemor¬
rhage would be more dangerous; and this will require
more particular attention, as the marks of plethora and
congeftion preceding the haemorrhage are more confi-
derable, and as the flowing of the blood is attended
with a more confiderable degree of febrile diforder.
I hefe confequences are more efpecially to be dreaded,
when the epiftaxis happens to perfons after their
returning frequently and violently. Even in the de¬
cline of life, however, it may be confidered as in itfelf
very falutary ; but at the fame time it is a mark of a
dangerous ftate of the fyftem, i. e. of a ftrong tend¬
ency to a venous plethora in the head, and it has ac¬
cordingly been often followed by apoplexy, pally, &o.
When it happens in febrile difeafes, and is in pretty
large quantity, it may be generally confidered as criti
cal and falutary; but it is very apt to be too profufe,
and thus becomes dangerous. It fometimes occurs
during the eruptive fever of ibme exanthemata, and is
m fuch cafes fometimes falutary ; but if thefe exanthe¬
mata be accompanied with any putrid difpofition, this
haemorrhage, as well as artificial bloodlettings, may
have a very bad tendency.
Cure. The treatment in cafes of epiftaxis may be
referred to two heads, ift, The treatment during the
time of the difeharge ; and, adly, The treatment after
the difeharge is ftopt, with the view of preventing the
return of it. During the former of thefe periods, it
is neceffary in the firft place to confider whether the
dneharge Ihould be left to its natural courfe or flop¬
ped by artificial means. In determining this queltisn,
regard muft be paid to the quantity of the difeharge :
the appearance of the blood j the conftitution with
which epiftaxis occurs; the former habit of the pa-
tientj and the contequences which refult from the
dilcharge. When, from due confideration of thefe cir-
cumftances, there is reafon to fear that further eva¬
cuation would be attended with bad confequences,
though this difeafe has been generally thought very
flight, it (hould feldom be left to the condud of na-
tuie j and in all cafes it fliould be moderated by keep¬
ing the patient in cool air, by giving cold drink, by
keeping the body^ and head ered, by avoiding any
blowing of the noie, fpeaking, or other irritation ; and
it the blood has flowed for fome time without fhowing
any tendency to flop, we are to attempt the fuppref-
hon of the haemorrhage, by prefling the noftril from
which the blood flows, wafhing the face with cold wa-
ter, or applying this to fome other parts of the body.
1 hete meafures Dr Cullen judges to be proper even on
the hrft attacks, and even in young perfons where the dif-
eale ]sr ln lea.ft hazardous: but they will ftill be more
requifite 1. the dileafe frequently recurs without any ex¬
ternal violence j if the returns happen to perions not
difpofed
Practice. M E D I
Harmor- difpofed to a plethoric habit •, and more particularly if
, rhag’ae- no 0f p]ethora appear in the fymptoms preceding
'"~r*v the difeharge.
When the bleeding is fo profufe that the pulfe be¬
comes weak and the face pale, every means mufi: be
ufed to put a ftop to it, and that whether the patient
be young or old. Befides thofe methods above men¬
tioned, we muft ufe aflringents both internal and ex¬
ternal ; but the latter are the moft powerful, and the
choice of thefe may be left to the furgeon. The in¬
ternal aflringents are either vegetable or fofTil; but
the vegetable aftringents are feldom powerful in the
cure of any haemorrhages except thofe of the alimen¬
tary canal. The fofiil aftringents are more aftive, but
differ confiderably in ftrengch from one another.—
The chalybeates appear to have little ftrength : the
preparations of lead are more powerful j but cannot be
employed, on account of their pernicious qualities, un-
lefs in cafes of the utmofl danger. The tinRura fatur-
nina, or antiphthijica, is a medicine' of very little effica¬
cy, either from the fmall quantity ot lead it contains,
or from the particular date in which it is. The fafeit,
and at the fame time the moft powerful aftringent, feems
to be alum.
For fuppreffing this and other haemorrhages, many
fuperftitious remedies and charms have been ufed, and
faid to have been employed with fuccefs. Ihis has
probably been owing to the miffake of the by-itanders,
who have fuppofed that the fpontaneous ceffation of
the haemorrhage was owing to their remedy. At the
fame time Dr Cullen is of opinion, that fuch remedies
have fometimes been ufeful, by impreffing the mind
with horror or dread. Opiates have fometimes proved
fuccefsful in removing haemorrhages ; and when the
fulnefs and inflammatory diathefis of the fyftem have
been previoufly taken off by bleeding, they may, in Dr
Cullen’s opinion, be ufed with fafety and advantage.
Ligatures have been applied upon the limbs, for retard¬
ing the return of the venous blood from the extremi¬
ties ; but their ufe feems to be ambiguous. In the cafe
of profufe haemorrhages, no care is to be taken to pre¬
vent the patient from fainting, as this is often the moft
certain means of flopping them.
536 Gen»s XXXVII. HAEMOPTYSIS.
Spitting of Blood.
Haemoptyfis, Sauv. gen. 240. Lin. 179. Vog. 84.
Sag. gen. 175. Junck. 8.
Hamoptoe, Bocrh. 1198.
Sanguinis fluxus ex pulmonibus, Hoffm. II. 20 2.
Sp. I. Haemoptysis from Plethora.
Sp. II. Haemoptysis from External Violence.
Haemoptyfis accidentalis, Sauv. fp. 1.
Haemoptvfis habitualis, Sauv. fp. 2.
Haemoptyfis traumatica, SauvAp. 1 2.
Sp. III. Haemoptysis with Phthijis.
Haemoptyfis phthifica, Sauv. fp. 9.
Hsemoptyfis ex tuberculo pulmonum, Sauv. fp. IO.
Sp. IV. The Calculous Haemoptysis.
Hcemoptyfis calculofa, Sauv. fp. 14.
CINE. 349
Haemop-
Sp. V. The Vicarious Haemoptysis. tyfis.
Haemoptyfis catamenialis, Sauv. fp. 4.
Htemoptyfis periodica, Sauv. fp. 5.
Dcfcription. This haemorrhage commonly begins with
a fenfe of weight and anxiety in the cheft, fome unea-
finefs in breathing, pain of the breaft or other parts of
the thorax, and fome fenfe of heat under the fternum:
and very often it is preceded by a faltifh tafte in the
mouth. Immediately before the appearance of blood,
a degree of irritation is felt at the top of the larynx.
The perfon attempts to relieve this by hawking, which
brings up a little florid and fomevvhat frothy blood.
The irritation returns} and in the fame manner blood
of a fimilar kind is brought up, with fome noife in the
windpipe, as of air pafiing through a fluid. Some¬
times, however, at the very firft, the blood comes up
with coughing, or at leaf! lomewhat of coughing, and
accompanies the hawking above mentioned.
The blood is often at firft in very fmall quantity, and
foon difappears ; but in other cafes, efpecially when it
frequently recurs, it is in greater quantity, and often
continues to appear at times for feveral days together*
It is fometimes profufe, but rarely in fach quantity as
either by its excefs or by a fudden fuffocation to prove-
immediately mortal.
It is not always eafy to difeover whether the blood
evacuated by the mouth proceeds from the internal
furface of the mouth itfelf, from the fauces or adjoin¬
ing cavities of the noife, from the ftomach, or Irom
the lungs. It is, however, very neceffary to diftinguiih
thefe different cafes j and for this Dr Cuilen offers the
following confiderations.
1. When the blood proceeds from fome part of the
internal furface of the mouth, it comes out without-
any hawking or coughing ; and generally, upon in-
fpeffion, the caufe is evident.
2 When blood proceeds from the fauces, or adjoin¬
ing cavities of the nofe, it may be brought out by haw¬
king, and fometimes by coughing. In this cafe, there
may be a doubt concerning its real fource, and the pa¬
tient may be allowed to pleafe himfelf with the thoughts
that the blood does not come from the lungs. But the
phyfician muft remember that the lungs are much more
frequently the fource of a haemorrhage than tne fauces.
The latter feldom happens but to perfons who have be¬
fore been liable to a haemorrhage from the nofe, or to
fome evident caufe of erofion •, and in moft cafes, by
looking into the fauces, the dillillation of the blood
from thence will be perceived.
3. When blood proceeds from the lungs, the man¬
ner in which it is brought up will commonly Ihow from
whence it comes •, but, independent of that, it may
alfo be known from the caufes of haemoptyfis from
the lungs, to be afterwards mentioned, having pre¬
ceded.
4. Wh en vomiting accompanies the throwing out
of blood from the mouth, we may generally know the
fource from whence it proceeds, by confideting that
blood does not proceed fo frequently from the ftomach
as from the lungs: that blood proceeding from the
ftomach commonly appears in greater quantity than
from the lungs. The pulmonary blood alfo is ufually
of a florid colour, and mixed with a little frothy
mucus.-
3;o M E D I
Hsemor- mucus only j but the blood from the ftomach is of a
rhagiae. (Jarker colour, more grumous, and mixed with the
' v other contents of the ftomach. 'JLhe coughing or
vomiting, as the one or the other happens firft to
ariie, may fometimes point out the fource of the blood j
and this has alfo its peculiar antecedent figns and
caufes.
Caufes, Sec. A haemoptyfis may be produced at any
time of life by external violence *, and, in adult per-
fons, while the arterial plethora prevails in the fyftem,
i. e. from the age of J 6 to 35, a haemoptyfis may at
any time be produced merely by a plethoric ftate of
the lungs. More frequently, however, it arifes from
9 faulty proportion between the capacity of the lungs
and that of the reft of the body. Thus it is often an
hereditary difeafe, which implies a peculiar and faulty
conformation.
This difeafe efpecially happens to perfons, who dif-
cover the fmaller capacity of their lungs by the nar-
rownefs of their cheft, and by the prominence of their
fhoulders *, which laft is a mark of their having been
long liable to a difficulty of refpiration. In fuch cafes,
too, the difeafe very frequently happens to perfons of
a fanguine temperament, in whom particularly the
arterial plethora prevails. It happens alfo to perforis
of a flender delicate make, of which a long neck is a
mark ; to perfons of much fenfibility and irritability,
and therefore of quick parts j to perfons who have
formerly been liable to haemorrhages from the nofe 5
to thofe who have fuffered a fuppreffion of any ufual
■haemorrhage, the moft frequent inftance of which is in
females who have fuffered a fuppreffion of their men-
ftrual flux ; and, laftly, to perfons who have fuffered
the amputation of a limb.
All this conftitutes the predifponent caufe of hse-
moptyfis; and the difeafe may happen merely from
the predifponent caufe arifing to a confiderable height.
But in thofe who are already predifpofed, it is often
brought on by the concurrence of various occafional
and exciting caufes. One of thefe, and perhaps a fre¬
quent one, is external heat ; which, even when in no
great degree, brings on the difeafe in fpring, and the
beginning of fummer, while the heat rareties the blood
more than it relaxes the follds, wffiich had before been
contra6led by the cold of wdnter. Another exciting
caufe is a hidden diminution of the weight of the at-
mofphere, efpecially when concurring wdth any effort
in bodily exercife. The effort alone, may often be the
exciting caufe in thofe who are already predifpofed ; and
more particularly any violent exercife of refpiration. In
the predifpofed, alfo, the difeafe may be occafioned by
any degree of external violence.
Prognqfts. Haemoptyfis may fometimes be no more
dangerous than a haemorrhage from the nofe j as when
it happens to females, in confequence of a happreflion
of their menfes ; when, without any marks of predif-
pofition, it arifes from external violence j or, from
whatever caufe it may proceed, when it leaves no cough,
dyfpnoea, or other affeflion of the lungs, behind it.
But, even in thefe cafes, a danger may arife from too
large a wTound being made in the veffels of the lungs,
from any quantity of red blood being led to ftagnate in
the cavity of the bronchia:, and particularly from any
determination of the blood being made into the veffels
C I N E. Pra&ice.
of the lungs, which by renewing the haemorrhage may Hremop-
have thefe conlequences. . , ,
Cure. In the treatment of this difeafe, with a view ^
of flopping the difeharge, it is firft neceffary to have
recourfe to thofe meafures which tend to diminifh the
impetus by which the blood is expelled. This is to
be effected by a removal of plethora when it exifts ; by
diminilhing the general impetus of circulation j by di-
minifhing local increafed affion when it takes place in
the veffels of the lungs ; and by producing a determi¬
nation of blood to other parts of the fyftem remote
from the lungs. But befides practices diminifhing
impetus, it is often alfo neceffary to employ fuch as
augment the refiftance to the paffage of blood through
the ruptured veffels of the lungs. With thefe views
a variety of practices may be employed, particularly
blood-letting, refrigerants, fedatives, aftringents, and
the like.
On this fubjeff Dr Cullen differs from thofe who
preferibe chalybeates and cinchona in the cure of hse-
moptyfis. Both of thefe, he obferves, contribute tp
increafe the phlogiftic diathefis then prevailing in the
fyftem, and the haemoptyfis from predifpofition is al¬
ways accompanied with fuch a diathefis. Inftead of
thefe, therefore, he recommends blood-letting in great¬
er or fmaller quantity, and more or lefs frequently re¬
peated as the fymptoms fliall direff. At the iame
time cooling purgatives are to be employed, and every
part of the antiphlogiilic regimen is to be ftridlly
enjoined. In the London Medical Obfervations, the
ufe of nitre is greatly recommended by Dr Dickfon,
to whom its efficacy was made known by Dr Lether-
lan^l, phyfician to St Thomas’s Holpital. The moft:
commodious method of exhibiting it he found was in
an eleftuary. Four ounces of conferve of rofes were
made into an eleftuary with half an ounce of nitre ;
of which the bulk of a large nutmeg was directed to
be given, four, fix, or eight times a day, according to
the urgency of the cafe. The good effe£ls of this, he
tells us, have often aftoniihed him : and when given
early in the difeafe, he fays he can depend as much up¬
on it for the cure of an haemoptyfis, as on cinchona for
the cure of an intermittent. lie agrees with Dr Cul¬
len, however, that in thofe cafes where there is any
hardnefs in the pulfe, and which almoft always happens,
there is a neceffity for venefe&ion. A cool regimen,
and quiet of body and mind, are certainly uleful ; but
Dr Cullen obferves that feme kinds of geftation, inch
as failing, and travelling in an eafy carriage on imooth
roads, have often proved a remedy. When the cough
is very troublefome, it is abfolutely neceflary to exhibit
frequently a fmall dofe of an opiate. Dr Dickion alfo
informs us, that the nitre joined with ipermaceti, or
pu/v. e tragacanth. comp, has produced equally good
effe&s with the eleftuary above mentioned ; in the
compofition of which he at firft conlidered the conferve
only as a vehicle for the nitre, though he means not to
infinuate that the former is totally deftitute of efficacy.
When this haemorrhage has refifted other modes of
cure, and there is reafon to apprehend, even from the
mere quantity of blood evacuated, that the patient may
fink under the difeharge, blifters, particularly when
applied to the bveaft, are often had r^eourfe to vwth
great advantage j and the fulphuric acid, properly di¬
luted.
2
Praflicc.
M E D I
Mserrior- luted, both as an aftringerrt and refrigerant, is often
rhagije. employed with very good effedls.
237 PHTHISIS.
Pulmonary Consumption.
Phthifis, Saw. gen. 276. Lin. 20S. Vog. 319.
Sag. 101. Junck. 33.
Phthifis pulmonis, Boer/i. 1196. _ n tr
AflFedfio phthifica, five tabes pulmonalis, liojm. II.
284*
aaS Sp. I. The Incipient Phthisis, without expeaoration
of Pas.
Phthifis incipiens, Morton Phyfiolog. L. II. cap. 3.
Phthifis ficca, Sauv. fp. 1.
239 Sp. II. The Confirmed Phthisis, with an expectora¬
tion of Pus.
Phthifis confirmata auBorum.
Phthifis humida, Sauv. fp. 2.
Sometimes, notwithftanding all the care that can be
taken, the haemoptyfis will degenerate into a pbthiiis
pulmonalis, or confumption of the lungs ; and fome-
times hsemoptyfis will be the confequence of this dan¬
gerous diforder. It has indeed been fuppoied, that
an ulceration of the lungs, or phthifis was the natural
and almoft neceffary confequence of hsemoptyfis: but
according to Dr Cullen, this is m general a miftake 5
for there are many inftances of hsemoptyfis Irom
external violence without being followed by any ulcer¬
ation. The fame thing has often been obferved where
the haemoptyfis arofe from an internal caufe 5 and this
not only in young perfons, when the dileafe re^rne
for feveral times, but when it has often recurred during
the courfe of a long life 5 and it may eahly be conceiv¬
ed that a rupture of the veffels of the lungs, as well as
of’the veffels of the nofe, may be fometimes healed.
The caufes of phthifis, therefore, Dr Cullen reduces to
five heads. 1. A hsemoptyfis. 2. A fuppuration of
t^e lungs in confequence of a pneumonia. 3. A ca¬
tarrh. 4. An afthma •, and 5. Tubercles. .
I. When a phthifis arifes from a hsemoptylis, it is
probable that it is occafioned by particular circum-
liances 5 and what thefe circumftances are, may not al¬
ways be eafily known. It is pofiible, that merely tne
degree of rupture, or frequently repeated rupture, pre¬
venting ithe wound from healing may occafion an ul¬
cer ; or it is pofiible, that, red blood effufed, and not
brought up entirely by coughing, may, by ftagnatmg
r„T bronchi®, become acrid, and erode the parts.
But thefe hypothefes are not fupported by any certain
evidence 5 and from many obfervations we are led to
think, that feveral other circumftances mull concur m
producing the difeafe from hsemoptyfis.
1 2. The fecond caufe of an ulceration of the lungs
mentioned above is a fuppuration formed m con e-
quence of pneumonia. When a pneumonia, with fym^
toms neither very violent nor very flight, has cont
nued for many days, it is to be feared it will end in
fuppuration-, but this is not to be determined by t e
number of days 3 for, not only after the fourth, but
even after the tenth day, there have been examples of
a pneumonia ending by a rtfolution 3 and if the oil-
C I N E.
eafe has fuffered fome intermiflion, and again recurred,
there may be inftances of a refolution happening at a
much later period from the beginning of the chieafe
than that now mentioned. But if a moderate dileaie,
in fpite of proper remedies employed, be protrafted to
the 14th day without any confiderable remimon, a sup¬
puration is pretty certainly to be expefted^ and it will
be more certain ftill, if no figns of refolution have ap¬
peared, or if an expeaoration which had appeared (hall
have again ceafed, and the difficulty of breathing has
continued or increafed, while the other fymptoms have
been rather abated. . , . ,
That in a pneumonia, the effufion is made whic 1
may lay the foundation of a fuppuration, may be con¬
cluded from the difficulty of breathing becoming
greater when the patient is in a horizontal pofture, or
when the patient can lie more eafily on the aftecled
fide. That, in fuch cafes, a fuppuration is ^dually
begun, may be inferred from the patient’s being fre¬
quently affeaed with flight cold fhiverings, and with a-
fenfe of cold felt fometimes in one fometimes m an¬
other part of the body. We fornr the fame conclu-
fion alfo from the date of the pulfe, which is com¬
monly lefs frequent and fofter, but fometimes quicker
than before. That a fuppuration is already formed,,
may be inferred from there being a conMerable re-
million of the pain which had beiore iubfifted 3 while
with this the cough, and efpecially the dyfpnoea, con¬
tinue, and are rather increafed At the fame time
the frequency of the pulfe is rather increafed, the re-
verifti date fuffers confiderable exacerbations every even¬
ing, and by degrees a hedic fever in all its circum¬
ftances comes to be formed.
In this (late of fymptoms, we conclude very confi¬
dently, that an abfeefs, or, as it is called, a vomica, is
formed in fome part of the pleura, and moft frequently
in that portion of it invefting the lungs. Here purulent
matter frequently remains for fome time, as if enclofed
in a cyft 3 but commonly not long before it comes to
be either abforbed and transferred to fome other part
of the body, or breaks through into the cavity ot the
lungs, or into that of the thorax. In the latter cate it
produces the difeafe called empyema; but it is when
the matter is poured into the cavity of the bronchi®
that it properly conftitutes the phthifis-pulmonalis. In
the cafe of empyema, the chief circumftances ol
phthifis are indeed alfo prefent : but we (hall here con-
fider only that cafe in which the abfeefs of the lungs
gives occafion to purulent expeftoration.
An abfeefs of the lungs, in confequence of pneumo¬
nia, is not always followed by a phthifis : ior fome¬
times a heeftic fever is not formed 3 the matter poured
into the bronchi* is a proper and benign pus, which
frequently is coughed up very readily, and Ipit out 3
and though this purulent expeftoration ffiould continue
for fome time, if it be without heftic fever, the uicer
foon heals, and every morbid fymptom difappears..
This has fo frequently happened, that we may con¬
clude, that neither the accefs of the air, nor tne con-
ftant motion of the lungs will prevent an ulcer of
thefe parts from healing, if the matter of it be well-
conditioned. An abfeefs of the lungs, therefore does
not neceffarilv produce phthifis pulmonahs ; and it it
be followed 'by fuch a difeafe, it muft be m confe-
quence of particular circumftances whtfh corrupt the
352 M E D I
Hasmor- purulent matter produced, render it unfuitable to the
, rri3c,lt]e’ healing of the ulcer, and at the fame time make it af¬
ford an acrimony, which, abforbed, produces a hedlic
■fever and its confequences.
The corruption of the matter of fuch abfceffes may
be owing to feveral caufes j as, I. That the matter
efFufed during the inflammation had not been a pure
ferum fit to be converted into a laudable pus, but had
been joined with other matters w7hich prevented that,
and gave a confiderable acrimony to the wdiole. Or,
2. That the matter effufed and converted into pus,
merely by long ftagnation in a vomica, or by its con¬
nexion with an empyema, had been fo corrupted as
to become unfit for the purpofe of pus in the healing
of the ulcer. Thefe feem to be poflible caufes of the
corruption of matter in abfcefies, fo as to make it the
occallon of a phthifis in petfons otherw'ife found *, but it
is probable that a pneumonic abfcefs efpecially pro¬
duces phthifis when it happens to perfons previoufly
difpofed to that difeafe, and therefore only as concur¬
ring with fome other caufes of it.
3. The third caufe fuppofed to produce a phthifis
is a catarrh ; which, in many cafes, feems in length of
time to have the expefloration of mucus proper to it
gradually changed to an expedtoration of pus 5 and at
the fame time, by the addition of a hedtic fever, the
difeafe, which was at firft a pure catarrh, is changed
into a phthifis. But this fuppofition is, in the opinion
at leaf! of fome phyficians, liable to feveral difficulties.
The catarrh is properly an affedlion of the mucous
glands of the trachea and bronchise, analogous to the
coryza and lefs violent kinds of cynanche tonfillaris,
which very feldom end in fuppuration. And although
a catarrh fhould be difpofed to do fo, the ulcer produ¬
ced might readily heal up, as it does in the cafe of a
cynanche tonfillaris $ and therefore fhould not produce
a phthifis.
Farther, The catarrh, as purely the effedt of cold, is
generally a mild difeafe as well as of fhort duration j
-and, according to Dr Cullen, there are at moft but
very few of the numerous cafes of it, which can be faid
to have ended in a phthifis. In all thefe cafes in w'hich
this feems to have happened, he thinks it probable that
the perfons affedted were peculiarly predifpofed to
phthifis j and the beginning of phthifis fo often refem-
bles a catarrh, that it may have been miftaken for fuch
a difeafe. It often happens alfo, to increafe the fal¬
lacy, that the application of cold, which is the mofl:
frequent caufe of catarrh, is alfo frequently the excit¬
ing caufe of the cough, which proves to be the be¬
ginning of a phthifis.
Many phyficians have fuppofed that an acrimony of
the fluids eroding fome of the veflels of the lungs is a
-frequent caufe of ulceration and phthifis 5 but this ap¬
pears to Dr Cullen to be a mere fuppofition. He ac¬
knowledges, that in many cafes an acrimony fubfifting
in fome part of the fluids is the caufe of the difeafe $
but obferves that it is at the fame time probable, that
this acrimony operates by producing tubercles, rather
than by any diredt erofion.
But notwithftanding thefe objedljons, experience
affords numerous examples of cafes in which a difeafe
long fubfifting under the form of catarrh has at laft de¬
generated into phthifis, and proved fatal from fuper-
vening hedlic fever. It muft, however, at the fame
3
CINE. Practice*
time be allowed, that catarrh, degenerating into a Phthifis.
chronic ftate after fubfifting for many years, has of it- v——J
felf often proved fatal without inducing phthifis.
4. If phthifis does not frequently follow catarrh, it
is ftill more rarely a confequence of afthma. Innumer¬
able examples are unqueftionably afforded of that dif¬
eafe fubfifting for many years without any lymptom
whatever of phthifis as a confequence of it. But at
the fame time, there are unqueftionable examples of
phthifis deriving its origin from afthma ; which, how¬
ever, probably happens only in cafes where a peculiar
ftate of the lungs at the fame time takes place : But
without the concurrence of afthma, this ftate wTould
not of itfelf have been fufficient for inducing the af-
fedlion.
5. Of all the caufes formerly mentioned, phthifis
moft frequently arifes from tubercles. Dr Simmons
informs us, that he has had opportunities of infpedting
the bodies of many people wdro died in this way, and
never found them totally abfent. He has likewife feen
them in fubjedts of different ages, who had been trou¬
bled wTith no fymptoms of an affedlion of the. breafl:
during their lifetime. In thefe, however, they were
fmall, and few in number. This proves that they may
exift without inconvenience till they begin to difturb
the fundlions of the lungs by their fize and number j
or till fome degree of inflammation be excited, either
by accidental caufes, or by certain changes that take
place within their fubftance 5 for as yet we know but
little of their true nature. Thefe little tumors vary in
their confidence •, in fome they are compofed of a
pulpy fubftance, and in others approach more to the
nature of fcirrhus. They are molt commonly formed
in confequence of a certain conftitiational predifpofi-
tion ; but whatever is capable of occafioning a morbid
irritability of the lungs feems alfo to be capable of ge¬
nerating them. Thus the fpafmodic afthma frequent¬
ly ends in tubercles and confumption j and it is not
unufual for millers, ftone-cutters, and others, to die
confirmptive, from their being fo conftantly expofed
to dull, which in thefe cafes probably adls by produ¬
cing fimilar concretions : Dr Kirkland obferves, that
fcythe-grinders are fubjedt to a difeafe of the lungs,
from particles of fand mixing with iron duft, which
among themfelves they call the grinders rot. Tu¬
bercles, however, in by much the greater number of •
inftances, have their fource from a fcrophulous dif-
pofition ; and fome eminent phyficians have fuppofed
that the generality of pulmonary confumptions are of
this kind. This notion, however, they have perhaps
carried too far : they have probably been milled by
thofe tuberculous concretions which, without good rea-
fon, have been fuppofed to be difeafed glands, and of
courfe analogous to the glandular affedlions we meet
with in the fcrophula. Tubercles may likewife fome-
times be owing to the hidden repulfion of cutaneous
eruptions, or of the matter of exanthemata, &c. or to
other caufes.
The perfons who are moft liable to confumption are
thofe of a fair complexion, fine and foft Ikin, florid
cheeks, and a llender make ; with high cheek-bones,
hollow temples, long neck, Ihoulders ftanding out like
wings, narrow cheft, and a remarkable prominence of
the proceffes of the os facrum. To thefe marks we
may add, that offound teeth, which, as the difeafe ad¬
vances,
Pradice. M EDI
Hsemor- vances, ufually become of a milky white colour, and
rhitgia?. more or lefs tranfparent. Of thofe who are carried off
~ by this difeafe, Dr Simmons afferts, the greater num¬
ber will be found never to have had a carious tooth.
This circuinftahce, however, does not feem to us to
hold fo generally as Dr Simmons is difpofed to ima¬
gine : and inftances not unfrequently occur of patients
dying of phthifis, although they have had many teeth
lubjedled to caries *, and fome of thefe beginning even
at an early period of life.
Perfons of the above defeription often remain for
a long time without feeling any other inconvenience
than fome oppreffion at the bread in moid weather,
or in hot apartments. Their breathing is eafily hur¬
ried, fometimes by the flighted motion ; and they be¬
come languid, paler, and thinner. All this time,
however, they feel no heat or painful fenfation in the
bread. As the evil increafes, the patient begins to
be attacked with a flight, frequent, and dry cough,
which is mod troublefome in the night-time. But
this, by proper care, is often relieved ; and the patient
remains in this date for a conflderable time, and even
for many years, if he be fenfible of his danger, and
careful to guard againd it by a fuitable manner of liv¬
ing. More commonly, however, we find the cough
increafing, and fometimes accompanied with more or
lefs catarrh. This is ufually aferibed to cold j and
but too generally neglefted, till the difeafe become
alarming by its obdinacy and its effefts. This may
be confidered as the beginning, or fird period, of the
difeafe. During this flage, the cough is fometimes
dry from the fird j and fometimes, when it begins in
the form of a catarrh, is attended with more or lefs
expe61 oration of mucus.
When the cough begins in the form of a catarrh,
and appears to be occafioned by an increafed fecretion
of a thin faltidi mucus irritating the membrane of the
trachea, all judicious pra61itioners agree in recom¬
mending an attention to regimen, the free ufe of dilut¬
ing liquors, bland emulfions, fmall dofes of nitre, the
taking away a few ounces of blood if there be much
inflammation, the inhaling the deams of warm water
by means of the machine contrived for that purpefe,
and the occafional ufe of fuch a dofe of elixir parego-
ricum as will be fufficient to allay the irritation of the
bronchi®, and to promote a gentle moiflure on the
fkin. Thefe methods will generally be found to be
efficacious, efpecially if the patient’s chamber be of a
moderate temperature, and he carefully avoid expofure
to a cold, damp, or raw air, till the complaint be re¬
moved. In cafes in which the cough has been obdi-
nate, and the inflammatory fymptoms confiderable,
Dr Simmons has often experienced the great advan¬
tages of the warm bath, the heat of which did not
exceed 920. When this is had recourfe to, the patient
fliould remain in it only a very few minutes, and go
foon afterwards to bed ; but not with a view to force
a fweat by an increafed weight of bedclothes, as is too
often injudicioufly pra-6lifed.
Patients of a confumptive *.Trt, who have had an
attack of this kind at the beginning of winter, are
particularly liable to a return ot the complaint during
the continuance of the cold feafon, on the flighted oc-
cafion and with greater violence. A relapfe is there¬
fore to be carefully guarded agah.fl j and nothing will
Vol. XIII. Part L
C I N E.
be found to do this more cffeftually than the ufe of
focks and a flannel under-waidcoat. The ufe of flan¬
nel has been condemned by feveral medical writers as
increafing the infenfible perfpiration •, but in the pre-
fent cafe, to lay nothing of iome others in which it
may be ufeful, it will in general be found to have the
belt effe6fs. It will prevent a too great determina¬
tion to the lungs, and fliould not be left off till the
approach of fummer. In lome few indances in which
flannel was found to have a difagreeable effecl, a piece
of dimity, worn over the bread next the fkin, will pre¬
vent the return of colds and coughs in perfons of a de¬
licate habit, who had before been liable to them on the
flighted occaflons. Shirts made of cotton cloth are
much more effe6lual than linen in preferving an equable
temperature of the furface, and guarding againd the
a6!ion of external cold 5 while at the fume time they
are much more pleafant to mod people than even the
'fined flannel. In thefe cafes, circumdanccs that are
feemingly of the mod trifling nature become of im¬
portance.
Sometimes the cough is occafioned by an immediate
inflammation of fome part of the lungs, from fome
of the ufual caufes of inflammation j and when this
happens, no time is to be lod in removing it. To do
this will perhaps require more than one bleeding, to¬
gether with a dri61; attention to a cooling plan of diet,
diluting drinks, the inhalation of warm fleams, and if
convenient, the ufe of the warm bath ; but above all,
the fpeedy application of a large blider as near as may
be to the fuppofed feat of the inflammation. The
cough, in this cafe, will often remain after the original
complaint is abated. A prudent ufe of opiates at
bedtime, either by themfelves or combined with gummy
and mucilaginous medicines, will then generally be ufe¬
ful as a fedative and antifpafmodic.
In this, as well as in the catarrhal cough jud now
mentioned, many praflitioners are too eager to admi-
nider cinchona, with the view, as they term it, of bra¬
cing up the patient : but this never fails to increafe the
cough, and of courfe to do great and very irreparable
mifehief.
And here it will not be foreign to our^fubje6f t®
obferve, that a fymptomatic cough, which has its rife
not from catarrh, or from an immediate indammation of
the lungs, but from their fympathy with the domach,
has fometimes laid the foundation of phthifis, from its
having been midaken, and of courfe improperly treat¬
ed. It feems to be owing to a redundancy or vitiated
date of the bile, or to fome affe61:ion of the domach,
which it is perhaps not eafy to define. It is fometimes
a concomitant of other bilious fymptoms 5 and when
this happens to be the cafe, it cannot eafily be midaken j
but we fometimes find it occurring fingly, and in gene¬
ral attacking perfons of a fedentary life. Dr Stoll of
Vienna, who has noticed this cough, has very properly
given it the name of tujjisJlomachica. This complaint
is fo far from being relieved by bleeding, that it con-
dantly grows worfe after it, efpecially if the evacuation
be in any confiderable quantity. The oily remedies fel-
dom fail to exafperate this cough, which at fird is dry,
frequent, and often extremely violent, but which lel-
dom fails to give way to one or two gentle pakes, and
the occafional ufe of mild cathartics. The cough, as in
ether cafes, often continues from habit after the caufe
Y y that
Phtiulxs.
354
Ktemor-
rhagiEe.
m e r> i
til at gave rife to it has been removed, and may then be
checked by opiates.
When the difeafe has been negle&ed, or our at¬
tempts to remove it in the beginning have failed, both
of which circumftances but too frequently happen,
the patient begins to complain of a iorenefs, and of
flight lancinating pains (hooting through the bread,
fornetimes in the direftion of the mediaftinum, and
fometimes confined chiefly to one fide. 'Ihe forenefs
is pretty conftant, and much increafed by the cough.
The pain in the fide often prevents the patient from
lying on the fide aflefled ; and this inability of lying,
except on one fide, frequently occurs even when no
fuch pain is felt. In this ftage of the difeafe, flufh-
ing heats are felt in the palms of the hands and foies
of the feet : the breathing is fhort and laborious ; and
it is not long before the patient begins to expe&orate
a thin and frothy phlegm, at firfl: in fmall quantities,
coughed up with difficulty, and fome pain of the breaft,
and now and then ffreaked with blood : this may be
confidered as the inflammatory period of the difeafe, to
which fucceeds thefappurativcJlage. In the latter, the
expectoration becomes more copious and purulent, the
breath proportionably offenfive, and the exacerbations
of the he£!ic fever more confiderable : an increafed
quicknefs of the pulfe comes on about the middle of
the day 5 but the moft confiderable paroxyfm of the fe¬
ver is at night, and at firfl: continues till towards morn¬
ing, commonly till three or four o’clock, when it ter¬
minates in a fweat, which ufually begins upon the
breafl. As the difeafe advances, thefe fweats become
more profufe, and fometimes come on almoft as foon
as the pulfe begins to quicken, but without affording
any relief to the patient. During the exacerbations,
we obferve a circumfcribed rednefs of the cheeks,
while the reft of the face is pale, and appears as if it
were not clean wafhed. The coftivenefs that com¬
monly accompanies the beginning of the difeafe is
ufually fucceeded by a diarrhoea ; the (pitting leffens,
and all the purulent matter feems to be carried down¬
wards. The rvafting of the fat and the lofs of nourifh-
ment occafion the nails to curve inwards, the hair to fall
off, and the eyes to fink in their fockets. In the mean
time, the legs commonly fwell ; till at length death
clofes a feene which is melancholy to all but the patient
himfelf, who in general continues fenfible to the laft
moment, and even then indulges a vain hope of pro¬
longing a miferable exiftence. In fome cafes, and that
not unfrequently, a delirium comes on towards the clofe
of the difeafe.
The heflic fever that attends this and fome other
chronic difeafes, is evidently the effedl of acrimony,
and moft commonly of pus abforbed and carried into
the circulation. The nature of this acrimony, and the
different irritability of different patients, are probably
the fources of the variety we obferve in fevers of this
denomination 5 a variety which is doubtlefs much greater
than we are aware of. Thus we find that the matter
of the fmallpox excites a fever of this kind \ but this
Jecondary fever, as it is called, differs from the he£tic
attendant on confumptions 5 nor does the latter corre-
fpond with that which fometimes accompanies the fup-
puration of a cancerous ulcer. In the pulmonary con-
fumption, or at leaft in the third ftage of it, the fever
induced often appears to be of the. putrid kind, and has
CINE.
Practice.
been denominated febris heRicaputrida by the judicious Phthiiis.
Morton, who confiders it as being combined witli a peri-
pneumonic or inflammatory fever, which recurs as of¬
ten as frefli tubercles begin to inflame. For although we
have named one period of the difeafe the inflammatory,
and another the fvppurative period, yet we are not to lup-
pofe that the latter is exempt from inflammation. While
matter is poured into the bronchiae, or abforbed and
carried into the fyftem from one part of the lungs, other
parts are in a crude Hate of inflammation, or advancing
towards fuppuration ; fo that, on examining the lungs
of perfons who die confumptive, we find fome tubercles
that are fmall and juft formed, fome that are large and '
full of matter, and others that are in a ftate of ulcera¬
tion. This eafily accounts for the occafional combi¬
nation of inflammatory fymptoms with thofe of the pu¬
trid hedlic. When the matter abforbed is a laudable
pus, as in the cafe of the pfoas abfeefs, we find the form
of the he£lic fever differing from either of thofe we have
mentioned.
Cure. In thefe different periods of the difeafe, the
curative indications are fufticiently obvious. To pre¬
vent the formation of frefh tubercles } to obviate the
inflammation of thofe already formed j to promote
their refolution 5 to allay morbid irritability, the cough,
and other troublefome fymptoms *, and, above all, to
check the tendency to the hedlic Hate, are the views
that every rational phyfician propofes to himfelf in the
treatment of the genuine conlumption. We know of
no medicines that can exert their fpecific effects upon
the lungs by diffolving tuberculous concretions; nor
is it probable, from what we know' of the animal
economy, that any fuch will ever be dilcovered. Yet
medicines that operate in a general manner upon the
fyftem, may, by promoting abforption, and diminifh-
ing the determination to the lungs, tend to difperfe
tubercles, or to prevent their formation. There are
rot wanting inftances of wonderful recoveries, in cafes
where the evil w7as fuppofed to be beyond the power of
phyfic 5 and in fome, where nature wTas left to ber-
felfj fo that a phyfician who has obferved the various
and powerful refources nature has within herfelf, will
be very cautious how he afferts that a difeafe is in¬
curable.
The moft formidable effe£ls of ulcerated lungs are the
abforption and confequent heftic. It feems evident,
that, in many cafes, death is brought on by this, rather
than by the lungs themfelves being rendered unfit for
the purpofes of refpiration. So that if we can obviate
the effc61s of the abiorption, diminifti the preternatu¬
ral determination to the lungs, and fulfil the other ge¬
neral indications juft nowT mentioned, we may very often
enable nature to recover herfelf. It may be alleged in¬
deed, that the phyficians art has hitherto proved very
unfuccefsful in thefe cafes; but may not this be owing
to the remedies that are employed being very often fuch
as are inimical to the cure ?
The cinchona is, perhaps, the moft commonly em¬
ployed of any, and often confided in as an ultimate
refource in thefe cafes. Eut befidcs this, the fulphufic
acid, the balfams, and frequent bleedings, have each had
their partizans. The ufe of blifters and iffues, opiates,
a milk and vegetable diet, exercife, and change of air,
are pretty generally recommended by all. Concerning
cinchona, Deffault long ago cbferved, that it had been
productive
Pra&ice.
medicine.
IT a; mot- produftive of great mifchief in confumptive cafes *, and
ihagi®. br Fothergill, in a paper lately pubhihed by him on
 ' this fubjea, very j^dicioully remarks that it is fo far
from curing the heftic fever aniing from diftempered
lungs that according to the bed of his obfervations,
it. not only takes up that time which might pro¬
bably have been better employed m the ufe of other
medicines, but for the mod part aggravates the dd-
eafe beyond remedy. Indeed it has been the opinion
of feveral attentive obfervers, that, whenever pus. or
any kind of matter excites an.heftic fever, by being
abfarbed and carried into the circulation, the cinchona
will never fail to exafperate the complaint,, eipecial-
ly if it be accompanied with any degree of inflamma¬
tory diathells, unlefs the matter has a free outlet from
the fvdem •, as in the cafe of abfeeffes, for mdance,
in which we often find it produftive of excellent
effedls It is likewife well known to be ufed as a to¬
nic, to obviate the effeeds of fluor albus, or; any other
immoderate evacuation in delicate perfons, winch, by
enfeebling the fydem, very often lays the foundation
of phthins : but the moment we have reaion to lui-
peft that the lungs are ulcerated., efpecially if this
ulceration be attended with an inflammatory dnpo-
jition j or if the feparation of vitiated pus be ^e con-
fequence of a peculiar increafed morbid aftion of the
veflels at the part, it ought to be laid aflde ; and in t re
genuine tuberculous coniumption, perhaps, it is rarely
Dr Fothergill, however, obferves, that there are two
caufes of confumption, which often produce fymptoms
fo flmilar to thofe of the genuine phthius, as fome-
times to have led him to make ufe of cinchona, in ap¬
parent tendencies to a genuine pulmonary comumption,
W OnfoTT caufes iS the fuckling of children
longer than is conflftent with the mother s ability
This cafe frequently occurs among .the middling and
lower claffes of females, of conftituUons naturally deli¬
cate amf tender. In fuch a ftate of weakness, fome
flight cold brings on a cough, which increafes gradua -
ly till at length it produces the true pulmonary con¬
fumption. Here cinchona given early, m moderate
dpfes, and merely as a tonic remedy, is often of ex-
C Another caufe, is any weakening difeharge, either
from abfeeffes, the greater operations of furgery, a co¬
pious and conflant fluor albus, or fimilar enfeebling eva-
cnations. That cinchona is, for the mod part, of ufe m
thefe cafes, when the lungs are not inflamed, is indubi¬
table ; and if they be fo affeSed, but not beyond a cer¬
tain degree, it is alfo.efficacious in preventing the pro-
grefs of the confumption. r , - •
In phthifical complaints fucceeding fuch fitqations
a prudent trial of cinchona feems neceffary. Small
dofes of the decoaion, either alone or joined with
the faline mixture or fuch other additions as the phy-
fician thinks proper, may be given. But if the breath
becomes more tight and oppreffed, the coug y,
the pulfe more quick and hard, and efpecially if fl g
tranfitory pains or flitches about the thorax are more
frequently complained of, a perfeverance in the uie
uf emchom will incrafe tke difeafe. If fucK alfd
Ihould be the appearances in the progrels ot the dU-
from whatever caufe, if cinchona be accom-
fuch effeas, the ufe of it ought to be
eaie, or,
panied with
withheld. . . r
If, on the other hand, no pain, tightnefs, or opprei-
fion, is perceived, and there appear a matiifeft abatement
of the fymptoms, it will be advifable to proceed. The
adminiftration of this medicine, however, requiies a ju¬
dicious obferver j and it ought neither to be given in
the early inflammatory ftage of this, difeale, nor be con¬
tinued in any fubfequent period, if it produce the effects
above mentioned.
By its tonic virtues it will often enable nature to
conquer many difficulties. In confirmation of this re¬
mark, Dr Fothergill farther obferves, that be has leen
it of ufe in promoting expeftoration, when this became
deficient from want of ftrength towards the. end ot peri-
pneumonic fevers 5 but that it flops this diicharge,
changes flight wandering pains into inch as are fixed,
and increafes them with all their confequences, in a va¬
riety of cafes. ... .,
The elixir of vitriol, or the fulphunc acid pro-
perly diluted, though in many inftances a highly ule-
ful remedy, is often exhibited in confumptive cales
with no lefs impropriety than cinchona. 1 his me¬
dicine, from its aftringency, is obvioufly improper in
the inflammatory ftate of the difeafe. But in the lat¬
ter ftage, when a general tendency to putrelaftion
takes place, it is ferviceable in refifling the effeit j it
reftrains the colliquative fweats; and if tne lungs be
not injured paft reparation, it is allowed to be a vciy
ufeful auxiliary. . , _ t
Various are the opinions concerning the efficacy o.
Briitol water in this difeafe. The experienced author
laft mentioned informs us, that he has feen many per¬
fons recover from pulmonary difeafes after drinking
thefe waters, whofe cure feemed to be. doubtful from
any other procefs; and he thinks this circumltance,
added to the general reputation of Bnftol wateis in
phthifical cafes, affords Efficient inducement to recom¬
mend the trial of them in the early llages of iuch com¬
plaints. It is, however, before the approach of a con¬
firmed phthifis that patients ought to repair to Brmo ,
otherwife a journey thither will not only be without be¬
nefit, but may even prove detrimental.
Some have imagined, that the journey, a better an,
Change of fituation and of objefts, have contributed to
the patient’s recovery 5 and thefe may doubtleis b- of
advantage. It feems, however,, that, the water drank
frefli at the pump, aftuaHy contains principles conduc.
to the recovery of patients affeded with phthifical com¬
plaints. It feems to poffefs a flight calcareous ftypt.ci-
ty, and perhaps the air it contains may alfo have an an-
, tifeptic quality. On the whole, it appears to be an ef¬
ficacious medicine, and is often found of remarkable
benefit to confumptive patients.
Change of air, particularly from bad to good, is o.
preat confequence to all chronic difeafes of . the lungs.
In confumptive cafes, the air of all large cities is found
to be particularly injurious. ,
A fea voyage has been much recommended m the
curt of this difeafe. The benefit of exercife has alfo
been ftrongly urged by many writers j but, however
falutary when properly ufed, it certainly ought to.be
regulated with diferetion. Dr Dickfon. declares him-
feff 0f opinion, that riding on horfeback in confumplive
cafes is moft commonly hurtful, without fuch regula.ions
Pht
35^
Haemcr-
rhagise.
M E B I
as in general have been little regarded. For inftance,
Le has known a perfon who, by a ride of an hour or two
m the morning, was very much recruited, and who, at
another time, in the afternoon and evening, without
undergoing more bodily motion, has returned faint and
languid, and apparently worfe. This obfervation on
the fame perfon has been fo frequently made, as to point
out clearly the times when this exercife fhall not do
hurt in confumptive cafes. In this difeafe, the pulfe,
however calm in the morning, becomes more frequent
in the afternoon and night, attended with heat and
other feverilh fymptoms. Exercife therefore, at this
time, can only add to the milchief of the fever. For
this reafon he prudently recommends to all heftic per-
fons, efpecially thole who lhall travel to diftant places
on account of a better air, or the benefit expefted
from any particular water, that their travelling ihould
be flow, confined to a very few hours, and only in the
morning.
, Exercife on horfeback feems to be chiefly benefi¬
cial in thofe cafes where conlumption is a fecondary
oifeafe. For example, in the nervous atrophy •, in
the hypochondriacal confumption j or when it is the ef~
fea of long-continued intermittents, or of congeftions
m any of the abdominal vifcera ; or, in a word, when¬
ever the confumption is not attended with an inflamed
or ulcerated ft'ate of the lungs, long iourneys on horfe¬
back will be beneficial. Such a praaice may likewife
pe highly ufetul in obviating an attack of phthifis, or
in carrying off a dry bulky cough in a perfon of a con-
iiimptive habit, when there is reafon to fuppofe that
no tubercles are as yet formed. On the other hand,
m tne confirmed phthifis, when the lungs are inflamed
or uicerated, much or violent exercife will be impro¬
per j and there have been inftances where the death of
the patient was evidently accelerated by it. The exer-
ci e therefore Ihould be gentle, proportioned to the
itrength of the patient, and employed only in the
moimng. In fine weather, an eafy open carriage is
perhaps the moft eligible, not only'on account of its
being open to the air, but becaufe it affords that kind
agltatl°n which is moft wanted in thefe cafes. For
if we confider the different modes of exercife, we lhall
. fhat walking, though the belt exercife in health,
as it employs the moft mufcles, is the worft for the
fickly, who Ihould have the benefit of exercife without
■ atigue. Riding on horfeback agitates the vifcera
more than walking and is therefore preferable to it in
many chronic difea.es; but when a preternatural deter¬
mination to the lungs has taken place, it will be liable
t® increafc the evil, and may likewife be hurtful by the
»atigue that attends it. For thefe reafons it will be
prudent to begin with a carriage ; and if the natienr
gam flrength and the difeafe abates, recourfe may af¬
terwards be had to horfe-exereife. ^
1 he gentle motion of a coach has been often found
of great utility in pulmonary complaints. Its efficacy
uZolheTf c,li1y r d5 !rreafi"sthe
"it'SrZfe .Ia,!,dSDhsr-f°re heen f0U',d
“ ? 4 tt; ’j^isg'zz riz
i- r*3 ^ e’ WjS cured of this complaint by travel
* - g feveral hundred miles through different parts of
rC 1 N E. Vraflice,
England in her own coach. At firft, whenever (he re- Phthifis.
mained three or four days in any place, the diforder be-     
gan to return again ; but at length by perfevering in
her journeys it gradually went off. Deffault, who
prachied at Bourdeaux about 40 years ago, tells us he
fent feveral confumptive patients to Bareges, and with
good fuccefs; but that in thefe cafes his reliance was
not fo much upon the Bareges waters, as upon the
motion of the carriage and the change of air in a jour¬
ney of more than 100 leagues. J
^ iSirTV P/erty SeneralIy acknowledged, that the
good effects of fea voyages in confumptive cafes de-
pend more upon the conftant 9nd uniform motion of
the Ihip, than upon any particular impregnation of the
ea air; although this from its coolnefs and purity may
like wife be of great ufe, efpecially in the hot months,
when _ fea voyages are generally undertaken by con-
fumptive patients. The ancients were no ftrangers to
this remedy ; and amongft the Romans it was no unu-
iuaJ thing for confumptive perfons to fail to Egypt
Pliny obterves, that this was done not for the fake of
the climate, but merely on account of the length of
the voyage. °
Many of our Englifh phyficians have recommended
a voyage to Liffion in thefe cafes. When this is done
the proper feafon of the year ffiould be carefully at-
tended to. Dr Simmons knew a gentleman who went
thither with fymptoms of incipient phthilis, and who
experienced fome relief during thecourfe of the voyage-
but happening to arrive at Liffion at the beginning "of
the rainy fealon, the difeale was foon greatly increafed,
and terminated fatally. * ’
Another fpecies of motion has of late been extolled ?
as. highly ufefol m confumptive cafes. Dr James Car¬
michael Smyth of London, has lately publiffied an
account of the effbas of fwinging, employed as a re¬
medy in the pulmonary confumption and heaic fever.
In this treatife Dr Smyth contends, that fea air, in
piace of being of advantage, is conftantly prejudicial
to hectic and confumptive patients, and even to thofe
who have a tendency to fuch complaints. He thinks,
therefore, that the benefit derived from fea voyages
muft certainly be referred to fome other caufe; In
n^nhlS fe?n.montS °n this fubiea> he attempts to
eftabhffi a diflmaion between exercife and motion.
-By exercife, he underftands mufcular aftion, or the
exertion of the locomotive powers of the body ei¬
ther alone or combined. This he reprefents as in¬
creasing the force and frequency of the heart’s con¬
traction the velocity and momentum of the blood
tiie quicknefs of breathing, the heat, the irritability’
and the tranfpiration of the whole body. By motion
m contradiftin£Hon to exercife, he means luch motion
as is not neceffarily accompanied with any agitation
or fuccuffion of the body, and which is totally inde¬
pendent of any mulcular exertion. The effetfts nf
tins, both on the heart, the lungs, and indeed on the
lyftem in general, he confiders as of the fedative kind •
thus it fufpends the atfion of coughing, and leffens
the frequency of the pulfe. He is, therefore, led to
re.ei the good effe<fts of fea voyages entirely to this
eaufe And on thefe grounds he was led to conclude
that the motion given by fwinging might be of equal
if not greater fervice. This conclufion, we are told,
in the treati.e above alluded to, experience in many
cafes
jPra&ice. M E D I
Hseraor- cafes has fully confirmed; and he recommends it as
, rhayiae. a mo(3e Qf
cure which may be employed with advan-
* tage in every ftage of phthifis. While, however, the
reafoning of Dr Smyth on this, fubjeft feems to be
liable to many objeftions, we are forry to add, that
his obfervations in praftice have by no means been
confirmed by thofe of others, who have had recourfe
to this mode of cure.
The beft adapted diet in confumptive cafes is milk;
th« milk of affes, both as an article of diet and as a
medicine, has in particular been highly extolled. It
may however be remarked, that there are conftitutions
in which this falutary nutriment feems to difagree. A
propenfity to generate bile, or too ftrong a difpofition
to acefcency from a weaknefs of the digeftive organs,
both merit attention. Whey, either from cows or
goats milk, appears to be more fuitable in the former
cafe ; and for correfting acidity, lime water may be
added to the milk. The method of adding rum or
brandy to affes or cows milk, Ihould be ufed with great
caution : for when added beyond a certain quantity,
as is often the cafe, they not only coagulate the milk,
but heat the body *, by which means the milk dif-
agrees with the patient, and the fpirit augments the
difeafe.
In confumptive cafes, Dr Simmons obferves, that
the patient’s tafte fhould be confulted ; and fays that a
moderate ufe of animal food, where the faked and high-
feafoned kinds are avoided, is not to be denied. Shell-
fifli, particularly oyflers, are ufeful, as well as fnails
fwallowed whole, or boiled in milk.
Repeated bleedings, in fmall quantities, are by fome
confidered in confumptive cafes as highly advantageous :
and in particular circumftances they undoubtedly are
fo ; for inftance, when the conftitution apparently a-
bounds with blood; when the fluid drawn off is ex¬
tremely fizy ; when there is much pain in the breaft ;
and when veneleftion is followed by an abatement of
every fymptom. In thefe cafes, bleeding is certainly
proper, and ought to be repeated fo long as it feems
to be attended with advantage. In very delicate con-
flitutions, however, even wkere the pulfe is quick, with
fome degree of fulnefs, and the blood laft drawn con-
fiderably fizy, it may not prove ferviceable.
It deferves to be remarked, that the inflammatory
appearance of the blood is not alone a fufficient reafon
for bleeding ; but, in determining the propriety of this
evacuation, all other circumftances (hould be confider¬
ed ; fuch as the patient’s age, ftrength, habit, and the
ftate of the difeafe.
A remark which has been judicioufly made by Dr
Fothergill, ought not to be omitted in the account of
this difeafe. It is, that young delicate females, about
the age of 15 or 16, and upwards, are often fubjefl
to confumptions. When the difeafe has advanced con-
fiderably, the menfes, if they have made their appear¬
ance, moft generally ceafe. This alarms their female
friends, and they call upon the phyfician to ufe his
utmoft endeavours for reftoring the difcharge ; believ¬
ing the ceffation of it to be the immediate caufe of
the phthifical complaint. Induced by their felicita¬
tions, medicines have fometimes been adminiftered,
which, without obtaining this end, have tended to ag¬
gravate the diftemper. This deficiency is often of no
real difadvantage in thofe cafes ; and in many the eva-
CINE. 357
cuation would prove injurious, by diminifhing the Phthifis.
ftrength, which is already too muen impaired. Even
finall bleedings at the regular periods have often done
more harm than good. A hidden fupprefhun may re¬
quire bleeding ; but when the evacuation ftiils through
want of ftrength, and from poverty of blood, the re¬
newal of it increafes the difeafe.
Befides thefe remedies, Dr Simmons ftrongly recom¬
mends a frequent repetition of vomits. Many phyii-
cians have fuppofed, that where there is any increafed
determination to the lungs, vomits do milchief: but
Dr Simmons is perfuaded, that inftead of augmenting,
they diminifti this determination ; and that much good
may be expe&ed from a prudent ufe of this remedy,
than which none has a more general or powerful effeft
on the fyftem. If any remedy be capable of difperfing
a tubercle, he believes it to be emetics. The affedlions
of the liver, that fometimes accompany pulmonary
complaints, give way to repeated emetics fooner than
to any other remedy. In feveral cafes where the cough
and the matter expedlorated, the flulhing heats, lofs
of appetite, and other fymptoms, threatened the moft
fatal event; the complaints were greatly relieved, and
in others wholly removed, by the frequent ufe of eme¬
tics. Other fuitable remedies were indeed employed
at the fame time ; but the relief the patients generally
experienced after the emetic, w’as a fufficient proof
of its falutary operation. By this, however, he does
not mean that vomits will be ufeful in every period of
the difeafe, or in every patient. I ♦ general, it will be ,
found that the earlier in the diftafe emetics are had re¬
courfe to, the more likely they will be to do good, and
the lefs likely to do harm. The cafes in which eme¬
tics may be reckoned improper, are commonly thofe in >
which the difeafe is rapid in its progrefs; or in that
ftage of it when there, is great debility, with profufs >-
colliquative fweats.
In thefe cafes, when an emetic has been adminifter¬
ed twice a-week, and the cough is mitigated, the ex- .
peftoration facilitated, and the other fymptoms reliev¬
ed, both the patient and the phyfician will be encou- 5
raged to proceed, and to repeat the vomit every fecond
day, or even every day, for feveral days together, as
Dr Simmons has fometimes done when the good effedls
of it were obvious.
The choice of emetics to be employed in thefe cafes
is by no means a matter of indifference. Carduus tea,
chamomile tea, wrarm water, and others that a£I by
their bulk, and by exciting naufea, relax the tone of
the flomach wffien they are frequently repeated, and of
courfe will be improper. More a£live emetics are
therefore to be preferred ; and here fome of the prepa-
ratiotis of antimony might naturally be thought of.
But the operation of thefe is not confined to the fto-
, mach. They produce evacuations by ftool, and a dif¬
pofition to fweat ; and are therefore improper in the
pulmonary he<ftic. The mildnefs and excellence of
ipecacuanha as an emetic, are well known ; but in
thefe cafes, Dr Simmons has often emnloyed the ful-
phate of copper, concerning the effe&s of which we
meet with fome groundlefs affertions in feveral medical
books. Its operation is confined to the ftomach ; it .
a&s almoft inftantaneoufly ; and its allringency feems
to obviate the relaxation that is commonly fuppofed
to attend the frequent ufe of emetics. In two cafes.-
li<L
358 ' M E D I
Haemor- lie esrperienced its good effedls, after vomits of ipe-
t rhagia;. cacuanha had been given ineffeftually. It ihould
' v ^ be adminiftered in the morning, and in the following
manner :
Let the patient firft fwallow about half a pint of wa¬
ter, and immediately afterwards fulphate of copper dif-
folved in a cupful of water. The dofe of it mu ft be
adapted to the age and other drcumllances of the pa¬
tient, and may be varied from two grains to ten, fifteen,
or twenty. As fome perfons are much more eafily
puked than others, it will be prudent to begin with a
final! dofe : not that any dangerous effefts will be pro¬
duced by a large one, tor the whole of the medicine is
iniiantly reje&ed ; but if the naufca be violent, and of
long continuance, the patient may perhaps be dircou-
rag-.-d from repeating it. In general, the moment the
emetic has reached the ftomach it is thrown up again.
The patient muft then fwallow another half pint of
water, which is likewife fpeedily rejected 5 and this is
commonly fufficient to remove the naufea.
Dr Marry at, in his New PraBice of Phy ic, pre-
fcribes with great freedom what he calls the dry vomit,
from its being direfled to be taken without drinking.
This medicine confifts of fulphate of copper and tartrite
of antimony. It has the benefit alfo of producing in-
ftantaneous operation ; but it is more apt to excite
rsaufea than the fulphate of copper alone, and is liable
to fome of the objfe&ions ftated to antimonial emetics.
Another remedy which Dr Simmons ftrongly re¬
commends in confu»iptive cafes, both from his own
obfervation, and on the authority alfo of many other
eminent pradlitioners, is gum-myrrh. This given by
itfelf to the extent of a fcruple or half a drachm for a
dofe, two or three times a-day, or, if there be. much
inflammatory tendency, combined with a proportion
of nitre or of cream of tartar, has often been fervice-
able in cafes which were apparently inftances of inci¬
pient phthifis even of the tuberculous kind. But when
the difeafe is far advanced, or even decidedly marked,
as far as our experience goes it has rarely been produc¬
tive of any benefit.
Befides the ufe of internal remedies in pulmonary
affeftions, phyficians have often prefcribed the fmoke
of refinous and balfamic fubftances to be conveyed in¬
to the lungs. The vapour of fulphuiic ether, dropt in¬
to warm water, has likewife been ufed in thefe cafes.
The inhaling of fixed air has alfo been fpoken of as an
ufeful pra£Hce. Dr Simmons has feen all thefe me¬
thods tried at different times ; but without being able
to perceive any real advantages from them in the fup-
purative itage of the difeafe, where they might be ex-
pefted to be of the greateft ufe , and in the beginning
he has often found the two firft to be too ftimulating.
He therefore preferred the Ample vapour of warm wa¬
ter, and has experienced its excellent effefts in feveral
inftances ; but' when the complaint has made any con-
fiderable progrefs, its utility is lefs obvious ; and when
the patients have been much weakened, he has feen it
bring on profufe fweats, efpecially when uied in bed,
and therefore he generally recommended it to be ufed
in the day time. Formerly he made ufe of a fumigating
machine, defcribed in the Gentleman’s Magazine for
1748> in which the air, infpired by the patient, is
made to pafs through hot water by means of a tube
that communicates with the external air, and with the
2
CINE. Pratfice.
bottom of the veffe; : but we have now a more elegant, Phthifis.
and, on account of the valve and mouth piece, a more v"~ y
ufeful inftrument of this kind, the inhaler, invented by
the ingenious Dr Mudge.
Another remedy recommended by fome as a fpecific
in coufumptions is the earth-bath. Van Swieten, in
his Commentaries on Boerhaave, tells us, from the in¬
formation of a perfon of credit, that in fome parts of
Spain they have a method of curing the phthifis pul-
monalia by the ufe of this remedy ; and he quotes the
celebrated Solano de Luque in confirmation of this
practice. St lano fpeaks of the banos de tierra, or
earth-baths, as a very old and common remedy in
Granada and fome parts of Andalufia, in cafes of hec¬
tic fever and confumptions *, and relates feveral in¬
ftances of their good effefts in his own pradlice. The
method he adopted on thefe occafions was as follows :
He chofe a fpot of ground on which no plants had
been fown, and there he made a hole large and deep
enough to admit the patient up to the chin. The in-
teritices of the pit were then carefully filled up with
the freih mould, fo that the earth might everywhere
come in contact with the patient’s body. In this iitu-
ation the patient was fuffered to remain till he began
to fhiver or felt himfelf uneafy ; and during the whole
procefs, Solano occafionally adminiftered food or fome
cordial medicine. The patient was then taken out,
and, after being wrapped in a linen cloth, was placed
upon a mattrefs, and two hours afterwards his whole
body was rubbed with an ointment, compofed of the
leaves of the folanum nigrum and hog’s lard. He ob-
ferves, that a new pit muft be made every time the
operation is repeated; and advifes the ufe of thefe baths
only from the end of May to the end of Offoher. Dr
Touquet, an ingenious French phyfician, has tried
this remedy in two cafes. In one, a confirmed phthi¬
fis, he was unfuccefsful; but the remedy had not a fair
trial. The patient, a man 30 years of age, had been
for feveral months afflidted with cough, heftic fever,
and profufe colliquative fweats. He was firft put into
the earth in the month of June; but foon complained
of an uneafy oppreffion at his ftomach, and was remov¬
ed at the end of feven minutes. The fecond time he
was able to remain in it half an hour, and when taken
out was treated in the way prefcribed by Solano. In
this manner the baths were repeated five times, and
the patient was evidently relieved ; but having conceiv¬
ed a difiike to the procefs, he refufed to fubmit to any
further trials, and died fome months afterwards. In
the fecond cafe he was more fortunate : the patient, a
girl 11 years of age, had been for three months trou¬
bled with a cough brought on by the mealies, which
was at length attended with a purulent expectoration,
heClic fc^Ver, and night fweats. She began the ufe of
the earth-bath in Auguft, and repeated it eight times
in the fpace of 20 days. At the end of that time the
fever and difpolition to fweat had entirely ceafed, and
by the ufe of the common remedies the patient was
perfectly reftored. A phyfician at Warfaw has like¬
wife preferihed the earth-bath with good fuccefs in
cafes of heCtic fever. The Spaniards confine it entirely
to fuch cafes ; but in fome other parts of the world we
find a fimilar method employed as a remedy for other
difeafes, and particularly tb»r the fea-feurvy. Dr Prieft-
ley obferves, that the Indians, he has been told, have
Practice.
M E D I
Has-nor- a cuRom of burying ttiexr patients labouring under pu-
rhague. tr;c| difeafes up to the chin in frelh mould, which is
v alfo known to take off the foetor from tlefh meat be¬
ginning to putrefy. J_he rancidity of a ham, for ex¬
ample, may be corrected by burying it for a few hours
in the earth. The efficacy of this remedy in the fea
fcurvy has, it is faid, frequently been experienced by
the crews of our Eaft India (hips.
Solano, who is fond of philofophizing in his writings,
is of opinion, that the earth applied in this way ab-
forbs the morbid taint from the fyftem 5 but does it
not feem more probable, that the effluvia of the earth,
by being abforbed and carried into the circulation, coi-
reft the°morbid date of the fluids, and thus are equal¬
ly ufeful in the fea fcurvy and in the pulmonary heaic ?
That the earth when moiftened does emit a grateful
odour is a faa generally known ; and Baglivi long ago
gave his teftimony in favour of the grateful effeas of the
effluvia of frefh earth. He afcribes thefe good effeas
to the nitre it contains. _
The earth-bath, both in confumptive cafes and hke-
wife in a variety of other affbaions, has of late been
extensively employed in Britain by a celebrated empi¬
ric. But, as far as we can learn, in moft cafes it pro¬
duced to the patient a very diftreffing fenfation of cold j
in foroe, it feemed to be produaive of bad effbas, pro¬
bably in confequence of this cold ; and we have not
heard of any confumptive cafes in which good effeas
were decidedly obtained from it. .
With regard to the drains, fuch as bliffers, iffues,
and fetons, which are fo frequently recommended in
pulmonary complaints, there.is lefs danger ot abide
from them than from the praaice of venefeaion. ihe
difeharge they excite is not calculated to weaken the
patient much; and the relief they have fo.often been
found to afford, is a fuffleient reafon for giving them
a trial. Bliffers, as is well known, aft. in a twofold
manner ; by obviating fpafm, and producing revulfion :
Iffues and fetons Sa chiefly in the latter of thefe two
ways; and in this refpea their effeas, though lefs hid¬
den and lefs powerful at firft, are more durable from the
continuance of the difeharge they occafion. It is per¬
haps hardly neceffary to remark, that, u much fervice
is to he expeaed from either of thefe remedies, they
fhculd be applied early in the difeafe. The ingenious
Dr Mudge, who experienced the good effeas of a large
fcapulary'iffue on his own perfon, very properly ob-
ferves, that the difeharge in thefe cafes ought to be
confiderable enough to be felt. But it is leldom pofli-
ble for us to prevail on the delicate peBons, who. are
moft frequently the viaims of tins difeafe, to fubmit to
the application of a cauftic between the (boulders. I he
difeharge produced by a feton is by no means inconfidcr-
able ; and as in thefe cafes there is generally fome part
of the breaft that is more painful or more affebled by a
deep infpiration than the reft, a feton in the fide as
rear as can be to the feat of the pain, will be an ufelul
auxiliary. Dr Simmons has feen it evidently ot great
ufe in feveral cafes.
Genus XXXVIII. H7EMORRHOIS.
Haemorrhoids, or Pilrs.
Hcemorrhob, Sauv. gen. 217. Lin. 192. Sag. gen.
182.
CINE.
Haemorrhoidalis ffuxus, Hofftn. 219.
Haemorrhoides, *Janck. 11. et 12.
Leucorrhois, Vog. 112.
Sp. I. External Piles.
Var. A. Blooehj Piles.
Haemorrhois moderata, Sauv. fp. 1.
Hiemorrhoides ordinatse, Junck. 11.
Hasmorrhoides nimiae, Junck. 11.
Haemorrhois immodica, Sauv. fp. 2.
Hcemorrhoides excedentes, Alberti de haemorrhoid.
p. 179. _
Haemorrhois polypofa, Sauv. fp. 3.
Var. B. Mucous Piles.
Haemorrhoides decoloratse, albae, et mucidae, Junck.
13. Alberti, p. 248.
Sp. II. The Piles from a Procidentia Am.
Haemorrhois ab exania, Sauv. fp. 4.
Sp. III. The Running Piles.
241
242
M3
240
Sp. IV. The Blind Piles. 244
Haemorrhoides coecoe, Junck. 12. Alberti, p. 274.
Dcfcription. The difeharge of blood from fmall tu¬
mors on the verge of the anus conftitutes what is called
the hcemorrhoids or piles. They are diftinguiftied into
the external and internal, according to the fituation of
the tumors, either without or within the anus. Some¬
times, however, thefe tumors appear without difehar-
ging any blood ; and in this cafe they are called the
haemorrhoides ccecae, or blind piles. Sometimes the dil-
eafe appears without the verge of the anus in diffinbt fe-
parate tumors ; but frequently only one tumid ring ap¬
pears, feeming as it were the anus puflied without the
body. Sometimes thefe tumors appear without any
previous diforder of the body : but more frequently, be¬
fore the blood begins to flow, and fometimes even before
tbe tumors are formed, various affedlions are perceived in
different parts of the body ; as headach, vertigo, ftupor,
difficulty of breathing, ficknefs, colic pains, pain of the
back and loins, and frequently a conflderable degree
of pyrexia; while along with thefe fymptoms there is a
fenfe of fulnefs, heat, itching, and pain, in and about
the anus. Sometimes the difeafe is preceded by a fe-
rous difeharge from the anus ; and fometimes this !e-
rous difeharge, accompanied with fwelling, feems to
come m place of the difeharge of blood, and to relieve
the above-mentioned diforders of the fyftem. .this le-
rous difeharge hath therefore been named the hcemor-
rhois alba. .
In this difeafe the quantity of blood difcharged is dif¬
ferent upon different occaftons. Sometimes it flow s on¬
ly when the perfon goes to ftool, and commonly fol¬
lows the difeharge of faeces. In other cafes it flows
without any difeharge of fasces; and then generally in
confequence of the diforders above mentioned, when it
is alfo commonly in larger quantity. This is often ve¬
ry confiderable ; and, by the repetition, fo great, that
we could hardly fuppofe the body to bear it but with
the
360 M E D I
Haemor- the hazard of life* Indeed, though rarely, it has been
, rhagtas. f0 great as to prove fuddenly fatal. Thefe confiderable
difcharges occur efpecially to perfons who have been
frequently liable to the difeafe. They often induce
great debility, and frequently a leucophlegmatia or
dropfy which proves fatal. Sometimes the tumors and
difcharges of blood in this difeafe recur exa&ly at dat¬
ed periods. In the decline of life it frequently hap¬
pens that the haemorrhoidal flux, formerly frequent,
ceafes to flow'; and in that cafe it generally happens
that the perfons are affefted with apoplexy or palfy.
Sometimes hoemorrhoidal tumors are affedled with in¬
flammation, which ends in fuppuration, and gives
occafion to the formation of fiftulous ulcers in thofe
parts.
The haemorrhoidal tumors have often been confi-
dered as varices or dilatations of the veins j and in fome
cafes varicous dilatations have appeared upon dilfec-
tion. Thefe, however, do not appear in the greater
part of cafes; and Dr Cullen is of opinion that they
are ufually formed by an effufion of blood into the
cellular texture of the intefline near to its extremity.
When recently formed, they contain fluid blood ; but
after they remain for fome time they are ufually of a
firmer confidence, in confequence of the blood being
coagulated.
Caufes, &.c. It would feem probable, that the hae¬
morrhoidal tumors are produced by fome interruption
of the free return of the blood from the reftum, by
W’hich a rupture of the extremities of the veins is occa-
fioned. But confidering that the haemorrhage occur¬
ring here is often preceded by pain, inflammation, and
a febrile date, and with many other fymptoms which
ftrow a connedHon of the topical affedlion with the date
of the whole fydem, it is probable that the interruption
of the blood in the veins produces a confiderable refid-
ance to the motion of the blood through the arteries,
and confequently that the difcharge of blood is com¬
monly from the latter. Some have thought, that a
difference of the haemorrhois, and of its effedls upon the
fydem, might arife from the difference of the haemor¬
rhoidal veffels from whence the blood iffued. But Dr
Cullen is of opinion, that w7e can fcarce ever diffinguiffi
the veffels from which the blood flows, and that the
frequent inofculations of both arteries and veins belong¬
ing to the lower extremity of the redtum, will render
the effedls of the hoemorrhage much the fame, from
whatever fource it proceeds.
With regard to the haemorrhoids, bow’ever, he is
of opinion, that they are, for the mod part, merely
a topical affedfion. They take place before the pe¬
riod of life at w'hich a venous plethora happens. They
happen to females, in whom a venous plethora deter¬
mined to the haemorrhoidal veffels cannot be fuppofed
to occur; and they happen to both fexes, and to per-
lons of all ages, from caufes which do not affedt the
fyflem, and are manifedly fuited to produce a topical
affedlion only.
Thefe caufes are, in the fird place, the frequent
voiding of hard and bulky faeces, which, by their long
dagnatien in the redlum, and efpecially when voided,
muff neceflarily prefs upon the veins of that part, and
interrupt the courfe of the blood in them. For this
reafon the dhea'e fo frequently happens to thofe who
ate habitually coffive. From the fame caufes, the dif-
l
CINE. Pradtice.
cafe happens frequently to thofe who are fubjedf to a Hsemor-
prolapfus ani. In voiding the faeces, it almod always . rh )IS-
happens that the internal coat of the redfum is more or
lefs protruded •, and, during this protruffon, it fome-
times happens that the fphindter ani is contracted : in
confequence of this, a drong conitridtion is made, wdiich
preventing the protruded gut from being replaced, and
at the fame time preventing the return of blood from
it, occafions a confiderablte fwelling, and the formation
of a tumid ring round the unus.
Upon the fphindter’s being a little relaxed, as it is •
immediately after its ftrong contradtion, the portion
of the gut which had fallen out is commonly taken
into the body again ; but by the frequent repetition
of the accident, the lize and fulnefs of the ring formed
by the prolapfed inteffine is much increafed. It is
therefore more dowdy and difficultly replaced ; and in
this confifts the chief uneafinefs of haemorrhoidal per¬
fons. As the internal edge of this ring is neceffarily
divided by clefts, the wdiole often puts on the appear¬
ance of a number of diftind! fwellings ; and it alfo fre¬
quently happens, that fome portions of it are more
confiderably dwelled, become more protuberant, and
form thole fmall tumors more ftridlly called hcemor-
rhoids or piles.
From confidering that the preffure of the faeces, and
-other caufes interrupting the return of venous blood
from the lower extremity of the redtum, may operate a
good deal higher up than that extremity, wTe may un
derftand how tumors may be formed within the anus;
and probably it alfo happens, that fome of the tumors
formed without the anus may continue when taken
within the body, and even be increafed by the caufes
juft mentioned. Thus may the produdlion of internal
piles be explained, which, on account of their fituation
and bulk, are not protruded on the perfon’s going to
ftool, and are therefore more painful.
The produdiion of piles is particularly illuftrated
by this, that pregnant women are frequently affedled
with the difeafe.—This is to be accounted for, partly
from the preffure of the uterus upon the redtum, and
partly from the coffive habit to which pregnant wto-
men are liable. Dr Cullen has known many inftances
of piles happening for the flrft. time during the ftate of
pregnancy *, and there are few women who have bom
children, that are afterwards entirely free from piles.
—Purgatives alfo, efpecially thofe of the more acrid
kind, and particularly aloetics, are apt to produce
the piles when frequently ufed ; and as they ftimu-
late particularly the larger inteftines, they may be
juftly reckoned among the exciting caufes of this dif¬
eafe.
Prognojis. Though the haemorrhoids are commonly,
as we have faid, to be effeemed a topical difeafe, they
may, by frequent repetition, become habitual and con-
nedled with the ftate of the whole fyftem j and this
will more readily happen in perlons wffio have been
once affedled with the difeafe, if they be frequently
expofed to a renewal of the caufes which occafioned it.
It happens alfo to perfons much expofed to a con-
geftion in the haemorrhoidal veffels, in confequence of
their being often in an eredf pofition of the body, and
in an exercife which puffies the blood into the depend¬
ing veffels, while at the fame time the eft'edls of thefe
circumftances are much favoured by the abundance
and
*
Pra&ice. M E D I
Hsemor- and laxity of tlie cellular texture about the anus. It
rhagise. js particularly obferved, that when an htemor-
1 v ' rhoidal aftedion has either been originally or has be¬
come a difeafe of the fyftem, it then acquires a parti-
cular connexion with the Itomach j fo that certain af-
fedions of the ftomach excite the hsemorrhoidal dif¬
eafe, and certain dates of this difeafe excite the difor-
ders of the ftomach.
It has been an almoft univerfally received opinion,
that the heenaorrhoidal flux is a falutary evacuation,
which prevents many difeates which would otherwile
have happened ; and that it even contributes to give
long life : and as this opinion has been ftrenuoufly
adopted by Dr Stahl, it lias had a very confiderable
influence on the pradice of phyfic in Germany. But
Dr Cullen maintains that we can never exped to reap
much benefit from this flux, which at firft is purely
topical ^ and, granting that it fliould become habitual,
it is never, he thinks, proper to be encouraged. It is
a difagreeable difeafe', ready to go_ to excefs,_ and
thereby to prove hurtful, and fometimes even fatal :
at beft it is liable to accidents, and thus to unhappy
confequences. He is therefore of opinion, that even
the firft approaches of the difeafe are to be guarded
againft; and that, though it Ihould have proceeded
for fome time, it ought always to be moderated, and
the neceffity of it fuperfeded.
Cure. The general intentions of cure in cafes of
hasmorrhois are much varied, according to the circum-
ftances of the affedion at the time. When haemor-
rhois exifts in the flute of tumor, the principal ob-
jeds are to counterad inflammation, and to promote
a difcharge of blood from thc part.. When it is in the
ftate of evacuation, the chief intentions of cure are, to
diminifir the impetus of blood at the part affeded, and
to increafe the refiftance to the paffage of blood
through the ruptured veflels. And finally, when the
difeafe exifts in the ftate of fuppreflion, the aims of
the praditioner muft chiefly be, to obviate the parti¬
cular affedions which are induced in confequence of
the fuppreflion ; to reftore the difcharge, as a means
of mitigating thefe and preventing others ; or, when
the difcharge cannot with propriety or advantage^ be
reftored, to compenfate the w’ant of it by vicarious
evacuations. .
With thefe various intentions in diiterent caies, a
variety of different remedies may be employed with
advantage. ..... . ,
When any evident caufe for this difea.e is perceived,
w'e ought immediately to attempt a removal of that
caufe. ' One of the moft frequent remote caufes is an
habitual coftivenefs ; which muft be obviated by a pro¬
per diet, fucb as the perfon’s own experience will beft
dired •, or if the management of diet be not efledual,
the belly muft be kept open by medicines, which may
prove gently laxative, without irritating the icdum.
In moft cafes it will be of advantage to acquire a ha¬
bit with regard to the time of difcharge, and ob-
ferve it exadly. Another caufe of the haemorrbois. to
be efpecially attended to is the prolapfus ani, which
is apt to happen on a perfon’s having a ftool. If this
fliall occur to any confiderable degree, and be not at
the fame time eafily and immediately replaced, it moft
certainly produces piles, or increafes them when other-
wife produced. Perfons therefore who are liable to
V.OL. XIII. Part I.
CINE.' 361
this prolapfus, ftiould, alter having been at ftool, take Hsenior-
great pains to have the inteftine immediately replaced, r!1'^s' ,
by lying down in a horizontal pofture, and prefling
gently upon the anus, till the redudion lhall be com¬
pletely obtained. When this prolapfus is occafioned
only by the voiding of hard and bulky faeces, it is to
be removed by obviating the coftivenefs w’hich occa-
fions it. But in fome perfons it is owing to a laxity
of the redum ; and in thofe it is often moft confider-
able on occaflon of a loofe ftool. In thefe cafes, it is
to be treated by aftringents, and proper artifices are
to be employed to keep the gut in its place.
When the difeafe has frequently recurred from ne-
gled, and is thus in fome meafure eftablilhed, the me¬
thods above mentioned are no lefs proper; but in this
cafe fome other meafures muft alfo be ufed. It is
efpecially proper to guard againlt a plethoric ftate of
the body ; and therefore to avoid a fedentary life, full
diet, and intemperance in the ufe of ftrong liquor,
which in all cafes of haemorrhage is of the moft perni¬
cious confequence.
Exercife of all kinds is of great fervice in obviating
and removing a plethoric ftate of the body ; but upon
occafion of the haemorrhoidal flux, when this is imme¬
diately to come on, both walking and riding, as in-
creafing the determination of the blood into the
hcemorrboidal veflels, are to be avoided. At other
times, when no fuch determination is already formed,
thefe modes of exercife may be very properly em¬
ployed.
Another method of removing plethora is by cold
bathing ; but this muft be employed wdth caution.
When the haemorrhoidal flux is approaching, it may
be dangerous to divert it} but during the intervals or
the difeafe. cold bathing may be employed with iafe-
ty and advantage 5 and in thofe who are liable to a
prolapfus ani, the frequent wafhing of the anus with,
cold water may be ufeful.
Befides general antiphlogiftic regimen, in fome cafes
where the inflammation runs high, recourfe may be
had with great advantage both to general blood-let¬
ting 'and to leeches applied at the anus. Relief is alfo
often obtained from the external application of emol¬
lients, either alone or combined with diflerent articles
of the fedative kind, as acetite of lead or opium, by
which it is well known that pain in general, particu¬
larly when depending on increafed fenfibility, or aug¬
mented aftion of the veffels, is powerfully allayed.
When the flux has aiftually come on, we are to mo¬
derate it as much as pofhble, by caufing the patient
lie in a horizontal pofture on a hard bed j by avoiding
exercife in an ere£t pofture, ufing a cool diet, and
avoiding external heat. But with refpe^l to the fur¬
ther cure of this dileafe, we muft obferte, that there
are only two cafes in which it is common for haemor¬
rhoidal perfons to call for medical aliiftance. 1 he one
is, when the affeflion is accompanied with much pain ;
and the other, when the piles are accompanied with
exceftive bleeding. In the firft cafe, w?e muft ^confider
whether the piles be external or internal. The pain
of the external piles happens efpecially when a confi¬
derable protrufion of the re£fum has taken place ■, and
while it remains unreduced, it is ftrangled by the con-
ftriaion of the fphin£ter ; and at the fame time no
bleeding happens to take off the fwelling of the pro-
0 £ z truded
, \
3^2 M E D I
Hsemcr- traded portion of tire inteftine ; and fometimes an in-
1 ^ ' flamcnation fupervenes, which greatly aggravates the
pain. In this cafe, emollient fomentations and poul¬
tices are fometimes of fervice, but the application of
leeches is generally to be preferred.
In cafe of excedive bleeding, we are on all occafions
to endeavour to moderate the flux, even where the dif-
eafe has occurred as a critical difcharge •, for if the pri¬
mary difeafe fhall be entirely and radically cured, the
preventing any return of the hsemorrhois feems perfect¬
ly fafe and proper. It. is only when the difeafe arifes
from a plethoric habit, and from a ftagnation of blood
in the hypochondriac region, or when, though origi¬
nally topical, it has by frequent repetition become ha¬
bitual, and has thereby acquired a conneftion with the
fyltem, that any doubt can arife about curing it entire-
iy* . ai)y t^e^e ca^es> however, Dr Cullen is of
opinion, that it will be proper to moderate the bleed¬
ing, lefl, by its continuance or repetition, the pletho¬
ric Hate of the body, and the particular determination
of the blood into the haemorrhoidal veflels, be increafed,
snd the return of the difeafe be too much favoured!
Dr Stahl is of opinion, that the haemorrhoidal flux is
never to be accounted exceflive, excepting when it oc-
cafions great debility or leucophlegmatia : but Dr Cul¬
len thinks, that the fmalleft approach towards produ¬
cing either of thefe effeas (liquid be confidered as an
excefs which ought to be prevented from going far¬
ther ; and even in the cafes of congeftion and plethora,
m 'lf the plethoric habit and tendency can be obviated and
removed, the haemorrhoidal flux may then with fafety
be entirely fupprefled. In all cafes therefore of excef¬
live bleeding, or any approach to it, aftringents both
internal and external may be fafely and properly ap¬
plied ; not indeed to induce an immediate and total
fiippreflion 5 but to moderate the haemorrhage, and by
degrees to fupprefs it altogether; while at the fame
time meafures are to be taken for the removing the ne-
celTity of its recurrence.
Genus XXXIX. MENORRHAGIA.
MS Immoderate Flow of the Menses.
Menorrhagia, Sauv. 244. Lin. 202. Vog. 96.
Menorrhagia, Sag. gen. 179.
Uteri haemorrhagia, Floffm. II. 224.
Haemorrhagia uterina, Juncli. 14.
Leucorrhoea, Sauv. gen. 267. Lin. 201. Vog. ug.
Sag. gen. 202.
Cachexia uterina, five fluor albus, Hofm. III. 3ug
Fluor albus, Junck. 133.
Abortus, Sauv. gen. 245. Lin. 204. Sag. gen. 180.
Junck. 92.
Abortio, Vog. 97.
Fluor uterini ftnguinis, Boerh. 1303.
Ccnvulfio uteri, five abortus, Hoffm. III. 176.
546 SP- L The Immoderate Flow of the Menses, properly
fo called.
Menorrhagia rubra, Cut.
Menorrhagia immodica, Sauv. fp. 3.
Menorrhagia flillatitia, Sauv. fp. 2.*
Definition. The quantity of the menftrual flux is
C I N E. Pra&ice.
different in different women, and like wife in the fame Menor-
wmman at different times. An unufual quantity there- fhagra.
fore is not always to be confidered as morbid : but '
when a large How of the menfes has been preceded
by headach, giddinefs, or dyfpncea ; has been ufhered
in by a cold (lage •, and is attended with much pain of
the back and loins, with a frequent pulfe, heat, and
thirii, it may then be confidered as preternaturally
moroid. On the otlier hand, when the face becomes
pale, the pulfe weak, an unufual debility is felt in exer-
cde, and the breathing is hurried by little labour ;
when the back becomes pained from any continuance
m an ere a pofture, when the extremities become fre¬
quently cold, and when at night the feet appear affba-
ed with oedematous fwelling : from all thefe fymptoms
we maj conclude, that the flow of the inenfes has been
immodeiate, and has already induced a dangerous (late
oi- debility. The debility, induced in this cafe, often,
appears alio by affedtions of the ftomach, an anorexia,
and other fymptoms of dyfpepfia j by a palpitation of
the heart, and frequent faintings ; by a weaknefs of
mind, liable to ftrong emotions from (light caufes, efpe-
cially thofe prefented by furprife. A large flow of the
menfes attended with barrennefs in married women, may
generally be confidered as preternatural and morbid.
Generally, alio, that flow of the menfes may be confi¬
dered as immoderate, which is preceded and followed
by a leucorrhoea.
Caufes, &c. The proximate caufe of the menor¬
rhagia is either the effort of the uterine veffels preter-
naturally increafed, or a preternatural laxity of the ex¬
tremities of the uterine arteries.—The remote caufes
may be, 1. Thofe which increafe the plethoric (late of
the uterine veffels j as a full and nourithing diet, much
ftrong liquor, and frequent intoxications. 2. Thofe
which, determine the blood more copioufly and for¬
cibly into the uterine veffels ; as violent (trainings of
the whole body ; violent (hocks from falls 5 ftrokes or
contufions on the lower belly j violent exercife, parti¬
cularly in dancing j and violent paflions of the mind.
3. Thofe which particularly irritate the veflels of the
uterus : as excefs in venery ; the exercife of venery
in the time of menftruation ; a coftive habit, giving
occafion to violent (training at (tool 5 and cold applied
to the feet. 4. Thofe which have forcibly overftrained
the extremities of the uterine veffels; as frequent abor¬
tions, frequent childbearing without nurling, and diffi¬
cult or tedious labours. Or, laftly, Thole which in¬
duce a general laxity ; as living much in warm cham-
hers, and drinking much of warm enervating liquors
fuch as tea, coffee, &c.
Cure. The treatment and cure of the menorrhagia,
mult be different according to the different caufes of
the difeafe. .The practices employed, however, are
chiefly ufed with one of two intentions ; either with
the view of reftraining the difcharge when prefent, or
of preventing the return of an exceflive difcharge at
the fucceeding period. . The firft is chiefly to be ac-
complithed by employing fuch pra&ices as diminilli
the force occalioning the difcharge of blood, or as
augment the refiftance to its paffage through the
veffels by which it is to be difcharged. The laft is in
fome degree to be obtained by avoiding caufes wFich
either increafe the general impetus of the blood, or
the impetus at the uterus in particular; but princi,
Pa%
Practice. • M E D I
Hamor- pally by giving additional vigour to the uterine vef-
ihagias. fels>
^ In all cafes, the firft attention ought to be given to
avoiding the remote caufes, whenever that can be
done ; and by fuch attention the difeafe may be often
entirely cured. When the remote caufes cannot be
avoided, or when the avoiding them has been ne-
glefted, and a copious menftruation has come on, it
fhould be moderated as much as poffible, by abftain-
ing from all exercife at the coming on or during the
continuance of the menftruation ; by avoiding even an
ereft pofture as much as poftible j by fhunning exter¬
nal heat, and of courfe warm chambers and foft beds j
by ufing a light and cool diet 5 by taking cold drink,
at leaft as far as former habits will allow $ by avoid¬
ing venery ; by obviating coftivenefs, or removing it
by laxatives which give little ftimulus. The fex are
commonly negligent, either in avoiding the remote
caufes, or in moderating the firft beginnings of this
difeafe. It is by fuch neglefl: that it fo frequently
becomes violent and of difficult cure j and the frequent
repetition of a copious menftruation may be confidered
3s a caufe of great laxity in the extreme veffels of the
uterus.
When the coming on of the menftruation has been
preceded by fome diforder in other parts of the body,
and is accompanied with pains of the back, fomewhat
like parturient pains, with febrile fymptoms, and when
at the fame time the flow feems to be copious, a bleed¬
ing at the arm may be proper, but is not often necef-
fary ; and it will in molt cafes be fufficient to employ,
with great attention and diligence, thofe means already
mentioned for moderating the difcharge.
When the immoderate flow of the menfes (hall feem
to be owing to a laxity of the velfels of the uterus, as
may be concluded from the general debility and laxity
of the perfon’s habit-, from the remote caufes that
have occa'fioned the difeafe from the abfence of the
fymptoms which denote increafed aftion in the veflels
of the uterus ; from the frequent recurrence of the
difeafe ; and particularly from this, that the female in
the intervals of menftruation is liable to a leucorrhoea :
in fuch a cafe, the difeafe is to be treated, not only by
employing all the means above mentioned fo^ mode¬
rating the haemorrhage, but alfo by avoiding all irrita¬
tion, every irritation having a greater effe£t in propor¬
tion as the reffels are more lax and yielding. If, in
fuch a cafe of laxity, it (hall appear that fome degree
of irritation occurs, opiates may be employed to mode¬
rate the difcharge ; but in ufing thefe much caution is
requifite. If, notwithftanding thefe meafures having
been taken, the difcharge (hall prove very large, aftrin-
gents both external and internal may be employed. In
i'uch cafes, Dr Cullen afks, May (mail dofes of emetics
be of fervice ?
When the menorrhagia depends on the laxity of the
uterine veflels, it will be proper, in the intervals^ of
menftruation to employ tonic remedies -, as cold bathing
and chalybeates. The exercifes of geftation alfo may
be very ufeful, both for ftrengthening the whole fyftem,
and for taking off the determination of the blood to the
internal parts.
Thefe remedies may be employed in all cafes of me¬
norrhagia, from whatever caufe it may have proceeded,
CINE. 363
if it {hall have already induced a confiderable degree of Leucor-
debility in the body. , rlll^:a' .
Sp. II. Abortion. ^ 247
Menorrhagia abortus, Cul.
Menorrhagia gravidarum, Sauv. fp. 6.
Abortus effluxio, Sauv. fp. 1.
a, Abortus fubtrimeftris.
b, Abortus fubfemeftris.
c, Abortus odftiraeftris.
Abortus ab uteri laxitate, Sauv. fp. 2.
I
Sp. III. Immoderate Flux of the Lochia.
Menorrhagia lochialis, Sauv. fp. 8. Cu/.
For the defcription, treatment, and cure, of thefe
two laft difeafes, fee Midwifery.
Sp. IV. Immoderate Flow of the Mrnses from fome 249
local diforder.
Menorrhagia vitiorum, Cul.
Menorrhagia ex hyfteroptofi, Sauv. fp. 5.
Menorrhagia ulcerofa, Sauv. fp. 9.
Sp. V. The Leuccrrhcea, Fluor Albus, or Whites. 150
Menorrhagia alba, Cul.
Leucorrhcea, Sauv. gen. 267.
Menorrhagia decolor, Sauv. fp. 7.
Leucorrhcea Americana, Sauv. fp. 5.
Leucorrhoea Indica, Sauv. fp. 6.
Leucorrhcea Nabothi, Sauv. fp. 9.
Leucorrhcea gravidarum, Sauv. fp. 8.
Defcription. The f uor albus, female weaknefs, ©r
whites, as it is commonly called, is a difeafe of the
womb and its contiguous parts $ from which a pale-co¬
loured, greenifti, or yellow fluid, is difcharged, attend¬
ed with lofs of ftrength, pain in the loins, bad digef-
tion, and a wan fickly afpe£l.
Caufes, &c. The quantity, colour, and confiftence
of the difcharge, chiefly depend upon the time of its
duration, the patient’s habit of body, and the nature
of the caufe by which it was produced. Taking cold,
ftrong liquor, immoderate heat and moifture, or vio¬
lent exercife, are all obferved to produce a bad effedf,
as to its quantity and quality.
Weakly women of lax folids, who have had many
children, and long laboured under ill health, are of
all the moft fubjcft to this difagreeable difeafe ; from
which they unfortunately fufter more fevere penance
than others, as the niceft fenfations are often connefted
with fuch a delicacy of bodily frame as fubjefls them
to it.
In Holland it is very frequent, and in a manner pe¬
culiar to the place, from the dampnefs of its fituation $
the furrounding air being fo overcharged with moifture
as to relax the body, flop perfpiration, and throw it
upon the bowels or womb } producing m the firft a
diarrhoea or flux, in the laft the fluor albus or female
weaknefs.
The difcharge often proceeds from the veflels fubfer-
vient to menftruation 5 becaufe, in delicate habits, where
thofe veflels are weak, and confequently remain too
Z z a long
rhuarice.
364 , M E D I
Kasmor- long uncontrafied, the Jluor albus rornetimes iramcdiate-
]y follows the menfes, and goes off by degrees as they
gradually clofe. It alfo comes from the mucous glands
of the womb, as is particularly evident in very young
females of eight and ten years old 5 in whom, though
very rarely, it has been obferved, and 'where it muff
then neceffarily have efcaped from thofe parts, as the
uterine veffels are not fnfRciently enlarged lor its paf-
fage at ib early a period.
Sometimes, as in women with child, it proceeds
from the paffage to the w’omb, and not from the womb
itfelf; which, during pregnancy, is cloiely fealed up,
fo that nothing can pafs from thence till the time of
labour. The application of thofe jnftruments called
psjfaries, from the pain and irritation they occafion,
is alfo apt to bring on this difeharge. Hence we
may conclude, that this difeafe may happen although
the blood be in a pure ftate. Here the fault feems to
be placed in the veffels at the part, by which the
fluids are vitiated and changed from their natural quali¬
ties.
The fiuor albus has been fuppofed to fupply the
want of the menfes ; becaufe where the firfl prevails,
the laft is generally either irregular or totally wanting :
but it might more properly be faid, that the prefence
oi the Jluor albus, which is a preternatural evacuation,
occafions the abfence of that which is natural; as is-
evident from the return of the menfes after the fluor
albus has been cured. Indeed, when this difeharge
appears about the age of 13 or 14, and returns once a
month, with fymptoms like thofe of the menfes, then
it may be deemed ftrictly natural, and therefore ought
not to be flopped.
Prognojis. The Jluor albus may be diftinguifned in¬
to two kinds. The firff arifes from a fimple weaknefs,
or the relaxation of the folids j which may either be
general, where the whole bodily fyftem is enervated and
unftrung 5 or partial, where the womb only is thus af¬
fected, in confequence of hard labour, frequent mifear-
riages, a fuppreffion or immoderate quantity of the
menfes, or a fprain of the back or loins.
In the firfl cafe, the difeharge being generally mild,
may be fafely taken -away. In the fecond, it may
proceed from a vitiated or impure blood, where the
body, from thence, is loaded with grofs humours,
which nature for her own fecurity and relief thus en¬
deavours to carry off. In fuch cafes, the difeharge is
often of a reddifh colour, like that from old ulce¬
rous fores ; being fometimes fo (harp as to excoriate
the contiguous parts, and occafion a fmarting and heat
of urine.
A deep Tested, darting pain, •with a forcing down,
attending fuch a difeharge is a very dangerous and
alarming fign, and indicates an ulceration or cancerous
Hate of the womb. This malignant ftate of the dif¬
eafe, if of long continuance, is extremely difficult to
cure •, and dilpofes the patient to barrennefs, a bearing
dowm, dropfy, or confumption.
Cure, &c. The caufes of thofe two kinds of this
chfeate being different, fo they will require a very dif¬
ferent method of cure. For this purpofe, in the firff
cafe, nothing will be more proper than nourifhing
fimple food fuch as veal broths, jellies, frefh eggs,
and milk diet. The acid fruits will alfo be proper j
and the patient may take a refforative, ftrengthening
C I N E.
Practice.
infufion, which will give firmnefs to the body, and af-
fiff the weakened fibres of the womb in returning to
their natural ftate.
The fame method may be ufed with fuccefs, where
the Jtuor albus follows the menfes, as already obfer¬
ved.
The Tunbridge or Spa waters may be drank at the
fame time ; and if neceffary, an infufion of green tea,
or pure fmith’s forge water, may be ufed with a womb-
fyringe as an injection twice a-day. Should the dif¬
eafe prove uncommonly obftinate, tire patient may go
into the cold bath every fecond day j and alfo drink
lime-water with milk, which will expedite the cure,
and prevent a relapfe. Volatile liniment, and after¬
wards a ftrengthening plafter, may be applied to the
{mail of the back.
By way of caution, the female fhould abftain from
the immoderate ufe of tea *, and be removed into a dry
clear air ; or if fhe be obliged to remain in one lefs
proper, foe may apply the flefo-brufo, and wear a flan¬
nel ftiift next her {kin, impregnated with the fumes of
burning frankincenfe or any of the grateful aromatic
gums. Cold fpring water pumped on the loins, or e
bliftering plafter applied to the bottom of the fpine or
back, are both very powerful in their effects, and have
fometimes fucceeded after other remedies had been
tried in vain.
In the fecond fpecies of the difeafe, where the dif¬
eharge is {harp and of long {landing, it would be ex¬
tremely dangerous to fupprefs it iuddenly, either by
aftringents internally taken, or applied as injeflions,
until the fyftem be reftored to a more found and vigo¬
rous condition.
A purging potion may be taken twice a-week, and
in the intervals an alterative pill night and morning.
After this courfe has been continued a fortnight or
three weeks, foe may begin with the ftrengthening
bitter infufion, or fome other tonic, in the quantity
of a tea-cupful twice a-day, or to a greater extent if
the ftomach will allow.
The fame fort of food and regimen will here be
proper as in the firft kind of the difeafe. The patient
fhould abftain from malt liquors, and drink rice-water,
in each pint of which half an ounce of gum-arabic has
been d’ffolved •, or if {he be weak, and of a cold bloat¬
ed habit of body, a little French brandy may be added
occationally.
When foe begins to take the bitter infufion, it will
be proper to ufe the Tunbridge or Pyrmont water for
common drink ; but if thofe cannot conveniently be
had, the alkaline aerated water, impregnated with iron,
will make an excellent iubftitute. If it ihould render her
coftive, and occafion headach, ftie may delift, and drink
a folution of cryftals of tartar, or a little fenna tea fweeten-
ed with manna, till thofe complaints be removed.
In ftiort, as this is a malady of the moft difagreeable
kind, which by long continuance or negleft becomes
difficult of cure, and often produces an ulceration of
the womb, bearing down, barrennefs, a dropfy, or con¬
fumption ; it were to be wiftied that women, on fuch
occafions, would be more attentive to their own fafety,
by ufing all poffible means, in due time, to prevent
thofe diforders.
Dr Leake fays he has attended more patients labour¬
ing under the fluor albus in-the autumn than at any other
feafen
Leucor-
rhoea.
Pradice.
MEDICINE.
365
Htemor- feafon of the year, efpecially when the weather was
rhagiae. uncommonly moht and cold : moft of them were cured
by change of diet, an increafed perfpiration, and the
proper ufe of cinehona with aromatics. He obferved,
that feveral about this time who efcaped the diforder,
were vifited with bad colds, a defluxion on the throat,
or a diarrhrea, which were removed by a fimilar treat¬
ment.
Among other remedies which have been recom¬
mended in leucorrhoea, recourfe has lately been had to
the internal ufe of cantharides. This remedy for leu¬
corrhoea has, in particular, been highly extolled in a
late publication on the powers of cantharides, when
ufed internally, written by Mr John Roberton, furgeon
in Edinburgh. The analogy between gleet and leu-
corrhcea, Mr Roberton tells us, fuggefted to him, that
the cantharides which he had employed with fuch good
effefls in gleet, might alfo be ufeful in leucorrhoea.
The event, he affirms, fully anfwered his expeflations,
and he has employed the remedy with very great fuc-
cefs. The cantharides were ufed under the form of
tin£1 ure : the tinftura meloes ve/icatoru of the Edin¬
burgh Pharmacopoeia. 1 his medicine he employed in
much larger dofes than is commonly prefcribed. Thus
a mixture containing an ounce of the tincture of can¬
tharides, dilfufed in fix ounces of water, was taken to
the extent of half an ounce, four times a-day } nay, in
fome cafes, the tin6lurewas exhibited to the extent of half
an ounce in a day, without any inconvenience, and with
the bell effects. As examples of the power of this re¬
medy, Mr Roberton has given a detail of fix cafes, fe-
lefted from a number which have been under his care.
In three cafes, as being the moft inveterate, the effeffs
of the cantharides were moft evident. And wTe (hall
only obferve, that if this remedy be found by other
praflitioners to be equally fuccefsful in the cure of leu¬
corrhoea, it will be a very valuable acquifition in the
praflice of medicine, efpecially if it {hall be found oy
ethers, as well as by Mr Roberton, that not only the
general fymptoms of leucorrhoea are removed, but that
the tone and funftions of the uterine fyftem are com¬
pletely reftored by the ufe of cantharkles..
As women are fometimes connected with thofe who
do not confcientioufly regard their fafety, it is a cir-
cumftance of the utmoft confequence to difhnguijh a
frefo venerea! infeFfion from the fluor aibus or whites :
for if the firft be miftaken for the laft, and be either ne¬
glected or improperly treated, the word coniequences
may arife.
The following figns will beft inform the patient whe¬
ther there be occafion for her doubts or not. .
A frefh infection, called gonorrhoea, is malignant and
inflammatory •, the fluor aibus moft commonly arifes
from relaxation and bodily weaknefs : and tnerefore the
remedies proner in the firft diforder would render the
laft more violent, by locking up and confining the in¬
fectious matter.
In the gonorrhoea, the difeharge chiefly proceeds
from the parts contiguous to the urinary pafiage, and
continues whilft the menfes flow $ but in \\\e fluor atuus
it is fupplied from the cavity of the womb and its paf-
fage, and then the menfes are feldom regular.
In the gonorrhoea, an itching, inflammation, and
heat of urine, are the forerunners of the difeharge j the
orifice of the urinary paffage is prominent and painful, Catarrlmc
and the patient is afFeCted with a frequent irritation to v
make v.-ater. In the fluor aibus, pains in the loins, and
lofs of ftrength, attend the difeharge; and if any in¬
flammation or heat of urine follow, they happen in a
lefs degree, and only after a long continuance of the
difeharge, which, becoming (harp and acrimonious, ex¬
coriates the furrounding parts.
In the gonorrhoea, the difeharge fuddenly appears
without any evident caufe •, but in the fluor aibus, it
comes on more flowly, and is often produced by irregu- ,
larities of the menfes, frequent abortion, fprains, or
long-continued illnefs.
In the gonorrhoea, the difeharge is greenifh or yel¬
low, lefs in quantity, a?id not attended with the fame
fymptoms of weaknefs. In the fluor aibus, although
fometimes of the fame colour, efpecially in bad habits
of body, and after long continuance, it is uiually more
offenfive and redundant in quantity.
All the other kinds of haemorrhage enumerated by
medical writers, are by Dr Cullen reckoned to be fymp-
tomatic.
Stomacace, Sauv. gen. 241. Lin. 175. Vog. 85,
Sag. gen. 177.
Species: Scorbutica, Purulenta, &c.
Hjematemesis, Sauv. gen. 242. Lin. 184. Vog. 89.'
gen. 177.
Species: Plethorica, Catamenialis, Scorbutica, &c.
Hjematuria, Sauv. gen. 233. L:n. 198. Vog. 92.
Sag. gen. 178.
Species : Purulenta, Cakulofa, Hsemorrhoidalis, &c.
Order V. PROFLUVIA.
Genus XL. CATARRHUS.
The Catarrh.
Catarrhus, Sauv. gen.'186. Vog. 98. Sag. gen. 145*
Coryza, Lin. 174. Vog. loo. Sag. gen. 196.
Rheuma, Sauv. gea. 142.
Tuffis, Sauv. gen. 142. Lin. 1$5. Vog. 205. Sag.
gen. 245, 235. Jo nek. 30,
Tuflis catarrhalis e-t rheumatica, Hoflm. III. 109.
Sp. I. Catarrh from Cold.
Catarrhus a frigore, Cul.
Catarrhus ben'gnus, Sauv. fg. 1.
Catarrhus pe&oreus, Sauv. fp. 6.
Coryza catarrhalis, Sauv. fp. 1.
Coryza phlegnratorrhagia, Sauv. fp. 2. balmutfu
Obf. cent. 1, 37. find. 28. Morgagn. de fed.
xiv. 21.
Coryza febricofia, Sauv. fp. 6.
Tuffis catarrhnlis, Sauv. fy. l. N. Rofen D.n. apuc
Haller, Difput. Prate, tom. ii.
Rheuma catarvhale, Sauv. fp. 1. _
Amphimerina catarrhalis, Sauv. fp. 2.
Amphimenna tufficulofa, Sauv.~ ip. 13*
Cephalalgia catarrhalis, Sauv. fp. 10.
251
252
366
Profluvla.
M E D I
Sp. II. Catarrh from Contagion.
Catarrlms jl contagio, Cul.
Catarrhus epidemicus, Sauv. fp. 3.
Rheuma epidcmicum, Sauv. fp. 2.
Synocha catarrhaiis, Sauv. fp. 5.
There are feveral fymptomatic fpecies: as, Catarrhus
Rubeolofus ; Tuffis Variolofa, Verminofa, Calculofa,
Phthifica, Hyfterica, a dentitione, Gravidarum, Me-
tallicolarum, &c.
Defcription. The catarrh is an increafed excretion
of mucus from the mucous membrane of the nofe,
fauces and bronchiae, attended with pyrexia.
Practical writers and nofologifts have diftinguifhed
the difeafe by different appellations, according as it
happens to affeft different parts of the mucous mem-
brane, one part more or lefs than the other : but Dr
Cullen is of opinion that the difeafe in thofe different
parts is always of the fame nature, and proceeds from
the fame caufe in the one as in the other. Very com¬
monly^ indeed, thofe different parts are affetfed at the
lame time ; and therefore there is little room for the
diftindion mentioned. The difeafe has been frequent¬
ly treated of under the title of tuffis or cough ; and a
cough, indeed, always attends the chief form of ca¬
tarrh, that is, the increafed excretion from the bron¬
chia ; but as it is fo often alfo a fyraptom of many
other affe&ions, which are very different from one an¬
other, it is improperly ufed as a generic title.
The difeafe generally begins with fome difficulty of
breathing through the nofe, and with a fenfe of fome
fulnefs Hopping up that paffage. This again is often
attended with fome dull pain and a fenfe of weight in
the forehead, as well as a iliffnefs in the motion of the
eyes. Thefe feelings, fometimes at their very firft
beginning, and always foon after, are attended with
the diftillation of a thin fluid from the nofe, and
fometimes from the eyes 5 and thefe fluids are often
found to be fomewhat acrid, both by their tafte and
by their fretting the parts over which they pafs.
Thefe fymptoms conftitute the coryza and gravedo of
authors, and are commonly attended with a fenfe of
laffitude over the whole body. Sometimes cold ffii-
verings are felt; at leaft the body is more fenfible than
ufual to the coldnefs of the air ; and with all this the
pulfe is more frequent than ordinary, efpecially in the
evenings.
Thefe fymptoms have feldom continued long before
they are accompanied with fome hoarfene/s, and s
fenfe of roughnefs and forenefs in the trachea, with
iome difficulty of breathing, expreffed by a fenfe oi
tfraitnefs in the cheft, and wuth a cough wffiich feems
to arife from fome irritation felt at the glottis. This
cough is generally at firft dry and painful, occafionffiv
pams about the cheft, and more efpecially in the
breaft; fometimes, together with thefe fymptoms
pams refembling thofe of the rheumatifm are felt in
ieveral parts of the body, particularly about the neck
and nead. With all thefe fymptoms, the appetite is
impaired, fome thirft arifes, and a feverilh laffitude is
felt all over the body. Thefe fymptoms mark the
he.ght and violence of the difeafe 5 but commonly
Jt does not continue long. By degrees the cough
4
C I N E. Pra6Hce.
comes to be attended with a more copious excretion of Catarrhus.
mucus ; which is at firft thin, but gradually becoming  
thicker, is brought up with lefs frequent and lefs la¬
borious coughing. The hoarfenefs and forenefs of
the trachea are alio relieved or removed ; and the fe¬
brile fymptoms abating, the expe&oration becomes
again lefs confiderable, and the cough lefs frequent, till
at length they ceafe altogether.
Such is generally the courfe of this difeafe, neither
tedious nor dangerous ; but it is fometimes in both
refpefts otherwife. The body fubjefted to catarrh
feems to be more than ufually liable to be affected
by cold air; and upon expofure of the body to freih
cold, the difeafe, which feemed to be yielding, is
often brought back with greater violence than before,
and is rendered not only more tedious than otherwife
it would be, but alfo^more dangerous by the fuperven-
ing of other difeafes. Some degree of the cynanche
tonfillaris often accompanies the catarrh ; and when
this is aggravated by a frefli application of cold, the
cynanche alfo becomes more violent and dangerous
from the cough which is prefent at the fame time.
When a catarrh has been occafioned by a violent caufe,
when it has been aggravated by improper manage¬
ment, and efuecially when it has been rendered more
violent by frefti and repeated applications of cold, it
often paffes into a pneumonic inflammation, attended
W’ith the utmoft danger.
Unlefs, however, fuch accidents as thefe happen, a
catarrh, in found perfons not far advanced in life, is
always a flight and fafe difeafe : but, in perfons of a
phthifical difpofition, a catarrh may readily produce a
hajmoptyfis, or perhaps form tubercles, in the lungs;
and ft ill more jreadily in perfons who have tubercles
already formed in the lungs, an accidental catarrh may
occafion the inflammation of thefe tubercles, and in
coniequence produce a phthifis pulmonalis.
In elderly perfons, a catarrh fometimes proves a
dangerous difeale. Many perfons, as they advance in
life, and efpecially after they have arrived at old age,
have the natural mucus of the lungs poured out in
greater quantity, and requiring a frequent expectora¬
tion. If, therefore, a catarrh happen to fuch per-
fons, and increafe the afflux of fluids to the lungs,
with fome degree of inflammation, it may produce
the peripneumonia notha, or more properly chronic
catarrh, a difeafe continuing often for many years, or
at leaff returning regularly every winter ; which in fuch
cafes is very often fatal.
Caufes, &c. The proximate caufe of catarrh feems
to be an inSreafed afflux of fluid', to the mucous mem¬
brane of the nofe, fauces, and bronchia?, along with
fome degree of inflammation affeCling the fame. The
latter circumffance is confirmed by this, that, in the
cafe of catarrh,* the blood drawn from a vein com¬
monly exhibits the fame inflammatory cruft which ap¬
pears in the cafe of phlegmafite. The remote caufe
of catarrh js moil commonly cold applied to the body.
This application of cold producing catarrh is gene¬
rally evicient; and Dr Cullen is of opinion that it would
always be fo, were men acquainted with and attentive to
the circumftances which determine cold to ad upon
the body.
J he application of cold which occafions a catarrh
probably operates by flopping the difeharge ufually
made
M E D I
Pradice.
,Frofluvia. made by the flcin, and which is therefore determined
^ ' <o the mucous membrane of the parts above-mention¬
ed. As a part of the weight which the body daily
loles by infenfible evacuation, is owing to an exhala¬
tion from the lungs, there is probably a connexion
between tins exhalation and the cutaneous peripira-
ticn, fo tL’_ the one may be increafed according as the
other is diminifhed j and therefore wre may underftand
how the diminution of cutaneous perfpiration, by the
application of cold, may increafe the afflux of fluids
to the lungs, and thereby produce a catarrh.
Dr Cullen remarks that there are fome obfervations
of Dr James Ke;i which may render this matter
doubtful ; but fays there is a fallacy in thofe obferva¬
tions. The evident effe&s of cold in producing
coryza, leave the matter, in general, without doubt j
and there are feveral other obfervations which fhow a
connexion between the lungs and the furface of the
body.
Whether from the fuppreflkm of perfpiration, a
catarrh be produced merely by an increafed afflux of
fluids, or whether in addition to this the matter of per¬
fpiration be at the fame time determined to the mu¬
cous glands, and there excites a particular irritation,
may be uncertain; but Dr Cullen thinks the latter
fuppontion is moll probable.
Although in the cafe of a common catarrh, which
is in many intlances fporadic, it may be doubtful
whether any morbific matter be applied to the mu¬
cous glands ; yet we are certain that the fymp-
toms of a catarrh do frequently depend upon fuch a
matter being applied to thefe glands, as appears from
the cafe of mealies, chincough, and efpecially from
the frequent occurrence of contagious and epidemical
catarrh.
The phenomena of contagious catarrhs have been
much the fame with thofe of the others ; and the
difeafe has always been particularly remarkable for this,
that it has been the moll wfidely and generally fpread-
ing epidemic known. It has leldom appeared in any
one country of Europe, without appearing fucceflively
in almoft every different part of it ; and, in fome in-
flances, it has been alfo transferred to America, and
has been fpread there in like manner, fo far as we have
had opportunities of being informed.
The catarrh from contagion appears with nearly
the fame fymptoms as thofe above mentioned. It feems
often to come on in confequence of the application of
cold. And indeed catarrh from cold and contagion
are in every refpeft fo fimilar, that wfflen this epide¬
mic rages, it is impoflible to determine with a perfbn
having fymptoms of catarrh after expofure to cold,
whether the difeafe proceeds from the one caufe or
the other. In moll inftanCes, however, catarrh from
contagion comes on with more cold (hivering than the
catarrh arifing from cold alone j and the former does
ajfo not only fooner (how febrile fymptoras, but to
a more confiderable degree. Accordingly, it more
fpeedily runs its courfe, which is commonly finifhed
in a few days. It fometimes ends by a fpontaneous
fwTeat ; and this, in fome perfons, produces a miliary
eruption. It is, however, the febrile (late of this
difeafe efpecially that is finifhed in a few days ; for
the cough and other catarrhal fymptoms do frequent¬
ly continue longer, and often when they appear to be
CINE. 367
going off they are renewed by any frefli application of Catarrhus*
culd. ' v  
Prognq/ts. Confidering the number of perfons who
are affeded with catarrh, of either the one fpecies or
the other, and efcape from it quickly wfithout any
hurt, it may be allowed to be a difeafe commonly free
from danger : but it is not always to be treated as fuch •,
for in fome perfons it is accompanied with pneumonic
inflammation. In the phthifically difpofed, it often
accelerates the coming on of phthifls p and in elderly
perfons it often proves fatal in the manner we have
explained above, viz. by degenerating into its chro¬
nic ftate. But though chronic catarrh be often the
termination of that fpecies which arifes from cold, we
have not, in any cafe, obferved it to arife as a confe¬
quence of a catarrh from contagion. This fpecies of
catarrh, however, is not unfrequently followed by
phthifis j or rather, where a phthifleal tendency before
exilled, the affedion has been begun and its progrefs
accelerated from this caufe.
Cure. ' The cure of catarrh is nearly the fame,
whether it proceeds from cold or contagion ; only in
the latter cafe remedies are commonly more neceffary
than in the former. In the cafes of a moderate dif¬
eafe, it is commonly fufficient to avoid cold, or to ab-
ftain from animal food for fome days. In fome cales,
where the febrile fymptoms are confiderable, it is pro¬
per for that length of time to lie in bed, and, by taking
frequently fome mild and diluent drink, a little warm¬
ed, to promote a very gentle fweat $ and after this to
take care to return very gradually only to the ufe of
the free air. When the dileafe is more violent, not
only the antiphlogiflic regimen, exadly obferved, but
various remedies alfo, become neceffary. To take
off the phlogiftic diathefis which always attends this
difeafe, blood-letting, more or lefs, according as the
fymptoms fliall require, is the proper remedy. After
blood-letting, for reftoring the determination of the
fluids to the furface of the body, and at the fame
time for expediting the fecretion of mucus in the lungs,
which may take oft the inflammation of its membrane,
vomiting is the molt effebtual means. For the lafU
mentioned purpofe, it has been fuppofed that fquills,
gum-ammoniac, the volatile alkali, and fome other
medicines, might be ufeful j but their efficacy has
never been found confiderable : and if fquills have ever
been, very ufeful, it .feems to have been rather by their
emetic than by their expeftorant powers. When the
inflammatory affections of the lungs feem to be confi-
de.rable, it is proper, befides blood-letting, to apply
bliiters to the back or Tides.
Asa cough is often the mod troublefome circum-
dance of this difeafe, (b demulcents may be employed
to alleviate it. But after the inflammatory fymptoms
are much abated, if the cough dill remains, opiates af¬
ford the mod effectual means of relieving it ; and, in
the circumdances jult now mentioned, they may be
very fafely employed. Very confiderable advantage
is often derived from employing opiates in fuch a
manner as. to aft more immediately on the head of
the wind-pipe. For this purpofe, opium may often
be advantageoufly conjoined with demulcents, melt¬
ing (lowly in the mouth. And perhaps no form is
more convenient, or anfvvers the purpofe better, than
the trochifci glycijrrh%<g cum o/wof the Edinburgh Phar¬
macopoeia,.
(;6B M E T) I
Frofluv!*, tKacopcsia, whcfe punned opium is combined with
u^r«-.w extra^ 0f liquorice, gum arabic, and other demul¬
cents, to the extent of about a grain in a dram of the
compofition. After the inflammatory and febrile
Hates of this difeafe are very much gone, the tnoft ef¬
fectual means of difcuffing all remains of the catarrhal
affection is by foroe exercife of geftation diligently em¬
ployed.
Eefides the remedies above mentioned, Dr Mudge,
in a treatife on this difeafe, recommends the fteam of
warm water as a moft efficacious and fafe remedy for
a catarrh, and which indeed he feems to confider as
little lefs than infallible. The method of breathing in
thefe fleams is defcribed under the word Inhaler ;
but he gives a caution to people in health, who may
accidentally fee bis machine, not to make the experi¬
ment of breathing through cold water with it, or they
will be a! mo ft certain of catching a fevere cold. His
directions for thofe troubled with the catarrh are as
follow:
44 In the evening, a little before bedtime, the pa¬
tient, if of adult age, is to take three drams, or as
many tea-fpoonfuls, of elixir paregoricum, in a glafs
of water : if the fubject be younger, for inftance under
five years old, one tea-fpoonful; or between that and
ten years, two. About three quarters of an hour af¬
ter, the patient fhould go to bed, and, being covered
warm, the inhaler three parts filled with water nearly
boiling (which, from the coldness of the metal, and
the time it ordinarily takes before it is to be uled by
the patient, will be of a proper degree of warmth),
and being wrapped up in a napkin, but fo that the
valve in the cover is not obftrudled by it, is to be
placed at the arm-pit, and the bedclothes being drawn
up and over it clofe to the throat, the tube is to be
applied to the mouth, and the patient ftiould infpire
and expire through it for about twenty minutes or
half an hour,
“ It is very evident, as the whole afl of refpiratfen
is performed through the machine, that in infpiration
the lungs will be filled with air which will be hot, and
loaded with vapour, by pa fling through the body of
water*, and in exfpiration, all that w*as contained in
the lungs will, by mixing with the Seam on the lur-
fttce of the water, be forced through the valve in the
cover, and fettle on the furfaee of the body under the
bedclothes,
44 The great ufe of this particular conftrudlion of
the inhaler ia this: Firft, As there is no nectffity, at
the end of every infpiration, to remove the tube from
the mouth, in order to expire from the lungs the va¬
pour which had been received into them, this machine
may therefore be ufed with as much eafe by children
as older people, Ang, fecondly, As a feverilh habit
frequently accompanies the diforder, the valve in that
refpeft a<fo is of the uttr.oft importance : for a fweat,
or at leaf! a free perfpiration, not only relieves the
patient from the refiUr.s anxiety of a hot, dry, and
fometimes parched {kin, but is alfo, of all evacuations,
the molt eligible for removing the fever *, and it will
be generally found, that, after the inhaler fo con-
ffruffeed has been ufed a few* rairiutes, the v.’arm
vapour under the clothes will, by fettling upon the
trunk, produce a fweat, which will gradually extend
Ufelf to the legs and feet.
3
CINE. Practice.
“ In a catarrhous fever, or any feverlfh habit at- Catarrhus.
tending this cough, it would be proper to take 'rm
draught of warm thin whey a few minutes before the
inhaler be ufed •, and after the procefs is over, the fweat
which it has produced may be continued by occafiooal
fmall draughts of weak warm whey or barley-water.
The fweating is by no means fo neceffary to the cure
of the catarrbous cough, as that the fuccefs of the in¬
haler againft that complaint at all depends upon it.
“ After this refpiratory procefs is over, the patient
ufually paffes the night without the leaft interruption
from the cough, and feels no farther moleftation from
it than once or twice in the morning to throw off the
trifling leakage which, unperceived, had dripped into
the bronchi* and vefichs during the night*, the thin¬
ner parts of which being evaporated, what remains is
foon got rid of by a very gentle effort.
“ I cannot, however, take leave of this part of my
fubjeff, without pointedly obferving, that if the pa¬
tient means not to be difappointed by my affurances or
bis own expectations, it is effentially neceffary that the
following remarks, with regard to the time and man¬
ner of ufing this procefs, ftiould be ftridtly attend¬
ed to.
“ Firft, That as tender valetudinary people are but
too well acquainted with the firlt notices of the difor¬
der, the remedy muft, or ought to be, ufed the fame
evening j which will, in an ordinary feizure, be attend¬
ed with an immediate cure : but if the forenefs of the
refpiratory organs, or the petulance of the cough, ftiow
the cold which has been contraCled to have been very
fevere, the inhaler, without the opiate, fhould be again
repeated for the fame time the next morning.
44 Secondly, if the ufe of the inhaler, &c. be delay¬
ed till the fecond night, it will be always right to re¬
peat it again the next morning without the opiate, but
with it if the feizure has been violent.
“ And, laftly, If the cough be of fome days {land¬
ing, it will be always neceffary to employ both parts
of the prccels at night and the fucceeding morning,
as the firft fimple inflammatory mifehief is now moft
probably aggravated by an additional one of a chronic
tendency.
“ But if, through the want of a timely application,
or a total negleft of this or any other remedy, the
cough fliould continue to harafs the patient, it is, par¬
ticularly in delicate and tender conftitutions, of the ut-
moft confequence to attempt the removal of it as foon
as poffible, before any floating acrimony in the confti-
tut.cn (from the perpetual irritation) receives an ha¬
bitual determination to an organ fo effential to life as
the lungs.
“ If the patient expeClorate with eafe anctireedom
a tliick and well-digefted inoffenfive phlegm, there is
generally but little doubt of his fpitting off the difor¬
der, ■with common care, in a few days; and till that be
accompiifhed, a proper dofe of elixir paregoricum for
a few fucceffive nights will be found very ufeful in fup-
preffing the fatiguing irritation and ineffedlual cough,
occafioned by a matter which, dripping in the early
ftate of the difeafe into the bronchi* during the night,
is commonly at that time too thin to be difeharged by
thofe convulfive efforts.
“ If, however, notwithftanding a free and copious
expe&oration, the cough ftiould {till continue, and the
difeharge,
Praaice. M E D I
Profluvia. difcharge, inftead of removing the complaint, fliould
itfelf, by becoming a difeafe, be a greater expence
than the conftitution can well fupport, it is poffible that
a tender patient may fpit off his life through a weak,
relaxed pair of lungs, without the leal! appearance of
purulence, or any fulpicion of fuppuration. In thole
circumftances, belides, as was mentioned before, in-
creafing the general perfpiration by the falutary fric¬
tion of a flannel W’aillcoat, change of lituation, and
more efpecially long journeys on horfeback, conduced
as much as poflible through a thin, (harp, dry air, will
feldom fail of removing the complaint.
“ But, on the contrary, if the cough Ihould, at
the fame time that it is petulant and fatiguing to the
breall, continue dry, bulky, and without expe£tora-
tion 5 provided there be reafon to hope that no tu¬
bercles are forming, or yet adlually formed, there is
not perhaps a more efficacious remedy for it than half
a dram of gum-ammoniacum, with 18 or 20 drops
of liquid laudanum, made into pills, and taken at bed¬
time, and occafionally repeated. This excellent re¬
medy Sir John Pringle did me the honour to commu¬
nicate to me ; and I have accordingly found it, in a
great many inftances, amazingly fuccefsful, and gene¬
rally very expeditioully fo, for it feldom fails to pro¬
duce an expectoration, and to abate the dillreffing fa¬
tigue of the cough. In thofe circumltances I have
likewife found the common remedy of 3fs or 9ij of
ba/f. fulph. anifat. taken twice a-day, in a little pow¬
dered fugar or any other vehicle, a very efficacious
one. I have alfo, many times, known a falutary re-
vulfion made from the lungs by the fimple application
of a large plafter, about five or fix inches diameter, of
Burgundy pitch, between the Ihoulders j for the perfpi-
rable matter, wdiich is locked up under it, becomes fo
iharp and acrid, that in a few days it feldom fails to
produce a very confiderable itching, fome little ten¬
dency to inflammation, and very frequently a great
number of boils. This application fhould be conti¬
nued (the plafler being occafionally changed), for
three wTeeks or a month, or longer, if the complaint
be not fo foon removed.
“ And here I cannot help obferving, that, though
feemingly a trifling, it is however by no means an ufe-
lefs caution to the tender patient, not to expofe his
fhoulders in bed, and during the night, to the cold j
but when he lies dow7n, to take care they be kept
warm, by drawing the bedclothes up clofe to his back
and neck.
“ If, however, notwithftanding thefe and other
means, the cough, continuing dry or unattended with
a proper expeftoration, fhould perfevere in haraffing
the patient ; if, at laft, it fhould produce, together
with a forenefs, fhooting pains through the breaft and
between the {boulders, attended alfo with fliortnefs of
the breath ; and if, added to this, flufhes of the cheeks
after meals, fcalding in the hands and feet, aYid other
Jymptoms of a hedtic, fhould accompany the diforder ;
there is certainly no time to be loft, as there is the
greateft reafon to apprehend that fome acrimony in
the habit is determined to the tender fubftance of
the lungs, and that confequently tubercular fuppura-
tions will follow7. In this critical and dangerous fi-
tuation, I think I can venture to fay from long expe¬
rience, that, accompanied with change of air and oc-
Vol. XIII. Part I.
CINE. 369
cafional bleedings, the patient will find his greateft fe-Dyfenteria.
curity in a drain from a large fcapulary iffue, affifted ' -
by a diet of afles milk and vegetables.”
Genus XLI. DYSENTERIA.
The Dysentery. „ .
254
Dyfenteria, Sauv.gzn. 248. Zf«. 191. Vog. 107.
Sag. 183. Hojfm. III. 151. Jiwcb. 76.
Defcrifition. The dyfentery is a difeafe in which
the patient has frequent ftool*, accompanied with
much griping, and followed by a tenefmus. The
ftools, though frequent, are generally in fmall quan¬
tity ; and the matter voided is chiefly mucus, fome-
times mixed with blood. At the fame time, the na¬
tural faeces feldom appear j and when they do, it is
generally in a compaft and hardened form, often un¬
der the form of fmall hard fubftances known by the
name of fcyba/a. This difeafe occurs efpecially in
fummer and autumn, at the fame time w7ith autumnal
intermittent and remittent fevers j and with thefe it
is often complicated. It comes on fometimes wTith
cold fhiverings, and other fymptoms of pyrexia ; but
more commonly the fymptoms of the topical affetftion
appear firft. The belly is coftive, with an unufual fla¬
tulence in the bow7els. Sometimes, though more rare¬
ly, fome degree of diarrhoea is the firft appearance.—
In moft cafes, the difeafe begins with griping, and a
frequent inclination to go to ftool. In indulging this,
little is voided, but fome tenefmus attends it. By de¬
grees the ftools become more frequent, the griping
more fevere, and the tenefmus more confiderable. 
With thefe fymptoms there is a lofs of appetite, and
frequently ficknefs, naufea, and vomiting, alfo affecl- ‘
iag the patient. At the fame time there is always
more or lefs of pyrexia prefent. It is fometimes of
the remittent kind, and obferves a tertian period. 
Sometimes the pyrexia is manifeftly inflammatory, and
very often of a putrid kind. Thefe febrile ftates con¬
tinue to accompany the difeafe during its wdiole courfe,
efpecially when it terminates foon in a fatal manner.
In other cafes, the febrile ftate almoft entirely difap-
pears, while the proper dyfenteric fymptoms remain
for a long time after. In the courfe of the difeafe,
whether for a fhorter or a longer time, the matter
voided by ftool is very various. Sometimes it is mere¬
ly a mucous matter, without any blood, exhibiting
that difeafe which is named by fome the morbus muco-
fus, and by others the dijfenteria alba. For the moft:
part, however, the mucus difcharged is more or lefs
mixed with blood. This fometimes appears only in
ftreaks among the mucus \ but at other times is more
copious, giving a tinft to the whole j and upon fome
occafions a pure and unmixed blood is voided in con¬
fiderable quantity. In other refpefts, the matter void¬
ed is varioufly changed in colour and confiftence, and
is commonly of a ftrong and unufually fetid odour. It
is probable, that fometimes a genuine pus is voided,
and frequently a putrid fanies, proceeding from gan¬
grenous parts. There are very often mixed with the
liquid matter fome films of a membranous appear¬
ance, and frequently fome fmall mafles of a feemingly
febaceous matter. While the ftools voiding thefe va¬
rious matters are, in many inftances, exceedingly fre-
3 A quent,
\
M E D I
quent, it is feldom that natural faeces appear in them ;
and when they do appear, it is, as we have faid, in the
form of fcybala, that is, in fomewhat hardened, fe-
parate balls. When thefe are voided, whether by the
efforts of nature or as folicited by art, they procure
a remiffion of all the fymptoms, and more efpecially of
the frequent ilools, griping, and tenefmus.
Accompanied with thefe circumftances, the difeafe
proceeds for a longer or fhorter time. When the
pyrexia attending it is of a violent inflammatory kind,
and more efpecially when it is of a very putrid nature,
the difeafe often terminates fatally in a very few days,
with all the marks of a fupervening gangrene. When
the febrile ftate is more moderate, or difappears alto¬
gether, the difeafe is often protrafted for weeks, and
even for months ) but, even then, after a various du¬
ration, it often terminates fatally, and generally in
confequence of a return and conflderable aggsavation
of the inflammatory and putrid ftates. In lome cafes,
the difeafe ceafes fpontaneoufly ; the frequency of
ffools, the griping, and tenefmus, gradually dirninifh-
ing, while natural ftools return. In other cafes, the
difeafe, with moderate fymptoms, continues long, and
ends in a diarrhoea, fometimes accompanied with lien-
teric fymptoms.
Caufes, &.c. The remote caufes of this difeafe
have been varioufly reprefented. In general it arifes in
fummer or autumn, after confiderable heats have pre¬
vailed for fome time, and efpecially after very warm
and at the fame time very dry ftates of the weather :
and the difeafe is much more frequent in warm than
in cooler climates. It happens, therefore, in the fame
circumftances and feafons which confiderably affe£t
the ftate of the bile in the human body 5 but the cho¬
lera is often without any dyfenteric fymptoms, and co¬
pious difcharges of bile have been found to relieve the
fymj.toms of dyfentery ; fo that it is difficult to de¬
termine what connexion the difeafe has w ith the ftate
of the bile.
It has been obferved, that the effluvia from very pu¬
trid animal fubftances readily affefl the alimentary ca¬
nal, and, upon occafion, they certainly produce a diar¬
rhoea ; but whether they ever produce a genuine dy¬
fentery, is not certain.
The dyfentery does often manifeftly arife from the
application of cold, but the difeafe is always conta¬
gious ; and, by the propagation of fuch contagion, in¬
dependent of cold, or other exciting caufes, it be¬
comes epidemic in camps and other places. It is,
therefore, to be doubted if the application of cold
ever produces the difeafe, unlefs where the fpecific con¬
tagion has been previoufly received into the body;
and, upon the whole, it is probable that a fpecific con¬
tagion is to be conlidered as being always the remote
caufe of this difeafe.
Whether this contagion, like many others, be of a
permanent nature, and only {hows its effefts in certain
circumftances which render it adfive, or if it be occa*
fionally produced, we cannot determine. Neither, if
the lawer fuppofition be received, can we fay by what
means it may be generated. As little do we know
any thing of its nature, confidered in itfelf *, or at
moft, only this, that in common with many other con¬
tagions, it is very often fomewhat of a putrid nature,
and capable of inducing a putrefcent tendency in the
CINE. Practice.
human body. This, however, does not at all explain Dyfenteria.
the peculiar effedt of inducing thofe fymptoms which —v J
properly and effentially conftitute dyfentery. Of thefe
fymptoms the proximate caufe is ftill obfcure.—The
common opinion has been, that the difeafe depends up¬
on an acrid matter thrown upon or fomehow generated
in the inteftines, exciting their periftakic motion, and
thereby producing the frequent ftools which occur in
this difeafe. But this fuppofition cannot be adopted j
for, in all the infcances knotvn, of acrid fubftances ap¬
plied to the inteftines, and producing frequent ftools,
they at the fame time produce copious ftools, as might
be expefted from acrid fubftances applied to any length
of the inteftines. This, however, is not the cafe in dy¬
fentery, in which the ftools, however'frequent, are ge¬
nerally in very fmall quantity, and fuch as may be fup-
pofed to proceed from the lower parts of the redfum
only. With refpedt to the fuperior portions of the in¬
teftines, and particularly thofe of the colon, it is pro¬
bable they are under a preternatural and confiderable
degree of conftriftion : for, as we have faid above, the
natural faeces are feldom voided j and when they are, it
is in a form which gives reafon to fuppofe they
have been long retained in the cells of the colon,
and confequently that the colon had been affeded
with a preternatural ccnftriiftion. This is confirmed
by alrnoft all the diffeflions which have been made
of the bodies of dyfenteric patients *, in which, wffien
gangrene had not entirely deftroyed the texture and
form of the parts, large portions of the great guts have
been found affedted with a very conflderable conftric-
tion.
The proximate caufe of dyfentery, or at ieaft the
chief part of the proximate caufe, feerrrs to confift in a
preternatural conftriftion of the colon, occafioning, at
the fame time, thofe fpafmodic efforts which are felt
in fevere gripings, and which efforts, propagated down¬
wards to the return, occafion there the frequent mu¬
cous ftools and tenefmus. But whether this expla¬
nation ffiall be admitted or not, it will ftill remain cer¬
tain, that hardened fasces, retained in the colon, are
the caufe of the griping, frequent ftools, and tenef¬
mus : for the evacuation of thefe faeces, whether by
nature or by art, gives relief from the fymptoms men¬
tioned ; and it will be more fully and ufefully confirm¬
ed by this, that the moft immediate and fuccefsful cure
of dyfentery is obtained by an early and conftant at¬
tention to the preventing the conftridion, and the fre¬
quent ftagnation of faeces in the colon.|
Cure. In the early periods of this difeafe, the objeSs
chiefly to be aimed at are the following : The dif-
charge of acrid matter depofited in the alimentary
canal ; the counteracting the influence of this matter
when it cannot be evacuated j the obviating the effebls
refulting from fuch acrid matter as can neither be eva¬
cuated nor deftroyed *, and, finally, the prevention of
any further feparation and depofition of fuch matter
in the alimentary canal. In the more advanced pe¬
riods of the difeafe, the principal objefts are, the giv¬
ing a proper defence to the inteftines againft irritat¬
ing caufes 5 the diminution of the morbid fenfibility of
the inteftinal canal j and the reftoration of due vigour
to the fyftem in general, but to the inteftines in "par¬
ticular.
The molt eminent of our late practitioners, and
of
Praaice. M E D I
Profluvia. of greateft experience in this difeafe, feem to be of
'— opinion, that it is to be cured molt effedtually by pur-
ging, afliduoully employed. The means may be various j
but the molt gentle laxatives are ufually fufficient j and,
as the medicine mult be frequently repeated, thefe are
the molt fafe, more efpecially as an inflammatory ftate
fo frequently accompanies the difeafe. Whatever laxa¬
tives produce an evacuation of natural faeces, and a
confequent reraidion of the fymptoms, will be fufficient
to effectuate the cure. But if the gentle laxatives {hall
not produce the evacuation now mentioned, fomewhat
more powerful mult be employed ; and Dr Cullen has
found nothing more proper or convenient than tartar
emetic, given in fmall dofes, and at fuch intervals as
may determine its operation to be chiefly by {tool, io
the tartrite of antimony, however, employed as a pur¬
gative, the great ficknefs which it is apt to occalion,
and the tendency which it has, notwithftanding every
precaution, to operate as an emetic, are certainly ob-
iefhons. Another antimonial, at one time conlidered
as an almolt infallible remedy for this difeafe, the vi-
trum antimonii ceratum, is no lefs exceptionable, from
the uncertainty and violence of its operation •, and
perhaps the fafeil and bell purgatives are the different
neutral falls, particularly thofe containing foffil al¬
kali, fuch as the foda vitriolata tartarifata or phof-
phorata. Rhubarb, fo frequently employed, is, Dr
Cullen thinks, in feveral refpe&s, amonglt the mod un*
fit purgatives j and indeed from its allringent quality, it
Is exceptionable at the commencement of the affeftion,
unltfs it be conjoined with fomething to render its ope¬
ration more brilk, fuch as mild muriated mercury, or
calomel as it is commonly called.
Vomiting has been held a principal remedy in this
difeafe 5 and may be usefully employed in the be*
ginning, with a view both to the Hate of the
llomach and of the fever: but it is not oeceffary
to repeat it often ; and, unlefs the emetics employed
operate alfo by llool, they are of little fervice. Ipe¬
cacuanha is by no means a fpecific j and it proves on¬
ly ufeful when fo managed as to operate chiefly by
llool.
For relieving the conftriflion of the colon, and eva¬
cuating the retained feces, clyfters may fometimes
be ufeful 5 but they are feldom fo effeftual as laxatives
given by the mouth ; and acrid clyfters, if they be
not effeflual in evacuating the colon, may prove hurt¬
ful by ftimulating the redlum too much.
The frequent and fevere griping attending this dif¬
eafe, leads almoft neceffarily to the ufe of opiates ; and
they are very effe&ual for the purpofe of relieving
from the gripes : but, by occafioning an interruption
of the aftion of the fmall inteftines, they favour the
conftri£lion of the colon, and thereby aggravate the
difeafe *, and if, at the fame time, the ufe of them fu-
perfede in any meafure the employing purgatives,, it
is doing much mifchief; and the negle6t of purging
feems to be the only thing which renders the ufe of
opiates very neceffary.
When the gripes are both frequent and fevere, they
may fometimes be relieved by the employment of the
femicupium, or by fomentation of the abdomen con¬
tinued for fome time. In the fame cafe, the pains
may be relieved, and the conftri&ion of the colon
CINE. 371
may be taken off, by bliffers applied to the lower Dyfeotena.
belly.
At the beginning of this difeafe, when the fever
is any way confiderable, bloodletting, in patients of
tolerable vigour, may be proper and neceffary j and,
when the pulfe is full and hard, with other fymptoms
of an inflammatory difpofition, bloodletting ought
to be repeated. But, as the fever attending dyfentery
is often of the typhoid kind, or does, in the courfe of
the difeafe, become foon of that nature, bloodletting
muft be cautioully employed.
From our account of the nature of this difeafe, it
will be fufficiently obvious, that the yfe of aftringents
in the beginning of it muft be very pernicious. But
although aftringents may be hurtful at early periods
of this affection, yet it cannot be denied, that where
frequent loofe ftools remain after the febrile fymp¬
toms have fublided, they are often of great fervice
for diminilhing morbid fenfibility, and reftoring due
vigour to the inteftinal canal. Accordingly, on this
ground a variety of articles have been highly celebrate
ed in this affe£lion } among others we may mention
the quaffia, radix indica lopeziana, verbafcum, ex-
traflum catechu, and gum kino, all of which have
certainly in particular cafes been employed with great
advantage. And perhaps alfo, on the fame principles
we are to account for the benefit which has been iome-
times derived from the nux vomica, a remedy highly
extolled in cafes of dyfentery by fome of the Swediffi
phyficians j but this article, it muft be allowed, often
proves very powerful as an evacuant. Its effedls, how¬
ever, whatever its mode of operation may be, are too
precarious to allow its ever being introduced into
common pradlice j and in this country, it has, we be¬
lieve, been but very rarely employed. Whether
an acrid matter be the orighial caufe of the dylen-
tery, may be uncertain; but, from the indigeftion,
and the ftagnation of fluids, which attend the dif¬
eafe, we may fuppofe that fome acrid matters are con-
ftantly prefent in the ftomach and inteftines } and
therefore that demulcents may be always ulehilly em¬
ployed. At the fame time, from the confideration
that mild oily matters thrown into the inteftines in
confiderable quantity always prove laxative, Dr Cullen
is of opinion, that the oleaginous demulcents are the
moll ufeful. Where, however, thefe are not accept¬
able to the patient’s tafte, thofe of the mucilaginous
and farinaceous kind, as the deco&um hordei, potio
cretacea, &.c. are often employed with advantage.
As this difeafe is fo often of an inflammatory or
of' a putrid nature, it is evident that the diet em¬
ployed in it Ihculd be vegetable and acefcent. Milk,
in its entire ftate, is of doubtful quality in many
cafes j but even fome portion of the cream is often al¬
lowable, and whey is always proper.—In the firft
ftages of the difeafe, the fweet and fubacid fruits are
allowable, and even proper. It is in the more advan¬
ced ftages only that any morbid acidity feems to pre¬
vail in the ftomach, and to require fome referve in the
ufe of acefcents. At the beginning of the difeafe, ab-
forbents feem to be fuperfluous } and, by their afti in-
gent and feptic powers, they may be hurtful 5 but in
after periods they are often of advantage.
When this difeafe is complicated with an intermit-
3 A 2 . tent,
372 M E D I
i Com at n. tent, and is protracted from that circumfrance chiefly,
r„, jt js to (.reate(j as an intermittent, by adminifler-
ing the cinchona, which in the earlier periods of the
diieafe is hardly to be admitted.
Class II. NEUROSES.
Order I. COM AT A.
Comata, Sauv. Clafs VI. Ord. II. Sag. Clafs IX.
Order V.
Soporofi, Lin. Clafs VI. Ord. II.
Adynamiae, Vog. Clafs VI.
Nervorum refolutiones, Hoffm. III. 194.
Aflfeftus foporoli, Hoffm. III. 209.
Motuum vitalium defeftus. Junck. 114.
<*55 Genus XLII, APOPLEXIA.
The Hpoplexy.
Apoplexia, Sauv. gen. 182. Lin. 101. Vog. 229.
Boerh. icoy. Junck. 117. Sag. gen. 288. IVtfj-
fer. Hift. apople&icorum.
Carus, Sauv. gen. 181. Lin. 100. Vog. 231.
Boerh. 1045. ^aS' gen* 2^7*
Cataphora, Sauv. gen. 180. Lin. 99. Vog. 232.
Boerh. 1045. Sag. gen. 286.
Coma, Vog. 232. Boerh. 1048.
Hmmorrhagia cerebri, Hoffm. II. 240.
To this genus alfo Dr Cullen reckons the following
difeafes to belong :
Catalepfis, Sauv. gen. 176. Lin. 129. Vog. 230.
Sag. gen. 28r. Boerh. 1036. Junck. 44.
Affeftus cerebri fpafmodico-ecftaticus, Hoffm. III.
. 44’.
Ecitafis, Sauv. gen. 177. Vog. 333. Sag. gen.
283.
The following he reckons fymptomatic:
Typhomania, Sauv. gen. 178. Lin. 97. Vog. 23.
Sag. gen. 284.
Lethargus, Sauv. gen. 179. Lin. 98. Vog. 22.
Sag. gen. 285.
Ihis difeafe appears under modifications fo vari¬
ous, as to require fome obfervations with refpeCt to
each.
256 Sp. I. The Sanguineous Hpoplexy.
Defcription. In this difeafe the patients fall fud-
denly down, and are deprived of all fenfe and voluntary
motion, but without convulfions. A giddinefs of the
head, noi*fe in the ears, corrufcations before the eyes,
and rednefs of the face, ufually precede" The diflin-
guiihing fymptom of the difeafe is a deep fleep, attend¬
ed with violent fnorting ; if any thing be put into the
mouth, it is returned through the nofe j nor can any
thing be fwallowed without Ihutting the noftrils 5 and
even when this is done, the perfon is in the utmoft dan¬
ger or fuffocation. Sometimes apopleCHc patients will
open their eyes after having taken a large dofe of an
emetic j but if they fhow no fign of fenfe, there is not
the leaft hope of their recovery. Sometimes the ano-
plexy terminates m a hemiplegia; in which cafe it comes
C I N E. Practice*
on with a diftortion of the mouth towards the found Apoplexia.
fide, a drawing of the tongue the fame way, and Itam- v—J
mering of the fpeech. DiffeCHons fometimes fhow a
rupture of fome veffels of the meninges, or even veflels
of the brain itfelf; though fometimes, if we may believe
Dr Willis, no defedt is to be obferved either in the ce¬
rebrum or cerebellum.
Caufes, &c. The general caufe of a fang-uineous
apoplexy is a plethoric habit of body, with a deter¬
mination to the head. The difeafe therefore may be
brought on by whatever violently urges on the circula¬
tion of the blood 5 fuch as furfeits, intoxication, violent
paflions of the mind, immoderate exercife, &c. It
takes place, however, for the moft part, when the ve¬
nous plethora has fubfifted for a confiderable time in
the fyftem. For that reafon it commonly does not
attack people till part the age of 60 5 and that whe¬
ther the patients are corpulent and have a fhort neck,
or whether they are of a lean habit of body. Till
people be paid the age of childhood, apoplexy never
happens.
Prognojis. This difeafe very often kills at its firft
attack, and fewr furvive a repetition of the fit j fo
that thofe who make mention of people w7ho have fur*
vived feveral attacks of the apoplexy, have probably
miftaken the epilepfy for this difeafe. In no difeafe
is the prcrgnofis more fatal ; fince thofe who feem to
be recovering from a fit, are frequently and fuddenly
carried oft' by its return, withou* cither warning of its
approach or poflibility of preventing it. The good
figns are when the difeafe apparently wears off, and
the patient evidently begins to recover ; the bad
ones are when all the fymptoms continue and in-
creafe.
Cure. The great object to be aimed at, is to reftore
the connexion between the fentient and corporeal parts
of the fyftem; and when interruption to this con¬
nexion proceeds from compreftion in the brain by
blood, this is to be attempted, in the firfl: place, by large
and repeated bleedings •, after which, the fame reme¬
dies are to be ufed as in the ferous apoplexy, after-
mentioned. The body is to be kept in a fomewhat
eredft: pofture, and the head fupported in that fitua-
tion.
Sp. II. The Serous Hpoplexy. ^
Apoplexia pituitofa, Sauv. fp. 7. Apoplexia ferofa.
Preyfinger, fp. 4. Morg. de caufis, &c. IV. LX,
Carus a hydrocephalo, Sauv. fp. 16.
Cataphora hydrocephalica, Sauv. fp. 6.
Cataphora fomnolenta, Sauv. fp. 1.
Lethargus literatorum, Sauv. 7. Van Swieten in
Aphor. 1010. 2 y and 3 ».
Defcription. In this fpecies the pulfe is weak, the
face pale, and there is a diminution of the natural,heat.
On difle&ion, the ventricles of the brain are found
to contain a larger quantity of fluid than they
ought 3 the other fymptoms are the fame as in the
former.
Caufes, &c. This may arife from any thing wdfich
induces a debilitated ftate of the body, fuch as de¬
prefling paflions of the mind, much ftudy, watching,
&c. It may alfo be brought on by a too plentiful
ufe of diluting, acidulated drinks. It doth not, how¬
ever, .
Practice. M E D I
Comata- ever, follow, that the extravafated ferum above men-
tioned in the ventricles of the brain is always the caufe
of the difeafe, fince the animal fluids are very frequently
obferved to ooze out in plenty through the coats of the
containing veflels after death, though no extravafation
took place during life.
Prognojis. This fpecies is equally fatal with the
other *, and what hath been faid of the prognolis of
the fanguineous, may alfo be faid of that of the ferous
apoplexy.
Cure. In this fpecies venefedlion can fcarcely be
admitted : acrid purgatives, emetics, and ftimulating
clyfters, are recommended to carry off the fuperabun-
dant ferum; but in bodies already debilitated, they
may perhaps be liable to the fame exceptions with ve-
nefeition itfelf. Volatile falls, cephalic elixirs, and cor¬
dials, are alfo prefcribed ; and in cafe of a hemiplegia
fupervening, the cure is to be attempted by aperient
ptifans, cathartics, and fudorifics j gentle exercife, as
riding in a carriage *, with bliflers and fuch llimulating
medicines as are in general had recourfe to in affec¬
tions originally of the paralytic kind.
258 Sp. III. Hydi'ocephalic Apoplexy, or Dropfij of the
Brain.
Hydrocephalus interior, Sanv. fp. 1.
Hydrocephalus internus, WhytCs works, page 725*
London Med. Obf. vol. iv. art. 3, 6, and 25.
Gaudelius de hydrocephalo, apud Sandifort The-
faur. vol. ii.
Hydrocephalus acutu*, ^uin. Di/f. de hydrocephalo,
'1779.
Afthenia a hydrocephalo, Sauv. fp. 3.
Hiftory and defcription. This difeafe has been accu¬
rately treated within thefe few years by feveral emi¬
nent phyficians, particularly the late Dr Whytt, Dr
Fothergill, and Dr Watfon j who concur in opinion,
with refpeft to the feat of the complaint, the moft of
its fymptoms, and its general fatality. Out of twenty
patients that had fallen under Dr Whytt’s obferva-
tion, he candidly owns that he had been fo unfortunate
as to cure only one who laboured under the characler-
iftic fymptoms of the hydrocephalus) and he fufpe61s
that thofe who imagine they have been more fuccefs-
ful, had miftaken another diftemper for this. It is by
all fuppofed to confifl: in a dropfy of the ventricles of
the brain ; and this opinion is fully eftabliihed by dlf-
fedlions. It is obferved to happen more commonly to
healthy, adive, lively children, than to thofe of a dif¬
ferent difpofition.
Dr Whytt fuppofes that the commencement of this
difeafe is obfcure \ that it is generally forne months
in forming •, and that, after fome obvious urgent fymp¬
toms rendering afliftance neceffary, it continues fome
weeks before its fatal termination. This, in general,
differs from what has hitherto been obferved by Dr
Fothergill; the latter informing us, that he has feen
children, who, from ail appearance, were healthy and
aftive, feized with this diftemper, and carried oft’ in
about 14 days. He has feldom been able to trace the
commencement of it above three weeks.
Though the hydrocephalus be moft incident to chil¬
dren, it has been fometimes obferved in adults j as ap-
CINE.
373
pears from a cafe related by Dr Huck, and from tome Apoplexia.
others. v
When the difeafe appears under its moft: common
form, the fymptoms at different periods are fo various
as to lead Dr Whytt to divide the difeafe into three
ftages, which are chiefly marked by changes occurring
in the condition of the pulfe. At the beginning it is
quicker than natural; afterwards it becomes uncom¬
monly flow j and towards the conciufion of the difeafe
it becomes again quicker than natural, but at the fame
time often very irregular.
Thofe who are feized with this diftemper ufually
complain firft of a pain in fome part below the head y
moft commonly about the nape of the neck and
ftioulders ; often in the legs j and fometimes, but more
rarely, in the arms. The pain is not uniformly acute,
nor always fixed to one place j and fometimes does
not aftedl the limbs. In the latter cafe, the head and
ftomach have been found to be moft difordered j lo
that when the pain occupied the limbs, the fickncfs or
headach was lefs coniiderable j and when ‘the head
became the feat of the complaint, the pain in the limbs--
was feldom or never mentioned. Some had very vio¬
lent fickneffes and violent headachs alternately. From
being perfe£lly well and fportive, fome were in a few
hours feized with thole pains in the limbs, or with
ficknefs, or headach, in a flight degree, commonly af¬
ter dinner j but fome were obferved to droop a few
days before they complained of any local indifpofition.
In this manner they continued three, four, or five
days, more or lefs, as the children wrere healthy and
vigorous. They then commonly complain of an acute
deep-feated pain in the head, extending acrofs the
forehead from temple to temple ; of which, and a fick¬
nefs, they alternately complain in (hort and affe£ling
exclamations ; doling a little in the intervals, breath¬
ing irregularly, and lighing much while awrake. Some¬
times their fighs, for the fpace of a few minutes, are
inceffant.
As the difeafe advances, the pulfe becomes flower
and irregular, the ftrekes being made both with une¬
qual force and in unequal times, till within a day or
two of the fatal termination of the diforder, when it
becomes exceeding quick j the breathing being at the
fame time deep, irregular, and laborious. After the
firft attack, which is often attended with feverilh heats,
efpecially towards evening, the heat of the body is for
the moft part temperate, till at laft it keeps pace with
the increafing quicknefs of the pulfe. The head and
prmcordia are always hot from the firft attack. The
fleeps are fliort and difturbed, fometimes interrupted by
vvatchfulnefs j befides rvhich there are ftartings.
In the firft ftage of the difeafe there feems to be a
peculiar fenfibility of the eyes, as appears from the in¬
tolerance of light. But in the progrefs of the dif¬
eafe a very oppofite ftate occurs: The pupil is re¬
markably dilated, and cannot be made to contraft by
the a£lion even of firong light; fuch, for example, as
by bringing a candle very near to it. In many cafes
there is reafon to believe that total blindnefs occurs :
Often alfo the pupil of one eye is more dilated than
that" of another, and the power of moving the eyes is
alfo morbidly affetfted. Thofe children, who w’ere ne¬
ver obferved to fquint before, often become affected
with
374
M E D I
Comata. with a very great degree of ftrabifmas. 1 he patients
are uawilling to be difturbed for any purpofe, and can
bear no pofture but that of lying horizontally. One
or both hands are moft commonly about their heads.
The urine and ftools come away infenfibly. At length
the eyelids become paralytic, great heat accompanied
with fweat overfpreads the whole body, refpiration is
rendered totally fufpirious, the pulfe increates in its
trembling undulations beyond the poffibility of count¬
ing, till the vital motions entirely ceafe} and fometimes
convulfions conclude the fcene.
Many of the fymptoms above enumerated are fo com¬
mon to worm cafes, teething, and other irritating caufes,
that it is difficult to nx upon any which particularly
charaflerize this difeafe at its commencement. The
mod: peculiar feem to be the pains in the limbs, with
ficknefs and inceffant headach; wffiich, though frequent
in other difeafes of children, are neither fo uniformly
nor fo condantly attendant as in this. Another cir-
cumftance obferved to be familiar, if not peculiar to
this diftemper, is, that the patients are not only coftive,
but it is likewife with the greateft difficulty that ftools
can be procured. Thefe are generally of a very dark
greeniffi colour with an oilinefs or a glaffy bile, rather
than the flime which accompanies worms •, and they
are, for the moft part, extremely oftenfive. No pofitive
conclufion can be drawn from the appearance of the
urine j it being various, in different fubjefts, both in its
colour and contents, according to the quantity of liquor
they drank, and the time between the difcharges of the
urine. From their unwillingnefs to be moved, they
often retain their water 12 or 15 hours, and fome¬
times longer. In complaints ariftng from worms, and
in dentition, convulfions are more frequent than in this
diforder. Children fubjefl to fits are fometimes
feized with them a few days before they die. Some¬
times thefe continue 24 hours inceffantly, and till they
expire.
Caufes. The caufes of internal hydrocephalus are
very much unknown. Some fuppofe it to proceed from
a rupture of fome of the lymphatic veffels of the brain.
But this fuppofition is fo far from being confirmed by
any anatomical obfervation, that even the exiftence of
fuch veffels in the brain is not clearly demonftrated.
That lymphatics, however, do exift in the brain, cannot
be doubted ; and one of the moft probable caufes giving
rife to an accumulation of water in the brain is a dimi-
niflied action of thefe. Here, however, as well as in
other places, accumulation may alfo be the confequence
of augmented effufion j and in this way, an inflamma¬
tory difpofition, as fome have fuppofed, may give rife to
the affe&ion. But from whatever caufe an accumula¬
tion of water in the ventricles of the brain be produ¬
ced, there can be no doubt that from this the principal
fymptoms of the difeafe arife, and that a cure is to be
accompliftied only by the removal of it. It is, however,
probable, that the fymptoms are fomewhat varied by the
pofition of the water, and that the affe&km of vifion in
particular is often the confequence of fome morbid ftate
about the thalami nervorum opticorum; at leaft, in many
cafes, large colleftions of water in the ventricles have
occurred, without either ftrabifmus, intolerance of light,
or dilatation of the pupil. And in cafes where thefe
fymptoms have taken place to a remarkable degree,
while upon diffeflion after death but a very fmail col-
2
CINE. Pratlice.
leflion of water was found in the ventricles, it has been Apoplexia.
obferved, that a peculiar tumid appearance was dii-
covered about the optic nerves, which upon examina¬
tion was found to arife from water in the cellular tex¬
ture. This mav have given compreffion producing a
ftate of infenfibility ; but it may have been preceded, cr
it may even have originated from fame inflammatory
affection of thefe parts, producing the intolerance of
Prognojis and Cure. Till very lately this diforder
was reckoned totally incurable ; but of late it has been
alleged, that mercury, if applied in time, will remove
every fymptom. This remedy was firft fuggefted by
Dr Dobfon of Liverpool, and afterwards employed ap¬
parently with fuccefs by Dr Percival, Dr Pvlakie, and
others. But the practice has by no means been found
to be generally fuccefsful. In a great majority of in-
ftances, after mercury has had the faireft trial, the
diforder has proved fatal. And it is a very remarkable
circumftance, that in this difeafe, after great quantities
of mercury have been ufed both externally and inter¬
nally, it rarely affe£ts the mouth. But even in cafes
where falivation has been induced, a fatal conclufion has
yet enfued.
Of late the digitalis purpurea has been thought, in
foms cafes of hydrocephalus, as well as in other obfti-
nate dropfies, to be employed with benefit. But this alfo,
in the hands of moft pradlitioners, has very generally
failed. Perhaps there is no remedy from which benefit
has more frequently been obferved than from bhfters.
But wre may conclude with obferving, that the cure of
the apoplexia hydrocephalica ftill remains to be dif-
covered.
Sp. IV. Apoplexy from Atrabilis. 259
Apoplexia atrabiliaris, Sauv. fp. 12. Preyswger.
fp. 6.
This takes place in the laft ftage of the diffufion of
bile through the fyftem, i. e. of the black jaundice j
and in fome cafes the brain has been found quite
tinged brown. It cannot be thought to admit of any
cure.
Sp. V. Apoplexy from 'External Violence. a6q>
Apoplexia traumatica, Sauv. fp. 2.
Carus traumaticus, Sauv. fp. 5.
The treatment of this difeafe, as it arifes from
fome external injury, properly falls under the article
Surgery.
Sp. VI. Apoplexy form Poifons. Kfj
Apoplexia temulenta, Sauv. fp. 3.
Carus a narcoticis, Sauv. fp. 14.
Lethargus a narcoticis, Sauv. fp. 3.
Carus a plumbagine, Sauv. fp. 10.
Apoplexia mephitica, Sauv. fp. 14.
Afphyyia h mephitide Sauv. fp. g.
Afpbyxia a mufto, Sauv. fp. 3.
Catalepfis a fumo, Sauv. fp. 3.
Afphyxia a fumis, Sauv. fp. 2.
Afphyxia a carbone, SauV. fp. 16.
Afphyxia foricariorum, Sauv. fp. 11
Afphyxia fideratorum, Sauv. fp. lo.
Carus ab infclatione, Sauv. fp. 12.
Canrt
Tra&ice. M E D I
Comat a. Carus a frigore, Sauv. fp. l if-
■ 1 Lethargus a frigore, Sauv. ip. 6.
Afphyxia congelatorum, Sauv. fp. 51
The poiions which bring on an apoplexy when taken
internally may be either of the ftimulant or fcdative
kind, as fpirituous liquors, opium, and the more virulent
kinds of vegetable poifons. The vapours of mercury,
or of lead, in great quantity, will fom times produce a
funilar e(fe£f •, though commonly they produce rather
a paralyfis, and operate ilowly. The vapours of char¬
coal, or fixed air, in any form, breathed in great quan¬
tity, alfo produce an apoplexy, or a ftate very fimilar to
it 5 and even cold itfelf produces a fatal ileep, though
without the apople&ic Ifertor.—To enumerate all the
different fymptoms which affedl the unhappy perions
w ho have fwallowed opium, or any of the flronger ve¬
getable narcotics, is imptflible, as they are fcarcely to
be found the fame in any two patients. The ftate in¬
duced by them feems to differ fomewhat from that of a
true apoplexy ; as it is commonly attended with convul-
fions, but has the particular diftinguifhing fign of apo¬
plexy, namely, a very difficult breathing or fnorting,
more or lefs violent according to the quantity of poifon-
ous matter fwallowed.
Of the poifonous effetfts of fixed air, Dr Percival
gives the following account. “ All thefe noxious va¬
pours, whether anting from burning charcoal, the fer¬
menting grape, the Grotti di Cani, or the cavern of
Pyrmont, operate nearly in the fame manner. When
accumulated and confined, their effi fls are often in-
ftantaneous : they immediately deftroy the aftion of the
brain and nerves, and in a moment arreft the vital mo¬
tions. When more diffufed, their effe&s are flower, but
ifill evidently mark out a direft affe&ion of the ner¬
vous fyftem.
“ Thofe who are expofed to the vapours of the fer¬
menting grape, are as inftantly deftroyed as they
would be by the ftrongeft eledlrical fhock. A ftate of
infenfibility is the immediate effe<5l upon thofe animals
which are thruft into the Grotti di Cani, or the ca¬
vern of Pyrmont: the animal is deprived of motion,
lies as if dead ; and if not quickly returned into the
freffi air, is irrecoverable. And if we attend to the
hiftories of thofe who have fuffered from the vapours
of burning charcoal, we ffiall in like manner find, that
the brain and moving, powers are the parts primarily
affv&ed.
“ A cook who had been accuftomed to make ufe of
lighted charcoal more than his bulinefs required, and
to ftand with his head over thefe fires, complained for
a year of very acute pain in the head ; and after this
was feized with a paralytic aifeftion of the lower limbs,
and a flow fever.
“ A perfon was left reading in bed with a pan of
charcoal in a corner of the room. On being vifited
early the next morning, he was found with his eyes
fhut, his book open and laid on one fide, his candle
extinguiffied, and to appearance like one in a deep
fleep. Stimulants and cupping-glafies gave no relief j
but he was foon recovered by the free accefs of frefli
air.
“ Four priforers, in order to make their efcape, at¬
tempted to deftroy the iron work of their windows, by
the means cf burning charcoal. As foon as they com-
C I N E. 375
menced their operations, the fumes of the charcoal be-Apoplexia.
ing confined by the clofenefs or the prifon, one of them
was ftruck dead another was found pale,, fpeechlefs,
and without motion ; afterwards he fpoke incoherently,
was feized with a fever, and died. The other two
were with great difficulty recovered.
“ Two boys went to warm tbemfelves in a ftove heated
with charcoal. In the morning they were found defti-
tute of fenfe and motion, with countenances as compofed
as in a placid deep. There were fome remains of pulfe,
but they died in a ffiort time.
“ A filherman deponted a large quantity of char¬
coal in a deep cellar. Same time afterwards his fon, a
healthy ftrong man, went dowm into the cellar with a
pan of burning charcoal and a light in his hand. He
had fcarcely defeended to the bottom, when his candle
went out. He returned, lighted his candle, and again
defeended. Soon after, he called aloud for affiftance.
His mother, brother, and a fervant, hafted to give him
relief j but none of them returned. Twto others of the
village (hared the fame fate. It was then determined
to throw large quantities of water into the cellar j
and after two or three days, they had accefs to the
dead bodies.
“ Ccclius Aurelianus fays, that thofe who are inju¬
red by the fumes of charcoal become cataleptic. And
Hoffman enumerates a train of fymptoms, which in no
refpeft correfpond with his idea of fuffocation. Thofe ,
who fufier from the fumes of burning charcoal, fays hey
have fevere pains in the head, great debility, faintnefs,
ftupor, and lethargy.
“ It appears from the above hiftories and obferva-
tions, that thefe vapours exert their noxious effects on
the brain and nerves. Sometimes they occafion hid¬
den death ; at other times, the various fymptoms of a
debilitated nervous fyftem, according as the poifon is
more or lefs concentrated. The olfadtory nerves are
firft and principally affedted, and the brain and ner¬
vous fyftem by fympathy or confent of parts. It is
well known, that there is a ftrong and ready confent
between the olfadlory nerves and many other parts of
the nervous fyftem. The effluvia of flowers and per¬
fumes, in delicate or irritable habits, produce a train
of fymptoms, which, though tranfient, are analogous
to thofe which are produced by the vapours of char¬
coal ; viz. vertigo, litknefs, faintnefs, and fometimes a
total infenfibility. The female malefadfor, whom Dr
Mead inoculated by putting into the noftrils doffils of
cotton impregnated with variolous matter, was, imme¬
diately on the introdudlion, afflicted with an excrucia¬
ting headach, and had a conftant fever till after the
eruption.
“ The vapours of burning charcoal, and other poi¬
fonous effluvia, frequently produce their prejudicial, and
even fatal effedfs, without being either offemive to the
fmell or oppreffive to the lungs. It is a matter ot im¬
portance, therefore, that the common opinion Ihould be
more agreeable to truth j for W’here fuffocation is fup-
pofed to be the effedt, there will be little apprehenfion.
of danger, fo long as the breaft keens free from pain or
oppreffion.
“ It may be well to remember, that the poifon it¬
felf is diftindt from that grofs matter which is offenfive
to the fmell ; and that this is frequently in its moft
adlive ftate when undiftinguiffled by the fenfe. Were
the
37 S’ M E D I
C^roata. the following cautions generally attended to, they
' might in fome indances be the happy means of prefer-
ving life. Never to be confined with burning charcoal
in a {mail room, or where there is not a free draught
of air by a chimney or fome other way. Never to
venture into any place in which air has been long pent
up, or wThich from other circumftances ought to be
lufpefted 5 unlefs fuch fufpebted place be either pre-
vioufly well ventilated, or put to the ted of the light¬
ed candle : for it is a lingular and well-known faft,
that the life of flame is in fome circumflances fopner
affefted and more expeditioufly extinguilhed by noxi¬
ous vapours than animal-life ; a proof of which I re¬
member to have received from a very intelligent cler¬
gyman, who was prefent at a mufical entertainment in
the theatre at Oxford. The theatre w-as crowded ; and
during the entertainment, the candles wrere obferved to
burn dim, and fome of them went out. The audience
complained only of faintnefs and languor; but had the
animal effluvia been dill further accumulated or longer
confined, they would have been extinguilhed as well as
the candles.
“ The mod obvious, effe&ual, and expeditious means
of relief to thofe who have unhappily differed from
this caufe, are fuch as wall dillodge and w'alh awray the
poifon, redore the energy of the brain and nerves, and
renew the vital motions. Let the patient therefore be
immediately carried into the open air, and let the air
be fanned backwards and forwards to adift its a£Hon ;
let cold xvater be thrown on the face ; let the face,
mouth, and noflrils, be repeatedly walhed; and as foon
as praflicable, get the patient to drink fome cold wa¬
ter. But if the cafe be too far gone to be thus relie¬
ved, let a healthy perfon breathe into the mouth of
the patient; and gently force air into the mouth, throat,
and nodrils. Frictions, cupping, bleeding, and bliders,
are likewife indicated. And if, after the indant danger
is removed, a fever be excited, the method of cure mud
be adapted to the nature and prevailing fymptoms of
the fever.”
With regard to the poifon of opium, Dr Mead re¬
commends the following method of cure. Belides eva¬
cuations by vomiting, bleeding, and blidering, acid
medicines and lixivial falls are proper. Thefe contraft
the relaxed fibres, and by their diuretic force make a
depletion of the veffels. Dr Mead fays he has given
repeated dofes of a mixture of fait of w'ormwood and
juice of lemons, with extraordinary fuccefs. But no-
thing perhaps is of greater confequence, than to ufe
proper means for the prevention of fleep, by roufing
and dirring. the patient, and by forcing him to walk
•about; for if he be once permitted to fall into a found
fleep, it will be found altogether impoflVble to awake
him.
Of a kind fomew'hat akin to the poifon of opium
kerns to be that of laurel-w’ater, a Ample w7ater diftill-
ed from the leaves of the lauro-cerafus or common
laurel, he bad eftecls of this were particularly ob¬
ferved in Ireland, where it had been cudomary to mix
it with brandy for the fake of the flavour; and thus
two wmmen were luddenly killed by it. This gave oc-
cafipn to fome experiments uponi dogs, in order to af-
certain the malignant qualities of the wrater in quedion ;
and the event was as follow’s: All the dogs fell imme¬
diately into totterings and convulfions of the limbs,
3
CINE. Pradtice.
which wrere foon followed by a total paralyfis, fo that Apoplexia.
no motion could be excited even by pricking or cutting —v~* mJ
them. No inflammation was found upon difleftion, in
any of the internal membranes. The mod remarkable
thing was a great fulnefs and didenfion of the veins, in
which the blood was fo fluid, that even the lymph in
its veffels w^as generally found tinged with red. The
fame effefts were produced by the wTater injefted into
the inteftines by way of clyffer.
To make the experiment more fully, Dr Nicholls
prepared fome of this water fo drong, that about a
dram of heavy effential oil remained at the bottom
ot three pints of it, which by frequent fhaking was
again quite incorporated with it. So virulent was this
water, that twm ounces of it killed a middle-fized dog
in kis than half a minute, even while it wras pafling
down his throat. The poifon appeared to{refide entire¬
ly in the above-mentioned effential oil, which comes
over by didillation, not only from the leaves of laurel,
but from fome other vegetables; for ten drops of a red
oil didilied from bitter almonds, when mixed with half
an ounce of water, and given to a dog, killed him in
lefs than half an hour.
Volatile alkalies are found to be an antidote to this
poifon ; of which Dr Mead gives the followdng in¬
dance. About an ounce of drong laurel-water was
given to a fmall dog. He fell immediately into the
mod violent convulfions, which wrere foon followTed by
a total lofs of his limbs. When he feemed to be
expiring, a phial of good fpirit of fal ammoniac was
held to his nofe, and a fmall quantity of the fame
forced down his throat: he indantly felt its virtue ; and
by continuing the ufe of it for fome time, he by degrees
recovered the motion of his legs ; and in twx> hours
walked about with tolerable flrength, and wras after¬
wards quite wTell.
With regard to the pernicious effe&s of cold, there
is no other way of countera6ling them but by the ap¬
plication of external heat. We are apt to imagine,
that the fwallowing confiderable quantities of ardent
fpirits may be a means of making us refid the cold,
and preventing the bad effe&s of it from arifing to
fuch a height as to dedroy life ; but thefe do not ap¬
pear to be in the lead poffeffed of any fuch virtue
in thofe countries liable to great exceffes of cold. The
cinchona, by drengthening the folids, as well as increaf-
ing the motion of the fluids, is found to anfwer better
than any other thing as a prefervative : but when the
pernicious effedls have already begun to difeover them-
felves, nothing but increafing by fome means or other
the heat of the body can poflibly be depended upon :
and even this mud be attempted with great care ; for
as, in fuch cafes, there is generally a tendency to
mortification in fome of the extremities, the fudden ap¬
plication of heat wfill certainly increafe this tendency
to fuch a degree as to dedroy the parts. But for the
external treatment of fuch mortifications, fee the article
Surgery.
Sp. VII. Apoplexy from Tqfions of the Mind, 262
Carus a pathemate, Snuv. fp. 11.
Afphyxia a pathemate, Sauv. fp. 7.
Ecdafis catoche, Sauv. fp. 1.
Ecdafls r^foluta, Sauv. fp. 2.
Apoplexies
Practice. M E D I
Comata. Apoplexies from violent paflions may be either fan-
guineous or ferous, though more commonly of the for¬
mer than the latter fpecies. The treatment is the fame
in either cafe. Or they may partake of the nature of
catalepfy •, in which cafe the method of treatment is the
fame with that of the genuine catalepfy.
263 Sp. VIII. The Cataleptic Apoplexy.
Catalepfis, Sauv. gen. 176. Lin. 129. Vog. 230.
Sag. gen. 281. Boerh. 1036. Junck. 44.
Dr Cullen fays he has never feen the catalepfy ex¬
cept when counterfeited j and is of opinion that many
of thofe cafes related by other authors have alfo been
counterfeited. It is faid to come on fuddenly, being
only preceded by fome languor of body and mind j
and to return by paroxyfms. The patients are faid to
be for fome minutes, fometimes (though rarely) for
fome hours, deprived of their fenfes, and all power of
voluntary motions ; but conftantly retaining the poli-
tion in which they were firft feized, whether lying or
fitting ; and if the limbs be put into any other po¬
llute during the fit, they will keep the- pofture in
which they are placed. When they recover from the
paroxyfm, they remember nothing of ivhat paffed du¬
ring the time of it, but are like perfons awaked out
of lleep.—Concerning the cure of this diforder we find
nothing that can be depended upon among medical
writers.
2.64 Sp. IX. Apoplexy from Suffocation.
Afphyxia fufpenforum, Sauv. fp. 4.
Afphyxia immerforum, Sauv. fp. 1.
This is the kind of apoplexy which takes place in
thofe who are hanged or drowned. For the treatment
of thofe perfons, fee the articles Drowning and
Hanging.
Befides the fpecies above mentioned, the apoplexy
is a fymptom in many other diftempers, fuch as fevers
both continued and intermitting, exanthemata, hyfteria,
epikpfy, gout, worms, ifehuria, and feurvy.
^ Genus XLIII. PARALYSIS.
The Palsy,
Pafalyfis, Boerh. 1057.
Hemiplegia, Sauv. gen. 170. Lin. 103. Vog. 22 0.
Paraplexia, Sauv. gen. 171.
Paraplegia, Z/«. 102. Vog. 22'].
Paralyfis, Sauv. gen. 169. Lin. 104. Vog. 226.
Junck. 115.
Atonia, Lin. 120.
-165 Sp. I. The Partial P/Usr.
Paralyfis, Sauv. gen. 169. Lin. 104. Vog. 226.
Junck. 11
Paralyfis plethorica, Sauv. fp. 1.
Paralyfis ferofa, Sauv. fp. 1 2.
Paralyfis nervea, Sauv. fp. ti.
Mutitas a gloffblyfi, .SV/z/ix fp. 1.
Aphonia paralytica, Sauv. fp. 8.
Vol. XIII. Part I.
CINE.
Sp. II. Hemiplegia, or Palsy of one fide of the Body.
Hemiplegia, Sauv. gen. 170. Lin. 108. Vog. 228.
Sag. gen. 276.
Hemiplegia ex apoplexia, Sauv. fp. 7.
Hemiplegia fpafmodica, Sauv. fp. 2.
Hemiplegia ferofa, Sauv. fp. to.
Sp. III. Paraplegia, or Palsy of one half of the
Body taken tranfverfely.
Paraplexia, iShT/u. gen. 171. Sag. gen. 277.
Paraplegia, Lin. 10 2. Vog. 227.
Paraplexia fanguinea, Sauv. fp. 2.
Paraplexia a fpina bifida, Sauv. fp. 3.
Paraplexia rheumatica, Sauv. fp. 1.
Defcription. The palfy under all the different forms
here mentioned as particular fpecies, (hows itfelf by a
fudden lofs of tone aud vital power in a certain part of
the body. In the flighter degrees of the difeafe, it only
affefts a particular mufcle, as the fphinfter of the anus
or bladder, thus occafioning an involuntary difeharge
of excrements or of urine •, of the mufcles of the tongue,
which occafions Hammering, or lofs of fpeech ; of the
mufcles of the larynx, by which the patient becomes
unable to fwallow folids, and fometimes even liquids
alfo.—In the higher degrees of the difeafe, the paraly¬
tic affeftion is diffufed over a whole limb, as the foot,
leg, hand, or arm j and fometimes it affedls a whole
fide of the body, in which cafe it is called hemiplegia;
and fometimes, which is the moft violent cafe, it affedls
all the parts below the waift, or even below the head,
though this laft: be exceedingly rare. In thefe violent
cafes, the fpeech is either very much impeded, or to¬
tally loft. Convulfions often take place in the found
fide, with the cynic fpafm or involuntary laughter, and
other dirtortions of the face. Sometimes the whole
paralytic part of the body becomes livid, or even mor¬
tifies before the patient’s death ; and fometimes the
paralytic parts gradually decay and Ihrivel up, fo as to
become much lefs than before. Whether the difeafe
be more or lefs extended, many different varieties may
be obferved in its form. Sometimes there occurs a
total lofs of fenfe while motion is entire ; in others a
total lofs of motion with very flight or even no affe&ion
of fenfe ; and in fome cafes, while a total lofs of motion
takes place in one fide, a total lofs of fenfe has been
obferved on the other. This depends entirely on the
particular nerves or branches of nerves in which the
affeflion is fituated ; lofs of fenfe depending on an af¬
fection of the fubcutaneous nerves ; and lofs of motion
on an affcCtion of thofe leading to the mufcles.
Caufes, &c. Palfies moft commonly fupervene upon
the different fpecies of coma, efpecially the apoplexy.
They are alfo occafioned by any debilitating power
applied to the body, efpecially by exceffes in venery.
Sometimes they are a kind of crifis to other diftempers,
as the colic of PoiCtou, and the apoplexy. The hemi¬
plegia efpecially often follows the laft-mentioned dif-
eafe. Aged people, and thofe who are by any other
means debilitated, are fubjeft to palfy j which will
fometimes alfo affeCI even infants, from the repulfion
of exanthemata of various kinds. Palfies are alfo the
infallible confequences of injuries to the large nerves.
. 3 ^ Prognojis,
#
378
Comat*.
M E D I
Prognojis. Except in the {lighter cafes of palfy, we
have little room to hope for a cure j however, death
does not immediately follow even the mod revere pa¬
ralytic affections. In hemiplegia it is not uncommon
to fee the patients live feveral years •, and even in
the paraplegia, if death do not enfue within two or
three weeks, it may not take place for a confrdcraoie
time. It is a promifing fign when the patient feels a
flight degree of painful itchinefs in the affedted parts,
and if a fever fhould arife, it bids fair to cure the pal¬
fy. When the fenfe of feeling remains, there is much
more room to hope for a cure than where it is gone, as
well as the power of motion. But when we obferve
the ffeflr to wafle, and the {kin to appear withered
and dry, we may look upon the difeafe to be incu¬
rable. Convulhons fupervening on a palfy are a fatal
iign. .
" Cure. Many remedies have been recommended m
palfies : but it mud be confeffed, that, except in the
{lighter cafes, medicines feldom prove effedlual 5 and
before any plan of cure can be laid down, every cir-
cumftance relative to the patient’s habit of body and
previous date of health ftiould be carefully weighed.
If hemiplegia or paraplegia fhould come on after an
apoplexy, attended with thofe circumftances which
phyficians have fuppofed to denote a vifcid date of the
blood, a courfe of the attenuant gums, with fixed al¬
kaline falts, and chalybeate waters, may do fcrvice ;
to which it will be proper to add fri£hons with the vo¬
latile liniment down the fpine : but in habits where the
blood is rather inclined to the watery date, it will be
necefiary to give emetics from time to time } to apply
bliders, and infert iffues.
The natural hot baths are often found ufeful in pa¬
ralytic cafes j and where the patients cannot avail
themfelves of thefe, an artificial bath may be tried by
didblving fait of deel in water, and impregnating the
water with fixed air. Frictions of the parts, and
fcourging them with nettles, have alfo been recom¬
mended, and may do fervice, as well as volatile and
dimulating medicines taken inwardly. And it is pro¬
bably by opeiating in this manner, that the ufe of
camphor, or a mercurial courfe continued for fome
length of time to fuch a degree as gently to affeft the
mouth, have been found produftive of a cure in obdi-
nate cafes of this affeftion. Of late years, an infufion
of the arnica montana or German leopard’s bane, has
been highly extolled in the cure of this difeafe, by fome
foreign writers : but the trials made with it in Britain,
particularly at Edinburgh, have been by no means
equally fuccefsful with thofe related by Dr Collins, who
has drongly recommended this medicine to the atten¬
tion of the public. Another remedy has of late been
highly extolled in palfy, the rhus toxicodendron or
poifon oak. It has been employed with fome fuccefs
in France by Mr Frefnoi ; and Dr Alderfon of Hull,
in a late differtation on this plant, has publidied feveral
cafes, even of very obdinate palfy, in which its ufe was
attended with wonderful fuccefs. In lome cafes alfo
at Edinburgh, it has been ufed with apparent advan¬
tage, but in a much greater number without any be¬
nefit.
In certain cafes of palfy, unexpedled cures have been,
accomplilhed both by electricity and by galvaniim.
But in a condderable majority of indances, palfy from
CINE. Pra&ice.
which the patient has not what may be called a iiatu- S)ncope. ^
ral recovery, will be found incurable by any remedies
which have hitherto been recommended.
Sp. IV. The Palsy frem Poifons. 269
Paralyfis metallariorum, Sauv. fp. 22.
Hemiplegia faturnina, Sauv. fp. 14.
This kind of palfy arifes mod frequently from lead
taken into the body, and is a confequence of the co-
lica piftonum, under which it is more ^particularly
treated.
TREMOR, or Trembling. *7©
Tremor, Sauv. gen. I29« Lin. 139* ^0S' *84*
Sag. 236.
This by Dr Cullen is reckoned to be always fympto-
matic either of pally, adhenia, or convulfions j and
therefore need not be treated of by itfelf.
Order II. ADYNAMIA.
Adynamiae, Vog. Clafs "V I.
Defeftivi, Lin. Clafs VI. Order I.
Leipopfychiae, Sauv. Clafs \ I. Order IV. Sag.
Clafs IX. Order IV.
Genus XLIV. SYNCOPE.
Fainting.
Syncope, Sauv. gen. 174. Sag. 94. Vog. 274.
Sag. 280. Junck. 119.
Leipothymia, Sauv. gen. 173* Lm. 93. Vog. 273.
Sag. 279.
Afphyxia, Sauv. gen. I75’ Lin. 95. Vog. 275*
Sag. 281.
Virium lapfus et animi deliquia, Hojfrn. III. 267.
sp. I. The Cardiac Syncope.
Syncope plethorica, Sauv. fp. 5* Senac. Tr. de Coeui,
p. 540.
Syncope a cardiogmo, Sauv. fp. 7. Senac. de Cceur,
414. Morgagn. de Sed. XXV. 2. 3. 10.
Syncope apolypo, Sauv. fp. 8. Senac. p. 471,
Syncope ab hydrochardia, Sauv. fp. 12. Senac. 533.
Schreiber Almag. L. III. § 196.
Syncope Lanzoni, Sauv. fp. >8. Lanzon. Op. II.
p. 462.
Afphyxia Valfalviana, Sauv. fp. 13.
Sp. II. Occajional Syncope.
Leipothymia a pathemate, Sauv. fp. 1. Senac. p. 544*
Syncope pathetxca, Sauv. fp. 2T.
Afphyxia a patbemate, Sauv. fp. 7.
Syncope ab antipathia, Sauv. fp. 9’ Senac. p. 544*
Syncope a veneno, Sauv. fp. 10. Seuac. p. 546.
Syncope ab apodematis, SauvAp. 11. Senac. p. 554.
Syncope a fphacelo, Sauv. fp. 14. Senac. p. 553‘
Syncope ab inanitione, Sauv. fp. 1. Senac. p. 53^*
Syncope a phlebotomia, Sauv. fp. 4.
Syncope a dolore, Sauv. fp. 2, Senac. p. 5^3*
Afphyxia
Fra&ice. M E D I
Adynamia;. Afpliyxia traumatica, Sauv. fp. 14.
‘ v Afphyxia neophytorum, Sauv. fp. 17*
Defcription. A fyncope begins with a remarkable
anxiety about the heart •, after which follows a hidden
extinction, as it were, not only of the animal powers
and aCtions, but alfo of the vital powers, fo that the
patients are deprived of pulfe, fenfe, and motion, all
at once. In thofe cafes which phylicians have diltin-
guitlied by the name of leipothymia, the patient does
not entirely lofe his fenfes, but turns cold and pale j
and the pulfe continues to beat, though weakly \ the
heart alfo feems to tremble rather than beat •, and the
refpiration is juft perceptible. But in the true fyn¬
cope or full afphyxia, not the fmalleft fign of life can
be perceived j the face has a death-like palenels, the
extremities are cold, the eyes {hut, or at leaf! troubled j
the mouth fometimes (hut, and fometimes gaping wide
open ; the limbs flaccid, and the ftrength quite gone;
as foon as they begin to recover, they fetch deep and
heavy fighs.
Caufes, &.c. Fainting is occafioned moft common¬
ly by profufe evacuations, efpecially of blood •, but it
may happen alfo from violent paffions of the mind, from
forfeits, exceffive pain, &c. People of delicate con-
ftitutions are very fubjeCI to it from flight caufes} and
fometimes it will arife from affeCtions of the heart and
large veffels not eafy to be underftood. . Fainting is al¬
fo a fymptom of many diforders, efpecially of that fa¬
tal one called a polypus of the heart, of the plague, and
many putrid difeafes.
Prognojis. When fainting happens in the beginning
of any acute diftemper, it is by no means a good
omen ; but when it takes place in the increafe or at the
height of the difeafe, the danger is fomewhat lefs *, but
in general, when fainting comes on without any evi¬
dent caufe, it is to be dreaded. In violent hseinor-
rhagies it is favourable ; as the bleeding veflels thus
have time to contraCf and recover themfelves, and by
this means the patient may efcape.
Cure. When perfons of a full habit faint through
excels of paffion, they ought to be blooded without
delay, and ftiould drink vinegar or lemon juice diluted
with water ; and, after the bowels are emptied by a
clyfter, take a paregoric draught, and go to bed.
. The paffion of anger, in a peculiar manner, affe&s
the biliary fecretion, caufes an oppreflion at the fto-
mach, with naufea and retching to vomit, and a bitter
tafte in the mouth, wTith giddinefs : thefe fymptoms
feem to indicate an emetic j which, however, in thefe
cafes muft be carefully avoided, as it might endanger
the patient, by bringing on an inflammation of the
llomach.
The general effe&s of a hidden fright have been
mentioned on a former occafion. When thefe aie fo
violent as to require medical aid, our firft endeavours
muft be to take off the fpafmodic couftriftion, and re-
ftore freedom to the circulation ; by bleeding, if the
habit be at all inclined to fulnefs j and by giving a
mixture, with equal parts of the vinum antimoniale
and tin&ura opii camphorata, in fome agreeable ve¬
hicle, which will bring on fleep and encourage per-
fpiration. It was formerly mentioned, that convulfions,
or even an epilepfy, may be brought on by frights-,
CINE.
which (hould make people cautious of playing foolilh
tricks in this way.
When a furfeit, or any fpecies of faburra, occafions
a leipothymia, an emetic is the immediate remedy, as
loon as the patient, by the help of acrid ftimulants,
{hall be fo far roufed as to be able to fvvallow one : in
thefe cafes, tickling the fauces with a feather dipt in
fpirit of hartftiorn, will be proper, not only to roufe
the patient, but alfo to bring on vomiting.
A fyncope is moft commonly brought on by profufe
difcharges or evacuations, either of the blood or of the
fecreted humours.
In order to revive the patients, they ought to be
laid along in a horizontal pofture, in an airy place j
the legs, thighs, and arms, are to be rubbed with hot
flannels -, very ftrong vinegar, aromatic vinegar, or fait
of hartftiorn, or volatile alkaline fpirit, are to be held
to the noftrils, and rubbed into them or, being pro¬
perly diluted, poured down the throat 5 cold water is
to be fprinkled on the face and neck and when by
thefe means the patient {hall be fufliciently revived,
W'ine boiled up with fome grateful aromatic, is to be
given in the proper quantity.
In the fainting confequent upon profufe uterine hae-
mofrhagies, it will be a fafer pradlice to abftain from
all heating and ftimulant things j as life, in thefe
cafes, is preferved by the coagulation of the blood in
the extremities of the open veflels 5 which might be
prevented by the pouring in hot wine or volatile al¬
kaline fpirits.
When a fyncope is the confequence of the too violent
operation of either an emetic or cathartic, the tindlu-
ra thebaica, mixed with fpiced wine, is the moft effica¬
cious remedy 5 but the opiate muft be given gradual¬
ly, and in very fmall dofes.
A fyncope, or even afphyxia, wherein the patient
{hall lie for feveral hours, is frequent in hyfteric confti-
tutions and during the fit requires fetid antifpafmo-
dics, together with acrid ftimulants : to prevent returns,
nothing anfwers better than the cinchona joined with
chalybeates.
Genus XLV. DYSPEPSIA.
Depraved Digestion.
Dyfpepfia, Vog. 277.
Apepfia, Vog. 276.
Diaphora, Vog. 278.
Anorexia, Sauv. gen. 162. Lin. ri6. Sag. gen. 286.
Cardialgia, Sauv. gen. 202. Lin. 48. Vog. 157.
Sag. gen. 160.
Gaftrodynia, Sauv. gen. 203. Sag. gen. 161.
Soda, Lin. 47. Vog. 161.
Naufea, Sauv. gen. 250. Lin. 182. Vog. 159*
gen. 185.
Vomitus, Sauv. gen. 251. Lin. 183. Vog. 2x4.
Sag. gen. 186.
Flatulentia, Azi/tn gen. 272. Lin. 165. Vog, 127.
Sag. gen. 207.
The idiopathic fpecies are,
Anorexia pituitofa, Sauv. fp. 2.
Anorexia a faburra, Sauv. fp. 9.
Anorexia exhauftovum, Sauv. fp. 8.
3 B 2
Anorexia
380 ' , M E D I
Adymmige. Anorexia paralytica, Sauv. fp. I.
v Naufea ex cacochylia, Sauv. fp. I r.
Vomitus pituitofas, Sauv. fp. 26.
Vomitus ruminatio, Sauv. fp. 6.
Vomitus a faburra, Sauv. fp. 2.
Vomitus a crapula,fp. 1.
Vomitus lafleus, Sauv. fp. 3.
Flatulentia infantilis, Sauv. fp. 5.
Flatulentia acida, Sauv. fp. 1.
Flatulentia nidrofa, Sauv. fp. 2.
Cardialgia bradypepta, Sauv. fp. 9.
Cardialgia a faburra, Sauv. fp. 2.
Cardialgia ladfantium, Sauv. fp. 11.
Cardialgia flatulenta, Sauv. fp. 3.
Cardialgia paralytica, Sauv. fp. 7.
Gaftrodynia faburralis, Sauv. fp. 1.
Gaftrodynia Hatulenta, Sauv. fp. 2.
Gatlrodynia periodynia, Sauv. fp. 7.
Gaftrodynia aftringens, Sauv. fp. 9.
Gaftrodynia atterens, Sauv. fp. 10.
Gaftrodynia a frigore, Sauv. fp. 18.
Beftdes thefe there are a great number of fymptoma-
tic fpecies.
Defcrlption. It is by no means eafy to define ex¬
actly the diftemper called dyfpepjia, when confidered
as an original dileafe, as there are very few maladies
which fome way or other do not ftiow tbemfelves by
an affection of the ftomach ; and much more difficult
ftill muff it be to enumerate all its fymptoms. The
moft remarkable, however, and the moft common, are
the following: Want of appetite ; diftenlion of the
ftomach w7hen no food has been taken for fome time
before 5 flight dejeftion of fpirits •, a gradual decay of
the mufcular ftrength ; languor, and averfion from mo¬
tion •, the food which is taken without appetite is not
well digefted 5 the ftomach and inteftines are much di-
ftended with flatus, whence the patients are tormented
with fpafms, gripes, and ficknefs: frequently a lim¬
pid water, having an acid or putrid tafte, is brought
up j fometimes the food itfelf is thrown up by mouth¬
fuls 5 and fometimes, though rarely, the fame is fwal-
lowed again, after the manner of ruminating animals.
While matters are in this fltuation, the heart fome¬
times palpitates, and the breath is quick, and drawn
with difficulty; the head aches and is giddy ; and fome¬
times both thefe fymptoms are continual, and very
vioiem, infomuch that the patient is not only torment¬
ed with pain, but flaggers as if he was drunk. From
the too great acefcency or putrefaflion of the aliment,
a_ cardialgia or heartburn comes on *, and in this fitua-
tion a fpontaneous diarrhoea fometimes carries off the
aifeale j but in other cales there is an obftinate coftive-
nefs, attended wi*h colic pains. Frequently the pulfe
is quick, fometimes flow, but always weak: the cir¬
culation is fo languid, that the blood can fcarce reach
the extreme veffels, or at leaft ftagnates in them, fo
t|iat the face becomes livid, fwelled, and has an un-
ufual appearance : and at the fame time that the cir¬
culation and nervous power are in this languid ftate,
the perfpiration becomes lefs copious; the fkin becomes
dry and corrugated ; tlm natural heat, efpecially of the
extremities,^ is much diminifhed ^ the tongue is white j
and an univerlal laxity takes place, infomuch that the
uvula and velum pendulum palati are fometixnes en-
C I N E. Practice.
larged to fuch a degree as to become extremely trouble- Dyfpepfia.
fome. The patient is either deprived of reft, or wake^ ^
fuddenly out of his fleep, and is difturbed by frightful
dreams ; at the fame time that the mind feems to be
affe&ed as w-ell as the body, and he becomes petvffh,
fretful, and incapable of paying attention to any thing
as ufual. At laft hectic fymptoms come on, and
the whole frame becomes fo irritable, that the ilighteft
caufe excites an univerfal tremor, and fometimes violent
vomiting and diarrhoea. Sometimes the falivary glands
are fo relaxed, that a falivation comes on as if excited
by mercury ; the ferum is poured out into the cavity
of the abdomen and cellular fubftance of the whole bo¬
dy, and the patient becomes affe&ed with anafarca or
afcites.
Caufes,' &c. The caufes of dyfpepfia may be any
thing which debilitates the fyftem in general, "but in a
particular manner affe&s the ftomach. Such are, o-
pium taken in immoderate quantities, which hurts by
its fedative and relaxing powers ; fpirituous liquors
drunk to excefs j tobacco, tea, coffee, or any warm
relaxing liquor, taken in too great quantity ; acid, un¬
ripe fruits •, vomits or purges too frequently taken ; an
indolent fedentary life, &c. &c. All thele a£t chief¬
ly upon people of a w'eak and delicate habit \ for the
robuft and hardy feldom labour under a dyfpepfia, or
at moft a very flight one.
Prognojis. When a dyfpepfla firft occurs, it is fre¬
quently removed without great difficulty ; when it is
fymptomatic, we muft endeavour to cure the primary
difeafe; and without this we cannot expeft a com¬
plete removal of the affeftion 5 but when it frequently
returns, with fymptoms of great debility, heftic fever,
or dropfy, we have great reafon to dread the event.
Cure. A radical cure of dyfpepfia is only to be ex-
pefted by removing from the ftomach and fyftem that
debility on which the difeafe depends. On this ground,
the objects chiefly to be aimed at in the cure are,
ift, The avoiding whatever will tend to diminifh the
vigour of the ftomach ; 2d, The employing fuch re¬
medies as have influence in increafing that vigour j
and, in the third place, The obviating urgent fymp¬
toms, particularly thofe which tend to increafe and
flip port the affe6tion. Of the avoiding caufes, which
tend to diminifh the vigour of the ftomach, after what
has already been faid of the caufes inducing the dif-
eale, it is unneceffary to make any farther obferva-
tions ; and indeed every dyfpeptic patient will be
taught by experience what is to be done with this in¬
tention. The medicines chiefly employed with the
view of increafing vigour are thofe of the tonic kind :
but, previous to their ufe, it will be neceffary to eva¬
cuate the contents of the alimentary canal by vomits or
Purgatives. If there be a tendency to putrefcency, an-
tifeptics muft: then be exhibited \ but more frequently
there is a prevailing acidity, which creates an intolera¬
ble heart burn. To palliate this fymptom, magnena
alba may be given ; which is much preferable to the
common teftaceous powders, as being purgative wdiile
diffolved in an acid, when the others are rather aftrin-
gent. In the third volume of the Medical Obfervations,
we have an account of two cafes of dyfpepfia attended
with a very uncommon degree of cardialgia, in which
magnefia was fo fuccefsful, that we can hardly doubt ©f
its efficacy in flighter degrees of the diforder.
But
Pra&ice. M E D I
AdyuamijE. Rut although acidity may often be fucceftifully ob-
'"v  via ted in this manner, yet the belt way of counter¬
acting this fymptom, as well as of obviating coftive-
nefs, flatulence, and a variety of others, is by reflo-
ring the tone of the ftomach in particular, and indeed
of the fyitem in general. With this intention, re-
courfe is had to a variety of tonics both from the mi¬
neral and vegetable kingdom *, particularly chalybeates
in different forms, gentian, Colombo, and the like j
but of all the tonics which can be employed in this
affeclion, none are attended with greater benefit than
exercife and cold bathing •, and the proper and pru¬
dent employment of thefe is no lefs effedfual in re¬
moving the difeafe, than in preventing the return of
it after it is once removed.
Genus XLVI. HYPOCHONDRIASIS.
Hypochondriac Affection.
Hypochondriafis, Sauv. gen. 220. Lin. 76. Vog.
218. %. 332. .
Morbus hypochondriacus, Boerh. 1098.
Malum hypochondriacum, Hoffm. III. 65. Junck. 36.
Although fome of the nofological writers, parti¬
cularly Sauvages, have confidered this genus as con¬
fining of different fpecies, Dr Cullen is of opinion,
that there is only one idiopathic fpecies, the hypo-
chondriajis melancholica. He confiders not only the
hypochondriafis hyfterica, phthifica, and afthmatica,
but alfo the biliofa, fanguinea, and pituitofa, as being
only fymptomatic j but he views the true melan¬
cholic hypochondriafis as being a proper idiopathic
difeafe, perfe&ly diftinfl from hyfleria, with which it
has often been confounded.
Defcription. The fymptoms of hypochondriafis are,
ftretebing, preffing, griping, and tormenting pains,
under the ribs, and chiefly in the left fide j which
fometimes are exafperated, and become pungent, burn¬
ing, or lancinating. Frequently there is an inflation
of the left hypochondrium, which fometimes becomes
ftationary, and by Hippocrates was taken for a fymp¬
tom of an enlarged fpleen. When thefe fymptjms
take place in the right hypochondrium, they are com¬
monly attended with colic pains, uncertain flying heats,
efpecially in the bead, with a tranfient rednefs of the
face, and very frequently an cedematous fwelling of the
feet fucceeds. To thefe are fuperadded almofl: all the
aife&ions of the ftomach occurring in dyfpeplia, be-
fides a variety of other fymptoms, fuch as palpitations,
fleeplefs nights, and the like. But befides thefe, there
occurs alfo a particular depreflion of fpirit and appre-
henfion of danger, which may be confidered as one of
the great charafterizing fymptoms of the difeafe.
Caufes, &c. The general caufes of the hypochon¬
driac affedtion are faid to be a plethora, and preterna¬
tural thicknefs of the blood ; fuppreflions of cuftoma-
ry evacuations; high and full diet, together with a
fparing quantity of drink ; an hereditary difpofition ;
indolence ; atony of the inteftines j violent paflions of
the mind, &c.
Prognq/is. The hypochondriac affedlion, when left
to itfelf, is more troublefome than dangerous ; but, if
improperly treated, it may bring on various difeafes of
a more fatal tendency, fuch as the melancholy, bloody
CINE.
urine and nephritis, jaundice, vertigo, palfy, apo¬
plexy. &c.
Cure. This is to be attempted by fuch medicines as
counteradl occaflonal caufes, and obviate urgent fymp¬
toms, which may be all comprehended under bleeding,
gentle evacuants, chalybeates, the cinchona, and exer¬
cife, efpecially riding on horfeback, which in this dif¬
eafe is greatly preferable to any other. When the cir-
cumftances of the patient can afford it, a voyage to
Spain, Portugal, or fome of the wTarmer countries in
Europe, w ill be of great fervice.
Genus XLVII. CHLOROSIS.
«
Green sickness.
Chlorofis, Sauv. gen. 309. Lin. 222. Vog. 305.
Sag. gen. 135. Boerh. 1285. Hoffm. iii. 311--
Junck. 86.
Of this genus alfo Dr Cullen thinks there is but
one idiopathic fpecies : viz. what fome diftinguilh by
the title of chlorojis virginea, others of chlorojis ama-
toria.
Defcription. This difeafe ufually attacks girls a
little after the time of puberty, and firft fliows itfclf
by fymptoms of dyfpepfia. But a diftinguifhing fymp¬
tom is, that the appetite is entirely vitiated, and the
patient will eat lime, chalk, allies, fait, &c. very
greedily j while at the fame time there is not only a
total inappetence to proper food, but it will even ex¬
cite naufea and vomiting. In the beginning of the
difeafe, the urine is pale, and afterwards turbid ; the
face becomes pale, and then affumes a greenilh colour j
fometimes it becomes livid or yellow : the eyes are
funk, and have a livid circle round them ; the lips
lofe their fine red colour 5 the pulfe is quick, weak,
and low, though the heat is little ihort of a fever,
but the veins are fcarcely filled •, the feet are frequent¬
ly cold, fivell at night, and the whole body feems
covered with a foft fw^elling •, the breathing is diffi¬
cult : nor is the mind free from affedlion more than
the body ; it becomes irritated by the flighteft caufes ;
and fometimes the patients love folitude, become fad
and thoughtful. There is a retention of the menfes
throughout the whole courfe of the diforder $ and at laft
all the bad fymptoms increafing, a leucophlegraafia,
anafarca, atrophy, and death, fucceed.
Caufes. The caufe of chlorofis is thought to be an
atony of the mufcular fibres of the alimentary canal,.
efpecially of the ftomach, joined with a fimilar atony
of the perfpiratory veffels over the whole furface of
the body, and the whole depending on an atony of
thofe fmall arteries which pour out the menftrual
blood. This atony may be occafioned by the fame
caufes which bring on dyfpepfia and hypochondriafis,
but very frequently arifes from love and other paffions
of the mind.
Bro^nofs. The chlorofis in all cafes is tedious,
though it does not generally prove fatal ; but we can
never promife a certain cure unlefs the tnenfes makp
their appearance.
Cure. The remedies here in general are the fame
as in the dyfpepfia and hypochondriafis ; only in the
chlorofis ftronger purgatives may be made ufe of:
thofe which .ftimylate the return are ufeful by ftinru-
latinar
382
Spafrtu-
!73
279
M E D I
lating alfo the velTels of the uterus ; and for this reafon
indulgence in venery has fometimes been faid to pro¬
duce a cure, particularly with love-lick maids. The
cold bath is alfo extremely proper.
Order III. SPASMI.
Spasmi, Sauv. Clafs IV. Vog. Clafs V. Sag.
Clafs VIII.
Motorii, Lin. Clafs VII.
’ Morbi fpafmodici et convulfivi, lioffm. III. 9.
Spafmi et convulfiones, Junck. 45, 54.
Epiiepfia, Boer/i. IQ1]!, 1088.
Genus XLVIII. TETANUS.
Tetanus, Sauv. gen. 122.
Sag. gen. 228.
Catochus, Sauv. gen. 123.
Sag. gen. 229.
Opifthotonos, Vog. 181.
Epifthotonos, Vog. 182.
Lin. 127. Vog. 180.
Lin. 128. Vog. 183.
On this diftemper Dr Lionel Chalmers has pub-
lilhed a diflertation in the firfl. volume of the Medical
Obfervadons, which being fuperior to any thing that
has appeared in other medical writers on the fubjeft,
we (hall here lay before the reader.
“ Of all the difeafes to w'hich man is fubjedl, none
deferves more to be confidered than the opiilhotonos
and tetanus, either with regard to the variety of
painful fymptoms which almoft without intermiflion
diftrafl the fick, or the danger of the difeafes them-
felves, from which few recover, in comparifon of the
number they attack. In both, the vital addons are
very imperfedtly performed, molt of thofe which are
called natural being as it were fufpended at once ;
and fo far is the patient from being able to execute
any voluntary motion, that the whole machine un¬
dergoes the moft excruciating diflortions, from the
violent and 'unnatural contradlions of the mufcles.
Happy it is for the inhabitants of the more temperate
climates, that fuch difeafes appear rarely among them j
but in thofe countries wdiich lie in the more fouthern
and warmer latitudes, they are endemic, efpecially to
negro {laves. In South Carolina, they (how them-
felves at all feafons, but not fo often in wdnter, more
frequently in fpring and autumn j and are moft com¬
mon in the fummer, when people work abroad and
are alternately expofed to the fcorching heat of the fun
and heavy fhowers, which often happen fuddenly, and
greatly alter the temperature of the air. Others are
feized with the opifthotonos after fteeping without
doors, that they may enjoy the deceitful refreftiment
of the cool night-air, when the weather is warm : one
youth chofe to cut off his hair and (have his head on a
warm day in March, and went to bed without a cap ;
but the weather changed, and became cold in the
night, and he was found rigid with tetanus next
morning.
“ Thefe difeafes fo rarely appear as originals in Eu¬
rope, that a good hiftory of them cannot be expe&ed
from the phyftcians who pradtife in that part of the
world 5 nor has any thing like a full defeription been
given of them by any ancient or modern author
which I have feen. Hippocrates indeed takes notice
3
CINE. Praftlce.
of them in many places, and leems to regard them Tetanus,
only as confequences of other difeafes, or of wounds '
or ulcers of the nervous or tendinous parts j of which
fymptomatic kind of opifthotonos he gives three re¬
markable cafes in lib. v. § vii. de Morb. vulg. and
repeats them in another place : but the few fymp¬
toms he recounts do not {how themfelves with us.
Galen, Ccelius Aurelianus, Aretaeus, &c. feem only
to have copied Hippocrates, with the addition of
feme fuppofttitious fymptoms, which really do not
appear j and the little that Bontius fays of it is very
faulty.
“ Among the numerous clafs of fpafmodic difeafes,
there are three which diftinguilh themfelves in a very
particular manner, on which the names of emprojlho-
tonos, opijlhotonos, and tetanus, have been juftly enough
beftowed, as being expreftive of the pofture into which
they throw and confine the patient. When therefore
thofe mufcles which bend the head, neck, and body
forwards, fuffer fuch involuntary, violent, and conti¬
nued contractions, as to fix the chin to the breaft, in-
curvate the fpine and body, and retain the lick in this
painful and prone pofture, the difeafe is called emprof-
thotonos. When the polterior mulcles are fimilarly af¬
fected, fo that the head is drawn towards the fpine,
and the fpine itfelf is recurvated, it has then the name
of opjlhotonos; although in fa£t, in this, all thofe
mufcles which act in deglutition, bend the head for¬
wards, or turn it to either fide, are equally contracted
with thofe which raife the head and fpine. The teta¬
nus differs from, or rather is compounded of, both the
others \ for in this the patient is found rigid and in¬
flexible, being as it were braced between the oppofite
contractions of the anterior and pofterior mufcles j yet
even here the head is much retraCted.
“ I never faw the emprojlhotonos; and fliall only
fpeak of the opi/lhotonos and tetanus, the firft being by
far the moft common, and in the laft ftage of which
the tetanus frequently fupervenes. Let it be obferved,
that the following defeription by no means refpeCts fuch
fymptomatic contractions as often happen immediately
before death, both in acute and chronic difeafes j nei¬
ther will it agree with that fpurious opi/lhotonos or te¬
tanus which appear fometimes in the firft and fecond
ftages of quotidian intermittents in this country, how¬
ever they may emulate the true difeafes in fome of their
fymptoms.
“ Stad. I. The opi/lhotonos, contrary to what Bon¬
tius afferts, often comes on gradually and by flight
approaches, the patient complaining rather of an un-
eafy ftiffnefs in the back-part of the neck and about the
fhoulders, than of any acute pain, wdth fome degree
of a general laflitude. Thefe increafe, and become
fo troublefome when he attempts to turn his head, or
to bend it forward, as to oblige him to walk very
creCt for he can by no means look downward, nor to
either fide, without turning his whole body. He can.
not open his jaw’s without pain ; and has fome difficul¬
ty in fwallovving, which difeourages him from attempt¬
ing to eat. At times he feels a fudden and painful trac¬
tion under the cartilago enfiformis, winch ftrikes through
to the back, and inftantly increafes the rigidity about
the neck and fhoulders, draws the head backward a
little, and {huts the jaws clofer. The pain under the
Jlernum returns more frequently and with greater vio-
' lence :
Practice. MEDICINE. , 381
Spafmi. lence ; and the other contra&ions become fo ftrong,
that the head from this time continues much retraced,
and he now refufes nourifhment, as fwallowing is at¬
tended with great pain, and occaiions a return of the
fpafm ; which extends along the fpine quite to the
lower extremities, fo that they will no longer fupport
him, and he is under the neceffity of going to bed.
“ In this manner pafl'es over the firft flage of the
opijfhotonos, which fometimes takes up three or four
days ; the patient, as well as thofe about him, mil¬
taking the firfl: appearances of it for that rheumatic
complaint, which is commonly called a crick in the
neck ; but it fometimes forms itfelf much quicker, and
invades the unfortunate perfon with the whole train of
its mifchievous fymptoms in a few’ hours : in which
cafe, the danger may truly be ellimated from the vio¬
lence of the firfl: attack ; for fuch generally die in 24
36, or 48 hours, and very rarely furvive the third
day. But when it is kfs acute, few are loft after the
ninth or eleventh ; ivhich number of days it w’ould
not be pollible for them to complete, unlefs the vio¬
lence of the difeafe was in a good meafure fubdued $
althoygh I had one who recovered, after having been
fubjedt to its tyrannical attacks daily for fix weeks.
In this ftage the pulfe is flow, and very hard, and the
belly is bound j blood taken away feems not to be
altered from the natural ftate, fo that no indication can
be deduced therefrom, and it only varies with regard to
laxity or compadlion, according to the age of the per¬
fon and feafon of the year.
“ Stad. II. The fpafm under the fternum (which
is the pathognomonic fymptom of this difeafe) becomes
more violent, returning every 10 or 15 minutes j and
never fails to be inftantly fucceeded by a ftronger re-
tradlion of the head, with great rigidity and pain all
round the neck, and along the fpine to the lower ex¬
tremities, which are fuddenly put to the ftretch. The
countenance is very pale and contra&ed ; the jaws are
that moment fnapped together, and cannot afterwards
be opened fo wide as to receive the end of one’s little
finger ; an attempt to do which, by way of experiment,
almoft conftantly hurries on the fpafm. The maftoid,
coraco-hyoid and fterno-hyoid muicles, as well as all the
others concerned in deglutition, and the deltoid and
pedlorals, are moft violently contradfed, fo that the
fhoulders are ftrongly raifed forward, and the arms are
rfretched out or drawn acrofs the body j but the w’rifts
and fingers feem not to be affedted.
“ Such is the condition of the patient in the time
of the fpafm, which ceafes in a few feconds : after
which the (boulders and arms recline, and the inferior
extremities relax ; yet not fo entirely, but that fuch a
degree of rigidity for the moft part remains as will not
permit them to bend vrhen this is attempted by ano¬
ther perfon ; for as to the fick himfelf, he cannot at
all move them. The mufcles on the fides and fore¬
part of the neck continue ftill contradled, although not
fo ftrongly ; but their adtion is overcome by the num¬
ber and ftrength of the pofterior ones ; fo that the re-
tradlion of the head conftantly remains. The patient
breathes quick for fome minutes, as if he had been ex-
ceffively exercifed ; and the pulfe is fmall, fluttering,
and irregular, but both become more calm and flow.
The face is fometimes pale in the intervals, but oftener
fiuftied y and the whole countenance expreffes ftrong
appearances of the moft melancholy diftrefs, aS well Tetanus,
becaufe of the dread he has of a return of the fpafm,—"V—-
which he is fure will foon happen, as from the pain
he fuffers by the prefent contradfions, and the more
general and fevere ones which he has fo lately fuftain-
ed. The tongue is fliff and torpid j but fo far as
it can be feen, is not foul, The belly is always bound,
and cannot eaiily be loofened. In drinking, the liquid
pafl'es with great difficulty to the ftomach, even in the
fmalieft quantity 5 and if the fpafm ftiould feize him
at that time, which an attempt to fwallow for the moft
part occafions, the liquor returns through the nofe with
iome force. The patients defire to lie ftill as much
as poffible j and avoid drinking, fpeaking, or being
moved, either of which are apt to occafion a return of
the fpafin. „
“ Stad. III. In this laft ftage, the patient is re¬
duced to the moft calamitous and diftrefsful circum-
ftances : for he is on a continual rack, according to
the moft literal meaning of that word ; the fpafm re¬
turning oftener than once in a minute, is much more
violent, and holds him longer, fo that he has fcarcely
any remiflion. The anterior mufcles of the whole bo¬
dy now fuifer equal contractions with the pofterior;.
but the laft overcume the force of the others, lo that
the fpine is ftrongly recurvated, and forms a hollow
arch with the bed, and he refts on the back part of the
head and the heels. The belly is flat, and is drarvn
inward *, and the mufcles are fo rigidly contracted, that
they will not give way to preffure, and do not feem in
the leaft to yield to the defcent of the diaphragm in
infpiration ; the feveral muicles about the neck, fides,
and abdomen, being plainly diltinguilhable from each
other. Although the lower extremities are always ri¬
gid in this ftate, yet are they fo fuddenly and violent¬
ly diftended in the time of the fpafms, that were it
not for the (landers by, the patient would be proje&ed
feet foremoft off the bed ; while others again are as it
were puffied upward with luch a fpring, that the head
is ftruck with great force againft whatever happens to
be in the way, the thighs and legs being in this cafe
no lefs rigid than the other parts. The tongue is
fpafmodically darted out, and is often miferably torn,
as the teeth are that moment (napped together ; lo that
it is necefl'ary to prevent this by keeping the handle of
a fpoon, wrapped round wdth foft rags, between the
teeth, when this can be done. At the time that the
tongue is thus thruft out, the mufcular fle(h, which
lies betiveen the arch of the lower jaw and head of the
trachea, feems to be drawn upwards within the throat.
The countenance is very much contradled, and he is
in a foam of fweat, the heat being very great; and the
pulfe between the fpaims is exceedingly quick, fmall,
and irregular, although the heart throbs fo ftrongly,
that its motions may be plainly feen, and a palpita¬
ting fubfultory kind of undulation may not only be
felt, but perceived all over the epigaftric region. The
eyes are watery and languid, and a pale or bloody
froth bubbles out from between the lips. 1 he jaws
are for the moft part locked tall, fo that it is impol-
fible to give drink or nourishment, nor could he fwal¬
low any thing that was put into his mouth. In this ftate
patients are commonly delirious: and as they cannot
fubfift many hours under fo great a fufpenfion of the vi¬
tal and natural fundiions, a mortal anxiety cnfues and
releafes
384 M E D I
Spafini. releafes them j oftener & continued and fevere fpafm
finifties the tragedy, when it was before almofl at an
end : but moft frequently a general convulllon puts a
period to their fufferings 5 and w^hichever way this,
happens, they for the molt part relax juft before death.
“ In the tetanus, the general fymptoms are nearly
the fame as in the opifthotonos, except that from the
firft attack, the lateral, abdominal, and other anterior
tnufcle«, are equally contracted with the pofterior ones j
and the arms become rigid as well as the lower extre¬
mities. The abdomen is always flat and rigid as in
the laft ftage of the opifthotonos, and its contents feem
to be thtull up into the thorax, which at the fame
time appears to be much dilated. There are here al-
fo fome intervals between the fpafms, in the time of
which the cheeks are drawn towards the ears, fo that
all the teeth may be feen as in the fpafmus cynicus.
Deglutition is more free in this than in the other dif-
cafe ; yet fo far is the fick from being equally balan¬
ced between the contractions of the oppofite mufcles,
that the head is retraCled and the fpine is recurvated,
although not quite fo much as in the opifthotonos.
And the fpafm, which commences' under the fternum,
is likewife common to the tetanus, which terminates
as the other, and on the fame fatal days. But who¬
ever recovers from either, labours long under a general
atonia j and they cannot for fome months raife them-
felves from a fupine or recumbent pofture without pain,
nor without help for fome time.”
Prognojis and Cure. There has never been any thing
like a crifis obferved in thefe frightful cafes, or fa¬
vourable termination from the mere efforts of nature ;
and therefore all the phyfician’s dependence muft be
upon art. As in cafes of tetanic affeftions, the dif-
eafe often arifes from fome particular irritation, the
removal of this muft neceffarily be an important objeCf
in the cure : But where it cannot be removed, bene¬
fit may often be obtained by the prevention of its in¬
fluence being communicated to the brain. When,
however, that influence is communicated to the brain,
a cure is to be expeCted only by diminifliing and ob¬
viating it. This is principally brought about by the
ufe either of thofe means which have a general ten¬
dency to diminifti adlion, or of thofe wdfich induce a
different ftate of adlion. On thefe grounds the ope¬
ration of thofe remedies which are employed with
greateft fuccefs in this affedlion, may, we apprehend,
be explained. Fortunately it has been found, that
opium is capable of giving fome relief, if adminiftered
in proper time, and if the difeafe happens not to be
in the moft violent degree ; the warm bath muft alfo
be brought in aid $ and the patients (hould lie horizon¬
tally in the bath, and while in it have the whole body
extremely well rubbed : when taken out, they are not
to be dried, but immediately put to bed wrapt in the
fofteft blankets; and while they remain there, the belly
ought either to be ftuped, or two or three bladders
filled with warm water kept conftantly lying on it.
'1 he bowels at the fame time muft, if poflible, be kept
open, by folutions of manna and fal polychrcft, or fome
other purging fait, mixed with oleum ncini; or if that
fhould not be at hand, wuth oil of Iweet almonds and
a little timfture of fena. The opiates are to be given
in large and frequently repeated dofes •, fuch as a grain
©f the cxtradium thebaicum, or 20 drops of the tincture,
CINE. France.
every fecond or third hour ; and it will be fafeft not to Tetanus,
truft to the thebaic tinfture which is kept ready pre- w
pared in the (hops, but to order the neceffary dole of fo-
lid opium, and either give it in pills or diffolve it in
fome convenient liquid. If fwallowing {hould be dif¬
ficult, or the jaws clofed up, the opium muft be given
in clyfters j for during the whole courfe of the difeafe
it will be of fervice to order emollient clyfters to be
injedted from time to time, fince thefe will anfwer not
only as a relaxing fomentation, but alfo contribute to
keep the inteftinal canal perfectly free.
When the patients recover, they continue for a long
time very relaxed and weak : and no wonder, fince it
is the nature of all fpafmodic affedlions to leave be¬
hind them extreme weaknefs and relaxation of the muf-
cular fibres. In order to perfedl the recovery, a courfc
of the cinchona and the Peruvian balfam is to be tried ;
and the fpine may be rubbed with fpirituous liniments,
or with a mixture of rum and Barbadoes tar : but thefe
and all other ftimulating things, either internally or ex¬
ternally, during the violence of the fpafms, muft, in the
opinion of fome pradlitioners, be omitted, fince all of
them as well as blifters have been alleged to exafperate
the difeafe.
This, in general, is the plan of treatment recommend¬
ed by Dr Chalmers.
The fame dreadful diforders frequently attack young
children in the warm climates. Dr Hillary tells us,
that they will there arife from the fame caufes which
ufually produce convulfions with children in Britain,
viz. from a retention of the meconium jpr firft excrement
after birth j or from a glutinous matter which is too
often found in the inteftines of young children foon
after the other is difcharged; or from a cheefy mat¬
ter from the coagulation of the milk by an acid in the
ftomach $ or from hard excrements j or from fomething
taken in by the mouth which is over acrid, or too hard
to digeft, which irritates their tender bowels, and lb
produces ftartings and convulfive fpafms, with all the
other fymptoms which precede and accompany convul-
fions in young children in Britain. And this Ihows how
much more readily and eafily the nerves are affedled
and irritated in that warm climate, and the tetanus
produced from a much lefs caufe there, than it is in
Britain, where it is but feldom feen. But thefe caufes
not being timely removed, their acrimony is increafed,
partly by the heat of the climate, and partly by the
fever which they produce, which ftill renders them
more acrid, and fo increafes the irritation of their
bowels, that it firft brings on ftartings, then convul¬
five fpafms, and regular convulfion fits ; -which, if not
foon removed, ufually end in a perfect tetanusi and the
difeafe is but feldom cured in fuch young children when
it arrives at that ftate : for wThen the child lies in this
miferable, rigid, immoveable condition, upon moving
its hands or feet in the moft gentle manner, or foftly
touching any part of its body, or giving it the leaft
motion, even feeling irs pulfe in the moft tender manner,
or the leaft noife, or even touching its clothes, will
bring on the convulfive fpafms, and caufe it to be ftrong-
ly convulfed backwards, or drawn into a rigid ftraight
line, fitrongly extended and immoveable like a ftatue,
and will fo remain immoveable out of either of thofe
poftures for a confiderable time, a minute or two } and
when the difeafe is arrived at this degree, Dr Hillary
thinks
practice.
Spafmi. thinks it is never cured. But if the phyfician be called
v in time, before the tetanus has come on (which is too
feldom the cafe there), though he finds llrong convul-
five fpafms have feized the child, or that it has had a
convullive fit or two, it may moll commonly be relieved,
the coming of the tetanus be prevented, and the life of
the babe faved, as Dr Hillary has more than once feen,
by removing and carrying off the irritating caufe which
stimulates their tender bowels, by fuch gentle evacua¬
tions as are fuitable to their age ; and then quieting and
compofing the irritation of their nerves by proper an¬
odynes, and correcting the remaining acrimony of the
nutritious juices in the primce'vice.
To anfwer thefe intentions, the following method,
with variations pro re nata et pro ratione cetatis, as the
caufe is different, has been found to anfwer the defired
effeCt the belt : Seri laBis Jij. Sapon. Venet. 9j.
Manna Calab. 3ij. vel iij. 01. amygd. dul. Jfs. 0/. fce-
nicuh dul. gut. ij. Balf Peruv.gut. v. Mifce. Fi enema
yuam primum injiciendum.
And if the fymptoms of the approaching tetanus
will permit, he gives fomething of the following na¬
ture to aflift the operation of the clylter, and to carry
off the acrimony the fooner : Aq. fem. foeniculi
Magnef albce 3fs. Ocul. cancr.prap. 5j. Syr.e cichor.cum
rheo, Rofar.folut. ana 3iij- Mifce. Or, ]$> Aq fem. foe-
nicuh 3iij. Sapon. amygdal. 31s. Magnef. albce 3fs. Syr.
e cichor. cum rheo, Manner opt. ana 3tj. 01 amygd. dul.
3uj. Mifce : Exhibe cochl. parv. vel duo pro ratione cetatis,
omni femihora, vel omni hora, donee refpond. alvus.
Two or three ftools being obtained by thefe, the
following is exhibited in order to abate the convulfive
twitchings, and prevent the tetanus from coming on :
J0O Aq.fem.faeniculifu]. Magnef. albce'5{$. Ocul.cancr.
preep. 3j. Mofchi orient, gr. iij. Spin C. C. gut. xv. Syr.
e mecon. 3fs. Mifce : Exhibe cochl. parv. (a child’s ipoon-
ful) ter quaterve de die, velfapius, urgent, convu/f. vel
fpafm.
But if the fymptoms Ihow that the tetanus is more
immediately coming on, fo that we have no time to
wait till the operation of the clyller and opening
^ laxative be over, fomething of the following nature
muft be immediately given •, or the tetanus will come on,
and moft probably prove fatal to fuch tender babes.
^ Aq. f t nicuh 5iiij. Mofchi orient, gr. j. Tinff. thebaic,
gut. iiij. Syr. e mecon. 3ij. Mifce pro duobus dof de qui-
bus exhibe unam quamprimum, et alteramJi convul- fpafm.
redeunt.
This, Dr Hillary obferves, may be thought a bold
attempt, to give tinUl. thebaica to fuch a tender young
infant : but it is to be confidered that the little pa¬
tient will certainly die if the tetanus feize it, and that
it will come on if this do not prevent it : and he has
known a bold ignorant old midwife give four or five
drops of that tindure to a very young infant with¬
out any prejudice more than its doling three or four
hours, though not in this cafe, but in one much lefs
violent.
The clyfter may be given at the fame time, and
the opening laxative not long after it : though it may
retard the operation of that for fome time, yet it
operates foon after, and gives relief*, after which the
other medicines, and foment mg the body and anoint¬
ing it as before, may be ufed, if the phyfician finds it
neceffary; alfo a little of the laxative mixture may be
Voi.XIII. Paul.
MEDICINE.
3^5
given once or twice a day, if the above julep does not Tttanus.
anfwer the intention of keeping the child’s body -''■"V”—"
open for a few* days afterwards, which in this cafe i"s
generally found neceffary to be obferved.
I hefe methods and medicines may be varied accord-*
ing to circumltances. For neither the fame method nor
the fame medicines will anfwer in all cafes, though the
difeafe be the fame *, but they muft be changed as the
caufi.s differ, or the conftitution of the lick, or the
time of the difeafe, or as fome other circumftances
may require: which is a thing of great importance,
not only in this, but in the cure of moft other difeafes.
. When proper medicines are thus timely and ju-
dicioully given in this cafe, they feldom fail to carry
off the irritating caufe, quiet and cafe the nerves, re¬
move the convulfions and fpafms: and confequently
prevent the tetanus from coming on, and the death of
the patient. But if calling in the phyfician be defer¬
red till the tetanus has already ftrongly feized the
child, as is too often the cafe here, neither warm
bathing, fomenting, nor any other methods or me¬
dicines whatever, will remove it or its caufes, nor fave
the life of the little tender patient.
Dr Chalmers gives an account of his having cured
one child leized with a tetanus, by purging with an
infufion of rhubarb: to which a few grains of mulk,
and a \\tx\z ol. tartar, per deliq. were added, together
with the waim bath, and the frequent injection of
clyfters made with an infufion of chamomile flowers,
to each of which was added a fmall portion of Caftile
foap. It is much to be regretted, however, that in
thole cafes where the afliftance of the medical art is
moft wanted, it moft generally fails. We have been
affured by a gentleman who pradlifed for fome time
in the warm parts of America, that out of 30 cafes of
the tetanus he had feen, not one of the patients reco¬
vered, though he had given opium to the quantity of
20 grains thrice a-day ; and others, he w*as affured, had
taken 30 grains thrice a-day. In the beginning of the
difeafe, the medicine produced a violent headach j but
tow-ards the end, it had no manner of effedt whatever.
In two patients, the difeale came on from the flighteft
caules imaginable. Ihe one accidentally fell in at¬
tempting to avoid a loaded cart, and put the heel of
his Ihoe upon one of his thumbs in riling ; the other,
in avoiding the fame cart, flightly ruffled the Ikin of
his nole. Both were feized with the tetanus; and
both died, notwithftanding all poflible afliftance was
given. The former had his thumb amputated with¬
out tffedf,
In the Edinburgh Phyfical and Literary Effays
vol. iii. Dr Donald Monro deferibes a new method
o! cure, communicated to him by a gentleman who
was formerly a pradlitioner in Jamaica. While this
gentleman praaifed in that illand, he had under his
care a great number of cafes of tetanus attended with
the locked jaw*. At firft, he ufed to give very freely
of opium, mulk, and other medicines of this clafs ;
to bleed, and make other evacuations; while he ufed
baths, fomentations, embrocations, and other external
applications, but all without the leaft fuccefs j and, as
be had loft a great many patients without being fo
lucky as to make one cure, he began to believe that
this difoider always proved fatal, and was not to be
cured by medicine, motwithftanding what fame prac-
3 C titicners
386 M E D I
Spafmi. titioners liad alleged. However, having received an
une-xpe&ed hint concerning the good effects of the
mercurial ointment in fuch cafes, he refolved to try
it; and ordered the firft patient that offered to be put
into a warm room, and to be rubbed two or three
times a-day with the ointment, till fuch time as a fali-
vation was raifed 5 when he with pleafure observed,
that, as foon as the mercury began to ailed the mouth,
the convulfions of the mufcles of the jaws, as well as
all the other fpafms and convulfions, ceaied, and the
patient was freed of all his complaints. Alter this, he
treated every cafe of this kind which came under his
care in the fame manner, and cured twelve, which
were all who applied to him for advice fo early in the
diforder that there was time to bring the mercury to
the mouth before tire fatal period was expected. A
few died, in whom the difeafe was fo far advanced be¬
fore he fawT them that there was no time to raiie a ia-
livation. None of the cafes which were under this
gentleman’s care in the Welt Indies w'ere the confe-
quences of wounds or capital operations j nor has he
had any opportunity of trying it fince in cafes of the
locked jaw, which fometimes follows capital opera¬
tions, owing to his having given over pradrce : but he
thinks, that from the irmilarity of the complaint,
there is no doubt that the mercurial fridrons would
be equally efficacious in fuch cafes, as when the
diforder comes from catching cold or other fuch
caufes.
In the fecond volume of the Medical Tranfadions,
we have an account of a cure performed by Dr Wil¬
liam Carter of Canterbury, by means very different
from any of thofe above related.—On the 17th of May
1767, the dodor wras called to a llrong healthy man,
in the 21ft year of his age, and who had been con¬
fined to his bed for three weeks. What gave rife to
his prefent diforder wras an wround on the inner ankle of
his right leg, which he had received fix weeks before
from a joiner’s chifel. At that time his mouth was
fo far clofed, as to admit only the molt liquid nou-
rilhment, which he conftantly fucked through his
teeth : but his legs and jaw, and the whole length
of the fpina dorfi, were quite immoveable, being as
fliff and rigid as thofe of a perfon long dead j his
head was drawn backward, and he was frequently
flrongly convulfed. The motion indeed of both his
arms was but a little impaired. From the beginning
to the end, his fight, hearing, and memory, conti¬
nued perfeft; his appetite was good } and his fenfes,
in the daytime, entire, though fometimes wandering
in the night. At to his pulfe, it was regular; it
it deviated at all from the pulfe of a perfon in health,
it was rather flow than quick, and fomewhat fuller
than natural. Such was the fituation of his patient 5
a detail of which had been given before the doilor fet
out on his journey, which he undertook with a deter¬
mined refolution to make ufe of the method recom-
, mended by Dr Silvefter, in the firft volume of Medical
Obfervations and Inquiries, publilhed in the year 1757,
(and which has been related from Dr Chalmers and Dr
Hillary.) But, on his arrival at the boufe, he found
great quantities of the extraffum thebaicum diffolved
had been already given him ; and that, for the five
laft days, he had taken no lefs than 28 grains ot that
medicine, with 50 grains of muik, in the fpace of 24
cine:
Practice.
hours, without any fenfible effea, except the bring¬
ing on a confufed fleep, out of which he frequently
awoke in great hurries, attended with a violent pain
in the head, which almoft deprived him of his fenfes.
The doftor was afraid to extend the dole •, and loon
determined to take fome other method, though at a.
lofs what method to purfue, as, during, a courfe. of
almoft 30 years practice, nothing of the lame kind
had ever fallen under his cognizance before. Refled-
inc, however, that this diforder had always been deem-
ed°of the fpafmodic kind, and that the good effeds
produced by the exlvciEium thebaic urn muft probaoly be
owing to the relaxing and refolv.ng faculty of that
medicine, he direded a blifter to be applied between
the (houlders, the whole length of the fpine $ the jaw
to be anointed with the oleum latertiium ,■ and a purge,
colififting of the tin Bur a facra, tinBura jalappa, and the
fijrupus de rhamno cathartico, to be given him. ibis
was repeated three feveral times afterwards, at the di-
ftance of three or four days between each dofe. On the
intermediate days, he was ordered the oleum fuccim^
the fetid gum, and the oleum amygdalinum. Of the
firft; he took 30 drops, of the gum 20 grains, and of
the laft four ounces, in 24 hours. By thefe means,
and thefe only, the convulhons foon ceaied j and he
grew daily better and better, till at the end of a fort¬
night he was able to walk about his room, and in lefs
than three weeks became in all relpe&ts well, lome
fmall weaknefs in the parts only excepted. 1 he jaw
was relieved firft, after that the fpine, and lait ol all
the legs. A pain and uneafinefs in the places affected,
neither of which he had felt before, were the forerun-
Tetanus.
ners of his approaching amendment.
For all this it feems reafonable to conclude, either
that there is no certain remedy lor tetanus in all cafes,
or that the medicines which prove effectual in one
conftitution will fail in another. Ihus, it is poffible,
that in cafes where opium proves ineffectual, mercury
may be a remedy 5 and, on the contrary, where mercury
fails, opium may be effeftual ; and even where both
are ineffectual, the antifpafmodics recommended by Dr
Carter may be of ufe. It is therefore neceffary for
phyficians to be extremely careful to oblerve the effects
ofthefiilt doles of their remedies: for it the fymp-
toms {how not thedeaft appearance of remiffion after a
large dofe of opium, it is improbable that it can be
cured by a repetition of the medicine ; and as no time
can be loft with fafety, it will then be proper to apply
mercurial ointment, or whatever elfe may be judged
proper.-—In the Edinburgh Medical Commentaries we
have an account of the cold bath being uied as a re¬
medy, by Dr Thomas Cochrane, at that time phyft-
cian at Nevis. The patient was an Eaft Indian
boy, who had been gored by a cow, and afterwards
expofed to a rainy damp air for fome horns. Dr
Cochrane afcribes his cure to the cold bath, which,
was applied by dafhing the water upon his body.
But as the patient at the fame time got laudanum, at
firft in the quantity of 200 drops a-day, and afterwards
in ftill larger dofes •, and had befides his throat and
fhoulders anointed with warm oil of turpentine, was
bled, and had lenient clyfters and laxatives \ it is by
no means eafy to fay what ffiare the cold bath had in
his cure. Dr Cochrane, however, fays he has heard of
fome cafes being treated luccefsfully by cold water and
cinchona
Practice. M E D I
Spafmi. cincliotia in St Euftatia and St Kitt’s, and in another
-y - ]e^er mentions his having ufed the cold bath in other
cafes of tetanus with fuccefs. But fince Dr Cochrane’s
publication, a more full and fatisfaflory account of the
benefit of this pra^lice has been communicated in a pa¬
per publilhed by Dr Wright, in the fixth volume of the
London Medical Obfervations. Dr Wright gives a
particular account of fix cafes, in which the belt effedls
were obtained from dafhing cold water upon the patient j
and he obierves, that fince he firft ufed this method of
cure he never failed in one initance to effedt a recov¬
ery, and that in a fiiorter time than by any other me¬
thod hitherto propofed. This pradlice has on fome oc-
cafions been adopted bypradlitioners in Britain, although
here the difeafe is a much lefs frequent occurrence. It
has particularly been employed with fuccefs by Dr
Currie of Liverpool ; and we hope that Hill more ex-
tenfive pradfice will confirm the benefit to be derived
from it, although not in every inftance, yet in many
cafes of this affefb'on. We are, however, forry to fay
that we have of late heard of feveral cafes in which it
has been tried in Britain, and which, notwithftanding
the ufe of it, had a fatal termination.
Very lately a different mode of cure in this affec¬
tion has been recommended by Dr Ruih, profeffor of
medicine in Philadelphia, in a paper entitled Obferva¬
tions on the Caufe and Cure of Tetanus, publifhed in
the fecond volume of the Tranfadtions of the Ameri¬
can Philofophical Society. Dr Rufh, viewing tetanus
as being a difeafe occafioned by relaxation, thinks the
medicines indicated to cure it are fuch only as are cal¬
culated to remove this relaxation, and to reftore tone
to the fyllem. On this ground he recommends the li¬
beral ufe of wine and cinchona 5 and tells us, that he has
employed them with fuccefs in adtual pradlice. When
the difeafe arifes from an wound of any particular place,
he recommends ftimulants to the part affedled ; fuch as
dilatation of the wound, and filling it with oil of tur¬
pentine. flow far this pradlice will be confirmed by
more extenfive experience, we capnot take upon us to
determine. We may only obferve, that a very con¬
trary pradlice has been recommended as highly fuccefs-
ful by fome pradlitioners in Spain, where tetanic affec¬
tions are a very frequent occurrence in confequence of
flight accidents. There gentle emollients are ftrongly
recommended, particularly immerfing the wounded part
in tepid oil for the fpace of an hour or fo at a time,
and repeating this application at fliort intervals. By
this mode many cafes, after very alarming appearances
had taken place, are faid to have been completely and
fpeedily removed. While the pradlice is very Ample,
it appears at the fame time in many refpedls very ration¬
al, and may perhaps be confidered as well deferving a
trial in the firlt inftance.
Among'other remedies employed in tetanus it has been
faid that the fpafms have fometimes been allayed by a
llrong eledlric ftiock. And in obftinate cafes eledlricity
or galvanifm certainly wrell deferve a trial.
2So Genus XLIX. TRISMUS.
The Locked ^aw.
Trifmus, Sauv. gen. 117, Lin. 124. Sag. gen. 223.
Capiftrum, Vog. 208.
CINE.
Sp. I. Trismus nascenTium.
Locked Jaw in children under two months old.
38
Convulfio.
aSi
Trifmus nafcentium, Sauv. fp. 1. Hei/Ier Comp.
Med. Pradl. cap. xv. § 10. C/eghorn on the Dif-
eafes of Minorca, Introd. p. 33. Hofer. in Adi.
Helvet. tom. i. p. 65.
This diftemper is fo clofely connedled with the teta¬
nus, that it ought rather to be accounted a fymptom of
the tetanus than a primary difeafe. And nothing need
now be added to what has been faid refpedling te¬
tanus.
Sp. II. The Trismus from Wounds or Cold.
Ttifmus traumaticus, Sauv. fp. 2. Load. Med. Obf
vol. i. art. I, 7. Vol. ii. 34. Vol. iii. 31.
Vol. iv. 7.
Angina fpafmodica, Sauv. fp. 18. Zwingeri, Adi.
Helvet. tom. in. p. 319.
Convulfio a nervi pundlura, Sauv. fp. 2.
Tiifmus catarrhalis, Sauv. Ip. 15. Hillary''s Barba-
does, 2 21. J.ond. Med. ObJ. vol. iv. 7.
The internal remedies proper in all cafes of the lock¬
ed jaw, from whatever caufe it may proceed, have been
already mentioned under Tetanus : the external treat¬
ment of w’ounded parts which may give occafion to it
belongs to the article Surgery. But of this alfo we
have offered fome obfervations under the head of Teta¬
nus ; and, indeed, trifmus may be confidered as being
merely an incipient tetanus, or rather a flight degree of
that difeafe.
Genus L. CONVULSIO.
Convulsions.
Convulfio, Sanv. gen. 128. Lin. 142. Vog. 191,
^ Sas- gen* 235. '
Convullio univerfalis, Sauv. fy. I/.
Hieranofos, Lin. 144. Vog. 190.
Convulfio habitualis, fp. 12.
Convulfio intermittens, Sauv. fp. 16.
Convulfio hemitotonos, Sauv. fp. 15.
Convultio abdominis, Sauv. Ip. 10.
Convulfio ab inanitione, Sauv. fp. 1.
Convulfio ab onanifmo, Sauv. fp. 13.
Scelotyrbe feftinans, Sauv. fp. 2.
Defcription. When convulfions attack only particu¬
lar parts of the body, they are generally attended with
fome kind of paralyfis at the fame time, by which
means the affedled parts are alternately convulfed and
relaxed ; a permanent convulfion, or unnatural contrac¬
tion of particular mufcles, is called a fpafm or cramp.
Thefe partial convulfions may attack almoft any part of
the body ; and are not unfrequently fymptomatic, in
fevers, the cholera morbus, &c. The involuntary
ftartings of the tendons, the picking of the bedclothes,
&c. in acute difeafes, are all of them convulfive difor-
ders. Convulfions, even when moil generally extend¬
ed, differ from epilepfy in not being attended with any
mental affe&ion or abolition of fenfe, and not followed
by the fame torpid ftate.
Caufes. Convulfions, not only of particular parts,
but alfo over the whole body, often take place from
caufes not very evident. Sometimes they feem to de-
3 C 2 pend
'•‘4
M E D I
pend on a certain delicacy or irritability of the nervous
fyltem, which is framed with fuch exquifite fenlibility
as to be ttrongly alfecled by the flighted caufes. De¬
licate women are often fubjed to hyiterical convul-
lions, and alfo hypochondriac people. Convulfions,
however, often take their rife from wounds, irritations
of the flomach and inteftines by worms, poifons, violent
cathartics and emetics, &c. ; and very often they are
fymptomatic, as in dentition, the fmallpox, and many
kinds of fevers.
Prognofis. Except in fome few cafes, convulfive dif-
orders are alwaystobe dreaded ; but lefs in young peo¬
ple than in fuch as are advanced in life. Thofe which
attack girls under the age of puberty, will generally
ceafe on the appearance of the menfes •, and boys have
likewife a chance of being relieved as they advance in
life : but in grown-up people, uplefs the cauf’e be very
evident, a cure is hardly to be expe&ed, efpecially af¬
ter the difeafe has been of long continuance.
Cure. The treatment is very much the fame with
that of epilepfy, afterwards to be confidered : but a re¬
covery is moft frequently obtained by the removal of
the exilling caufe.
Genus LI. CHOREA.
St Vitus's Dance.
Scelotyrbe, Sauv. gen. 136. Sag. 243.
Chorea, Lin. 139.
Scelotyrbe chorea Viti, Sauv. fp. 1.
Chorea St Viti, Sydenh. SchtA. Monit..
Defcription. This difeafe (hows itfelf firft by a kind
or lamenefs or inftability of one of the legs, which
the patients draw after them in a ridiculous manner :
nor can they hold the arm of the fame fide ftill for a
moment; for if they lay it on their bread, or any
Other part of their body, it is immediately forced away
by a convulfive motion. If they be defirous of drink¬
ing, they ufe a number of odd gefticulations before
they can bring the cup to their mouths, becaufe their
arms are drawn this way and that by the convulfions
w hich affedd them.
Caufes, &c. The general caufe of St Vitus’s dance
is a debility of the fydem ; and hence, we find it at¬
tacks only weakly boys, and more efpecially girls,
when under the age of puberty. But the particular
caufes determining the mufcles to be affeded in fuch
and fuch a manner are entirely unknown.
Prognofis. As this diforder fcarce ever attacks any
perfons but fuch as are under the age of puberty, there
is almoft a certain profpeid of its being then cured
though generally the diforder is eafily removed before
that time.
Choiea, however, in fome inftances, proves an ob-
flinate affe£lion 5 but is hardly in any infiance attended
with danger.
Cure. It has hitherto been almoft univerfally the
common pradice to treat this difeafe with antifpafmo-
dics and tonics, particularly opium, hyofciamus, vale¬
rian, cinchona, preparations of iron, zinc, and copper
and cold bathing ; and under the ufe of thefe the dif¬
eafe has, in general, been removed. But Dr James
Hamilton fenior phyfician to the Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh, m a treatife which he has lately publilhed
C I N «E. Pradice,
on the ufe of purgative medicines, has recommended a Kaphama-
very different practice in this difeafe, the ufe, viz. of --v—
brilk cathartics : thefe he advifes to be repeated daily
for fome time. The great object, however, whicji he
has in view, is not to evacuate from the fyltem, but to
produce a thorough and complete evacuation of the in-
teftinal canal. He finds, that by the firfi: dofes, large
quantities of black-coloured matter are difcharged j
and he recommends that the ufe of the purgatives
ffiould be perfified in till the ftools affume a natural ap¬
pearance. In confirmation of the utility of this prac¬
tice, he has related feveral cafes in which it produced
a fpeedy and complete cure 5 and equal fuccefs has at¬
tended this practice when dire&ed by feveral others.
There can therefore be no hefitation in recommending
it at leaf! in every obflinate infiance of choiea.
Genus LIE RAPHANIA.
Raphania, Lin. 155. Vog. 143. Lin. Amoen. Acad,
vol. vi.
Convullio raphania, Sauv. fp. 7.
Eclampiia typhodes, Sauv. fp. 1. Sennert. de febr.
1. iv. cap. 16. Gregor. Horjl. Oper. torn. li. 1. viii.
obf. 22. Brunner in Ephem. Germ. D. iii. A. it.
obf. 224. Willifck. ibid. cent. vii. obf. 13. IVeffer,
de Affeft. Gapitis, obf. 120. Breflauer Sanim-
lung 1717, Julio, Septembri, et Decembr, Ibid.
1723, Januar. A. N. C. vol. vii. obi. 41. Bruch*
mann. Comb. Norimb. 1743, p. 50.
Defcriptwn. According to Sauvages, this diftemper
begins with a laffitude of the limbs, tranfient colds and
fhiverings, pain of the head, and anxieties of the prae-
cordia. Then come on ipafmodic ftartings of the fin¬
gers and feet j alfo of the tendons and mufcles, conr
fpicuous below the fkin. The difeale is attended with
heat, fever, delirium, ftupor, conftri6Hon of the breafi,
fuffocating dyfpncea, lofs of voice, horrid convulfions
of the limbs, preceded by a formication, or fenfation as
of ants or other im'all inledts creeping on the parts.
In this ftate of the difeafe, the convulfive paroxyfms
are attended with moft violent pains in the limbs, vo¬
miting, or diarrhoea, with the pafting of worms, thirft,
and in young people an unnatural hunger. It conti¬
nues from ten days to three months. About the ele¬
venth or twentieth day, fome are relieved by copious
fweats, or purple exanthemata : while others fall into
a tabes, with flupor, or ftiffnefs of the joints.
Caufes, &c. This difeafe is frequently epidemic in
Suabia and other parts of Germany ; w'here it is faid
to be produced by feeds of radiihes, wdiich are often
mixed with rye in that country 5 and from this fup-
pofed caule the difeafe takes its name. It is alfo,
however, a very common opinion, that this difeafe de¬
pends on the rye ufed in diet being of a bad quality*
and particularly containing a large proportion of wha.t
is called fpurred rye.
Cure. In this affeflion, the cure, as far as it has
yet been difeovered, is very much the fame writh that
of epilepfy, the dileafe next to be confidered. But
from what has been faid of the advantages deri¬
ved from the ule of purgatives in chorea, analogy
would lead us to make a trial of them alfo in cafes of
raphania..
Genus.
)
Practice,
Spafmi.
M E D I
Genus LIII. EPILEPSIA.
Falling sickness.
Epilepfia, Sauv. gen. 134. Lin. 143. Vog. 188.
Sag. gen. 24. Boer/i. 1071. Ho{fm.\\\.q. yunck.
54-
Eclampfia, Sauv. gen. 133. 180. Sag. gen. 240.
‘i\"j Sp. I. The Cerebralis, or Epilepfif depending on an
affeftion of the Brain.
Epilepfia plethorica, Sauv. fp. 1.
Eclampfia plethorica. Sauv. fp. 7*
Epilepfia cache£lica, Sauv. fp. 2.
288 Sp. II. The Simpathica, or Sympathetic Epilepfy, with
a fenfation of fomething riling from a certain part o£-
the body towards the head.
Epilepfia fympathica, Sauv. fp. 8.
Epilepfia pedifymptomatica, Sauv. fp. 6.
Sp. III. The Occasionalis, or Epilepfy arifing from
^ various irritating caufes.
Epilepfia traumatica, Sauv. fp. 13.
Eclamplia traumatica, Sauv. fp. 9.
Epilepfia a dolore, Sauv. fp. xo.
Epilepfia rachialgica, Sauv. fp. 14.
Eclampfia a doloribus, Sauv. fp. 4.
a, Rachialgica.
b, Ab otalgia.
c, A dentitione.
Eclampfia parturientium, Sauv. fp. 3.
Eclampfia verminofa, Sauv. fp. 2.
Eclampfia ab atropa, Sauv. fp. 11.
Eclampfia ab oenanthe, Sauv. fp. 12.
Eclampfia h cicuta, Sauv. fp. 13.
Eclampfia h coriaria, Sauv. fp. 14.
Epilepfia exanthematica, Sauv. fp. II.
Epilepfia cacheftica, Sauv. fp. 2.
Epilepfia llomachica, Sauv. fp. 3.
Eclampfia a faburra, Sauv. fp. 5.
Epilepfia a pathemate, Sauv. fp. 7. •
Eclampfia ab inanitione, Sauv. fp. 8.
Epilepfia neophytorum, Sauv. fp. 15. ■
Defcription. The epilepfy often attacks fuddenly,
and without giving any warning : but more frequently
is preceded by a pain in the head, laflitude, fome di-
fturbance of the fenfes, unquiet fleep, unufual dread,
dimnefs of fight, a noife in the ears, palpitation of the
heart, coldnefs of the joints •, and in iome there is a
fenfation of formication, or a cold air, &c. afcending
from the lower extremities towards the head. In the
fit, the perfons fall fuddenly to the ground (whence the
name of the falling-ficknefs'), frequently with a violent
cry. The thumbs ar-e Ihut up clofe- in the palms of
the hands, and are with difficulty taken out; the eyes
are diftorted, fo that nothing but the whites are to be
feen ; all fenfation is fufpended, infomuch, that by no
fmell, noife, or otberwufe, nor even by pinching the
body, can they be brought to themfelves •, they foam
^at the mouth, with a hilling kind of noife ; the tongue
is frequently lacerated by the teeth, and there is a vio¬
lent eonvulfive motion of the arms and legs. Some-
c 1 N e; 389
times, however, the limbs, inftead of being agitated by Epilepfia.
convulfive motions, are all iliff, and the patients are' " v'’
as immoveable as a ilatue. in children, the penis is
erefted j and in young men there is an emiffion of the
femen, and the urine is often thrown out to a confi-
derable dillance. At length there is a remilfion of
the fymptoms, and the patients recover after a longer
or ffiorter interval j wffien they complain of a pain, tor¬
por, or heavinefs of the head, with, a laffiitude of all
the joints.
Caufes, &c. The diffe&ion of epileptic fubjecls has
ffiown a variety of morbid appearances, which may be
fuppofed to have. contributed to the difeafe ; fuch as,
indurations in the brain or meninges ^ caries of the in¬
ternal furface of the cranium ‘7 projedlions of the bony
fubftance of the fame, preffing upon the brain y collec¬
tions of ferum or purulent matter, and earthy concre¬
tions within the Ikull ; befides many others which are
recorded by Bonetus, Morgagni, and Lieutaud. But
often the caufes are impoffible to be difeovered y for
even in thofe who have died of the difeafe, the brain
and all other parts of the nervous fyftem have been ap ¬
parently found. The difeafe will attack flrong as well
as weak people ; and in thofe who are fubjedl to it,
any confiderable excefs in drinking, a furfeit, violent
paffion, or venery, &c. will certainly bring on a fit.
Some have epileptic paroxyfms returning periodically
after confiderable intervals y and the difeafe has been
thought to have fome dependence on the phafes of the .
moon.
Prognofs. If the epilepfy comes-on before the time^~
of puberty, there are lome hopes of its going off at
that time. But it is a bad fign when it attacks about
the 21 ft year, and ftill worfe if the fits grow more fre¬
quent ; for then the animal fundlions are often deftroy-
ed, as w'ell as thofe of the mind, and the patient be¬
comes ftupid and foolilh. Sometimes it will terminate
in melancholy or madnels, and fometimes in a mortal
apoplexy or pally. It has fometimes, however, been
obferved, that epilepfies have been removed by the ap¬
pearance of cutaneous dileafes, as the itch, finallpox,
meafles, &c. While the difeafe is recent, therefore,
we are not to defpair of a cure y but if it be of long
Handing, or hereditary, there is very little realon to ex-
pe£l that it can be removed.
Cure. From the fymptoms occurring in epilepfy,
which confifts of involuntary convulfive motions, and
an affection of the mental powers, there is reafon to
conclude that the fit immediately depends on the in-
duhfion of fome peculiar adlion of the brain y but that
convulfions may enfue from this caufe, it would feem
neceffary that there Ihould alfo occur a peculiar dif-
pofition to adlion in the moving fibres. On this
ground, then, we may fuppofe the cure to be chiefly
expected on one of tw'O principles y either by our be- .
ing able to prevent the peculiar a&ion of the brain,
or to remove the difpofition to a£tion in the moving
fibres. The firft is chiefly to be accompliffied by the
removal of irritating caufes, by preventing their influ¬
ence from being propagated to the brain, when they
are applied to remote parts ; or by counteradfing their
influence, from inducing in the brain a ftate of adlion
difterent from that to which they give rife. The fe- .
cond end is chiefly to be obtained by diminilhing
the mobility of the nervous energy, and by ftrength-
rM E D I
cning the tone of the moving fibres. It mufi, how¬
ever be allowed, that in all convulfive diforders, ex-
ce< dug thofe which are cured by nature about the
time of puberty, the cure by artificial means is very
difficult. Numberlefs foecifics have been recommend¬
ed, but all of them have failed of anfwering the ex-
peftation. When the caufe can be difeovered, that
muft be removed. In other cafes, the cold bath, va¬
lerian root, caflor, mulk, opium, the fetid gums, cin¬
chona, with the whole tribe of nervous and antifpafmo-
dic medicines, have been recommended : but none of
tbefe, or indeed any combination of them, have been
found generally ufeful j though the (lighter, or fympto-
matic cafes, may often be removed by them.
Of late the calx or oxide, improperly called the
Jlowers, of zinc, have obtained (uch reputation in con-
vuliive diforders as to be received into the Edinburgh
Pharmacopoeia under the title of oxidum %inci. They
were propofed by Dr Gaubius as an antifpafmodic, in his
Adverfaria ; and their efficacy has fince been confirmed
by various obfervations. In an inaugural differtation
publiffied by Dr Hart at Leyden, the medical virtues
of the flowers of zinc are confidered. He obferves,
that they have long been ufed externally, chiefly for in¬
flammations of the eyes from acrid lymph. Glauber
firft propofed the internal ufe of them j and Gaubius
difeovered them to be the remedy of a celebrated
empiric Luddemannus, which he ftyled his luna Jixata.
After this he exhibited them with fuccefs in convulfive
and fpafmodic difeafes. Dr Hart fuppofes, that they
aft either as abforbents, or as pofiefihjg a fpecific vir¬
tue : but is a ftrong advocate for their efficacy, on
whatever principles they may operate ; and, in favour
of his opinion, relates feven cafes in which they proved
fuccefsful. A girl of 17 years of age was feized with a
(light chorea from a flight; and when the difeafe had
continued fix days, (he began to take the (lowers of
zinc, by which her diforder was removed in lefs than
three weeks. Her cure required only 16 grains of the
zinc. In a few months the complaints returned, from
the fame caufe ; and were removed by four grains of
the medicine divided into ten dofes. A boy of about
four years old, labouring under a real epilepfy, fufpeft-
ed to be hereditary, was cured by a grain of the flowers
of zinc taken every day for fome time.—A man 50
years old, thrown into convulfions from a violent paf-
fion, was cured by a grain of the calx taken every two
hours. The difeafe had gone off upon venefeftion and
the ufe of fome other remedies j but returned again in
two weeks, when it was finally removed by the zinc.
The two laft cafes are related from Dr Gaubius, who
affirms that he has ufed the flowers of zinc in cafes of
the chincough, hyfteric hiccough, and fpafmus cynicus ;
that they frequently did more than other medicines, but
w'ere by no means fuccefsful in every cafe. The other
cures mentioned by Dr Hart are fimilar to thofe above
mentioned. But it does not appear that he ever faw a
confirmed epilepfy cured by this medicine.
In the firft volume of the Edinburgh Medical Com¬
mentaries, we have an account by Mr Benjamin Bell,
of a man nfflifted wdth a confirmed epilepfy, who w-as
confiderably relieved by the floivers of zinc.
In a young man labouring under the epilepfy, in
whom the fits were preceded by an aura epi/eptica, or
4
39°
Spa firs!.
CINE.
Pradice.
fenfation like air arifing from the infide of the knee- Epilepfia.
joint, the difeafe w'as alfo relieved, but not cured. ' ’ v
Dr Percival relates fome cafes of epilepfy which feem
to have been cured by the flowers of zinc j and in other
cafes, where the difeale vjas not entirely removed by it,
the fpafms were neverthelefs much mitigated. He did
not obferve that it promoted any evacuation ; excepting
that in fome, upon being firft taken, it occafioned a
little ficknefs, which went off with a ftool. He adds,
that thofe apothecaries who do not prepare this medi¬
cine themfelves, are in great danger of being impofed
upon, as it is (cmft’mes a mere corrofion of the zinc by
an acid, and even imperfeftly wra(hed.
The good effefts of the oxide of zinc as an antifpaf¬
modic are alfo attefted by Dr Haygarth of Cbefter and r
Dr White of York. The former gives a tell: of their ^
goodnefs which may be of ufe to thofe who do not
prepare them, namely, that the true flowers of zinc,
when ftrongly heated, become yellow, but reaffume
their white colour on being allowed to cool. The lat¬
ter gives a cafe of hieranofos, or ((range convulfions of
almoft all the mufcles of the body, cured by zinc, af¬
ter a number of other remedies had failed. But, al¬
though from thefe and other refptftable authorities,
there can be no doubt that zinc has often been fuccefs¬
ful in epilepfy *, yet it is equally certain, that in many
others it has had a fair trial, without producing any
benefit.
In Dr Home’s clinical experiments and hiftories, al¬
fo, oxide of zinc is mentioned as having been found fer-
viceable upon trial in the Royal Infirmary of Edin¬
burgh. Of the other principal remedies which have
been recommended for the epilepfy and other convul¬
five diforders allied to it, we have the following ac¬
count by the lame author.
1. The cold-bath was tried in one who had a convul¬
five diforder of one fide, but the fymptoms were ren¬
dered much wrorfe by it.
2. VenefeBion. Not to be depended on in convul¬
fions.
3. EleBricity. In two convulfive cafes was of no
fervice.
4. Epifpajlics. Do not feem to be powerful antifpaf-
modics.
5. Valerian. In nine convulfive cafes, for which
this remedy has been reckoned almoft a fpecific, it not
only made no cure, but could fcarcely be reckoned to
do any good. Dr Home fuppofes that it afts as a bit¬
ter tonic, fomething like the ferpentaria Virgini-
ana. Though much ufed at prefem, he tells us it has
always appeared to him a w7eak, often a hurtful, me¬
dicine.
6. Mufk. Six convulfive patients treated w7ith large
dofes of this remedy, were neither cured nor in the leaft:
relieved.
7. Cajlor feems to be umvorthy of the confidence
formerly put in it. It is indeed poiTeffed of a fedative
power, and therefore may be ufeful in fpafmodic fe-
reriffi cafes.
8. /Ifafcctida has confiderable antifpafmodic powers,
but is not always fuccefsful. It heats and quickens the
pulfe j and is therefore improper in cafes attended
wdth inflammation. It difagrees with fome from a pe¬
culiarity of coniiitution j exciting pain in the ftomach,
and
Practice.
M E D I
and vomiting : but this can be known only after the ex¬
hibition of the medicine.
9. Cinchona. Of feven fpafmodic cafes, lix were ei¬
ther cured or mitigated. An epilepfy of eight years
Handing was very much relieved by taking the bark for
a month, and one of two years Handing by taking it
for ten clays. But the medicine is of a heating nature,
and therefore is not to be employed in cafes attended
with inflammatory fymptoms.
10. Peony roi! was given to two epileptic patients
without the lead fuccefs.
11. Vtfcus oaercinus, or mifletoe, was given in the
quantity of two fcruples five times a-day to an epileptic
patient, without fuccefs.
12. ExtraSlum hyofciami was given to an epileptic
patient, to one afflicted with the hemitotonos, and to
one who laboured under the hyfleric affection, without
the leaft good effect.
13. Folia aurantiorum were exhibited with the like
bad fuccefs. Five drams of the powdered leaves
were taken at once without any feniible effebt.
14. Ccrclamine pratenjis, in three epileptic cafes, was
not attended with any fuccefs.
15. Opium did no good.
16. Ammpniaretum cupri made no cure in four cafes
of epilepfy in which it wTas tried.
That in many cafes all thefe remedies have been em¬
ployed without fuccefs, is not to be denied : and in¬
deed it may with confidence be afferted, that a great
majority of cafes of epilepfy are incurable by any re¬
medy that has yet been dilcovered. At the lame time,
as there is incontrovertible evidence that fiome of them
have fucceeded at leafl in certain cafes, the more power¬
ful may always be confidered as deferving a fair trial.
The ammoniaretum cupri, in particular, feems well en¬
titled to the attention of praftitioners ; for though it be
a medicine of great a&ivity, yet under prudent admini-
ffrat ion it may be employed even with very young fub-
jebts without any hazard j and in feveral inveterate
cafes, which had obflinately refifled other medicines, it
has brought about a complete recovery.
Genus LIV. PALPITATIO.
Palpitation of the Httir.
Palpitatio, Sauv. gen. 130. Lin. 132. Vog. 213.
Sag. 237. ttoffm. III. 83. Junck. 33.
The palpitation of the heart is fometimes fo violent,
that it may be heard at a conliderable diHance. It may
proceed from a bad conformation of the heart itfelf, or
lome of the large veffels. It may alio be occalioned by
wounds or abfeeffes in the heart *, or it may proceed
from polypous concretions or oflifications of that vilcus,
or from plethora, fear, or fpafmodic affections of the
nervous fyflem. When it proceeds from difeafes of the
heart or large veffels, it is abfolutely incurable. In
fpafmodic cafes, the remedies above related may be
ufed. If the patient be plethoric, bleeding will proba¬
bly remove the diforder, at leait for the prefent.
Genus LV. ASTHMA.
Aflhma, Sauv. gen. 145. Lin. i6r. Vog. 268.
Sag, gen. 282.
CINE. 391
Aflhma convullivum, et fpafmodico-flatulentum, Althma
Ho fin. III. 94.  v—
Aflhma fpaflicum, Junck. tab. 51.
Sp. I. Spontaneous Asthma.
Aflhma humidum, Sauv. fp. 1. Flatulentum, Floyer
on the Aflhma, chap. i.
Aflhma convulfivum, Sauv. fp. 2. Willis Pharm.
rat. P. II. fedt. i. cap. 1 2.
Aflhma hyflericurn, Sauv. fp. 3. Floyer on the
Aflhma, chap. i.
Afthma Homachicum, Sauv. fp. 8. Floyer, Scheme
of the fpecies of Aflhma. Periodic Afthma, 6.
Orthopnoea fpafmodica, Sauv. fp. 3.
Orthopnoea hyfterica, Sauv. fp. 4.
Sp. II. The Exanthematic Asthma.
Afthma exanthematicum, Sauv. fp. n.
Aflhma cachedticum, Sauv. fp. 13.
Sp. III. The Plethoric Asthma.
Afthma plethoricum, Sauv. fp. 15.
The afthma is a chronic difeafe, which imy continue
to give very great diflrels, at intervals, for a conlider-
able number of years. Sir John Fioyer, when he wr e
his celebrated treatile, had laboured under repeat .-u pa-
roxyfms for thirty years.
The common diltindtion is into humid and dry ; die
former is accompanied with an «xpedloration ot mucus
or purulent matter, but the latter is not. in the ge¬
nuine humoral aflhma, the patients are obliged to lean
forward ; the infpiration is fhort and fpalmodic j a id
the expiration very flow.
Afthmatic perfons have generally fome warning of
the attack, from a languor, lois of appetite, opprei-
fion, and fwelling of the domach from flatulence,
which precede the fit } but it is uiu-illy in the middle
of the night that the violent difficulty of breathing
comes on.
The duration of the paroxyfra is uncertain, as it will
fometimes terminate in three or four hours, while at
other times it will continue for as many days j nay,
it has been known to laft three weeks without inter-
miflion. While it fubiifts, the patient is in very great
diltrefs, not being able to lie in bed, nor fcarcely to
fpeak or expedtorate, fo great is the difficulty of
breathing j and yet, notwithftanding all this apparent
interruption to the free paffage of the blood through
the lungs, an inflammation here feldom or never lu-
pervenes a fit of the aflhma. As the paroxyfm wears
off, and the breathing becomes free, there is more or
lefs of an expedforation of mucus j and the urine,
from being pale and limpid, becomes high coloured,
and lets fall a copious fediment.
In order to obtain relief in the fit, we mull lome-
times bleed, unlefs extreme weaknefs or old age thould
forbid, and repeat it according to the degrees ot
Hrength and fulnefs: a purging clyfter, with a foiu-
tion of afafoetida, muft be immediately injedfed •, and
if the violence of the fymptoms fhould not fpeedily a-
bate, it will be proper to apply a bliftering plaiter to
the neck or breaft.
In the height of the paroxyfm, an emetic might be
followed'
392
M E D I
follotf ed by dargerous fymptoms, as it would increafe
the accumulation of blood in the veffets of the head;
but vomiting will often prevent a fit of the afthma, ef-
pecially if the ilcmach (liould chance to be loaded with
any fort of faburra. A very ftrong infufion of roalted
coffee has been found to give eafe in au allhmatic pa-
roxyfm.
Sir John Pringle fays it is the beft abater of the pa-
roxyfms of the periodic affhma that he has feen. ffhe
coffee ought to be of the beft Mocco, newdy burnt, and
made very ftrong immediately after grinding it. He
commonly ordered an ounce for one difli ; w’hich is to
be repeated frelh after the interval of a quarter or half
an hour •, and which is to be taken without milk or fu-
gar. The medicine in general is mentioned by Muf-
grave in his treatife de Arthritide anoma/a; but he firft
heard of it from a phyfician in Litchfield, who had
been informed by the old people of that place, that Sir
John Floyer, during the latter part of his life, kept free
from, or at leaft lived eafy under, his aftbma, from the
ufe of very ftrong coffee. This difcovery, it feems, he
made after the publication of his book upon that dif-
eafe. Dr Percival fays he has frequently directed cof¬
fee in the afthma with great fuccefs.
In the intervals of the fit, perfons fubieiEl to the afth¬
ma, efpecially the humid fpecies, ftiould take emetics
from time to time. An infufion of tobacco is an eme¬
tic that has been faid to be very ferviceable in fome
afthmatic cafes \ but its operation is both fo diftrefling
and fo dangerous, that it will never probably be intro¬
duced into common ufe as an emetic. Smoking ol*
chewing the fame has been known to prevent the fre¬
quency and feverity of the paroxyfms. Afthmatic pa¬
tients may alfo ufe the lac ammoniaci, with a due pro¬
portion of oxymel fcilliticum and vinum antimornale,
with a view to promote expe&oration j or the gum am¬
moniac, and others of fimilar virtues, may be formed
into pills, and combined with foap, as mentioned for
the dyfpncea pituitofa j or a mafs may be compofed of
afafcetida and balfam of Tolu, with fyrup of garlic ;
and thefe pills may be walked down by a medicated
wine, impregnated with fquills, horfe-radilh root, and
muftard feed j or a ftrong bitter infufion, with a little
antimonial wine.
In fome cafes crude mercury will be found fervice¬
able •, in others flowers of fulphur, made into an elec¬
tuary with honey or fyrup of garlic ; and if, notwith-
flanding the ufe of thefe things, a coftive habit Ihould
prevail, it will be neceffary, from time to time, to give
a few grains of pills of aloes and myrrh, foap and
aloes, or a mafs of equal parts of rhubarb, fcammony,
and foap.
The dnj or fpaftnodic aft lima, during the extreme
violence of the fit, is beft relieved by opiates; and
fometimes very large dofes are required. But in order
to obtain permanent relief, nothing is found to anfwer
better than ipecacuanha in fmall dofes. Three, five,
eight, or ten grains, according to the ftrength and con-
ftitution of the patient, given every other day, have
been produ£live of the happieft effefts ; acting fome¬
times as an evacuant, pumping up the vifcid phlegm ;
at others, as an antifpafmodic or fedative. Iffues are
generally recommended in both fpecies, and will often
found ufeful.
Changes of w’eather are ufually felt very fenfijiy by
CINE.
Pra&ice.
afthmatic people, who in general cannot live with to- Dyipncea.
lerable eafe in the atmofphere of large cities ; though ' y-™-
we lhall fometimes meet with patients wrho agree bet¬
ter with this air, which is fo replete with grofs efflu¬
via of various kinds, than with the pureft that can be
found in country fituations. And fome are found who
breathe with the moft eafe in a crowded room, with a
fire and candles.
A light diet of meats that are eafy of digeftion, and
not flatulent, is requifite for afthmatic people j and the
exercife of riding is often highly ferviceable.
When the afthma is found to depend on fome other
difeafe, whether it be the gout or an intermittent fe¬
ver, or when it proceeds from the ftriking in of fome
cutaneous eruption, regard muft always be had to the
primary difeafe : thus, in the ajlhma arthnticwn, fina-
pifms to the feet, or bliftering, will be abfolutely ne¬
ceffary, in order, if poffible, to bring on a fit of the
gout. And when the dregs of an ague give rife to an
afthma, which is termed febriculofum, and invades at
regular intervals, we muft have recourfe to the Peru¬
vian bark. The ajlhma exanthematicum wdll require
blifters or iffues, to give vent to the acrid matters
which were repelled from the furface of the body ; and
courfes of fulphureous waters, goats whey, and fweet-
ening diet drinks, or perhaps mercurial alteratives, in
order to correct the fharpnefs of the juices.
Genus LVI. DYSPNCEA.
Habitual Dirncunr of Breathing.
Dyfpnoea, Sauv. gen. 144. Lin. 160. Vog. 267.
Sag. 251. Junck. 32.
Sp. I. The Catarrhal Dystnoea.
Afthma catarrhale, Sauv. fp. 16.
Afthma pneumonicum, Willis Pharm. rat. P. II.
fe£l. i. cap. 12.
Afthma pituitofum, Hofftm. III. fe<ft. xi. cap. 2. § 3.
Afthma pneumodes, Sauv. Ip. 17.
This is readily known by the fymptoms of pneumo¬
nia and catarrh attending it, and to the removal of
thefe fymptoms the care of the phyfician muft be prin¬
cipally diredted.
Sp. II. The Dry Dyspnoea.
Dyfpnoea a tuberculis, a hydatibus, See. Sauv. fp. 2,
5> 20.
Orthopi.oea a lipomate, Sauv. fp. 18.
This is generally accompanied with a phthifis pul-
monalis ; but Sauvages mentions one fpecies of phthifis
to which the dry dyfpnoea feems more particularly to
belong. The patients fall away by degrees, and have
a great difficulty of breathing, continual thirft, and lit¬
tle or no fpitting. When opened after death, their
lungs are found not to be ulcerated, but fflrivelled and
contradled as if they had been fmoke-dried. Goldfmiths
and chemifts are faid to be fubjedl to this difeafe by
reafon of the vapours they draw in with their breath.
Sauvages doth not mention any particular remedy.
Shortnefs of breath arifing from tubercles, as they are
termed, or a feirrhous enlargement of the lymphatic
glands which are difperfed through the lungs, is com-
I monly
Practice.
M E D I
Spafmi.
monly found in fcrophulous habits, and may be diftin-
guifbed by the concomitancy of thofe external IWellings
and appearances Which particularly mark the fcrophula.
This fpecies of dyfpnoea generally ends in a phthifis.
Courfes of goats whey, and of fea water, have been
known to do fervice ; but it muft be confeffed, that a
perfect cure is feldom obtained. liTues are of ufe in
thefe cafes, as they appear to prevent the ill effedts of
over fulnefs, if it ihould happen at any time to fuper-
vene.
Sp. III. Dyspnoea from Changes in the Weather.
(Sauv. fp. i 2.)
This feems to be a difeafe entirely fpafmodic, and
the antifpafmodics already related are accordingly indi¬
cated.
Sp. IV. The Dyspnoea from Earthy Subjlances formed
in the Lungs.
Sauvages mentions this difeafe as much more com¬
mon in brutes than in the human race : but Dr Cullen
mentions his having feen fome inftances of it •, and we
have feveral accounts by different authors of calculous
matters being' coughed up by people labouring under a
dyfpnoea, and threatened with confumption. In three
cafes of this kind which fell under Dr Cullen’s infpec-
tion, there was no appearance of earthy or ftony con¬
cretions in any other part of the body. The calcareous
matter was coughed up frequently with a little blood,
fbmetimes with mucus only, and fometimes with pus.
In one of thefe cafes, an exquilite phthifis came on, and
proved mortal : in the other twro the fymptoms of phthi¬
fis were never fully formed •, and after fome time, mere¬
ly by a milk diet and avoiding irritation, the patients
entirely recovered.
Sauvages alfo greatly recommends milk in thefe
cafes, and foap for diffolving the concretions. The
reafon why brutes are more lubjecl to thefe pulmona¬
ry calculi than mankind, is, that they very feldom
cough, and thus the flagnating mucus or lymph con¬
cretes into a kind of gypfeous matter.
Sp. V. The Watery Dyspnoea.
Dyfpnoea pituitofa, Sauv. fp. I.
Orthopnoea ab hydropneumonia, Sauv. fp. 12.
This may arife from too great a defluxion of mucus
on the lungs, or from an effufion of ferum, as is men¬
tioned under the pneumonia. The treatment of the
difeafe may be gathered from what has been already
faid under the heads of Pneumonia, Catarrh, Empye¬
ma, &c.
Sp. VI. The Dyspnoea from Corpulency.
Orthopnrea a pinguedine, Sauv. fp. 6.
There have been many inftances of fuffecation and
death occafioned by too great corpulency. Thefe fa¬
tal effedls, however, may be almoft always avoided, if
the perfons have relolution to perfift in an adlive and
very temperate courfe of life ; avoiding animal food,
much fleep, and ufing a great deal of exercife. In the
third volume of the Medical Oblervations, however,
there is an extraordinary inftance of internal obefity
Vol. XIII. Part I.
C I N E. 393
which neither Ihowed itfelf externally, nor could be Pertufiis.
removed by any medicines. "
Other fpecies of dyfpnoea have been confidered un¬
der Phthisis. It is frequently fymptomatic of difeafes
of the heart and large veffels, or fwellings of the abdo¬
men, &c.
Genus LVII. PERTUSSIS.
Chincovgh.
Pertuflis, Sydenham, Ed. Leid. p. 200, 311, 312.
Huxham de acre, ad ann. 1732.
Tuffis convulfiva, five ferina, Hoffm. III. ill.
Tuflis ferina, Sauv. fp. 10. Sag. fp. 10.
Tuliis convulfiva, Sauv. fp. 11. Sag. fp. xi.
Amphimerina tufficulofa, Sauv. fp. 13.
Defcription. This difeafe comes on at firft like a
common cold ; but is from the beginning attended with
a greater degree of dyfpnoea than is common in ca¬
tarrh , and there is a remarkable affeclion of the eyes,
as if they were fwelled, and a little puflied out of their
fockets. By degrees the fits of coughing become
longer and more violent, till at laft they are plainly
convulfive, fo that for a confiderable time the patient
cannot refpire, and when at laft he recovers his breath,
infpiration is performed with a Ihrill kind of noife like
the crowing of a cock. This kind of infpiration.
ferves only as an introdudlion to another convulfive fit
of coughing, which is in like manner followed by an¬
other infpiration of the fame kind ; and thus it conti¬
nues for fome time, very often till the patient vomit,
which puts an end to the paroxyfm at that time.
Thefe paroxyfms are attended with a violent determi¬
nation of the blood towards the head, fo that the vef¬
fels beconae extremely turgid, and blood not unfre-
quently flow's from the mouth and nofe. The difeafe
is tedious, and often continues for many months. It is
not commonly attended with fever, unlefs at the com¬
mencement.
Caufes, &c. The chincough is an infeflious difor-
der, and very often epidemic : but the nature of the
contagion is not underftood 5 at leaft it is no farther un-
derftood than that of fmallpox, meafles, or fimilar epi¬
demics. We well know' that it is from a peculiar and
fpecific contagion alone that this difeafe, as wTell as the
others above-mentioned, can arife. But with regard to
the nature of any of them, we are totally in the dark.
It generally attacks children, or adults of a lax habit,
making its attack frequently in the fpring or autumn ;
at the lame time, when this contagion is introduced in¬
to any towm, village, or neighbourhood, it will rage epi¬
demically at any feafon. Thofe alone are affedted with
this dileafe who had never before been fubjedled to it.
For in this affeclion, as well as in fmallpox, having had
the difeafe once, gives defence againft future contagion. •
Every individual, how'ever, does not feem to be equally
readily affedfed wdth this contagion 5 like other con¬
tagious difeafes occurring only once in a lifetime, it
may naturally be expedled to be more frequent among
children than at any other period of life. But many,
though frequently expofed to contagion,-' are yet not
affedled with tha difeafe : and thofe children who live
upon unwholefome watery food, or breathe unwhole-
fome air, are moft liable to its attacks, or at leatt fulfer
3 -D moft
394
Spafmi.
M E I) I
mod from them* In general it has been concludes,
that whatever wreakens the folids, or tends to bring on
a diablution of the fluids, predifpofes to this difeafe, and
increafes its feverity.
Prognojis. The chincough is not _ very often fatal.
During one epidemic, however, it is often obferved
to be much more dangerous and more feveie than cu¬
ring another. This is alfo remarked with regard even
to particular periods of the fame epidemic j and it is
alio obferved, that on certain families this cuieafe is
much more fevere than on others. Its danger, how¬
ever, is dill more conne&ed with the period of life
at which it occurs. In children under two years, of
age it is mod dangerous 5 and kills them by producing
convullions, fuflocation, inflammation, and fuppu.a-
tion of the brain or in the lungs, ruptures,, and . incur¬
vation of the fpine. In pregnant women it will pro¬
duce abortion } and in adults inflammations of the
lungs, and all the confequences of pneumonia., more
frequently than in children. From a long continuance
of the difeafe patients will become adhmatic, ricketty,
and fcrofulous. It is generally reckoned a good
fign when a fit terminates by vomiting-, for in this
difeafe there feems to be a great increafe of the fe-
cretion of mucus, and the vomiting affords great re-
lief.
Cure. Pertudis is one of thofe difeafes which, af¬
ter the contagion has exerted its influence, can be ter¬
minated only by running a certain courfe : but it is much
lefs limited in its courfe than fmiillpox and meafles, and
often it runs on to a very great length, or at lead it is
very difficult to diftinguifh certain fequelae of this dil-
eafe from the difeafe itfelf. And when it exids in the
former of thefe dates, it admits of an artificial termina¬
tion. In the treatment of this affeftion, therefore, the
obje&s at which a pra&itioner chiefly aims, are, in the
fird place, the obviating urgent fymptoms, and for¬
warding the natural termination of the difeafe 5 and fe-
condly, the inducing an artificial termination. With
thefe intentions various pra£lices are employed on dif¬
ferent occafions. The mod approved remedies are vo¬
mits, purges, bleeding, and the attenuating peftorals
for the other kinds generally do hurt : but large eva¬
cuations of any kind are pernicious. In the Medical
Obfervations, vol. iii. Dr Morris recommends cador
and cinchona ; but in cafes attended with any degree
qf inflammation, the latter mud certainly do hurt, and
the former will generally be infignificant. Dr Butter,
in a differtation exprefsly on thefubjeft, relates 20 cafes^
of it cured by the extraft of hemlock. He direfts half
a grain daily for a child under fix months old 5 one
grain for a child from fix months to two years ; after-
wards allowing half a grain for every year of the
patient’s age till he be 20 : beyond that, period, he
direfts ten grains to be given for the fird day’s con-
fumption, gradually increafing the dofe according to
the effeft. If the patient have not two dools daily,
he advifes magnefia or \\\e fu/phas patajfce cum fu/phure,
to be added to the hemlock mixture. By this method
he fays the peculiar fymptoms of the difeafe are re¬
moved in the fpace of a week \ nothing but a dight
cough remaining. The ufe of hemlock, however,
has by no means become univerfal in confequence of
this publication, nor indeed has this remedy been
CINE. Pra&ice,
found equally fuccefsful with others who have given it Colica.
a fair trial. . _ _ v ’
The remedy mod to he depended upon in this dif¬
eafe is change of air. The patient, as foon as the dif¬
eafe is fully formed, ought to be removed to fome other
part of the country : but there is no occafion for going
to a didant place j a mile or two, or frequently a fmaller
didance, will be fufficient } and in this new habitation,
the frequency of the cough is aimed indantly diminidi-
ed to a mod furprifing degree. After remaining there
for fome time, however, the cough will often be ob¬
ferved to become again more frequent, and the other
fymptoms increafed. In this cafe, another change of
air, or even a return to the former habitation, becomes
neceffary. Manifed benefit has even been derived by
changing a patient from one ro®m of a houfe to ano¬
ther. But although change of air has thus been ad¬
vantageous, it mud alfo be remarked, that when it has
been had recourfe to at very early periods it has often
done nfffchief, particularly by aggravating the febrile
and inflammatory fymptoms. If the difeale be attend¬
ed with fever, bleeding and other antiphlogidic reme¬
dies are proper. Dr Buchan recommends an ointment
made of equal parts of garlic and hog’s lard applied to
the foies of the feet ; but if it have any effeft, it is pro¬
bably merely as an emplajlrum calidum. It ought to be
put on a rag and applied like a plaller. Opiates may
fometimes be ufeful, but in general are to be avoided.
They are chiefly ferviceable where the cough is very
frequent, with little expeftoration. In thefe cafes be¬
nefit has fometimes alfo been derived irom fulphuric-
ether, and fometimes from the tintture of cantharides.
An almod inffantanecus termination has on fome occa¬
fions been put to this difeafe by exciting a high de¬
gree of fear, or by inducing another febrile contagion :
But the effects of both are too uncertain and too dan¬
gerous to be employed in practice.
Genus LVIII. PYROSIS. 3C(J)
The Heart-Burn.
Pyrofis, Sauv. gen.^200. Sag. 158.
Soda, Lin. 47. J?og 154.
Scotis, the Water-Brash.
Pyrofis Suecica, Sauv. fp. 4.
Cardialgia fputatoria, Sauv. fp. 5.
This difeafe, whether confidered as primary or fymp-
tomatic, has already been fully treated under Dy¬
spepsia.
Genus LIX. COLICA. 301
The Colic.
Colica, Sauv. gen. 204. Lin. 50. Vug. 160. Sag.
162. Junck. 106.
Colica fpafmodica et flatulenta, Hojfm. II. 284.
Rachialgia, Sauv. gen. 21 x. Sag. 168.
Ileus, Sauv. gen. 252. Vog. 162. Sag. gen. 187.
Iliaca, Lin. 185.
Dolor et fpafmus iliacus, Hojfm. II. 263.
Psffio iliaca, Junck. 107.
Sp. I. The Spafmodic Colic. 3c*
Colica flatulenta, pituitola, &c. Sauv. fp. 1. 2. 5. 6. 7.
Ileus
Fra&ice.
MEDICINE.
395
Ileusphyfodes, volvulus, inflammatorius,&c. Ejufd.
fp. I. 3. 5. 7. 8. 9.
Defcription. The colic is chiefly known by a vio¬
lent pain in the abdomen, commonly about the umbi¬
lical region. The pain reftmbles various kinds of
fenfations, as of burning, twilling, boring, a ligature
drawn very tight, &x. The belly is generally coflive,
though fometimes there is a violent evacuation of bi¬
lious matters upwards and downwards. In thefe cafes
the difeafe is fometimes accompanied from the begin¬
ning with a weak and intermitting pulfe, cold fweats,
and fainting. In fome the difeafe comes on gradual¬
ly, beginning with an habitual coftivenefs j and if
purgatives be taken, they do, not operate. The pain
comes on generally after a meal, and foon occafions
naufea and vomiting. Sometimes the difeafe is attend¬
ed with pyrexia, violent third, and a full pulfe; the
vomiting becomes more violent, and excrementitious
matters are thrown up with the mod exquidte pain and
tendon of the abdomen ; and hiccough comes on, which
continues obdinately ; till at lad a eeffation of pain and
fetid breath indicate a mortidcation of the intedines
and approaching death. Sometimes the peridaltic mo¬
tion of the intedines is fo totally inverted, that all their
contents are evacuated by the mouth, and even clyders
will be vomited •, which conditutes that difeafe com¬
monly called the iliacpajjion.
Caufes, &c. Colics may arife from any fudden
check given to perfpiration, as by violent cold applied
to any part of the body, efpecially to the lower ex¬
tremities and abdomen. Very frequently they are oc-
cadoned by audere, acid, or indigedible aliments ta¬
ken into the domach. By any of thefe, a violent co¬
lic, or ifideed an iliac padion, may be occadoned j for
Dr Cullen judly obferves, that this lad, though com¬
monly accounted a different fpecies of difeafe, differs
from colic in no other way than in being in every
refpeft in a much higher degree. In thofe who have
died of this difeafe and been diffedled, the intedines
have fometimes been found twdded ; but more com¬
monly there hath been an introfufception of the intedine,
that is, one part of the gut feems to have entered
within the other. In the Edinburgh Medical Effays,
vol. iii. w'e have a differtation on the ufe of the wTarm
bath in the bilious colic, in which the author derives
the diforder from a fpafmodic condriftion of the intef-
tine occadoned by the acrimony of the bile. By this,
he fays, the intedine is not only contradled into an
unufual narrownefs, but the ddes of it have been found,
upon diffeftion, fo clofely joined, that no paffage could
be made downwards more than if they had been
drongly tied by a ligature. The formation of the in-
trofufceptio he explains by quoting a paffage from
Peyerus, who made the following experiment on a
frog. Having irritated the intedine of the animal in
feveral different places, he obferved it to contra# at
thofe places mod violently, and to protrude its contents
upwards and downwards wherever the relaxed date of
the part would permit •, by which means the contents
were heaped together in different parts. Hence fome
parts of the intedine being dilated much more than
enough, by reafon of the great quantity of matter
thrown into them, formed a kind of fack w'hich readi¬
ly received the condridled part into it. • If this hap¬
pen in the human body, there is the greateft danger Colica.
of a mortification ; becaufe the part which is conftric-' "■
ted, and at any rate difpofed to inflammation, has
that difpofition very much increafed by its confinement
within the other, and by the preffure of the contents
of the alimentary canal from the domach downward
upon it. An iliac paflion may alfo arife from the
drangulation of part of the intedine in a hernia ; and
even a very fmall portion of it thus ilrangulatcd may
occafion a fatal difeafe. In the Medical Obfervations,
vol. iv. however, we have an account of an iliac paf-
don arifing from a very different caufej which could
neither have been fufpedled nor cured by any other wray
than the operation otgajlrotomy, or opening the abdo¬
men of the patient, in order to remove the caufe of the
diforder. The patient, a woman of about 28 years of
age, 'died after fuffering extreme torture for fix days.
The body being opened, fome quantity of a dirty co¬
loured fiuid was found in the cavity of the abdomen.
The jejunum and ileum were greatly didended with air.
A portion of the omentum adhered to the mefentery,
near that part where the ileum terminates in the cae¬
cum. From this adheflon, which was clofe to the fpine,
there ran a ligamentous cord or procefs about two
inches and a half long, unequally thick, in fome places
not thicker than a packthread 3 which by its other ex¬
tremity adhered to the coats of the ileum, about two
inches above the caecum. This cord formed a circle
with the mefentery, large enough to admit a hen’s egg
to pafs through it. The cord had formed a noofe
(in a manner difficult to be explained), which included
a doubling of about two inches of the lower end of the
ileum 3 and w7as drawn fo tight, that it not only put a
dop to the paffage of every thing through the bowels,
and brought on a gangrene of the drangulated part,
but it had even cut through all the coats of the inte¬
dine on the oppofite fide to the mefentery, and made
an aperture about an inch long. In the Memoirs of
the Academy of Surgery are mentioned feveral fimilar
cafes.
Prognojis. The colic is never to be reckoned void
of dartger, as it may unexpedledly terminate in an
inflammation and gangrene of the intedines. Thofe
fpecies of it which are attended with purging mud be
confidered as much lefs dangerous than thofe in which
the vomiting is very violent. The iliac paffion, or
that attended with the vomiting of feces, is always
to be accounted highly dangerous 3 but if the paffage
through the intedines be free, even though their pe¬
ridaltic motion fliould be inverted, and clyders evacu¬
ated by the mouth, there is much more hope of a cure,
than when the belly is obdinately coflive, and there is
fome fixed obdrudlion which feems to bid defiance to
all remedies.
Cure. In the cure of the fpafmodic colic, the reco¬
very mud ultimately depend on producing a refolution
of the fpafmodic affedlion. In order to accomplifh
this, it is in general neceffary to evacuate the contents
of the intedines, and to remove morbid irritability
exiding in that part of the fyffem. But in order to
preferve the life of the patient from the mod immi¬
nent hazard, it is dill more neceffary to prevent and
remove thofe inflammatory affeflions which often oc¬
cur in this difeafe. As the chief danger in colics arifes
from an inflammation and confequent monificatkm of
3 D 2 the
CINE. Praaice.
above mentioned method, a ftool was procured in 35 Colica.
minutes, and the patient recovered. In lorne others ■“ v
the coitivenefs had continued for a much longer time.—
Other remedies are, the blowing air into the intelti'nes
by means of a bellows, and the injecting clyfters of the
fmoke of tobacco. But neither of thefe feem very ca¬
pable of removing the difeafe. They can affect only
the parts below the obftruftion ; while, to cure tire dif¬
eafe, it is neceffary that the obitrufted parts themfelves
fhould be reached by the medicine, and therefore we
have not many well attefted inflances of their fuccefs. In
fome obftinate cafes, however, benefit has certainly been
derived from tobacco-fmoke injections, and likevvife
from injedtions of tepid water to the extent of feveral
pounds. For putting in practice thefe modes of cure,
a particular apparatus has been contrived ; and in
cafes even apparently defperate, neither fhould be ne-
gledted. The cold water gives a general and very con-
fiderable fhock to the fyftem, checks the perfpiration,
and thus drives the humours inward upon the intef-
tines, by which they receive a much more effectual
ftimulus than can be fuppofed to arife from any kind
of clyfter. But when all methods have failed, the
only chance the patient can have for life is by a ma¬
nual operation.
In thofe colics which are attended with faintings,
&c. from the beginning, and which generally attack
hyfteric women and other debilitated perfons, all kinds,
of evacuations are pernicious j and the cure is to be
attempted by anodynes and cordials, which will feldcm
fail of fuccefs. Even there alfo, however, it is necef¬
fary that the belly fhould be moved ; and for this pur-
pofe injeffions, containing a folution of afafoetida,
which operate powufully as antifpafmodics, are pre¬
ferable to molt other modes of cure.
M E D I
the inteftines, it is effentially neceffary, in the firff
place, to diminifh the tendency to a pyrexia, if there
fhould happen to be any. This is accomplifhed by
bleeding, emollient injetffions, rvarm bathing, and cool¬
ing medicines taken inwardly. Dr Porter fhongly re¬
commends the w'ann bath in thofe colics attended with
violent evacuations of bile. Fie fuppofes it to do fer-
vice by relaxing the conftriction of the inteftines, and
thus preventing or removing the introfufeeptio. In the
mean time opiates may be given to eafe the pain, while
every method is tried, by cathartics and glylters of va¬
rious kinds, to procure a ftool. In obftinate cafes,
where ftimulating cathartics have proved inefteffual,
the milder kinds, fuch as manna, fenna, oleum ricini,
&c. will fometimes fucceed 5 but when every thing tf
this kind fails, recourfe muft be had to fome of the
more extraordinary methods. Some have recommend¬
ed the fwallowing of leaden bullets, on a fuppofition
that by their weight they would force through the ob-
ftrudfion “ but thefe feem much more likely to create
than to remove an obftruffion. It is impoffible they
can a ft by their gravity, becaufe the inteftines do not
lie in a ftraight line from the pylorus to the anus ; and
though this were actually the cafe, we cannot fuppofe
that the weight of a leaden bullet could prove very effi¬
cacious in removing either a fpafmodic ccnftridtion or
an obftruftion from any other caufe. But when we
confider, not. only that the inteftines confift of a great
multitude of folds, but that their periftaltic motion (by
which only the contents are forced through them) is
inverted, the futility of this remedy muft be evident.
It might rather be fuppofed to aggravate the dileafe ;
as the lead, by its preffure, would tend to fix the in-
trofufeeption more firmly, or perhaps pufti it ftill far¬
ther on. The fame thing may be faid of quickiilver :
not to mention the pernicious confequences to be appre¬
hended from fwallowing large quantities of this miner¬
al, even if it ftiould prove efficacious in relieving the
patient for the prefent. There are, however, fome late
cafes on record, particularly one by Mr William Perry,
publiffied in the fixteenth volume of the Edinburgh
Medical Commentaries, in which the hydral-gyrus,
fwallowed in great quantities, was attended with the
happieft effe«51s, after every other remedy had been tried
in vain.
Another method has been propofed, in the Medical
Eflays, for relieving the miferable patients in this difor-
der, which in many cafes has been known to do fer-
vice. The patient is to be taken out of bed, and made
to walk about on the cold floor of a damp apartment.
At the fame time, bafons of cold water are to be dallied
on his feet, legs, and thighs ; and this muft he conti-
jiued for an hour or longer, if a ftool be not procured
before that time, though this will generally be the cafe
much fooner. The exercife does not at all impair the
patient’s ftrength, but rather adds to it 5 and fome very
remarkable inftances are adduced in the 6th volume of
the Medical Effays, where this proved effeflual after
all other medicines had failed. In one perfon - the
difeaie b d come on with a habitual coftivenefs, and he
had been for a week tormented with the moft violent
pain and vomiting, which could be flopped neither by
anodynes nor any other medicines, the ffiarpeft clyfters
being returned unaltered, and all kinds of purgatives
thrown up Lon after they were fwallawed ; but by the
Sp. II. Colica Pictonum. The Colic of Poic/ou. 303
Another caufe to which violent colics are frequent¬
ly to be aferibed, and which often gives occafton to
them where it is very little fufpedfed, is lead, or fome
fo!ution or fume of it, received into the body. To
this caufe is evidently owing the colics to which plum¬
bers, lead-miners, and fmelters of lead, are fubjecl. To
the fame caufe, though not fo apparent at firft light, are
we to aferibe the Devonfhire colic, where lead is receiv¬
ed into the body diffolved in cyder, the common drink
of the inhabitants ©f that country. This has been
proved by experiment •, for lead has been extrafled
from cyder in quantity fufficient to produce pernicious
effedls on the human body. The colic of Poidlou, and
what is called the dry belly-ach in the Weft Indies,
are of the fame nature 5 for which reafon we give the
following general defeription of the fymptoms of all
thefe difeafes.
The patient is generally firft feized with an acute
pain at the pit of the ftomach, which extends idelf
down with griping pains to the bowels. Soon after
there is a diftenfion, as with wind •, and frequent retch¬
ings to vomit, without bringing up any thing but fmall
quantities of bile and phlegm. An obftinate coftive¬
nefs follows, yet fometimes attended with a tenefmus,
and
Rachialgia Picionum, Sauv. fp. 1.
Rachialgia metallica, Sauv. fp. 3.
Colica Pidfonum Citefi.
Practice. M E D I
Spafmi. and the bo'.vels feem to the patient as if they were
1 ■“v drawn up towards th.e back ; at other times they are
drawn into hard lumps, or hard rolls, which are plainly
perceptible to the hand on the belly. Sometimes the coats
of the inteOines feem to be drawn up from the anus and
down from the pylorus towards the navel. When a
ftool is procured by artificial means, as clyfters, &c.
the feces appear in little hard knots like fheep’s dung,
called fcybala, and are in fmall quantity. There is,
however, ufually an obflinate coftivenefs •, the urine
is difcharged in fmall quantity, frequently with pain
and much difficulty. The pulfe is generally low,
though fometimes a little quickened by the violence
of the pain ; but inflammatory fymptoms very feldom
occur. The extremities are often cold, and fometimes
the violence of the pain caufes cold clammy fweats
and fainting. The mind is generally much affe&ed,
and the fpirits are funk. The drfeafe is often tedious,
efpecially if improperly treated, infomuch that the pa¬
tients will continue in this miferable date for twenty
or thirty days fucceffively j nay, inftances have been
known of its continuing for fix months. In this cafe
the pains at laft become almoft intolerable : the pa^-
tient’s breath acquires a ftrong fetid fmell like excre¬
ments, from a retention of the feces, and an abforp-
tion of the putrid effluvia from them by the laddeals.
At laft, when the pain in the bowels begins to abate,
a pain comes on in the fhoulder-joints and adjoining
mufcles, with an unufual fenfation and tingling along
the fpinal marrow. This foon extends itfelf from
thence to the nerves of the arms and legs, which be¬
come weak ; and that weaknefs increafes till the ex¬
treme parts become paralytic, with a total lofs of
motion, though a benumbed fenfation often remains.
Sometimes, by a fudden metaftafis, the brain becomes
aftefted, a ftupor and delirium come on, and the
nervous fyftem is irritated to fuch a degree as to pro¬
duce general convulfions, which are frequently followed
by death. At other times, the periftaltic motion of
the inteftines is inverted, and a true iliac paffion is
produced, which alfo proves fatal in a fliort time.
Sometimes the paralytic affedlion of the extremities
goes off, and the pain of the bowels returns with its
former violence \ and on the cefl'ation of the pain in
the inteftines, the extremities again become paralytic j
and thus the pain and palfy will alternate for a very
long time.
Cure. Various methods have been attempted for
removing this terrible difeafe. The obftinate coftive¬
nefs which attends it, made-phyficians at firft: exhibit
very ftrong purgatives and ftimulating clyfters. But
thefe medicines, by increafing the convulfive fpafms of
the inteftines, were found to be pernicious. Balfam
of Peru, by its warm aromatic power, was found to
fucceed much better ; and Dr Sydenham accordingly
preferibed it in the quantity of 40 drops twice or
thrice a-day taken on fugar. This, with gentle pur¬
gatives, opiates, and fome drops of the hotter effential
oils, continued to be the medicine commonly employ¬
ed in this difeafe, till a fpecific was publilhed by Dr
Lionel Chalmers of South Carolina., This receipt
was purchafed by Dr Chalmers from a family where
it had long been kept a fecret. The only unufual me¬
dicine in this receipt, and on which the efficacy of
it chiefly if not wholly depends, is fulphate of copper.
CINE.
This muft be difiblved in water, in the quantity of Colica.
one grain to an ounce, and the dole of the iolution
is a wine-glafsful given falling for nine fucceftive
mornings. For the firft four or five days this me¬
dicine difeharges much aeruginous bile both ways 5
but the excretions of this humour leffen by degrees;
and before the courfe be ended, it has little'other ef-
fe6l than to caufe fome degree of fquearnifhnefs, or
promote a few bilious ftools, or perhaps may not move
the patient at all. At the time of ufing this medicine
the patients fhould live upon broth made of lean meat,
gruel, or panada : but about the feventh or eighth day,
they may be allowed bread and boiled chicken. Here
the copper feems to do fervice by its tonic power •, and
for the lame reafpn, alum, recommended by Dr Perci-
val, moll probably cures the difeafe. Fie lays he has
found this very efficacious in obftinate affeftions of the
bowels, and that it generally proves a cure in the
flighter cafes of the colica pidionum. It was given to
the quantity of fifteen grains every fourth, fifth, or
fixth hour ; and the third dole feldom failed to mitigate
the pain, and fometimes entirely removed it. Among
purgative medicines the oleum ricini is found to be the
molt efficacious Mercury alfo, particularly under the
form of calomel, has often been employed with fuccefs.
And much benefit has been derived from combining
the calomel with opium. From this combination there
is often obtained, in the firft iniiance, an alleviation of
the pain, and afterwards a free difeharge by the belly.
Sp. III. The Colic from Cojlivenefs.
Colica ftercorea, Sauv. fp. 3.
Ileus a faecibus induratis, Sauv. fp. 2.
For the treatment of this fpecies, fee above.
Sp. IV. The Accidental Colic.
Colica Japonica,—accidentalis,—ladtentium,—a ve-
neno, Sauv. fp. xo. 14. 18. 20.
Cholera ficca auriginofa, a fungis venenatis, ejirfd,
fp. 2.
When colics arife from acrid poifonous matter taken
into the ftomach, the only cure is either to evacuate
the poifon itfelf-by vomiting, or to fwallow fome other
fubftance which may decompound it, and thus render
it inadlive. The mod common and dangerous fub-
ftances of this kind are corrofive mercury and arfenic.
The former is eafily decompounded by alkaline falts;
and therefore a folution of lixivial fait, if (wallowed
before the poifon has time to induce a mortification
of the bowels, will prove a certain cure. Much more
uncertain, however, is the cafe when arfenic is fwallow-
ed, becaufe there is no certain and fpeedy folvent of
that fabftance yet known. Milk has been recommend¬
ed as efficacious; and lately a folution of hef)ar fulphu-
ris. The latter may poftibly do fervice 5 as arfenic
unites readily with fulphur, and has its pernicious qua¬
lities more obtunded by that than by any other known
fubftance : but indeed, even the folvent powers of this
medicine are fo weak, that its effedls as well as thole of
others mull be very uncertain. „
Some kinds of fungi, when fwallowed, are apt to pro¬
duce colics attended with ftupor, delirium, and convul¬
fions } and the fame fometimes happens from eating a
large
398 M E D I
Spafmi. quantity of the fhell-fifo known by the name of
U~~VT~»I mufcles (the MytuluS). Some of the fungi,^doubt-
lefs, may have an inherent poifonous quality ", but ge¬
nerally they as well as the mufcles aft on a different
principle. Their pernicious effefts happen moft com¬
monly when they are taken on an empty ftornach 5 and
are then fuppofed to be occalioned by their adnering
fo clofe to its coats, that it cannot exert its powers,
and the whole fyflem is thrown into the utmoft diior-
der. The malady may therefore be very eafily pre¬
vented 5 but wdren once it has taken place, it cannot
be removed till either vomiting be excited, or the
ftomach has recovered itfelf in fuch a manner as to
throw off the adhering matter.
J05 So. V. Colic of New-born Infants from a Retention of
the Meconium, {fauv. fp. 19.)
This diforder would be prevented were children al¬
lowed immediately to fuck their mothers, whofe milk
at firft is purgative. But as this is not commonly done,
the child is frequently troubled with colics. Thefe,
however, may be removed by a few grains of ipecacu¬
anha, or a drop or two of antimonial wine. By thefe
means the ftomach is cleanfed by vomiting, and the
belly is generally loofened ; but if this laft effeft does
not happen, feme gentle purge will be neceffary.
306 Sp. VI. Colic from a Callojity of the Colon.
It is often impoffible to difeover this diftemper before
the patient’s death ; and though it Ihould, it does not
adlvit of a cure.
307 Sp. VII. The Colic from Intejlinal Calculi. (Sauv.
fp. 10. 15.)
When certain indigeftible bodies, fuch as cherry-
ftones, plum-ftones, fmall pieces of bones, &c. are
fwallowed, they frequently prove the bafts of calculi,
formed by an accretion of fome kind of earthy matter ;
and being detained in fome of the flexures of the in-
teftines, often occafion very violent colics. Thefe calcu¬
li do not difeover themfelves by any peculiar fymptoms,
nor do they admit of any particular method of cure.
In the Medical Effays we have an inftance of colics
for fix years, occaftoned by calculi of this kind. The
concretions were at laft paffed by ftool *, and their paf-
"fage was procured by caufing the patient drink a large
quantity of warm water, with a view to promote the
evacuation of bile, a redundancy of which was fuppofed
to be the caufe of her diforder.
Genus LX. CHOLERA, the Cholera Morbus.
Cholera, Sauv. 253. Lin. 186. Vog. no. Sag. 188.
Hoffm. II. 165.
Diarrhoea cholerica, Junck. 112.
309 Sp. I. The Spontaneous Cholera, coming on without
any manifeft caufe.,
Cholera fpontanea, Sauv. fp. 1. Sijdenh, feft. iv.
cap, 2.
Cholera Indica, Sauv. fp. 7.
CINE. 'fc PracUce.
Cholera
Sp. II. The Accidental Cholera, from acrid matter
taken inwardly. 310
Cholera crapulofa, Sauv. fp. n.
Cholera a venenis, Sauv. fp. 4. 5.
The cholera (hows itfelf by excefiive vomiting and
purging of bilious matters, with violent pain, iniia-
tion and diftenfion of the belly. Sometimes the pa¬
tients fall into univerfal convulfions; and fometimes
they are affefted with violent fpafms in particular
parts of the body. There is a great thirft, a fmall and
unequal pulfe, cold fweats, fainting, coldnefs of the
extremities, and hiccough j and death frequently en-
fues in 24 hours.
In this difeafe, as a great quantity of bile is depo-
fited in the alimentary canal, particularly in the fto¬
mach, the firft objeft is to counteraft its influence,
and to promote an eafy difeharge of it. It is next
neceflary to reftrain that increafed fecretion of bile,
by which a frefli depofition in the alimentary canal
would otherwife be foon produced. And, in the laft
place, meafures muft often be employed to reftore a
found condition to the alimentary canal, which is fre¬
quently much weakened by the violence of the difeafe.
On thefe grounds, the cure of this diilemper is ef-
fefted by giving the patient a large quantity of warm
water, or very weak broth, in order to cleanfe the
ftomach of the irritating matter which occafions the
difeafe, and injefting the fame by way of clyfter, till
the pains begin to abate a little. After this, a large
dofe of laudanum is to be given in fome convenient
vehicle, and repeated as there is occafion. But if the
vomiting and purging have continued for a long time
before the phyfician be called, immediate recourfe muft
be had to the laudanum, becaufe the patient will be
too much exhaufted to bear any further evacuations.
Sometimes the propenfity to vomit is fo ftrong, that
nothing will be retained, and the laudanum itfelf
thrown up as foon as fwallowed. To fettle the fto¬
mach in thefe cafes, Dr Douglas, in the Medical
Eflays, recommends a decoftion of oat-bread toafted
as brown as coffee } and the decoftion itfelf ought to
be of the colour of weak coffee. He fays he does not
remember that this decoftion was ever vomited by any
of bis patients. An infufion of mint-leaves or good
Ample mint-water is alfo faid to be very efficacious in
the fame cafe.
The tinfture of opium is fometimes retained when
given in conjunftion with a portion of the fulphuric
acid properly diluted. But when it cannot be retain¬
ed in a fluid form by the aid of any addition, it will
fometimes fit upon the ftomach when taken in a folid
ftate.
After the violence ©f the difeafe is overcome, the
alimentary canal, and the ftomach in particular, re¬
quires to be braced and {Lengthened. With this view
recourfe is often had with advantage to different ve¬
getable bitters, particularly to the ufe of the Colombo
root ; which, while it {Lengthens the ftomach, is al¬
fo obferved to have a remarkable tendency in allay¬
ing a difpofition to vomiting, which often remains for a
confiderable time after the cholera may be faid to be
overcome.
Genus
3
M E D
1
Pradice.
Spafmi.
3H
Genus LXL DIARRHOEA.
Looseness.
Diarrhoea,gen. 253. Lin. 187. Vog. 105.
Sag. gen. 189. Junck. 112.
Hepatirrhoea, Sauv. gen. 246.
Cholerica, Lin. 190.
Coeliaca, Sauv. gen. 255. Lin. 189. Vog. 109. Sag.
gen. 199.
Lienteria, Sauv. gen. 256. Lin. 188. Sag. gen. 191.
Vug. 108.
Pituitaria, et leucorrhois, Vog. in. 112.
2I2 Sp. I. The Feculent Diarrhoea.
Diarrhoea ftercorofa et vulgaris, Sauv. fp. 1. 2.
This is occalioned by too great a quantity of mat¬
ter thrown into the alimentary canal j and what is dif-
charged has not the appearance of excrements, but is
much whiter, and of a thinner confidence. Voracious
people who do not fufficiently chew their food, gor¬
mandizers, and even thofe who Hammer in their fpeech,
are faid to be liable to this difeafe. In flighter cafes
.it is removed without any medicine, or by a dofe of
rhubarb 5 but where the matters have acquired a putrid
taint, the diforder may be much protracted and become
dangerous. In this cafe lenient and antifeptic purga¬
tives are to be made ufe of, after which the cure is to
be completed by allringents.
313 Sp. II. The Bilious Diarrhoea.
{Sauv. fp. 8.)
This diltemper (hows itfelf by copious ftools of a
very yellow colour, attended with gripes and heat of
the bowels, third, bitternefs, and drynefs of the mouth,
yellowmefs of the tongue, and frequently follows an in¬
termitting or bilious fever. When the fever is gone,
the diarrhoea is to be removed by acidulated and cool¬
ing drinks, with fmall dofes of nitre.
214 Sp. III. The Mucous Diarrhoea.
Diarrhoea laClentium, Sauv. fp. 19.
Dyfenteria Parifiaca, Sauv. fp. 3.
Diarrhoea ab hypercatharfi, Sauv. fp. 16.
Dyfenteria a catharticis, Sauv. fp. 12.
Pituitaria, in.
Leucorrhois, Vog. 11 2.
Diarrhoea pituitofa, Saw. fp. 4.
Coeliaca mucofa, Sauv. fp. 3.
Diarrhoea ferofa, fp. io.
a. Diarrhoea urinofa.
This kind of diarrhoea, befides the matters ufually
excreted, is attended with a copious dejedlion of the
mucus of the intedines with great pain j while the
patient daily pines awjay, but without any fever.—
Perfons of all ages are liable to it, and it comes on
ufually in the winter-time ; but is fo obdinate, that it
will fometimes continue for years. In obdinate loofe-
neffes of this kind, vomits frequently repeated are of
the greated fervice. It is alfo very beneficial to keep
the body warm, and rub the belly with dimulating
ointments; at the fame time that alkingent clyders.
CINE.
rhubarb, and domachic medicines, are to be exhibit¬
ed. Starch clyders are very often efficacious.—Some
kinds of loefenefs are contagious \ and Sir John
Pringle mentions a foldier who laboured under an
obdinate diarrhoea, who infeCled all thofe that ufed
the fame privy with himfelf. In the loofenefs which
frequently followed a dyfentery, the fame author tells
us that he began the cure with giving a vomit of ipe¬
cacuanha, after which he put the patients on a courfe
of adringents. He ufed a mixture of three drachms of
extraft of logw'ood, difiblved in an ounce and a half
of fpirit of cinnamon, to which was added feven ounces
of common w'ater, and tw'o drachms of tindlure of ca¬
techu. Of this the patient took two fpoonfuls once in
four or five hours, and fometimes alfo an opiate at bed¬
time. Pie recommends the fame medicine in obdinate
diarrhoeas of all kinds. A decoftion of fimarauba bark
was alfo found effedlual, wffien the dyfenteric fymptoms
had gone off. Dr Hack, who ufed this article in
North-America, alfo recommends it in diarrhoeas. Two
or three ounces ®f the limarauba are to be boiled in a
pound and a half of water to a pound, and the whole
quantity taken thoughout the day. He began with
the weaked deeo&ion j and, when the domach of the
patient could eafily bear it, he then ordered the drong-
ed : but at the fame time he acknowledges, that, un-
lefs the fick found themfelves fenfibly better within
three days from the time they began the medicine, they
feldom afterwards received any benefit from it. But
when all adringents have failed, Sir John Pringle in¬
forms us, he hath known a cure effefted by a milk and
farinaceous diet ; and he thinks in all cafes the dif¬
order would be much more eafily removed, if the pa¬
tients could be prevailed on to abdain entirely from
fpirituous liquors and animal-food. If the milk by it¬
felf drould turn four on the domach, a third part of
lime-water may be added. In one cafe he found a pa¬
tient receive more benefit from good butter-milk than
from fweet-milk. The chief drinks are deco&ions of
barley, rice, calcined hartdiorn, toad and water, or milk
and water.
Sp. IV. The Coeliac Passion.
. Coelica chylofa, Sauv. fp. 1.
Coelica la^lea, Sauv. fp. 4.
There are very great differences among phyficians
concerning the nature of this difeafe, Sauvages-fays,
from Aretaeus, it is a chronic flux, in which the ali¬
ment is difeharged half digeded. It is attended with
great pains of the domach, refembling the pricking
of pins; rumbling and flatus in the inteflines ; wffiite
dools, becaufe deprived of bile, while the patient be¬
comes wTeak and lean. The difeafe is tedious, periodi¬
cal, and difficult to be cured. Sauvages adds, that
none of the moderns feem to have obferved the difeafe
properly ; that the excrements indeed are wffiite, on
account of a deficiency of the bile, but the belly is
bound as in the jaundice. Dr Cullen fays there is a
dejetdion of a milky liquid of the nature of chyle ;
but this is treated by Vogel as a vulgar error. He
accufes the moderns of copying from Aretaeus, who
mentions white faeces as a fymptom of the didemper •
from whence authors have readily fallen into the no¬
tion that they never appeared of any other colour in
pgrfons
g* bo
400 M E D I
Spafmi. perfons labouring under the coeliac paffion. This error
v quickly produced another, which has been very ge¬
nerally received ; namely, that the chyle wras throwrn
out of the lacteals by reafon of foine obilrutlion there,
and thus paffed along with the excrements-, oi which
he fays there is not the leaft proof, and agrees with
Aretseus that the whitenefs is only occalioned by the
want of bile. He endeavours to prove at length, that
the coeliac paffion can neither be occafioned by an oo-
ftruftion of the la£leals, nor of the mefenteric glands;
though he owns that fuch as have died of this diieafe
and were dificcled, had obftruftions in the myfenteric
glands; but he denies that all thofe in whom fuch ob-
ftrudions occur, are fubjeft to the coeliac paffion. He
confiders the diftemper as arifing from a cachexy of the
ftomachic and inteflinal juices j and diredls the cure to
be attempted by emetics, purgatives, antifeptics, and
tonics, as in other fpecics of diarrhoea.
316 Sp. V. The Lientery.
Lienteria fpontanea, Sauv. fp. 2.
The lientery, according to Sauvages, differs from the
coeliac paffion only in being a {lighter fpecies of the
difeafe. The aliment paffes very quickly through
the inteilines, with fcarce any alteration. The patients
do not complain of pain, but are fometimes affe£ted
with an intolerable hunger. The cure is to be attempt¬
ed by ftomachics and tonics, efpecially the Peruvian
bark. This difeafe is moft common at the earlier pe¬
riods of life j and then rhubarb in fmall quantities, par¬
ticularly when combined with ma'gnefia, is often pro-
duftive of the bell; effedls.
317 Sp. VI. The Hepatic Flux.
Hepatirrhoea inteftinalis, Sauv. fp. 2.
The hepatic diarrhoea is by Sauvages defcribed as
a flux of bloody ferous matter like the walkings of
flefh, which percolates through the coats of the in-
teftines by means of the anaftomofing veffels. It is
the coeliac paffion of Trallianus 5 and which, according
to Sauvages, rarely, if ever, occurs as a primary dif¬
eafe. It has, however, been obferved to follow an in¬
flammation of the liver, and then almoff always proves
fatal.
Sis Genus LXII. DIABETES.
A profufe D if charge of Urine.
Diabetes, Sauv. gen. 263. Lin. I97. Vog. 115.
Sag. gen. 199. Junck. 99. Dobfon, Med. Ob-
fervar. vol. v. p. 298. Home's Clinical Experi¬
ments, fe£f. xvi.
Diurefis, Vog. 114.
Sp. I. The Diabetes with fweet Urine.
Diabetes Anglicus/iSisToy. fp. 2. Alead on Poifons,
Eflay I. Ejiifdem Monita Med. cap. ix. fe6f. 2.
Dobfon in Lond. Med. Obferv. vol. v. art. 27.
Myers Diff. inaug. de Diabete, Edinb. 1779.
Diabetes febricofus, Sauv. fp. 7. Sydenh. Ep. refp.
ad R. Brady.
CINE.
TVadice.
Diabetes.
Sp. II. Diabetes with infpid Urine.
M. Lifer Exerc. Medicin. II. de Diabete.
Diabetes legitimus, Sauv. fp. 1. AreUeus ue Morb.
diuturn. lib. ii. cap. 2.
Diabetes ex vino, Sauv. fp. 5. Fphcm. Germ. D. I.
A. II. Obferv. 122.
Defcription. The diabetes firfl (hows itfelf by a
drynefs of the mouth and thivfr, white frothy fpittle,
and the urine in fomewhat larger quantity than ufual.
A heat begins to be perceived in the bowels, which at
firft is a little pungent, and gradually increafes. The
third; continues to augment by degrees, and the pa¬
tient gradually lofes the power of retaining his urine
for any length of time. It is remarkable, that though
the patients drink much, the quantity of urine always
exceeds what is drank. In Dr IIome,s Clinical Expe¬
riments wre have an account of two patients labouring
under this difeafe : one of them drank between 10 and
12 Englilh pints a-day without being fatisfied. The
quantity was greater in the forenoon than in the after¬
noon. In the other the cafe was reverfed. He drank
about four pints a-day, and more in the afternoon than
the forenoon. The former difeharged from 12 to 15
pints of urine in the day : the latter, n or 11 \ fo that
his urine always exceeded his drink by eight or at lead
feven pints. When the urine is retained a little while,
there is a fwelling of the loins, feet, and ferotum •, in
this difeafe the ftrength gradually decays 5 the lkin is
dry and ffirivelled \ oedematous fwellings arife in vari¬
ous parts of the body, but afterwards fubfide without
relieving the difeafe in the leaf! 5 and the patient is
frequently carried off by convulllons.
The molt Angular phenomenon in this difeafe is,
that the urine feems to be entirely or very much di¬
verted of an animal nature, and to be largely impreg¬
nated with a faccharine matter fcarce dirtinguiffiable
from that obtained from the fugar-cane. This difeo-
very was firft made by Dr Dobfon of Liverpool, who
made fome experiments on the urine of a perfon la¬
bouring under a diabetes, who difeharged 28 pints of
urine every day, taking during the fame time from 12
to 14 pounds of folid and liquid food. Some of this
urine being fet afide, fell into a fpontaneous eftervef-
cence, changed firft into a vinous liquor, and afterwards
into an acetous one, before it became putrid and offen-
five. Eight ounces of blood taken from the lame pa¬
tient, feparated into crafiamentum and ferum ; the lat¬
ter being fweet to the tafte, but lefs fo than the urine.
Two quarts of the urine, evaporated to drynefs, left a
wdiite cake weighing four ounces two drams and two
fcruples. This cake was granulated, and broke eafily
between the fingers : it fmelled fweet like brown fu-
gar •, neither could it by the talle be diftinguilhed from,
fugar, except that it left a flight fenfe of coolnefs on
the tongue. The experiment was repeated after the
patient was recovered to fuch a degree as to pafs only
14 pints of urine a-day. There was nowr a ftrong
urinous fmell during the. evaporation j and the refiduum
could not be procured in a folid form, but was black-
ilh, and much refembled very thick treacle. In Dr
Home’s patients, the ferum of the blood had no pre¬
ternatural fweetnefs: in one of them the craffamentum
was
2