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 EX LIBRIS 
 
 JOHN FARQUHAR FULTON 
 
y 000.000 DIAMOND. 
 
 FOME MEMORIES OF A VETERAN 
 
 JEWELLER. 
 
 Fire operations on his eyes wit h in the 
 last three years have rendered the retire- 
 ment of Mr. Streeter, the veteran jeweller 
 and expert in precious stones, imperative." 
 
 In announcing this fact to a “ Daily 
 Mail ” representative last night, Mr. 
 Streeter talked interestingly of his remark- 
 able experiences. Has establishment in 
 Bond-street is as well-known as the Bank, 
 and sometimes nearly as valuable. 
 
 Beneath the shop is a capacious safe which 
 often contains as much as a million pounds' 
 wortu of valuables. It stands on a base of 
 concrete to prevent tunnelling, and is fitted 
 with four steel doors, to disturb which 
 means the ringing of alarm bells in all parts 
 of the building. A guard of men sleep near 
 it every night, and a powerful dog prowls 
 round its iron walls. 
 
 Hr. Streeter has in his possession -what he 
 considers to be the finest diamond in 
 the world. It was once the property 
 of the Emperor of Delhi, and is valued 
 at £14,000. The largest diamond he 
 
 has ever seen weighed about one 
 
 thousand carats, and is owned by a syndi- 
 cate of dealers. Its value complete would 
 be about ,£5, 000,000, but it is now being cut 
 up 
 
 c \ 
 't&r/jtoa/ : 
 
 /%/S 
 
 
 jfcr y&xSTt/tf/z 
 
 FULL OF DIAMONDS. 
 
 The^son of Henry Russell, who was origi- 
 ally Mr. Streeter’s partner, once owned the 
 ’hole of the site of the present Kimberley 
 hamond Mines. After working it at con- 
 .derable profit Russell and his partner sold 
 ~is ground for £500. It is now worth prob- 
 dy £300,000,000. A small shanty which 
 ie miners had erected was sold separately 
 .or a lew pounds. It was subsequently dis- 
 covered that the mud with which its walls 
 were plastered was literally full of diamonds 
 ^n tee rough. 
 
 ®"*I have probably,” said Mr. Streeter, 
 the finest collection of opals in the world. 
 It is m the form of a necklace and pendant, 
 the latter being a single stone Him by lin. 
 I.ne most remarkable point with reference 
 to this unique collection is that it was cut 
 * j ? ! 790°” 9 s °ud opal. It is worth 
 
 Jr connection Mr. Streeter tells an 
 h ow o pals were dis- 
 
 r;fc}<2Ut^-Ak2f%4 
 
 /da^c/ 
 
 - aadxa aioj ppri'e^jeo puk 
 Om_ 4 04 esefjseqd ojoux gi 
 
 ‘4S3[OIJO JO SUOlfl 
 4qhrs ou a ['{X'lj 
 
 ‘uarasjeg jooj joj saqnj 
 
 •■KVjnOlBO JUZeg 'B'lUU 
 
 - -®® J 9 ia rv 1 [ pjaoAi. 944 4 r 4 j. tusuuqj®q jx 
 *n sj^ ^edoang" jo uoge 
 
 re. JI four ■ n : r- .!X.H 
 
- 4 * 
 
 THE 
 
 CngUCl) jWalatop 
 
 TREATISE 
 
 O F 
 
 Nervous Difeafes of all Kinds, 
 
 A S 
 
 Spleen, Vapours, Lownefs of Spirits, 
 Hypochondriacal, and Byfterical 
 Diftempers, &c. 
 
 In THREE PARTS. 
 
 Part I. Of the Nature and Caufe of Nervous 
 Diftempers. 
 
 Part II. Of the Cure of Nervous Diftempers. 
 Part III. Variety of Cafes that ill'uftrate and 
 confirm the Method of Cure. 
 
 With the Author’; own CASE at large . 
 
 Facilis defcenius Averni, 
 
 Sect revocare Gradum , fuperafaue evade re ad Jltirasy 
 Hie Labor, hoc Opus eft. Fauci quos JEquus amavit , 
 Jupiter, aut ardeyis evexit ad FEthera Virtus 
 Dis Geniti pot tier e . ViRG. 
 
 By GEORGE CHE TN E, M. D. 
 
 Fellow of the College ofPhyJzcians at Edinburg , and F. R. S. 
 
 L O N D G N : 
 
 Printed for G. Strahan in Cornhill , and 
 J. Leake at Bath . m.dcg.xxxih. 
 
To the Right Honourable the 
 
 Lord BATEMAN, &c. 
 
 Knight of the mod Honourable Order 
 of the BATH. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Beg leave to prefect to 
 your Lordjhip this 
 Treatife, which, while 
 in Manujcript , you fo 
 kindly and warmly 
 dcfired to fee in ‘Print. 
 The chief Defign of thefe Sheets is to 
 recommend to my Fellow Creatures 
 that plain Diet which is mod agreeable 
 to the Purity and Simplicity of uncor- 
 rupted Nature, and unconquer’d Reafen . 
 Ill would it fuir, my Lord , with fuch 
 a Defign to introduce it with a Dedi- 
 A % cation 
 
f DEDICATION . 
 
 cation cook’d up to the Height of a 
 French or Italian Tafte. Addreftes of 
 this Kind are generally a Sort of Ra- 
 gans and Olios , compounded of Ingre- 
 dients as pernicious to the Mind as fuch 
 unnatural Meats are to the Body. Ser- 
 vile Flattery, fulfome Compliments, 
 and bombafl Fanegyrick make up the 
 naufeous Compofition. But I know 
 that your Lordfhip’s Tafte is too deli- 
 cate, and your Judgment too chafte to 
 be able to bear fuch Cookery. Your 
 taking thefe Sheets into your Patronage 
 will probably be a Poft not to be main- 
 tained without fome Difficulty.* Fre - 
 judice , Interejl , and Appetite are power- 
 ful Antagonifts, which nothing but 
 good Senfe, folid Virtue, and true 
 Chrijlian Courage are capable of op- 
 pofing. Was not your Lordjhip emi- 
 nently endued with thofe invaluable 
 Qualities, I fhould not have been fo 
 fond of thrufting this, almoft Orphan- 
 Work out into the World under your 
 fafe Condud. But your Pradice, my 
 Ford, has long engaged you on the 
 
2 ) EVICATION. 
 
 Side of Temperance, Sobriety, and 
 Virtue, and I hope you will not think 
 it a difagreeable Task to avow and 
 juftify thofe Principles to the Publick, 
 by which you have hitherto been guided 
 fo much to your Advantage in private. 
 I dare aflert, my Lord , that in defend- 
 ing this Caufe you will fight under the 
 Banner of Truth: and be theOppofition 
 of Prejudice, Error, or Malice, ever fo 
 mighty, I know that Patience and Per- 
 feverance will be fufficient to render the 
 Conqueft: fecure. The promoting, ac- 
 cording to my beft Abilities, the Eafe, 
 Health, and Welfare of Mankind in ge- 
 neral, and of my fellow-fufFering Vale- 
 tudinarians in particular, has been the 
 whole and foie View with which I have 
 once more dared to appear in ‘Print. 
 Your Love of the Defign will, 1 hope, 
 make you blind to the Imperfections 
 and Weaknefs of the Execution. The 
 Protection of fuch a Work, my Lord, 
 is properly yours. Your Humanity and 
 Benevolence are always engaging you 
 in the Purfuit of the fame Ends, tho’ 
 
 by 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 by different means. If you ftill think, 
 after a mature Revifal of thefe Papers, 
 that thefe my poor Endeavours may be 
 ufeful to the Tublick, I know you will 
 be their generous Advocate, merely 
 upon Principle, and even in Oppofition 
 to Party. The Continuance of your 
 Approbation will give me a moft lincere 
 Pleafure, as your Condefcenfion in per- 
 mitting me to do myfelf this Honour , 
 will always be efteemed one of the many 
 Obligations you have fo kindly conferred 
 on. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Tour Lordfhip’s 
 
 Mofi Obliged , Faithjul , 
 
 Humble Servant, 
 
 Geo. Cheyne, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 H E Title I have cloofen for 
 this Treatife, is ^ Re- 
 proach univerfally thrown 
 on this Ifland by Foreign- 
 ers , and all our Neighbours on the Con- 
 tinent, by whom nervous Diflempers , 
 Spleen, Vapours, and Lownefs of Spi- 
 rits, are in Derijion^ called the ENG- 
 LISH MAL ADT. And l wifi 
 there were not fo good Grounds for this 
 Rejletfion. 'The Moifture of our Air, 
 the Variablenefs of our Weather, {from 
 our Situation amidji the Ocean) the 
 Ranknefs and Fertility of our Soil , the 
 Richnefs and Heavinefs of our Food , 
 a the 
 
ii PREFACE. 
 
 the Wealth and Abundance of the In- 
 habitants from their univerfal ‘Trade ) 
 the lna<ftivity and fedentary Occupations 
 of the better Sort ( among whom this 
 Evil mojlly rages) and the Humour of 
 living in great , populous and confe- 
 quently unhealthy Towns , have brought 
 forth a Oafs and Set of Hiflempers , 
 with atrocious and frightful Symptoms, 
 fcarce known to our Ancejlors , and never 
 riling to fuch fatal Heights, nor afflitfing 
 fetch Numbers in any other known Na- 
 tion. Jhefe nervous Difeorders being 
 computed to make almojl one third of the 
 Complaints of the ‘People of Condition 
 in England. 
 
 II. This Work has lain finifedd hy 
 me , as it now appears ( at leaf in the 
 main) thefe fever al Tears paft , and 
 was intended as a Legacy and Dying- 
 Speech, only to my Fellow-Sufferers 
 under thefe Complaints. And had 
 certainly never appear d ( till its Au- 
 thor had difappeard) had it not been 
 for the ferhaps indifereet Zeal of 
 
PREFACE, iii 
 
 fame of my war me (l Friends , who 
 (; upon the late Frequency and daily 
 Encreafe of wanton and uncommon 
 Self-murderers, produc’d moftly by this 
 Diftemper, and their blafphemous and 
 frantick Apologies grafted on the Prin- 
 ciples of the Infidels, and propagated by 
 their Difciples) extorted it from me , 
 to try what a Utile more juft and folid 
 Philofophy, join’d to a Method of Cure, 
 and proper Medicines could do, to put 
 a Stop to fo univerfal a Lunacy and 
 Madnefs. 
 
 III. Some good natur d and inge ~ 
 nious Retainers to the Profeffion, on 
 my Publication of my Book of long Life 
 and Health, proclaim’d every where 
 that I was turn’d mere Enthufiafl, and 
 refold’d all Things into Allegory and 
 Analogy, advis’d People to turn 
 Monks, to run into Defarts, and to 
 live on Roots, Herbs and wild Fruits 5 
 in fi ne , that I was at Bottom a mere 
 Leveller, and for dejlroying Order, 
 Ranks and Property, every one’s but 
 
 a 1 my 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 my o' wn. But that Sneer had its 
 Day, and vanifh’d into Smoak. Others 
 fwore I had eaten my Book, recanted 
 my Doctrine and Syftem (as they were 
 pleafed to term it) and was returned 
 again to the Devil, the World and the 
 Flefh This Joke I haw alfo flood. 
 I have been fain again and again, both 
 in Verfe and Proie 3 but I thank GOD 
 I am pill alive and well . 
 
 IV. But to cut off all Occafions of 
 Mifake, and every Handle of Mifre- 
 prefentation of my Meaning and Inten- 
 tion, as far as in me lies , I here 
 folemnly declare it, as my Judgment 
 and Opinion (if it be worth the know - 
 ing) founded on the Experience and 
 Obfervation of many Tears : 1 ft, That 
 
 the Diet and Manner of Living of the 
 middling Rank, who are but moderate 
 and temperate in Foods of the common 
 and natural Troduff of the Country , 
 to wit in animal Foods plainly drefsd, 
 and Liquors purify d by Fermentation 
 only, without the Tortures of the Fire, 
 
 or 
 
V 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 or without being turned into Spirits, is 
 that intended by the Author of Nature 
 for this Climate and Country, and 
 confeopuently the mofi wholefome and 
 jittefl in general , for prolonging Life, 
 and preventing Diftempers, that the 
 Ends of Providence and the Conditions 
 0/ Mortality will admit. idly, That 
 no wife Man, who is but moderate and 
 temperate in this manner , ought on any 
 Account to alter the Kind and Quality 
 of his Diet while his Elealth and Ap- 
 petite are good. 1 dly, That no wife 
 Man, even when he has fallen into , or 
 is threatened with a Diftemper, ought 
 to change the Quality of his Diet, till 
 he has duly and fujficiently try d, what 
 proper Medicines can do , by the Advice 
 of the moji experienced and knowing 
 Phyficians. 4. 1 hat the Changes that 
 are advisd to be made , ought to be 
 duly and maturely confided d, and enter d 
 upon by Degrees, whether from a higher 
 to a lower, or from a lower to a higher 
 Diet. 5. That firong high animal 
 Foods and generous defecated fpirituous 
 
 a 3 Liquors, 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Liquors, as begetting warm, full , and 
 enliven'd Juices , urgeing on the Cir - 
 culation with Force , and the Secre- 
 tions with Vigour , /» young, vobujl y 
 healthy Conflitutions , are fittefi and 
 mojl effectual for Mechanical and ani- 
 mal Strength, Force , Action and 
 
 Labour'. And fo abfolutely necejjary for 
 Handy- Crafts, great Fatigue, and mili- 
 tary Frowefs. But thefe are not the 
 Matter in ghtefiion here, which is 
 about preventing and cureing Dijiem- 
 pers already brought on y brightening 
 the Faculties , and fitting them for intel- 
 lectual and fe dent ary Furpofes, and 
 lengthening the natural Life. 6. IF at 
 a proper and fpecifick Diet for each 
 Diflemper, is as neceffary to be known 
 and prefcrib'd by an honcft and faithful 
 Fhyfician, as proper and fpecifick Me- 
 dicines \ ( for in thefe two only, the very 
 Effence of the Science confifls, not fepa- 
 rately hut conjointly) $ and 7 . That only 
 in thofe Thjlempers commonly reckon’d 
 incureable, the Reproach of Phyfick and 
 Phyficians, and which are in their own 
 
 filature, 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 'Nature, either mortal or infupportahly 
 painful, fuch as tortureing , habitual 
 Gouts, confirm cl Cancers, ohfiinate Ve- 
 nereal Diflempers , the Stone in the 
 Kidneys, or in the Bladder ( when Li- 
 thotomy cannot he adminifirated ) $ a 
 Pulmonick Phthifis, a Nervous Atrophy, 
 the Epilepfy, and the other higher and 
 inconquer able hyfierick and hypochon- 
 driack Diforders , a fettled Hedtick 
 ( from Ulcers ) an Eiephantiafis and Le~ 
 profy, a humorous Afthma, a chronical 
 Diabetes, an incurable Scrophula and 
 a deep Scurvy. I fay, in thefe only, 
 and only in thefe when they are be- 
 come manifefi, have refified all other 
 common Methods, and the Datients 
 are rather growing worfe than bet- 
 ter under them, is a total and ftridt 
 Milk, Seed and Vegetable Diet, proper 
 or to he attempted 5 and that in other 
 more fimple and flight Cafes, and even 
 in the firft Stages of thefe mentioned 
 Diflempers , a common moderate and 
 temperate animal Diet , and well-chofen 
 Medicines, will he.fujficient. Now if 
 
 a 4 after 
 
after all this , any one is chfpos’d to 
 le merry with me, / ought not , / 
 flail not grudge them their Diver- 
 Jion. 
 
 V. I think truly, a thin , poor, cool , 
 low J)let as improper and unnatural to 
 a rob u ft, adtive, ftrong, healthy Man, 
 as a grofs, full, high Diet, is jor a poor, 
 thin , low, -valetudinary Creature . i'or 
 the whole Art of Bhyfck, and the 
 Wifdom of animal Life, confifs in ad- 
 juring Diet and Medicines to the 
 Habit and the Diflempers. for the 
 Diet that woud make a Nightingale 
 healthy and gay, woud Jtarve qnd kill 
 a Kite, and on the contrary : But it 
 is. odds if a Free- drinking, or Free-think- 
 ing Fhfcian be not as improper to advife 
 a poor weak, low, dying Creature , as 
 a Free- drinking, Free-thinking Cafuifl is 
 to advife a fcrupulous and tender Con- 
 ference. Men of all F r of eflions think, write 
 and advife Themfelves, and their own 
 Characters, and imprefs their- own Sig- 
 natures on every thing they do, fay , 
 
IX 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 and advife ; which , / hope , 
 
 Ap°l°gy/or Me y if in any thing I have 
 over •foot the Golden Mean, which I 
 am pretty certain I have not , to thoje , 
 who reafon and think , and prefer Healthy 
 Cheerfulnefsy and Jong Life , to a jhort 
 Life and a merry . 
 
 VI. After, ally I would not have it 
 thought y that I am of Opinion that none 
 ever fail d or diedy who enter d on a 
 Milk, Seed, and Vegetable Diet under 
 thefe mention d Diftempers. The noble 
 Organs may be fpoilt or irretrievably 
 objlrufiedy which the wifejl Thyfician 
 alive cannot abfolutely foreknow j the 
 Time remaining and necejfary for a total 
 Cure of fuch tedious T)feafes y may not 
 be fufficient in the common Duration of 
 Life. All I affirm therefore y is, that 
 fuch a Diet in the mention’d Diftem- 
 pers, with the ufual proper MedicineSy 
 duly per fifed in, will do the Whole that 
 Art can fojjibly doy or Mortality will 
 admit 5 and infinitely more than the 
 fame Medicines under a full and free 
 
 Diet 
 
X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Diet of Animal Foods and Spirituous 
 Licjuors 5 and at the very leaf , will 
 make their Tains and Sufferings Jefs 
 both in Life and Death. 
 
 VIE What I pretend to have done 
 in fome Degree in the following Trea - 
 life , is, That I hope I have explain’d 
 the ISature and Caufes of Nervous Dif- 
 tempers ( which have hitherto been rec- 
 kon'd Witchcraft, Enchantment, Sor- 
 cery and Poffeffion, and have been the 
 conjlant Refource of Ignorance ) from 
 Principles eafy , natural and intelligible , 
 deduc’d from the bejl and foundef Na- 
 tural Philofophy • and have by the 
 plainef Reafoning , drawn from thefs 
 Caufes and this Philofophy, a Method 
 of Cure and a Courfe of Medicines 
 fpecifically obviating thefe Caufes, con- 
 firm’d by long Experience and repeated 
 Obfrvations, and conformable to the 
 Praffiice of the ablef and bejl Writers 
 on thefe Difeafis. 
 
 VIII. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xi 
 
 VIII. The rncji material Objefiion 
 my ableft Friends have made to this Piece 
 is , That much of it is a Repetition of 
 what I have already faid in Trint , and 
 fome of it but a lame and imperfect 
 Reprefentation of what is much better 
 faid by others. But as this Objection 
 regards only myfelf and my Reputation 
 as an Author, / will fuffer it to have 
 its whole Effehi. There can be no 
 greater Evidence of the Truth of Prin- 
 ciples, than their being fimple and few, 
 and readily applicable to jfblve all the 
 pojfeble appearances. Nature produces 
 many and various Effects in different 
 Circumjlances y from one and the fame 
 Caufe. Truth is Jimple and one in its 
 Root and Source , but various and manit 
 fold in different Situations and Circum- 
 flances. And 1 fhall not think it Tau- 
 tology, to prefs and inculcate the fame 
 Methods of Cure, even in different 
 SDifiempers , from the fame Caufes , if it 
 be done from different Views and Confe- 
 derations , 
 
 IX, 
 
Xll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IX. There are two Sorts of Rea- 
 ders I have not the mojt remote Hopes 
 of convincing or giving Satisfaction to 5 
 viz. the Voluptuous and Unthinking. 
 < Thofe who value Life only for the Sake 
 of good Eating and Drinking, and thofe 
 whofe thinking Faculties and Organs 
 have never keen truly form'd or duly 
 cultivated ; neither of thefe will ever 
 hear or can receive any Conviction or 
 Re a foning from fuch Principles as I lay 
 down. But the Laws of Nature, and 
 the immutable Relations of Things, are 
 too Jiubborn to bend to fuch Gentlemen $ 
 and I fhould not chufe to fludy fuch a 
 Sort of Particulars, to learn incorrupted 
 Nature , its Laws and Order, no more 
 than I fhould apply to a monftrous 
 Production to learn the Genius of a 
 Tribe, or a Species either 0/" Vegetables 
 or Animals. Bofjibly even they them - 
 felves may be convinc’d , at leaf in fome 
 me afure , when their proper Time is 
 come ; and fooner or later it may come , 
 unlefs the Minute Fhiloiophy prevail , 
 
 and 
 
PREFACE. xiii 
 
 and become the Standard. For probably 
 when they begin to feel violent Pain, 
 long Sicknefs, habitual Low Spirits, or 
 enter upon the Limits of both Worlds, 
 they may be convinced. For , in the 
 main , I believe the Caufe of thefe L )if- 
 tempers here affignd , juft and adequate, 
 and on the Succefs of the Methods of 
 Cure laid down in geyieral ( in Cafes 
 where any thing would fucceed) I could 
 venture my Reputation, Fortune and 
 Life. 
 
 ? 
 
 X. If any of your Authors without 
 Names, who wound in the Dark ; your 
 Hackney- Scribblers, who want only to 
 give their Lucubrations Sale • your pro- 
 fane and bold Wits, who fight behind 
 J ingle and Rhime 5 your Philomaths, 
 who, without Experiment or Ob ferv ac- 
 tion , want only to floew away $ or your 
 Peftle-and-Mortar Men, ' who have 
 more Time on their Hands than Rufi- 
 nefs , think Jit to try their Parts on this 
 Performance 5 for their Encouragement , 
 
 they 
 
 3 
 
xiv PREFACE. 
 
 they need only confider the Author as 
 gone to his long Home, or his Faculties 
 (as they could wifh ) impair d or extinB. 
 But if any Sober and Serious Ferfon , 
 who has Nature in View, and is in 
 Search of Truth only, ready to embrace 
 it on what Side of the Vfueflion foever 
 it lies, has any Difficulties or Doubts^ 
 he may find fome one or other who may 
 give him all the Satisfaction he can de- 
 jfire 5 if it be true (as it moft certainly is) 
 that where the Philofopher ends , there 
 the Phylician begins. If I could choofe, 
 I floould name only thofe for my Judges, 
 who to a competent Knowledge of the 
 Laws of Nature and Meehan ifm, have 
 join d an Acquaintance with the befl 
 Natural Philofophy, the latefi CDifco - 
 veries in Natural Hiftory, and the 
 Powers and Virtues of Medicines, and 
 had been long converfant in the Brattice 
 of Phyfick and Attendance on the Sick 
 and Difeafed : And by their Judgment I 
 floould ffand or fall. But fmee I have 
 not the moft remote Frofpetl to hope , or 
 
XV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 the Jeajt Vanity to flatter myfelf either 
 to prevail on but a very few of the 
 Sufferings Sick and [ Difeafed , or to 
 choofe my Readers and Judges 5 1 muff 
 be contented to ffand my Fate., be it what 
 it will- 
 
 XI. For how this Work may he 
 received by the Publick in general , 
 l think I have 110 further Concern , 
 than as its bad or good Reception 
 may affeCt the Publick, by difappointing 
 the Good it might do y or encour ageing 
 the Evils it might prevent. I flat- 
 ter'd myfelf it might entertain , inffruCt 
 and direCt the Ingenious Delicate Va- 
 letudinarian, and give at leaf; the un -> 
 prejudic'd younger Phyfician a different 
 way of thinking in thefe Didempers 
 from the Common, which has been 
 the Reverie of my Dodirine. I am 
 myfelf come to that Time of Life 
 when Hopes and Fears ought to be 
 contracted into a very narrow Com - 
 pafs. I have done my bell, and pur- 
 
 fu’d 
 
 D 
 
XVI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 fi d in my own Cafe the fame Rules 
 / haw given to others , and have at 
 prefent , I thank God, inward Peace, 
 Health and Freedom of Spirits. 
 
 Inveni Portum, Spes 5c Fortuna Valete. 
 
 t 
 
[ xvii ] 
 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 JNTRO DUCflON Page i 
 
 CHAP, I. 
 
 Of the Sources and Caufes of Chronical Dif- 
 tempers in general. 
 
 The Caufes of Chronical Di (tempers of three 
 Sorts, i. A Sizynefs or Vifcidity in the 
 Fluids, i. A Sharpnefs or corrofive Qua- 
 lity in the Fluids. 3. A Laxity or Want 
 % of due Tone in the Fibres er Nerves 6 
 The necejfary Effects of fuch Caujes. 8 
 
 b CHAP. 
 
xviii Contents. 
 
 chap. ir. 
 
 Of the general Caufes of the Diforders of the 
 Nerves. 
 
 1 . Want or Excefs of Humidity in the Solids i o 
 
 2. Concretions of Salts 1 1 
 
 3. ,7 he Interruption or Interception of the Vi- 
 
 brations of the Nerves by the Vijcidity of 
 the Juices 1 2 
 
 4. He Weaknefs or Laxity of their Pone 13 
 What Difeafes are properly call’d Nervous ib. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 \ - - . 
 
 Of the General Divifion of Nervous Dis- 
 tempers. 
 
 Nil Nervous Cafes but the feveral Steps or 
 Stages of the fame Di (temper 14 
 
 Nervous Di (tempers of three Kinds . 1 . Such 
 
 as are attended with a partial or total Lofs 
 of Senfation for fome Pime ij 
 
 2. Such as are attended with the Lofs of 
 
 voluntary Motion in any particular Organ 
 or Limb 16 
 
 3 . Such as are attended with Spafns , Cramps , 
 
 or Convulfons 17 
 
 Another Diftintdion of nervous Diforders , into 
 original and acquir’d 1 8 
 
 Phe Misfortune of original weak Nerves may 
 be the Cauje of greater Felicity 20 
 
 Perfons 
 
XIX 
 
 Contents. 
 
 Ferfons of original weak Nerves incapable of 
 ever intirely obtaining the fame Strength and 
 
 Vigour with thoje of frong Fibres ibid. 
 
 Such Ferfons, if they get over the Meridian 
 of Life, commonly live Healthy to a great old 
 Age 11 
 
 How nervous Diforders are acquired 23 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 That what is fwallowed down and received 
 into the Habit is the firft and chief efficient 
 Caufe of all that Mankind fuffer in their 
 Bodies. 
 
 That Men bring upon themfelves all their Mi - 
 feries 1 5 
 
 That what is received into the Habit is the 
 Caufe of aU Difeafes, prov’d from the Me - 
 chanifm of the human Body , and the Laws 
 of the Animal O economy. 16 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Of the furprizing and wonderful Effe&s of 
 Salts, efpecially of the volatile, urinous, 
 or animal Salts, upon Human Bodies and 
 Conftitutions. 
 
 Of the great Energy and Activity of Salts in 
 general 3 f 
 
 Of the Caufe of their Energy and Jffivity 38 
 
 c Of 
 
XX 
 
 CONTEN T S* 
 
 Of mineral Salt , and the various Changes it 
 fuffers by entring into vegetable and animal 
 Subfauces 3^ 
 
 Why mineral and vegetable Salts have more im- 
 mediate and fenjible Ejffefs than animal Salts 
 
 4 * 
 
 Of the Effects of Salts in general upon human 
 Bodies 42 
 
 Shat rich Foods and generous Wines owe their . 
 Boignancy and high Tajte to the Salts with 
 which they abound 44 
 
 f licit the mentioned Properties of Salts arije 
 only from their Size , Shape y and Attrac- 
 tion of their Particles 4 6 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the Frequency of nervous Diforders, in 
 Jater Years, beyond what they haye been 
 obferved in former Times. 
 
 A vulgar Mi flake in accounting for the Fre- 
 quency of thefe Diforders in later Tears 48 
 The true Caitje affign’ d, viz. 1. Luxury 49 
 
 2. An unatfive^ fe dent ary ^ or fudious Life 52 
 
 3. Living in great and populous Cities 54 
 Difeafes introduced among the Greeks and 
 
 Romans by the fame Caffes 56 
 
 That all Difeafes are remotely derived from the 
 fame Principles 57 
 
 Nervous Difeafes known in fGme Degree to the 
 Ancients 58 
 
 CHAP. 
 
/ 
 
 Contents. xxi 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Of the true Nature of the Fibres and Nerves. 
 
 What is meant by a Fibre , and what are its 
 Properties 60 
 
 Oj the Structure of the Solids in an animal 
 Body 62 
 
 Of the different Sorts of fenfble or compound 
 Fibres ibid. 
 
 Of their Nature and Properties 64 
 
 Elafticity neceffary in Fibres. 66 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Of the Ufe of the Fibres and Nerves, and 
 the Manner and Caufes of Senfation, and 
 of Mufcular Motion. 
 
 fhe intelligent Principle of a different Nature 
 the orzanical Machine which contain / 
 
 6 \& 
 
 How the Senfations are performed 70 
 
 Of the Nature and Cauje of Elasticity 7 2 
 
 Of Mufcular Motion 74 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Of the Exiftence of animal Spirits, and of 
 their Ufe to account for animal Motion, 
 and the other animal Fun&ions. 
 
 ffhe various Opinions of Writers on this Sub- 
 ject 77 
 
 Phe 
 
 from 
 
 it 
 
 c 2 
 
xxii Contents. 
 
 The Objections commonly made againf the Ex- 
 it ft e nee of animal Spirits 78 
 
 The Impojfbility of their Exi fence fhewn from 
 other “Principles 81 
 
 The Abfurdity of attempting to account for 
 nervotis Difeajes by the Exifence of animal 
 Spirits 83 
 
 Of the various Sy ferns of Fluids 85 
 
 Of the Nature of the Brain and Nerves , and 
 the Manner in which their Functions are 
 performed 88 
 
 G II A P. X. 
 
 Of the Generation, Animation, Nutrition? 
 and Growth of the Solids and Fluids of 
 Animals, and fome other Fun&ions of the 
 animal Oeconomy. 
 
 That there is a felf-a Clive and felf motive 
 Principle in all Animals po 
 
 Of the Generation of Animals pi 
 
 That the Organs of an Animal are in Number , 
 in fome Senfe , infnite , at leaf indefnite pa 
 Some Propoftions containing the Nature , Ge- 
 neration, Nutrition , and other Functions of 
 the animal Oeconomy P3 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Contents. 
 
 xxm 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Of the Signs and Symptoms of a too relaxed, 
 loofe, and tender State of Nerves. 
 
 Weaknefs of the Nerves difcoverahle from the 
 Pulfe and Nature of the Circulation pp 
 From the Nature and Colour of the Hair i oo 
 From the Mitfcles and Colour of the Skin i o i 
 Fatnefs or Corpulence a Sign of weak Nerves 102 
 Preternatural Evacuations ibid. 
 
 Coldnefs in the Extremities of the Body 103 
 Stammering , Difficulty of Utterance, Deafnefs , 
 &c. 1 04 
 
 That a Laxity and Want of due Tone and 
 Elaflicity in the Solids , produce vifcid and 
 (harp Juices , and on the contrary 1 o 5 
 
 c 3 
 
 PART 
 
xxiv Contents. 
 
 part II. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Of the general Method of Cure of nervous 
 Diftempers. 
 
 nH HE frjl Intention , to thin , dilute , and 
 fweeten the Fluids 1 1 a 
 
 The fecond Intention , to break and diffolve the 
 faline Concretions in the fmall Vejfels 1 1 3 
 
 The third and la ft Intention, to wind up and 
 contrail the Fibres of the whole Syflem 1 1 4 
 That each Intention ought to be purfued fepa - 
 rately 1 1 5 
 
 Of the Time necejfary for each Intention 116 
 
 Of the various Changes of the Blood under 
 Difeafes of all Kinds 1 1 8 
 
 Of the State of the Blood in nervous Dijor- 
 ders 122 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Contents 
 
 xxv 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the Method and Medicines proper for the 
 firft Intention. 
 
 What Sort of Medicines are fitt eft to attenuate 
 the Juices ; 124 
 
 The Neceffty of beginning with Evacuations 
 
 . 125 
 
 The Medicines of the firft Intention fpecifed 
 
 ibid. 
 
 Calomel , how to be adminiftred 120 
 
 Of TEthiops Mineral , AEjhiops Antimon. 
 Mercurius Alcalifatus , Prcecipitat per fe, 
 and Jzhiickfilver, &c. 128 
 
 The great life of all Mercurial Preparations in 
 chronical Cafes , and the Preparations proper 
 for each particular Cafe 130 
 
 Of the wild Valerian 136 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Of the Medicines proper for the fecond In- 
 tention. 
 
 The Medicines for the frfi Intention may be 
 compounded with thoje for the fecond 137 
 A Wive and volatile Medicines ft tef for the fe- 
 cond Intention 138 
 
 The Medicines for the fecond Intention fpecifed 
 
 l 39 
 
 Of Affa-fcetida 140 
 
 Of Ammoniac urn, Sagapenum , &c. 141 
 
 c 4 CHAP. 
 
XXVI C ONTENTS, 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of the Medicines proper for the third In- 
 tention. 
 
 7 he Medicines proper for the third Intention 
 of the afiringent Kind, fhefe Medicine's 
 J feci fed 1 44 
 
 oj the Jefuits Bark y and its great Ffifcacy in 
 nervous Cafes 
 
 Of Bittersy chalyheat MediclneSy and mineral 
 ch alyl eat Waters 1^6 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Of the Regimen of Diet proper for nervous 
 Diftempers. 
 
 A proper Regimen of Diety much ufed by the 
 Ant lent s in the Cure of Difeafes ; and why 
 it Is Jo little regarded at prefent 140 
 
 fhat the Boods and Fhyjick proper to the 
 middling Sort in each Country is the heft 
 
 The Benefit of the Loathing and Inappetency 
 that attends Diforders 1 fy 
 
 That Difeafes are cured by the contrary Me- 
 thods to thofe which produced them 1 j8 
 
 Of the Qualities of the Food proper in nervous 
 Diforders ibid. 
 
 Of the Quantity of the Food ifo 
 
 fhat 
 
Contents. xxvii 
 
 That different Degrees of Temperance are nc- 
 ceffary , as the Symptoms are more or lefs 
 violent 1 6r 
 
 What Cafes require a total Abfinence from 
 animal Food and fermented Liquors 162, 
 That a total milk and vegetable Diet is not 
 proper in all Difeafes 
 
 The Advantages of a milk and vegetable Diet 
 above any other, in Cafes wherein it is pro- 
 per , and on the contrary 1 68 
 
 The Caufes of thefe Advantages or Dif advan- 
 tages 1 69 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the Exercife proper for nervous Dis- 
 orders. 
 
 The Meceffty of Exercife to Health in general 
 
 171 
 
 The great XJfe made of Exercife by the Antients 
 in the Cure of Dijlempers 174 
 
 The great Reneft of Exercife confrmed from 
 Rea/on as well as Experience 177 
 
 What Kinds of Exercife are bef 180 
 
 The Reneft of Amufement 1 8 1 
 
 CHAP. 
 
xxviii Contents. 
 
 chap. VII. 
 
 Of fome of the more immediate and eminent 
 Caufes of nervous Diforders. 
 
 All nervous Diforders proceed from fome glan- 
 dular Difemper , either fcrophulous or fcor - 
 hutical 183 
 
 A vitious Liver or Spleen one of the primary 
 Caufes of nervous Diforders 185 
 
 Knotted Glands in the Mefentery or Guts 
 another Caufe 188 
 
 Cutaneous Diforders productive of nervous 
 Difempers 1 8p 
 
 Some other Caufes affigned 1*90 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Of the Spleen, Vapours, Lownefs of Spirits, 
 Hyfterical or Hypochondriacal Diforders. 
 
 Lke Symptoms of thefe Diforders , whence to 
 he deduced ip3 
 
 What Symptoms properly belong to Vapours ip4 
 Of the different Kinds or Degrees of Vapours 
 
 1 95 
 
 Of the frfl Degree of Vapours , and the Symp- 
 toms attending it 1 y 6 
 
 Of the fecond and third Degrees of Vapours 
 and their Symptoms ipp 
 
 Of the Difference between acute and chronical 
 Difeafes , in their Origin and Production aoi 
 
 nap 
 
XXIX 
 
 Contents. 
 
 That Vapours are the frf Symptoms of all 
 Chronical Difeafes 203 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Of the Cure of the Symptoms of Vapours, 
 Hyfterical and Hypochondriacal Diforders. 
 
 Gentle Vomits an effectual Remedy for all the 
 
 Symptoms 
 
 106 
 
 Of Refllejfnefs and Inquietude of Spirits 208 
 Of Lownefs not attended with Sicknefs or 'Rain 
 
 10 9 
 
 Of the frequent Difcharge of limpid pale Water 
 by Urine 2 1 1 
 
 Of the Spitting or Salivation common in nervous 
 Di [tempers 212 
 
 Of fome other Symptoms attending Vapours 213 
 Of tranfient Diforders of this Kind incident to 
 healthy Rerfons 214 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Of the nervous Diforders of the Convulfive 
 Tribe, particularly of Hyfterical and Hy- 
 pochondriacal Fits, and thole other Pa- 
 roxyfms that attend nervous Diforders. 
 
 Of the Nature and Caufe of Ccnvulficns in ge- 
 neral 2 1 7 
 
 Of the Caufe of Convulfons in nervous Cafes 2 1 9 
 
 Of Childrens Convulfons , and their Cure 220 
 Of Convulfons in the Sex. 222 
 
 Of nervous Fits in grown Rerfons 22 q 
 
 C H A 1 \ 
 
tfxx Contents, 
 
 chap. XI. 
 
 Of nervous Fevers, Cholicks, Gouts, Afthmas, 
 Rheumatifms, and other Diftempers deno- 
 minated nervous. 
 
 Of the Difference between nervous and inflam- 
 matory Dif orders 226 
 
 Of the Nature and Symptoms of nervous Fevers 
 
 227 
 
 Of the Cure of nervous Fevers 230 
 
 Of the Nature and Symptoms of the nervous 
 Cholick 133 
 
 Of the Cure of the nervous Cholick 234 
 
 Of nervous Gouts , Rheumatifms , and Aflhmas 
 
 ^35 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Of the Palfy, St. Vitus’s Dance, and other 
 Paralytick Diforders. 
 
 Of the Caufe and Cure of partial Failles 238 
 Of the Nature and Caufe of Palfies 239 
 
 Of the Cure of Palfies 242 
 
 Of St. Vitus’ s Dance 244 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Of the Apoplexy and Epilepfy. 
 
 Of the Nature and Caufe of the apoplexy in 
 general 243 
 
 Of the different Kinds of apoplexies 246 
 
 Of the more common Sort of Apoplexy, and its 
 Caufe - ^48 
 
 Ofth e Cure of Apoplexies 249 
 
 Of the Nature of the Epilepfy 231 
 
 Of the Cure of the Epilepfy 253 
 
 PART 
 
Contents. 
 
 XXXI 
 
 part in. 
 
 — — — - — * 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 F thofe whofe nervous Complaints were 
 cured by Medicine , under a common , tho” 
 temperate Diet. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of nervous Cafes , requiring a mix'd or trim - 
 ming Regimen of Diet , viz. of tender , 
 young, animal Food , <0 //'///<? 
 
 Water one Day , other only Milk , 
 
 Seeds , and Vegetables 273 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 O/" nervous Cafes , requiring a frill and total 
 Milk , < 5 W, Vegetable Diet 2.84 
 
 CHAP. 
 
xxxii Contents." 
 
 chap. IV. 
 
 The Objections againjl a Regimen , efpecially a 
 Milky Seedy and Vegetable Diety conjidered 
 
 2 97 
 
 Vhe Cafe of the Hon. Col. Townfliend 307 
 rfhe Cafe of the learned and ingenious Dr. Cran- 
 ftoun, in a Letter to the Author , at his 
 Defrey in Dr. Cranftoun’j own JVords 311 
 
 3 2 S 
 
 $65 
 
 fhe Cafe of the Author 
 fhe Conchfion 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 CnsHflt) jldaUp.’ 
 
 O R, A 
 
 TREATISE 
 
 O F 
 
 Nervous Difeafes of all Kinds, 
 
 A S 
 
 Spleen, Vapours, Lownefs of Spirits, 
 Hypochondriacal and Hyfterical 
 Diftempers, &c. 
 
 In THREE PARTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Of the Nature and Caufe of Nervous 
 Distempers. 
 
 Nec te qu re fiver is extra. 
 
 Perfius. 
 
 By GEORGE CHETNE, M. D. 
 
 Fellow of the College ofPbyJiciam at Edinburg^ and F.R.S. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 Printed for G. Straha n, and J. Leak e. 
 
 M.DCC. XXXIII. 
 

 
 
 

 [ * ] 
 
 
 (238 
 
 Engl 
 
 THE 
 
 i jl Malady. 
 
 Introduction* 
 
 H E Spirit of a Man can bear his 
 Infirmities, but a wounded Spirit 
 who can bear ? faith a Prophet. 
 As this is a great Truth in the 7;^ 
 tellectual World, fo it may allude 
 to the Human Machin , to infinuate, that a 
 Perfon of found Health, of ftrong Spirits, 
 and firm Fibres, may be able to combat, 
 ftruggle with, and nobly to bear and even 
 brave the Misfortunes, Pains, and Miferies 
 of this mortal Life, when the fame Perfon, 
 broken, and dilpirited by Weaknefs of Nerves , 
 Valours, Melancholy , or Age, fhall become 
 
 B dejeffced, 
 
i Introduction. 
 
 dejeded, opprefs’d, peevifh, and funk even 
 below the Weaknefs of a Greenlicknefs Maid, 
 or a Child. Of this every one who has liv’d 
 any time in the World may have feen Inftances, 
 from the Hero to the City Girl. This I have 
 often obferv’d, and reflected on within myfelf, 
 with much Pity of the Folly and Mifery, the 
 Pride and Prefumprion of Human Nature , 
 which could value, or think to fupport itfelf, 
 upon its own natural Courage and Force. To 
 expcd Fortitude , Patience , 'Tranquillity , and 
 Refignation , from the moil Heroick of the 
 Children of Men, under fuch Circumftances, 
 from their natural Force or Faculties alone, 
 is equally abfurd as to exped to fly without 
 Wings, or walk without Legs ; the Strength 
 of the Nerves , Fibres , or Animal Spirits (as 
 they are call’d) being the neceflary Inftruments 
 of the former, as thefe Members are of the 
 latter. Different natural Complexions of the 
 Soul and IntelleBual Faculties, and different 
 Improvements from Education, Philofophy , of 
 Religion , may make fome fmall Odds in the 
 Behaviour of different Perfons under thefe 
 Diforders. But this depends much upon the 
 Degrees of the. Diftemper, and the original 
 Frame and Make of the Body, even more 
 than can be readily imagin’d, as I have often 
 had undeniable Evidences to conclude. And, 
 of all the Miferies that afflid Human Life, 
 and relate principally to the Body, in this 
 Valley of Tears, I think, Nervous Diforders, 
 
 in 
 
Introduction. 3 
 
 in their extream and lad Degrees, are the 
 mod deplorable, and, beyond all companion, 
 the word:. It was the Obfervation of a learned 
 and judicious Phyjician , that he had feen Per- 
 fons labouring under the mod: exquifite Pains 
 of Gout, Stone , Ckolick , Cancer , and all the 
 other Diftempers that can tear the human 
 Machin, yet had he obferv’d them all willing 
 to prolong their wretched Being, and fcarce 
 any ready to lay down chearfully the Load of 
 Clay, (we will except thofe who were fuperna- 
 turally fupportedj but fuch as labour’d under 
 a condant, internal Anxiety, meaning thofe 
 mod: finking, fuffocating, and drangling/V^r- 
 vous Diforders j it is truly the only Mifery 
 almod, to be dreaded and avoided in Life, if, 
 by any means, it can pofiibly. Tho’ other Evils 
 be Burdens, yet an eredted Spirit may bear 
 them, but when the Supports are fallen, and 
 cover the Man with their Ruins, the Defola- 
 tion is perfedt. I greatly fufpedt, (and have 
 adtually feen it in fome) that mod of thofe 
 who make away with themfelves, are under 
 the Influence of this didradting Evil , if it pro- 
 ceeds not fometimes from high Paflions arifing 
 in Conditutions naturally too fenfible, and 
 fuch are the mod readily expos’d to the Infults 
 of thefe Didempers. Having differ’d once 
 and again under all the Varieties of the Symp- 
 toms of this Dilorder, partly from my own 
 Indifcretion, and partly from a grofs Habit of 
 Body, and an original State of weak Nerves, 
 B 2 and 
 
4 Introduction. 
 
 and having tried ih my own Perfon almoft all 
 the poffible Means, Reliefs, or Medicines, that 
 Phyficians , Books of Phyfck , or PhiloJ'ophy , 
 could fuggeft, befides my own Obfervations 
 on many others, who have come to this Place 
 for Relief for thefe Thirty Years, and being 
 once and again perfectly refcu’d from them by 
 the fame Means, it will be a great Satisfaction 
 to me, if I can at leaf: alleviate and mitigate 
 the Sorrows and Miferies of my Fellow-Suffer- 
 ers, by the Experience I have fo dearly bought. 
 
 Those who are defirous to read the enfu- 
 ing Treatife only for their Relief and Cure, 
 may pafs over thofe Parts (which may be learned 
 by the Index) that are merely PhiloJ'ophical, and 
 defign’d only to gratify their Curiofity, they 
 having no neceffary Connection with what is 
 Direttory or Pr attic ah 
 
 These need only fuppofe, that the Human 
 Body is a Machin of an infinite Number and 
 Variety of different Channels and Pipes, filled 
 with various and different Liquors and Fluids, 
 perpetually running, glideing, or creeping for- 
 ward, or returning backward, in a conftant 
 Circle , and fending out little Branches and Out- 
 lets, to moiften, nourilh, and repair the Ex- 
 pences of Living. That the Intelligent Prin- 
 ciple, or Soul , refides fomewhere in the Brain, 
 where all the Nerves, or Inftruments of Senfa- 
 tion terminate, like a Mujician in a finely 
 
 fram’d 
 
Introduction. £ 
 
 fram’d and well-tun’d Organ-Cafe ; that thefe 
 Nerves are like Keys , which, being ftruck on 
 or touch’d, convey the Sound and Harmony 
 to this fentient Principle, or Mufician. 
 
 O r, in a more grofs Similitude, the Intelli- 
 genPrinciple is like a Bell in a Steeple, to which 
 there are an infinite Number of Hammers all 
 around it, with Ropes of all Lengths, termina- 
 ting or touching at every Point of the Surface of 
 the T runk or Cafe, one of whofe Extremities 
 being pull’d or touch’d by any Body whatfoever, 
 conveys a meafur’d, and proportion’d Impulfe 
 or Stroke to the Bell, which gives the proper 
 Sound. Thefe, or fuch like Similitudes, tho’ 
 Lame and ImperfeCt, are all, I doubt, was 
 ever defign’d for the Generality of Mankind 
 in the Knowledge neceflary towards Health 
 and Life, in fuch Matters. Thofe acquainted 
 with the beft Philofophy , Natural HiJlor)\ The 
 haws conflantly obierv’d by Bodies in their 
 Actions on one another, and the eflablifh’d 
 Relations of Things, will, 1 hope, meet with 
 fuller Satisfaction, if they confider the follow- 
 ing Treadle, without Prejudice or Partiality. 
 
 C H A Pc 
 
*the Englifh Malady. 
 
 6 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Cf the Sources and Caufes of Chronical 
 SDiJiempers in general. 
 
 §. I. r B"1 H E molt univerfal and com- 
 prehenlive Sources and Caufes 
 of Chronical Diftempers are, 
 ift. A Glewinefs , Sizynefs , 
 ViJ'cidity , or Grofsncfs in the Fluids, either 
 accidental, or acquir’d by thofe Perfons who 
 were born with found or good condition’d 
 Juices; or original and hereditary, in thofe 
 who have brought them fo difpos’d into the 
 World with them, from the ill State of Health 
 and bad State of Humours of the Parents, 
 which, poffibly, they may have had tranfmitted 
 to them from theirs, and fo on for many Ge- 
 nerations backwards. A rotten ana corrupt 
 Tree can produce nothing but bad Fruit, nor 
 can any natural Caufehave a better Effed than 
 its Principles, or Natural Qualities can pro- 
 duce. 
 
Caufes of Chronical Dtflempers. 7 
 
 duce. idly. Some Sharpnefs or corrofive Qua- 
 lity in the Fluids, arifing from a J’aline or 
 other deftruCtive Mixture thrown into them, 
 or from fome grols Concretions not fufficient- 
 l)r broken and divided by the digefUve Powers 
 in the Alimentary Tube, retarding or flop- 
 ping the Circulation in the fmall Vefiels, 
 whereby the ftagnant Juices become fharp 
 and corrofive, and the Salts have Time, by 
 their innate attractive Quality, to cryftalize 
 or unite in greater Clutters, and exert their 
 deftrudtive Force on the Solids; and this will 
 be ftill more pernicious and fatal, if the Food 
 is not only in too great a Quantity for the 
 concodtive Powers to break and divide it fuf- 
 ficiently, but is likewife too high, ftrong, 
 and full of Salts, from which the moft ter- 
 rible Symptoms will enfue. 3 dly, A too great 
 Laxity or Want of due Tone, Elafticity and 
 Force in the Fibres in general, or the Nerves in 
 particular. There is a due Degree of Strength, 
 Power and Springy nefs required in the Fibres 
 or Solids, not only to make the Juices circu- 
 late, and carry on their Motions backwards 
 and forwards in a continual Rotation thro’ 
 the whole Habit, but alfo to break, divide, 
 and fubtilize them further, that they may be 
 able eafily to pafs, not only thro’ the Fender 
 and finer Tubes of the papillary Vefiels, but ( 
 alfo through the Strainers of the Glands , either 
 fo throw off thofe Recrements and grofler 
 B ^ Parts* 
 
8 The EngliOi Malady, 
 
 Parts, which are not required for the ani-* 
 mal Fundtions, or to feparate thofe Juices 
 W 7 hich are required for the Prefervation of 
 the Individual. Thefe are the moft effedtual, 
 general and immediate Caufes of all chronical 
 Diftempers, of which, when any one is, in 
 any eminent Degree, become habitual, the 
 other two fpring up, or follow very foon, and 
 join with it in producing the various Symp- 
 toms of thefe Diforders. Other Specialities 
 and Circumftances may concur with them, 
 but they would have little EfFedt, if thefe 
 could be fuppofed abfent or removed. 
 
 §. II. T he ftrji Caufe mentioned will ob- 
 ftrudt and poffibly burft the fmall and capil- 
 lary Veffels that carry about the Fluids, pro- 
 ducing ■ Tumours , Swellings, and Ulcers , and 
 will not only tumify and afterwards relax and 
 fpoil the whole almoft infinite Set of Glands , 
 external and internal, but efpecially thofe 
 which are properly called Ernnnffory ones, 
 and fo flop the Secretions, and fill the Body 
 with vicious and morbid Juices. This De- 
 tention, Swelling and Hardnefs of the Glands 
 and fmajl Veffels, will like wife prefs upon the 
 Nerves, flop and intercept their Vibrations or 
 tremors, or whatever elfe be their Adtion, and 
 confequently fpoil their natural Fundtions. 
 The Jccond will not only rend, tear and fpoil 
 the Veffels, creating acute Pains, and produce- 
 
Sources of Chronical Di (tempers. p 
 
 ing corrolive, Scorbutick and Cancerous Ulcers 
 and Sores, in all Parts of the Body, but will 
 alfo, by twitching and vellicating the Nerves 
 or nervous Fibres, produce Convullions, Spafrns, 
 and all the terrible Symptoms of that Tribe 
 of nervous Diftempers. The lafi mentioned 
 Caufe will not only weaken and deftroy volun- 
 tary Motion, and the Force and Freedom of 
 the intelleBual Operations (for the Exercife of 
 which, as long as the Union lads, material Or- 
 gans and their Soundnefs and Integrity fee ms to 
 be required as well as for the animal Fundtions) 
 but will alfo retard and weaken the Circu- 
 lation, flop the Perfpiration, and confound and 
 disorder the Secretions, and all the Functions 
 that belong to either Part of the Com- 
 pound, 
 
 CHAP. 
 
The Englifh Malady. 
 
 to 
 
 mam* 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the General Caufes of the TUf- 
 orders of the Nerves. 
 
 §. i. rpHE Solids, and confequently 
 the Fibres and Nerves whereof, 
 -A- they are woven and compli- 
 cated , are fubjed to feveral 
 Diforders which may interrupt and entirely 
 ruin their Functions. As, fir ft, by become- 
 ing either too dry, or too moift, that is by 
 Want, or Excefs of Humidity, Moifture or 
 Nourifhment to keep their Parts in a due or 
 proper Tone or Elefiicity. The firfi general- 
 ly arifes from a too hot, dry, and as it were 
 corrofive Nourifhment, which renders them 
 too crifp, over elaftick , and brittle, and fo 
 forces on the Circulation, and fends about 
 the Juices with too great Force, Rapidity, 
 and Violence, inftead of that calm and uni- 
 form manner, in which the Functions, and 
 Secretions of the animal O economy, are natu- 
 rally perform’d, and that due Balance, which 
 ought, naturally to be between the Solids and 
 
 Fluids. 
 
%)iforders of the Nerves. i i 
 
 Fluids. And this probably has a great Share 
 in the Production of inflammatory Diforders, 
 high Fevers, and the other acute Diflempers 
 of ftrong Conflitutions. The J'econd from too 
 great a Quantity of oily and nutritious Juices 
 thrown on them more than the Expences of 
 living require, foaking and relaxing the So- 
 lids, renders their ACtion languid, and has a 
 greater Share in the Productions of flow and 
 cold Difeafes. 
 
 §. II. Secondly , By improper, hard, folid and 
 noxious Particles getting into their Subfian- 
 ces, which may gradually alter, fpod and flop 
 their natural Texture and Functions what- 
 ever that happen to be, whether Vibration , 
 bit eft ins Adlion , and Reaction or Collijion of 
 their fmall Parts, or however they aCt or 
 are aCted upon, to convey and propagate the 
 Senfations or Influences of external Bodies, to 
 the Seat of the intelligent Principle : For 
 when the Juices are fpoil’d, and the Blood de- 
 clines from its due Fluidity and Balmynefs , 
 the nutritive Juices mufl neceffarily partake 
 of their general Nature, and become crowd- 
 ed and filled with hard, large Concretions, 
 of a different Nature from the genuine and 
 natural Condition of the Blood and Juices, in 
 their healthy State, which whencefoever they 
 may arife, or whatever different Qualities 
 they may be endued with ; I choofe to call 
 by the general Name of Animal Salts. The 
 
 Nerves 
 
m The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Nerves and Fibres being thus unnaturally 
 nouridied and repair’d, mud, in fuch a State, 
 either entirely dop and bring no Senfation at 
 all to the intelligent Principle, and convey no 
 Adtion from it to the Mufcles and Organs of 
 Animal Motion, or at lead: falfe, imperfect and 
 delufory ones ; for thefe Salts, and fuch like 
 hard, folid, compadt and angular Particles, will 
 be more readily infinuated into the tender 
 Threads of the Solids, having a greater De- 
 gree of Attraction in proportion to their 
 Bulks, than the more rare, foft, and fpongy 
 ones. 
 
 §. III. Thirdly , From the Interruption, In- 
 terception and Stoppage of their Vibrations , 
 Tremors , and the intedine Adtion of their 
 component Particles, by the greater Prediire 
 of too vifcid Juices in the Blood Veflels, and 
 the other Tubes that contain the animal Juices, 
 furrounding thefe Fibres or Nerves : For it’s 
 well known, that a more glutinous and vifcid 
 Fluid, circulating in an eladick or didradtile 
 Canal, will bulge it up, and prefs upon its 
 Sides more drongly than a thinner and more 
 rare Fluid one, an'd fo the Sides of the Canal 
 will become more drait and tumified, pref- 
 dng thereby on the Nerves , as if it were 
 a JVedge or folid Body, and interrupting 
 their natural Adtions. The fame is to be 
 concluded from the Tumefadtion, Indura- 
 ration, and Swelling of the Glands , which 
 
i Difirders of the Nerves. 1 $ 
 
 being extremely numerous over all the Body, 
 muft greatly endamage the Nervous Syjiem. 
 
 §. IV. Fourthly , From the natural or ac- 
 quired Weaknefs and Laxity of their Tone 
 and Elasticity, whether from a natural or ac- 
 cidental ill Structure or Formation of them- 
 felves or the other Organs of the Body, or 
 from any external Injury received on them : 
 And fuch is the Cafe of thofe who are bom 
 of weakly or old Parents, or whofe Parents 
 have long labour’d under the Gout , Scurvy , 
 Elephantiajis , Leprojy , Venereal or Nervous 
 Diforders ; thofe who have had a Contufion 
 on the Head, Back-bone, or any other Part 
 of the Body, where there are the greateft 
 Collection of Nerves , and laftly , thofe who 
 have a Hump, or any preternatural Diftor- 
 tion or Excrefcence, efpecially on the Trunk 
 of the Body. 
 
 §. V. And the’ all thefe general Caufes, 
 mentioned in the former and this Chapter , 
 concur in all chronical and nervous Diftempers 
 whatsoever, in fome Degree or other, and 
 perhaps fome other more minute Circum- 
 ftances, which are not fo readily found out, 
 or much to be regarded, yet Difeales differ 
 and have received their Names by Phyjicians , 
 according as the Symptoms arifing from this 
 or that general Caufe mentioned, are more 
 evident, numerous or flronger. But thefe 
 
 Difeafes 
 
14 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Difeafes are chiefly and properly called Ner- 
 vous, whofe Symptoms imply that the Syftem 
 of the Nerves and their Fibres, are evident- 
 ly relax'd and broken. The Brevity I intend 
 in this Treatife, will notallow me to detail 
 all the Kinds of Nervous Diftempers that 
 have been obferv’d and named ; they are fuf- 
 ficiently known, or may be learned from 
 Books of Phyjick , and I think may be re- 
 duced to the following general Heads. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Of the General Divijion of Nervous 
 ‘Diftempers. 
 
 §. I. A L L Nervous Diftempers whaf- 
 foever from Yawning and 
 -“■ Stretching , up to a mortal 
 Fit of an Apoplexy, feems to me to be but 
 one continued Diforder , or the feveral 
 Steps or Degrees of it, arifing from a Re- 
 laxation or Weaknefs, and the Want of a 
 fufficient Force and Elafticity in the Solids 
 in general, and the Nerves in particular, in 
 Proportion to the Refiftance of the Fluids, in 
 
 order 
 
 / 
 
*Dtvifion of Nervous Diftempers . 1 5 
 
 order to carry on the Circulation, remove Ob- 
 ftru&ions, carry off the Recrements, and make 
 the Secretions. In treating of Nervous Dis- 
 tempers, the D if orders of the Solids are chiefly 
 what are to be had regard to j yet they rare- 
 ly or never happen alone (except perhaps in 
 thofe Nervous Diforders that proceed from 
 acute Difeafes, preternatural Evacuations, ex- 
 ternal Injuries, or a wrong and unnatural 
 Make and Frame) but even in original ner- 
 vous Diftempers there is always Some Vifci- 
 dity or Sharpnefs attending them from the 
 bad Conftitutions of the Parents, from whom 
 they have derived their material Organs. This 
 is evident from the nervous Diforders that at- 
 tend fcrophulous and fcorbutick Perrons. And 
 from long and conftant Observation, I am un- 
 der a Conviction, that no deep and eminent 
 Degree of nervous Diforders happens to young 
 Perfons, but from a manifeft or latent fcro- 
 phulous or fcorbutick Taint, which implies 
 both Vifcidityand Sharpnefs in the Juices: nor 
 any great Degree to adult Perfons, originally 
 found, but from an acquired fcorbutick Habit 
 or Cachexy. 
 
 §. II. The moft natural and general Di- 
 viflon of bervous Diftempers will therefore be 
 thus. ] ijl. Into thofe Difeafes, that befides 
 their other Symptoms, are attended with a 
 partial or total Lofs of Senfation for fome 
 Time. This Branch will not only compre- 
 hend 
 
1 6 The Englifli Malady.’ 
 
 hend all thofe nervous Diforders from Low- 
 nefs of Spirits, lethargick Duilnefs, Melan- 
 cholly and Moping, up to a compleat Apo- 
 plexy, but alfo thofe fainting Fits, fo com- 
 mon in Perfons of weak Nerves. As a Con- 
 fequence from this Interruption of Senfation, 
 partial or total, there will neceflarily follow a 
 Sufpenfion of voluntary Motion^ The intel- 
 ligent Principle, under this Inability of the 
 Nervous Syjlem being bereaved of proper Or- 
 gans to convey its Orders to the Mufcles, tho' 
 thefe laft fhould remain fufficiently fitted for 
 their proper Offices. This Clafs of nervous 
 Diforders feems chiefly to arife from a Grofs- 
 nefs , Glewynefs or Vifcidity of the animal 
 Juices (fetting afide at p refen t the Confidera- 
 tion of their Sharpnefs and Acrimony, which 
 is never totallv abfent, when thefe others are 
 in any eminent Degree, e'fpecially in our 
 Northern Climates) which obftrudts the Glands f 
 the ferous Pipes, and the capillary Blood- 
 vefiels, and thereby breaks, interrupts and 
 weakens the Vibrations and Tremors, or what- 
 ever elle is the Adtion of the nervous Fibres 
 properly fo called. 
 
 §. III. Secondly, Those nervous Diforders, 
 which are attended with a Lofs of voluntary 
 Motion or Shakeing, in any particular Organ 
 or Limb, or in all the Infhruments of volun- 
 tary Motion. Such are all thofe of the para- 
 lytick Kind. From an univerfal PalJy , a 
 
 iiemt- 
 
i Dwijion of Nervous Dijlempers. 1 7 
 
 Hemiplegia (or Palfy of half the Body) or 
 of a particular Limb, to a Deadnefs, Numb- 
 nefs, Weaknefs, or Coldnefs upon any of 
 the Parts, external or internal. This Clafs 
 of Difeafes feems to ow its Origin to a 
 Weaknefs, Imbecility, and Lofs of due Tom 
 in the Nervous Syftem, or an Interruption 
 of their Vibrations or proper ACtion, (what- 
 ever it be) whereby the Soul is difabled to 
 communicat its Energy or Principle of Mo- 
 tion to the Mufcular Fibres, 
 
 §. IV. Those Nervous Diflempers that 
 are attended with Spafms , Cramps, Convul- 
 fions, or violent Contractions of the Mufclcs. 
 Of this kind are all of the Convuljive Tribe 
 from Hypochondriacal and Hyjlerical Fits, or 
 the Convulfions of the Epileptick Kind, 
 down to Yawning and Stretching. Thefe 
 feem to be produced by fome hard-pointed 
 Concretions, faline Particles, or fome noxi- 
 ous Acid or acrimonious Steam, Wind, or ob- 
 llruCted Perfpiration, lodged in the fmall 
 Veffels, or upon any Place where there are 
 the greateft Collections of Nerves , viz. in 
 the Alimentary Tubes, the Cavities of the 
 Brain, the Trunk of the Body, or the Inter- 
 ftices of theMufcles, where twitching, ftimu- 
 lating, and wounding the Nerves, or their 
 Membranes, it raifes a general Diforder in the 
 whole nervous or fenfible Fibres, whence the 
 fame is derived upon the whole Mufcular 
 
 G Syftenij 
 
18 Tie Englifli Malady. 
 
 Syftem, and there provokes violent Throw.?,, 
 Contractions, Cramps, and Spafms, until tor- 
 menting and wearying out the elaftick Fibres, 
 at laft, by their Stragglings and Efforts, the 
 deftru&ive Matter is difcharged or removed : 
 Much in the manner of that Struggle which 
 we oblervc from fulphureous, bituminous, 
 vitriolick, and ferrugineous Particles, uni- 
 ting, and fermenting in the Bowels of the 
 Earth, and thereby acquiring fuch Force,, 
 Violence, and Impetuofity, as to make 
 Houles, Palaces, and Cities fhake and 
 tremble, overturn Hills and Mountains, and 
 make Rivers, Lakes, and the Sea itfelf, to 
 boil and heave ( till they have forced a 
 Breach and Rupture for their Palfage into 
 the Air and Day,) fwallowing up all around, 
 and leading Defolation and Ruin, as far as 
 their Influence can reach. But (to return 
 to my Subject) where the offending Matter 
 is fo pent up in fuch great Quantity, or fo 
 violent (as in the violent Hyllcrick or Epilep- 
 tick Fits) as quite to overpower the weak 
 and feeble Solids, fainter Stragglings fuc- 
 eeed, and the Patient lies almofl: dead, 
 with few or languid Motions, and fometimes 
 foaming at the Mouth : till the Difeafe is quite 
 fpent, or after a few repeated Struggles, the 
 Contefl: ends in Death. 
 
 §. V. Thep.h is another common Divifion, 
 or rather Piltin&ion of Nervous Diforders, 
 
 into- 
 
jDivl/ion of Nervous ‘Diflempers . s 9 
 
 into original and acquir'd: But thefe differ-* 
 ing only as old Age does from Manhood. I 
 ihall juft mention them. It is to be fup-* 
 poled (at leaft, at the moft remote Diftance 
 of Time) that Mankind were originally 
 made fo, as not to differ (in any eminent 
 Degree, at leaft, below that Standard re- 
 quired for good Health) in their Gonftitutions^ 
 Original Nervous Diforders, therefore, muft 
 have had the fame Source and Caufe with 
 acquir’d ones. The Children, as to their 
 Bodies and bodily Difeafes being punifhed 
 for the Faults, Follies, and Indifcretions of 
 their Parents. The Streams or Outlets muft: 
 partake of the fame Qualities with the Spring 
 or Fountain Head. The wife Author of 
 Nature, in the prefent State of Things, 
 feems to have eftablilhed Laws and Orders, 
 by which fecond Caules are to ad upon, and 
 influence one another ; which Laws, natu- 
 ral and material Bodies conftantly obferve in 
 their Effeds and Produdions, and which He 
 never feems to violate by any uncommon 
 or fupernatural Influence, except for intel- 
 lectual or moral Purpoles } and therefore to 
 govern and dired thefe Laws, He has given to 
 his intelligent Creatures, Underftanding and 
 free Will. So that a poor Creature, born fubjed 
 to Nervous Diftempers, has no more Reafon 
 to complain, than a Child, whofe Father has 
 fpent his worldly Fortune, and left him 
 poor, and deftitute. 
 
 r * 
 
 $. VI, 
 
lo The Englifh Malady. 
 
 Jf. VI. It is. a Misfortune indeed, to be 
 born with weak Nerves, but if rightly us’d 
 and manag’d, even in the prefent State of 
 Things, (1 meddle no further) it may be 
 the Occafion of greater Felicity : For, at 
 leaft, it is (or ought to be) a Fence and 
 Security againft the Snares and Temptations 
 to which the Robuft and Healthy are ex- 
 pos’d, and into which they feldom fail to 
 run ; and thereby reduce themfelves to the 
 fame, or, perhaps, a worfe State than thofe 
 whofe Misfortune happen’d to be, the being 
 born thus originally fubjedt to Nervous Dis- 
 orders. Thofe who have originally bad 
 Nerves, I lhall diredl in the beft Manner I 
 can afterwards. 
 
 §. VII. I shall only here obferve two 
 things in regard to them. The fir ft is, that 
 they are never to expedt the fame Force, 
 Strength, Vigour, and Adfivity, nor to be 
 made capable of running into the fame In- 
 difcretions or Excefs of fenfual Pleafures 
 (without buffering prelently, or on the Spot) 
 with thofe of ftrong Fibres and robuft Con- 
 ftitutions. No Art hitherto known, can make 
 an Eagle of a Wren, (for tho’ a Wren, by Art 
 and Management, maybe made, as it were, a 
 Nightingale, yet never a Carrion Crow or 
 Kite) ; but for all the innocent Enjoyments of 
 Life, (at leaft, for Freedom from Pain and tor- 
 turing 
 
‘Divijion of Nervous Qiftempers. 2 1 
 
 turing Diftempers, for Chearfulnefs and Free- 
 dom of Spirits, for intelledual Pleafures, 
 mental Enjoyments, and Length of Days) 
 they (confidering the Temptations and Mi- 
 feries of this mortal State) generally have, 
 and may always have, the Advantage of 
 thefe others. (I always except extreme De- 
 grees of Nervous Difeafes ) As for intel- 
 lectual Pleafures, the Cafe is without all 
 manner of doubt, (without fome notable 
 Error, or in extreme Cafes) poffibly, be- 
 caufe the Organs of thefe Operations being 
 in their own Nature delicate and fine, when 
 wafted or fcrap’d, (by Chronical Difeafes 
 not mortal) and thus communicated to their 
 Pofterity, thefe naturally fubtil Parts thus 
 become more fine and fenfible, are hinder’d 
 by the natural Weaknefs of Children, in 
 their tender Years, to incralfate and grow 
 ciumfy, and fo are longer preferv’d in 
 their Senfibility and Refinement ; at leaft 
 the Cafe is generally in fad fo, (as I have 
 obferv’d in moft originally tender Perfons, 
 well educated and difeiplin’d) Infinite Good- 
 nefs and Power bringing Good out of inno- 
 cent Evil. (For the common Proverb is juft 
 and true, that a Venice Glafs will laft as long,, 
 if well look’d after, and even fhine more 
 bright, than a more grofs and coarle one.) 
 But to leave thefe Poffibilities, and pals 
 £ 0 , 
 
 C 3 §. VI If 
 
2% The Englifh Malady. 
 
 $. VIII. The fecond thing, which is, thav 
 thofe who have originally weak Solids, and 
 have carefully avoided theExceffes and Sen- 
 fual Pleafures which reduce the Robuft to 
 that Cafe, and have follow’d the Dire&ions 
 that may be iearn’d, for ftrengthening their 
 Fibres and preferving them from being over- 
 laid, if they get over the Meridian of Life 
 (or their thirty-fifth or thirty-fixth Year) 
 without any mortal Diftemper, have a fair 
 Chance to get into a firm State of Health, 
 Vigour, and Spirits afterwards, and to hold 
 it on without any Rub (if they be fo wife 
 then to keep from Excelfes, or immoderate 
 Senfual Pleafures) to a great and green old 
 Age, as I have conftantly obferv’d. So true is 
 the common Obfervation (that every wife Man 
 has a Touthhood once in his Life, if not in his 
 early and tender Years, at leaft, in his old Age: 
 And this feems not only confifient with the 
 Wifdom of Providence, but the Neceflity of 
 Things, and the Order of Nature ; for let us 
 fuppofe that crazy putrified Parents fhould 
 bring into the World fuch a Child as I have 
 mentioned, the Parent’s Juices, for want of 
 fufficient Time, or proper Means, are not 
 rectified. The Child’s, on the contrary, 
 from the Necellity of its low Diet, and the 
 Length of its Nonage, (cfpecially if proper 
 Methods be us’d, and proper Medicines 
 join’d) niuii: neceifarily become fweeter and 
 
 purer : 
 
2 livifion of Nervous Dijlempsrs. 2 5 
 
 purer : And if none of the great Organs be 
 fpoil’d fo, as gradually to infect the whole 
 (which generally begins to fhew itfelf, when 
 the Growth or Unfolding of the Solids comes 
 to its greateft Heighth and Extenfion, or 
 about the mention'd Period of the Meridian 
 of Life) the Juices then becoming fweet, will, 
 by Degrees, have their Effect upon the 
 Solids, fo that about the Time when others 
 decline, thefe, on the contrary, begin to re- 
 vive and fpring ; and enjoy that Youth which 
 others have furviv’d : And thus Age (which 
 naturally hardens and ftiffens the Fibres in 
 others) recompences the Caution, Care, and 
 Sufferings of their younger Days, by a 
 greater Degree of Strength, more Chearful- 
 nefs, ftronger Spirits, and a greater Length 
 of Days than is common. 
 
 §. IX. Those, who^ being born found 
 and healthy, of a ftrong Conftitution, and a 
 firm State of Nerves, have acquir’d the con- 
 trary State, may have brought it on either, 
 frft, by Occidents , as I have before, men- 
 tion’d, fuch as a Wound, Bruife, Difloca- 
 tion, or Fra&ure, which o may introduce 
 Humps, Diftortions, &c. and alter the na-* 
 tural good Configurations of the Parts, whofe 
 Cure ranft depend upon the Surgeon' 1 s Art, 
 by his endeavouring to reduce thefe to their 
 original State: to which Jikewife Remedies 
 may be fuggefted for the prefent Relief of 
 
 C 4 the 
 
24 ‘Fke Englifli Maladx. 
 
 the Nervous Diftempers thence depending, 
 in the Dire&ions afterwards to be given. 
 Secondly , By a bad, corrupt, or a too poor and 
 low Diet,indifcreet Excefs of bodily Labour, 
 or having expos’d themfelves too much to 
 the Injuries of the Weather, whereby the 
 Juices have been defrauded of that due Pro- 
 portion of Heat, Nourilhment, and Ballam, 
 the Fibres become weak and relax’d, the 
 Mufcles flabby and flaccid, and Lownefs of 
 Spirits, Melancholy, and all the Degrees and 
 Complications of Nervous Diftempers have 
 enfued. Such are thofe of the poorer Sort, 
 who are deprived of the due Neceflaries and 
 Conveniences of Life, thofe who have gone 
 long and dangerous Voyages, who live in 
 Prifbns, or travel in Delarts, or thofe who are 
 confin’d to Monafteries and Hermitages. But 
 as this Country is pretty free from fuch 
 Cafes, and the Remedy is obvious, I need 
 fay no more of them. Thirdly , By Intem- 
 perance, want of due Exercife, rioting in 
 fenfual Pleafures, cafual exceflive Evacua- 
 tions of any Kind, Fevers and other acute 
 Difeafes not duly manag’d, by which the 
 Juices have been made fizy or corrofive, 
 and the due Tone, Spring and Elafticity of 
 the Nerves or Solids relax’d and broken, 
 whereby the true acquir’d Nervous Diforders 
 are produc’d. To reftore fuch to a found 
 State of Health, and a good Conftitution, or, 
 at leaft, to relieve their Symptoms, as far 
 
 as 
 
Efficient Caufe of all 7)ifempers. 2 j 
 
 as my poor Abilities can effedd, fhall be 
 my fincere Endeavour in the following 
 Pages. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ! That what is fwallow’d down , and 
 received into the Habit y is the 
 fivfi and chief efficient Caufe of 
 all that Mankind fujfer in their 
 Bodies . 
 
 i.rpHO- I think it pretty evident, 
 that this terreftrial Globe, and 
 the State of Things in it, and 
 about it at prefent, is not defign’d merely 
 for a Paradije of Delight j, and the ultimate 
 End of the intelligent Creatures which in- 
 habit it, and that for one good Reafon, that 
 lies within my prefent Province, to wit, our 
 carrying about us corruptible Bodies, in 
 their own Nature perilhable, fubjedt to Ac- 
 cidents, Difeafes, and, at laft, to Death it- 
 felf ; yet can I never be induc’d to believe 
 that the omnipotent and infinitely good Au- 
 thor of it, could, out of Choice and Election, 
 
 or 
 
z 6 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 or by unavoidable Neceffity, much lels from 
 Malice or Impotence, have brought fome 
 into fuch a State of Mifery, Pain, and Tor- 
 ture, as the molt cruel and barbarous Ty- 
 rant can fcarce be fuppos’d wantonly to in- 
 flid, or be delighted with, in his molt 
 treacherous Enemies or villainous Slaves ; 
 For to fuch a Heighth of Pain and Torture, 
 and higher if poflible, have I feen fome 
 brought from mere natural Difeafes. No ! 
 none but Devils could have fuch Malice ; 
 none but Men themfelves, or what is next 
 themfelves, I mean their Parents, who were 
 the Inftruments or Channels of their Bodies 
 and Conftitutions, could have Power or 
 Means to produce fuch cruel Effeds. In 
 itfelf this Law and Eftablifhment of Nature 
 has infinite Beauty, Wifdom, and Goodnefs : 
 viz. by this progreffive and continual Suc- 
 ceftion from one Root, that the Healthy and 
 Virtuous fnould thereby be growing con- 
 tinually healthier and happier, and the Bad 
 continually becoming more miferable and 
 unhealthy, till their Punifhment forced them 
 upon Virtue and Temperance; for Virtue 
 and Happinefs are literally and really Caufe 
 and Effed. 
 
 §. II. When I fee Milk, Oil, Emulfion, 
 mild watt y Fluids, and fuch like foft Li- 
 quors, rur through Leathern Tubes or Pipes 
 (for fuch Animal Veins and Arteries are 
 
 indeed). 
 
’Efficient Caufe of all Diflempers. iy 
 
 indeed) for many Years, without wearing 
 or deftroying them : And obferve, on the 
 other Hand, that Brine, inflammable or uri- 
 nous Spirits, Aqua fortis, or Regia, and the 
 like acrimonious and burning Fluids, cor- 
 rode, deftroy, and confume them in a very 
 fhort Time : When I confider the rending, 
 burning, and tearing Pains and Tortures of 
 the Gout , Stone , Cholick , Cancer , Rheuma - 
 tj'm , Convulftons , and fuch like infufferably 
 painful Diftempers : When I fee the Crifls 
 of almoft all acute Diftempers, happen either 
 by rank and foetid Sweats, thick, lateritious, 
 and lixivious Sediments in the Urine, black, 
 putrid, and foetid Dejections, attended with 
 livid and purple Spots, corroftve Ulcers, 
 Impoftumes in the Joints or Mufcles, or a 
 Gangrene and Mortification in this or that 
 Part of the Body ; When I fee the lharp, 
 (even to the Tafte, as I have often tried) 
 the corroding and burning Ichor of fcorbu- 
 tick and lcrophulous Sores, fretting, galling, 
 and bliftering the adjacent Parts, with the 
 Inflammation, Swelling, Hardnels, Scabs, 
 Scurf, Seales, and other loathfome cutaneous 
 Foulnelfes, that attend fuch ; the white, 
 gritty, and chalky Matter, the hard, ftony, 
 or flinty Concretions, which happen to all 
 thofe long troubled with fevere Gouts , 
 Gravel , Jaundice, or Cholick: the Obftruc- 
 tions and Hardnefles, the Putrefa&ion and 
 Mortification that happens in the Bowels, 
 
The Engliflb Malady. 
 
 Joints, and Members in fome of thefe Dif- 
 eafes : and the Rottennefs in the Bones, 
 Ligaments, and Membranes that happen in 
 others; all the various Train of Pains, 
 Miferies, and Torments * that can afflift 
 any Part of the Compound, and for 
 which there is fcarce any Reprieve to be 
 obtain’d, but by fwallowing a Kind of 
 Poifon (fuch I take Opiates to be, upon 
 taking great Dofes, or continuing them for 
 any long Time.) When I behold, with 
 Pity, Compaffion, and Sorrow, fuch Scenes 
 of Mifery and "Woe, and fee them happen 
 only to the Rich , the Lazy, the Luxurious , 
 and the Unatfive, thofe who fare daintily 
 and live voluptuoufly, thofe who are fur- 
 nifhed with the rareft Delicacies, the richeft 
 Foods, and the raoft generous Wines, fuch as 
 can provoke the Appetites, Senfes and Paflions 
 in the moft exquifite and voluptuous Man- 
 ner : to thofe who leave no Defire or Degree 
 of Appetite unfatisfied, and not to the Poor, 
 the Low , the meaner Sort , thofe deftitute of 
 the NecejTaries, Conveniencies, and Pleafures 
 of Life, to the Frugal, Induftrions, | the 
 
 * Vide Plutarch. Sympofiae Lib. vm. Cap. ix. Seneca ConfoL 
 ad Helviam 8c Epift. 9f. 
 
 | Jofephiis obferves, that the Effenes [a Kind of Solitaires 
 among the Jews'] lived commonly to too Years, by reafon of 
 the Simplicity ot their Diet, and their regular Life. Cap, 
 De Bello Judaic. 
 
 Tern- 
 
Efficient Canfe of ail Dijtemptrs . 1 9 
 
 Temperate, the Laborious, and the A&ive : 
 to thofe inhabiting barren, and unculti- 
 vated Countries, Defarts, Forefts, under 
 the Poles or the Line , or to thofe who are 
 rude and deftitute of the Arts of Ingenuity 
 and Invention. I mtift, if I am not refolved 
 to refill the ftrongeft Convidion, conclude, 
 that it mull be fomething received into the 
 Body, that can produce fuch terrible Ap- 
 pearances in it, fome flagrant and notable, 
 Difference in the Food, that fo fenfibly diftin- 
 guifhes them from thefe latter. And that 
 it is the miferable Man himfelf that creates 
 his Miferies, and begets his Torture, or, at 
 leaft, thofe from whom he has derived his 
 bodily Organs, 
 
 III. Both the End and Rule , the De - 
 jign and Meajure of Eating and Drinking, 
 could be no other but the Supply of the 
 Waite of Attion and Living. The Friciion 
 and Collision that necelfarily follows upon 
 the Impenetrability of Matter, the Commu- 
 nication of Motion, and the Imprellions of 
 the Bodies that furround us, mull necelfarily 
 rub off, and wear out fome Parts from our 
 bodily Machin. The necelfary Collisions 
 that are made in our Juices, in breaking and 
 fubrilizing their Parts, to render them fit for 
 the Animal FnnBions : the various Secretions 
 of what is not proper to be retained, or 
 what is necelfary for the Preferyation of the 
 
 In- 
 
go The Englifli Malady.' 
 
 Individual, make a continual Wafie of our 
 Subftance. To fupply all which, it was 
 abfolutely necelfary, that a due and equal 
 Proportion of proper Nourifhment fhould be 
 defign’d us. There is alfo eftablilhed by 
 the Rules of the Animal 0 Economy, a Bal- 
 lance between the Force or Elafticity of the 
 Solids, or the moving Organs and Channels, 
 and the Refiftance of the Fluids mov’d in 
 them (or rather the firft ought a little to 
 exceed the latter ) And whenever any of 
 thefe Rules are long and notably tranfgrefs’d 
 by either taking down more than the Sup- 
 plies of Action and Living require in Quan- 
 tity, or Things ftronger in Nature, and of a 
 greater Refinance in Quality, fo that the 
 active and concoctive Powers of the Solids, 
 are not fufficient for them, the Individual 
 muft fuller Difeafes, Pains, and Miferies, 
 in Proportion to the Greatnefs of this Over- 
 balance. 
 
 §. IV. Let us fuppofe, that a Child is 
 born Sound, Healthy, and Vigorous, (as 
 much as the Conditions of Mortality permit) 
 of Parents Healthy and Sound, and in ihe 
 full Vigour of their Days, and that this 
 Child has continued thus to the Age of 
 ‘Puberty, ’bating the Difeafes of Childhood, 
 which generally render the Cafe better (fuch 
 asaRalh, Meafles, or Small-Pox, which are 
 feldom dangerous in thofe whole Parents are 
 
Efficient Caufe of all 'Dijlempers . 3 1 
 
 fuch as I fuppofe, or who have lived in any 
 fober way.) In the Name of Wonder and 
 Afonijhment , How is it poffible that fuch a 
 Perfon lhould come to fuffer under fuch ter- 
 rible Miferies as I have defcrib’d, by any 
 other Means, than fome notable and obfti- 
 nate * Error in the Matter or Quantity of 
 what he takes down, or introduces into his 
 Habit. For as fuch Mifery and Tortures 
 are internal and intimate, fo muft the pro*- 
 dudive Caufe be. A bad, noxious, or 
 poifonous Air , the Inclemencies of the Sea- 
 Jon and Climate, violent Fatigue, and ex- 
 ceffive bodily Labour, Accidents, Wounds, 
 and Bruifes, are what Mortality is fubjed 
 to. But as the Influence and Operation of 
 thefe Caufes is feldom fo long continued, 
 as that of the other Caufes I have formerly 
 . mention’d, fo thofe who are moft fubjed 
 to the unhappy Confequences of fuch Ex- 
 eelfes, are generally well guarded and pro- 
 teded againft any Hurt from thefe men- 
 tioned Accidents, which accordingly hap- 
 pen more frequently to thofe of the lower 
 Rank. It is is true indeed, when the fame 
 Excefles of thofe of a high Condition, 
 are join’d to the other Perils and Hard- 
 
 * Nobody will ever be feiz’d with a Difeale, who takes 
 fufficient Care not to fall into Crudities or Indigellion [i. e. 
 that eats no more than he can ealily digeft,] Galen Lib. i. 
 Ds Cibii Bon. & Mai. Su.ce. 
 
 fhips 
 
32 The Englifii Malady. 
 
 fhips of the lower Rank now mentioned, ft 
 makes the Diftrefs and Pain the greateft of 
 all, and is the proper Scene where fuch tra- 
 gedies are afted to the utmoft Perfe&ion of 
 Mifery and Woe. But as fuch extraordi- 
 nary Circumftances rarely fall out, they are 
 not properly the fubject Matter of what we 
 are chiefly concern'd about. To proceed 
 then, let us fuppofe fuch a Perfon as I have 
 defcrib'd, rioting and wallowing in Luxury 
 for fome confiderable Time, his Fibres, 
 Nerves, and Motive Organs being yet firm 
 and unbroken. The moft natural Effed of 
 fuch a Courfe, will be, to fill the Blood and 
 Juices with an Excefs of fuch oily, fulphu- 
 reous, and inflammatory Particles, as arc 
 moft readily turn’d into red Globules, which 
 make the fibrous Part of the Blood. Such 
 an inflammatory Blood (the Solids being yet 
 tenfe and firm) will neceflarily be driven about 
 with too great Force and Violence, and forced 
 into the fmall and capillary Veflels, defign'd 
 for the Lymph or thinner Fluids only, and 
 thus inflammatory and acute Difeafes are 
 produc’d, with all the Varieties and Degrees 
 of the;r Symptoms: fuch as Fevers of all 
 Sorts and Kinds, the Gout , Eryfipelas y Rheu- 
 matifim , and the like. If thefe fmall lym- 
 phatick Veflels, by the Force of the Circu-* 
 lation, and the Grofsnefs of the Fluid, driven 
 into them, are broken and torn, then fol- 
 low ImpoftumeSy Gangrenes , Mortifications , 
 
Efficient Caufe of all Dijiempers. \ \ 
 
 and all their Train of Miferies, efpecially, 
 if, together with thefe mention’d Conditions, 
 great Store of animal or urinous Salts are 
 brought together in great Quantities (which 
 never fails under fuch a Courfe) and unite 
 and combine in larger Clufters and Concre- 
 tions, whereby the Solids are corroded, eaten 
 and deftroy’d, the natural Fun&ions of the 
 Nerves fpoil’d and perverted, and the ex- 
 treme Degrees of Torture, Malignity, and 
 Duration are added to the other Symptoms 
 of thefe inflammatory Diftempers. 
 
 V. This will neceflarily be the Cafe in 
 a young robuft Body and Conftitution, when 
 fuch Exceflfes are violent, quick, and long 
 continued, and the Solids have not yet loft 
 their Tone and Vigour, whereby the Indi- 
 vidual will be quickly brought into thofe 
 acute, inflammatory, and violent Diftem- 
 pers \ and then, by continu’d violent Con- 
 flicts, Nature, after many Struggles, will 
 either break, divide, and fubtilize thefe 
 numerous, fiery, and inflammatory Globules, 
 and thofe fharp-pointed, hard, and acrimo-* 
 nious Salts, and drive them out of the Habit 
 by fuch Crifes as I have defcrib’d ; and the 
 Conftitution being purified, the Patient will 
 gradually return to his former Health and 
 Soundnefs: Or if this cannot be effected, by 
 reafon of the Strength of the Difeale, or the 
 Greatnefs of the Obftru&ion in the frnall 
 
 D Veffdsj 
 
34 ‘The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Velfels, the Perfon mult unavoidably fub- 
 mit to Fate. But if fuch a Courfe be pur- 
 fued more flowly, and by more moderate 
 Degrees, and Lazinefs or Want of Exercife 
 is joined with it, fo that the Acrimony of 
 the Salts, and the Stock of the Humours, 
 gradually encreafe as the Solids are relaxed 
 and weakened : then the flower, colder, more 
 humorous and chronical Difeafes are produced, 
 with all the Pains, Miferies, and Torments 
 arifing in this low, funk, and deje&ed State 
 of the Conftitution. From all which it is 
 evident, that thel'e monftrous and extreme 
 tortures, are entirely the Growth of our 
 own Madnefs and Folly, and the Produd of 
 our own wretched Inventions, from the 
 Poifon and Ordure, with which, for the 
 fake of a little fenfuaf Pleafure, we forcibly 
 and tyrannically cram our poor pallive 
 Machins. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Surprizing Effects of Salts. 3 5 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Of the furprizing and wonderful 
 Ejfetfs of Salts , efpec tally of the 
 volatile , urinous , or animal Salts t 
 upon human Bodies and Conftitu* 
 tions. 
 
 §. I.'lT T may perhaps feem incredible, nay* 
 S impoffible, to thofe unacquainted 
 with the furprizing and wonderful 
 Effeds of faline Concretions, efpecially of 
 thofe call’d volatile , urinous , or animal Salts> 
 upon human Bodies and Conftitu tions, to 
 imagine how they fhould be fufficient to 
 produce and account for thofe terrible Effeds 
 and Appearances, which I have defcrib’d in 
 the former Chapter. But he who has con- 
 jfidered and is acquainted with the furprizing 
 Energy , Force, and Adivity of Salts of all 
 Kinds, together with the Tendernefs and 
 Delicacy of animal Fibres and Solids, if he 
 at all afcribes them to natural and fecond 
 
 D 1 Caujes y 
 
The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Caufes , and does not altogether run into 
 Fatality, and refolve every thing immediate- 
 ly into Miracle , Witchcraft , Enchantment , 
 or Omnipotence , muft acknowledge that there 
 is nothing elfe among all the minute Bodies, 
 or their Sy ferns, that furrounds us, or have 
 any conliderable Influence upon animal Con- 
 ftitutions, that can fo readily and effectually 
 produce the mention’d Appearances. 
 
 §. II. This will be more evident to thole 
 who have confider’d the wonderful Effeds of 
 'Nitre, and its Compofition Gun-poivder ; the 
 furprizing Appearances of kindled Camphire, 
 and the like congeal’d chymical OIL, the 
 ft range Energy of the urinous , and other Kinds 
 of Phofphoruss , the Effervefcence, Fireing, 
 and Detonation of feveral chymical Mixtures: 
 In a Word, all the ftrange Appearances 
 refulting from the Mixture of pure Light (or 
 the fame imprifon’d in its more grofs Vehi- 
 cles, viz. the feveral Sorts o f Sulphurs, Oils , 
 M’alfams, and Bituminous Concretions) with 
 Acids and vegetable, or mineral Salts , pro- 
 ducing in the Bowels of this our Globe, 
 Earthquakes , Eruptions, and Volcanos , over- 
 turning Cities , Hills , and Mountains , and 
 Tailing new IJ, lands in the Bofom of the 
 Ocean , and in the Air generating thunder. 
 Lightening, Meteors, and all the Wonders of 
 the Atmojphere. But that which makes 
 more immediately for our Purpofe, is the 
 
 terrible, 
 
Surprizing Effetfs of Salts . $ 7 
 
 terrible, violent, and Hidden Defolation and 
 DeftruCtion, Pain and Torture, produced by 
 * Plague, Peflilence , (potted and purple 
 Fevers , Small-Pox , Venereal, Cancerous , and 
 Leprous Difeafes, and all the other Epide- 
 mical and Infectious Diftempers, with all 
 their numerous Train of naufeous, loath- 
 lome, and painful Symptoms, their Scabs, 
 Ulcers, Corrofions, and Putrefactions, which 
 by Reafon or juft Philofophy, can be afcrib’d 
 to no other intelligible or natural Caufe, but 
 Corrofive and Cauftick Animal Salts. If to 
 thefe we add the quick and fenftble Effects 
 of Cantharides , Spirit and Salt of Hartfsorn , 
 and fuch volatile and urinous Salts, the 
 Power of Spirits, urinous or inflammatory , 
 of Aromaticks, Emeticks , the Preparations of 
 Mercury , and Antimony , the fenfible EffeCts 
 of external Applications of the feveral Sorts 
 of aCtive CataplaJ'ms , Plaiflers , and Sitiapifms y 
 but efpecially of d" Poijons, Animal , Vege- 
 table or Mineral upon human Bodies, (all 
 which, as well as thofe beforemention’d, 
 plainly ow their EffeCts to Salts of one 
 Kind or another, combin’d with Oils and 
 Sulphurs) there will be found little Difficulty 
 in this Matter, 
 
 ♦ Vide Mead on the Plague, 
 f Ibid, on Poifons. 
 
The Englifli Malady. 
 
 $. III. It is plain there is a Mineral 
 Source of Salts lodged in the Bowels of the 
 Earth, (to which the .Sea owes its Saltnefs) 
 which tranfmits its Steams or fmaller Par- 
 ticles to Minerals, Plants, and Vegetables, 
 and feems to be the common Mother and 
 Origin of all the feveral Kinds of form'd Salts 
 orfaline Concretions, according to its different 
 Mixture with the other Elements, to wit, 
 thofe of Earth, Water, Sulphur, (or perhaps 
 imprifon’d Light) and Air : There are like r 
 wife, poffibly,two Kinds of moft adive Fluids, 
 (Air, Water, and Mercury, being combin’d 
 with the other paffive Subftances) one we 
 know very little of, more than what I fhall 
 mention in a following Chapter. The 
 other is that of Light , which aduates and 
 enlivens the whole material Syjlem of Bodies 
 here below, without which they would 
 languiih, deaden, chill, and be motionlefs, and 
 this feems to be the adive energetick Principle, 
 (together with that other, which is fuppos’d 
 to be the Caule of their attradive Quality, as 
 well as that of all Matter, and of all the fub- 
 tile Appearances of fmall Bodies on our Globe.) 
 Salts of one Kind or another, feem to be its. 
 paffive Inftruments, which being driven and 
 aduated by it, (and the other adive Fluid 
 mention’d) produce the Appearances wo- ob- 
 ferve from them. Form’d Salts alfb are hard, 
 and diffolYible only by Water, and from it^ 
 
 poffibly 2 
 
Surprizing Effects of Salts. 3 9 
 
 poffibly, in a great meafure, they originally 
 fpring 'f. They generally form themfelves 
 into regular, and Iharp, or angular Figures, 
 * whereby they become more piercing and 
 penetrating : And this Regularity of their 
 Figures makes it probable, that their Parti- 
 cles have plain Surfaces, which accounts for 
 their extreme Degree of Union, or their 
 running eagerly into one another’s Embraces, 
 as is evident from their Congelations and 
 Cry ft all zat ions. The Volatility and Acti- 
 
 vity of Salts, feems to arife from feveral 
 Sources : As lirft, from the Smallnefs of their 
 Parts, and the Sharpnefs of their Angles : 
 Secondly, from their greater Degree of At- 
 traftion^ than is common to other Bodies of 
 the fame Bulk: And thirdly, from their 
 Union with Light , Sulphur , and other ful- 
 phureous Bodies, when they become Urinous 
 or Animal. It is not my Affair to detail 
 their Laws, or the Mzchanifm of all their 
 Addons, my Defign being only to give fuch 
 a Sketch of the Matter, from the beft Ac- 
 counts of Philolophy, as may be fufficient to 
 give my Reader a general Notion of the 
 Force of this Argument. 
 
 §. IV. Mineral (or the Mother) Salt 
 is, probably, Ample, and of the plaineft 
 
 -f- Vide Newton’s Opticks. 
 
 * VidcGulielmini de Salium Natura. 
 
 P 4 
 
 Figure 
 
40 The Englifli Malady: 
 
 Figure (perhaps a Tetrahedron of an equila- 
 teral, triangular Baje ) which, with its Dif- 
 iolubility in Water, and the Influence of the 
 active Principle of Light, fits it to be readily 
 introduc'd firft into the Subftance of Vegeta- 
 bles, where, by the A&ion and Attraction of 
 their Tubes and Solids, and its Union with the 
 Sulphurs and Earths of Plants, it is advanced 
 one Degree farther in A&ivity and Volati- 
 lity, its Angles are rendered more Acute, 
 and it becomes, by Crylfalization a Vegetable 
 or fix’d Salt: But adly , it acquires a yet fur- 
 ther Degree of Smallnefs and Agility, when 
 introduc’d into animal Bodies as Pood, being 
 there again ground and fubtiliz'd'by the Force 
 of animal Fibres and Solids, and blended with 
 animal Oi Is and Sulphurs, and thereby becom- 
 ing what we call properly urinous Salt: And 
 3dly, the laft and higheft Degree of Subtility 
 and Volatility is produc’d, when this Salt, now 
 in its urinous Form, becomes Food for Birds 
 and Beafts of Prey, or for human Creatures, 
 being there mix’d with, and agitated by the 
 lightefl: and moil fubtil of all Oils and Sul- 
 phurs : And when introduced into the Habit, 
 in great Quantities, and urg’d or actuated 
 by the higheft Oils and Spirits, (as happen 
 to the European Nations chiefly, and to thofe 
 of the Eaftern , who follow their Methods, 
 in Riots and ExcefFes of animal Food and 
 fpirituous Liquors) they become too llrong 
 &nd powerful for the tender and delicate 
 
Surprizing Effects of Salts . 41 
 
 Fibres, and produce the difmal * Appearance 
 I have deferib'd. 
 
 §. V. The Reafon why mineral and 
 vegetable Salts, ‘Voijons and Cau flicks, have 
 fuch immediate and fenfible Effects beyond 
 animal Salts, feems chiefly to be owing to 
 their Firmnefs and Solidity, whereby a 
 greater Quantity of Salts is contain’d in the 
 Fame Space or Volume, than can polfibly be 
 of animal Salts, becaufe the Cement of the 
 iirft (even when fubtiliz'd) being Earth or 
 earthy Particles, a greater Quantity of them 
 are combin’d in a fmaller Space than can be 
 of animal Salts, which are united with a 
 great Quantity of a porofe and light Sulphur 
 only, and fo can neither become fo com- 
 pact, nor lodge fo great a Quantity of Salts 
 or attra&ive -Particles in an equal Space. 
 For thefe others, when admitted into animal 
 Bodies, become true Caaflichs , and burn up 
 the internal, as Cau flicks do the external 
 Parts of Animals, as we fee in Jrfenick , 
 Vitriol , Alum , &c. But after the feveral 
 Degrees of Alcoholization and Subtilization 
 formerly mention’d, the natural Salt being 
 thus levigated and refin’d, and its Angles 
 thereby render’d more acute, and its at- 
 tractive Quality greater, (by the leffening 
 of its Bulk) when Motion and Volatility is 
 
 f Vide Tkilojofb. Tranf. N° 433. A Letter from Mhheli Pinelli, 
 
 added 
 
42 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 added to it, by its Mixture with the feveral 
 Oils and Balfams, of Animals, Vegetables, 
 and Cannibals , (pardon the Expreftion) it 
 becomes fo fubtil and agile, as to be able 
 eafily to enter into the fmalleft Tubes, 
 and there exert its Fury, which the grofter 
 Salts, efpecially when mix’d with Earths, 
 are either, by their Groflhefs, incapable of, 
 or, by the Violence of their Addon on the 
 Parts they firft touch, are thrown out, upon 
 their firft Approach, by the digeftive Organs 
 in convulfive Vomitings. 
 
 VI. The Sum of this prefent Argument 
 is thus, /A# Salt, in its Origin, is but one; 
 that by Divifion its Angles are made fmaller 
 and fharper, and its attractive Virtue greatly 
 increafed ; that though it be the moft pene- 
 trating and attractive among little Bodies, 
 or their Syflems , and becomes, as it were, 
 like a Lancet or Razor , yet can neither hurt 
 nor deftroy, when fheath’d, or not put in 
 ACtion by fome moving Principle ; that this 
 Motion or ACtion is communicated to it by 
 the moft aCtive and energetick of all Fluids, 
 Light or Sulphur, Oils or Spirits ; that 
 when its Particles are cemented only by an 
 earthy Matter, fo that the greateft Number 
 of them poffible, may be crowded into the 
 fmalleft Volume; it has its moft deleterious 
 or deftruCtive Power on animal Bodies, but 
 under that Form is incapable of being re- 
 ceiv’d 
 
Surprizing Ejfetfs of Salts. 4 $ 
 
 ceiv’d or retain’d long in the Body for that 
 Effect ; that after two or three Divifions 
 and Subtilizations, its Parts become fo ex- 
 ceeding fine, that it is thereby render’d 
 capable to be readily introduc'd into the 
 inmoft Receffes of animal Bodies, (when 
 thus fheath’d with animal and vegetable 
 Oils) and in fmall Quantities, is not only 
 fafe, but abfolutely neceffary for exciting 
 the innate Adion of the Fibres and Solids, 
 to wit, Contradion : But that when crowded 
 in great or infinite Numbers and Quantities, 
 and received into the fmalleft and fineffc 
 Tubes, and there having Time and Leifure 
 to drop its Oils, it unites and cryftalizes in 
 greater Volumes and Clufters, and it thereby 
 acquires the Nature and Qualities of the 
 firft mention’d Salts or Poifons, that is, be- 
 comes hard, compact, and deleterious, and 
 ads as Poijons, or a Can flick , upon animal 
 Fibres and Conftitutions. But I am weary 
 of this Subjed, and its tedious Detail ; thofe 
 who have Philofophy enough to underhand 
 or receive this Dodrine, will be convinced 
 and fatisfied by what has been faid ; or, if 
 they want any further Confirmation, may 
 have it from what Sir Ifaac Newton has faid 
 of the Adions of little Bodies, * as explain’d 
 by Dr. Keil , and from the Explication of 
 chymical Appearances of Dr. Freind , in his 
 (fbymical Preleffions , or from the late inge- 
 
 * Vide Sir Ijaac Newt pits Optic ks. 
 
 mou? 
 
44 The E’nglifli Malady. 
 
 nious and accurat Performance of Dr. Bryan 
 Robinfon , the Reverend and Ingenious Mr. 
 Hales , in his Vegetable Staticks, or even 
 Mr. Miller's Di&ionary of Gardening , and 
 the other Philofophical Gardeners, together 
 with the Memoirs of the Academy Royal , and 
 efpecially the Philofophical Vr an factions. 
 
 VII. I shall only now add, (to ap- 
 ply what has been faid to the prefent Pur- 
 pofe) that it is pall all Doubt, from * Ex- 
 periment, that rich Foods, high Sauces, 
 Aromaticks, Delicacies, fine Flavours, and 
 rich and generous Wines, ow all their 
 Poignancy , high Talle, and Gratefulnefs, to 
 their abounding with fuch Salts and SuU 
 phurs , in a much greater Proportion than 
 thofe other Foods that have a lelfer Degree of 
 fuch Qualities : T'hat ^ young and tender 
 Plants and Vegetables have fcarce any Salts, 
 and few Oils or Spirits at all, at leaft, that 
 can in any Quantity be extracted out of 
 them ; that Plants have them only when 
 they come to Maturity, or rather in their 
 Decline; and Animals moll as they advance 
 from Youth, thro’ Maturity towards old 
 Age, and fo are more or lefs grateful to the 
 Palate or Talle, as thefe Salts and Sulphurs 
 abound in them ; that Aromaticks , the Juices 
 of vinous Fruits or Plants, ow their Virtue, 
 
 * Vide Boyle's Chymical Works. Lemcry, on Foods, and 
 Tournefort’s Plants about Paris. 
 
 f Vide Philofophical Tr anf actions , 
 
 flavour. 
 
Surprizing Ejfetfs of Salts, 45 
 
 Flavour, and Delicacy, to their abounding 
 more eminently with fuch Salts and Oils, 
 but efpecially to the Spirits extraded out 
 of them, when the groffer Parts are thrown 
 off by Fermentation and Diftillations. Now 
 if all thefe Conliderationsput together, are not 
 fufficient to make out the true remote Gaufe, 
 and give an Account of the Origin of thefe 
 Difeafes, even of the moft excruciating Na- 
 ture, (tho’ a great deal more of the fame 
 Kind might be added) I defpair of any Sup- 
 cefs with my Reader on this Subjed. To 
 conclude, Salts , of one Kind or another, 
 feem abfolutely neceffary to carry on the 
 Animal Life and Fundions in the beft Manner 
 poflible for our prefent Situation on this Globe ; 
 and it is not poffible to have any Food with- 
 out them, fince even Water itfelf, with a Parti- 
 cle of Earth, if not theOrigin and foie Matter of 
 Salt, yet, at lead, is never without it • but whe- 
 ther * Animal or Vegetable Salts are moft pro* 
 per, every one muftjudge from his own Feel- 
 ings, his Conftitution, and the Difeafes he is 
 moft fubjed to, or from the Judgment of his 
 Phyfician; to make which judgment I fhall 
 aftift the Reader in the beft Manner I can 
 afterwards ; I think there is no Doubt to be 
 made, that Salts of any Kind, when too 
 many in too large Clufters, and of the moft 
 
 * Vide Plutarch de Sanitate tuenda Sc de Efu. Carnium. 
 
 pungent, 
 
4* The Englifh Malady. 
 
 pungent, provoking, and deleterious Nature, 
 have the greateft Share in the Production of 
 thofe Difeafes to which Mankind are expos’d 
 in this Life. And that therefore, in fome 
 Difeafes, it is extremely fit and convenient, 
 to fupport Nature with thofe Foods which 
 abound in them lea ft, and where they are of 
 the moll benign Nature. 
 
 §. VIII. But left any one Ihould mifun- 
 derftand what has been here faid, by fup- 
 pofing that I confider Saifs, according to the 
 particular Qualities that diftinguilh one Kind 
 of Salts from another, or their different Pro- 
 perties, whether Acid, Alkalin , or having this, 
 or that particular EffeCt upon the Palat : or the 
 Appearances arifing upon the ACtions of the 
 feveral Kinds of Salts upon one another, and 
 the other Appearances obferv’d from chymical 
 Managements (all which peculiar and diftin- 
 guifhing Properties and Appearances, pro- 
 bably arife only from the different Mixtures 
 and Proportions of the other Elements in 
 their particular Compofition, or their dif- 
 ferent Degrees of Attraction.) For fince that 
 particular Formation or Union with the other 
 Elements, and thefe different Qualities refult- 
 ing thereupon, are moftly deftroy’d as foon 
 as they enter into an animal Body, and are 
 mix’d and blended with the animal Juices ; 
 (at leaft, no fuch different Kinds of Salts are 
 to be extraded out of thefe Juices) or that 
 
 have 
 
Surprising Effetfs of Salts. 47 
 
 have fuch particular Appearances and Effeds, 
 as they had before they were received into 
 the Habit: Therefore, I fay, that there 
 may be no Room to miftake my Meaning on 
 this Head, 1 lhall here add, that I confider 
 Salts only in their general Nature, as Angular, 
 Hard, and Attradive, and confequently adive 
 lolid Particles of Matter, and make ufe of 
 thofe general Properties only, that are exiftent 
 in all Kinds of Salts, whatever other pecu- 
 liar and diftinguifhing Qualities any particu- 
 lar Kinds may have, fince tho’ thefe may 
 remain in them while they are in the Stomach 
 and Guts, where they are fometimes to be 
 found, yet (as I have juft now faid) they 
 are all confounded, foon after they have 
 enter’d the Habit, and mix’d with the 
 Juices ; for which Reafon I haVe rejeded 
 the Confideration of the violent and fudden 
 Effeds of fome Kinds of Salts, and have 
 only obferv’d of Salts in general, that they 
 are Hard, Solid, Sharp, and Angular Bo- 
 dies, highly Attradive, and diffolvible by 
 watery Fluids, and capable of being fubti- 
 lized or divided into fmaller Parts, and ren- 
 der’d fharper and more volatile by different 
 Mixtures and Managements, which are equal- 
 ly applicable to all Kinds of Salts, and from 
 thence deduce the Effeds they have, or 
 produce in the Fluids, or upon the Solids of 
 Animals, when receiv’d into the Habit. The 
 ether Confideration of fpecifick Salts may 
 
 have 
 
\ • s 
 
 48 7 ^ Englifli Malady. 
 
 frave their fpecifick Effe&s on one another 
 without the Animal. But they feem more 
 proper and adapted for philosophical than 
 medical Difqutfition. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the Frequency of Nervous Tdiforders 
 in later Tears , beyond what they 
 have been ohferved informer Times, 
 
 I. TT F what I have advanced in the for-* 
 8 mer Chapter have any Truth or 
 VeriJjmilitude , it well be no hard 
 Matter to account for the Frequency of 
 Nervous Diftempers obferv’d of late Years, 
 beyond what they have been in former 
 Times, There • is nothing mote common, 
 than to hear Men (even thofe, who, on 
 other Subjects, reafon juftly and folidly) 
 afcribe their Diftempers, acute or chronical , 
 to a wet Room, damp Sheets, catching 
 Cold, ill or under-drefs’d Food, or eating 
 too plentifully of this or the other Dilh at a 
 certain Time, and to fuch like trivial Cir* 
 cumftances, being unwilling to own the true 
 Caufe, to wit, their continu’d Luxury and Lazi- 
 nefs, becaufe they would gladly continue this 
 
 Gourfe, 
 
Increafe of Nervous Diforders . 4 9 
 
 Courfe and yet be well, if poffible. And 
 there have not wanted learned Phyficians, 
 who have afcrib’d the Frequency of thefe 
 Nervous Diftempers of late, elpecially among 
 the Fair Sex, to Coffee, Tea , Chocolate , and 
 Sniff: I would not affirm, that there could 
 be no Abules of thefe, otherwife innocent 
 Foods or Amufements, or that thefe men- 
 tion'd Circumftances, and Accidents may 
 have no Effe&s, but they are fo Weak, In- 
 fenfible, and Tranlitory, if they meet with 
 Conftitutions tolerably Clean and Healthy, 
 that whoever would attribute any confider- 
 able Diforder to them, argues with as much 
 Reafon and true Philofophy, as he who afcribes 
 his good Liquor intireiy to the Yeft or other 
 Helps of its Fermentation, or the Death of 
 a Man kill’d by a Gun-ffiot to the Paper or 
 Tow that held down the Bullet: Health 
 and Life, however Frail and Brittle, are too 
 flrong Forts to be taken or deftroy’d by 
 fuch puny and infufficient Pop-gun Artillery. 
 The Matter, as I take it, hands thus : 
 
 J. II. Since our Wealth has increas’d, 
 and our Navigation has been extended, we 
 have ranfack’d all the Parts of the Globe to 
 bring together its whole Stock of Materials 
 for Riot, Luxury, and to provoke Excefs. The 
 Tables of the Rich and Great (and indeed 
 of all Ranks who can afford it) are furniffi’d 
 with Provifions of Delicacy, Number, and 
 
 E Plenty, 
 
jo The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Plenty, fufficient to provoke, and even gorge, 
 the moft large and voluptuous Appetite. The 
 whole Controverfy among us, feems to lie in 
 out-doing one another in fuch Kinds of 
 Profufion. Invention is rack'd, to furnifh 
 the Materials of our Food the moft Delicate 
 and Savoury poftible : Inftead of the plain 
 Simplicity of leaving the Animals to range 
 and feed in their proper Element , witht heir 
 natural Nourifhment, they are phyfick’d 
 almoft out of their Lives, and made as great 
 Epicures , as thofe that feed on them ; and 
 by Stalling , Cramming , Bleeding , Lameing , 
 Sweating , “Purging, and Throwing down fuch 
 unnatural and high-feafon’d hoods into them, 
 thefe Nervous Difeafes are produced in the 
 Animals themfelves, even before they are 
 admitted as Food to thofe who complain of 
 fuch Diforders. Add to all this, the tor- 
 turing and lingering Way of taking away 
 the Lives of fome of them, to make them 
 more delicious ; and the Dreffing of them, 
 by culinary Torments while alive, for their 
 Purchafer’s Table : All which muft necefla- 
 riiy Iharpen, impoifon, corrupt, and putrify 
 their natural Juices and Subftances. The 
 Liquors alfo that are ufed for Vehicles to 
 fuch Food, are the higheft and moft fpiri— 
 tuous, the moft fcorched by the Solar Beams, 
 or inflam’d by repeated Diftiliations, to carry 
 off the prefent Load, and leave a Difpofition 
 and Graying for a new one in the ftiorteft 
 
 Time 
 
Increafe of Nervous ^Diforders. 5 1 
 
 iTime poffible. Any one who has but a 
 tolerable Knowledge in Fhilofophy, or is 
 acquainted with the Animal O Economy , can 
 eafily tell what the necelfary Confequence 
 of fuch a Diet muft be in naturally weak 
 Habits. 
 
 J. III. Not only the Materials of Luxury , 
 are fuch as I have defcrib’d, but the Manner 
 of Drefiing or Cooking them, is carried on 
 to an exalted Height. The ingenious 
 mixing and compounding of Sauces with 
 foreign Spices and Provocatives, are con- 
 triv’d, not only to rouze a fickly Appetite 
 to receive the unnatural Load, but to ren- 
 der a natural good one incapable of know- 
 ing when it has enough. Since French 
 Cookery has been in fuch Repute in England , 
 and has been improv'd from Spain , Italy, 
 Turkey, and every other Country that has 
 any thing remarkably delicious, high, or 
 favoury in Food; fince Eajlern Pickles and 
 Sauces have been brought to embellilh our 
 continual Feafts. Drefiing, which was de- 
 fign’d to aflift the Labour of Digeftion, as it 
 is now manag’d, not only counter-ads that 
 Defign, but is become the moffc difficult, 
 curious , ingenious, and, at the fame Time, 
 one of the moll profitable Trades 
 
 * TI \ "" " u 1 '-T' 
 
 * Do you wondtr that Difeafes are innumerable? 
 
 Number the Cooks. —— Seneca Epift.p/. 
 
 Ei $. IV. 
 
52 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 i 
 
 IV. Sue k a Courfe of Life muft necef- 
 fariiy beget an Ineptitude for Exercife, and 
 accordingly jlfiemblies, Mu/jck Meetings, 
 Plays , Cards and Dice, are the only Amule- 
 ments, or perhaps Bufinefs follow’d by fuch 
 Perfons as live in the Manner mention’d, 
 and are moft fubject to fuch Complaints, on 
 which all their Thoughts and Attention, 
 nay, their Zeal and Spirits, are fpent. And 
 to convey them with the lead Pain and Un- 
 eafinefs pofhble from Motion, or flavifh La- 
 bour, to thefe ftill and bewitching Employ- 
 ments : Coaches are improv’d with Springs, 
 HorJ'es are taught to pace and amble, 
 Chairmen to wriggle and Iwim along, to 
 render the Obftrudlions more firm and fix’d 
 in the fmall Vcfiels, and to prevent all the 
 Secretions that would any ways lighten the 
 Burthen. Is it any Wonder then, that the 
 Difeafes which proceed from Idlenefs and 
 Fulnefs of Bread, fhould increafe in Propor- 
 tion, and beep equal Pace with thofe Im- 
 provements of the Matter and Caufe of Dif- 
 eafes ? 
 
 §* V. It is a common Obfervation, (and, 
 I think, has great Probability on its Side) 
 that Fools , weak or flupid Perfons, heavy and 
 dull Souls , are feldom much troubled with 
 Vapours or Lownefs of Spirits. The intel- 
 lectual Faculty, without all manner of 
 
 Doubt, 
 
Increafe of Nervous Diforders. 5 3 
 
 Doubt, has material and animal Organs, by 
 which it mediately works, as well as the 
 animal Fun&ions. What they are, and 
 how they operate, as, I believe, very few 
 know, fo it is very little necefiary to know 
 them for my prefent Purpofe. As a philo- 
 fophical Mufician may underftand Propor- 
 tions and Harmony, and yet never be in a 
 Condition to gratify a Company with a line 
 Piece of Mufick, without the Benefit of 
 Sounds from proper Organs, 16 the intel- 
 lectual Operations (as long as the prelent 
 Union between the Soul and Body larts) can 
 never be perform’d in the bell Manner with- 
 out proper Inflruments. The Works of Ima- 
 gination and Memory , of Study , l'hi-nking, and 
 Reflecting, from whatever Source the Prin- 
 ciple on which they depend fprings, mult 
 necefiarily require bodily Organs. Some 
 have thefe Organs finer, quicker, more agile, 
 and fenfible, and perhaps more numerous 
 than others; Brute Animals have few o? 
 none, at leaft, none that belong to Re - 
 fleCtion ; Vegetables certainly none at all. 
 There is no Account to be given how a 
 Difeafe , a Fall, a Blow , a Debauch , Puiflns , 
 violent Pajjions , aftral and aerial Influences, 
 much Application, and the like, fhould 
 poffibly alter or deftroy thefe intellectual 
 Operations without this Suppofition. It is 
 evident, that in nervous Diffcempers, and a 
 great many other bodily Difeales, theie 
 
 E 3 Fa- 
 
54 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 Faculties, and their Operations, are impair’d, 
 nay, totally ruin’d and extinguiihed to all 
 Appearance ; and yet, by proper Remedies, 
 and after Recovery of Health, they arc 
 reftor’d and brought to their former State, 
 Now fince this prefent Age has made Efforts 
 to go beyond former Times, in all the Arts 
 of Ingenuity , - Invention , Study , Learning , and 
 all the contemplative and fedentary Pro- 
 feffions, (I fpeak only here of our own Na- 
 tion, our own Times, and of the better Sort, 
 whofe chief Employments and Studies thefe 
 are) the Organs of thefe Faculties being 
 thereby worn and fpoil’d, mull affed and 
 deaden the whole Syfiem , and lay a Foun- 
 dation for the Difeafes of Lownels and 
 Weaknefs. Add to this, that thofe who 
 are likelieft to excel and apply i ft this Man- 
 ner, are moft capable, and moll in hazard of 
 following that Way of Life v/hich I have 
 mention’d, as the likelieft to produce thefe 
 Difeafes. Great JVits are generally great 
 Epicures, at leaft, Men of Tafle . And the 
 Bodies and Conftitutions of one Generation, 
 are Itill more corrupt, infirm, and difeas’d, 
 than thofe of the former, as they advance in 
 Time, and the Ufe of the Caufes affign’d. 
 
 VL T o all thefe Confiderations, if we 
 add the prefent Cuftom of Living, fo much 
 in great, populous, and over-grown Cities ; 
 London (where nervous Diftempers are moft 
 
 frequent, 
 
Incveafe of Nervous Difor&ers. 5 5 
 
 frequent, outrageous, and unnatural) is, for 
 ought I know, the greateft, moll capacious, 
 clofe, and populous City of the Globe , the 
 infinite Number of Fires, Sulphureous and 
 Bituminous, the vaft Expence of Tallow and 
 fetid Oil in Candles and Lamps, under and 
 above Ground, the Clouds offtinking Breaths, 
 and Perfpiration, not to mention the Or- 
 dure of fo many difeas’d, both intelligent 
 and unintelligent Animals, the crouded 
 Churches, Church-yards and Burying Places, 
 with putrifying Bodies, the Sinks , Butcher - 
 Houfes , Stables , Dunghils , SCc. and the 
 neceffary Stagnation, Fermentation, and 
 Mixture of fuch Variety of all Kinds of 
 Atoms, are more than fufficient to putrify, 
 poifon, and infeed the Air for twenty Miles 
 round it, and which, in Time, muft alter, 
 weaken, and deftroy the healthieft Conftitu- 
 tions of Animals of all Kinds ; and accord- 
 ingly it is in fuch like Cities, that thefe 
 Diftempers are to be found in their higheft 
 and mo ft aftonilhing Symptoms, and feldom 
 any lafting or folid Cure is perform’d till the 
 Difeafed be ruflicated and purified from the 
 infectious Air and Damps, tranfubftaniiated 
 into their Habits, by a great City, and till 
 they have fuck’d in and incorporated the 
 fweet, balmy, clear Air of the Country, 
 and driven the other out of their Habit. 
 For by innumerable Experiments it is cer- 
 tain, that the Nitre or Acid of frefh, new 
 
 E 4 Air, 
 
5 6 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Air, is as neceffary towards Life and Health 
 as frefh balmy Food. 
 
 f. VII. All thefe together will, I think, 
 be fufficient to account for the Frequency 
 of Nervous Dijlempers of late. And, in 
 fad, the fame Caufes pretty near, have been 
 affign’d by all Obfervers, Phyficians, and 
 Philofophers, in all Ages and Countries, to 
 have produc’d fimilar Effe&s. The Egyptians, 
 as they feem to have been the firlt vvho cul- 
 tivated the Arts of Ingenuity and Politenefs, 
 fo they feem likewife to have been the firft 
 who brought Phyfick to any tolerable Degree 
 of Perfection. Theantient Greeks , while they 
 lived in their Simplicity and Virtue were 
 Healthy, Strong, and Valiant : But afterwards, 
 in Proportion as they advanced in Learning, 
 and the Knowledge of the Sciences, and 
 diflinguifhed themfelves from other Nations 
 by their Politenefs and Refinement, they 
 funk into Effeminacy , Luxury , and Difeafes , 
 and began to fiudy Phyfick , to remedy thofe 
 Evils which their Luxury and Lazinefs had 
 brought upon them. In like manner, the 
 Romans fell from their former Bravery, 
 Courage, and keroich Virtue , which had 
 gain’d them the Empire of the World. As 
 Celfus observes, where he is giving fome 
 Account of the Rife and Improvement of 
 Phyfick, according to the Prevalency of thele 
 tvyo general Caufes of Difeafes, Idlenefs and 
 
 Intern - 
 
Increafe of Nervous Diforders. 57 
 
 Intemperance, That thefe two had firfl fpoil'd 
 the Con ftitut ions of the Greeks, and after- 
 wards thofe of his own Countrymen the Ro- 
 mans, when become Mafers oj the Luxury as 
 well as the Country of thofe polite People. 
 
 VIII. I t were eafy to (hew, from the 
 beft Philofophy, confirm’d by the raoft 
 folid Experience, that Diftempers of all 
 Kinds ow their more remote Origin, Caufe, 
 and Rife to the fame Principles : And that 
 the Pains and Trouble fome have taken 
 to fearch and difcover from Hiftory , the 
 Occafions and Times of the Appearance of 
 fuch and fuch Diftempers, ends only in 
 gathering and colle&ing fome new Names, 
 which Mankind have arbitrarily beftow’d 
 upon fome particular Symptoms, Degrees, 
 orParoxyfms of univerfally known Difeafes; 
 and that thefe Enquiries tho’ they may 
 divert and amufe the Enquirer and the Rea- 
 der, like any other Pieces of Hiftory : are of 
 no further Ufe or Advantage to the World, 
 than in fo far as they at the fame Time dif- 
 cover the Means and Medicines by which 
 fuch Symptoms or Degrees of Diftempers 
 were remedied or overcome. For, I think, 
 it is plain to a Demonftration, that all Dif- 
 eafes whatfoever, by whatever Names or 
 Titles dignified or diftinguilh’d, fo far as 
 they are natural and internal Diftempers, 
 and not caus’d by Accident, muft in the 
 
 main 
 
58 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 main proceed (if we fuppofe, as we mhft, 
 that Mankind at firft, were Healthy and 
 Sound) from Intemperance, or fome Error 
 in the Quantity or Quality of their Food, 
 and Lazinefsor Negled of dueExercife: by 
 which as the Solids and Juices of the Parents 
 have been fpoil’d, fo their Pofterity by con- 
 tinuing the fame Courfes have gradually fuf- 
 fer’d higher and more extreme Diforders or 
 Symptoms, arifing from the fame general 
 Caufes : which upon their firft: Appearance 
 receiving new Names by their Oblervers, as 
 new and particular Diftempers, have in- 
 creas’d to fuch a Number, as to exhibit that 
 numerous Train of Miferies with which our 
 Books of Phyfiek and Bills of Mortality are 
 fill’d : And as the Age grew worfe, and 
 
 the fame Caufes have been continued, and 
 confequently the Conftitutions more de- 
 prav’d, not only more numerous, but higher 
 and more terrible Symptoms have arifen, till 
 they have come at laid to fuch a Degree of 
 Malignity, as to infed and contaminate by 
 mere Touch or Contad; nay, even by the 
 Smoak or Steam emitted from fuch dileas’d 
 Habits. Not that I would deny that Sea - 
 fans , Climates , aflral and aerial Influences, 
 and many other Circumftances, had any Effed 
 or Influence in begetting or propagating 
 thefe Diftempers, but that thefe are flight, 
 partial, and occaftonal Caufes only, in refped 
 of thofe others mention’d. And he that 
 
 will 
 
Increnfe of Nervous Diforders . 59 
 
 will confult Hiftory, will find fufficient 
 Arguments to draw the fame Conclufions. 
 
 IX. All Difeafes have in fome Degree 
 or other, or in Embryo, been extant at all 
 Times, at leaft, might have been, if the 
 efficient Caufes, Idletiejs and Luxury , had 
 been fufficiently fet to work , which were 
 chiefly in the Power of Men themfelves. 
 What we call Nervous Diftempers, were 
 certainly, in fome fmall Degree, known 
 and obferv’d by the Greek , Roman , and 
 Arabian Phyficians, tho’ not fuch a Number 
 of them as now, nor with fo high Symptoms, 
 fo as to be fo particularly taken Notice of, 
 except thofe call'd Hyfterick, which feem to 
 have been known in Greece , from whence 
 they have deriv'd their Name : But as they 
 were probably a ftronger People, and liv’d 
 in a warmer Climate, the flow, cold, and 
 nervous Difeafes were lefs known and ob- 
 ferv'd ; the Diftempers of all the Eajiern 
 and Southern Countries being moftly acute. 
 
 §. X. When thefe general Caufes I 
 have mention’d, came to exift in fome more 
 confiderable Degree, and operate in the 
 more Northern Climates, then thefe Nervous 
 Difeafes began to fhew themfelves more 
 eminently, and appear with higher and more 
 numerous, and atrocious Symptoms. Syden- 
 ham y our Countryman, was the Phyfician of 
 
 Note 
 
6 o The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Note who made the moft particular and full 
 Obfervations on them, and eftablilh’d them 
 into a particular Clafs and Tribe, with a 
 proper, tho’ different, Method of Cure from 
 other chronical and humorous Diftempers, 
 tho’ their true Nature, Caufe, and Cure has 
 been, lefs univerfally laboured and known, 
 than that of moft other Difeafes, fo that 
 thole who could give no tolerable Account 
 of them have call’d them Vapours, Spleen , 
 Flatus , Nervous , Hyjlerical , and Hypochon- 
 driacal Diftempers. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Of the true Nature of the Fibres and 
 Nerves. 
 
 §. I. rp H E Fibres are /'mall, tranfpa- 
 i rent, Jolid, and elaftick , or 
 ~*®‘- fpringy Threads or Filaments. 
 
 By Fibres, I mean here the leaft and 
 fmalleft Threads in the Compofition, of 
 which many unite to make one fenfible 
 Fibre. Our Hairs, which are a Kind of 
 Fibres, may be divided and fplit into a great 
 
 Number 
 
Nature of Fibres and Nerves. 6 1 
 
 Number of fmall ones, evident to the naked 
 Eye ; but Leewenhoeck , by his Glaffes, has 
 difcover’d five or fix hundred of them in 
 one vifible Fibre. They are tranfparent y 
 as is evident, when fufficiently wafh’d and 
 cleans’d from the Skins, Humours and Fluids 
 that adhere to them. The laft and ultimate 
 Fibres muft ofNeceflity be Solid ; for a Fibre 
 that has a Cavity muft confift of feveral 
 others that go to make up its Coat ; but 
 even the fmalleft compound Fibres may be 
 likewife folid , and confift of the fimple ones, 
 as a Silk Thread is made up of the Filaments 
 of the raw Silk ; for the beft Glades difco- 
 ver no Cavity in them, at lead, they are 
 not fairly prov’d to be Tubular or Hollow 
 by the Appearance they give of fome Cavi- 
 ties, when view’d thro’ a Microfcope, fince 
 what appears to fome to be fo, may be no 
 other than the Interfaces between them ; as 
 feems highly probable from their lying ob- 
 lique to the Length of the Fibres , to which 
 they ought to run parallel, if thefe Fibres 
 were Tubular. But other Arguments to 
 confirm this fhall be aflign’d in their proper 
 Place. They are elajlick or fpringy, as ap- 
 pears by a Fibre , or a Mufcle’s contracting 
 (when divided) towards both Extremities ; 
 and that Heat and Pun&ure flimulate them 
 into involuntary Spafms and Conyulfions. 
 
 §■ ii. 
 
6 1 The Englifli Malady: 
 
 §. II. All the Solids of the Body, when 
 duly prepar’d, refolve themfelves, or may 
 be feparated into fuch Fibres at laft. They 
 are probably platted and twilled together in 
 the Manner I have defcrib’d, to make the 
 larger fenfible Fibres: And thefe again are 
 either united in Bundles to form the Mufcles, 
 Tendons , Ligaments , SCc. or woven into a 
 fine fVeb , like Cloth, to make the Mem - 
 hranesy the Coats of the YelTels, &c. only in 
 fome the longitudinal, in others the tranl- 
 Verfe Fibres are larger and ftronger ; or 
 thefe laft are rolled fpirally , according to the 
 particular Office or Function defign’d to be 
 perform’d by them. The Strudure of the 
 Bones fcems to be like that of a Piece of 
 Linen roll’d upon a Cylinder , thro' which 
 a vaft Number of Pins are ftuck perpendi- 
 cular to the Surface, to keep it from unrol- 
 ling. Thefe, and doubtlefs many other, 
 Methods of Texture are made ufe of by the 
 Infinitely- wife Author of Nature, in the Fa- 
 brick of the Solids of the Animal Machin. 
 We mull content our felves, in the Explica- 
 tion of the Works of Nature, with Allu- 
 'fions to thofe of Art, that come neareft the 
 Cafe where philofophick Nicety is not in- 
 tended. 
 
 $. III. The fenfible or compound Fibres , 
 as they are found in the Strudure of an Ani- 
 mal 
 
Nature of Fibres and Nerves. 6 $ 
 
 ( 
 
 mal Machin, are of three Kinds. Fir ft ^ 
 Some are of a loofer and fofter Texture, or 
 of a weaker Spring and Elafticity, contrad- 
 ing eafily and readily, and requiring only a 
 fmall Force to diftend them, being moiftened 
 with a greater Quantity of Blood ; (which 
 makes them look red) and luch are all the ~ 
 Mufcular Fibres , which are employed in the 
 Compofition of the Inftruments of voluntary 
 or animal Motion, whofe greater Adion 
 requires a greater Quantity of balmy, warm 
 Moifture, to preferve their due Degree of 
 fenfion, and repair their cafual and ordinary 
 Decays. Secondly , Others are of a clofer and 
 more compad Difpofition, thefmaller Fibres 
 whereof they are compos'd, being more 
 firmly and intimately united, and crowded 
 or comprefs’d into a fmaller Space, in con- 
 fequence of which their elajlick Force is 
 greater, they contrad with greater Strength 
 and Quicknefs, and are with more Difficulty 
 diftended, being moiften’d with a thinner, 
 more rare, milky and watery Fluid, becaufe 
 of their iolid Texture, to keep them from 
 growing rigid or hard, and fuch are the 
 Fibres of the Membranes, Tendons and 
 Nerves, whofe Compadnefs and clofer Union 
 of Parts, feems to be the Reafon of the 
 greater Degree of Senfibility they are evi- 
 dently endued with above thofe of the firft 
 Kind. The Motion or Imprellion commu- 
 nicated to them, .being thereby lefs inter- 
 rupted 
 
 j 
 
 2 
 
6 4 The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 rupted, broken or loft ; and the laft of thefe 
 particularly, to wit, the Nerves , are made ufe 
 of to communicate thelmpreflion they receive 
 from outward Objefts, or the mufcular Fibres 
 to the Senforium in the Brain, and by it to the 
 fentient Principle or Mufic'tan , and from it to 
 the Organs. Thirdly , There is yet another 
 Sort of thefe compound Fibres of a hard and 
 rigid Make, whole Elaflicity is like that of 
 Steel, and not of the fo diftra&ile Kind, 
 like thole before mention'd, and confequent- 
 ly, being neither fit for Senfation or A&ion, 
 they are only employ’d as a Support or 
 Security for the tender Solids, requiring only 
 a little Oil to keep them from growing too 
 dry or brittle ; and of this Kind are the 
 Fibres of the Bones. Every fingle Fibre has 
 a particular Membran involving it, like the 
 Bark on a Tree, and fome particular Clufters 
 have another Membran binding the Whole. 
 
 §. IV. From this Account of the Fibres 
 in general, if juft, it is plain, that in their 
 original Conftitutions they are much the 
 fame, and that their different Properties and 
 Appearances arife only out of the various 
 Methods of Texture employ’d in their Com- 
 pofition, according to the Ufes they were 
 intended for. It is likewife probable, that 
 all the Fibres of the Body (except thofe of 
 the hard and rigid Kind, whereof the Bones 
 are compos’d) are fenfible, more or lefs, 
 
 accord- 
 
Nature of Fibres and Nerves'. 6 j 
 
 according to their Denfity or Clofenefs of 
 their Texture, or the Degrees of their e hjlick 
 or di/iraffile Force, confequent thereupon, 
 and their Communication with the Brain ; 
 the Nerves being only feme of thefe Fibres 
 the moft fufceptible, by their Structure of 
 communicating Action and Motion, made 
 life of to convey fuch Impreffions, as they 
 receive from outward Objects, or the other 
 Fibres (however this Intercourfe is carried 
 on between them, whether by Engrafting, 
 like the Blood Veffels, or otherwife, I fhall 
 not determin) to the Seat of the Intelligent 
 or fenfitive Principle, and to carry back from 
 thence the firft Tendency of Adion to the 
 Mufcular Fibres , when they contract or relax, 
 in order to the feveral Fundions of the Ani*. 
 mal O Economy. To tell precifely in what 
 Manner this is perform’d, is, perhaps, impof- 
 fible, I am fure very difficult ; nor do I 
 think it any ways necelfary to what I have 
 to propofe, concerning the Nature and Cure 
 of Nervous Diftempers , commonly fo call’d, 
 I am of Opinion, that thefe Diforders do not 
 fo properly depend upon one Kind of Animal 
 Fibres , that particularly of the Nerves , as 
 is commonly fuppos’d, unlels it be in fmall 
 and Topical Diforders of the nervous Kind : 
 but that when there are general internal 
 Difeafes, and that many of the Fibres and 
 Nerves fuffer, the whole Syfiem, or all the 
 Solids of the Body (except thofe which are 
 
 F firm 
 
66 T’he Englifh Malady. 
 
 firm and hard) i'uffer together in fome De- 
 gree or other. 
 
 V. That there is a certain 7one , Con- 
 Jiftence , and Firmnefs, and a determin’d 
 Degree of ElajUcity and Fenfion of the Nerves 
 or Fibres, how fmall foever that be, (for it 
 mu ft be in fome Degree even in Fluids them- 
 felves) neceffary to the perfed Performance 
 of the Animal Functions, is, I think, with- 
 out all Queftion, from an Excefs over or 
 Defed under which, in fome eminent De- 
 gree, Difeafes of one Kind or another 
 certainly arife. Thofe I am chiefly con- 
 cern’d for in the following Treadle, are 
 what proceeds from the Defed, or that De- 
 gree which falls below the juft Mediocrity 
 neceffary for perfed Health : That is, thofe 
 Difeafes that enfue upon a too lax, feeble, 
 and unelajiick State of the Fibres or Nerves: 
 And that every one may, in fome meafure, 
 judge whither this be their Cafe, I fhall 
 hereafter enumerate the Signs and Symptoms 
 that determin it, after giving the Reader 
 fome Conjedures concerning the Ufe of the 
 Fibres, and the Manner of their Fundions. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Ufe of Fibres and Nerves, See- 6 7 
 
 CHAP. VIIL 
 
 Of the Ufe of the Fibres and Nerves 5 
 the Manner and Caufes of Senfation y 
 and of Mufcular Motion . 
 
 §. i.TT not being my Intent to run into 
 1 philojophical or Ipeculative Difqui- 
 fitions in a pra&ical Treatife, which 
 I defign chiefly for the Ufe and Benefit of 
 my fellow Sufferers under’ nervous Diftempers ; 
 J lhail only, with all the Brevity and Perlpi- 
 cuity I am capable of, reprefent to the 
 curious Reader , what I have found moft pro*, 
 bable among the Phyficians, Philofophers , 
 and Mathematicians , upon this intricate and 
 perplex'd Subject, having, I think, confider'd 
 Impartially, and with fome Attention, all 
 thofe who have offer'd any thing folid upon 
 it; and on this Account chiefly, that the 
 curious Redder may more readily relifh fome 
 of the Reafons for A.dvices of lefs Moment 
 which I fuggeft for treating of thefe Diftem- 
 pers in the bdi manner my Obfervation and 
 Experience have taught me. But I lay 
 much greater Strefs upon tfie Experience 
 F 2 and 
 
68 The English Malady. 
 
 and Obfervations themfelves, than upon any 
 philofophical Reafons I, or any other, can 
 fuggelt ; tho*, I think, they may not be 
 without their Evidence, when drawn from 
 the real Nature of Things, or from the beft 
 Accounts of the Animal OEconomy we have 
 hitherto gain'd, and may fometimes ap- 
 proach near to a Demonffration in Subjects 
 more fimple, and more obvious to Senfe and 
 Experiment than thofe I now treat of. 
 
 §. IL I n the jirfl place, I take it for 
 granted, that the intelligent ' Principle is of a 
 very different, if not quite contrary, Nature 
 from this organical Machin which contains it; 
 and has fcarceany thing in common to them, 
 but as they are Subftances. It is well 
 known to Ehyficians what wonderful Effects, 
 the EaJJJuns, excited by lucky or unlucky 
 Accidents, (which arejuftly reckon’d Intel- 
 lettual or Spiritual Operations) have on the 
 Pulfc, Circulation, Perfpiration, and Secre- 
 tions, and the ether Animal Fun&ions, in 
 'Nervous Cafes efpccially, even to the re- 
 ftoreing from Death, and deftroying Life, as 
 innumerable Inftances demonftrate. I have 
 felt a Pulfe languifhing, interrupting, and 
 juft dying away, render’d ftrong, full, and 
 free by a joyful Surprize, and on the con- 
 trary. * Dr. Bryan Kobinfons Reafoning is 
 
 * Vide Dr. Bryan Rcbinforts Animal OEc enemy, Prop, xxL 
 
 con 
 
Ufs of Fibres and 'Nerves, dec. 69 
 
 eonclufive, and yet I fhall give one Xn- 
 ftance, of which I myfeJf (with many others) 
 was an Eye-witnefs, more coercive, where 
 an Effort of the Mind • reftor’d to Life once 
 and again (to all Appearances) extind Ani- 
 mal Functions. Now if the Principle of 
 both Parts of the Compound were one, or if 
 the Whole had but a material or organioal 
 Principle, or if there were only an external 
 Spring of Motion and Action, the Functions 
 dying, expireing,and going down, the Whole 
 would always die and extinguifh. But Purely 
 no different or independent Internal Princi- 
 ple, could reftore, invigorate and actuate the 
 dead or juft dying material and animal Func- 
 tions, as in this laft Cafe *. I have for- 
 merly fuggefted, that the beft Similitude I 
 can form of the Nature and Actions of this 
 Principle upon the Organs of its Machin, is 
 that of a skilful Mujtcian playing on a well- 
 tun J d Inftrument. So long as the Inftrument 
 is in due Order, fo long is the Mufick perfect 
 and compleat in its Kind. As it weakens 
 or breaks, the Harmony is fpoifd or ftop’d. 
 Some of the Parts of this Inftrument being 
 more delicate than others, are fooner difbr- 
 der’d or broken. The great and principal 
 ones, which prefideover and actuate the leffer, 
 are Strong and Durable, and require a greater 
 
 '* Vide Part jd, the Gale of Col. Tcwr./byid, 
 
 F 3 Force 
 
/o The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 Force and Violence to diforder them ; but 
 when once they are worn out, fpoifd, and 
 ruin’d, the leffer and dependent ones are in- 
 volv’d in their Fate, and the Mufician muft 
 neceffarily Ihift his Place and Scene. It is 
 the Nature of all material Organs to decay 
 and be worn out by Time. The Divifibi- 
 lity of Matter, the Fridion of the Parts upon 
 one another, and the Adion of the Bodies 
 that furround them, make this inevitable ; 
 but Accidents, Violence, and Mifmanage- 
 ment will quicken and forward their Ruin. 
 
 §. III. Material Objeds can ad no 
 otherwife upon material Inftruments, than 
 by communicating their Adion and Motion 
 to them, or, at leaf, to the Medium , Fluid, 
 or fubtil Matter that furrounds them ; that 
 is, material Objects can ad no otherwife 
 upon animal Organs, but either immediately 
 by communicating their Adion and Motion 
 to thefe Organs, and putting their confti- 
 tuent Parts into particular Vibrations, in- 
 teftine Adion and Readion upon one an- 
 other: or mediately by the Intervention of 
 fome fubtil Fluid or Matter on which they 
 imprefs their Adions and Motions, which 
 are tranfmitted by the Medium , in the fame 
 Manner to the Organ. Small Bodies ad 
 upon one another in the fame Manner, and 
 by the fame Laws and Mechanifm, that the 
 Syflems of greater ones do: And he who 
 
 would 
 
Ufe of Fibres and Nerves , See. 71 
 
 would underftand the Effeds of little Bodies, 
 Fluids, or material Spirits upon greater Bo- 
 dies, and the Nature of the Action of their 
 Particles upon one another, has nothing to 
 do, (if he realons juftly) but to referable 
 fmall Bodies to great, under particular Laws 
 and Conditions. To apply this general 
 Dodrine to the Cafe in Hand : We may 
 conclude, that Smelling , for Example, is 
 nothing but the Adion of an odorous Body, 
 or the Steam or Vapour emitted from it, 
 giving, a determin’d Impulfe to the Nerves 
 or Fibres of the Noftrils, which, by their 
 Mechanifm , propagate this Vibration and 
 Impulfe, thro’ their Length to the intelli- 
 gent or Jentient Principle in the Brain (which 
 I referable to the Musician). Again, Feeling 
 is nothing but the Impulfe, Motion, or 
 Adion of Bodies, gently or violently im- 
 preiling the Extremities or Sides of the 
 Nerves, of the Skin, or other Parts of the 
 Body, which by their Strudure and Mecha- 
 nifm , convey this Motion to the Sentient Prin- 
 ciple in the Brain, or the Mufcian . Laftly, 
 Seeing , or the Perception of the Bulk, 
 Diftance, Situation, or Colour of Gbjeds, is 
 nothing but the Adion of Light (a Fluid of 
 its own Kind) receded or refraded from the 
 Surfaces of Bodies or outward Objeds (fome 
 of which fcatter the Rays from one another, 
 in an infinite Variety of Angles, and fo by 
 Experience determ in their Difiance and 
 F 4 Bulk: 
 
yi The Englifh Malady.' 
 
 Bulk : And tranfmit one Kind of Rays 
 more copioully than another, to determin 
 their Colour ) which being varioufly re- 
 fraded in the Humours of the Eyes, are at laffc 
 united on the Retina , fo as there to form an 
 Image analogous to that of the outward Ob- 
 jed, which by linking the Nerves of the 
 Retina , (in the fame Manner that the Objed 
 it felf would have done) is by them tranf- 
 mitted to the fentient Principle. It is much 
 after the fame Manner in all the other In- 
 ftruments of the Senfations. 
 
 IV. What is the true Caufe of Elafli - 
 city in general, or that of the animal Fibres 
 and Nerves in particular, is, I think, an un- 
 explicable Problem , unlefs we admit of a 
 centrifugal or repelling Fluid. Even the 
 true Nature and Caufe of Cohejion and Con- 
 tinuity it felf was uncertain till of late, and 
 as yet is too general, as far as this Kind of 
 Fluid or fubtile Spirit explains it/ The 
 Principle of Attraction both in great and 
 little Bodies, is evident from innumerable 
 Experiments; but what the Laws of this 
 general Principle may be, in all Syjlems of 
 Bodies ; or what Limitations or Reftridions 
 it may undergo, to folve the particular Ap- 
 pearances, is, I fear, as yet impeded. Per- 
 haps Generals, in Natural Philofophy, (as 
 well as feme other Sciences) are all that we 
 can attain to in our prefent State (for. it 
 
 feems 
 
Vfe of Fibres and Nerves, &c. 7 5 
 
 feems Precilion is a Contradidlion to Fini- 
 tude), We fee indeed that Bodies of plain, 
 fmoQth Surfaces, or in which many Points 
 come into Contact, cohere molt ftrongly, 
 which mull necelfarily follow from the 
 Principle of Attraction. Sir IJaac Newton 
 has Ihewn the Analogy of Bodies flying from 
 one another; or their having a Principle of 
 Re pul (ton, to negative Quantities, in Algebra 
 and Geometry , and to fome other Appear- 
 ances in Nature : whereby he hints a proba- 
 ble Account of the Elafticity and the Com- 
 preflion of the Air : And the fame Manner of 
 Philofophifing, duly applied and fuited to 
 Circumftances, will equally account for the 
 Elafticity of all Fluids w hatfoever, and per- 
 haps of Solids too. There are fome Experi- 
 ments upon Bodies, that feem to prove 
 the real Exiftence of fuch a Principle in Na- 
 ture as Repuljion : for Example, (not to men- 
 tion others, of which there are a great 
 Numb*er, that enforce the fame Conclufion) 
 Ahat whereby a fmooth ddrifm, rubb’d ftrong- 
 ly, drives Leaf-Gold from it, and fufpends 
 it till its Influence is withdrawn, Hawsbee’ s 
 Experiments on an exhaufted Glafs Sphere or 
 Cylinder violently turn’d on an Axis : Water 
 rifing in a hyperbolick Line above the Sur- 
 face, and Mercury fubfiding below it in the 
 fame Curve, and a great many other fuch 
 Experiments. We fee alfo, that a Body 
 under a circular Rotation, has a conftant 
 
74 The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 Tendency to fly off in the Tangent, which 
 a certain late Author has made Ufe of to 
 explain ElaJHcity by (tho’, I think, with 
 indifferent iSuccefs). Now tho’ all thefe 
 Appearances may poffibly be accounted for 
 from other Principles, different from that of 
 Efajlicity, yet, I think, they may be fuffi- 
 cient to illuftrate this Principle of Repuljion. 
 Animal and Vegetable Subllances, fucn as 
 Ivory , iVhale-Eone , the Tendons and mufcular 
 Subftances of Animals, Cork , Sponge, See. 
 are the mo ft perfectly elaflick of any Bodies 
 known, which makes it highly probable, 
 that the. Actions,- Senfations, and Functions 
 of Animals and Vegetables, are owing, in 
 fome meafure, to this Elafticlty in the Solids: 
 And Metalick and Mineral Bodies (as is well 
 known) have their elaflick Properties in- 
 creas’d and augmented by Animal and Vege- 
 table Salts united with them while they are 
 in Fujion by Fire. 
 
 V. T h e moft difficult Problem in all 
 the Animal OEconomy, is, to give any 
 tolerable Account of Majcular ASlion or 
 Animal Motion. The Similitude of a Ma- 
 chin put into Adion and Motion by. the 
 Force of Water convey’d in Pipes, was the 
 readied Refemblance the Lazy could find to 
 explain Mufcular Motion by. It was eafy, 
 from this Refemblance, to forge a thin, im- 
 perceptible Fluid; palTing and re-palling 
 
 through 
 
Exijlence oj Jntmal Spirits. 7 ^ 
 
 (through the Nerves, to blow up the Mus- 
 cles, and thereby to lengthen one of their 
 Dimenfions, in order to Ihorten the ether. 
 On fuch a flender and imaginary Similitude, 
 the precarious Hypothecs of Animal Spirits 
 feems to be built. But as their Exiftence is, 
 I fear, precarious, fo, were it real, they 
 are not fufficient to folve the Appear- 
 ances, as fhall be more particularly con- 
 fider’d hereafter. All I fhall further fay 
 here, is, that' this and the other abftrufe 
 Appearances in the Animal and Vegetable 
 Kingdoms, particularly Vegetation , Elafli- 
 city , CoheJjon , the Emifiion, Reflexions and 
 Refradions of Light , Attraction in the 
 greater and leffer Bodies, and all the other 
 fecret and internal Adions of the Parts of 
 Matter upon one another, are with fome 
 fhew of Poflibility fufpeded, and by fome 
 Obfervations (not otherwife to be accounted 
 for) made not improbable by the late jaga- 
 cioas and learned Sir Ifaac Newton *, to be 
 owing to an infinitely fubtil, elaftick Fluid, 
 or Spirit, (as he ftrongly expreffes that fubtil 
 Matter) diftended thro’ this whole Syfiem , 
 penetrating all Bodies with the greateft 
 Facility, infinitely adive and volatile, but 
 more condens’d in Vacuo , or Spaces void of 
 grolfer Matter, than towards the Surfaces of 
 
 * Opticks, Book III. 
 
 Bodies, 
 
 / 
 
76 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Bodies, or in them : And by this JEther, 
 Spirit , or moft fubtile Fluid, the Parts of 
 Bodies are driven forcibly together, and their 
 mutual attra&ive Virtue arifes, and the other 
 beforemention’d Appearances are produced. 
 The Exiftence of this fubtil Fluid or Spirit , 
 is made probable by what he has oblerv’d 
 of Liquors, heating and cooling , Mercury 
 riling and continuing rais’d, and fmooth 
 Bodies clinging together, and requiring an 
 equal Force to feparate them, in Vacuo , or 
 in an exhaufted Receiver, as in Air: And a 
 great many other Experiments have been fug- 
 gefted not otherwise to be fo readily ac- 
 counted for. And it is probable, that thofe 
 other mention’d Appearances may be owing 
 to the fame Caufe, fince we find always 
 Jimilar Effects have ftmilar Caufes, and that 
 Nature is frugal in Caufes , but various and 
 manifold in EffeBs : But Sir Ifaac not having 
 been able to make a fufficient Number of 
 Experiments to determin all the Laws of 
 this Fluid, nor indeed fufficient abfolutely to 
 prove its Exiftence, he leaves it to the Saga- 
 city of future Ages to determin them, and 
 to apply them to the Appearances ; and 
 finding nothing in the Writings of other 
 Philofophers , Mathematicians , or Fhyficians , 
 of equal Probability with this, tho’ imperfed 
 Account of thefe Difficulties, I will offer the 
 Reader no other. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Exigence of Animal Spirits, yy 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Of the Exijlence of animal Spirits , and 
 of their Ufe to account jor animal 
 Motion , and the other animal Fun * 
 fiions. 
 
 I. V J "1 H E Dodrine of Spirits, to ex^ 
 plain the animal Fundions and 
 their Difeafes, has been fo 
 readily and univerfally receiv’d from the 
 Days of the ^fr^i^»Phyficians (and higher) 
 down to our prefent Times, that Icarce one 
 (except here and there a Heretick of late) 
 has call’d this C-itholick Dodrine in queftion. 
 And thole who perhaps had Courage or 
 Curiofity enough to doubt of, or examine 
 the Matter, either out of Lazinefs, or to 
 avoid a tedious Way of expreffing them- 
 lelves, have implicitly gone into the com- 
 mon Dialed which is now very convenient. 
 The Syfiem at firft was but rude and imper- 
 fed, but having been adopted by Philojo - 
 fhers and Mathematicians , as well as Phy- 
 Jiciansy they have brought it to a more con- 
 , Client 
 
7 8 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 fittent and lefs abfurd 'Theory. BoreUt gave 
 it a great Countenance, by receiving it to 
 explain mtjcular Motion, in his Book De 
 Motu Animalium. fVillis gave it all the 
 Advantages of Eloquence and Metaphor. 
 'John Bernoulli has added to it a Kind of 
 Geometry and Calculation. And laft of 
 all Monf. des Molieres , in the Memoirs de 
 V Academie Royal for 1724, has added Plain- 
 nefs, and fome Conformity to the Natural 
 Appearances, and taken off moll of the 
 common Objections. 1 fhall not tire myfelf, 
 nor the Reader, by detailing the Syjlem at 
 length, nor the feveral Steps by which it 
 has been reformed and amended. Goelik e, 
 Profeffor at Frankfort , in a fmall Treatife, 
 has folidly expos'd and ridicul’d it as far as 
 Borelli went, or the precedent or co-tempo- 
 rary Phylicians : And that admirable Geo- 
 meter Dr. Pemberton , has, I believe, geome- 
 trically Ihewn the Infufficiency of what Ber- 
 noulli has advanced to mend the Matter, in 
 his Preface to Mr. Cowper’s Book on the 
 Mufcles. I fhall therefore only fuggeft 
 fome general Reflexions, which perhaps 
 equally diftrefs this Syjlem , however improv’d 
 or amended. 
 
 (j, II. I will not urge, that the beft Eyes 
 or Senfes, however afliffed, have not hither- 
 to been able to difcover any Cavity in the 
 Subftance of the Nerves, or in the fmall 
 
 Fila- 
 
Exigence of Animal Spirits , 79 
 
 Filaments into which they are divided. 
 That, on the contrary, as far as Leewen - 
 hoeck (the belt Obferver doubtlefs) or others 
 who have examin’d the Matter with great 
 Accuracy, could perceive : they appear lolid, 
 tranfparent, and with broken Reflexions, even 
 when dry, like crack’d Glafs-Wire , Horn , or 
 any other folid Subftance, without any ap- 
 parent Cavity. Nor that by comprefling 
 them by Ligatures , flopping the Influx, or 
 by ftroaking and milching their Lengths, 
 are any Appearances to be obferv’d like 
 thole in other Veflels, which we know do 
 carry Fluids in them, more than muft necef- 
 farily happen from comprefling the fmall 
 Arteries that go along by them. It is true, 
 that by flopping and tying the Trunks of 
 the greater Nerves, the Mufcle it felf will 
 turn Paralytic'k and Motionlefs, but it will 
 equally do fo upon intercepting the Motion 
 or Influx of the Blood, which concludes 
 nothing but this, that thefe Nerves are 
 necelfary towards the Adion of the Mufcles, 
 whether from their carrying a Fluid, or 
 from their own Tonick Nature, their internal 
 Configuration, or any other Manner they 
 may ad, is not thereby determin’d. And 
 if Probabilities could any way influence a 
 Fad, they muft lie on the other Side of the 
 Qiieftion, fince that thin and foft Liquor, 
 which feems only fit to keep them moift and 
 lax, rather derogates from the Exiftence of 
 3 any 
 
So Jhe Englifli Malady. 
 
 any fpirituous Fluid in them proper for the 
 intended End. Nor, thirdly , will I urge 
 againft it Dr. GUJJbn* s Experiment of putting 
 the Arm of a ftrong, brawny Porter into a 
 large Tube full of Water, and fixing it clofe 
 to hk Shoulder, that the Water might not 
 get out, but afcend into a frnall conical "Tube, 
 palling out of the Side of the larger one: 
 whereby he found, that upon the ftrongcft 
 Action of the Mufcles, the Water fubfided 
 and fell in the fmall Tube, and rofe 
 again upon their ceafing to ad ; from 
 whence he concludes, that Mufcular Mo- 
 tion is not performed by the Inflation or 
 Swelling of the Mufcles, but that, on the 
 contrary, when they are mov'd, they are 
 contraded into a lelfer Figure, and more corn- 
 pad Subfiance, or are hardened: which would 
 fcarcely happen, if any Matter, how' fubtil fo 
 ever, flow’d in the Nerves, and thereby was 
 added to the Subftance of the Mufcles : For 
 fince the Impenetrability of Matter is demon- 
 Hrable, the leaf: fuch an Addition could 
 effed, was, that tho’ the Fluidj by its Sub- 
 tilty, would not fenfibly increafe the Bulk, 
 yet Purely it could not leffen it. I fay, I fhall 
 not urge thefe obvious Gbjedions againft this 
 Dodrine ; becaufe, tho’ I think they cannot 
 be folidly anfwer’d, yet they may be evaded ; 
 but fhall proceed to offer a few Confidera- 
 tions, which I think equally diftrefs it, in 
 
 ' all 
 
Exijlence of dnimal Spirits. 8 1 
 
 all the Improvements that have been made 
 on it, 
 
 §. III. Some have imagin’d the Nature 
 of this Fluid of animal Spirits , to have fome 
 Refemblance with that of Light, (the moft 
 fubtil, adive and penetrating Fluid appa- 
 rent in this our Syftem) which would make 
 them quickly penetrate, fly through, tear, 
 break, and confume their rare and tender 
 Prifons, which would be of no more Ufe 
 to them, to determin them to regular 
 and uniform Motions, than Glafs Tubes are 
 to Light. And were they like urinous or 
 inflammable Spirits ; yet neither would fuch 
 Lender Prifons contain them any Time, or 
 convey them uniformly for regular Purpofes. 
 And laftly , if they were like Water or 
 aqueous Fluids, they could neither have 
 Adivity nor Subtilty fufflcient to folve the 
 Appearances, nor could they move with 
 Velocity enough to anfwer the Purpofes of 
 Volition, Senfation, and voluntary or invo- 
 luntary Motions, under that more grofs and 
 fluggifh Form, and would even then ouze 
 thro’ their containing Tubes* 
 
 §. IV. In a Word, give them what Na- 
 ture you will, they will never anfwer the 
 animal Functions and Appearances. For 
 fuppofe them to have any Refemblance to 
 the other Fluids in our Syjlem ; if extremely 
 
 G yola- 
 
The Englifli Malady. 
 
 volatile and active, they would fly away 
 and tear in a very fhort Time their contain- 
 ing Tubes and Canals the Nerves, and could 
 not receive regular Determinations from 
 them } and yet fuch they muft be, to anfwer 
 the Ends of Volition and Senfation : And 
 if they were grofler, denfer and lels refin'd, 
 they would not anfwer quick and fudden 
 Motion, and its Ceflation. And they can 
 never be fuppos’d to be extremely adtive 
 and volatile, and grofs, and thick at the 
 fame Time. We find in Dropjies , that a 
 grofler Fluid, than they can be fuppos’d to 
 be, will ouze in great Quantities thro’ Vef- 
 fels of as clofe a Texture as theirs ; not to 
 mention the fudden Effedts of all Kinds of 
 Spirits (taken inwardly) upon the Nerves , 
 which from this Appearance muft even be 
 fuppos’d to penetrate the Subftance of thefe 
 Nerves , and yet the nervous Fluid muft 
 be, at leaft, as fubtil and penetrating as 
 they. 
 
 §.V. Qui ck and inftantaneous, ftrong, 
 and violent Motions (increas’d by adding 
 great Weights, as we know by Experience) 
 feem abfolutely to have determin’d the Na- 
 ture of animal Spirits, to that of the moil 
 adtive and volatile Kind of Fluids imaginable, 
 becaufe none elfe is capable of fo quick and 
 ftrong Adtions, in order to determin the 
 inftantaneous Obedience of the Mufcles to the 
 3 Orders 
 
Exigence of Animal Spirits. 8 j 
 
 Orders of the Will : And fuch ftrong, violent, 
 and quick Motions mull neceffarily make a 
 great Wafte and Expence of thefe animal 
 Spirits, fo as to require a conflant Supply of 
 fuch fine and fubtil Parts from the Food: 
 And yet we find that aqueous, vegetable, and 
 earthy Subfiances only, make up mofl of 
 the Nourifhment of thofe who have the beft 
 and ftrongelt Spirits, and live in a confrant 
 Courfe of fuch Action 3 and the animal Heat, 
 employ’d to generate them, rifes no higher 
 than that of Vegetation or Incubation only, 
 which is not fufficient for any other Kinds of 
 Spirits, inflammatory or urinous. But how 
 any Fluid at all, of what Kind foever, can be 
 fuppcs’d or imagin’d to go backwards and for- 
 wards in the fame indivifible Inflant almofl, 
 (to convey Pain, for Example, to the fentient 
 Principle, and mufcular Aftion at the fame 
 Inflant, to fhut the Eyes upon Appearances 
 of Danger, or to actuate all the Mufcles 
 neceffary for running away under a Panicky 
 and a thoufand other Inflances that may be 
 given) feerns very hard to explain from the 
 Nature of Fluids known here below. 
 
 . §. VI. The Exigence of animal Spirits, 
 has been chiefly contriv’d to folve the Appear- 
 ances of nervous Dijiempers , viz. Obflrufticns 
 of the Nerves, or their Incapacity to aft 
 under fome Circumftances. Now if thefe 
 Appearances can be accounted for, more 
 G 2 con* 
 
84 The EngliOi Maladi. 
 
 conformably to the Analogy of Nature without 
 this Suppofition than by it, then the Difpute 
 will be at an End, and they ufelefs. Of this 
 lad: the Reader will be a better Judge, when 
 he has confider’d the whole of this Treatife, 
 As to the Obftrudtions of the Nerves , fince 
 they are plainly cylindrical , (or nearly fuch) 
 it does not feem agreeable to Mcchanifm , that 
 any Fluid fhould readily be obdrrufted in 
 them. For whatever Fluid, of whatever 
 Nature, can enter the one Extremity in the 
 Brain, will move on by the fame Impulfe to 
 the other. For Example , a Ball of the fame 
 or lefs Diameter than the Cavity of a cylin- 
 drical Tube will move (by the Force firft im- 
 prefs’d) from one End to the other, without 
 Stop or Hindrance from the Tube; unlefs it 
 be from external Accidents or Bruifes altering 
 the Figure of the Tube; and the fame may 
 be concluded of any Fluid : which makes Ob- 
 jlruffiions pretty unaccountable in cylindrical 
 Tubes : Befides, it is no fmall Prejudice 
 againft any Fluids moving in the nervous 
 Fibres, even that their Figure is cylindrical ; 
 for we fee in all Tubes that contain Fluids, 
 (as the Veins , Arteries , and Lymphedudls) 
 to accelerate the Motion of the Fluid, 
 their internal Figure is conical , or tapering, 
 or nearly fo, which readily accounts for the 
 Obstructions in thefe lad: mention’d VelTels ; 
 and it is not improbable, that Nature, which 
 is always dmilar or confident with k felf, had 
 
 the 
 
Exigence of Animal Spirits , 8 5 
 
 the Nerves been defign’d to carry a Fluid, 
 would have hollow’d them in this Form. 
 And, on the contrary, the frequent Obftruc- 
 tions that happen in thofe Veffels, which are 
 of this mention’d conical Figure, and the 
 Hardnefs of fuch Obftrutftions, may be fuffi- 
 cient to account for the Obftruftions of the 
 Nerves themfelves. From all which we may, 
 I think, pretty firmly conclude, that the No- 
 tion of animal Spirits is of the fame Leaven 
 with the fuhjlantial Forms of Arijlotle , and 
 the ccelejlial Syjlem of Ptolemy. 
 
 §. VII. Perhaps there may be in Nature 
 material Syftems of Fluids of feveral Degrees 
 of Rarity and Subtilty, even indefinitely many 
 and different. What makes it not impofiible, 
 that there may be more fuch Syjlems of fubtil, 
 elafirick Fluids, than that mention’d JEther 
 defcrib’d by Sir Ifaac Newton , is, that the 
 Plajlicity , Attraction , and other Qualities of 
 this Newtonian JEther , muft necelfarily be 
 caus’d by fome other more cetherial and fubtil 
 Fluid, elfe we muft admit Elafticity , Attrac- 
 tion, and Activity in the Particles conft itute- 
 ing this Newtonian JEther without a Caufe 5 
 or we muft: fuppofe thefe Qualities innate to 
 them, and to have been imprefs’d on them 
 immediately by the firfl and fupreme Caufe. 
 And thus we are necelfarily thrown into one 
 or other of the two Horns of this Dilemma, 
 either to admit of Fluids defcending in infi~ 
 G 3 nitum 3 
 
%6 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 nitum , in Tenuity and Subtiky, to produce 
 Elaflicity and .Attraction , or allow Particles 
 of Matter imprefs’d with thefe Qualities in 
 their Creation immediately by the Jupreme 
 Being. It is true, this Newtonian AN her 
 advances us one Step further into the Nature 
 of Things; but here we muft neceffarily 
 flop, the Works of God appearing literally 
 Infcrutable to Perfection. A few of the firft 
 Steps we may go in this infinit Progrcfiion , 
 but in all the Works of God there is a ne plus 
 ultra ; perhaps it may be in the inanimate 
 material Syfiem of Things, as it is moll cer- 
 tainly in the Animal Kingdom, that Nature and 
 its Author, to diftinguilh. itfelf from finite 
 Mechanifim , always operates by Syjlems and 
 Organs in Number even infinite, if not infinite 
 in the higheft Senfe, yet certainly indefinite or' 
 infinite in a relative Senfe, and in Regard to a 
 finite Caparity ; and thus he leaves I -mages and 
 Signatures of himfelf on all his Works, as is 
 manifeft in Quantity, Time , and Motion , and 
 their Signs or Characters, infinite Divifibility, 
 infinite Progrefiions , Eternity , Series’s, and 
 Fluxions , &c. Mercury is groffer or denfer 
 than Water, Water than Air, Air than Light, 
 Light than AEther, and how far further Na- 
 ture may go in defeending in Tenuity, Sub- 
 tiky, and Refining of other Syfiems of Fluids, 
 none alive can certainly tell. This as a Con- 
 jecture the Analogy of Things, the infinite 
 Divisibility or Encreafe of Matter, from finite. 
 
Ex fence of Animal Spirits. 87 
 
 till it becomes infinitely great or fmall, at 
 leaft, as to our Conceptions ; Nature’s never 
 palling from Pojitive to Negative Quantities, 
 till it goes thro’ the Medium of Nothing , or 
 infinitely fmall of the fame Denomination; its 
 never palling from Motion to Reft, but thro’ 
 infinitely fmall Motion: In a Word, its never 
 aching in Generals, by Starts , Jumps, or un- 
 equal Steps ; I fay all thefe Hints feem to 
 point out fomething like this. From all 
 which, and a great deal more might be urg’d, 
 it may not be improbable, that as in Quantity 
 there is one or more Means between the leapt 
 and th Qgreateji: fo in Subjlances of all Kinds, 
 there may be Intermediates between pure , im- 
 material Spirit and grofs Matter , and that 
 this intermediate, material Subftance, may 
 make the Cement between the human Soul 
 and Body, and may be the Inftrument or Me- 
 dium of all its Addons and Fundions, where 
 material Organs are not manifeft: And may 
 pofiibly be the Caufe of the other fecret and 
 infcrutable Myjieries of Nature, and the fame 
 (for ought I know) with Sir Ifaac Newtons 
 infinitely fine and elajiick Fluid or Spirit , 
 mention’d in a former Chapter; for lince he 
 has not, I believe none ell'e will take upon 
 him to determin its fpecifick Nature, or, in- 
 deed, whether it adually be or not; The 
 innumerable Appearances feem to imply fome 
 fuch Thing. 
 
88 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 §. VIII. T o conclude this dark Subject of 
 animal Spirits , if they mu ft be fuppos’d, we 
 may affirm they cannot be of the Nature of 
 any Fluid we have a Notion of, from what 
 we fee or know. Indeed, the large Size, the 
 wonderful Texture, and the great Care and 
 Security Nature has employ’d about the Brain , 
 makes it probable it has teen defign’d for the 
 noble ft Ufes, viz. to be the Temple or Sen- 
 forium of the fentient and intelligent Prin- 
 ciple. And its Refemblances, in many 
 Circumftances, to the other Glands , which 
 certainly feparate Liquors, makes it not im- 
 poffible that it may have Ufes analogous to 
 thole. But how to affign them, explain, or 
 accord them with what has been fuggefted 
 above, I know not. May not the J’entient 
 Principle have its Seat in fome Place in the 
 Brain, where the Nerves terminate, like the 
 Mufician Ihut up in his Organ- Room ? May 
 not the infinite Windings, Convolutions, and 
 Complications of the Beginning of the Nerves 
 which conftitute the Brain, ferve to determin 
 their particular Pone, Penfion , and confe- 
 quently the Inteftin Vibrations of their Parts ? 
 May they not have interwoven Blood Veftels 
 and Glands to feparate a milky Liquor, to 
 foften, moiften, and continue their Elajlicity , 
 and innate Mechanick Powers through the 
 whole nervous Syftems ? And alfo to keep them 
 in a proper Condition to play off the Vibra- 
 
 tions 3 
 
Exi fence of Jnlmd Spirits. 89 
 
 tions, Tremors , and Undulations made on them 
 by Bodies, or their Effluvia ? May not thefe 
 Vibrations be propagated through their Lengths 
 by a fubtile, fpirituous, and infinitely elaftick 
 Fluid, which is the Medium of the Intelligent 
 Principle ? As Sound is convey’d thro’ Air to 
 the Tympanum , and by it to this Medium or 
 AEther, and from the Medium to the Intelli- 
 gent Principle , and as Sight is perform’d 
 through or by Light. And is not the Ana- 
 logy of Nature and Things thus, in fome 
 meafure, preferv’d ? I own it is much eafier 
 to confute than eftablifh, and I fhould not be 
 very * Sanguin about the Non-exiftence of ani- 
 mal Spirits, but that I have obferv’d the 
 dwelling fo much upon them, has led Phyficians 
 too much to negledt the mending the Juices, 
 the opening Obftrudlions, and the /Lengthen- 
 ing the Solids, wherein only the proper andfolid 
 Cure of nervous Diftempers confifts 5 and 
 apply to Volatiles , Feet ids, and Stimulants : 
 which, at beft, are but a Reprieve, and is not 
 unlike blowing up the Fire, but at the fame 
 Time forcing it to fpend fafter, and go out 
 fooner ; for Volatiles , Aromatich , and Cor- 
 dials, are much of one and the fame Nature, 
 and all but Whips, Spurs, and pointed In- 
 ftruments to drive on the rejiy and unw 
 
 C H AP. 
 
po The Englifli Maladt. 
 
 i u, 4 t'/l ■ y't '•"'-i }% '/'<■ ■ i-Yi e'i ?■"< V't <”A \»'/. '-■‘i/ w/ w 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 0/ ffe Generation , Animation , 7V^- 
 trition , Growth of the Solids 
 and Fluids of Animals , yome 
 other Functions of the Animal Oeco- 
 nomy. 
 
 §. I. TT Think it next to a DemonJlration y 
 i that there is a felf-a5live and J'elf- 
 motive Principle in all Animals what- 
 foever, both in the perfect and imperfeSl. 
 Mere Mechanifm (that is, Foreign imprefs’d 
 Motions, according to certain Laws, and in 
 Proportion to the Surfaces of Bodies only) 
 
 - may poffibly account for the Appearances of 
 Vegetation ; but it can never account for Ani- 
 . mation , or the animal Life even of the lowed; 
 JnJ'eA y and this, I think, is the univerfal Opi- 
 nion of all the ableft and wifeft Geometers, 
 who are mod knowing in the Laws of Me- 
 chanifm. Plow far a perpetual Motion is 
 poflible, in the prefent State of Things, and 
 under the prefent edablhhed Laws of Nature, 
 
 I will 
 
Generation , See. of Solids Sc Fluids. 9 1 
 
 1 will not take upon me abfolutely to deter- 
 min. I fhould think the FriBion of Bodies, 
 the perpetual Lofs of communicated Motion 
 on our Globe, and the Impoffibility of any 
 Curves being deferib’d by one and the fame 
 Impulfe, fhould make it as impoflible, as the 
 fquareing the Circle, or exp re fin 2 ; Surds by 
 Integers or finite Fractions, under the prefent 
 State of our Arithmetic. But that every Ani- 
 mal is a perpetuum Mobile, from a Self -Motive 
 Principle within, and from its own innate 
 Powers, I think, is paft all manner of Doubt'; 
 and to explain Mechanically, from Matter and 
 Motion alone, and all the Powers of our 
 Numbers and Geometry join’d to them, the 
 Functions of any living Animal, is mere 
 Jargon and Ignorance , as I conceive. 
 
 §. II. M ay not Life and Animation have 
 fome Refemblance to Light, in its Activity, 
 and atting from a central Point of Self-Mo- 
 tion and Self- Activity Radiat in a limited 
 Sphere, and where it finds proper Organs , 
 concurs and analogifes in thefe Organs, with 
 the eftablifhed Laws of Bodie’s? For it is as 
 utterly impoflible to account for Animation 
 from mere Mechanifm, as to account for 
 ‘Thinking or Willing from that Principle. 
 Might not the Self-Motive and Self-Active, 
 the Intelligent and Free-will ing Principle 
 (that is, the feveral Degrees and Exten- 
 flons of this animating and adluating Spirit ) 
 
 have 
 
pi The Englifh Malady. 
 
 have been at the fame Time and Inftant 
 created with the or gam cal, infinite fimal 
 Body, in the firft Originals of each different 
 Species of Animals, and have been forming 
 and extending the organiz’d Body under cer- 
 tain Laws and ReftriCtions, till it was fit to 
 bear Light and Day , and had its Organs 
 compleatly finifhed, to play off the Mufick 
 and Harmony it was originally defign’d for? 
 Is not every Animal a Machin of an infinite 
 Number of organical Parts, fitted with a pro- 
 per Mufician or Self-Motive and Selfi-Adlive 
 Principle, of an Order, Rank, and Extenfion 
 proper for the intended Ends and Purpofes of 
 the Compound ? 
 
 §. III. By an Organ , I underftand a Part 
 of a Machin, compleat in itfelf, neceffary to- 
 wards the Perfection and intended Ufe of the 
 Whole: Thus a Wheel, with its Axis and 
 Pivots , is an Organ in a Watch or Clock: 
 On this Definition, are not the Organs of 
 every Animal in Number actually infinite , 
 which nothing lefs than a Geometer of infinite 
 Capacity and Power, could adiuffc and fit to 
 each other, and to their intended Purpofes 
 and Ufes ? If we confider the Number of 
 Veins , Arteries , Lymphaticks , Nerves, Fibres , 
 T radons, Ligaments , Membrans , Cartilages , 
 Bones, Mufcles, and Glands difcovered in 
 every Animal, and this infinite Number ff ill 
 encreafcd and made further confpicuous by 
 3 In- 
 
Generation , See. of Solids Sc Fluids. 9 5 
 
 Injections and Microfcopes : Add to thefe, the 
 Senfibility of each the fmalleft Point and 
 Particle of Animal, where the Circulation 
 reaches, we fhall be eafily perfuaded that they 
 furpafs all finite Skill and Mechanifm , to form 
 and frame ; and that they are without Number, 
 and without End. That the whole Fabrick 
 is but an Afjemblage of an infinit Number of 
 fuch Organs. Every minute Point, and Atom 
 of which, is fitted and contriv’d for a particular 
 End and Purpofe, and for the Benefit of the 
 Whole *. The Structure, Contrivance , the 
 Ufe, Beauty , and Perfection of the human 
 Hand alone, made Galen a firm Believer in a 
 firfl Caufe infinitely Wife, Good and Powerful. 
 
 §. IV. But that the whole Syjiem of thefe 
 Conjectures may be brought into one View, I 
 fhall draw them out into a few Proportions , 
 without offering at any thing, that may be fug- 
 gelled to make them more probable, and 
 leave the Reader to correct, or rejedt them at 
 his Pleafure, being in no manner neceffary to 
 the main of my Defign, and calculated only 
 to amufe and divert. 
 
 Prop. 1. Matter is capable of infinite 
 Hivifion and Addition. 
 
 2. There may b tSyJlems of Bodies of all 
 Sizes, from indefinitely ///z#//, to indefinitely 
 
 * Vide Galen de Uiu partii.m. 
 
 great. 
 
94 Th* Englifli Malady. 
 
 great. The Stars may be confider’d as a 
 Syjiem of Bodies indefinitely great , and Light 
 a Syftem of Bodies indefinitely frnall , and 
 how many other fuch Syjiems there may be, 
 none can tell. 
 
 3. There may be Animalcula or Orga- 
 niied living Bodies of all Sizes, from thole of 
 a Pepper Corn and lower, up to a Whale and 
 higher, and thefe may be for many Ages 
 growing and encreafing to their appointed 
 Magnitudes , under certain Laws and Re- 
 ltriCtiohs. 
 
 4. LIFE and Animation feems impoffi- 
 ble, and a Contradiction to mere Mechani/m , 
 that is, to Matter, aCted by determin’d Laws 
 of Motion, and in Proportion to the Surfaces 
 of Bodies only. 
 
 4. LIFE and Animation admit of all the 
 Degrees of Quantity. 
 
 6. MECHANISM takes Place and 
 operates by it felf only, on dead Matter j 
 but is adtuated and govern’d in its Operations, 
 by animated living Bodies or Jpiritual Sub- 
 ftances. 
 
 7. The Self-motive , Selj-active , and 
 living Principle concurs with, and homolo- 
 gijes to Mechanifm in the animal Functions 
 
 and 
 
Generation , See. of Solids Sc Fluids, p j 
 
 and Operations. The fecond is fubordinate 
 to the firft in all its Effefts, which take Place 
 according to its own Laws. 
 
 8. Organised Bodies fit for Animation , 
 and living Functions, confifting of Organs in 
 Number infinite , can only be the Work of 
 infinite Wifdom and Power. 
 
 9. The Self-motive , Self-active Principle 
 cannot a£t harmonioujly , or according to its 
 intended Ufes and Purpofes, on an unfit, un- 
 finifhed, unorganifed Body, any more than a 
 skilful Mufician can produce fine Mufick or 
 Harmony on an unfini£hed, imperfect Inftru- 
 ment. 
 
 10. Might not the organifed Bodies of 
 all the Species of Animals have been included 
 in the firft original Pairs, decreafing conti- 
 nually in a geometrical Progreffion, or as 
 fecond , third, and fubfequent Fluxions are con- 
 tain’d in their firft Fluxions, and all in their 
 Fluent ? 
 
 11. Might it not be, that the organis'd 
 Bodies of all Animals might be included in 
 the Male of each original Pair? and that the 
 Female might only fupply a more convenient 
 Flabitation for them during a determin’d 
 Time, while, by their quicker Encreafe they 
 were fitted to bear Air , Sun y and Day ? 
 
 12 . T H E 
 
y6 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 12. The original Stamina , the whole 
 Syjiem of the Solids, the Firmnefs, Force, 
 and Strength of the Mufcles, of the Vifcera, 
 and great Organs, are they not owing to the 
 Male ? And does the Female contribute any 
 more but a convenient Habitation, proper 
 Nourishment, and an Incubation to the lemi- 
 nal Animalcul for a Time, to enable the 
 or gam fed living Creatures to bear the Air, 
 Sun y and Day the fooner ? 
 
 13. If the Brain , Heart , Lungs , Liver , or 
 Kidneys of the Male be fpoil’d and corrupted, 
 the fame Juices in him that fpoil’d thefe 
 Vifcera , may they not fpoil and corrupt the 
 fame Organs in the Animalcul while lodged in 
 him, and in Some kind fed and encreas’d by 
 his Juices? 
 
 14. Since then the Female's Juices are 
 what, for a certain Time, alfo feed the 
 Animalcul, as they are Good or Bad, Proper 
 or Improper, may they not alter, fpoil, or 
 mend the Juices of the Foetus ? 
 
 15. T h e Solids therefore feem neither emi- 
 nently (or in fuch a Degree as the Juices) capable 
 of being repair’d, renew’d, nor mended when 
 broken, wounded, or taken away, no more than 
 a Tinker can mend a Hole in a Brafs Pot or 
 Pan, viz. not by new forming or joining 
 
 and 
 
Generation. See. of Solids Sc Fluids. 97 
 
 and uniting the Metal , but by a Soder or 
 Patch and fo Nature feems only to have 
 provided proper Juices to fill up the DiJ- 
 continuity , and fupply the Breaches: As in 
 Animals, we fee by the Cicatrices of Wounds 
 and Sores of all Kinds, m, their continuing for 
 almofi: ever after, a Botch. For this Cement 
 never makes them the fame continued Organ, 
 fcarce any thing but a botch’d or clouted 
 one. 
 
 16. The Solids feem fcarce fubjed to any 
 eminent Alterations in their innate Tenfion, 
 Force, and Elafticity naturally, till they are 
 almofi: quite fpoil’d and putrified, but merely 
 as they are made thicker or grofler, harder or 
 fofter, by this adhering Glew or Soder, or 
 from thefe Juices within, and their aggluti- 
 nating Patch-work. 
 
 17. NUFRlFlO N feems only to be the 
 fupplying the feveral folid Parts with a fuitable 
 Glew or Soder, to augment and encreafe the 
 Bulk, and but little to alter the innate Force 
 and Elajiicity of the original and primitive 
 Solids. 
 
 38. The Solids feem to be capable of 
 being contracted, as it were, into an indivisible 
 Point, viz. in feminal Animalcules .* By Plica - 
 tures. Foldings , Twijlings, and Swaiths or 
 Membranes, and yet to preferve a proportional 
 
 H Degree 
 
p 8 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 Degree of Elafticity and Spring : As we fee in 
 the Nymphce of Silk-worms, and the other 
 Infedts of the papilious Kind. Or they may 
 be fhut up, one Part within another, as a 
 Fifhing-rod : And the different .Shapes of 
 thefe feminal Animalculs, from their Figure 
 when full grown, feem to imply this. And 
 thefe Swaiths and Alembranes bur ft and break 
 naturally, by Accretion and Encreafe of Bulk, 
 as we fee in feminal Plants, and in the For- 
 mation of Animals. 
 
 19. The Solids therefore feem to be the 
 great, the proper, the only Inftrument of 
 Life and Animation , and the true mnfical 
 Organ of the living Mufician. And the Fluids 
 to be only intended to preferve them in due 
 Flight , Glibnefs , Warmth , and tonical Virtue , 
 and to foder and repair their Wounds, Waftes 
 and Decays. But it is on thefe Fluids that 
 Medicines and Medical Operations have place 
 chiefly. 
 
 20. This general Sketch, tho’ imperfedt, 
 and, perhaps, not real, yet is the moft con- 
 fiftent I could frame on a Confideration and 
 View of the whole of Animal Nature , in all 
 its Kinds and Species; by it the Analogy be- 
 tween Vegetables and Animals is preferv’d, and 
 many Appearances in Generation , Nutrition , 
 and Animation may be folv’d, which otherwife 
 appear unaccountable : The philofophical Gar- 
 deners, 
 
Signs of relaxed Nerves. 99 
 
 deners , the philofophical Breeders of Cattle 
 and other Animals, and thofe belt acquainted 
 with Natural Hi/lory , will be the fitted; Judges 
 of its Truth and Juftnefs. I thought it might 
 amufe the ingenious Valetudinarian 5 and there- 
 fore let it pals as it is, without the Arguments 
 and Inftances that make it probable, tho’ I 
 could produce innumerable. 
 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 Of the Signs and Symptoms of a too 
 relaxed , loofe and tender State of 
 IS'erves. 
 
 1 H O S E who have weak, loofe, 
 and feeble or relax’d Nerves, 
 have generally a final], weak, 
 languid, and fometimes an intermittent Pulfe. 
 Exercife, ftrong Liquors, high Food, or 
 that which is hard to digeft, or too great a 
 Quantity of thefe laft, taken down, quicken 
 and accelerate the Pulfe, and difcover a 
 Labour and Struggle in the Circulation. The 
 Strokes of fuch a Pulfe are feldom clean and 
 
 H 2 free, 
 
ico The Englifh Malady. 
 
 free, and fometimes quite ftopt and in- 
 terrupted for fome fmall time; efpecially 
 in great Lownefs, Fainting or Fits ; and, 
 at beft, are like a Force not apply’d at once, 
 but by Framing, and ftruggling, and flow 
 Degrees. 
 
 II. * Those that have by Nature 
 foft, thin, and ftiort Hair, which, with 
 great Difficulty, receives or retains a Buckle, 
 and thofe who readily run into Baldnefs or 
 fhedding of the Hair towards the Spring, 
 are certainly of a loofe, flabby, and relaxed 
 State of Nerves : For the Hair feems to be 
 only fome of the fleffiy Fibres lengthened 
 outwards and hardened, at leafl: they feem 
 to be of the fame Kind and Nature, with 
 the other Fibres, coiiflft of a great many lefler 
 Filaments, contain’d in a common Membran, 
 and are folid, tranfparent, and elaftick : And 
 as the Flairs are in Strength, Bulk, and 
 Elafticity, fo generally the Fibres of the 
 Body are ; and thofe vvhofe Hair fheds, 
 turns thin, lank, or refufes Buckle, if it 
 does not happen to them after recovering 
 from an acute Diflemper, ought to take care 
 they fall not into nervous Diforders, which 
 anointing their Hair with fvveet Oils, or 
 
 * Vide Eflay on Health and long Lite, Chap. vii. §. 4. 
 
 waffi- 
 
Signs of relaxed Nerves. 1 o i 
 
 walhing their Heads with Honey-Water 
 will fcarce prevent. 
 
 §. III. Other things being equal, thole 
 of the faireft, cleareft, and brighteft colour’d 
 Hair, are of the looleft and weakeft State 
 of Fibres and Nerves, not only becaufe the 
 faireft and lighteft is the moft rare, tranfpa- 
 rent, and fungous, but becaufe Bodies of 
 the lighteft Parts, confift of Parts of a weaker 
 Union, which adhere with lefs Force, and 
 confequently are lefs elaftick, firm, and 
 fpringy than thofe of the darker and more 
 opake Colours. We generally obferve, that 
 People of very fine and white Hair, efpe- 
 cially if lo after they are come to Maturity, are 
 of weak, tender, and delicate Conftitutions : 
 And thofe who deal in making artificial 
 Covers for the Heads of Men or Women, 
 find that fuch Hair will never, with any 
 Credit to them, ferve thefe Purpofes, and 
 feldom honeftly employ it for that End. 
 
 §. IV. Those of large, full, and (as 
 they are call’d) maftiff Mufcles, and of big 
 and ftrong Bones, are generally of a firmer 
 State of Fibres, than thofe of little Mufcles 
 and fmall Bones, becaufe the Mufcles and 
 Bones being fimilar to the Fibres, and made 
 of them, thefe being bigger and ftronger, 
 lo muft thofe be ; and, on the contrary, 
 
loz The Englifh Malady. 
 
 §. V. Soft and yielding, loofe and 
 flabby Fleih and Mufcles, are fure Symp- 
 toms of weak and relaxed Nerves or Fibres, 
 as hard, firm, prominent and brawny Muf- 
 cles and Flefti are conftant Signs of firm 
 Fibres. 
 
 $. VI. A white, fair, blanch'd, wax 
 or afhen-colour’d Complexion, conftantly 
 indicates a weaker State of Fibres, than a 
 ruddy, brown, or dark Hue. 
 
 VII. A fat, corpulent, and phlegma- 
 tick Conftitution is always attended with 
 loofe, flabby, and relax’d Fibres, by their 
 being diflfolv’d and over-foak’d in Moifture 
 and Oil, efpecially if it belong to young 
 Perfons, or happen long before the Meridian 
 of Life; for in the Decline, when the Fibres 
 have acquir’d their utmoft Degree of Ten- 
 fion, Hardnefs, and Firmnefs, it then ferves 
 to preferve them in that State, from the 
 Drynefs that old Age always introduces. 
 But thofe of a dry, firm, clean, and brawny 
 Make have generally the ftrongefl: and moft 
 tenfe Fibres. 
 
 §. VIII. Those who are fubjeft to Eva- 
 cuations of any Kind, in any Degree greater 
 than what is natural and common to found 
 Conftitutions ; or thofe, who by any Acci- 
 3 dent, 
 
Signs of relaxed Nerves. 105 
 
 dent, a Fever, or any acute Diftemper what- 
 foever, have fiuffer’d long under any preter- 
 natural Evacuation, are already, or foon 
 will, become fubjed to a loofe, relax’d, or 
 weak State of Fibres and Nerves : Thofe 
 who frequently run into Purging and Coftive- 
 nefs alternately, or into Floods of pale 
 Water, or into profufe Sweatings, upon little 
 or no Exercife, into a conftant Spitting or 
 Salivation at the Mouth, or too plentiful 
 Difcharges from the Nofe and Eyes : Thofe 
 who have loft much Blood, or frequently 
 fall into Haemorrhages : Thofe who have 
 labour’d long under an obftinate Diarrhoea , 
 or Loofenefs : Or thofe of the Sex who have 
 purified long in greater Quantities, or oftener 
 than is ufual or natural : All thefe originally 
 are, or commonly become of weak and relax’d 
 Nerves, and fuffer under them. 
 
 <£. IX. Those who are naturally of a 
 cold Conftitution, are apt to fall into Chil- 
 ling and Coldnefs on their Extremities, or 
 feel frequently like the trickling of cold 
 Water over fome Parts of the Body, are 
 ready to catch Cold, upon the flighteft Oc- 
 cafions, are apt to run into Rigours and 
 Shiverings upon a fharp North-Eaft Wind ; 
 are too fenfibly and violently affeded, and 
 feel too much Pain and Uneafinefs from cold 
 or frofty Weather ; who want too much 
 Covering, Cloaths, or Heat; or, on the 
 H 4 con- 
 
i©4 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 contrary, are too much funk and dif-fjpirited> 
 fpent and wafted with exceftive hot Wea- 
 ther, are all of loofe and weak Fibres. For 
 all thefe are Signs of a too flow Circulation and 
 Ferfpiration which manifeft a weak Spring 
 in the Fibres of the Coats of the Veflels, and 
 of the other Solids, and ftiew too great a 
 Degree of Senfibility or Eafinels of being 
 acted upon by external Objects, which 
 argues a Weaknefs' or Slendernels in them, 
 either natural or acquir’d. 
 
 X. Those who are fubjed: to acute 
 or chronical Diftempers of the cold and vifcid 
 Kind, tho’ they have not commonly their 
 Denomination from nervous Diftempers, luch 
 as an Atrophy , Dropjy , Diabetes , Diarrhoea , 
 white and leucophlegmatick Swellings upon 
 the Joints or other Parts of the Body ; glan- 
 dulous and Jchlrrous Tumours, the Scrophula , 
 vifcid Quinfeys or Swellings in the Glands 
 of the Eyes, fuch (befides all thofe who are 
 fubject to Difeafes denominated Nervous in 
 their Kind) are all of weak Nerves and 
 Fibres. 
 
 $. XI. Those who Stutter, Stammer, 
 have a great Difficulty of Utterance, fpeak 
 very Low, lofe their Voice without catch- 
 ing Cold, grow Dumb, Deaf, or Blind, with- 
 out an Accident or an Acute Diftemper ; are 
 quick, prompt, and paflionate; are all of 
 
 3 weak 
 
Signs of relaxed Nerves. i © j 
 
 weak Nerves • have a great Degree of Senfir 
 bility ; are quick Thinkers, feel Pleafure or 
 Pain the moft readily, and are of mqft lively 
 Imagination. 
 
 XII. These are, at leaft,the moft mate- 
 rial of the Signs and Symptoms of a relax’d 
 State of Solids or Fibres ; fo that whoever 
 labours under them for any Time, or in any 
 eminent Degree, may certainly conclude, 
 whatever other Diforders he may labour 
 under, that thefe are certainly attended with 
 a State of loofe and relax’d Fibres, and 
 confequently, that in prefcribing Medicines 
 for fuch, whatever their Difeafe otherwife 
 may be, or may be call’d, great Care is 
 always to be had, both in doling the proper 
 Medicines for fuch particular Diforders, and 
 joining with them fuch Medicines as may 
 keep up the due Tenfion of the Solids, as 
 much as poffible, while they are under the 
 Cure, and alfo ordering fuch Remedies as 
 may corroborate and ftrengthen them, when 
 the Cure is effeded. For in all fuch Cafes, 
 where the Solids are greatly relax’d, the 
 Conftitution of the Patient differs as much 
 from the fame Cafe in ftrong and robuft Per- 
 fons, as the Conftitution of a Child, from 
 that of a grown Perfon, 
 
 §. XIII. But the fundamental Propofition, 
 on which the Manner of treating fuch Diftem- 
 
 pers, 
 
io6 The Englifli Malady: 
 
 pers is, and ought in Reafon to be grounded, 
 and which Experience always juftifies, is, 
 that a Laxity, Weaknefs and Want of due 
 Tone and Elafticity in the Solids, produce 
 vifcid, fharp, and ill-condition’d Juices. And, 
 on the contrary, that ill-condition’d, fharp, 
 and vifcid Juices, neceffarily produce weak 
 and unelaftick Solids, fo that they mutually 
 exafperate each other, and differ only as 
 Caufe and Effed, tho’ the Fault of the Fluids 
 always precedes that of the Solids. Put the 
 Cafe, that the Blood and Juices are vifcid, 
 fharp, and ill-condition’d, the Fibres fubfift- 
 ing nearly in their proper Tenfion and due 
 Degree of tfone and Elafticity, that they 
 ought to be in perfedly found and robuft 
 Perfons, the neceffary Effed of fuch a State 
 of Juices, would be a Pvetardment of their 
 Circulation by a greater Preffure upon the 
 Sides of the Veffels, and the forming of Ob- 
 jftrudicns in the fmall and capillary Tubes, 
 which by rendering thefe impervious, forces 
 a greater Quantity upon the pervious ones, 
 than they are accuftomed or able to drive 
 about, and fo by Degrees break and loofen 
 the Texture, and relax the Tone of all thefe 
 Solids. For when once the Ballance be- 
 tween the Force and Strength of an Inftru- 
 ment, and the Body to be moved by it, 
 comes to be deftroy’d, and the Advantage 
 thrown upon the Side of the Body to be 
 moved, the Inftrument muft be foon fhatter’d 
 
 and 
 
Signs of relaxed Nerves. 1 07 
 
 and broken. On the other hand, fuppofing 
 the Juices found and good, and of a due 
 Conliftence and Balfam, but that the Solids 
 are of a laxer, weaker and lefs elaftick Make 
 than they fhould be, it mull necelfarily fol- 
 low, that the Circulations, Perfpir-ation, the 
 Digeftions and Secretions muft be weaker 
 and more languiffiingly perform'd than they 
 ought to be, by which neither will the Food 
 be fufficiently broken and digefted in the 
 alimentary Tubes, nor the Size of the Par- 
 ticles of the Blood fufficiently fmall - nor 
 divided by the Force of the Circulation, nor 
 its Recrements thrown off with due Force 
 and in fufficient Quantity, that the Juices 
 may be duly purified, inlomuch, that they 
 muff necelfarily become vifcid and lharp; 
 and their Parts necelfarily increafe in Bulk 
 and Hardnefs, efpecially under a mal-Regt - 
 men. From all which it is evident that a 
 weak State of Nerves or Fibres muft necef- 
 farily imply a bad State of Juices, and fo on 
 the other Hand, and that they mutually at- 
 tend or produce one another, unlefs a proper 
 Regimen of Dyet come in to their Relief. 
 
 THE 
 
Cttijlttt) HalaDp: 
 
 O R, A 
 
 TREATISE 
 
 O F 
 
 Nervous Difeafes of all Kinds, 
 
 A S 
 
 Spleen, Vapours, Lownefs of Spirits, 
 Hypochondriacal and Hysterical 
 Diftempers, &c. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Of the Cure of Nervous 'Diftempers. 
 
 By GEORGE C HEINE , M. D* 
 
 Fellow of the College ofPhyficians at Edinburg , and F. R. S. 
 
 '— Nunc retrorfum , 
 
 Vela dare atque Iter are cur [us 
 
 Cogor reliBcs ■ — ■ — Horat. 
 
 L 0 N D O N: 
 
 Printed for G. Sthahan, and J, Leake. 
 
 M.DCC. XXXIII. 
 

 . 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 /• 
 
 ■ V_ 
 
PART II. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Of the general Method of Cure of 
 Nervous Diftempers . 
 
 'HERE are fome Perfons, 
 who, being far advanced in 
 Age, have not fufficient Time 
 remaining for a perfect Cure ; 
 and others, in whom the Dif- 
 eafe is fo deeply rooted, by a bad Conftitu.- 
 tion, derived to them from their Parents, 
 that they are not capable of a total Cure ; 
 and both thefe mufc be contented to fubmit 
 to the Orders of Providence , arid make the 
 
 belt 
 
i 1 z The Englifh Malady. 
 
 be ft of their Misfortunes, refting fatisfied 
 with a Partial or Palliative Cure, and re- 
 lieving the Symptoms as they arife. But 
 thofe who are in better Circumftances, will 
 have better Succefs, by following with Pa- 
 tience and Perfeverance, the Directions here 
 to be laid down. 
 
 $.11. From what has been faid in the 
 former Part of this Treatife, concerning the 
 Sources and Caufes of Chronical Diftempers, 
 and the general Caufes of the Diforders of the 
 Nerves or Solids , there will arife three Indi- 
 cations in the Cure of Nervous Diftempers, 
 from the three principal Caufes concurring 
 towards their Production. 
 
 i/?, The firft Intention , and that which 
 has the greateft Influence on all the reft, and 
 will often, in fmaller Degrees of this Diftem- 
 per, or when the Solids are not much weaken’d 
 or fpoiFd, render the other two unnecefiary : 
 (at leaft, in a great meafure) The firft Inten- 
 tion^ I fay, will be to thin, dilute, and fweeten 
 the whole Mafs of the Fluids, to deftroy their 
 Yifcidity and Glewinefs, to open the Obftruc- 
 tions thereby generated, make the Circulation 
 full and free, the Perfpiranon current, and the 
 Secretions How in their due Proportion and 
 Tenor. This, if fully obtained, lays the 
 Foundation of all the reft of the Cure, and 
 will even, during that Time, take off the 
 
 Violence 
 
Cure of Nervous < Di(lempers. 1 1 3 
 
 Violence of the Symptoms, and make their 
 Intervals greater. 
 
 idly, The fecond Intention will be to 
 divide, break and diffolve the faline, acrid 
 and hard Concretions , generated in the fmall 
 Veffels, and to deftroy all Sharpnefs and 
 Acrimony lodged in the Habit, and to make 
 the Juices foft, fwcet, and balfamick. This 
 will be more readily effected, if the firft In- 
 tention has been fufficiently and fuccefsfully 
 purfued; and, indeed, will, in a great mea- 
 fure, be fulfilled by it ; for as it is the Sizy- 
 nefs and Sharpnefs of the Juices, that retards 
 the Circulation, obftru&s the fmall Veffels, 
 and thereby leaves the ftagnated Juices to 
 corrupt and putrify, by giving Time and 
 Occafion for the fmaller faline Particles to 
 approach nearer one another, exert their in- 
 nate Quality of Jt trail ion and Cryjlalllzatlon , 
 and unite in greater Clutters and larger Con- 
 cretions, , (which, tho’ never fenfible, yet, 
 from the Neceflity of Nature and its Laws, 
 is never the lefs real) fo when the Blood is 
 made fufficiently thin and fluid, thefe faline 
 Concretions, will be either diffolv'd or bro- 
 ken, by the Thinnefs of the Juices, and the 
 Force of the Circulation, and fo fitted to be 
 thrown out of the Habit, by the proper 
 Difcharges, or will be kept at a due Difiance 
 from one another, or more eafily reach'd, 
 
 I and 
 
ii4 ‘fhe Englifli Malady. 
 
 and then remedied by fuch Medicines as will 
 produce this Effed. 
 
 $dly, The third and laft Intention in 
 order, is to reftore the Tone and elajtick 
 Force, to crifp, wind up, and contract the 
 Fibres of the whole Syjtem , which is the laft, 
 and indeed the moft imperfect Part of the 
 Cure, and the leaft, I am afraid, in the 
 Power of Ait. It is much like the Cafe of 
 Hair that has loft its Buckle, by Length of 
 Time and much Ufe ; tho’ by Art- it may 
 be harden’d, ftiffen’d, and reduced in fome 
 Degree to a greater Firmnefs and proper 
 Figure, yet will not retain it long, nor bear 
 the Injuries of the Weather fo readi ly, with- 
 out returning to its former Laxity : If this 
 could be always and totally effeded, the 
 Cure would be a true Rejuvenefcence, and no 
 Body needed grow Old or Die. But the 
 Laws of Mortality will fuffer this Intention 
 to rife only to a certain Height, and no 
 further ; for this, if lolidly and fully effeded, 
 would be the true Cyclus Metafyncriticus of the 
 Antients, fo little underftood. However, there' 
 are not wanting Means to effed this Purpofe in 
 fome Degree, if duly and judicioully chofen, 
 efpecially if the Perfon is under the Meridian 
 of Life, while Nature has Warmth and Vi- 
 gour to affift Art. After that Date the Dif- 
 ficulty is greater, there remaining little more 
 than the Affiftances of Art, upon the Signs 
 
Cure of Nervous Z) ijlempers . 1 1 y 
 
 of Laxity, to crifp, wind up, corrugat, and 
 contract the Fibres of the feeble and relax’d 
 Solids from Time to Time as they drop. 
 There is certainly an innate Firmnefs and Force 
 in the Solids, which, tho’ Age hardens and 
 ftiffens, yet the Tone and Elajlicity is not 
 augmented thereby in Proportion : But this 
 Tone is fcarce ever fo much broken and loft, 
 but that it is fufficient to circulate well-thin’d 
 and fweeten’d Juices, and to perform all the 
 animal and intellectual Functions: and if Care 
 be taken to keep up the Juices in this middling 
 State of Fluidity and Sweetnefs, the Party will 
 be free from all great Pain or violent Diforder, 
 and will be fubjf ct only to fome tranfient 
 Lownefs or Weaknefs, which may be pre- 
 fently remedied, or to the unavoidable Infir- 
 mities of Age and Mortality. 
 
 III. These are the general Intentions , to 
 be purfued towards a total and perfect Cure 
 of Nervous Diforders of whatever Sort or 
 Kind ; nor are they ever to be confounded 
 or blended, at leaft, not in the firft Attempts 
 towards fuch a Cure : For as in diluting 
 the Juices, unlefs the Solids are left to 
 their innate Force only, the Medicines em- 
 ployed for that Purpole, being attive ox pon- 
 derous, and thofe which are employed to 
 reftore the 'Tone of the Solids being aftringent, 
 muft in fome meafure again thicken the 
 Juices, arid fo if mixed and blended toge- 
 
 I a ther. 
 
i\6 The Englifh Malady* 
 
 ther, mull unavoidably interfere with, coun- 
 ter-ad, and deftroy the Effeds of each other. 
 And therefore thefe three Intentions I have 
 mention’d muft religioufly follow one another, 
 in the order I have propos’d them, in deep Ca- 
 chexy’s efpecially, to effed this Purpofe of a 
 total Cure : Not that I mean, that they Ihould 
 never be interrupted nor combined with each 
 other, for fome ftnall Time at lead, and as 
 it were, for the Patient to take Breath and 
 recover Spirits a little, in order to the fur- 
 ther profecuting the feveral Intentions. Nor 
 that they may not be gone on with entirely, 
 in a mix’d and blended Manner, both in Me- 
 thod and Medicines, in Bight Cafes, and the 
 low Degrees of Nervous Diforders, with good 
 Succefs; but that in obftinate, deep, and 
 dangerous Cafes of this Kind, from an univer- 
 fally fpoilt Conftitution, every Intention is 
 to be purfued, by it felf for a due Time, 
 without Confufion or interfering with one 
 another, more than the Profecution of the 
 then Intention requires, till the Effed is 
 obtained. 
 
 IV. What the Time neceffary for 
 each Intention muft be, it is impoffible ab- 
 folutely to determine ; that muft be pro- 
 portion’d to the Violence of the Symptoms , 
 and the Obftinacy of the Diftemper. But 
 to give fome general Idea or Notion of the 
 Time : That which is neceffary for the firft 
 
 In- 
 
Cure of Nervous T>ijlempers t 1 1 7 
 
 Intention , may be conjectur’d from the State 
 of the Blood. If the Size on the Top is 
 much gone, if the Colour and its eafily 
 yielding to any dividing Inftrument, and 
 the Proportion of the Serum to the globular 
 Part, upon bleeding (a few Ounces only for 
 the Trial) be fuch as they are found com- 
 monly in found Perfons, and if the Serum 
 be clear, or not too tawny, then may it be 
 concluded, that the firft Intention has been 
 purfued fufficiently. The fecond may alfo 
 be guefs’d from the healing up and cicatri- 
 zing of any Ulcers, Sores, or the Cure of any 
 cutaneous Foulnefies, and the Removal of 
 any acute Pains and Paroxyfms , principally 
 caus’d by the Sharpnefs, and Acrimony , and 
 Saline Quality of the Juices. The laji is ob- 
 vious, -after thefe two are afcertain’d by the 
 Strength , Vigour , Vivacity , and Freedom of 
 Spirits , the natural and eafy Performance of 
 all the Animal Funffions y necelfarily follow- 
 ing upon the lajl Intention’s jbeing prblecuted 
 for a due Time, and in a proper Manner. But 
 that every one may more certainly judge of 
 the State and Condition of the Blood and 
 Juices, and the Necellity of profecuting the 
 Intentions I have propos’d, I fhall here give 
 lome general Account of the different Changes 
 that happen in them under Difeafes of all 
 Kinds ; but particularly thole I am here 
 principally concern’d about. 
 
 I 3 
 
 tv 
 
1 1 8 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 §. Y. The Blood as it flows in the greater 
 or larger Veffels by the ordinary .Courfe of 
 the Circulation , feems to be a pretty uniform 
 Mafs, much like Cow-Milk ; but when 
 drawn out of thefe Veffels, and left without 
 Heat or Motion to fettle in the Air, it 
 feparates into two Parts, one of a more gluti- 
 nous and Solid Texture, call’d the Globular , 
 and the other of a more thin and fluid Na- 
 ture, called the Serous Party and both thefe 
 are found in different Proportions, and of 
 different Natures, Confiftence, and Colours, 
 according to the Difeafes of the Perfons in 
 whom they are found. I lhall only here 
 mention three of thefe different States, where- 
 in the diftinguifhing Marks are moft evident, 
 tho' there are many intermediate Degrees 
 between thefe, which it were endlefs to enu- 
 merate ; but thefe will include them all, and 
 are the moft general, remarkable, and ule- 
 ful : i ft. r Y\vejirji is, when the globular Part 
 is of a Moderate Coheflon and Firmnefs of 
 Parts, in a pretty equal Proportion to its 
 Serum , and of a red and fcarlet Colour, 
 when expos’d a due Time to the Air; and 
 the Serum is about the Confluence of com- 
 mon Water, pretty clear, and almoft infipid, 
 or, at leaft, not biting laltifh. This I take 
 to be pretty near the State of the foundeft 
 and beft Blood, idly. The fecond State I 
 would mention, is, when the globular and 
 
 grumous 
 
Cure of Nervous Difiempers. 1 1 9 
 
 grumous Part is in a far greater Proportion 
 chan the Serum , more thick and vifcid, having 
 a Glue or Size on its Top (of a blueilh 
 at firft, and afterwards of a whitifh or tal- 
 low Colour, increafing fometimes to half or 
 more the Thicknefs of the Whole) the Serum 
 being in a fmaller Quantity, and of a yel- 
 lowilh or tawny Call, fharp, acrid, and faltifh 
 to the Tafte. This feems to be. of a middling 
 Nature, (I fpeak not here of that acci- 
 dental Size, generated by the Nitre of the 
 Air in catching Cold, which evanifhes in 
 a few Days by proper Management) between 
 the beft and the worft:, and is common to 
 Pleurifies , Rheumatifms , SCc. $dly ? The 
 laffc State of the Blood, I fhall fpeak of, is 
 where th q fbrous or globular Part is fcarce 
 any at all, and the Serum above ten or a 
 dozen times the Quantity of it, where the 
 globular Part fwims like an Ifland amidft the 
 Ocean, the Serum being fharp, faltifh and 
 urinous, to the higheft Degree in its Tafte. 
 This 1 take to be the worft State, when the 
 Sharpnefs and Acrimony have arriv’d at their 
 utmoft Height, like that of thofe in a con- 
 firm’d Conjumption or Dropjy , and fome 
 other mortal Diftempers. But in all thefe 
 three States of the Blood, the Sharpnefs , 
 fieat , and Acrimony may arife- almoft to an 
 equal Degree, even to that of the worft 
 State, of which we have rfo Means of judg- 
 ing, but by the Tafte, which is but grofs 
 
 I 4 $nd 
 
jzo The Englifh Malady. 
 
 and inaccurate, and therefore we mufl be 
 contented with Probability. Th z fir ft of thefe 
 is commonly call'd good Bloody mz fecond rich 
 Blood , and the third poor Blood. The Blood 
 Globules (confiding probably of Parts of an 
 equal Degree of Att raid ion, and equal Den- 
 fity) feem to be form’d of the more folid 
 Parts of the Food, by the A&ion of the 
 digeftive Powers in the alimentary Fubes , 
 the Iforce of the Circulation, and the Grind- 
 ing of the Blood Veflels, and to receive their 
 globular Figure from the equal Preffure, on 
 all Sides of the watery Fluid wherein they 
 fwim, and the equal Degree of Attra&ion in 
 their Parts. When the Quality and Quan- 
 tity of fuch Food is duely proportion’d, the 
 red Globules and Serum are pretty near of an 
 equal Quantity, th zfirfl being perfectly red 
 in the Air, and the fecond moftly limpid, 
 like that of the firft State. But when the 
 folid Food is in too great a Proportion in the 
 whole Mafs, either in Quantity or Quality, 
 a greater Proportion of Blood Globules will 
 neceflarily be generated : And if the Solids 
 be ftrong, fo as to comminute them fuffi- 
 ciently, and drive them about with a due 
 Force, they will produce an inflammatory 
 State of Blood, from whence acute Fevers , 
 Inflammations, Pleurifies , and the other hot 
 and inflammatory Obftrudions and Difeafes 
 will ariie. But * if the fame Proportion of 
 Food, both in Quantity and Quality, is 
 
 thrown 
 
Cure of Nervous T)ifiempers • \ i \ 
 
 thrown in, where the Solids are lax and 
 feeble, and confequently, the Digejlive Or - 
 vans weak, and the Circulation languid, the 
 Blood thence ariling will be vifcid and fizy 
 in Proportion, and exhibit the Appearances 
 defcrib’d in the fecond State, from whence 
 Obftruclions and Difeafes of the cold, chro- 
 nical, or nervous Kind will arife. On the 
 other hand, when the Drink is in too 
 great a Proportion to the folid Food, when 
 great Quantities of ftrong and fpirituous 
 Liquors are thrown into the Habit, and the 
 fmall Quantity of Food that is taken is 
 alfo ftrong and full of Salts and Spirits , the 
 jibrous Part of the Blood will be produc’d in 
 a fmaller Proportion to the ferous , or will be 
 confum’d and burnt up by the greater Quan- 
 tity of Salts and Oils in the Serum proceeding 
 from fuch Nourifhment, and fo the lajl State 
 of the Blood I have taken notice of will be 
 produc’d : whereby the Solids being ftimu- 
 lated and corroded, and the Circulation car- 
 ried about with too great Hurry and Vio- 
 lence, or fome great noble Bowel attack’d, 
 deftroy’d and fpoil’d, various Difeafes of the 
 inflammatory-chronical kind will enfue, as 
 Heffiick Fevers , Confumptions , £Cc. the Blood- 
 Veflels being burft or corroded will occafion 
 Hemorrhages , or the Solids being weaken’d, 
 relax’d and broken, will fuffer this thin and 
 acrid Serum to ouze thro’ their Subftances, 
 and thus beget a partial Dropfy , or a true 
 
 Hfcites. 
 
122 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 A] cites. Something like the fame State of 
 Blood may be occalion’d by a Haemorrhage , 
 or any great Lofs of Blood, tho’ tolerably 
 good, in what manner foever it happens, 
 cither by a Wound or otherwife : the re- 
 maining Part being robb’d of its red Globules , 
 or of too great a Quantity of the Compound 
 to be foon repair’d, it will be unable to re- 
 lift the Force of the Solids, but will be re- 
 duc’d to a poor, thin, watery State, fo as, if 
 not prefently or fpeedily reftor’d to its for- 
 mer Balfam and Texture, to end in a Dropfy y 
 in the Manner I have juft now defcrib’d, 
 efpecially if a Mai- Regimen has proceeded or 
 fucceeds it. 
 
 $. VI. But to apply this more particularly 
 to the Difeafes I am now treating of : In all 
 Nervous Diforders produc’d by Exceffes, 
 efpecially after the Meridian of Life, the 
 Blood is generally vifcid and fizy, like that 
 of the fecond State, which I have defcrib’d. 
 I have not for thefe many Years let Blood 
 of any one (if it were but an Ounce or 
 two to make Obfervation on, of which I 
 have had innumerable Inftances) who being 
 fubject to Nervous Di [tempers, Lownefs , Va- 
 pour s y or Melancholy , have not had it Sizy y 
 Rheumatick and Nijcid , with a fharp yellow 
 Serum in fome Degree or other. I have 
 always obferv’d the Blood of the younger 
 and thofe under the Meridian of Life, in thefe 
 
 who. 
 
Cure of Nervous ‘Diftempers. t 23 
 
 who were violently fubject to Nervous Dis- 
 orders, to be hot, fiery, inflam'd, acrid and 
 iharp, tho’ the Colour and Confidence might 
 be tolerably good, and then found it occa- 
 fion’d by dealing too much in hot Liquors, 
 in Proportion to the original Weaknefs of 
 their Solids. But if the Vifcidity of the 
 Juices was produc’d, as I have faid, by an 
 Over-proportion of Food receiv’d into the 
 Habit, the Weaknefs of the Solids, and Slow- 
 nefs of the Circulation being confequent there- 
 upon, Obftrudions mull neceffarily be form’d 
 in the fmall Veflels and Glands efpecially of 
 the Liver, the Mefentery, &c. and then the 
 ftagnant Juices putrify, corrupt, turn acrid 
 and corrofive (like what we fee in fome 
 other Cafes of Obftrudions that lie more 
 immediately under our Obfervation, parti- 
 cularly that produc’d by a Blow on the 
 Breaft, which terminates in a Cancer} ; and the 
 urinous or animal Salts being let loofe, tear, 
 corrode, and deftroy the Solids, from whence 
 the higheft Degrees of Nervous Diforders 
 fpririg : Indeed, in the laft Stages of Nervous 
 Diftempers, the Blood fometimes approaches 
 to that which I have defcrib’d as the laft: 
 and worft State ; but then the Cafe is gone, 
 I think, beyond the Reach of human Means 
 or Art to remedy, fince it generally attends 
 the entire Corruption of fome of the great 
 Vifcera ; or the higheft Degrees of fuch Ob- 
 ftrudions, whereby the whole Mafs of Blood 
 
 is 
 
1 14 The Englifli Malady.' 
 
 is infe&ed with the Poifon, and the Juices 
 diflolv’d and fus’d into a putrid Thinnefs, 
 like what is found in the laft Stages of the 
 Black. Jaundice, or fome other mortal Dif- 
 tempers. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the Method and Medicines proper 
 for the Firjl Intention. 
 
 <£. *■* TT ^ or der to attenuate the Juices, to 
 break the Cohefion of their Parts, 
 to deftroy their Vifcidity and Glew- 
 inefs , and to make them fufficiently thin, 
 and fit to flow in the fmall Yeflels with 
 Eafe, thofe Medicines are chiefly to be cho- 
 fen, which either by their own Nature are 
 the moll active, by the Figure of their Par- 
 ticles, are the molt lharp and dividing, by 
 their Weight are endu’d with the greateft 
 Force and Momentum ; or laftly, which by 
 Experience are found (without knowing a 
 Reafon why) to be the moil effectual for 
 producing thefe Ends. 
 
 §. II. 
 
 2 
 
Medicines for the firft Intention, 1 1 5 
 
 §. II. I need not mention here the Neeek 
 fity before any Courfe be enter’d upon for 
 this Purpofe, of premifing the common and 
 proper univerfal Evacuations, as Bleeding, 
 Purging, Vomiting , &Cc. fome one or more 
 of which will always be found necdfary to 
 be firft of all perform’d, not only to lelfen 
 the Quantity of the corrupt Fluids in gene- 
 ral, but to cleanfe the Alimentary Tubes, 
 that the proper Medicines may be more 
 ealily and readily convey’d into the Blood. 
 But as thefe Evacuations are never to be 
 undertaken without the Advice and Affift- 
 ance of lome skilful and honeft Phyjtcian , 
 lo it is by his Dire&ion that the Repetition 
 Dofe and Materials are to be adj ufted : For 
 thefe Evacuations are fo eflential in this 
 Cafe in its firft Stage, that by going about 
 them indifcreetly, or neglecting to do them 
 as the Symptoms require, the Patient may 
 be ruin’d, by trailing to his own Judgment, 
 or relying upon general Rules, which in all 
 fevere, but particularly in Nervous Cafes, are 
 both precarious and uncertain. 
 
 $. III. Among the chief and principal of 
 fuch Medicines, are Mercury and its Prepara- 
 tions, Calomel, Mercury aJcaJiJated,precipitat per 
 fe, Jpjiickfilver, Siiver-Water , JEthiops Mine- 
 ral, Cinnabar of Antimony, Antimony Diapho- 
 retick, Bezoar Mineral, Crude Antimony, Be - 
 zoardicum Joviale, Salt of Bin, Ens Veneris, and 
 
 the 
 
ii6 The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 the like, whofe chief Efficacy feems to lie in 
 their Weight, after they have dropt their 
 Salts in the Alimentary Tube. Next to 
 thefeare the Woods Guajacum , Sajfajras , Sar- 
 fapariUa , Lignum Nephrltlcum , the feveral 
 Sorts of Saunders , Wood of Aloes , Rc. In 
 the third Order are the fix'd Salts , fuch as 
 Salt oj Tartar, Salt of fYormwood , Broom , 
 jF&w, Rc. The lafi Clafs contains fuch 
 Vegetables, as are of an acrid and auftere 
 Tafte, fuch as are all the Antefcorbutlck 
 Plants, of which there is Choice and Variety 
 in all the Modern Writers and Collectors of 
 the Materia Medica ; fo that it is needjefs 
 here to detail them. Thefe may be com- 
 pounded or combined in the beft manner 
 poffible, to make them eafy and agreeable 
 to the Stomach, by the Skill of the fihyfician 
 in ordinary : and if given in a proper Dole, 
 and for a Time fufficient, will fcarce fail of 
 their Effed. 
 
 IV. I n the Adminiflration of Calomel , 
 for fuch a Purpofe, it may be necelfary to 
 obferve, that however it may be manag’d 
 in Cafes of another Nature, yet where it is 
 intended for the Cure of Nervous Difeafes, 
 which fuppofe weak Solids, and confequently 
 tender Bowels, it will always be neceffary 
 to give it in the Imalleft Dofe, as an Alte- 
 rative only, and not an Evacuant ; for Ex- 
 ample, In two, three, or four Grains, once, 
 
 twice, 
 
Medicines for the JirJi Intention . 1 17 
 
 twice, or three times a day, becaufe thus it 
 may be given with Safety for a much longer 
 Time, and will not be thrown off by the 
 ‘greater Conduits of Evacuation, nor meerly 
 circulate thro’ the greater Blood-Veffels, 
 but gently and gradually infinuate itfelf into 
 the ImaUeft Capillary ones, where its Virtue 
 and Efficacy is moft wanted, and where it 
 can do the moft Service. For this Reafon it is 
 chiefly, that .in many deep Venereal Cafes, 
 Salivation by the internal Exhibition of 
 Mercurials only, feldom fucceeds : whereas 
 by Inunffiion it feldom fails ; viz. that when 
 it happens to be perform’d on People of weak 
 Nerves, and tender Conftitutions, and patent 
 Glands, it is generally thrown off by the 
 greater Out-lets, with great Danger to the 
 Patient ; fo that a few Grains commonly raife 
 a Scorbutick Vtyalifm , which few can dU 
 ftinguifti from a Mercurial Salivation, and fo 
 they are fcarce able to go on.: or at belt, it 
 circulates only thro’ the Trunk of the greater 
 Arteries and Veins, to be thrown off by the 
 more patent and larger Glands , and feldom 
 or never gets Admittance into the Capillary 
 Veffels : whereas by Imn$ion y or in fmall 
 and often repeated Doles, it is receiv’d into 
 thefe laft immediately or gradually, and 
 there does- its Work. In Nervous Cafes the 
 fame Effed is obtain’d by the longer Time, 
 and leffer Dofes, thefe Conftitutions neither 
 admitting nor requiring fo violent and quick 
 3 a De- 
 
n8 The EngliOi Malady.’ 
 
 a Deobftruent. But even this Method, in 
 its gentleft Degree will fit none but the 
 l Nervous Disorders, of the ftronger and 
 robufter Conftitutions, which having been* 
 originally found, have contra&ed thefe Dif- 
 orders by a Mal-Regimen . 
 
 §. V. The Medicines next to this the moll 
 effe&ual for the firft Intention, are AEthiops 
 Mineral , the AEthiops Antimoniatum, Cinna- 
 bar , but efpecially Mercurlus Alcalifatus , or 
 the other Preparations of Quickfilver, with 
 the various Preparations of Antimony, of which 
 there is great Variety (and might be more). 
 And this AEthiops Mineral is indeed an excel- 
 lent Remedy, both from the Weight of the 
 Mercury , and the cleanfing Nature of the 
 Sulphur entring its Compofition, and would 
 do the whole in Time necelfary for this 
 Intention, were it not that even few, but 
 thofe of the ftronger Sort, can bear the 
 Slipperinels , and violent Cholicks and 
 Gripes, which it brings on their Bowels : 
 which not only finks them more, but occa- 
 lions the Medicine to be carry’d off before 
 it enters the Habit ; and therefore when it 
 is us’d in fuch a Cafe, I Ihould always ad- 
 vife an Aftringent or warm Medicine, fuch 
 as Diafcordlum y Mithridate , Venice Ereacle , 
 and the like, to be join’d with it : perhaps 
 a lefs Quantity of Sulphur in the Preparation 
 would mend it, and make it go further than 
 
 the 
 
Medicines for the firjl intention . 1 25 ? 
 
 the Alimentary Tube. But thofe who are 
 ftrong,' and whofe Bowels are firm, bear 
 it eafily ; and in fome 1 join Gum Guajac to 
 it, with Salt of Wormwood , to make it more 
 cleanfing, attenuating and deobftruent, with 
 great Succefs. Bello ft' s Quickfilver Pills are 
 of the fame Nature and Virtue for this firft 
 Intention , as well as for Ajlhmatick Cafes, and, 
 I think, the Beft way of taking Quickfilver 
 inwardly. 
 
 §. VI. That which I generally prefer in 
 vifcid Juices, in Perfons fubjebt to Nervous 
 Diforders, in very low Cafes, is Cimiabar of 
 Antimony , both becaufe it creates" fewer Tu- 
 mults in the Stomach and Bov/els, pafies more 
 readily into the Blood, .and feldom keeps the 
 Bowels flippery, unlefs it be in exceeding low 
 Cafes. Thofe who are robuft, or ftill in a great 
 meafure ftrong, may bear the AEthiops but 
 both the very Young and very Weak, if their 
 Juices be either too vifcid or too (harp, will 
 find the greateft Relief from this Medicine,- 
 duly fitted to their Conftitution, and conti- 
 nued for a long Time, if any of the whole 
 Tribe of the Materia Medic a (in my Judg- 
 mentj can pofiibly do it. Its Efficacy in 
 Childrens Epileptick and Convulfive Fits, and 
 indeed in all their Chronical Diftempers, is 
 fufficiently known and acknowledg’d. And 
 I have found the fame Effects in many Cafes 
 both Nervous and Chronical , even in' adult 
 Perfons,. both to my Surprize and Admira- 
 
 K tk>i> 
 
The Englifh Maladt. 
 
 tion. If it has fail’d, it is becaufe it has no t 
 been long enough continu’d. A Patient of 
 mine, now alive, has us’d it thefe twenty 
 years. It firfl (by my Advice) cured him of 
 his Nervous Complaints; and whenever he 
 ails, he has recourfe to it on occafions to this 
 Day. It ought to be given frefh, or the leaf! 
 ftale poffible, otherwife it may become tur- 
 bulent in the Bowels ; and it ought to be as' 
 finely levigated as Art can make it, to enter 
 more readily into the fmall Veffels. And in- 
 deed, when I confider that mod: other Mer- 
 curial Medicines, tho’ they are the mod: 
 powerful Attenuants of the Juices, yet (as' all- 
 ponderous and very adtive Medicines muffc 
 neceffarily do) they, with the Salts united, 
 fcrape thin and relax the Solids. I think this 
 the fafeft and mod: effectual of all the Atte- 
 nuants, in very low Cafes, efpecially if a little 
 of the Refin or Extratt of the Jefuits Bark 
 be added to it, to keep up the Force of 
 the Solids, at the fame time that it is diffol- 
 ving the Vifcidity of the Juices, and opening 
 the Obdxudtions in the fmall Veffels: for it 
 is impoffible to get any Mercurial Medicine 
 that has not ibme Tendency to weaken them. 
 
 §. VII. T h e r e is nothing I could more 
 earneftly wifh were brought into the corh- 
 mon Practice of Phyfck , than the more free 
 and general (but cautious) Ufe of the Prepa- 
 rations of Mercury and Antimony in Chro- 
 nical and Obffinate Cafes: efpecially when 
 
Medicines for the jirft Intention, i ] i 
 
 join'd to a thin, cool, foft and mild Diet, to 
 anfwer this Jirjt Intention of a total Cure. Dr. 
 Charlton , who had the licenfing of the Quacks 
 in King Charles IJ.Time ? ' told on his Death- 
 Bed (as I am well inform’d) that all the ufe- 
 ful or fuccefsful Cures perform’d by the 
 Mountebanks of his Time, were owing to the 
 Preparations of Mercury and Antimony only ; 
 and it is a great Pity, that fuch glorious Re- 
 medies fhould be in the Pofieffion chiefly (I 
 mean the Preparations of Mercury) of fuch 
 unskilful, unprincipled Wretches. For a re- 
 gular reputable Phyfieian may endanger his 
 Reparation among the weak and prejudiced, 
 who deals freely in It, tho’ it be a Remedy 
 only fit to bear the Name. Mercury is the 
 only Fluid iff, Nature (except Water) fit to 
 circulate thro’ hollow Animal T ubes ; (T wo' 
 of the others, Light and dEther, can fcarce 
 be retain’d in them) its greater Weight than 
 any other Kinds of Matter (except Gold) makes 
 it the mofl capable to force its way : But then 
 Gold and all other Minerals having no innate 
 Fluidity , nor Natural Rotundity of Particles* 
 mu ft be always carry’d on Water to be intro- 
 duc’d into an Animal Habit, with which they 
 never kindly mix. Mercury , in all its Divi- 
 fions, Mixtures and Unions with other Bodies,; 
 is ftill reduceable to Liquid Quickfiher : which 
 makes it not improbable, that when it has 
 dropp’d its Mixtures in Animal Vefieis, in the 
 Alimentary Du 51 efpecially, it returns to its 
 primitive. Fluidity, and afts with the united 
 
 K 3 Force 
 
i j.i The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 Force of the whole then collected Mafs of 
 Particles; and we know what Efficacy Shot 
 and fmall Bullets of Lead- have in cleaning 
 foul Bottles or fmall Tubes. *The Rotundity 
 of its Particles (in all its vifible and fenfible 
 Divifions, and even in its Afcent in the Retort, 
 and in all its other Preparations, apparent by 
 fine Glades) with its Fluidity , makes them 
 probably fmooth, and fo without any Injury 
 to the Capillaries , except from their Weight 
 only. The infinite Smallnefs of its Particles, 
 evident by its ready Afcent in a Retort from 
 the leaft even a Sand-Heat only, and its 
 almoft infinite Force of Attraction (from 
 thefe general Principles of its Weight and 
 Quantity of Matter, and from many Expe- 
 riments) makes it always run into a fluid 
 Mafs, when its fpherical Particles are brought 
 near enough: whereby its Force is greatly 
 increas’d. From all which Confiderations 
 (obvious even to common Senfe, without 
 fine£ing) it is evident what a Noble Medi- 
 cine it might be made in Chronical Cafes of 
 all Kinds, vifcid juices and Obftruftions of 
 the Organs; if duly prepar’d, dofed and fitted 
 to the Patient and the Diftemper. The Mer- 
 curius Alcalifatus (of ^uickjiher and Crabs- 
 Eyes prepar'd, and rubb’d together till the 
 firft difappear) is an admirable Medicin , and 
 in a fmall Dofe gives no Trouble or Uneali- 
 
 * Vide Boerhaave ' s Chyiuifhy. 
 
 nefs r 
 
Medicines for the JirJi Intention. 1 3 3 
 
 nefs, and is fpecifick in Cutaneous Foulneffes , 
 and almoft all other Chronical Cafes, efpeci- 
 ally Nervous , to this Firft Intention, as well 
 as is the Precipitate per fe : I have often us’d 
 them both with great Succefs, even in Ner- 
 vous Cafes, fince they have been fo univer- 
 fally known. Liquid ^uickjilver will do great 
 Service in beginning Plicatures of the Inte- 
 ftines, Obftrudtions of their Glands and Valves, 
 and in Foulneffes and hard Concretions or 
 Obftrudtions, bred in the Mouths of the 
 LaCleals (which are often Cafes where the 
 Symptoms common to other Difeafes, will not 
 admit a certain Diftindtion) but eminently fo 
 in AJihmatic Cafes, above all other Medicines. 
 By its Weight only, forcing open the obftruc- 
 tive Mouths of the LaAeals, and its Steams 
 thereby entring the Habit, attenuate the vif- 
 cid Juices of the Lungs , and render them 
 pervious, and fo promotes Expectoration ; and, . 
 I think, other more appropriated and fpecifick 
 Medicines not fucceeding, this ought to be 
 try’d in all Cafes of the Alimentary Lube , fince 
 it is as innocent and fafe as Affes. Milk. And 
 even the Aq. Mercurialis or Silver Water, as 
 it fucceeds beyond any thing in Childrens 
 Worm Cafes: fo I am fatisfy’d, were it try’d in 
 other Cafes, might do Wonders : efpecially in 
 DecoClions of the Woods , AntiJ'corbutick Waters, 
 or other appropriated Liquors ; for as it nei- 
 ther alters Tafte, Smell, nor any other fenfi- 
 ble Quality of the Liquid, it may be fafely 
 us’d as long, and in as great Quantities as one 
 K 3 pleafes. 
 
1 14 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 pleafes, without any Trouble, Pain, or Danger. 
 I am therefore of the Opinion, that the moll 
 effectual Remedies in Nature in Chronical 
 Cafes and their firft Stages, is the Prepara- 
 tions of Mercury, of one Kind or other, toge- 
 ther with Diet. Where it has not iucceeded, 
 it is chiefly becaufe proper Diet has not 
 been join’d ; and, I believe, there are few 
 Cafes and Conflitutions, where fome of thefe 
 mention’d Preparations may not agree in 
 proper Dofesj and, if duly continu’d, are 
 not of wonderful Benefit, where the Vifcera 
 are not quite fpoil’d. But the Management 
 muff be in the Hands of a fober, careful and 
 experienc’d Phyjician , who well underllands 
 and confiders what Nature will bear, and 
 what not ; for it is not an indifferent or tri- 
 fling Medicine, but a Divme Antidote , or a 
 certain Poifon , according to the Cafe in which, 
 and the Pcrfon by whom, it is preferib’d ; and 
 I lcarce willingly ever advife it at a Diftance 
 in any Preparation, for it ought always to be 
 watch’d. Where the Velfels are very lax, 
 putrify’d, or thin : or the Obftrudtion very 
 hard or fchirrous, the more adtive Prepara- 
 tions mull be cautioufly avoided, and nothing 
 but the gentleft Preparations try’d, viz. the 
 JEthiops , the Cinnabars, the Mercurius Alca- 
 lifatus, the Precipitat per Je, Aq. Argentea, 
 and the like. For as to the Opinion of fome, 
 viz. that thefe mention’d Preparations get no 
 further than the Alimentary Dudl, I think it 
 without all Foundation, either from Philofo- 
 
Medicines for the firfl Intention, i ] 5 
 
 phy or Experience : when we fee the JEthiops 
 and the Cinnabars , Liquid Quickfilver and 
 the Silver Water , cure Cutaneous Diflem- 
 pers, Inflammations of the Eyes, Si. Anthony's 
 Fire , the Itch , the Piles, and the like; and 
 when they will foil the Silver and Gold about 
 the Patient, Nay, as I am fatisfy’d all the 
 Kinds of them will at laft raife a kind of a 
 Ptyalifm. But even tho’ then its principal 
 Action were only on the Glands of the Sto- 
 mach and Intefiines, yet the opening thefe, 
 .and enabling them to perform their Functions, 
 may be fufficient, by Derivation to propagate 
 a proportional Benefit over the whole Habit. 
 Laflly , when we fee Mercury boil’d in Water 
 only, without lofing the leafl eflimable Weight, 
 have fuch fenfible Effects, as in Time to do all 
 that any other Preparation can, as I am con- 
 vinced it will : we can eaflly conceive how any 
 Preparation of it, impregnating the Chyle 
 with its infinite fmall Particles, may enter the 
 Ladle als and pervade the whole Habit, and 
 when long continu’d, may have wonderful 
 Efficacy on the mqfl dilfant Parts of the 
 Body ; for the even a&ually alrnoft infi- 
 nite Smallnefs of its Parts, the Sphericity of 
 jts Particles, and its exceeding great Weight , 
 will make it in any Shape pafs readily thro’ 
 any Animal Subfiance in Time. The Pre- 
 parations of Antimony may poflibly be of 
 great Virtue, if fufficiendy try’d and examin’d ; 
 but I having us’d none but the common Shop 
 qnes, finding the Preparations of Mercury fuf- 
 K 4 ficient. 
 
t}6 *the Englifh Malady.' 
 
 ficient, can fay nothing of them. The Pre^ 
 parations of Mercury , fome one or other, 
 feem much more proper for this Intention. 
 
 §. VIII. I shall fay nothing of the other 
 Attenuants , efpecially thofe of the Vegetable 
 Kind, whofe Virtues may be eafily learn’d from 
 the Books of the Materia Medica *. As for 
 thofe of the Mineral Kind, of which I have 
 faid nothing in particular, I leave them to the 
 Judgment of thofe Phyficians, who have had 
 more Experience of them ; my Practice and 
 Obfervation having confin’d me pretty much 
 to thofe I have remark’d on, finding them the 
 moft ready, fufficient, and, by their Nature, 
 fitted:. I fhall only add a Word or two con- 
 cerning the Wild Valerian (fo much com- 
 mended by Fabius Columna) in ail Nervous 
 Cafes, but efpecially the word: and higheft 
 Degrees of them. It is certainly one of the 
 mod: adlive and volatile of the Vegetable 
 Kingdom, and feems to adt chiefly by pro- 
 moting the Perfpiration, and a gentle Dia- 
 phorefis. The Root powder’d and given with 
 Cinnabar of Antimony and Powder of Black 
 Hellebor , has frequently good Succefs ; and a 
 Tea made of its Leaves, is an admirable Di- 
 luter, and may be long continu’d with Ad- 
 vantage in thefe Cafes. I will fay nothing 
 here of the Mijletoe , it belonging (in my 
 
 * Vide ehytobafanos of Sir John Floy er. 
 
Medicines for the fecond Intention . 1 37 
 
 Opinion) to another Clafs cf Medicines (to 
 wit, Astringents) to be mention’d after- 
 wards. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Of the Medicines proper for the Second 
 Intention » 
 
 I. ▼▼THEN the former Intention has 
 m/\/ been fufficiently and fuccefsfully 
 * * purfu’d, fo that the Blood is re- 
 
 turn’d to its due Degree of Thinnefs, Fluidity 
 and Balfam ; when the Acutenefs of the Pains, 
 and the Violence of the Symptoms are leflen’d 
 by the ponderous Remedies, and the Fits or 
 Paroxyfms are lefs fevere or frequent: then the 
 Medicines of this Clafs may be united and com- 
 pounded with thofe of the former , to lheath 
 and blunt the Acrimony of the Salts, and the 
 Sharpnefs of the Juices, difcharg’d from the 
 fmall Velfels: to fcour and cleanfe the internal 
 Sides of thefe Veffels yet further : and drive 
 the ponderous Medicines into the mod; remote 
 Capillaries where the Diforder firft begins, 
 and is moll rooted : there to open a Palfage 
 
 for 
 
The EngliOi Malady: 
 
 for the Circulation and Perfpiration, and re r 
 move any Obftructions, putrid or ftagnanc 
 juices, and fo to bring all the Secretions to a 
 regular Order, and the whole Mafs of the 
 Fluids to a due Degree of Sweetnefs and Bal- 
 Jam. This Method and Order muft neceffarily 
 be follow’d, where a total and abfolute Cure is 
 intended or expected : But where a Palliative 
 Cure only is deiign’d, thefe may be blended 
 with the former, even from the beginning of 
 the Cure. And where the Blood is in that 
 Condition, which I have invention ’d as the 
 laffc and worfl State : they may even take the 
 Place of the former and go before them, if 
 there be any reafonable Hopes of Succefs; 
 becaufe the great Degree of Acrimony dif- 
 fus’d thro’ the whole Mafs of Blood, requires 
 a more immediate Attention and Application, 
 than the removing of Obftrudions; (which 
 is often the Cafe in many Scorbutick , HeBick, 
 IBericaly Scrophulous and Cancerous Habits:) 
 at lealt the Medicines for the Second Inten- 
 tion, are the abfolutely neceffary: and the only 
 Means that can effeduate a Palliative Cure, 
 and relieve the Symptoms then. 
 
 §. II. Water is acknowledg’d to be the 
 moft univerfal Diffolver of Salts of all Kinds, 
 and would certainly diffolve thefe mention'd 
 Concretions in the greater Veifels, and help to 
 carry them out of the Habit ; but it not 
 having Adlvity or Agility enough to get into 
 
Jtfedicinesfojr the feconi Intention. 1 3 9 
 
 the fmall Veffels, where the Danger is greateft, 
 .and the Want moft, it cannot alone be Effi- 
 cient here. Thofe Medicines therefore tha; 
 are of the moft active and 'volatile Kind, 
 which have, as it were, a penetrating Steam 
 or Vapour flowing out of them, like that of 
 Fire or Light: which can moft readily per-r 
 vade the Solids, and get into the inmoft Re- 
 cedes of the Habit, feem to be the moft effe- 
 ctual for this Purpofe; efpecially if a foft 
 Balfam be added to thefe Qualities, which 
 may both fheath the Salts in the great Veffels, 
 as it goes along to the fmall ones, or fo guard 
 againft their Irritation and Acrimony, as to 
 hinder their otherwife deftruftive Effedts. 
 Of this Kind all the fcetid and volatile Sub- 
 ftances feem to be the chief : or thofe which 
 emit the ftrongeft Effluvia , or in the greateft 
 Quantity, fuch are particularly the volatile 
 Gums and Juices, the volatile Salts and Spirits , 
 which are nothing but folid or liquid Natural 
 Phofphori , or Fire Subftances. To thefe may 
 be join’d the Soaps, and Saponaceous Sub- 
 ftances. 
 
 §. III. The principal Medicines of this 
 "Tribe are. Gum Ammoniacum , Galbanum , Afja 
 foetida , Sagapenum , Myrrh, Guajacum , Cam - 
 phire , Cajlor , Amber , Salt of Hartjhorn, Salt 
 of Amber , Salt and Spirit of Human Skulls , 
 and of Raw Silk , Cajlile Soap, Saffron, Gar- 
 lick, HorJ'e-RadiJh, and the like, of which 
 
 there 
 
140 The Eoglifh Malady. 
 
 there is fufficient Variety ; but thefe feem to 
 be the moft powerful. 
 
 §. IV. Among thefe I fhould prefer the 
 Ammoniacum , Galbanum , Sagapenum, but efpe- 
 cialiy the AJjafaetida, fmce we are at the laft 
 come to judge of and eafily find out the true, 
 from, and in the Adulterated, by its cutting 
 white, and turning afterwards of a Pink- 
 BIofTom Colour, according to the Defcription 
 of it by the Antients *, by whom its Virtues 
 are celebrated with Praifes, even above the 
 Merit of any natural Remedy. It certainly 
 deferves (as a prefent Relief in extreme Cafes) 
 as much as any one Thing in the Materia 
 Medica in fuch Cafes, it having all the kindly 
 Effedts of quieting Anxiety and Opprejjion , 
 procuring Reft, and all the other Benefits of 
 Opium , without leaving that Lownefs and 
 Depreffion behind it, which this laft, when 
 its Force is wrought off, does in moft Perfons, 
 like Brandy or Inflammatory Spirits : infomuch, 
 that in a great many Cafes and Conftitutions 
 it is a great Queftion, whether the prefent 
 Relief be fufficient to balance the fublequent 
 Opprejjion and Anxiety: for which there is 
 hq other Remedy, but repeating one Dole as 
 another wears off, as the ‘Turks do, or as 
 Drunkards do with their Drams, till both 
 
 * Vide Tlhiii Hijl. £tyt. Lib, XIX. Cap. 3, 
 
 come 
 
 w 
 
Medians s for the fecond Intention . 1*4 1 
 
 come to be without Meafure or End, and 
 have made the Difeafe perhaps irremediable 
 by any Means, but the Death which it cer- 
 tainly brings on. But this natural Phofphorus 
 having Light and Activity without Fire or 
 Heat, eafily pervades the whole Habit, and 
 penetrates the fmallefl: Veflels, and makes the 
 Perfpiration flow readily, as * SanSiorius ob- 
 ferves, and thus gives a Relief for fome con- 
 flderable Time ; and when other proper Me- 
 thods are join’d with it, will help forward a 
 kfting Gure. The Soots of fome or any Woods 
 are, or feem to me to be, of the fame Nature 
 and Efficacy, and are, I think, Phofphorus's , 
 (where the remaining Fire is actually, but lies 
 hid under the Allies) which by their Activity 
 and Volatility getting into the fmall Veflels, 
 the Joints and Mufcular Subftances, diflblves 
 and melts the Jelly and Size, (as adtual Fire' 
 does Hartfhorn Jelly and Glow) and thereby 
 enables them to-cireulate for fome Time, and 
 fo become at beft but Reliefs and Reprieves, 
 but no Cures; for accordingly, if not con- 
 ftantly repeated, the Complaints return, as 
 a Man of a chilly Conftitution, muff; be 
 always hovering over the Fire. 
 
 §. V. I should fay fomething of Ammo - 
 niacum , but., that its Virtues are fufficiently 
 
 * Medicim Station, Sedl, 3, Aph.82-, 
 
 known 
 
i4 l Englifli MaLadt. 
 
 known in AJlhtfiaiick and Pulmonick Cafes, 
 (where it is the fovereign Remedy, and moft 
 effectually attenuates vifcid Phlegm) to make 
 its Efficacy believ’d in the Cafes of vifcid 
 Juices I am fpeaking of. Sagapenum likewife 
 and Galbanum are very effectual for the fame 
 Purpofe. Nor ought the Product of our own 
 Country, Garlick and Horfe-Radijh , to be 
 negledted, the firft of which is as effectual in 
 Lung Cafes, as the mention’d Ammoniacum . 
 The only Inconvenience of thefe fftid Medi- 
 cines is the difagreeable Tafte and Scent they 
 leave, which is fo offenflve to delicate Per- 
 fons; but that may be, in a great meafure, 
 overcome by proper Mixtures, or muft be 
 born with in extreme Cafes. Under this Clafs y 
 and chiefly to arrfwer this Intention , the Act- 
 dulae or Mineral Waters ought to be rank’d, 
 but moft eminently the Bath Waters, becaufe 
 of their Sulphur as well as Steel ; and it is 
 becaufe the ponderous and active Remedies 
 have not been fufficiently ply’d before, in 
 habitual and obftinate Nervous Cafes, that 
 Bath Waters have not always thefe fenfible 
 and lafting EfFedts, as they mofl infallibly 
 would have, if duly clafs’d and manag’d ; and 
 in all fuch CacheBical and Nervous Cafes, 
 Mineral Waters, thefe efpecially, are the belt 
 and fafefl: Vehicle for ponderous Medicines : 
 and in want of thefe Barley Water , with Syrup 
 of Marjh- Mallows, Decodtion of Comfrey 
 Roots , with Syrup of Mulberries y or fweet 
 
 Gow~ 
 
Medicines for the third Intention. 14$ 
 
 Cow-Whey drank plentifully, are bell to fepa- 
 rate, diffolve and fheath thefe burning and 
 deftrudive Salts, of which the Element Water 
 in itfelf is the fureft and moft effedual Anti- 
 dote , the Mineral giving it Adivity and Pe- 
 netration chiefly. 
 
 CHAP. IV- 
 
 Of the Medicines proper for the Third 
 Intention. 
 
 §. I. 'W TTH E N the two former In fen - 
 %/\/ tions have been follow’d for a 
 * ’ due Time with fuitable Suc- 
 
 eefs, fo that the Symptoms are abated, and 
 tolerable Eafe is obtain’d, it will be then, 
 convenient to enter upon the Method and 
 Medicines of the 'Third Intention : which will 
 make the Gafe both more comfortable, and 
 bring Spirits and Courage to go thro’ with 
 it, being the lafb Stage towards a compleat 
 Cure. For the Medicines here are more 
 grateful to Nature,- strengthening the dige- 
 stive Powers, and making all the Functions 
 more full and ftrong, fo that Vigour and 
 Chearfulnefs flow in daily. And Surely there. 
 
144 *rhe Englifh Malady. 
 
 is not a more agreeable Entertainment, both 
 to Phyjician and Patient , than to obferve the 
 growing Steps of fuch a flattering Profpedf 
 advancing gradually without Fear or Danger 
 of Relapfe, unlefs the Patient return to thofe 
 Indifcretions that firft begot thefe Diforders; 
 This Pleafure I have enjoy’d myfelf once and 
 again in both Capacities. 
 
 §. II. T h e Medicines which anfwer this 
 Intention, will be thofe of the Strength- 
 ning and Afltringent Kind, which contrail, 
 corrugate , wind up and give Firmnefs and 
 Force to the weak and relaxed Solids, Fibres 
 and Nerves. Of this Tribe are all the Bitters , 
 Aromaticks and Chalybeats : fuch as the 
 
 Jefuit's Bark, Steel , Gentian , Zedoary , Caf- 
 famunair , Calamus aromaticus , Snakeweed, 
 Contrayerva , Cinamon , Winter s Bark , Cha- 
 momile Flowers, Wormwood and Centaury -Tops, 
 Terra Japanica , &c. Here likewife the Oak 
 Bark, and its Offspring the Mijletoe and 
 AcornSy feem to have their proper Place, and 
 every thing that is fubacid, whether Mineral 
 or Vegetable. 
 
 §. III. I think there is not a more won* 
 derful Strengthner of the Solids in all the 
 Compafs of Medicine, than the Jefuits Bark, 
 The firft time I us’d it myfelf as a Strengthner. 
 and bitter Aftringent (after having diluted and. 
 thinn’d my Juices fufiiciently by Medicine and 
 
 Diet)? 
 
Medicines for the third Intention. 145 
 
 Diet) I can fay it with Truth, never any thing 
 in Nature (Medicinal) affeded me in fo fen- 
 fible and furprizing a Manner, or gave me fo 
 quick an Appetite, fuch Adivity, and fo ferene 
 clear Spirits, as the Bark did, after taking it 
 for fome Time. It is true, thefe Effeds did 
 not laft in their greateft Heighth always, but 
 they were ftill confiderable for a long Time : 
 and*I went on gaining Ground by it in that 
 Period (for I continu’d it near a Year) till I 
 had a perfed Recovery. I have feen pretty 
 near the fame Effeds from it in others, and 
 in the like Nervous Cafes : tho’ it had not the 
 fame Degree of good Succefs in my next Re- 
 lapfe, as was not to be expeded in a further 
 advanc’d Age ; but ftill it had better than any 
 other, and I take it univerfally to be the beft 
 and only cool bitter Aftringent known to 
 Men. I have known People labouring under 
 an internal Goutifh Humour (even thofe be- 
 longing to the Profejfion of Phyfick ) who have 
 affirm’d to me, that they were never vapour’d 
 or low-fpirited to any Degree, while they con- 
 tinu’d theUfe of th zBark under theGw/, which 
 they had interrupted only,becaufe they had been 
 allur’d, that it confin’d and ty’d up the Gouty 
 Humour from being thrown outward : than 
 which there is nothing more falfe and abfurd j 
 for nothing fo much promotes the Gouty 
 Humour towards the Extremities, becaufe it 
 ftrengthens the Solids: And I have frequently 
 
 L given 
 
146 ‘The Englifli Malady. 
 
 given a Fit of the Gout with it and Steel, 
 when nothing elfe would effedt it j and I 
 always found it the mod; effectual of all Me- 
 dicines, to recover Appetite, Strength and 
 Spirits, after a fevere Fit was over, as is 
 now univerfally experienc’d and acknow- 
 ledg’d. 
 
 §. IV. Next to the Bark ( or even be- 
 • yond it) is Steel , or Chalybeat Medicines and 
 Mineral Chalybeat Waters, which ad: prin- 
 cipally by conflriding, crifping, and wind- 
 ing up the relax’d Solids. Weak and young 
 Perfons, and flight Cafes, do well with liquid 
 Steel, fuch as the Vinum Chalybeatum , linc- 
 tura Martis , the Solution of Sal Martis in 
 common W 7 ater, Elixir Vitrioli , and the like. 
 But thofe who are flronger and older, re- 
 quire Steel Rujl , join’d with Aromaticks and 
 Bitters, and the Bark ; for they are all 
 of one Bribe and Clafs of Medicines, and 
 differ only in Degree : in which the Prepa- 
 rations of Iron is the ftrongeft, as is evident 
 from its Energy in Externally hopping Haemor- 
 rhages, and corrugating tender Fibres, and its 
 partaking the Nature of Vitriol and Acids. 
 Where thefe do not relieve at lead, the Cafe 
 muft be very bad, or the Medicines apply’d 
 much out of Time, while the Juices were 
 too vifcid, or not fufficiently thin and fweet. 
 Sydenham feem’d to doubt, whether Purga- 
 tives 
 
 3 
 
Medicines for the third Intention. 1 47 
 
 lives ought to be join’d with Chaly beats in 
 the fame Courfe ; but that can be no Diffi- 
 culty to thofe who have underftood what has 
 been before faid, or are well acquainted with 
 true Philofophy and the Animal OEconomy. 
 For the Purgatives are either limply delign’d 
 (in fuch a Cafe) to cleanfe the Prime?. Vic? t 
 or to fufe and thin the Blood : in the firft 
 Cafe they are abfolutely neceffary, and in the 
 fecond more fo, if the firft Intention has not been 
 fully purfu’d before : As we find by Lowers 
 bitter Tindture, efpecially when a Purgative 
 and Chalybeat with theBark is combin’d, which 
 fucceeds wonderfully in fuch Cafes, where 
 the Habit is pretty full, and the Solids not 
 much relax’d. But a long Courfe of Cha- 
 lybeat Mineral Waters is llill the moft effe- 
 ctual for the Purpofe : Spaw, Pyrmont , or 
 lunbridge , in the hot Weather ; and Bath in 
 the temperate and cold Weather. Some fearful 
 and apprehenfive People have been diffuaded, 
 by intqrefted Perfons, from the Ufe of the 
 Bath Waters in Lownefs , OppreJJion , and Va- 
 pours \ and fome unexperienced People have 
 even imagin’d they have had more Vapours 
 than ordinary under the Ufe of them. But thefe 
 may as well affirm, that Opium purges, and 
 Jallap binds. For if they mend the Faults 
 and Weakneffes of the Stomach and Bowels, 
 (as all the World acknowledges they do, and 
 muff do by their Nature and Compofition) 
 they muff then infallibly be moft beneficial 
 
 L 2 in 
 
148 'T’he Englifli Malady. 
 
 in thefe Diforders, as from my own, and the 
 Experience of many thoufand others, can be 
 tedified, who will affirm them to be the molt 
 certain Relief of any in fuch Cafes. And 
 indeed, as by their Sulphur thus diffolv’d in 
 hot Water, they are the moil cleaning and 
 diluting of all Medicines, fo their Steel (as I 
 have already faid) is the mod; effectual for bra- 
 cing the Solids: And with fuch aCompoffiion 
 it would be pretty drange they ffiould not (if 
 any Means could) be fuccefsful in fuch Cafes. 
 They may raife fome Mift and Dimnefs be- 
 fore the Eyes in foul Stomachs, nay even occa- 
 fion fome Head-Aches and Flatulence, which 
 may properly enough be call’d Vapourifh or 
 Nervous ; but the fame every adtive Remedy 
 will produce ; and thefe may be eafily reme- 
 died, by joining fome Volatiles , Aromaticks 
 or Bitters along with them. If they have 
 not the greated Benefit is expedted, it is be- 
 caufe the ponderous Medicines mention’d, and 
 thofe for the firjl Intention , have not before, 
 upon firfl: drinking them, been diffidently 
 and long enough perfided in ; for certainly 
 they are the mod agreeable and beneficial 
 Vehicle for fuch Medicines, and the mod 
 fure Remedy, after fuch a Courfe, to be found 
 on the Globe , as I have long experienced. The 
 greated Misfortune is, that their Relief does 
 not lad for a very long Time, at lead not at 
 an equal Heighth. But that is the Misfortune 
 of ail Remedies in bad Cafes and Condi- 
 tions, 
 
i Diet for Nervous T)iftempers. 1 49 
 
 tions, and their beneficial Effects will lafl: 
 longer than that of any other Remedy, under 
 the Management I have mention’d. 
 
 §. I. T* TAVING deliver’d, in the befh 
 I — I Manner I am able, the general 
 A A Method of Cure of Nervous Dif- 
 tempers, the feveral Intentions to be follow’d 
 in the Profecution of it, and the belt Medi-r 
 cines I can fuggefl: from Experience, Obfer- 
 vation, or the Nature of Things, for fulfilling 
 each of thefe Intentions ; I come now to the 
 Dicetetick Management, that Part which 
 has the greatefi: Influence in the Cure of 
 Chronical Difiempers, without which the befi: 
 and fureft Remedies fail of their Efifedt, and 
 yet in thefe later Ages the leafl: cultivated and 
 moft negledted of all the curative Parts of 
 Phyfick in England , (till of late, that my wor- 
 thy , learned and ingenious Friend , Dr. Ar~ 
 huthnott , thought fit to treat it according tq 
 
 CHAP. y. 
 
 o 
 
 its 
 
150 The Englifli Malady, 
 
 its Ufe and Dignity , in the mafterly Manner 
 he executes every thing he undertakes) info- 
 much that he hazards the Charge of intro- 
 ducing new and whimfical Opinions, who 
 would pretend to ftand up in its Defence, 
 or bring it into his Practice. And yet, if we 
 will make but a bender Enquiry into the 
 Practice of the early and pureft Ages of Phy- 
 Jick , or the great and univerfally approv’d 
 Writers in the healing Art , we fhall find 
 Diet no fuch contemptible Help towards the 
 Prevention or Cure of Difeafes, as it is now 
 held or imagin’d. On the contrary, we fhali 
 find the Works of all the mofl judicious and 
 celebrated Practitioners full of particular Di- 
 rections and Advices on this Popick in every 
 Difeafe they treat of ; and demonftrating that 
 their Authors , as they did not find, fo they 
 did not imagine, that any (at leaft habitual 
 and rooted) Diftemper, could be remov’d 
 without fuch Affiftance. We are certainly 
 provided with a greater Choice of more 
 perfect Materials, as well as more elegant 
 Forms of Medicines, than the Antients ; and 
 this probably will bill increafe, by length of 
 Time, with Arts, the Knowledge of Nature, 
 and even of our Difeafes 5 but what is, and 
 will be ever admired among the Antients , is 
 their Method of Cure, the Truth and Juft- 
 nefs of their Rules and Maxims, and the Soli- 
 dity of their Intentions in following the Di- 
 rections of Nature in the Way fhe intends or- 
 
Diet for Nervous c DiJlempers. i j i 
 
 points out. Hippocrates , the Father of the 
 Phyjicians , thought a Regimen of Diet of fuch 
 Confequence, both to the Healthy and the 
 Sick, that of about ninety Books of his which 
 remain, or that pafs under his Name, there 
 are eight of them which treat of that Matter 
 only or principally ; arid thro’ all the reft of 
 his Works, he mentions much more of his 
 Dicetetick Management, than any Affiftance 
 he took from the Materia Medka. He com- 
 plains, that * thofe who went before him, 
 had written nothing concerning the Diet of 
 fick Perfons, which was neverthelefs one of 
 the moft eftential Parts of Phyjick , even in 
 his Time, which we may juftly fuppofe 
 wanted it lefs than later Ages. Galen , tho’ 
 more abounding in Medicines, yet is far 
 from depriving Diet of its due Place. On 
 the contrary he declares, •f' cc Phat Phyjick has 
 “ no Remedy fo effedlual as to he able to bring 
 “ its r wanted Relief where the Regimen of 
 u Diet either count er-adls or does not ajpfl it. 
 And in another Place he fays, § “ float by 
 u means of that part of Phyjick which pre~ 
 “ Jcribes a proper Diet , thofe who have 
 tc deriv'd too tender and weakly a Confutation 
 tc from their Parents , have brought themj elves 
 “ on to extreme old Age , without any Weak- 
 
 * Epidem. lib. 6. 
 
 -f De ufu Theriaces ad Pamphylianum. 
 
 § Lib. y. De Sanitate tuenda. 
 
 L 4 £f nefs 
 
152 *fhe EngliOi Malady. 
 
 “ nefs of their Senjes , free from all Pain and 
 “ Difeafes . ” He adds afterwards concerning 
 himfelf, “ Even 1 , / ,6<2<i TZttf <2 healthy 
 
 “ Confitution from my Birth , nor led a Life 
 “ of much Freedom and Eafe of Mind , jyaf 
 “ ^ Precepts of this mof ufeful part of Phy- 
 <c fck , which I prattifed after the i%th Tear 
 <c of my Age , I never fell into any Diflemper , 
 “ except a fight Fever of 24 Hours through 
 “ Wearinefs or Excejs of Labour. ” The 
 Methodifs , a celebrated among the An- 
 tient Phyficians, laid the main Strefs of the 
 Cure upon Diet and Evacuations 5 and fome 
 of them carry ’d this to an extravagant Heighth. 
 But Celfus , who feems to have judicioufly 
 diifinguifh’d, and kept in a proper Mediutn 
 between the Extremes, that the different 
 of Phyfck in his Time, had carry’d each their 
 particular and favourite Dodtrines to, was yet 
 fufficiently fenfible and convinc’d of the Ne- 
 ceffity of a proper Diet in the Cure of Dif- 
 eafes ; for he is not only large and fall in his 
 Directions and Regulations about it, in every 
 particular Difeafe he treats of: but where he 
 diftinguifhes between internal and external 
 Diforders, he calls the firf thofe in which 
 the Regulation of Diet is the principal Part 
 of the Cure, and the latter thofe where Me- 
 dicines make the chief Part of it. Even in 
 the fame Place, where he takes fome Pains 
 to refute the Dodtrine of Afclepiades , who 
 maintain’d that all Difeafes were to be cured 
 
2 )kt for Nervous Difiempers • i 5 3 
 
 by Diet alone, and to reflore Medicines to their 
 proper Place. He goes further, to enjoin 
 abfolute Fajiing in the firfl Attacks . of a Dis- 
 order, and a ftridl Moderation in the Quan- 
 tity as well as Quality of the Food, during 
 all the Time that the Difeafe continues ; for 
 nothing, he Jays, is more beneficial to a fick 
 Perfon, than timely Abftinence. Then he pro- 
 ceeds to fhew the Reafonablenefs of fuch a 
 Conduct, and to blame and reprove thofe 
 luxurious Perfons, who will allow their Phy- 
 ficians to determine the Kind and Quantity 
 of their Food, but referve to themfelves the 
 Times of taking it ; or who think they a£t 
 very generou fly if they fubmit to his Regula- 
 tions in every thing befides the Kinds or Qua- 
 lities of it : and ends with alluring them of 
 the extreme Hurtfulnefs of any Error, either 
 in the Quality, the Quantity, or the Times 
 of taking their Nourifhment. It were end- 
 lefs to produce Authorities for a Thing that 
 makes a great Part of the "Works of all the 
 ftandard Writers in Phyfick, I mention thefe 
 only, becaufe they are acknowledg’d the great 
 Mailers in this Science , and w r hofe Evidences 
 mull of Confeauence, include the Suffrages 
 of all their Approvers and Admirers; and as 
 they will be fufficient to give the Reader, who 
 is notconverfant in thefe Matters, a jufl Notion 
 of the Confequence of Diet in the Cure of 
 Difeafes. For I do not pretend to add (by 
 what I have here faid) any thing to the Know- 
 ledge 
 
 3 
 
1 54 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 ledge of thofe whofe Study or Profeffion has 
 led them to fearch into thefe Affairs, fince 
 they will not want Convi&ion. But here one 
 will naturally inquire how fo neceffary and 
 effential a Part of Phyjick comes to be in fucli 
 Difgrace, and fo little regarded, as it is at 
 prefent, fince it was fo much recommended, 
 and made up fo great a Part of the Practice 
 of the moft admired Phyficians. The Origi- 
 nal of this Evil feems to be owing to fome 
 over-zealous Abettors of Chymiftry . Th zAl- 
 chymijtsy or more conceited and whimfical 
 fort of Chymijls, were the great Men, that, 
 depending folely upon Medicines, endeavour’d 
 to diferedit Diet in the Cure of Difeafes, 
 bragging and ranting in Honour of their Pa>- 
 nacceds, Elixirs of Life , and other wonderful 
 Secrets, which, if you will believe the In- 
 ventors and Admirers of them, were fuffi- 
 cient, without any other Means, even a Re- 
 gimen of Diet , or whatever all Phyficians be- 
 fore had thought moft indifpenfible, to work 
 infallible Cures in the moft defperate Difeafes. 
 It was this, and nothing elfe, they pretended 
 to. When once fuch an ill Practice is fet 
 on foot, the Patients theignfelves, as Celfus 
 obferv’d in his Time, are fo averfe to being 
 confin’d by difagreeable Reftraints,that they are 
 prepar’d to believe every Impoftor, that will 
 take upon him to difpenfe with the moft ne- 
 ceffary Condition of Cure, and entertain a 
 Prejudice againft thofe who will honeftly in- 
 
fdlet for Nervous c DiJlempers. 1 5 j 
 
 lift upon the Neceffity of what they diflike, 
 being more willing to believe fuch Phyficians 
 are not fufficiently acquainted with the Vir- 
 tues and Powers of Medicines, than that Me- 
 dicines have no fuch Virtues as they would 
 fo fain find them poffefs’d of : And they are 
 generally fo fond of being prefcrib’d to rather 
 in the moil; agreeable than in the moil effec- 
 tual Manner, that not only few of them will 
 fubmit to any Reftraints in Diet, but by their 
 Squeamifhnefs and intemperate Delicacy, bring 
 fome of the moil; powerful Medicines into 
 Difgrace, and lefs and lefs common Ufe; fo 
 that we may fear, not only the Bark (the 
 Averfion of every nice Palate) but Mercury , 
 Steel , and feveral other of the beft Medi- 
 cines, which on the firft Difcovery were 
 look’d upon as great Gifts of God for the Re- 
 lief of human Miferies, will in time be quite 
 difus’d, and perhaps forgot. However, iince 
 we who are Phyficians are bound by a tnofi 
 folemn Oath * (contriv’d by Hippocrates , for 
 ought we know, at lead; it is handed down 
 to us among his other Works, and is the Sub- 
 ffance, I believe, of the Obligation and Vow 
 that Candidates take in all the XJniverfities in 
 Europe , when they receive their Degrees of 
 PhyfckJ to order a Regimen of Diet proper 
 and peculiar to each Diftemper we undertake 
 
 * Vide Hippocrat. p. 42. Vol. I. Edit. VanderLind. or Edit. 
 Fsefii, Sedt. 1 , 2$. 
 
 the 
 
156 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 the Cure of, as well as proper Medicines, I 
 jfhall proceed to inform the Reader of what 
 I have found mod; beneficial or fuccefsful on 
 this Head towards the Cure of the Diforders 
 I am now treating of. 
 
 §. II. It is highly probable, that the infi- 
 nitely wife Author of our Nature has provi- 
 ded proper Remedies and Reliefs in every Cli- 
 mate, for all the Diftempers and Difeafes in- 
 cident to their refpedtive Inhabitants, if in 
 his Providence ( he has neceflarily placed them 
 there : And certainly the Food and Phyjick 
 proper and peculiar to the middling Sort of 
 each Country and Climate , is the bed; of any 
 poffible for the Support of the Creatures he 
 has unavoidably placed there, provided only 
 that they follow the Simplicity of Nature, 
 the Dictates of Reafon and Experience, and 
 do not lud: after foreign Delicacies : as we fee 
 by the Health and Ch^arfulnefs of the mid- 
 dling Sort of almod: all Nations. And who- 
 ever is acquainted with the Hijlory of the 
 Origin of Nations , and the Manner in which 
 they liv’d, preferv’d themfelves in Health, 
 and got rid of their Difeafes, while they liv’d 
 in their Simplicity, and had not yet grown 
 luxurious, rich and wanton, or had frequent 
 Commerce with other Nations, and com- 
 municated with them in their Luxury and 
 Arts , will be pretty well fatisfy’d of this 
 Truth. But where the Luxury and Dij 
 
2 Ytet for Nervous Dt (tempers . 157 
 
 of all the Nations on the Globe are brought 
 (Together, mingled and blended, and perhaps 
 heighten’d by the Difference of Climates, there 
 is an abfolute Neceffity that the Materials of 
 Fhyfick , and the Methods of Cure, fhould be 
 various and extended in an equal Proportion : 
 which is the Caufe of the Multiplicity of our 
 Medicines, and the Neceffity that Phyficians 
 are under to know almoft every Thing that 
 is knowable in Nature, for theUfe of Fhyfick: 
 and to bring from each Country and Climate 
 the proper Antidote for the Diftemper brought 
 from thence. 
 
 §. III. There is alfo another infinitely wife 
 Contrivance in Nature, that Loathing and In- 
 appetency , or at leaf! a Difficulty in Digeftion, 
 always attends, in fome Degree or other, all 
 Diforders whatfoever. Were every one that 
 is a little ill, capable of the fame Riot and Ex- 
 cefs during their Diftemper that they were 
 when in perfect Health, when they laid in 
 the Materials of their Diforders, they would 
 infallibly and quickly ruin themfelves, and 
 perifh without Refource : Whereas by this 
 wife Neceffity, they are not only hinder’d 
 from adding Oil to the Flame , but find a new 
 Increafe of their Pains and Punifhments, up- 
 on the fmalleft Excefs, which puts them un- 
 der the Neceffity of forbearing: if the Plea- 
 fure of gratifying their Senfuality is not greater 
 than the Senfe of the Pain. And in fome 
 
 Cafes, 
 
158 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Cafes, where there has been a great Difpd- 
 iition towards Luxury in the Patient, and 
 where the Cure depended only or chiefly 
 upon Abjtinence , I have with Pleafure ad- 
 mired the Art and Ingenuity of a Phyjician , 
 who, to keep up his Patient’s Spirits during 
 the tedious Cure, and gain the Advantages 
 of Temperance and Abftinence as much as 
 he was able, has prefcrib’d a Courfe of in- 
 nocent, tho’ neither palatable nor appetizing 
 Medicines, for a long time, without teazing 
 his Patient with the difpiriting and mortify- 
 ing Dodtrine of Self-Denial , which either he 
 had defpiled, or not receiv’d in its proper 
 Degree and Manner, and thus effected the 
 Cure, which otherwife had been impofli- 
 ble. 
 
 §. IV. There is no furer or more gene- 
 ral Maxim in Phyjick , than that Difeafes are 
 cured by the contrary or oppofite Methods 
 to that which produc’d them. If Nervous 
 Diforders are the Difeafes of the Wealthy, 
 the Voluptuous, and the Lazy, (as I have 
 already fhewn) and are moftly produc’d, and 
 always aggravated and increafed, by Luxury 
 and Intemperance (tho' perhaps not always 
 an abfolute and outragious Intemperance, yet 
 certainly by one relative to the particular 
 Conftitution and Strength of the Patient) 
 there needs no great Depth of Penetration to 
 find out that c Te?nperance and Abjtinence is 
 
 necef- 
 
j Diet for Nervous Dijlempers. i 
 
 neceffary towards their Cure. But as there 
 are different Stages or Degrees of thefe Dif- 
 orders, and even feemingly different Kinds 
 of them, according to the Prevalency of this 
 or that particular Quality in the Materials of 
 the general Caufe : whereby different Effects, 
 Appearances, and Symptoms are produc’d 
 with greater or leffer Violence, and longer 
 or fhorter Duration ; fo different Regulations 
 in the Quantity and Quality of the Food, is 
 neceffary towards their Removal : I fhali 
 
 therefore firft give fome general Directions in 
 thefe two lafc Particulars, and afterwards 
 fubjoin fome Confiderations, to be made in 
 the Application to particular Cafes. 
 
 §. V. As to the Qualities of the folid Food, 
 it is neceffary, ijl. That it be foft and ten- 
 der, light and eafy of Digeftion, and afford- 
 ing a mild or Balfamick Chyle ; that its Ma- 
 terials be found and good in their Kind, and 
 fitted for Ufe, without the artful Compofures 
 of Cookery , or the Means us’d commonly in 
 making it more lufcious and palatable ; and 
 likewife, that it be the mofl fimple and un- 
 compounded, and that fewefl different Mate- 
 rials poffible be receiv’d into the fame Meal ; 
 for as they will only ferve to provoke Excefs, 
 fo, as Cel/us * obferves, “ Variety of Foods y 
 
 * Lib. Ill, Cap, 6. Vide etiajn Sandt. Med. Static. Sedt. 2 . 
 Aph, /i. 
 
 u thd 
 
1 60 The Englifh Malady, 
 
 £C the? they may go down with greater Eafe 
 <c and Pie af are, yet they are not fo eafily 
 “ digejled. ” 2 dly. That it be endu’d, as 
 
 much as poffible, with Qualities contrary to 
 the Nature of the Dijlemper , and the Pices 
 of the Fluids : * That it be thin and diluting , 
 where there are vifeid or fizy Juices, great 
 Obftrudions, or grofs Habits : That cooling 
 and liquid Things be preferr’d to heating and 
 drying Foods, where there are acute Pains, 
 and violent or inflammatory Symptoms : That 
 Seeds be preferr’d before Roots, Greens, or 
 Fruits, in Cafes of Flatulence ; and that foft, 
 mild, fweet, or at leaft inflpid Things, be 
 chofen, rather than thofe that are fharp, fait 
 or four, in Scorbutick , Hedlick , Scrophulous , 
 or Cancerous Cafes and Conftitutions ; or 
 when there are any Ulcers, Foulnefs of the 
 Skin, or other Signs of fharp and acrid Juices: 
 And fo in other Cafes, -f 
 
 §. VI. The Quantity of the Food mu ft 
 be proportion’d to the Strength of the Dige- 
 ftion, and the Wafte or Decay of the Fluids, 
 from Exercife or bodily Addon, or to the 
 prefent Fulnefs of the Habit, and Obftrudion 
 of the natural Secretions. But as it is impof* 
 fible to give general Rules , in thele Cafes, 
 wherein almoft every individual Perfon differs 
 
 * Vide Sanftorii Aphorifmata de Cibo Sc Potu. 
 -j- Vide Arbhthnott of Aliments. 
 
 from ' 
 
^Diet for Nervous ^Dijlempers , 1 6 i 
 
 from another, or even from himfelf at diffe- 
 rent Times, fo the precife Regulation of this 
 muft be left to the Patient’s own Feelings, 
 and the Honefty and Experience of his Phy- 
 fician. A few Obfervations upon the Quan- 
 tity that agrees belt, fits eafiefl and lighteft 
 on the Stomach, gives no Oppreffion, Heavi- 
 nefs, Heat or Feverifhnefs, while it is digeft- 
 ing, and paffes off without any ill Effeds, 
 will moft readily determine it for the Patient ; 
 and it is of fo great Confequence to the Wel- 
 fare of the Patient, that no Pains ought to 
 be fpar’d for attaining the Knowledge of this 
 precife and precious Mediocrity , which ought, 
 as feldom as poffible, to be tranfgrefs’d either 
 way. 
 
 §. VII. Those who have only a few 
 tranfient Symptoms of thefe Diforders : whofe 
 Conftitution is yet found, and their Juices 
 good and fweet: if they live with a due De- 
 gree of Temperance fuited to their Conftitu- 
 tions, and take care not to increafe their Dif- 
 orders by Exceffes, will need no other Re- 
 ftridion, than to abate of their Quantity while 
 they are more immediately under thefe Symp- 
 toms : will gradually get rid of their Diflem- 
 per, and avoid violent Shocks, or great 
 Sufferings : and be reftor’d to their former 
 Health and Freedom of Spirits, by the other 
 Affiftances of Medicine and Exercife. Thofe 
 who have deeper, more habitual and violent 
 
 M Symptoms, 
 
'i6t The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Symptoms, will need a greater Degree of 
 Care and Caution ; and their Stomach being 
 weaker, and their Digeftion going on flower, 
 will be neceflitated to choofe the lighteft and 
 moft eafily digefted Foods, and the fmalleft 
 Quantity of ’ fpirituous Liquors: and will fuf- 
 fer in Proportion as they exceed the Quantity 
 that is determin’d by the mentioned Obfer- 
 vations. For fuch the lighteft, young, and 
 white Animal Foods only, are nec'effary, and 
 thefe alfo only at Dinner. And if they are 
 fubjecl to violent and acute fParoxyfms, they 
 muft be more than ordinary careful about thefe 
 Times, and then even ufe a cooler, fofter, 
 and more liquid Diet. In general, they muft 
 govern themfelves by their Feelings, and 
 take no more at a Time than their Stomach 
 will eafily bear, but rather repeat it oftner ; 
 and they ought always to wait till their Ap- 
 petite returns in its ufual Degree, and they 
 will even find, however moderate or abfte- 
 mious they may feem, that upon any Lovv- 
 nefs, Heaviness, or Want of Spirits, ftill 
 lighter Meals will reftore their Chearfulnefs. 
 
 §. VIII. But as for all thofe whofe 
 Conftitutions are fpoiled, who have bad or 
 corrupted Juices, violent and dangerous 
 Symptoms , great QbjlruLtiom, are fubjed to the 
 great and eminent Degrees of thefe Diforders, 
 are threaten’d with Htttic or Confumption (or 
 a Deftruction of feme of the great Flfcera, 
 n and 
 
Diet for Nervous Dljlempers , 1 6j 
 
 and who have tried all the other Methods 
 and Medicines that could be fuggefted with- 
 out Succefs) for thefe I have found no 
 other Relief than a total Abfltnence from 
 Animal Foods of all Kinds, and all Sorts of 
 llrong and fermented Liquors, keeping only 
 to Milk, with Seeds or Grains, and the dif- 
 ferent Kinds of Vegetable Food, according 
 to the Nature of the Diftemper : from which 
 they have never fail’d to find a prefent Re- 
 lief, and a confiderable Abatement of the 
 Violence of their Symptoms. Many have 
 been led into this Method without any Ad- 
 vice or Direction, but merely from their 
 own Feelings, and obferving what they were 
 eafieft under. And many more have been 
 abfolutely cur’d and free’d from all their 
 Diforders by it : fome even from a very 
 (hort Time after they enter’d upon it, and 
 others in a longer or fhorter Time, accord- 
 ing to the Obmnacy of their Diftemper, if 
 the Difeafe has not been fo far gone, as to be 
 paft all poifible Relief from natural Means. 
 In thefe laft Cafes it has done all that was in 
 the Power of Art, has lefTen’d their Miferies, 
 and protracted their Fate, and has given 
 more Eafe and Quiet than they could re- 
 ceive from any other Method they could 
 turn to, except Opiates and Anodyn’s : to 
 which one is never to give himfekf, till he 
 has given up all Hopes of a total Cure, 
 Where the Nerves or Solids are naturally 
 
 M a weak ? 
 
164 The EngliOi Maladt; 
 
 weak, or the Perfon fubjed to nervous 
 Dijorders from their Infancy, there is no 
 Method will abfolutely free them from fome 
 flight Returns of their former Symptoms ; but 
 this Diet I have found to do more than any 
 other Method whatever : however, no one 
 ought to undertake this Regimen, without 
 the Advice of fome honeft, able, and expe- 
 rienced Phyfician , who has confider’d his 
 Cafe and Conftitution, and can dired him 
 aright in the proper Management of it, and 
 the Methods of keeping up the due Tenfion 
 of his Solids, which fuch a Diet may pro- 
 bably fomewhat relax, while it is purifying 
 the juices, and cleanling the Habit : and can 
 likewife judge of his Conftancy, Firmnels, 
 and Refolution to go through with it, Cnee 
 in fome deep rooted and confirm’d Diftem- 
 pers of this Kind, though the Patient may 
 find a confiderable Relief for many Months 
 yet pofiibly when the grofs Impurities, 
 the Choler , Phlegm , and Salts ftor’d up in 
 the Habit, come to be thrown off on the 
 Alimentary Tube , as into the common 
 Shore, and all the Emunffory Glands be- 
 come loaded with the Defpumation of the 
 whole Habit : railing Sicknefs, Lownefs of 
 Spirits, and a Return of all, or many, of the 
 former Diforders ; this may blaft all his 
 Hopes, and mightily difeourage him, and 
 make him condemn the Method, and blame 
 the Phyfician who adyis'd him. But if he 
 
 Bands 
 
*T)tet for Nervous Ttijlempers. 165 
 
 Hands this Shock with Firmneis and Pa- 
 tience (which will be readily relieved by pro- 
 per Evacuations , Volatiles and Hftringents) he 
 may be aflured of Succefs, and his perfed Re- 
 covery is at Hand. But as there are incurable 
 Diforders, which no Method or Medicine will 
 reach, fo it frequently happens in this : And 
 even after the Patient is recover’d by this Me- 
 thod, he mull refolve to continue in it ever after, 
 at leall, not to indulge himfelf in a much 
 higher Degree of Food, without fuffering 
 prefently, or hazarding a Return of all his 
 Diforders ; for as Celfus obferves, in all Dis- 
 orders of the Stomach, by whatever Methods 
 the Patient is recover'd , he mufl continue in 
 the fame when he is well , for the Difeafe will 
 return , unlefs Health be protected by the fame 
 Means that rejlofd it, 
 
 <£. IX- I would not be underllood here 
 (as feme have malicioully and artfully mif-* 
 feprefented me, contrary to my moll deli- 
 berate Intention) to recommend a total Milk 
 or a Vegetable Diet , or indeed any particu- 
 lar one, to every one that is lick, or out of 
 Order : I never once had fuch a Dream. I 
 have given the Preference in my Effay on the 
 Gout , to the common Diet of well-chofen 
 Flelh Meat, and good middling ripe Wine, 
 even in that obftinate and painful Dillemper, 
 commonly treated by a Milk Diet. And in 
 my EJfay cm Health and Long Lije , I have 
 M 3 endear 
 
i 66 The Englifli Malady.’ 
 
 endeavour’d, as far as I could, to enable the 
 Patient to make the proper Choice of Animal 
 Foods fit for his Conftitution, and the Dif- 
 orders he labours under; and have, from con- 
 fidering the Nature of the Diftemper, adually 
 order’d fome who were in a Vegetable Dlet y 
 to change it for an Animal one. A total 
 Milk and Vegetable Diet, befides its being 
 particular and inconvenient in a Country 
 where Animal Food is the common Diet, 
 and affording no fufficient Store of Animal or 
 Mechanical Strength (to Perfons naturally 
 weak, or who have not been habituated to 
 it from their Cradles) may bring the Patient 
 into fuch a State, that, without the utmoft 
 Rifque or Danger, he can never leave it off 
 again. And even while he is under it, by 
 relaxing and foftening the Solids, (in fome 
 Degree) when it is a fweetening the Juices, 
 it brings him under a Neceflity of keeping up 
 their Tenfion with proper aftringent, warm, 
 and cordial Medicines, (which are of the 
 fame Nature with a more generous Diet) and 
 inceffant Labour and Exercife : And in grofs 
 foul Bodies, or thofe fubjed to goutijh , fcor - 
 butick , or other inflammatory Diforders and 
 tParoxyfms : requires the utmoft Care and 
 Caution that the Difeafe be not thereby at 
 iirft, thrown inwards, and fo the extreme De- 
 grees of Vapours, Lownefs, and other Ner- 
 vous Diforders enfue, which this Diet is de- 
 ftgn’d to prevent. Indeed there are fome 
 
i Diet for Nervous Dijlempers. \6y 
 
 Cafes wherein a Vegetable and Milk Diet 
 feems abfolutely neceifary, as in fever e and 
 habitual Gouts , Rheamatifms , Cancerous , Le- 
 prous , and Scrophulous Diforders, extreme 
 Nervous Cholicks y Epilepfies , violent L/j/- 
 Jlerick Fits y Melancholly , Confumptions , 
 
 and the like Difeafes mentioned in the Pre- 
 face, and towards the laft Stages of all chro- 
 nical Diftempers ; in fuch Diftempers I have 
 feldom feen fuch a fail of a good Effect 
 at laft. But in raoft other Chronical Diflem - 
 Nervous or Humourous , and in all their 
 tolerable Degrees, and firft or fecond Stages, 
 a common middling, plain and moderate 
 Diet is certainly the beft and fafeft ; a little 
 Animal Food of the youngeft, lighted, ten- 
 dered:, thinneft, and fweeteft Kind, and a 
 fmall Proportion of generous Liquors, to 
 keep up the due Fenjion of the Solids, under 
 the Regulations I have mention’d ; weak 
 Broths and Soops made of tender young 
 Animal Subftances, without Fat or Butter, 
 and thicken’d with a due Proportion of Ve- 
 getable Seeds or Grains, fuch as thofe of 
 Wheat, Barley, Rice, Sage, Oats, Millet, 
 and the like : Such a Diet , I fay, will, in my 
 Opinion, anfwer all the Ends of pur6 Milk 
 and Vegetables ; and as I have often found 
 fuch an one left dangerous, fo it is a more 
 eafy Regulation, as things now ftand : and 
 wants only a few Months in the Erne 
 Ccurfe ? of that Cure that might be gain’d 
 M' 4 per~ 
 
'i 68 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 perhaps by going into fuch a particular Me- 
 thod of Diet. I am never for entering up- 
 on extreme or uncommon Means of Diet or 
 Medicines , but in extreme and mortal Cafes ; 
 for I always think that common Senfe is the 
 beft Indication of a found Mind, and common 
 Life the beft Means of temporal Happinefs, 
 elfe they had never been common. 
 
 §. X. One great Advantage that a Milk 
 and Vegetable Diet has over a Flelh or Ani- 
 mal one, lies principally in this, that one 
 may thereby avoid the Loading the Juices 
 with too many Salts of any Kind, or thicken- 
 ing them with more grols and hard earthy 
 Particles, or fuch as cannot be broken and 
 comminuted by the natural Force of the 
 weak Solids : and by it Patients will not be 
 fo readily led into Errors in the Quantity ; 
 Nature not being tempted to receive or 
 retain fuch unprovoking and impoignant 
 Viands, whereby they avoid the Snare and 
 femptation that Liquorifhnefs and high Re- 
 lifh throws many into. Another Advantage 
 is, that it effectually dilutes and cools too 
 thick or hot Juices, and that afufficient Quan- 
 tity of it may be taken to keep the Bowels 
 and Blood Veffels full, and fufficiently turgid, 
 whereby the Circulation and natural Evacua- 
 tions and Secretions will be more uniformly 
 carried on in fuch weak Habits, than canpof- 
 fobly be under an Animal Dkt of fo fmall a 
 
 Quants 
 
' ^Diet for Nervous ‘Diftempers. 169 
 
 Quantity as muft be neceffary in fuch Cafes, 
 unlefs it be extremely diluted with Water, 
 and the farinaceous Vegetables, which brings 
 it to the fame State : And therefore, in great- 
 ly depraved Habits, and fuch deep and dan- 
 gerous Difeafes as I have mention’d, it is the 
 moll proper and abfolutely neceffary Regi- 
 men to carry on the natural Functions with- 
 out Pain and Uneafinefs, and to preferve the 
 Sides of the Capillary Veflels from coalefcing 
 and growing together, and fo preventing 
 irremediable Obftru&ions ; tho’ in other 
 more flight Cafes, it may be not only not ne- 
 celfary, but even fometimes inconvenient and 
 hurtful : For tho" it will always produce at 
 length Freedom from Pain, and Freedom of 
 Spirits, and a greater Capacity for intelle&ual 
 Functions, yet it will never beget mechani- 
 cal Force and Strength, or a hardy, ftrong 
 Conftitution, which in fome Circumftanccs, 
 Employments, Trades, and Profeflions, is 
 indifpenfably neceflary \ fo that fuch a 
 Courfe and Regimen is only proper for thofe 
 who follow Intellectual Occupations, and ex- 
 pert chiefly mental Pleafures, Freedom from 
 Pain, Chearfulnefs and Length of Days, or, 
 in ftiort, for the Studious and Sedentary. 
 
 XI. The Sum of the Whole, in my 
 Opinion, is this: Our Diftempers generally 
 arife from Oils, Salts, and Spirits, carried 
 into the Habit by our Food j nothing elfe but 
 
 thele, 
 
\jq The Englifli Malady.' 
 
 thefe, in the Nature of Things, having Force 
 enough to produce them. Some certain 
 Proportion of thefe is abfblutely necelfary to 
 excite, rouze, and carry on the Circulation , 
 Perfpiration, and all the Secretions with their 
 proper Force and Vigour : When the Juices 
 are too vifcid or acrimonious, or the Ob- 
 ftru&ions many and great, Diet offers us 
 one of the fureft Means to cure thefe ill 
 Qualities. All Salts, in therr general Na- 
 ture, are of the fame Kind, Hard, and 
 highly Attra&ive, and differ only as they 
 are fmaller or greater in their Parts, and 
 according to the Earths, Oils, and other 
 Mixtures that unite them, or mix with them. 
 Milk and Vegetables have but little faline 
 Matter in Proportion to their Bulk, and 
 therefore a total Milk and Vegetable Diet , 
 may, in fome Cafes, defraud the Gonftitu- 
 tion of that due Proportion of Salts neceffary 
 for the mention’d Purpofes, and for want of 
 which the Solids may become too lax and 
 feeble. But, on the other hand, too great a 
 Quantity of Flefh Meat, and hot fermented 
 Liquors, or that which is of too faline and 
 fpirltuous a Nature, will load the Habit with 
 too many of thefe Salts and Oils, and fo 
 beget the mention’d Diftempers. The great 
 Art of Life then, in chronical Diftempers, is 
 to afcertaln the Mediocrity of fuch a Diet as 
 neither makes the Salts and Oils too many 
 to increafe the Diftemper, nor too few, to 
 
fDiet for Nervous 7 )iftempers . 1 7 1 
 
 let the Solids become too much relax’d. 
 Animal Food then, and Spirituous Liquors 
 become more tolerable in Northern Climates , 
 where the Want of fufficient Sun, and the 
 Moifture of the Air , makes the Solids of 
 fomewhat too loofe and flabby a Nature, and 
 fo require a greater Proportion of Salts and 
 Oils, needful to rouze and twitch them, 
 than in more Southern Climates. Suppofe, 
 for Example, a Dram of Salts, and Oils or 
 Spirits in twenty-four Hours was neceffary ; 
 then certainly that Diet which conveys this 
 Dram of Salts and Oils in the whole Subftance 
 of the Food, according to the Bulk, Age, 
 and Expences of the Life of the Patient, 
 into the Habit, will be the beft, of whatever 
 Kind it may be. But if, by an Over-charge 
 of Salts and Oils, Difeafes are brought on, 
 and are to be remedied by a Diet wherein 
 one half of this Quantity is found ; then fuch 
 Food is to be chofen, or fuch a Quantity 
 of it taken, as will convey into the Habit 
 only half a Dram of fuch : and if that End 
 can be obtain'd by following the common 
 and ordinary Diet of the Country and Cli- 
 mate, and of the healthieffc People in it, then 
 that is, beyond difpute, the beft Regimen 
 in general to preferve Health. Under Dif- 
 eafes the Cafe is different. So that there can 
 be no Room for miftaking the proper Kind 
 of Diet , nor the Validity of the Reafons on 
 which it is founded. The only Difficulty 
 
 that 
 
17 1 The Englifli MaladtI 
 
 that remains, will be in choofing fuch Kinds, 
 and that Quantity of Animal Food which belt 
 fuits the Age, Bulk, and Conftitution of the 
 Patient, and conveys only the neceffary 
 Quantity of Salts and Oils. To determine 
 which was the chief Defign of my EJfay on 
 Health and Long Life, and of Dr. Arbuthnott’ s 
 Book of Aliments , and which is evidently of 
 the greateft Confequence to all who would 
 fecure thefe two in the moft effedual Man- 
 ner Mortality will permit. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the Exercife proper for Nervous 
 i Dijlempers . 
 
 I. Y ■ THERE is not any one Thing, 
 I more approv’d and recom- 
 mended by all Phyficians, and 
 the Experience of all thofe who have fuf- 
 fer’d under Nervous Diftempers, (fince the 
 Diftin&ion has been made) than Exercfe , of 
 one Kind or another ; and this without the 
 leaf! Exception or Limitation, but fo far as 
 the Strength can admit; if it is without 
 Weakening, Fatigue, or Flurry of Spirits. 
 
 In 
 
Exercife for Nervous ‘Diftempers . \y 5 
 
 In the Southern Climates, as there is fcarce 
 any, at leaft few. Nervous Diftempers of 
 the lingering and chronical Kind, fo there 
 is very little Room for Exercife merely for 
 Health : The Warmth and Adion of the 
 Sun , keeping the Blood and Juices fufiicient- 
 ly fluid, the Circulation free, and all the 
 Secretions in their due Degree and Plenty, 
 fo as to prevent Obftrudions, to which the 
 Thinnefs, Coolnefs, and Lightnefs of their 
 almoft Vegetable Diet contributes not a little. 
 But in the more Northern and colder Cli- 
 mates, where the Food is more grofs, higher 
 and harder of Digeftion, being moftly Ani- 
 mal ; where the Perfpiration is fmall, or 
 fcarce any at all, efpecially in Nervous or 
 chronical Diftempers, there is an abfolute 
 Neceflity of due Exercife , and Labour to 
 fupply the Want of Sun and thin Air, and 
 remedy thefe Defeats : The Negled of which, 
 in our cold Climates, ought to be, in Reafon, 
 reckon’d as abfurd, ridiculous, and unna- 
 tural, as our ufing it appears fantajlical to 
 Orientals . The few Inftances brought from 
 Spain , Italy , Portugal , and even more 
 Northern Countries, of People that live 
 there to a great Age, and without Diftem- 
 pers, merely fitting ftill, are little to the 
 Purpofe, confider’d as a Rule for our Con- 
 dud (fince, fetting afide the above-men- 
 don’d Advantages, which they enjoy in 
 
 com- 
 
174 'The Englifh Malady. 
 
 common with other Southern Countries? 
 whereby Exercife becomes lefs neceflary for 
 them than for us) they are in a great mea- 
 lure excluded from the Benefit they might 
 poflibly reap from it, if it was neceffary, 
 by its being impracticable in any high De- 
 gree : For it would be abfurd to propofe to 
 them to take long continued Journies in 
 their fcorching Climate for the Cure of 
 Diltempers. 
 
 §. II. When Mankind was fimple, plain, 
 honeft, and frugal, there were lew or no 
 Difeafes. : 'Temperance , Exercife , Hunting , 
 
 Labour , and Indufiry kept the Juices fweet, 
 and the Solids brac’d. The Spiritual Pafi* 
 fions, however, raged and boiled high ; 
 thofe, to wit, of Ambition , Malice , Re - 
 verge, and Pride , which beget Ufurpation , 
 Conquefts , Murder , and Wars : Labour and 
 Exercife were obferv’d to beget Firmnefs, 
 Strength, and Activity for thefe Purpofes. 
 It was afterwards introduc’d into the Reli- 
 gious Worfhip. Rewards and Honours were 
 appointed for the Vitfors in thefe Jacred 
 Cornells. But Luxury and Intemperance 
 having gain’d Ground, thro' Peace, Security, 
 Eafe, and Plenty, Difeafes fprang up and 
 multiplied. Exercife and Labour were intro- 
 duc’d into their Cure by Phyficians , who 
 had obferv’d the Health and' Vigour of the 
 
 La- 
 
Exercife for Nervous TEftempers* 1 7 5 
 
 Laborious and A<ftive. * Hippocrates , Diodes , 
 Paraxagoras, and Etafiflratus firft introduc’d 
 it into Rules, Laws , and j appointing 
 
 the Times and Kinds of it, appropriated to 
 each particular Difternper. The Grecians in 
 general, the Athenians and Lacedemonians in 
 particular, erected Academies , Gymnajia , or 
 publick Places, for the common Conveniency 
 of all Kinds of Exercife, with all proper Ac- 
 commodations and Services for that End, 
 both to train up the People for ff r ar y and to 
 preferve them from, and cure their Difeafes. 
 Thefe Gymnajia were dedicated to Apollo , as 
 God of Phyjick , and thither the Phyjicians 
 fent all thofe who laboured under chronical 
 Diftempers, of which Exercife and Diet y 
 limited and managed according to the Na- 
 ture of the Cafe, made up all the Cure. By 
 Degrees it Ipread over all the Eajlern and 
 Southern Countries, and at laft had lb gene- 
 ral an Approbation, as to be univerfally 
 received all the World over, where Health 
 was regarded, or the Cure of Diftempers 
 ftudied. Such has been the original Rife, 
 Reception, and Approbation of Exercife , as 
 is evident from antient Hiftory and univer- 
 fal Tradition. Whoever will confult Ls 
 Clerc y will be abundantly fatisfied in this 
 Matter. 
 
 §. III. 
 
 * Galen. Cap. jB. lib. ad Thrafybulum. 
 
\ 76 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 §. III. The Romans (as wife arid brave a 
 People as ever was formed upon the Foot of 
 mere Nature) received it with all their other 
 Arts from the Greeks , and thought it fo 
 necelfary, tho’ in a much warmer Climate, 
 than ours of England, that they founded a 
 great Part of the Cure of Diftempers, as well 
 as the prefervative Means of Health, upon it, 
 in its various Degrees and Kinds. Thofe 
 who are curious may find all the Learning 
 of the Antients, colleded to entertain them 
 on this Subjed, with the beft Reafons and 
 Philofbphy of the Times ; and the Account 
 of the Origin of new Difeafes among the 
 Romans, by H. Mercurialis , in his Treatife 
 de Arte Gymnajlica, in which every thing 
 ufeful, ingenious, or that has been invented 
 for this Purpofe, is brought together. Sy- 
 denham, our Countryman, has enlarged in 
 its Praifes, as one of the moft fovereign Re- 
 medies hitherto known ; and mentions feve- 
 ral Inftances of its wonderful Succefs, and 
 of its conquering the feveral Effects of Ner- 
 vous Diftempers by long and conftant Jour- 
 nies on Horfeback. Fuller de Arte Gym - 
 najlica, has done what he could, to en- 
 courage and explain it. Many others of 
 the beft of the Moderns, have given it 
 its due Commendation : But it is not my 
 Bufinefs to colled Authorities, for a thing 
 
 fo 
 
Exercife for Nervous E)ij tempers . i yy 
 
 fo univerfally * acknowledged, and lb littl e 
 difputed. As to my own Experience, • I 
 never faw any thing done to the Purpofe» 
 in Nervous Cafes, or with a Succefs com- 
 plete, and fubfifting for any long time with- 
 out the Affiftance of thefe two, Diet and 
 Exercife. I have even found the Neceffity 
 of adding to thefe, in lome Cafes, to make 
 the Recovery durable and lolid, Change of 
 a thicker Air and of a colder Climate, to 
 that of a warmer Sun and purer Air ; which 
 have feldom ever failed, when any thing 
 would fucceed. But that not being in every 
 one’s Power, they muft be contented with 
 ufing the Means they can find within their 
 Reach. The Benefit and abfolute Neceffity 
 of a pure, fragrant, frefh Air, and the Balm, 
 Nitre, or Acid of it, both to Health and 
 Life, are demonftrably proved from the Ex- 
 periments of Sir Ifaac- Newton , Mr. Hales , 
 and Dr. Bryan Robin (on, both in the Vege- 
 table and Animal Kingdom. 
 
 § IV. Tho’ Experience, which extreme- 
 ly confirms the Benefit of this Remedy, is 
 the only folid Foundation to go upon, in 
 the Cure of Diftempers, yet the Reafon of 
 the thing fpeaks fo loudly, that it cannot 
 
 * We muft fometimes force the Timorous from their Beds, 
 and roufe the Lazy and Sluggifh. Htyfoc.Epidem. lib. 6, 
 
 N 
 
 but 
 
178 The Englifli Maladt. 
 
 but be hearken’d to by every reafonable 
 Perfon. As Diet and proper Medicines , in 
 due Time, will certainly rectify the Juices , 
 fo Labour and Exercife will moft infallibly 
 ftrengthen the Solids, by promoting and 
 continuing their conftant A&ion and Mo- 
 tions. It is much like the conftant Buckling 
 of Hair, (I mean as to its Vertue and Effi- 
 cacy, however different the Mechanicks of 
 thefe Effe&s may be) or keeping it for fbme 
 time fixed in a certain Pofition, to give the 
 internal Parts new Contacts and Cohejions , 
 and to confirm and fettle them in thefe, 
 which makes them retain the Form and Fi- 
 gure we defign. ’Tis true, it is very hard, 
 if not impoffible to give a ftrong and lafting 
 Union and Cohefion to the weak, disjoined, 
 and difeontinued Fibres of People of weak 
 and relaxed Solids ; but Exercife conftantly 
 continued does this (and will do it, always) 
 as much as the Nature of Things will admit 
 of. There is an Innate Power of Contrac- 
 tion , , a Spring and Rlajticity in all Animal 
 Solids, as being contrived and defigned as 
 Inftruments of Action and Motion ; by Ac- 
 tion and Motion only, this innate Power is 
 nourifhed, preferved, increafed, and reco- 
 vered. And on the contrary, without them, 
 it grows languid, feeble, and weak. Not 
 only is the Circulation promoted, the Per- 
 fpiration and all the other Secretions for- 
 warded by Exercife ; but by the Mujcular 
 
 Actions, 
 
Exercife for Nervous fDijtempers . 1 7 9 
 
 Actions, the Blood and Juices are kept in a 
 due State of Fluidity, their Vifcidity broken 
 and diffolved, and all Obftru&ions hindered 
 or removed. There feems likewife, as it 
 were, new Particles to be forced by this 
 A&ion, into the Interfaces and Ruptures of 
 the Solids, to knit and folder them, and re- 
 cover their loft Union, Cohefion, and Spring: 
 So that Exercife feems the only, at leaft, 
 the fovereign Remedy, in relaxed and 
 weakened Solids. And as a low, light, and 
 temperate Diet is necelfary, and the beft 
 means of diluting and fweetening the Juices: 
 and as at the fame Time, it fometimes 
 weakens and relaxes the Solids, fo Exercife 
 is more eminently ufeful in that Cafe, to 
 keep up the due Force and Strength of the 
 Fibres , elfe the Patient can never receive the 
 full Benefit of fuch a Diet . All thofe in a 
 low Di’et , who have long preferved them- 
 felves in any Degree of Force and Spirits, 
 have been conftantly great Followers of Exer- 
 cife, without which, even their low Diet would 
 not have been fo beneficial, efpecially after 
 the Meridian of Life, when there is little 
 Hopes of an adventitious Force . And one 
 Reafon why Hypochondriacal and Hyjlerical 
 Perfons relapfe fo frequently, after having 
 been fo wonderfully recovered by the Force 
 of Diet , Exercife , and Change of Air, is, 
 becaufe they either intermit their Regimen of 
 Viet } their Exercife , or perhaps both : and 
 
 N a there- 
 
i So The Englifli Maladx. 
 
 therefore he who, under Nervous Diforders 
 and Complaints, would continue tolerably 
 well after he is got better, muft continue 
 both his Regimen of Diet, and Ids Exercife, 
 in fome certain Degree ever after. It is 
 true, Diet will do infinitely more than Ex- 
 ercile, and have more lafting Effe&s, but 
 both fhould be joined; 
 
 § V. It is of no great Confequence of 
 what Sort or Kind the Exercife be, provided 
 it be but Bodily Exercife and A&ion ; cer- 
 tainly riding on Horfe-back is the beft of all, 
 becaufe of the almoft erect Pofture, the 
 lelfer Wearinefs, and the more univerfal 
 and natural Motion of all the Organs, with 
 the conftant Change of Air : and that the lower 
 Regions of the Body, and the alimentary 
 Inftruments and Hypochondres are thereby 
 moft fhaken and exercifed. Next to that, is 
 riding in a Chafe or Chariot. Walking, tho* 
 it will anfwer the lame End and Purpofe as 
 well as any, and may be more readily and 
 eafily ufed, becaufe it may be equally fol- 
 lowed within Doors and without, in Winter 
 as well as Summer, yet it is more laborious 
 and tirefome. Next to thefe are the a&ive 
 Games and Sports, fuch as Hunting , Shoot - 
 ing, Bowls , Billiards , Shuttle-cock , and the 
 like. I have known thofe who have exer- 
 cifed themfelves by ftrongly working their 
 Arms backward and forward ; and fome 
 
 have 
 
Exercife for Nervous fDiJtempers , i 8 i 
 
 have ufed Weights for that Purpofe, Twing- 
 ing and fhaking them, in their Hands. And 
 fome have done it with a Cane , rubbing 
 it ftrongly over the whole Mufcles of the 
 Body and Limbs, The Flefo-Brufh has 
 fupplied thofe who could not afford, or 
 were not able to ufe any other Kind of 
 Exercife. But certainly the beft of all is, 
 where Amufement or Entertainment of the 
 Mind is joined with Bodily Labour, and con- 
 ftant Change of Air, as in Hunting , Bowls, 
 Billiards , and the like, and riding Journies 
 about Bufinefs : For the Entertainment of 
 the Mind, and keeping it agreeably diverted 
 from reflecting on its Misfortunes or Mifery, 
 makes Exercife infinitely more beneficial, as 
 thought fulnefs. Anxiety , and Concern render 
 it quite ufelefs, 
 
 $ VI. It is upon this Account that I 
 would earneftly recommend to all thofe af- 
 flicted with Nervous Diftempers, always to 
 have fome innocent entertaining A?nufement 
 to employ themfelves in, for the Reft 
 of the Day, after they have employed a 
 fufficient time upon Exercife , towards the 
 Evening, to prepare them for their Night’s 
 quiet Reft. f It feems to me abfolutely im- 
 poflible, without fuch a Help, to keep the 
 Mind eafy, and prevent its wearing out the 
 Body, as the Sword does the Scabbard ; it 
 is no matter what it is, provided it be but a 
 
 N 3 Hobby - 
 
1 8 2 The Englifti Malady. 
 
 Hobby-Horfe , and an Amufement, and flop 
 the Current of Reflexion and intenfe Think- 
 ing, which Perfons of weak Nerves are 
 apteft to run into. The common Divifion 
 of Mankind, into Tjhiick Thinkers, Slow 
 Thinkers , and No Thinkers , is not without 
 Foundation in Nature and true Philofophy. 
 Perfons of flender and weak Nerves are ge* 
 nerally of the firft Clafs : the Activity, Mo- 
 bility, and Delicacy of their intellectual Or- 
 gans make them lo, and thereby weakens 
 and relaxes the Material Organs of the in- 
 tellectual Faculties ; and therefore ingenious 
 Flattering, eafy and agreeable Amufements, 
 and Intervals of No-thinking and Swijs- Me- 
 ditation, (as it is malicioufly called) is as 
 neceffary for fuch, as Sleep to the Weary, or 
 Meat to the Hungry, elfe the Spring will 
 break, and the Sword wear out the Scabbard. 
 Study, of difficult and intricate Matters will 
 infallibly do Hurt. Reading muft be light, 
 entertaining, and diverting, as well as Food. 
 Converfation muft be eafy and agreeable, 
 •without Difputes or Contradiction. The 
 JDiverJton innocent and inexpenfive, elfe the 
 Remorfe and Reflexion afterwards will do 
 infinitely more Prejudice than the prefent 
 Amufement can recompenfe ; afhd it muft 
 end at feafonable Hours, without leaving a 
 Harry and Fatigue upon the Spirits of the 
 Patient. To determine abfolutely the Kinds 
 and Quantities of the Rxercife, Amufement , 
 
 or 
 
Caufes of Nervous Difiempers. 1 8 $ 
 
 ©r even Diet, or the Times moft proper for 
 filch, is impoflible to any but the Patient 
 himfelf. In the general, I fhall only fay, 
 that as Nervous Dijlempers and Old Jge re- 
 duce Men to the Weaknefs, the Tendernefs, 
 and Delicacy of Children, or very young 
 Perfons, they muft be treated, and treat 
 themfelves as fuch, 'till Strength and a per- 
 fect Recovery come, if ever they are fo 
 lucky as to arrive at it, much in the fame 
 way, as a Child muft be treated in his Non- 
 a?e % till he arives at Manhood. 
 
 O * 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Of Jome of the more Immediate and 
 Eminent Caufes of Nervous Dif- 
 tempers . 
 
 $ I. TT Never, faw any Perfon labour 
 1 under fevere, obftinate, and ftrong 
 ^ Nervous Complaints, but I always 
 found at laft, the Stomach , Guts , Liver, Spleen^ 
 Mefentery , or fome of the great and necef- 
 fary Organs or Glands of the lower Belly 
 were obftru&ed, knotted, fchirrous, or 
 N 4 fpoil'd, 
 
184 The Englifli Malady.' 
 
 fpoil’d, and perhaps all thefe together ; and 
 it may be very juftly affirmed, that no habi- 
 tual and grievous, or great Nervous Difor- 
 ders, ever happened to any one who la- 
 boured not under fome real Glandular Dif- 
 temper, either fcrophulous or fcorbutical , 
 original * or acquired. So that in general, 
 great Nervous Diforders may juftly and pro- 
 perly be termed Glandular. The Stomach is 
 often the firft and principal Organ (or at 
 leaft by Confent and Confequence) in the 
 Fault : Either it is too thin and weak by 
 Nature, or the inner villous Membrane is 
 worn off by Luxury, fo that it cannot con- 
 trad clofe enough to embrace the Food ; or 
 it is become too Toft, flabby, and relaxed, 
 io that it cannot, with fufficient Spring, 
 fqueeze its Contents ; or its Glands are grow- 
 ing fchvrrous , hard, and knotted , fo that its 
 Adion is weak and languid, and interrupted, 
 or laflly , there may adually be a difcovera- 
 ble Imfojlhume , S chirr ofity, or Cancer al- 
 ready extant in it. And hence the NeceF 
 iity of frequent, but gentle Vomits (at leaft 
 in all thefe Cafes but the laft) to empty 
 thefe weak Glands , when full of indigefted 
 Flegm, Wind, or Choler, in fuch Nervous 
 Cafes, .and a thin, light, cool, and balmy 
 Diet , proportioned to theWeaknefs and In- 
 firmities of the Stomach and Solids (to give 
 it the leaft Labour, and moft Reft poffible, 
 as we cure broken Bones, by ufing them, 
 
 little) 
 
Caufes of Nevvous %)iftempers. 1 8 jr 
 
 little) as well as to cut off the Sources of 
 more Infection in them all, without Excep- 
 tion. 
 
 () II. A vitious Liver feems to be one of 
 the primary and immediate Caufes of Nervous 
 Diftempers. I never once in my Life faw 
 an Hy ft eric or Hypochondriac Cafe, of a deep 
 Nature, or extreme Degree, in ftrong Per- 
 fons elpecially, where the Liver , and it’s 
 Appendages were not eminently faulty, 
 either by a preternatural Size, l’umefa&ion,- 
 Objlruttion , or Schirrofity ; and when by 
 ponderous , alterative, adive Medicines, join’d 
 with a cool thin Diet, the Obftru&ions have 
 been opened, the Gall Bladder and Bor us 
 Biliarius pervious, then, either green, yellow , 
 or black Choler has poured out abundantly 
 into the Stomach. The Liver is the Organ 
 defigned by Nature (or, at leaft, Nature 
 makes Ufe of it) to fuck out, draw off, and 
 convey into the common Shore of the Body 
 (the Guts) all the Poilon, Malignity, and 
 deftruftive Part of high rank Foods* and too 
 great a Quantity of rich Liquors, taken into 
 the Habit. This wife and bountiful Con- 
 trivance of Nature becomes an Hntidote , or 
 is a Receptacle (for fome time) for the de- 
 ft rudive Effects of Luxury and Intemperance . 
 And hence it comes to pals that gluttonous 
 and voluptuous Animals, whether Brutal or 
 Rational , have always overgrown Livers, 
 
 and 
 
i86 The English Maladt." 
 
 and accordingly among the Romans , thole 
 Animals whofe Livers were delicious, had 
 their whole Entrails almoft turned into Liver , 
 by unnaturally cramming them with high 
 and generous Foods ; and no plentiful and 
 full Feeder was ever opened, but he was 
 found with fome grofs Fault in his Liver: 
 It has indeed a noble and indifpenlible Ufe 
 in all Animals (the human more efpecially) 
 who live on Animal Foods and fermented 
 Liquors, even beyond any Organ of the 
 Body, next to the Hearty Brain , and Lungs : 
 for it not only fucks out all the Venom, as 
 it were, of the whole Mafs of Blood, and 
 carries it into the Guts ( the common Shore , 
 to be thence carried out of the Habit in 
 Part) but there alfo the Bile y by its natural 
 Acrimony and Stimulation, is the great 
 Spring and Caufe of the Lerifaltic Motion : 
 (that Fun&ion fo neceffary to Digeftion and 
 throwing off the Redundancy and Fecu- 
 lence) ; befides that it unites, by its foapy 
 Nature, the various Particles of which the 
 Chile is compounded, and renders it a ftrmlar 
 and uniform Fluid : and by its Bitternefs, and 
 this Saponaceous Quality, it cleanfes and 
 fcowers the Mouths of the fmall and delicate 
 Latleal Lubes , from their Obftru&ions and 
 Filth. But as all good Things, perverted 
 and abuled, have Pains and Punilhments an- 
 nexed to them, in Proportion to their Ad- 
 vantages and Benefits, fo the Liver 9 when 
 
 praster- 
 
Caufis of Nervous Dtfiempers. 187 
 
 praeternaturally large, tumified, obftru&ed, 
 or fchirrous, becomes the Caufe of the molt 
 terrible and frightful Miferies incident to 
 human Nature ; from hence generally and 
 chiefly fpring all our horrible and dire Hy - 
 Jlerics and Hypochondriacs , our Epilepjies , 
 apoplexies, and our Manias , our Cholicks 7 
 Scurvies , Gouts , Jaundices , Hot Ulcers , &V. 
 and were there any Art or Medicine to turn 
 or make Choler ( Adujl , Black, Tellow x or 
 Green ) an innocent, acid, active Liquor only 
 (as it is in the Animals that live only on 
 Vegetables ) it would infallibly cure thele 
 Diforders , but I believe there is none, nor 
 can be any fuch Art or Medicine, conlider- 
 ing the eftabliflied Laws of Nature, and 
 thofe of the Animal Oeconomy : but the pon- 
 derous Remedies which open Obftru&ions 
 (fuch as Preparations of Antimony and Mer- 
 cury) gentle Emeticks , which pump up the 
 peccant Humour as it flows (for Catharticks 
 do little or nothing in fuch Cafes, it being; 
 impoffible to carry forcibly vitiated Choler 
 do great a Length without Violence to Na- 
 ture, belides that all Kind of Purges pals 
 through this grofs Fluid, when vitiated, and 
 leave it much as they found it) and a thin, 
 mild Diet, that cuts off the Sources of the 
 Evil. What is here laid of the Liver , may 
 be readily applied to the Spleen , in a certain 
 Degree, and therefore 'tis needlels to add 
 any more of either. 
 
 III. 
 
r i 8 8 TIm Englifh Malady.' 
 
 ^ III. The Glands of the Mejentery, or 
 of the Guts , being knotted or obftru&ed, are 
 lefs obvious by any other Symptoms, than 
 thefe of a general Weaknefs , ‘Thinnefs of 
 Habit, a Tendence to Helical Heats after 
 Meals, and efpecially an Inappetence and 
 Weaknefs of Digeftion, Faintings, cold 
 Sweats, Lownefs of Spirits, and Oppreflions, 
 and the other Nervous Complaints to be de- 
 fcribed, thofe particularly of thin and vale- 
 tudinary Perfons. And thofe who continue 
 weak, thin, and valetudinary, after Youth- 
 hood is over, are much to be fufpe&ed of 
 knotted Glands in the Mefentery , which ob- 
 ftru<ft and hinder the free and eafy Pafiage of 
 the Chyle thro’ the Latteals , whole common 
 Bafon is in, and moil: general Courfe is thro* 
 that Membrane ; or of knotted Guts y and 
 their obftru&ed Valves, which hinder the 
 free Play of the Perijlaltick Motion, fo ne- 
 celfary towards the Progrefs of the Digeftion, 
 and the Expulfion of the Feculence ; and all 
 thefe more immediate Caufes of Nervous Dif- 
 tempers Ihew the Neceflity, Expedience, 
 and Benefit of ponderous Remedies, in the 
 Beginning of a Cure : gentle Evacuations 
 upwards or downwards, in the Procefsj and 
 mild Aftringents and Strengtheners to finilh 
 it ; and an univerfal thin and low Diet in the 
 whole Progrefs, and for future Prefervation. 
 
Caufes of Nervous Diftempers . 1 89 
 
 § IV. It is very pofiible, neither the 
 ponderous Remedies, nor the Evacuations 
 may dilfolve, or even much foften knotted, 
 /chirr ous , or obftru&ed Glands in any Part 
 of the Habit ; but a cool, thin, foft, bal- 
 famick Diet will always make the Juices cir- 
 culate eafy, and without Rubs and Refin- 
 ance ; as a clear, thin, equable Stream of 
 running Water will glide gently and calmly 
 by the Sides of implanted Jjlands: and thelc 
 Knots and Puberties may thereby lie as eafily 
 and quietly in the Body, as the Nails on our 
 Fingers and Toes, or as Bones furrounded 
 with Mufcles ; and we know fweet thin 
 Blood will make its way into the Circula- 
 tion, through the lateral Branches, when the 
 Trunk of the Artery is cut through : and 
 that is all Art can do, or the Laws of the 
 Animal Oeconomy . will admit. And it is 
 highly probable, when any one of thefe 
 more immediate Caufes of Nervous Diforders 
 happen, they are all together in greater or 
 lelfer Degrees. Cutaneous Diforders alfo, 
 fuch as the Leprofy , Elephant iajts, Impetigo , 
 Itch, Scurvy , and Erijipelas , have a moll 
 powerful Influence in producing thofe 
 violent, inveterate, and high, Nervous Dif- 
 orders. But the Realon of the violent Fits 
 under them is, that the Glands and great 
 Kifcera are loaded more than ordinary by 
 Debauches, high Diet , and too great Fulnels: 
 
 fo 
 
190 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 fo that the Circulation is thereby hindered and 
 Hop'd, and this makes thefe cutaneous Foul- 
 nefles recoil inwards, for Want of due Force 
 and Freedom in the Circulation, to prefs 
 them out, where they are fafeft ; and none 
 will be perfectly and fafely cured under 
 them, but by a long Courfe of the ponderous 
 Medicines, and a thin, cool, foft Diet. 
 
 $ V. It is alfo poflible, that none of all 
 thefe mentioned immediate Caufes may be 
 the true one, and yet Lownefs of Spirits , 
 Sicknefs, and even Fits , Fainting , and Con- 
 vulfions may happen : and when there may- 
 be none of thefe mentioned great Caufes, by 
 particular and fpecial Symptoms to be fuf- 
 pe&ed or juftly fuppofed, a Polypus in the 
 Heart, or Great Artery , or fome preterna- 
 tural Formation, Excrefcence , or Mal-Forma - 
 tion, in fome neceffary Organ, may be the 
 Caufe of them ; or lafly , the Juices may be 
 fo thick, vifcid , and glewy , as may interrupt 
 the Circulation, and the eafy Performance 
 of the Animal Fun&ions. But as fuch Cafes 
 are more rare, they do not fo immediately 
 come under fuch general Directions as my 
 Defign muft neceffarily confine me to, and 
 can therefore receive here no particular Con- 
 lideration. It is, in my Opinion, that it is 
 here as in the great Venereal Cafes, where, 
 if the Grand Remedy be fufficiently and 
 duely purfued, there will be little or no 
 
 need 
 
Caujes of Nervous Distempers. 191 
 
 need of Application to particular and topical 
 Complaints, which will drop off, and evanifh 
 of themfelves, as linking at, and cutting 
 the Root of a Tree, will render the lopping 
 of the Branches ufelefs. In all Chronical . , 
 Cachetfical , and obftinate Cafes, I can allow 
 of, and could never learn or difcover, but 
 two univerfal, certain, and natural Antidotes , 
 Remedies , or Methods of Cure, viz. the pon- 
 derous and Mineral Medicines (the chief of 
 which are Mercury, Antimony , and Steel, 
 with Evacuations) and Diet and Regimen 
 (the fecondary Affiftants of which are Air 
 and Exercife) and both skilfully joined to- 
 gether, and duly perfifted in, is the highcft 
 Pitch Art can, in my Judgment, arife to, 
 under the prefent Laws of Nature, and of 
 the Animal Oeconomy : the Application, tho* 
 to particular Cafes and Conftitutions, will 
 require the Skill, Addrefs, and Attention of 
 the moft knowing an^i experienced Phyii- 
 cian. 
 
 CHAR 
 
!<?! The Englifli Maladt, 
 
 
 CHAP. vnr. 
 
 driacal Disorders. 
 
 § I- ^ I ^ H E Title of this Chapter is f> 
 large a Field, that it would rc- 
 quire a Volume of itfelfj to de- 
 tail eV e ry thing that may be faid, even with 
 Advantage to the fuffering Patient on this 
 Head. But my Defign is not to inftrud: the 
 Patient in every Particular, but to give a 
 general Scheme of Nervous Diforders, founded 
 upon Reafon, Philofophy, and Experience ; 
 and it being both abfurd and even impoflible 
 for any one to undertake lo obftimte , fo va- 
 rious, } and lo deplorable a Diftemper, of his 
 own Head in its eminent Degrees, without 
 the Afliftance of a judicious, experienced, and 
 honeft hPhyfician : All the Reader, who is not 
 fuch, will be able to learn from hence, is, 
 whether he is treated in the Manner, that fuch 
 an one will always deal with his Patients. So 
 that haying faid fo much, and fo fully in 
 
 the 
 
 Vapours, 
 
 SpiritSy 
 
Of the Spleen , Vapours , See. i p 5 
 
 the general DoCtrine of Nervous Diftem- 
 pers, I lhall have little farther to add, but 
 fome Limitations and Conditions with re- 
 gard to particular Cafes, which I rnuft fup- 
 pofe applicable only to fuch individual 
 Cafes by the Phyfician in ordinary. 
 
 $ II. All the Symptoms and Diforders of 
 a Jplenetick Perfon will naturally and readily 
 be deduced from too thick and glewy or (harp 
 Juices, fome great Bowel fpoil'd, or ftrong 
 Obftru&ions form’d, and the regorging Fluids 
 thereby brought on, ftruggling and labour- 
 ing under the Animal Funttions, in relaxed 
 feeble, and unelaftick Solids. Perfed Health, 
 free Spirits, Eafe, and Chearfulnefs confift 
 in the eafy, pleafant, and uniform Perfor- 
 mance of the Animal Funftions, in a full 
 Circulation, free Perforation, and regular 
 Secretions. When by the mentioned Cir- 
 cumftances, all thefe become forced, labour’d, 
 and uneafy, the Symptoms we commonly 
 aferibe to the Spleen , muft neceifarily arife: 
 even tho’ they be attended with no really 
 form’d Difeafe, or no noble Organ entirely 
 fpoil’d ; and the true Reafon of the Multi- 
 plicity, Variety, and Inconftancy of thefe 
 Symptoms, is the vaft Multitude of the Com- 
 binations poffible, of thefe natural Fun- 
 ctions, every one of which makes a new 
 Symptom, and whofe uniform, equable Per- 
 formance is fo neceffary to Health. 
 
 O § III, 
 
?94 ^° e Englifli Mal-adt. 
 
 § III. The Spleen or Vapours , as the 
 Word is ufed in England , is of fo general 
 and loofe a Signification, that it is a common 
 Subterfuge for meer Ignorance of the Na- 
 ture of Diftempers. All Lownefs of Spirits , 
 Swelling of the Stomach , frequent Eradiation , 
 Noije in the Bowels or Ears , frequent Fawn- 
 ing , Inappetency , Rejllefnefs , Inquietude , 
 Fidgeting , Anxiety , hPeevifhnefs , Difcontent , 
 Melancholy , Grief Vexation , III- Humour j 
 Incon fancy , lethargick or watchful Diforders , 
 in fhort, every Symptom, not already claffed 
 under l'ome particular limited Diftemper, is 
 called by the general Name of Spleen 'and 
 Vapours: of which there are various and 
 different Symptoms, according to the dif- 
 ferent Conftitutions, Tempers of Mind, and 
 common Difeafes, Perfons fubjed to fuch 
 Symptoms labour under. In general, Vapours 
 (as it is a Diftemper fubjed to the Rules of 
 are bad, Iharp, thick, and vifcid Juices, 
 attended with weak and relaxed Nerves, Fi- 
 bres, ox Solids ; Where-ever thefe mentioned 
 Symptoms are, in any eminent Degree, thefe 
 Conditions mult be. And on the other 
 Hand, wbere-ever thefe Conditions are, fome 
 more or fewer of thefe mentioned Symptoms 
 mu ft be, according to the Degree of thefe 
 Conditions. Vapours therefore are either 
 'original and fimpte. or not attended with 
 any other real Difeafe or Malady, as yet appa- 
 rent 
 
Of the Spleen , Vapours , &c. 195 
 
 rent (except the Conditions or Caufes men- 
 tioned) or Symptomatick , being caufed or 
 produced by Ibme other real determined Dis- 
 temper, which is attended with, or pro- 
 duces thofe mentioned Conditions, of which 
 Diftemper this Kind of Vapours is only a 
 Symptom or Effed, and in which they al- 
 ways terminate in their laft Stage or Degree. 
 From whence it is pretty evident, that this 
 laft Kind of Vapours can never be cured, 
 unlefs the' original Diftemper, on which they 
 depend, be cured, when it is become ma- 
 nifeft. It is well known, that every bodily 
 Diftemper is attended with, or produces 
 Lownefs of Spirits, and fome others of the 
 Symptoms I have mentioned. When the Dif- 
 temper is removed, thefc Symptoms gradu- 
 ally vanilh, and Health and Freedom of Spi- 
 rits return : So that my prefent Affair is not 
 with thefe Symptomatick Vapours , unlefs they 
 fubfift too long after the original Diftemper 
 is removed, and then they are to be treated 
 in the fame manner with thefe genuine, fim- 
 ple, and original Vapours , whereof I am 
 treating. 
 
 § IV. To enumerate all the almoft in- 
 finite Symptoms, Degrees, and Kinds of 
 Vapours is impoffible, and perhaps very little 
 to the Purpofe. In general, when the 
 Symptoms are many, various , changeable , 
 Ihifting' from one Place to another, and imi- 
 
 O 2 - tating 
 
i p 6 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 taring the Symptoms of almoft every other 
 Diftemper defcribed, if they are attended 
 with no other apparent, real, determined ori- 
 ginal Diftemper (though they be generally 
 the Beginnings of a real Diftemper, and, if 
 neglected, terminating in one always.) Then 
 they may be properly called Vapours • for 
 Diftindion’s Sake, I will divide them into 
 three Degrees, though the Reader is neither 
 here to exped Accuracy nor Certainty, that 
 may be depended upon, in fuch a Proteus - 
 like Diftemper, becaule fome of the Symp- 
 toms of what I call the fecond Degree , may 
 happen in the jh'Jt , and lo on the contrary j 
 and though in general they grow and rife 
 in their Degrees , as naturally and gradually 
 a6 Plants or Vegetables do, yet we are not 
 poffeiTed of proper Names and Meafures for 
 thefe Degrees, any more than we are of the 
 Degrees of Heat that caufe Flame or Light, 
 it being for Brevity’s Sake that I chiefly make 
 the Diftindion. 
 
 $ V. The -firjl Degree, which ought only 
 to be called Vapours (if that Name be proper 
 at all) is when the Caufe and Dilorder is 
 chiefly confined to the Stomach and Bowels , 
 or the Alimentary Dutts, and the Blood and 
 Juices are in a pretty tolerable Condition, 
 but the Solids fomewhat relaxed, loofe, and 
 flabby : the Alimentary ‘Tubes being the firft 
 lenfible Sufferers in all Bodily Maladies 
 
 whatfoever. 
 
Of the Spleen, Vapours , &c. 197 
 
 whatfoever. The Symptoms then, befides 
 Lownefs of Spirits, are Wind , Belching , 
 Fawning, Heart -burning, Croaking of the 
 Bowels (like the Noife of Frogs ) a Pain in 
 the Pit of the Stomach (which is fometimes 
 miftaken for a Lung Cafe, efpecially if at- 
 tended with Short nefs of Breath , and a tick- 
 ling Cough, from a Wind in the Cavity 
 prefling on the Diaphragm, and thereby 
 preffing on the Lungs , which is common, 
 and goes very juftly by the Name of an 
 Hyfterick , or Nervous Cough) and fome- 
 times there is an Inflation , and an a&ual vi- 
 fible Swelling, to a very conhderable Big- 
 nefs, in the Stomach to be feen, efpecially 
 in the Sex ; a Coldnefs or Chillinefs upon the 
 Extremities, and fometimes Flufhing (efpe- 
 cially after a full Meal) and Burning in the 
 Hands and Feet, Cold Damp Sweats , Paint- 
 ings, and Sicknefs (efpecially before a Solu- 
 tion of the Bowels) the Stools being fome- 
 times very cofive , fometimes loofe and flimy, 
 a Feeling like that of cold Water poured over 
 feveral Parts of the Body, Head-aches either 
 behind or over the Eyes, like a ' Punffuration, 
 Flies and Atoms dancing before the Eyes, a 
 Noife like the dying Sounds of Bells, or a 
 Fall of Water, in the Ears ; Fawning , and 
 Stretching , and fometimes a Drowfinefs or 
 Lethargy , at other times Watching and Reft- 
 lelfnefs, and feveral other Symptoms , which 
 it is impoflible to enumerate. Some have 
 
 O 3 bu$ 
 
198 The Englifti Malady. 
 
 but a few of thefe Symptoms , and fome all 
 of them, and a great many more • but a 
 Tendency to Spitting , Ptyalifm , or a Dif- 
 charge of Phlegm from the Glands of the 
 Throat, feldom fails to attend all the Sym- 
 ptoms of it, efpecially towards the Decline 
 of the Fit , if it is not fhut up by a high 
 Diet, hot Liquors, fome conftant Drams, or 
 too great Exercife (which, by the bye, fhews 
 the Alimentary Pubes, and their numerous 
 Glands, the YVeaknefs of the Digeftion, or 
 unnatural cramming, at leaft, relative or iq 
 Proportion to the Want or Weaknefs of the 
 Patient, to be the true Seat and Caufe of the 
 prefent Symptoms) I have alfo obferved, both 
 in myielf and moft of my Patients, one tole- 
 rable good Day, and another worfe, almoft 
 conftantly, following one another regularly : 
 which fuggefted a Reafon to me, of the 
 great Benefit of the Bark in Nervous Diflem- 
 pers : Nature being uniform in her Produc- 
 tions, and taking, as it were, a regular and 
 equal Time to fill, and difeharge the turgid 
 and inflated Cavities and Glands, which is 
 the general Caufe of all Periods in Difeafes. 
 I have alfo obferved fomething like monthly 
 Periods, efpecially towards the Conjunctions 
 of the Sun and Moon. Thofe of the great 
 Seafons, to wit, Spring and Fall , the well 
 Half of theYear, from Midfummer to Mid- 
 winter, and bad half from Midwinter to 
 Midfummer, are more certain and regular, 
 
 efpecially 
 
Of the Spleen, Vapours, See. i pp 
 
 efpecially if they are not joined with other 
 Chronical Diftempers which alter their pe- 
 riods ; but in this various and inconftanc 
 Climate, Periods and Crifes are fo uncertain 
 and irregular, that we have nothing but Mi- 
 niatures and Models of them, to what they 
 were oblerv’d in Eafern Climates, and orderly- 
 people. I only fuggeft thele Things to awaken 
 the Attention of others, and fhew the Uni* 
 formity of Nature in all Things. 
 
 (j VI. The fecond Stage of this Diftem- 
 per is attended with all thefe Symptoms, in 
 a much higher and more eminent Degree, 
 and fome new ones, which were not felt, 
 and confequently not deferjbed under the 
 frfl Stage : fuch as are inftead of Lownefs 
 of Spirits: a deep and fixed Melancholy, wan- 
 dering and delufory Images on the Brain, and 
 Inf ability and Unfettle dnej's in all the intel- 
 lectual Operations, Lofs of Memory, Defpon - 
 dency. Horror and Defpair, a Vertigo, Gid- 
 dinefs or Staggering , Vomittings of fellow. 
 Green , or Black Choler: fometimes unac- 
 countable Fits of Laughing , apparent Joy, 
 Leaping and Dancing ; at other Times, of 
 Crying, Grief, and Anguijh \ and thefe ge- 
 nerally terminate in Hypochondriacal or Hyf 
 terical Fits (I mean Convulfive ones) and 
 Faint ings , which leave a Drowfinefs, Le- 
 thargy, and extreme Lownefs of Spirits for fome 
 Time afterwards. Perhaps the Fits return often, 
 
 O 4 • if 
 
200 The Englifli Malady.' 
 
 if they be weak and partial ones ; or if they 
 are ftrong and fevere, their Intervals are 
 longer : The State of the Blood is generally 
 vifcid (if the Symptoms are not occafioned 
 by Accident, or fpoil’d Bowels) with all the 
 Confequences which I remarked when I 
 ipoke of what I called the fecond State of 
 that Fluid. I think this fecond Degree of 
 Vapours may always be denominated from 
 Fits , Convulfion-Sy or violent Paroxyfms of 
 the Kind mentioned : and from the antece- 
 dent or fubfequent Bilious Vomitings that 
 attend fuch y and indeed when they are come 
 to this Degree, there is generally a beginning 
 Obftru&ion, or fpoiling of fome of the great 
 Bowels, fuch as the Liver , the Lungs , the 
 Kidnies , the Mefentery , the Cawl, the Spleen , 
 or fome other Part neceffary towards the 
 Animal Fun&ions; attending them, and fo a 
 real Diftemper immediately follows : of 
 which, the frf Degree I have mentioned 
 is the jirjl Step, this laft is the fecond: and 
 if not cured in either of thefe two, by the 
 Struggling and Efforts of Nature, joined with 
 Art \ the third State begins, which is gene- 
 rally fome mortal and incurable Diftemper, 
 fuch as Dropfy , Black Jaundice , Confump - 
 tion, Palfy, Epilepjy y or Apoplexy, &c. To 
 make which more plain, let us confider the 
 Tendency of Nature in its whole Progrefs, 
 with this View. 
 
Of the Spleen , Vapours , &c. 201 
 
 $ VII. When, by Food of ill Qualities, 
 or an immoderate Quantity of even whole- 
 lome Foody the Humours are vitiated, the 
 Structure of the Animal Machine is fuch, 
 that Nature {i. e. the Mechanijm of the Body ) 
 is prefently rouz’d to flruggle with all its 
 Might, to attenuate (or concod, as we com- 
 monly lay) the grofs and vitious Humours, 
 and fo bring them to an healthy State (/. e. 
 one agreeable to Nature) and drive out, by 
 the moft proper Outlets of the Body, what 
 cannot be reduc’d to that State. This Struggle 
 is the one only proper and real Difeafe of the 
 Body, arifing from the Habit (for I fay no- 
 thing of thofe from external Injuries) the 
 vaft Variety of particular Difeafes, Ipoken of 
 by Fhyficiansy being only fo many particular 
 or various lfjues of this general Struggle of 
 Nature. The State of the Fibres or Solids of 
 the Body in Strength and Firmnefs, at the 
 Beginning, is the Foundation of the grand 
 Divifion of Difeafes into acute and chronical: 
 But, Strength being a relative Thing, it is 
 impoffible to fettle precifely the Bounds of 
 thefe two Claffes. When the Conflid itfelf 
 is very hot , brisk and eager , we all agree to 
 call it a Fever ; W'hen it is flow and languid, 
 I know no receiv’d Name for it, but the 
 Name of Vapours , or Nervous Diforders , (a 
 Word us’d in a very indiftind Manner, being 
 aferib’d to all or each of the Appearances 
 
 \ that 
 
loz The Englifh Malady. 
 
 that arife in the Progrefs of this flower Con- 
 flict.) It were not amifs to reftrain the unde- 
 termin’d Meaning of this Word , to fignify all 
 the Diforders of Nature under the Conflict 
 of the Difeafe when the Solids are weak, as 
 the Name of Fever is appropriated to all the 
 Symptoms that appear during the Conflict, in 
 a ftrong State of the Solids. This fuppos’d, 
 jet us next confider the feveral Events of this 
 Confliti , which mull be either an intire, or a 
 partial Victory of Nature, or a partial or 
 total Prevalency of the Difeafe. The Events 
 are call’d Crifes, or Solutions of the Difeafe, 
 by Phyjicians. The jirfl Sort is Health , the 
 laft Death , the middle ones are call’d Dif- 
 eafes ; of which again there are many Divi- 
 flons very different from the two primary ones, 
 to wit, Vapours and a Fever. For ifl. it is 
 very common for Nature to get an intire 
 Conqueft over the Difeafe, in a few Days, 
 when the Solids are ftrong, that is, for the 
 Fever to end by a Critical Difcharge, fiich as 
 Sweating , a Diurfis , or Diarrhoea, and the 
 like; fo that there remains nothing but to 
 recruit the Solids weaken’d in the Struggle. 
 i idly . At other Times when the Fibres are 
 tolerably firm, tho’ Nature carries on the 
 Conflict with Vigour at firft, to make a quick 
 End, yet it is fometimes oblig’d to com- 
 pound with the Difeafe, by giving up a Pofl 
 which was not tenable, that is, to throw the 
 Difeafe upon feme particular Organ i and fo. 
 
Oflhs Spleen , Vapour 5, &c. 203 
 
 the terminates in a critical Ahfcejs y &c. 
 3^/j/. When the Solids are fo weak, that 
 Nature carries on the Struggle but faintly for 
 a long time, without tending to either of 
 thefe two mention’d Crifes , and the morbid 
 Matter, thro’ the Feeblenefs of the Conflict, 
 is never fufficiently broken and divided, or 
 fitted to be carried out of. the Habit, by 
 either of the two mention’d Ways, the Dif- 
 eafe ends in an univerfal Weaknels and 
 Feeblenefs of Nature, a general Cachexy y or 
 a continued bad State of the Juices and re- 
 lax’d Solids, if not in Death itfelf ; and this 
 gives Ground for the Diftin&ion between 
 Nervous and Acute Fevers. But laftly, if the 
 Solids are fo weak, and the Fluids fo bad, 
 that the Struggle is but very faint, imperfed, 
 or fcarce difcernable, at leaft compared with 
 the former, the firft Attempts and Beginnings 
 of this Struggle prgduce thofe Symptoms 
 which are properly call’d Vapours of the firft 
 Kind: And if proper Means or Remedies be 
 not uled in due Time, they may grow higher 
 and ftronger, with many additional Symptoms 
 of the fame Kind. 
 
 § VIII. From this Deduction, it is evident, 
 that Vapours are theory? Symptoms of a real 
 chronical Difeafe, which, if neglected, will 
 terminate in fpoiling fome of the great Bowels, 
 and fo in putting a Period to Animal Life. 
 Some may be born with fuch a Constitution ; 
 
 but 
 
204 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 but if by no Mifmanagement they increafe o r 
 exafpcrate thefe Symptoms , Nature may thus 
 go on to its common Period, as well as an 
 Animal may with a broken or wafted Limb : 
 But neglecting the Means, or fuelling the 
 Difeafe by a Mal-Regimen , it will certainly 
 terminate fooner or later in thofe real Dif- 
 tempers, which have Names and Determi- 
 nations, fuch as a Dropfy , Afthma , or Con - 
 fumption , and fo may be attended with the 
 Symptoms that thefe mortal Diftempers are 
 defcribed by, and at laft end in Death. So 
 that it is needlefs to enumerate the Symptoms 
 of this Stage, they being commonly known 
 and defcribed by the Phyficians , that treat of 
 fuch mortal Diftempers, for being irreme- 
 diable, as they are in this Stage ; they admit 
 of nothing but a palliative Cure, to make the 
 Symptoms eafy ; which how it is to be done, 
 I ftiall fhew in the next Chapter. 
 
 q H A V. 
 
Of the Cure of Vapours , See. 205 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Of the Cure of the Symptoms of Vapours 
 Hyflerical and Hypochondriacal < Dif- 
 orders. 
 
 § 1 . 'V'JTTHAT I have formerly faid 
 ^\f about the general Cure of 
 ▼ 1 Nervous Diftempers by a Re- 
 
 gimen of Diet , Exercife , and the three Clafles 
 of Medicines mentioned, is not only the 
 folid Foundation of a fubftantial and lafting 
 Cure, but is alfo the moil efFedual Means 
 for weakning the Symptoms, and making their 
 Intervals longer, and without which all the 
 other Attempts for that Purpofe will be in- 
 effectual, at leaft procure only temporary 
 Relief, fince thefe Symptoms will return more 
 frequently, and with greater Violence, as 
 the State of the Fluids and Solids grow 
 worfe, which they muft necelfarily do, under 
 a Negled of thefe Means, alone fufficient to 
 eftablifh a folid and perfed Cure. So that 
 they who would effedually relieve or lelfen 
 the Symptoms of Nervous Dilorders, have 
 
 nothing 
 
 1 
 
106 The Engliili Malady; 
 
 ' nothing more to do, but to accommodate 
 thefe general Diredions to particular Confti- 
 tutions and Circumftances. But becaufe, 
 while this general Cure is going forward, the 
 Symptoms may be fo dj'piriting and painful , 
 that Life becomes an ufelefs Burthen, it is 
 ablolutely necelTary by all means poflible, 
 to gain a Reprieve , from thefe Symptoms, if 
 not for a long Time, at leaf!. for as long a 
 Time as can be, to give Room for thefe uni- 
 Verfal Means to operate. 
 
 £ II. I know not in Nature a more uni- 
 Verfal and effedual Remedy for moft, if 
 not all the Symptoms of thefe Difordeis when 
 they rife to any high Degree, than gentle 
 Vomits fuitedtothe Strength and Conftitution 
 of the Patient, not only as they difcharge the 
 Choler , or Bile, and Phlegm from the Liver 
 and Alimentary Duffs, but as by their Succuf- 
 ftons and Adion, they open the Obftrudions 
 of that vaft Number of Glands fituated in the 
 inner Side of thefe Duds (which too are 
 either the Caufe of, or certainly attend moft 
 of the violent Nervous Symptoms) and pro- 
 mote the Circulation and Perfpiration. Thefe 
 Vomits', in weak Perfons, may be effeded by 
 a Decodion or Tea of Cnrdiius , Chamomile 
 Flowers , ILotfe Radifh, or any bitter or 
 acrid Plant, or by Ipecacuanha or its Tin- 
 dure alone ; but in the ftronger Conftitutions 
 nothing is to be depended on without join- 
 
Of the Cure of Vapours , See. 20 f 
 
 Ing fome Preparation of Antimony. I never 
 found either in my own Cafe, or my Pra&ice 
 on others, that I could fo quickly and effe- 
 ctually relieve either violent Paroxyfms of 
 'Nervous Diftempers, or the other finking 
 Symptoms attending them, as by fuch an 
 Evacuation ; and I have been always forc’d 
 to repeat it as often as thefe Symptoms re- 
 turn’d, till the Diftemper was quite overcome, 
 I have extremely reliev’d fome, and have 
 totally cured others by every Morning drink- 
 ing large Draughts of Chamomile Flower 
 Tea, to throw off the Flegm, and then 
 drinking Math Waters after the Stomach was 
 fettled, and purfuing a Regimen and Exer- 
 cife in the Day-time. Thole who are young 
 and ftrong, and to whom thefe Symptoms 
 are not become habitual, 1 and whole Confti- 
 tution is yet found, and not loaded with 
 grofs Humours, may fometimes get them off 
 at a leffer Expence, as by frequent Dofes of 
 Hiera Plena , TinBure of Rhubarb , the Ruffi 
 or the Stomach Pills, but chiefly the PiluU 
 Gummos cum Aloe-lota, in equal Quantities, 
 frequently, if not every Night, repeated, oras 
 Occafion requires. I have never found any 
 great Relief from Blitters, IlTues, or even 
 Bleeding itlelf, in this Cafe, uhlefs it was in 
 very full Habits, or when premis’d to a general 
 Courfe for the Cure, becaufe the Cachexy 
 was univerfal; much lefs is any thing to be 
 expefted from lying a-bed and fweating. 
 
 (a late 
 
208 The English Malady. 
 
 (a late celebrated Method in the Cure of 
 Vapours) which I have always found to relax 
 much more. 
 
 $ III. Restlessness, Inquietude of 
 Spirits, and Want of natural Sleep is one of 
 the moft troublefome and difpiriting Symp- 
 toms attending this Diftemper. When it is 
 extreme, nothing is to be done without Lau- 
 danum or Opiates , but thefe ought always to 
 be blended with fome fmall Proportion of 
 the Volatile and Aromatick Medicines, which 
 encreafe their benign, and poftibly may 
 hinder their deftru&ive Effe&s, if they have 
 any ; however Recourfe is never to be had 
 to them, but in extreme Cafes, and when 
 other Things will not do, becaule of their 
 deleterious Effefts on the Solids, which very 
 poffibly they may relax more and more. 
 There are fome with whom doubtleffly 
 Opiates agree mueh better than others ; and 
 they are fuch, I think, whofe Solids are yet 
 pretty firm, and where the Fluids are moft 
 in Fault, or fome of the great Bowels only 
 weakened. There are others, to whom they 
 give a little dofing or dead Sleep, yet when 
 their Force is worn off, they leave a Lovonefs, 
 Difpiritednefs , and Anxiety , that even over- 
 balances the Relief or Quiet they bring ; and 
 they are thofe who are entirely Cache flick, 
 as well as fubjed to Nervous Diford ers, fuch 
 I fhould perfuade to ufe AJfa-foetida in Pills, 
 
 Morning 
 
 I 
 
Of the Cure of Vapours, See. 209 
 
 Morning and Night, or the Gum Pills of the 
 London or Edinburgh Difpenfatory (both 
 which are excellent Medicines for this Pur- 
 pole) they having often all the good Ef- 
 fe&s of Opium , without the bad ones* tho 5 
 both are but temporary Reliefs and not 
 Cures : and whofe Virtues will be worn out 
 by long Ufe, and therefore ought to be con- 
 tinued no longer than abfolute Neceffity re- 
 quires, and not repeated upon too flight 
 Occalions, for both Opiates and Volatiles or 
 Fcetids are of the Nature of Drams and Cor- 
 dials^ ; and Exercife will procure Sleep better 
 than either of thefe Medicines, no Opiate 
 being like that of the Day-Labourers . 
 
 $ III. Meer Lownefs and Difpiritednefs, 
 not attended with Sicknefs or Pain, arifea 
 from the Want of a brisk Circulation and 
 Perfpiration. Thefe will always be pro- 
 moted by volatile Spirits , an Aromatick Cor- 
 dial , and generous Wines, or any thing that 
 will Jlimulate, route, and jpur the dead and 
 languilhing Solids, to pulh forwards the 
 iluggilh Circulation and PerJ prat ion < but 
 the Force of thefe Remedies, like all other 
 Helps and Reliefs of this Nature, is loon 
 ipent and worn out ; and they will often 
 leave the fame Effe&s with Opiates , the Na- 
 ture of which they partake : and therefore, 
 nothing is to be expe&ed from them* but as a 
 prefent Relief in Extremities, nor a.re they to 
 
 P be 
 
210 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 be ufed but then only. The moft folid and 
 lafting Relief I ever found, for Lownefs 
 of Spirits, comes from the aftringent Glafs of 
 Medicines, Steel, Bark, Japan Earth , &c. 
 with Mineral and Chalyheat Waters, the Bath 
 efpecially, in the temperate and cold Sealons, 
 and the cold Steel Waters, as Spaw, Pyrmont , 
 or Tunbridge, in the hot Weather ; but 
 where none of thefe Waters can be had, 
 from the NeceiTity of the Patient’s Circum- 
 ftances, Steel Ritfl with the Extradl or Pow- 
 der of the Quinquina, Qulvis ad Guttetam , 
 &c. joined with Aromaticks, fuch as the 
 Species Diambrce , and wafh’d down with an 
 agreeable Bitter, fitted to the Patient’s 
 Strength and Conftitution : Elixir of Vitriol, 
 or Tinblure of Steel, with Elixir Proprietatis 
 in common Water ; thefe will in a great 
 meafure flip ply the Want of Mineral Waters , 
 and give a due Reprieve , to carry on the Cure, 
 which is only to be attained by the general 
 Methods already defcribed, without which 
 nothing effe&ual is to be done, nor the Re- 
 turn of thefe Diforders prevented; and in- 
 deed the Paroxyfms of this Diftemper, when 
 deep rooted, are fo many or fo frequent, and 
 the general Methods require fo long Time, 
 that all thefe Medicines, and Mineral Waters 
 alfo, will be wanted in their Turns. 
 
 $ IV. One of the moft difpiriting Symp- 
 toms of this Diftemper, and one of the moft 
 
Of the Cure of Vapours , See. 21 ! 
 
 certain Signs of it, is a frequent Difeharge 
 of thin, limpid, pale Water, by Urine : 
 which, when in great Quantities, and fre- 
 quently difcharged ? does fo fink and difpirit 
 the poor Patient, that Life is infupportablej 
 at leaft, if he is not otherwife ftrong and 
 hearty. Some, to explain this Appearance, 
 have run into I don’t know what Fitfion of the 
 Blood, and Relaxation of the Glands of the 
 Kidneys . But having now done with fheory , 
 I fhall fay nothing dire&ly to confute this 
 abfurd Hypothecs , it being) I think, pretty 
 evident, and confirmed by many Experi- 
 ments, efpecially thofe of Santtorius and 
 Dr. Keily that it is principally owing to a 
 partial or total Obftru&ion of the Perfpi - 
 ration , which is fo common in this Cafe, 
 from the Weaknefs of the Nerves and Solids : 
 and that confequently nothing elfe can polli- 
 bly cure its returning Fits, or remove it, 
 but what makes the Perforation good : and 
 accordingly this Symptom is always relieved 
 by thofe of the warm , cordial , and diapho- 
 retick Kind, fuch as Gaf coign Powder , Spe- 
 cies Diambrce , Aromaticum Cariophyllatum 7 
 Confetlio Alkermes , DiaJ cordium, Venice- 
 
 freacle , Sir Walter Raleigh’s Cordial , and 
 the like, or by a Combination of thefe, with 
 Volatiles and foetid Gums y and appropriated 
 ‘Juleps j thefe Medicines however ought not to 
 be given, fo as to raife an a&ual Diaphorefs 
 or Sweating, for that will be to carry on the 
 
 P a Expence, 
 
2 1 z The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Expence, Lownefs, and Sinking by other 
 Conduits : but only to procure a little 
 Breathing or freer Perforation , and to di- 
 vide the Evacuation more equally through the 
 whole Habit. 
 
 § V. A s to the S fitting or Salivation , fo 
 common in Nervous Diffcempers (efpecially 
 of a Scorbutick Origin, as is commonly faid) 
 and cold Difeafes, tho’ it generally arifes 
 from the fame Caufes, and may be relieved 
 by the fame Medicines, as the Symptom laft 
 mentioned, yet fince it is generally a critical 
 Difcharge, or follows fome Excefs in the 
 Diet or Nourifhment, it ought never to be 
 flopped at firft by aftringent or warm Medi- 
 cines, no more than a critical Diarrhoea , but 
 ought rather to be promoted and encouraged 
 by fome gentle Majlicatory (l'uch as Mafick , 
 Pellitory , Tobacco , or the like) as the patient 
 can bear it, or has been accuftomed. If it 
 is exceeding plentiful, with Sicknefs, Reach- 
 ing, and Head-aches, nothing will carry it 
 off fo effectually as a gentle Vomit , both as 
 this will promote the Difcharge, and quicken 
 the Circulation and Perforation : or by 
 
 gentle Stomach Purges, that may be fre- 
 quently repeated, fuch as Rhubarb , the Sto- 
 mach Pills , and the like. And thus after 
 this Difcharge has been fufficiently carried 
 off, the Solids may be flrengthened with 
 Afh'ingents, Bitters, or an Infufion of the 
 
 Barky 
 
Of the Cure of Vapours , See. 21 $ 
 
 Bark , with Aromaticks , efpeciaily if made on 
 Lime Water ; and after that, a Courfe of 
 Chalybeats and Aromaticks y fuch as I have 
 mentioned in the former Seclion, with Mine- 
 ral Waters of one Kind or another. 
 
 YI. There are fome other Symptoms 
 exceedingly troublefome in Vapour s y or Ner- 
 vous Diftempers, to wit, Cheating and Gulp - 
 ing y the Symptomatic! Afthma y Swelling of the 
 Throat and Stomach y Inflation of the Bozvels 
 with Rumbling and Noife. The Toung are 
 not fo much troubled with thefe Symptoms 
 as the Old and Declining, but they all pro- 
 ceed from one Caufe, to wit, the Weaknefs 
 and Obftru&ion of the Perfpiration from the 
 Imperfection of the Digefions y whereby the 
 infenfible Steams and Vapours, which ought 
 to pafs through the Skin freely, are thrown, 
 back into the Cavities of the Body • and 
 where high and ftrong Foods are ufed, thefe 
 Steams acquire fueh an Acrimony and Stimu- 
 lation as to produce feveral other more vio- 
 lent Symptoms. The Cure of thefe is the 
 fame with that of the already mentioned 
 Symptoms, to wit, gentle and repeated Vo- 
 mits and Stomach Purges , efpeciaily of the 
 Aloetick Kind (which in Nervous Cafes are by 
 far preferable to all other Purgatives, becaufe 
 of their aclive aftringent Bitter) Aromaticks , 
 Bitters , warm cordial Medicines, Aftringent s, 
 and whatever elfe will carry off the offend- 
 
 P 3 ing 
 
214 *The Englifli Malady. 
 
 ing Matter, forward the Perfpiration, and 
 flrengthen the Digefion and Solids , 
 
 VII. There is a tranfient Spice of Fa- 
 pours, which very commonly feizes even 
 young and temperate Perfons, otherwife 
 ftrong and healthy, of pretty found Juices 
 and firm Solids, which affeSls with a Difguft 
 of every thing that ufed to pleafe or amufe 
 them, a certain Tedioufnefs of Life , a Low- 
 vefs of Spirits , Reftkffnefs , Heavynefs , and 
 Anxiety , 'an Aversion to Exercife , either of 
 the Mind or Body, and fometimes with a 
 violent Hcad-ach , and Dimnefs of Sight, 
 which Symptoms, as they will come on un- 
 accountably, without any imaginable or dis- 
 coverable Caufe, fo they will go off as un- 
 accountably, in fbme fhort Time, without 
 any Medicine or Means ufed for their Cure : 
 tho’ in Strictnels of Reafoning, they have a 
 real material Caufe, either from Catching of 
 Cold, and thereby flopping the Perfpiration 
 fuddenly, from the Moifture of the Weather, 
 relaxing the Solids, or from fome Intem- 
 perance or Excefs that they had not heeded, 
 and were not aware of, or from taking fome 
 Food too hard for their digeftive Powers. 
 The common and ordinary Way of treating 
 fuch tranfitory Symptoms , is, the eating next 
 Meal fome fait, favoury, and relifhing Deli- 
 cacy, and drinking a good large Dofe of fome 
 fcarce, a&ive, generous, and fpirituous Li- 
 
 quor 3 
 
Of the Cure of Vapours , &c. 215 
 
 quor, that may briskly roufe and ftirnulate 
 the fluggilh and unadive Solids, and rarefy, 
 warm, and enliven the heavy and dull 
 Fluids (or, as the Expredion is, to give 
 Nature a Fillip ) to quicken the Circulation, 
 forward the Perforation, and carry on all 
 the necelTary Secretions in their due Degree 
 and Order. The Fad and Experiment is 
 undeniable, (and has been too often tried 
 and repeated, to admit of a Doubt) and 
 I think the Reafon of the Succefs is pretty 
 plain from what has been faid, and, I am 
 afraid, has given Occalion to fome un- 
 phihfophical and unexperienced Perfons to 
 advife it as a certain and never-failing 
 Remedy, even in more frequent, deeper, and 
 more habitual Symptoms of thefe Diforders : 
 and I fear has been the Caufe of the com- 
 mon Advice to Perfons of weak Nerves and 
 low Spirits, to drink a Bottle heartily every 
 Day , to take frequent Drams , or a Bowl of 
 Punch , and to the Ufe of fait Sturgeon , red 
 Herring , Anchovies , pickled Oyfters , Salmon- 
 gundy^ Ham , pickled and potted Foods of all 
 Kinds, for a Provocative . All I fhall fa v on this 
 Head, is, to caution People not to ufe this 
 Cure too frequently, or to exped any great 
 Feats from it, when fuch Symptoms grow 
 ftronger, more frequent, or more deeply- 
 rooted in the Conftitution, or towards the 
 Decline of Life ; for tho’ it may give a fhort 
 temporary Relief, and lalh the fluggilh and 
 
 P 4 reify 
 
2 i 6 The Englifh Malady,' 
 
 refty Solids to perform their Functions for a 
 fhort Time, yet it will infallibly aggravate 
 and increafe their future Symptoms , and at 
 laft render them dangerous and incurable. 
 The much fafer, and even more infallible, 
 tho’ perhaps, lefs quick Remedy, would 
 be to take fome gentle Stomach Purge, that 
 might not interrupt Bufinefs, and, the next 
 Night, fome eafy Diaphoretick, a lighter 
 Diet than ordinary, for a few Days, or ufe 
 a greater Degree of Exercife, by a Journey, 
 Hunting, and the like. 
 
 $ VIII. These are the mofl material, moil 
 troublefbme, and opprefling Symptoms of 
 Vapours. Others lefs material may be re- 
 duc’d to thefe mention’d, or are fom£ Ap- 
 pendages of them ; or, if omitted here, per- 
 haps may be taken Notice of in treating of 
 the higher Degrees of Nervous Diforders, 
 or may be entirely negledted as infignificant. 
 1 have fuggefted nothing in treating thefe, but 
 the common and well known Medicines, not 
 only becaufe by long Experience, I have found 
 them the moft effedual, but even becaufe 
 they are common, and univerfally known 
 and approved. For it is in Medicines as in 
 Food (Medicines being only a more rare and 
 lefs natural Kind of Food) that which is 
 common to the middling Sort of every Coun- 
 try, and which has the Approbation of the 
 Generality of the Inhabitants, and is fuited 
 
 to, 
 
Of Convul/ive ‘Diforders, &c. 217 
 
 to the Conftitution of the Community, is 
 generally the moft beneficial ; lince it is the 
 Experience and Obfervation of the Gene- 
 rality that makes them common : and fpe- 
 cial or particular Things, or Rarities, are 
 juftly to be fuipe&ed. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Of the Nervous Tliforders of the Con - 
 vuljive Tribe , particularly of Hyf- 
 terical and Hypochondriacal Fits , 
 and thofe other Faroxyfms that at- 
 tend Nervous F) if orders. 
 
 § I. A S moft of thofe Diforders which 
 are commonly called Nervous , 
 X .L Hyferical, or Hypochondriacal 9 
 are attended with fome Convulfwe Motions, 
 Fits, or (Paroxyfms, efpecially when they 
 arrive to their higher and more eminent 
 Degrees, and to the fecond Stage of Vapours , 
 which I have denominated or diftinguifhed 
 by thefe Symptoms chiefly: I fhall here 
 treat of thefe Diforders in general, fhewin'g 
 
 the 
 
2 i 8 Tloe Englifli Malady, 
 
 the Nature of all Convulfions , but particu- 
 larly thofe incident to fuch Conftitutions, and 
 attending thefe Diftempers that I am princi- 
 pally treating of, and laying down the pro- 
 per and peculiar Method of Cure, for each 
 Kind or Degree. 
 
 J II. It is well known, that whatever 
 will prick, wound, tear, or violently ftimu- 
 late the Solids, will thereby produce Spafms , 
 Convulfjons, and violent Contractions, fir ft 
 and chiefly in the Part affe&ed : which, by 
 Confent, and the Mechanifm of the Parts, 
 may be communicated further and further 
 over the whole Machine ; and, when vehe- 
 ment and continu’d, may be propagated 
 through all the Limbs , Mufcles , Tendons and 
 Membranes of the Body, and this where-ever 
 the Wound, or whatever Part of the Solids 
 the PunCture or Stimulation happens to be 
 made in ; but moft readily where there is 
 the greateft Collection of Nerves. This is 
 evident from the Effects of a Fall, a Blow, a ' 
 Bruife, the PunCture of a Lancet , a Thorn , a 
 Pi;;, a Nail , or any other wounding Inftru- 
 ment, or from lharp and corroding Steams, 
 Humours, or Matter (which are as it were a 
 Collection of fmall Pins, Needles, Lancets, 
 &c.) upon any of the more fenfible Solids. I 
 have before fhew’d, that there is in all Ani- 
 mal Fibres an innate Power of Contraction, 
 or an original Mechanifm of Elafticity or 
 
Of Convuljive ‘Diforders, See. 219 
 
 Spring, by which they exert a natural 
 Power of Contra&ion, however they are fti- 
 mnlated or folicited thereto, whether by the 
 Command of the Will, (beginning the Mo- 
 tion by an inexplicable Effort) or felf-motive 
 Power : or by the A&ion of fome material 
 appropriated Agent on them, and this in 
 every Mufcular as well as Nervous Fibre of 
 the Body. I have feen a jijhilous Tube, of a 
 very confiderable Length, holding fome 
 Quarts of Fus or Matter , opening only to- 
 wards the Middle of the Back, and palling 
 down from thence between the Interlaces of 
 the Mufcles, to the Thigh ; which when the 
 Matter contain’d in it, was arriv’d to its full 
 Degree of Quantity and Acrimony, fo as to 
 produce a Symptomatick Fever ; the Solids 
 of the whole Machine, but particularly thofe 
 near the jiftulous Canal, were flimulated and 
 put in Action, fo that it threw out that vail 
 Quantity of its Contents, upwards and againll 
 the Force of their own Gravity \ tho’ fuch a 
 Canal was not made naturally, or with the 
 greateft Advantage for fuch an Adion : From 
 whence it is evident, that every Point and 
 Particle of the Solids is elajlick, and ads for the 
 Relief of the Whole. 
 
 § III. T his being premifed, it is evident, 
 that any acrid, fharp, or corroding Juice, 
 Vapour, or Steam that will ftimulate and 
 ygllicate the Fibres where-eyer placed, may 
 
 occafion 
 
220 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 occafion Convulfions, Spafms , Gripes or Pains 
 on that Part firft and chiefly, and may be 
 communicated (according to its Force and 
 Strength) by Contact and Confent, to all 
 the adjacent Parts, and even thro’ the whole 
 Habit, continuing till the offending Matter 
 is by fuch violent A&ion or Motion worked 
 off, or removed : in the fame Manner as the 
 Foetus, by its Motion or PrefTure, raifes 
 thofe throws and Convulfions in the Mother, 
 that bring it into the World; or as the Stone 
 or Gravel, ftimulating the Kidnies or Ureters , 
 raifes thofe Vomitings and Reachings that 
 promote its Exclufion. Thus Choler , Wind, , 
 Jharp and porracious Juices, occafion thofe 
 Fits and Convulfions in the Bowels (like Ver- 
 juice . , Vitriol, or Poifon fwallow’d down) 
 being the Struggle of Nature to throw them 
 out, which are commonly call’d Hyjierick 
 Fits ; and thus any irritating , acrid, or Jbarp 
 Humour or Steam, according to the Place 
 wherein they are lodged, or the Senfibility of 
 the Part affected, occafions all the various and 
 different Degrees or Kinds of * Convulfions 
 that are common in Nervous Difbrders. 
 
 $ IV. A s to Childrens Convulfions, if they 
 proceed from the (hooting the Teeth, whereby 
 the Gums and their Membranes are diftended ,. 
 
 Vide Boneti Sepulchret. Anatomii Lib, I. Sett, 12, 13. 
 
 torn, 
 
Of Convuljive < DtforderSj &c. 221 
 
 torn, and lacerated, they are eafily cured by 
 Incijion ; but if they arife from lharp Juices 
 in the Stomach or Bowels (as they moll 
 commonly do) and the Child is about the 
 lirft Year of its Age, they may be cur'd by 
 a Blijter between the Shoulders; gentle Rhu- 
 barb Purges, frequently repeated ; and the 
 Tejlaceous Powders taken two or three times 
 a day in a little black Cherry Water or Breall 
 Milk, but elpecially by Cinnabar in Pow- 
 ders, with the tejiaceous Powders and Rhu- 
 barb interchangeably : Sometimes a few 
 
 Drops of Sprit of Hartjhorn , or Goddards 
 Drop , taken two or three times a Day in 
 common Water, if the Conftitution, Juices, 
 and Solids are pretty found, will do the 
 Bufinefs. But if their Fits be ftronger, and 
 they further advanc’d in Life, they mull be 
 overcome, by gentle Vomits fitted to their 
 Age and Strength. Cinnabar of Antimony , 
 with the Pulvis ad Guttetam , and thefe Rhu- 
 barb Purges, interchangeably us’d, as has 
 been faid. But it is to be obferv’d during 
 the whole Courfe, that if the Child is on 
 the Breaft, it ought to be fed with nothing 
 but its Nurfe’ s Milky or, if wean’d, with 
 nothing but thin Pay, at leaft till it has 
 gone over its Teething ; and, to give a due 
 Force and Strength afterwards, the Fhiin- 
 quina ought to be us’d either in Extract or 
 Decoction , elpecially after it has acquir’d 
 feme Years, This Method will not only 
 
 cure 
 
Ill The Englifli Malady.' 
 
 care their Fits , but their Rickets likewifej 
 both proceeding from the fame Caufe, to wit, 
 acrid Humours lodged in the Stomach or 
 Bowels, or fome other Part of the Body, and 
 a Relaxation of the Solids. 
 
 £ V. If fuch Convulsions happen to the 
 younger Part of the Sex about a certain 
 Time of their Lives (as they often do) then 
 they generally proceed from fome Diforder 
 in that great Affair, which ought, if pof- 
 fible, to be fet to Rights. But fince, before 
 that can be anyways executed, there gene- 
 rally happens a great Quantity of Choler , 
 either generated through the Defect of that 
 Evacuation, or in whatever other Manner : 
 or from whatever Caufe : this is by all poft- 
 fible Means to be fir ft remov’d ^ which is only 
 or moft readily and effedually to be per- 
 formed, by frequent Vomits fitted to the 
 Strength of the Patient, and of the Difeafe. 
 While that is doing, the volatile adive Gums, 
 with the volatile alcaline Salts , are to be com- 
 bin’d with Cinnabar of Antimony in fome 
 Form or other. This Method is to be car- 
 ried on till the Fits are weakened, the Quan- 
 tity of the Bile leffen’d, and the primce Vice 
 pretty clear ; and then, and not till then, 
 will proper Emmenagogues , with Steel, Cha- 
 lybeat Mineral Waters , Bitters , and Aroma- 
 ticks take Place. In the Fits themfelves 
 there is little to be done but by Volatiles 
 
 and 
 
Of Convuljive Diforders, Sec. 22 3 
 
 and Opiates , in appropriated Juleps to leffen 
 their Violence, and to quiet their Spafms ; 
 but by a Heady Continuance in this Method, 
 and a proper Regimen of Diet , I fcarce ever 
 favv the Patient mifearry. 
 
 § VI. As to the Fits of grown Perfons, 
 Hyjlerical or Hypochondriacal , though they 
 proceed generally from the general Caufes 
 mention’d, and are to be treated much after 
 the fame Manner, yet they are infinitely 
 more obftinate and difficult to be remov’d : 
 the Habit of Body being more deprav’d, and 
 theDifeafes more rooted and confirm’d, thro’ 
 a long Train of Mifmanagement , and Negled: 
 of the Means by which Health is to be pre- 
 fer v’d ; and in the higher Degrees of thefe, 
 there are commonly fome one or other of the 
 great Bowels (as the Liver and its Appendages, 
 the Me Renter y , the Cawf the Spleen or the 
 Stomach ) if not quite fpoil’d, yet much 
 weaken’d and obftru&ed, and all the Glands 
 Huff’d and render’d ufelefs. To leffen the 
 Violence of the Fits , at leaft in the firft In- 
 ftance, all the great Evacuations are to be 
 attempted, efpecially Bleeding , Vomiting , 
 Bliflersy Glyjlers, and the like; and then 
 the Spafms and Convulsions are to be quieted 
 by Opiates , with warm and volatile Medicines 
 and Foetid Gums , according to the Strength of 
 the Patient and the Neceffity of the Difeafe. 
 If thefe Evacuations cannot be conveniently 
 
 made 4 
 
2 24 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 made, or do not loon enough take Effect, 
 there is nothing elfe to be done under the 
 Fits, but by thele mention’d Opiates , with 
 the volatile Gums and Salts, Pulvis ad Gut- 
 tetam , Aromaticks and Ale aline Spirits in 
 proper Juleps , till a convenient Interval be 
 obtain’d, or the Violence of the Convulfons 
 ceafes, and then rouzing Vomits are to be 
 thrown down, and after that iharp Glyjlers 
 (with Rmetick Wine, and volatile Spirits in 
 them, which will check their further Return 
 for fome time.) This Method is to be re- 
 peated as often as thefe Paroxyfms return. 
 During the Intervals Cinnabarine Medicines, or 
 Alt hi ops Mineral, the Mercurius Dulcis , or 
 Alcaljatus, with the volatile Gums and Salts, 
 are to be taken once or twice a Day, with Cha- 
 lybeat Waters, and Atomatick Bitters, and at 
 Night the Gum Pills compounded with the 
 volatile Salts, the general Method already laid 
 down, being at the fame time regularly pur- 
 fued. Which Method and Medicines, if duly 
 continu’d for a fufficient Time, cannot fail of 
 Succefs, if any thing will fucceed, and the 
 Patient not too far advanc’d in Life, or fome 
 of the great Organs are not quite fpoiled. But 
 in my judgment and Obfervation, the greateft 
 Strels is to be laid (efpecially in grofs Habits, 
 or Symptoms produced even by relative 
 Intemperance only) in the Medicinal Way 
 upon Vomits often repeated, Quinquina Bit- 
 ters, Jloetick Purges , and Mineral or Cha- 
 
 w 
 
Of Convulji've Di [orders , &c. 22 ^ 
 
 lybeat Waters ; which not fucceeding, little 
 is to be expected from Art , the other lefs 
 effectual Methods being tod weak for fuch 
 Cafes and Conftitutions, and therefore they 
 muft be entirely left to F alliative Re- 
 
 medies of warm Opiates , fuch as Venice f reach , 
 the Fhilonium Romamim , with high and 
 ftrong Cordial Juleps and Volatiles , fuch as I 
 have already mention’d. Thofe who are of 
 thinner Habits, and whofe Bowels therefore 
 are not probably fo much fluff’ d and objl ru- 
 bied, will have a fairer Chance, and be 
 reftored with gentler Evacuations, fmaller 
 Dofes of Opiates , volatile , or cordial Medi- 
 cines, and more eafily recover’d by Diet, 
 Air, Exercife , Cloalybeat and Mineral Waters, 
 with Aromatick and Quinquina Bitters, and 
 thofe other Things I have fo often men- 
 tioned. 
 
 § VII. As to the Fits attending other 
 Nervous Diforders, as the Apoplexy , Epikpjy, 
 and the like, that Part of them which is con- 
 vulfive, depending entirely on the primary 
 Diftemper, being the Struggle of Nature to 
 throw off the peccant Caufe, if it were pof- 
 fible to feparate them, they were to be treated 
 in the fame Manner, and by the fame 
 Medicines: But intending to fay fomething 
 of them in particular, I fhall here pals them 
 by, and only add, that the feveral Forms, 
 Dofes, and other Circumftances in ufing thefe 
 
 Mcdt- 
 
2 2 6 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 Medicines, I have already mentioned in the 
 proper Cales, requires the Attention of the 
 wifeft and raoft experienced Phyfician, to 
 whom thefe Means and Medicines may be 
 familiar, and are never to be trufted to any 
 one not duly and regularly inftru&ed and 
 educated in thefe Matters, much lefs to the 
 Patient himfelf, who, let his Knowledge and 
 even Experience be ever fo great, yet under 
 them, he is not capable to judge for him- 
 felf, and therefore there will be no Occafion 
 for being more particular and circumftan- 
 tial. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Of Nervous Fevers , ChoJicks, Gouts , 
 AfihmaSy Rheumatifms , and other 
 T)ijtempers denominated Nervous . 
 
 AYING, I hope, folidly and 
 juftly eftablifhed the Caufes 
 and Principles, on which the 
 Differences between Nervous and humorous 
 or inflammatory Diforders (as they are 
 called) are founded, it will be no difficult 
 Matter to apply this general Dodrine to par- 
 ticular 
 
Of Nervous Fevers, See. nf 
 
 iicular Diftempers, to fhew wherein their 
 true and effential Nature and Difference con- 
 fifts, and thereby the Solid Intention to be 
 followed in their particular Cure. For the 
 only real Difference lies in the Firmnefs or 
 Laxity of the Solids ; to wit, that thefe Dif- 
 tempers are or ought to be called Nervous 
 only, when they are attended with a loofe 
 and relaxed State of the Fibres , which is 
 chiefly manifefted by fome few or more of 
 thofe Symptoms I have affigned to Spleen 
 and Vapours. And on the contrary, that 
 they are or ought to be deemed humorous, 
 hot, or inflammatory, when the Solids are 
 as yet tenfe and firm, the Symptoms high, 
 and the State of the Blood inflammatory ; 
 for tho’ in both Cafes, the great differential 
 Marks of the Diftemper will appear, yet the 
 Symptoms will be higher and more acute, or 
 weaker and flower, and will be attended 
 with fome other Appearances, confequent 
 upon the Strength or Weaknefs of the Con- 
 ftitution , tho’ in both of them, the fame Ma- 
 terials fhould be thrown in, to produce the 
 Difeafe, which (hews the true Foundation of 
 the Diftinction between the StriFtum and 
 Laxum , or the ftrait and loofe of the an- 
 tient Methodijls , and between the hot and 
 cold Difeafes among the Moderns. 
 
 § II. According to this Plan or Idea, it 
 will be eafy to determine the Nature and 
 
 Q_ 2 ’ Confti- 
 
12 8 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 Conftitution of a Nervous (or, as it is fome- 
 times called, Malignant) Fever ; it generally 
 attacking thofe of originally or occasionally 
 weak Solids or Conftitutions, who have for- 
 merly had fome of the Symptoms and Marks 
 which I have affigned, in a former Chapter , 
 to belong to weak Nerves or Fibres : The 
 
 Symptoms of fuch a Fever are thefe follow- 
 ing •, the Rigour and Chlllinefs , tho’ not fo 
 ffrong or violent at fir If, yet is longer, more 
 flow and imperceptible ; the Burning Heat 
 afterwards is not fo intenfe, nor the Head - 
 ach and Sicknefs lb great y nor with fuch 
 frequent Vomitings , but rather a continued 
 Sickifhnefs ; the FulJ'e is neither fo quick, 
 ffcrong, or full, as in the inflammatory Kinds, 
 but fmall, oppreffed, and fomctimes inter- 
 rupted ; the Sleep refembles a Letharglck 
 Dofing or Dreaming, with Startings ; the 
 Water fometimes crude, commonly limpid , 
 pale, and in great Quantify, without any 
 great Sediment at krft ; In fhort, the Fever 
 rather creeps in, than attacks or furprizes, 
 and the whole Duration of the Exordium or 
 firft Stage, is more flow and tedious, than 
 in acute, inflammatory, or depuratory Fevers, 
 infomuch that it K fometimes fix, feven, or 
 perhaps nine Days before it comes to its 
 State , by which any one may judge of the 
 Duration of the whole (for the fooner a 
 Fever comes to its State, the fhorter is its 
 Duration) and of its Danger, which is always 
 
 greater 
 
Of Nervous Fevers, See. 229 
 
 greater from its Nature, and alfo becaufe it 
 is long before Affiftance is called, or Means 
 ufed, or the latent Enemy difeovered ; In its 
 State (efpecially the middle Time of that) 
 the Head is ftupid, confufed, and incapable, 
 rather than delirious ; the 'Tongue is feldorn 
 black , till towards the very End of the 
 Fever , at leaft, ' not parched , but covered 
 with a thick, white, or brownifh Cruft, and 
 generally moift ; the Thirfi is fo far from 
 being intenfe, that Drink is fcarce called for, 
 or fwallowed with Ardour ; the Breathing 
 difficult, with Glutting , Gulping , or Choak - 
 ing ; the Bulfe, tho’ quick, yet fmall and 
 threedy ; the Water now fometimes limpid 
 and much, fometimes broken and in fmall 
 Quantities, by turns, but never with a grofs 
 or full lateritious Sediment \ the Tendons 
 leaping and jumping : and Pulfations from 
 Flatulency, like what is vulgarly called the 
 Life-Blood , in feveral Parts of the Bhdy ; 
 and during this whole Period uncertain 
 Fits of Coldnefs and Rigour, with fucceed- 
 ing Glowings, and broken, coldiffi, faint 
 Sweats, and conftant Exacerbations towards 
 Night, or after Sun-fet ; the Belly , tho' 
 perhaps it might be open, and tending to- 
 wards a Diarrhoea at firft, becomes now 
 quite conftipate and tumified with Flatu- 
 lencies ; the Tip of the Nofe and the Ears 
 often cold with an Ichor , and fometimes an 
 Ulcer in thefe laft j a carelefs and unnatural 
 
 Q_ 3 i Pofture 
 
The Englifh Malady. 
 
 Pofture of the Body, with fimple childifh 
 Gefticulations ; and, by Turns, a lethargick 
 Dofing, or watching Coma, with haring 
 Eyes, or their White turn’d outwards. 
 This State, continues, or grows worfe, from 
 the j fifteenth to the twentieth , or thirtieth , 
 or fometinies the fortieth Day, if they live 
 fo long (as generally the Time of the CriJ'e 
 of all Fevers is as long as the Exordium , and 
 the Duration of the State, is equal to that of 
 both firft and laft Periods together). Towards 
 the End of this Fever , they either fleep, as it 
 were, into the Arms of Death, or if a Crife 
 happens, it is either into a meer Languor 
 and Infertility, a confirmed Cachexy, with 
 deep JSferveus Symptoms, or fettled Melan- 
 choly, a Palfy , fome mortified Limb, a vio- 
 lent lafting Diarrhoea ; and fometimes thofe 
 of the more benign Kinds terminate in Inter- 
 mittents. This Fever (which always arifes 
 from a Cachexy and great Obftru&ions, as 
 well as weak Solids, and which enters, 
 in fome Degree, into our Malignant Fevers 
 of all Kinds) has infinite Degrees and Va- 
 riety, according to the original Strength of 
 the Fibres , or the Time of the Patient’s Life, 
 but thofe I have defcribed are the moft com- 
 mon, and perhaps the worft Symptoms, as 
 any one who has feen and obferved them 
 mult know. 
 
 § III. From this Defcription of tfe 
 Difeafe, and what J haye already faid about 
 
 the 
 
Of Nervous Fevers, &c. 231 
 
 the Symptoms of Vapours , it is pretty evi- 
 dent, what will be the principal Intention , 
 and the beft manner of treating it, viz. the 
 Grinding, Breaking, and Diffolving the Co- 
 hefion, Vifcidity, and Sharpnefs of the 
 Fluids, and throwing them off by the fafeft 
 and moffc patent Outlets. All the Eva- 
 cuations muft be gentle, except Vomiting , 
 which may be repeated freely thro’ all the 
 Stages ( if the Symptoms require, and 
 Strength permit, but efpecially in the Be- 
 ginning) and Blijlering , which necelfarily 
 mull be as extenlive and univerfal as poffible, 
 tho’ not violent, or all at once, but gradually 
 applying one or more Blifters on different 
 Parts, as the others dry up : As to Bleeding , 
 I think it ought to be done once, and but 
 cautioufly repeated, be the Blood ever fo 
 fizy and Rheumatick , becaufe the Veffels 
 muft be kept full, tho’ not turgid, in order 
 to preferve their Tenfion , for grinding or 
 concocting the Morbid Matter. The much 
 better Way is to endeavour by all the Means 
 poffible in Art , to thin and dilute, to re- 
 move the Obftru&ions, and to roufe the 
 weak and languiffiing Solids into a more 
 hearty Struggle, both by Diet and Medi- 
 cines, to conquer the Difeafe. This is to be 
 done by the Cinnabarin , Antimonial , and 
 Mineral Medicines chiefly, fuch as Antimony 
 Diaphoretic'll , Bezoar Mineral 7 Cinnabar , 
 and the like, joined with volatile and urinous 
 
 CL 4 $alts 3 
 
The Englidi Malady. 
 
 Salts, fuch as that of Hartjhorn , Amber , &c. 
 and thefe again compounded with gentle 
 Diapjooreticks , as Saffron, Contrayerva , Goa 
 Stone, Oriental Bezoar , Gafcolgn Powder, or 
 the warmer Compounds, as ConfeSlio Alker- 
 mes, Venice Treacle, Dlafcordlum without 
 Opium, Confetllo . Rawlelana , Elect uarlum ch 
 Safflfras, &c. wafti’d down with appropriated 
 juleps, and quickened with volatile Spirits, as 
 thofe of Hartjhorn, Sal-volatile , or Goddard’s 
 Drops, for here univerfally Liquid Forms 
 are to be preferred to Solid ones ; and thus 
 to try to overcome the Vifcidity of the Juices, 
 and to rouze the Sluggilhnefs of the Solids 
 to a. brisker Circulation and Struggle, for 
 which Purpofe the Diet, at leaft, the Li- 
 quids are allowed commonly a little ftronger 
 and higher than in injlammatory Fevers ; 
 tho’ I fhall ever be of Opinion, where there 
 is any Degree of quick Pulfe or preter- 
 natural Heat, Diluents and Coolers are 
 diredly indicated, whether in Fevers Inflam- 
 matory or nervous ; and Cordials and high 
 Food only as the Pulfe and Spirits fink too 
 low. I allow that if Art could always prompt , 
 whip, Jpar , and JHmulate the Animal Oeco- 
 nomy to grind the fizy Juices by a ftrong 
 and brisk Circulation, the Fever w r ould be 
 fhorter, and the Crife more complete, and 
 the diluting, cooling Method of Cure lefs ne- 
 ceffary : But as that is both uncertain and 
 imfafe, becaufe none alive can afcertain the 
 
Of Nervous Fevers, See . 233 
 
 precife Degree of Strength in the Patient, 
 nor of the Malignity in the Difeafe, and 
 that the Crife , (if attainable) under fuch a 
 Method, is almoft ever with the quite De= 
 ftru&ion of the whole Syfi.em of the Nerves , 
 the Brain, the Faculties , the Limbs , or the 
 whole rational Man : and therefore the cool 
 Method, tho’ tedious, yet is ever without 
 Danger, and the Recovery, when obtained 
 (which the cool Method will always obtain 
 at laft, if the Diftemper is not ftronger than 
 the Patient, as well in Acute as Chronical 
 Cafes) always complete, full, and pro- 
 ductive of flrong Health after. This is all 
 I need to fay of Nervous Fevers, as dif- 
 tinguifhed from hot and depuratory ones. 
 How to fetch up the Patient, if he re- 
 covers, to Health and Spirits, I have fhewn 
 already. 
 
 C IV. The Nervous Cholick, as aiftin- 
 guifhed from the Bilious , arifing chiefly in 
 fuch Conftitutions as I have deferibed, dif- 
 fers principally, if not only, from that, in 
 the Violence and Duration of its Paroxyfms , 
 and there being more of the Convulfive of 
 Spafmodick Kind in them : produced chiefly 
 by the fame Kind of acrid and Iharp Juices * 
 but as the Solids, in the firjl Cafe, are more 
 fenflble and irritable, a lefs Quantity of this 
 irritating Matter throws them into more vio- 
 lent Bumults and Convulsions, which lafts 
 
 fome- 
 
234 Englifti Malady. 
 
 fometimes two or three Days with violent 
 tortures, Reachings, and Vomitings , throw- 
 ing up every thing that is taken down, till 
 at laft the morbifick Matter being quite 
 fpent and eje&ed for this Time, Nature, 
 almoft overlaid and worn out, finks down 
 into a lethargick Doling, which leaves the 
 Patient quite feeble and difpirited. A Cold- 
 nefs upon the Extremities, Tawning , Anxiety , 
 a Naufea , and Sickilhnefs, are the Signs of 
 the Approach of this Kind of Cholick , and 
 fuch recover but llowly, and at firft their 
 Intervals are but Ihort. I generally fufpeft 
 that the Liver of fuch is beginning to be 
 faulty, bigger and larger than ordinary, or 
 obftructed : becaufe of the great Quantity of 
 Bile that is conftantly thrown off, and the 
 Jaundice , that always fucceeds it for fome 
 Days, which probably may have been occa- 
 fioned by a Mal-Regimen , or too great a 
 Quantity of high Food, at leaft, for fuch 
 Conftitutions : for it is well known, that 
 Cramming and Over-feeding with higher 
 than a natural Food, as I have faid, will 
 fvvell and increale the Livers of all Ani- 
 mals. 
 
 ^ V. The Cure of this Diftemper is al- 
 moft: intirely the fame with that mentioned 
 in a former Chapter of the Symptoms of 
 Vapours. If the Fits are not prevented by 
 frequent Vomits , proportioned to the Strength 
 
Of Nervous Fevers , See. 2^5 
 
 of the Patient, or gentle Stomach Purges to 
 throw off the peccant bilious Humour as 
 colleded, nothing can be done in the Fit, 
 but by repeated Dofes of Opiates , with pro- 
 per Cordials , as often as they are thrown 
 up, either in a folid or liquid Form : to Hop 
 and allay the Torture till the Fit is quite 
 fpent ; and a gentle Stomach Purge, (if the 
 Bowels can bear it without too much Irri- 
 tation) with a Dofe of Laudanum to quiet 
 them afterwards \ the Intervals are to be 
 filled up with Chalybeats , Mromaticks , Bit - 
 tersy Mineral Waters , a ftrid Regimen of 
 Diet, and much Exercife, or a total * Milk 
 Diet , which feldom fails to cure this Dif- 
 order, if the Patient is not too far gone in 
 Life, or fome of the great Vijcera fpoiled, 
 and irremediably ruined, in which Cafe, it 
 terminates in one of the incurable Diftemr 
 pers I have fo often mentioned. 
 
 $ VI. A s to Nervous Gouts , Rheuma - 
 tifms , and Jlflhma’s , they being generally 
 denominated thus from thofe Conftitutions I 
 have mentioned to be moft fubjed to Nervous 
 Diftempers, it were a needlefs Repetition to 
 fay any thing of thefe Difeafes ; in general, 
 they being to be met with in thofe Authors 
 that have treated profelfedly of them, and 
 
 f Vide Sydenham Dillert. Epift. de Affectione Hyfterica. 
 
 what 
 
2^6 The Englifli Malady, 
 
 what regards them fpecially as they are 
 Nervous , being eafily deduced from the ge- 
 neral Do&rine of Nervous Diftempers, and 
 what has been faid of the feveral Symptoms 
 in particular : only in Nervous Afthma’& with 
 Flegm, or perhaps, (as I have already infi- 
 nuated) in Humorous Aflhma’s, both of Per- 
 fons of firm and lax Solids, Liquid Quickfilver, 
 (or Belluji’ s Pills made with Gum Ammoniac ) 
 will be found a fovereign Remedy, if dis- 
 cretely managed, half an Ounce taken once 
 or twice a Day, with a thin, light, fluid Diet, 
 will do more than Ammoniacum alone, and all 
 the Clafs of the Volatile and Foetid Medicines, 
 to diffolve the Flegm, aflift Expectoration, 
 and to make the Expiration and Infpiration 
 eafy ; whether this be done by the Weight of 
 the Mercury in the Guts, opening all their 
 Glands and Valves , but efpecially by this 
 Clump of Weight, turning the Mouths of the 
 Latleals from circular to oval, and thereby 
 driving out all their thick jlegmy Doffils 
 that obftruCted them, whereby they becoming 
 pervious, the Steams and Particles of the 
 Quickfilver may pervade the whole Habit, 
 diffolve the Yifcidity, and fcour all the Vef- 
 fels. I fay, however this happens, the Faff 
 is undeniable, and agreeable to innumerable 
 Experiences, in the moft atrocious and ob- 
 llinate Cafes of this Complaint. All that 
 can be further fuggefled, without manifefl 
 Tautology , will be comprehended in thefe 
 
 t'WQ 
 
 3 
 
Of Nervous Fevers, &c. 237 
 
 two Particulars, fir ft ^ that in treating the 
 particular Diftenrpers of fuch, befides the 
 Medicines proper and peculiar to them, 
 which are commonly fuccefsful or ufual in 
 ftrong Conftitutions, thefe others are to be 
 combined with them now, which I have 
 fuggefted in the Cure of the Symptoms of 
 weak Nerves , or, at leaf!, they are to be 
 then ufed, when the Nervous Symptoms have 
 the Predominance. The other Thing is, 
 that the Dofes of the Medicines, and the 
 Regimen of the Diet , ought to be propor- 
 tioned to the Weaknefs of fuch Conftitutions. 
 The fame Things are to be underftood of all 
 other Diftempers, of whatever Denomination, 
 that are called Nervous. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
$1% The Englifli Malady.' 
 
 CHAP. XIL 
 
 Of the Talfy , St. Vitus s Dunce , and 
 other Taralytick Diforders . 
 
 § I. HERE is no Diforder inci- 
 
 dent to the Inhabitants of this 
 If llland and Climate more com- 
 mon, of late efpecially, than the Palfy , or 
 Paralytick Symptoms , nor of a more difficult 
 Cure, when they happen to People of ori- 
 ginal or acquired weak Nerves, or upon the 
 Decline of Life. A Cold, or being expofed 
 to a fharp freezing North-Eajl Wind, con- 
 tinuing long in an unnatural Pofture, fo as 
 to Hop fome great Blood Ydfels : hard and 
 exceffive Labour, a moift and damp Situation, 
 Antimonial or Mercurial external Steams, a 
 Blow or Contusion upon Bome Parts of the 
 Body, where there are t T greateft Collec- 
 tions of Nerves ; all theie, I fay, are fuffi- 
 cient Caufes to produce partial or temporary 
 Palfies : but thefe arifing chiefly from fome 
 Obftru&ion of the Blood VeflTels, where by 
 
 the 
 
 3 
 
Of tparalytick T)ij orders. 23 ^ 
 
 the Paflage of that Balfamick Liquor, necef- 
 iary to cheriih the Mufcles, is intercepted, 
 and the Nerves, hurt only by Accident, 
 yield generally to Bleeding, a&ive and pon- 
 derous Remedies of the Mineral Kind , to 
 break the coagulated Blood, and open Ob- 
 ftru&ions, joined with Aftringents, towards 
 the End of the Cure, fuch as the jjp uinquina, 
 Oak Bark, Mi/letoe, and the like ; Bliftering, 
 and warm, cauftic, outward Applications, 
 as Fomentations, with a Deco&ion of Muf- 
 tard Seed , Horje Radijh, Pellitory, Zedoary, 
 "Juniper Berries , &c. with an Addition of 
 camphorated Spitit of Wine, a&ive and pene- 
 trating Ointments and Epithemes , as the 
 Nervous Ointment , an Ointment made with 
 Horfe Radijh, the Opodeldoc, and the like, 
 or Friction with the Flefti- Brufh, and 
 anointing with Opodeldoc, diffolved in cam- 
 phorated Spirit of Wine after, or with the 
 other warm Oils, as thofe of Amber, Cloves, 
 Vitriol diluted, &c. and drinking the Bath 
 Waters, lathing in the fame, or pumping 
 on the Part affe&ed. Thefe Kinds, I fay, 
 are not the Pallies I intended principally to 
 treat of here^ fince they happen generally 
 to good found Conftitutions and firm Nerves , 
 and are thus eafily remedied. 
 
 § II. These I am principally concerned 
 about, are fuch as happen in the Decline of 
 Life , to Perfons of vitiated Juices and weak 
 
 Nerves, 
 
S4o T’he Englifli Maladt. 
 
 Nerves , where Nervous Diforders have 
 preceded, or in which Vapours commonly 
 terminate, who have fpoiled their Habits, at 
 ieaft, by relative Intemperance (which is 
 always to be underftood when I fpeak of 
 ExcefTes producing Difeafes) fuch P'alfies are 
 either a general Seizure of moft, if not all 
 the Maples and Nerves of the whole Ma- 
 chine, or of one half of the Body only, as 
 of the right or left Side, or of the upper 
 Part of the Body on one Side, with the 
 lower Part on the other Side, or laftly, of 
 fome particular Limb or Mufcle. There 
 is generally Reafon to conclude from 
 the Appearances, that befides a Laxity of 
 the Nerves , or a Defect in their innate 
 Power of Contraction and Toni cal Nature, 
 there are likewife ObftruCtions of the Capil- 
 lary Blood Yeffels, from fome Fault in the 
 Animal Juices, which, when rectified, cures 
 the Palp. This is manifeCt, from the Cure 
 of a great many inveterate Pallies, while the 
 Patient is ftrong, by Salivation or Mercurial 
 Medicines, and yet there is nothing more 
 evident, than that much Mercury os frequent 
 Salivations , in weak Conftitutions, will give 
 Paralytick Symptoms j witnefs the Tremor 
 Mercurialis , fo common in Perfons of weak 
 Nerves , under fuch an Operation, from 
 whence is further confirmed (what was 
 pretty manifeft before, from other Appear- 
 ances) that towards animal Motion, the In- 
 
Of Paralytick Diforders, &c. 241 
 
 flux of a found balfamick Blood, to moiften 
 and cherifh the flefhy Fibres, is as much 
 or more neceffary, even than the Integrity 
 and innate Adion of the Nerves , or animal 
 Spirits (if you pleafe). And as the Faulti- 
 nefs of both concurs towards producing all 
 nervous Diftempers, fo more efpecially to 
 thofe call’d Paralytick. There can be no 
 Difficulty to one, acquainted with Nature, 
 and the animal Oeconomy, why the fame Caufe, 
 Mercury , for Example, ffiould cure, and yet 
 caufe and produce in different Degrees and 
 Quantities, the very fame Dileafe, to wit, a 
 Palfy . We know, a certain Degree of Heat, 
 which will only produce Smoak , rais’d to a 
 higher Degree, will produce Light and 
 Flame : A certain Degree of Heat, in the 
 fame Fomentation , will diffolve and diffipate 
 a Tumor, and a higher Degree of it will 
 harden and make it Jchirrous ; and thus, 
 Mercury , in moderate Dofes, will break, 
 diffolve, and attenuate the Blood and Juices, 
 whofe Vifcidity and confequen.t Comprejfion 
 on the Nerves , interrupt their Vibrations 
 and Action, and fo produce a Palfy , which 
 a gentle Salivation will remedy and antidote. 
 But when the attive Steams and fmall pon- 
 derous Particles of Mercury have penetrated 
 and faturated the Subftance of the Nerves 
 and Solids , they will fpoil and alter their 
 whole Subftance and Action, and fo caufe 
 an univerfal Palfy . But the Juices feem 
 ' ' R to 
 
X4^ ‘The Hnglidi Malady. 
 
 to be the principal Caufe of the Difficulty of 
 the Cure of Paljies in the Decline of Life; 
 becaufe towards old Age the Solids lliffen 
 and harden at a greater Rate, than in the 
 younger Part of Life,, fo the fpoil’d Juices- 
 are then mere hard to be remedied*. 
 
 §. III. I f a Ferfon,. at or about the Meri- 
 dian of Life, be leiz’d with fuch paralytiok 
 Diforders, and they are not cur’d, or at leaft 
 prevented from fettling or confirming at firft,, 
 they are feldom ever afterwards totally freed 
 from them, whatever Methods be tried with 
 them : And therefore, as foon as the Difeafe 
 ss difeover’d, Bleeding at firft, if the Patient is 
 ftrong, and the Pulfe full, and then Blitter s r 
 hrft over all the Head, then on the Nape of 
 the Neck, the Legs and Arms, and efpecially 
 ©n the Parts affe&ed, and in the Intervals, or 
 when the Effe&s of thefe are pretty much 
 worir off ; active warm Purges, efpecially 
 of Hellebore and Sena y on a vinous Menttruum y 
 ought to be uled and repeated as often as the 
 Strength of the Patient will bear, with fome 
 cordial Medicines, as that of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh , Eletluariam de SaJJafras , &c. (at 
 Night, after theOperation is over) wafh’d down 
 with a nervous Julep y mix’d with Volatile Spi- 
 rits. When theie Evacuations have thus 
 been duly made, a Courfe of Chalybeats y 
 Aromaticks and Bitters , is to be preferib'd, 
 to recruit the Strength of the Solids, and 
 
 warm. 
 
Of ^Paralytick Diferders, See. 24 $ 
 
 warm and aftive Oils and Ointments pecially 
 the Opodeldoc : and ftimulating Fomentations 
 applied to the Parts affected, they being firft 
 well curried with a Flefh Brujh. Cold Bath- 
 ing may be alfo tried on found Conftitudons, 
 but hot Bathing of any Sort or Kind, will, I 
 fear, be of little Ufe, and may, in fome deep 
 rooted Cafes, do hurt by a temporary, at leaft 
 greater Relaxation, unlefs the Juices be 
 extremely well thinn’d by ponderous Medi- 
 cines firft. 
 
 IV. If thefe Medicines are duly and 
 effectually tried, under the Direction of a 
 proper Perfon, and with little or no Succefs, 
 the Cafe may be deem'd incurable. Not that 
 it is always mortal, for I have known them 
 laft as many Years under a par aly tick Stroke, 
 as under an Amputation, efpecially if the 
 Paljy had not followed after an ^IpopledUck, 
 Epileptick , or fome ftrong nervous Paroxyfm 
 or Fit : And even then, if the Conftitution 
 was tolerable, and the general Method of 
 Cure of nervous Diftempers has been duly 
 and fteadily purfued, feldom any thing 
 worfe has happen’d from it than the Lofs of 
 that Organ or Limb, which the Diftemper 
 had feiz’d, and difabled : Life in other 
 Refpefts, and under fuch a Management, 
 having gone on pretty tolerably. 
 
244 The Engllfh Malady. 
 
 J. V. Saint Vitus’s Dance (as it 
 is call’d) the mimicking Dijlemper , and 
 all fuch irregular and equivocal nervous 
 Diforders, may be ealily reduced under 
 fome of the general Heads I have afligned. 
 The Jirfl is certainly a Mixture of para- 
 lytick and convulfive Diforders. It very 
 often arifes out of an Epilepjy , efpecially 
 in young People, when the original Dif- 
 temper is overcome, and a greater De- 
 gree of Strength is obtain’d, tho’ fome- 
 times it is only a Prelude to that fevere 
 Diftemper, and may itfelf fometimes be 
 an original Difeale; I have cur’d it, as I 
 mention’d in my Book of the Gout , in 
 young Perlbns, by repeated antimonial Vo- 
 mits, mercurial Purges , Steel , and Aroma- 
 ticks, and the • other general Methods fo 
 often mention’d. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
Of the Apoplexy and Epilepfy. 245 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Of the Apoplexy and Epilepfy. 
 
 k LnpHE apoplexy , in its Fit and 
 ■ Paroxyfm , is one of the moft 
 -A- frightful and fatal Diftempers 
 belonging to the nervous Clafs of Difeafes, 
 few out-living the firft Fit, fewer the fecond, 
 and, as it is commonly faid, none at all the 
 third', tho’ this Obfervation is not altogether 
 without Exceptions ; for it is in this, as in 
 all other bodily Diftempers, thofe who are 
 ftrong and robuft, and in whom the Caufe 
 is but juft beginning to operate, and meets 
 with a greater Reliftance from the State of 
 the Solids, will hold it longer, and ftruggle 
 more than the weak and tender. Few are 
 ever feiz’d with this Diftemper, if it comes 
 naturally, and without an Accident, till 
 towards the Decline of Life , unlefs they 
 have been much troubled, with violent 
 and acute Head-aches , or Inflammations 
 upon the Brain , or its Membranes , or have 
 fame inflammatory Diftemper tranflated from 
 
 R 3 the 
 
24 6 The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 the Extremities upon the Head, fuch as the 
 Gout, Rheumatifm , Eryfipelas , and the like : 
 thofe who are fciz’d with a deep Stroak of 
 it, have fcarce any Warning, but a fudden 
 violent Head-ach , a Sicknefs at the Stomach, 
 or a Cholic k, and drop down immediately, 
 without Senfe or Motion, and have fcarce 
 any Sign of Life, except now and then an 
 uncertain Twitch or Twinkle in the Pulfe 
 (if it is not from Flatulence) and lcarce any 
 Breathing that can be difcover’d, even on 
 the Surface of a Glafs, but a conftant Snort- 
 ing or Snoring in the Throat and Noftrils. 
 Thole in whom it comes naturally, are 
 obferv’d generally to be either grofs Feeders , 
 or thole who deal too plentifully in ftrong 
 and fpirituous Liquors , of a grofs and full 
 Habit, port and thick neck'd , voluptuous 
 and lazy ; tho’ fome thinner Habits, may 
 fuffer under it, but they are thofe who have 
 formerly been fubjed to violent Heach-achcs , 
 or are worn out by Lechery. 
 
 $ II. There are three kinds of apoplexies 
 diftinguilh'd by the different Caufes that pro- 
 duce them; as jirjl, a Symptomatick ylpoplexy, 
 fuch as I have mention’d, from a Tranllation 
 of the Gout , Rheumatifm , ' &Cc. idly. An 
 accidental one, from a Fall, Brnife, Wound , 
 or the like; and ^dlyu an acquir'd one, ari- 
 fing from an Jpoplemck Difpofition or Dif- 
 crafy, proceeding from Intemperance and 
 
 Excelfes* 
 
Of the JpopJexy and Epllepfy. 247 
 
 Excelfes, Lazinefs, and Neglect of the Non- 
 naturals in Perfcns of the abovemention’d 
 particular Make and Conliitution of Body. 
 It is of this lafi chiefly that I intend to lay 
 ?.ny thing here, the Treatment of the others 
 being obvious. As to the immediate CauJ'e 
 of the Mpopleffkk Fit , I think it mult be one 
 of thefe two, viz. * either a Rupture of the 
 Blood-Veflels in the Brain, whereby a great 
 Quantity of Blood being extravafated upon 
 its including Membranes, or into its Cavities, 
 prefles upon the Origin of the Nerves, fo as 
 to intercept their Operation and Funttions^ 
 from whence the mention’d Appearances may 
 be eafily deduc’d. And this may be either 
 occafion’d by a Fall, a Bntife , a Wound, or 
 any other violent Accident upon the Skull , 
 or by too great a Quantity of Blood , or its 
 being overheated by ftrong Liquors, violent 
 Exercife, or immoderate ienfual Pleafures, 
 in thole who have the Configuration, I have 
 defcribed. This feems to be the Cafe of 
 thofe Apoplexies that happen in Southern 
 Countries , where, tho' the Climate confines 
 them to a very moderate Diet, yet as they 
 wallow in Jenfual. Fleafures of another 
 Nature, and deal fometimes pretty freely 
 with fpirituous Liquors, and Opiates (which 
 have the fame deleterious Effects) thefe things 
 
 "* Vide Philofoph. Tran fact. N° 313. 
 
 R 4 
 
 in 
 
248 The Er.glifli Malady. 
 
 in a fcorchingf Climate, may kindle a Flame 
 in the Blood l'ufficient to produce thefe men- 
 tion’d Effects. 
 
 $ III. The other kind of apoplexy, which 
 happens naturally, and is moft frequent in 
 Northern Countries and colder Climates , 
 feems to arife chiefly from an Extravafa- 
 tion , or rather Ouzing out thro’ the Sides of 
 the relax’d and worn out Capillary Blood- 
 VefFels, of a thin putrid Serum, upon the 
 mention'd Parts, which I have hinted in the 
 former Cafe. This chiefly happens to grofs 
 and full Feeders , to thofe who are too free 
 with ftrong and /'pirituous Liquors, and are 
 confequently very unactive and lazy. I 
 have formerly fhewn how fuch a Courfe and 
 Regimen will almoft, or altogether, deftroy 
 the red or grumous Part of the Blood , and 
 turn the whole Mals of the Fluids into a 
 dirty Paddle of thin alcaline Jaltifh Serum , 
 which Corrodes or Ouzes thro’ the flabby 
 and relax’d Capillaries. That this is pretty 
 near the Truth, is evident from opening the 
 Heads * of thofe who have died of a natural 
 apoplexy , the Cavities of the Brain having 
 been found generally quite filled, either 
 with extravafated Blood , or fuch a Serum , 
 as I have mention’d. Thofe who want fur- 
 
 * Vide Boned Sepulchret. Anatom: Lib. I. 
 
 t her 
 
Of the Apoplexy and Epilepfy. 249 
 
 £her Light in this Affair may confult fVepfer, 
 The mildeft apople&ick Fits, of all, where 
 the Patient efcapes for once or twice, feem 
 to arife only from an ObftruCtion or Fume- 
 faftion of the Blood-Veffels, or Glands in the 
 Cavity of the Skull, upon the Removal of 
 which ObftruCtion, by the Struggle and Effort 
 of Nature, in the Paroxyfm, it ceafes. This 
 Degree is what feems only capable of be-? 
 ing cured ; but if it is fuffer’d to go on 
 without any effectual Method, us’d to re- 
 move the apopledtick Difpofition by rectifying 
 the Juices, two or three more fuch Pa - 
 roxyfms burft the Veffels, and bring on the 
 incurable Kinds mention’d. 
 
 § IV. If the Account here given of this 
 terrible Diftemper be juft, there will be no 
 Difficulty in forming the true Indications , 
 and the moll effectual Method of Care, as 
 far as it is poffible. Which of thefe Caufes 
 have the Prevalency in a particular Cafe, 
 will be evident, from the Manner of Life, 
 the Age and Conftitution of the Patient, and 
 the Symptoms of the Fit. There is very 
 little Hope of Succefs in either Cafe, unlefs 
 the Caufe be but juft beginning and very 
 weak ; or the Perfon very ftrong and young, 
 and otherwife found. To rouze them out 
 of the prefent Fit ; in the f, rft Ca/e, the 
 moft plentiful Bleeding that can poffibly be 
 ventur’d upon, is to be attempted at the 
 
 Arm, 
 
Hoe EngliHi Malady. 
 
 Arm, in the temporal Artery, or the jugu* 
 hr Vein, in the Foot, and by Cupping 
 on the Nape of the Neck, together with 
 fharp, cooling and acid Glyflers , while 
 Blifters are laid on in every Place where 
 they can conveniently be. In thofe Fits 
 produced by fuch a Serum as I have 
 mention'd, or from an Obftru&ion in the 
 Glands , Vomits are alio immediately to be 
 forc’d down, (but avoided in thofe occa- 
 fion’d by a Haemorrhage, becaufe in 
 this laft, the great Affair is to Hop the 
 Violence of the Hcemorrhage, and to 
 draw it off by all poffible Means from 
 the Brain) : And Care is likewife to be 
 taken, neither by inward Medicines nor 
 outward Application, to increafe the Hurry, 
 Heat, or Inflammation of the Blood : and 
 therefore the Solids are not to be ftimu- 
 lated to too violent Efforts. Whereas, in 
 the other Cafe, neither of thefe can be 
 done too much : and therefore, not only 
 lharp Sternutatories , foetid Smells , and vola- 
 tile Spirits , may be applied to the Nofe, 
 but (other Things not fucceeding) even 
 a&ual Cauteries are to be applied to the 
 Soles of the Feet, and Crown of the Head, 
 as far as it can be done fafely,to raife Sensibility 
 and Pain : befides the warmeft cordial Medi- 
 cines, in a liquid Form, if they can be thruft 
 down any how. 
 
Of the Apoplexy and Epilepfy. 251 
 
 £ V. As to the Apopleffick Difpofition, 
 in thofe of the inflammatory Kind, all pro- 
 per Means are to be ufed that tend to cool 
 the Blood, and allay its Fermentation and 
 Heat, fuch as Acids , acidulated Draughts, 
 mild BaJJamicks , gentle Cat har ticks, with an 
 extremely cool, moderate, and fpare Diet, 
 abftaining from violent Exercife, and every 
 thing that may heat and inflame the Blood. 
 The other ApopleUick Difpofition mull be 
 treated much after the fame Manner, with 
 this Difference only, that the Medicines mult 
 be ftronger and warmer, the Exercife greater 
 and more conftant, that continual Drains, bjr 
 Blifters, IJfues, Set on s , and the like, be let a 
 going, and that the Diet be fomewhat 
 higher in Quality, tho’ not in Quantity, and 
 the other general Methods for the Cure of 
 the Nervous Symptoms that fucceea upon it, 
 be purfued according to the Directions for- 
 merly given. 
 
 § VI. Next to the Apoplexy , th c Epi- 
 lepfy is the molt dangerous, terrible, and 
 diiheartening Diftemper that belongs to the 
 Nervous or cold Clafs of Difeafes ; feldom 
 any, or, at leaft very few, efcape from it, 
 unlefs they be otherwile very llrong and 
 vigorous, without a Stroke of an Apoplexy , 
 which generally ends their Lives: a partial or 
 half-Body Palfy, or a total Demolition of the 
 
 Intel ~ 
 
2 5 i The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Intellectual Faculties. Young Children, well 
 treated, may be recovered, and get ftrong 
 and lufty, by flronger Dojes , and a longer 
 Courfe of the fame Medicines and Methods 
 I have advifed for their Convulfive Fits. The 
 Symptoms that attend grown Perfons are, 
 their dropping down fuddenly, as if fhot • but 
 fometimes with violent Convulsions and 
 Throws in the Belly ^ Breajl , and Limbs ; 
 beating and tearing themfelves, clinching 
 their Fi/ts, biting their Tongues , grinding 
 their Teeth , and foaming at the Mouth, with 
 a fmall Trembling , unequal and fometimes 
 interrupted Pulfe , and an involuntary Secre- 
 tion of all the natural Difcharges : having 
 fcarce any Senfe or Knowledge of what they 
 do, or what is done to them : but the molt 
 dangerous of all, are their violent Convuljons 
 and involuntary Motions, by which they 
 would tear, bruife, and deftroy themfelves, 
 if not with-held : the Fit generally terminates 
 in a Doling or Lethargy , which continues 
 longer or fhorter, according to the Violence 
 of the Paroxyfm , and then by Degrees their 
 Spirits and Strength return, tho > with a 
 greater Degree of Lownefs and Confufion, 
 or Stupidity. This Diftemper fometimes 
 follows the Periods of the * Luminaries , 
 nfpecially their Conjunctions and Op portions ; 
 
 b ut 
 
 * Vide Mead de Imperio Solis & Lunas. 
 
Of the Apoplexy and Epilepjy. 253 
 
 but this is uncertain, and in fome Cafes 
 only, as all Periods are in our inconftant 
 
 Climate . 
 
 $ VII. From this Account of the Symp- 
 toms of this Dlftemper, I think it is pretty 
 evident, that it differs very little, or not at 
 all, or at moil, in a few Circumftances only, 
 from Hypochondriacal and Hyflerick Fits: 
 which laft, when violent, terminate always 
 in thefe Epileptick Fits, as they, on the 
 other Hand, when they become weak, 
 dwindle into the Hyjlerick Kind : So that 
 having treated of thefe laft fo fully, it will 
 be needlefs to fay any thing further about 
 thefe others; only this, that the Diet mu ft 
 be much more ftrid, cool, and moderate, 
 and the Medicines ftronger and oftner re- 
 peated, efpecially Vomits , Steely and Bitters. 
 Dr. Vaylor of Croydon cured himfelf intirely 
 and abfolutely, of the moft violent, conftant, 
 and habitual Epilepfy that perhaps ever was 
 known, after having, in vain, tried all the 
 Methods and Medicines advifed by the moft 
 eminent Phyjtcians of his Time, by a total 
 Diet of Milky without Bread, or any other 
 Vegetable, or any thing (belides a Spoonful 
 of compound Peony Water fometimes, to 
 prevent its Curdling) confining himfelf to a 
 Pint in a Morning, a ppiyart at Noon, and a 
 Pint at Night, of the Milk of Grafs-fed 
 
 Cows 
 
 5 
 
y 
 
 254 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 Cows in the Summer , and of thofe fed with 
 Hay in the Winter, the Milk of Cows fed 
 with Grains always inflating him, and lying 
 uneafy on his Stomach. He had continued 
 in perfed Health and Vigour (having had 
 ieveral Children) feventeen Years when I faw 
 him, and received this Account from him, 
 inl'omuch that he could have play’d four or 
 live Hours at Cricket , on Banjlead Downs , 
 without Wearinefs or profufe Sweating, and 
 probably might have continued many Years 
 longer in perfed Health (as he did feven or 
 eight Years more) had he not entered upon 
 a different Regimen of Diet (as 1 am in- 
 formed fince 1 firft wrote this Hiftory, in 
 my Treatife of the Gout , by a Perfon of 
 great Credit) and come to eat Animal Food , 
 by which, in a fhort Time, he was deftroycd. 
 Some others have been cured by me, by a 
 Regimen of Diet lefs Arid, and the Medi- 
 cines already fuggefted ; but 1 believe none 
 ever were cured who have been come to 
 Maturity , without a very exad low Regimen , 
 continued during all their Lives, the tranf- 
 grefling it for any long time, always bring- 
 ing their Diforders back, if not fomething 
 worfe : and I believe a total Milk, and 
 Vegetable Diet, as abfolutely neceffary for 
 the total Cure of the Epilepfy , as it is for the 
 Gout or a Confumption. Here were the pro- 
 per Place to fay fomething of Lunacy and 
 Madnefs , being fatisfied that the Methods 
 
 here 
 
 
 / 
 
Of the Apoplexy and BpUepfy, zjy 
 
 here laid down are fufficient, and the moft 
 effe&ual for thefe Diftempers j but defigning 
 this principally for common intelligent 
 Readers, and thofe who fuffer under Nervous 
 Diftempers, tho’ not regularly bred to the 
 Practice of Phyftck : and People under thefe 
 mentioned Diftempers being ineapable of 
 Reading, or at leaft, of ferious and clofe 
 Application, and thefe Diforders being the 
 Province of particular Phyficians , or thole 
 appointed by the Publick for that Purpofe, 1 
 fhall here put a Period to this Part of the 
 Treatife. 
 
. > ‘ ■* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 ft 
 
 
 ■i - 
 
 
 
 
 
THE 
 
 €ngltfl) jlalatip: 
 
 O R, A 
 
 TREATISE 
 
 O F 
 
 Nervous Difeafes of all Kinds, 
 
 A S 
 
 Spleen, Vapours, Lownefs of Spirits, 
 Hypochondriacal and Hyfterical 
 Diftempers, &c. 
 
 PART IIL 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 Variety o/Cases that illuftrate and confirm 
 the foregoing Method of Cure . 
 
 With the A u t ho r’s own Case^/ Large. 
 
 o 
 
 TAaxTD d&loev r i, S'lxaiordrcDV dvQpch7r&v, 
 
 Homis. 
 
 By GEORGE CHETNE , M. D. 
 
 Fellow of the College ofPhyficians at Edinburg , and F. R. S. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 Printed for G. S t r a h a n, and J, Leake, 
 
 M.DCC.XXXIII. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 H I S LaJlj has been by far 
 the mojt difficult and un- 
 pleafant Parc of my Work . 
 The obvious Sneer of its 
 being a Quack’s Bill, has been the leafl 
 Tart of that Difficulty ; for when I fei 
 about fnifhing this Work , for the Be- 
 nefit of the Sedentary , Tender and De- 
 cay d, I made a Sacrifice of fome part of 
 my Vanity and Inter eft. But among 
 the very many Injtances I could have 
 adduced , I was obliged to lay ajide all 
 thofe whofe Cafes were pretty much 
 alike , and to pick out fuch only , as 
 S 2 feemd 
 
160 Advertisement. 
 feewd to vie, to be more particular , 
 or < which ’were wop proper to illuf- 
 trate and confirm the feveral Steps 
 of the preceding Dotfrine, and to 
 direbi the Valetudinarian, in the lefi 
 obvious and uncommon Symptoms. But 
 that which dijlrefsd me mojl, was , the 
 Names of the Berjbns, whcfe Cafes / 
 was oblig'd to mention , mojl of them 
 being f ill alive, and jew caring to be 
 made Examples of in any Refpcbl. fhe 
 Diftempers of Patients are facred, (Res 
 facra mifer) and nervous Tdijlempers 
 efpecially , are under fome Kind of 
 Difgraee and Imputation, in the Opi- 
 nion of the Vulgar and Unlearned; 
 they pafs among the Multitude , for 
 a lower Degree of Lunacy, and the 
 firft Step towards a diftemperd Brain : 
 and the bejl Conjlrublion is Whim, 1 11- 
 Humour, Peevifhnefs or Particularity • 
 and in the Sex, Daintinefs, Fantaftical- 
 nefs or Coquetry. So that often when I 
 have been confulted in a Cafe , before I 
 
 was 
 
Advertisement. 261 
 
 was acquainted with the Character 
 and Temper of the Fatient , and 
 found it to be what is commonly 
 call'd Nervous, I have been in the 
 utmolt ‘Difficulty , when defir d to 
 
 define or name the Diftemper , for 
 fear of affronting them , or fixing a 
 Reproach on a Family or Ferfon. 
 If l call'd the Cafe Glandular with 
 nervous Symptoms , they concluded I 
 thought them pox’d, or had the King's- 
 Evil. If I faid it was Vapours, Hyfie- 
 rickor Hypochondriacal DiforderSy they 
 thought I call'd them Mad or Fan- 
 tastical: and if they were fuch as 
 valued themfeheSy on fearing ?ieither 
 God nor Devil , I was in Ha* 
 %ard of a Drubbing for feeming' to 
 impeach their Courage : and was 
 
 thought as rude , as if I had given 
 them the Lye ; and even the very 
 left has been, I myfelf was thought 
 a Foof a weak and ignorant Cox - 
 comby and perhaps dtfmifsd in Scorn $ 
 
 S 3 and 
 
1 6 1 Advertisement. 
 
 and fome I have actually lojt hy it. 
 NotwithJlanding all this, the Tif- 
 eafe is as much a bodily Dijiem- 
 per (as I have demonjlrated ) as the 
 Small-Pox or a Fever 5 and the 
 T ruth is, it feldom, and I think 
 never happens or can happen , to any 
 hut thofe of the liveliejt and quickest 
 natural ‘Parts , whofe Faculties are 
 the brightejl and mojl fpiritual, and 
 vtfhofe Genius is mojl keen and pe~ 
 netr citing , and particularly where 
 there is the mojl delicate Senfation 
 and Tap, both of Pie a Jure and 
 Pain. So equally are the good and 
 bad Things of this mortal State di- 
 flributed l For J feldom ever objervd a 
 heavy, dull, earthy, clod-pated Clown, 
 much troubled with nervous Dijbrders , 
 or at leaf, not to any eminent (Degree 5 
 and I fcarce believe the Thing poJfi~ 
 lie , from the animal Oeconomy and 
 the prefent Laws of Nature. 
 
 But 
 
Advertise me n t. 26 3 
 
 But befdes this , when I was 
 determin'd to publifh this Work , the 
 Lerfons whofe Cafes I had pick’d 
 out for my prefent Lurpofe, were 
 all fatter d and at great Difiances 
 from me , fome being in other King- 
 doms and foreign Parcs, and mofi of 
 them were in fuch Circumfiances and 
 Situation , that it was by no means 
 convenient or proper to publifh their 
 Names without Leave 5 and I was un- 
 willing to put my Friends and Patients 
 to the 'Lain , either of a Confent or Re- 
 fufal , and refolved even to bear the 
 Slur of Forgery, and let the Whole 
 reft on my own Credit , rather than 
 contend with fuch Difficulties . I have 
 therefore mentioned their Names, only 
 in thofe Cafes where I was abfolutely at 
 Liberty } but folemnly declare , that the 
 others were fuch in the main, as I have 
 reprefented them 5 and in any particular 
 Cafe, if called upon , I am ready to 
 ajfgn the Perfon, under proper Con - 
 
 S 4 ditions , 
 
264 Advertisement. 
 
 ditions, and have always defcrib’d the 
 Cafe from the Name and Chara<5ter of 
 the Patient, and the Hiftory of the 
 fDtpmper placed before my Eyes . 
 
 I have clajfed the Cafes, as / 
 had done the federal Stages of this 
 E)ijlemper in the former Part, viz. 
 into the three different Orders. Ehe 
 firft Clafs and Chapter contains Ex- 
 amples of thofe whofe nervous Dif- 
 prders being chiefly confin d to the 
 alimentary Tube, the Juices being 
 tolerably found and good , and the Solids 
 pretty firm, a Regulation only of com- 
 mon SDiet, as to Quantity and §ua- 
 lity , and a general Courfe of ner- 
 vous Evacuants, for Prevention, and 
 Volatiles on Paroxyfms, has been fuf- 
 fuient. The fecond Clafs and Chap- 
 ter contains Injl ances of thofe whofe 
 Cafes being deeper and more obfi - 
 nate , where the Juices have been 
 Either fizy, thick or inflam’d, or 
 
Advertisement. 265 
 
 fome noble Organ beginning to be 
 (poil’d : more powerful Evacuants and 
 Alteratives, especially of the ponde- 
 rous Medicines , have been neceffary * 
 and a trimming middling ‘Diet , of 
 alternate Days of yonng tender Flefh 
 Meat , and Milk and Vegetables , with 
 Wine and Water for Drink , were 
 requir'd. The laft Clafs and third 
 Chapter is of fuch , where the Cafe 
 being almojl incurable other wife , ex- 
 tremely frightful and painful , /rom 
 yito of the neceffary Organs vifibly 
 fpoild and decay d^and the Juices verge - 
 ing towards Putrefaction ; the Jtrong - 
 eft Evacpants and Alteratives, with a 
 total Milk and Vegetable Diet, long 
 perjifled in , indifpenfably neceffary . 
 Tide Medicines I have only hinted 
 /o prevent the Quacking 0/ Fatients 
 themfelves , to pointed them out 
 fo clearly , General , ?to »o 
 
 0/ common Senfe and liberal Educa- 
 tion can mijlake them 3 in any thing 
 
 but 
 
2 66 Advertisement. 
 
 but the compounding and dofeing : and 
 that none hut a regularly-bred Phy- 
 fician can be fufficient for 5 and of the 
 Medicines , I have mentioned only the 
 preventive or extirpative ones. It 
 had been endlefs to have fet down all 
 thofe prefcrib’ d under the Fits 5 thefe 
 I have fufficiently defcrib’ d in the 
 former Fart . 
 
 THE 
 
tekjJi&x 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Of thofe whofe Nervous Complaints ’were 
 cured by Medicine , under a common , 
 though temperate ‘Diet. 
 
 CASE I. 
 
 Tender young Gentleman , of great 
 Worth and Ingenuity, here in 
 our 'Neighbourhood , had from 
 his Infancy been troubled with 
 a molt violent Nervous Head- 
 achy which returning at certain Periods , 
 overcame and funk him to Extremity ; and 
 even fometimes approached near to Epilep - 
 tick Fits. I advifed him, when feized with 
 them or it, to go to Bed as foon as he could 
 
 con- 
 
268 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 conveniently, and to take four or five of 
 the PiluL Gummof. and de Aloe Lota a ae. p. 
 and to drink plentifully of fmall Sack Whey, 
 or Water-Gruel, with Spt. C. C. Vol. Gutt. x 
 in each Draught, repeating the Pills every 
 Night till well, and after weekly, or as often 
 as his Illnels ever returned ; by which alone 
 he has been conftantly relieved. I advifed 
 him allb to keep a very temperate (though 
 a common) Diet of Animal Foods , at Dinner 
 only, and not to drink above half a Pint, or 
 at moft a Pint of Wine a Day, ufing conftant 
 Lxercife 0 n Horfeback, or otherwife. He 
 has continued this Method ever lince, is in 
 the main well, and has grown yearly better 
 and ftronger now for above thefe twenty 
 Years, and in all probability will grow 
 flumger and heartier so a great old Age. 
 
 C A S E II. 
 
 A Lady of great Fortune in this Town, 
 eminent for her great Charity, Piety, and 
 fine Breeding , was originally of very weak 
 Nerves ; her chief Complaints were, tender 
 Bowels , extreme low Spirits, with great 
 Sinking, and fometimes Hyfierick Paroxyfmst 
 to an eminent Degree. Upon thefe laft Oc- 
 cafions, I have given her feveral Medicines, 
 as the Cafe indicated ; but for Prevention, 
 
 I prelcribed only gentle Emeticks, when her 
 Stomach was loaded, Rhabarbarat and Car- 
 minative Catharticks, Bath-Waters almofl 
 
Of Nervous Complaints , See. i6p 
 
 conftantly now for near thefe twenty Years, 
 (for the Benefit of which fhe chofe to 
 live here,) with conftant Exercife, efpeci- 
 ally on Horfeback, and a Diet of the 
 plaineft, lighteft and moft fimple Animal 
 Foods , at Noon only, and a little of the beft 
 French Wines \ and by thefe Means fhe has 
 yearly grown better and ftronger, and con- 
 tinues to do fo ; her Diforders returning 
 now feldom, and being eafily removed. 
 
 CASE III. 
 
 A Gentleman of Scotland , eminent in 
 the Law , and of great Honour , Probity , 
 and fine Parts , had been long troubled 
 with a Nervous Headach ; and having neg- 
 lected it many Years, it came to fuch a 
 Height as was no longer tolerable. Befides 
 this almoft inceffant Headach , he had conftant 
 extreme Lownefs , Opprejfion , and at laft the 
 greateft Difficulty to attend his Studies, or to 
 apply to the Bufinefs of his Profeflion ; and 
 the Diforder terminated in Want of Sleeps 
 Lofs of Appetite, and Inquietude ; and all 
 thefe Symptoms brought him to fuch a State 
 as to render his Condition moft miferable^ 
 He came here, to Bath , in this Condition. 
 His Diforders were the moft diftincHy Peri- 
 odical of any Nervous Cafe I had ever met 
 with, (though in moft I have obferved fome- 
 thing of that Nature.) One Night it was 
 extreme, fo as to make him pafs it almoft 
 
 entirely 
 
270 The Englifh Malady.' 
 
 entirely without Sleep ; next Day an unex- 
 preffible Lownefs, and a conftant BtyaliJ'm 
 or fpitting thin Rheum enfued, by which 
 the following Night was more tolerable, 
 and thus alternately. I prefcribed feveral 
 Vomits , Quinquina-Bitters , the foetid Gums , 
 with the Extraft of the Bark , and the Ani- 
 mal Salts , Aloetick Purges , together with li- 
 quid Steel in the Bath Waters. But above 
 all, a light, fparing Diet of tender Animal Food, 
 and at Noon only, and a very little hVine^ with 
 conftant Exercije on Horfeback, or other wife : 
 By thefe he was much relieved, while here ; 
 and purfuing the fame Method at Home, 
 for feveral Years: drinking in the hot Wea- 
 ther the Mineral Chalyheat Waters of his 
 own Country, by flow Degrees he grew 
 perfectly well, and has for many Years en- 
 joyed a complete State of Health, which 
 he preferves by great Jemferance and Exer- 
 cife. 
 
 CASE IV. 
 
 A Lady of the firft Qiiality , and of 
 eminent Virtues , was fo much oppreffed 
 with thefe Sinkings , Anxiety , and Hyflerick 
 Diforders, together with violent Colicks , 
 Watchings , and Inflation , as to be extremely 
 miferable. She had drank the Waters, 
 and taken Medicines a long Time here, 
 without any Relief, and was juft defpond- 
 ing, and about leaving the Place. Being- 
 
 called, 
 
Of Nervous Complaints, &c. 27 i 
 
 called, I ordered her to repeat fome V omits, 
 gave her Quinquina-Bitters with and without 
 Rhubarb daily, made her drink the Bath in 
 the Morning, and Byrmont Waters with her 
 Meals ; regulated her Diet both in Quantity 
 and Quality, confining it to the lighteft, 
 youngeft Animal Foods, and the leaft Wine 
 poffible, and by continuing her in this Way 
 fome time, fhe was recover'd to perfeft 
 Health , Vivacity and Activity. 
 
 CASE V. 
 
 A n Officer’s Lady of fine Barts and great 
 Worth , was fent here to drink the Waters, 
 for a conftant Bilious Vomiting and Hyfle - 
 rich Lownefs : She had been ordered by her 
 ‘Phyfician to take an Ipecacohana Vomit every 
 Morning, (without any ReftriSUons on her 
 Diet,) which file had taken for fome Time. 
 Being called, I told her, I thought it was 
 fufficient to repeat the Vomits when (he had 
 an Urging and Sicknefs ; and that when the 
 Choler was actually derived from the Liver 
 into the Stomach , that Symptom would in- 
 fallibly happen, and then, and only then, 
 was a Vomit ufeful or necelfary. I advifed 
 her a Qmnquinated and Rhabarbarated bitter 
 Wine, to be taken every Night, with a 
 weak liquid Steel in the Morning, and at 
 the fame time regulated her Diet, and by 
 Degrees fhe recover’d perfe&ly. 
 
 CASE 
 
 3 
 
2?z The Englifh Maladt. 
 
 CASE VI. 
 
 A young Lady from the Weft, had' for 
 feveral Years fo frequent Hyfierick Fits and 
 Colicks , and to fuch a Degree, that they had 
 made her extremely miferable, and at laft 
 crippled her both in Hands and Feet , (which 
 is common to Nervous Colicks,) fo that they 
 were of no more Ufe to her, than if they 
 had been cut off. I repeated feveral Vomits 
 in the Courfe of the Waters; regulated her 
 Diet with Exa&nels to young Meats at Noon 
 only ; gave her a Jp uinquinated Bitter before 
 Meals, and a Quinqiiinated and Rhabarbarated 
 Tincture daily at Night; and, in a proper 
 Time, gave her Steel in the Waters, and 
 made her pump both Hands and Legs, rub- 
 bing them often after with the Opodeldoc difi- 
 folved in Spirit oj Vine camphorated ; by thefe 
 Means only, in fix Months, (he perfectly re- 
 cover’d both her Limbs and her Health. 
 
 Wh en the Caje was obftinate, and the 
 Patient young, firm or ftrong, and I was 
 left to my own Liberty, I always began 
 with the ponderous Medicines, continuing 
 them for Months, and finifh’d with the Jpuin- 
 cpuinated Bitters , or with Rhubarb and Bark 
 compounded with other Bitters, and liquid 
 Steel : And even in common, flight, Scorbuti- 
 cal , CoVtcal and Nervous , but efpecially Rheu- 
 matic, Scrophulous or Cutaneous Cafes, of fuch 
 as came here for the Benefit of the Waters, if 
 
 not 
 
Of Nervous Cafes, See. 273 
 
 not conftrain'd, I always began with the pon- 
 derous Medicines, or fome one Preparation 
 of Mercury , or another, continued for fome 
 Time, and only finifh’d with the Bitter , 
 Jfiringent , and Chalybeat ones • but ftill regu- 
 lated their Diet, without which I fcarce ever 
 fucceeded, even in the very flighteft Cafes. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of Nervous Cafes , requiring a mix’d 
 or trimming Regimen of ‘Diet, viz. of 
 tender , young Animal Food, and a 
 little Wine and Water one Day, and 
 the other only Milk, Seeds, and 
 Vegetables . 
 
 Case I. 
 
 A Gentleman well known, and as much 
 belov’dby all that know him for his 
 fine Parts, great Probity , and the dif- 
 tinguifh’d Figure he has conftantly made in 
 the Senate ; having been long troubled with 
 bilious Vomitings , conftant Heart-burnings , 
 Lownefs and Opprejfion, for which, after all 
 r T the 
 
2?d The Englifli Malady. 
 
 the Nervous and Stomachick Medicines, pre- 
 scrib’d by the moft eminent Phyficians in 
 England , together with the whole Circle of 
 Mineral Waters at different Times, and at 
 laft a Jour (when he was near Sixty) thro’ 
 the Southern Climates , came hither to Bath , 
 once and again ; but without any lafting 
 Benefit or Relief, the fame Miferies of this 
 finking Diftemper ftill perfecuting him. I 
 at laft perluaded him to enter upon a Jr lin- 
 ing Diet , one Day light Pudding or Milk 
 and Vegetables drefs’d, efpecially of the fari- 
 naceous and feed Kind ; the other, a little 
 young , tender , plain Animal Food for Dinner 
 only, and not to exceed two or three Glaffes 
 of Wine a Day, taking fometimes uinqui - 
 nated and Rhaharharated Bitters , and fome- 
 times Mineral Waters , as his Cafe required, to 
 wit, the Bath in temperate or cold Weather, 
 and the Cold (as Tunbridge, Spa or Pyrmont ) 
 in hot Weather. By perfifting in this Method, 
 he has recovered and grown better every 
 Year, and is now (at Seventy-three) one of 
 the healthieft, haleft Gentlemen of his Age 
 in England , being from Lean , grown Plump , 
 Full and Active , without Oppreftion or 
 Lownefs, and is in great likelihood to hold 
 it many Years ; to which, no doubt, his 
 having given up Bufinefs, has greatly con- 
 tributed ; tho’, I think, his Regimen has had 
 the far largtft Share in his perject Recovery. 
 
 Case 
 
Of Nervous Cafes , See. 27$ 
 
 Case II. 
 
 A Gentleman of Scotland , of an Antient 
 and Honourable Family, loving, and be- 
 lov’d of, all Mankind, was early in Life 
 fubjedt to Nervous Diforders, which, tho* 
 uniyerfal, did chiefly affect his Auditory Or- 
 gans , fo as to impair his Hearing. For this 
 he had try’d a great many Abiive and Dan- 
 gerous Remedies, which, I think, had damag’d 
 an otherwife naturally clean and firm Confti- 
 tution. After having ferv’d his Country long 
 in eminent Employments, he was feiz’d, 
 about the Sixty-feventh Year of his Age, 
 with Nervous , Hypochondriacal , and Convul - 
 Jive Fits and Paroxyfms , the moft fevere, 
 terrible, and obftinate that I had ever feen. 
 At firfi, they return’d three or four times 
 every Day, Jhakeing and convuljing every 
 Limb , Nlufcle , and Organ of the whole Ma- 
 chine, tho’ all the Time his Senjes and Fa- 
 culties were found and entire ; only at their 
 going off, they left him languid , low-, and 
 exhaujled. He had try’d various Remedies, 
 and run through the whole Circle of the 
 nervous , volatile , and foetid Medicines, pre- 
 ferib’d by the moft eminent Phyficians of the 
 whole lfland. He came at laft to Bath, and 
 was under my Care, and drank Bath , 
 T 2 Brijlol , 
 
2 y 6 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 Brifloi, and Pyrmont Waters occafionally, 
 for the Space of almoft two Years : The 
 effectual Medicines, were Antimonial and 
 Ipecacuhana Vomits mix’d, which always 
 weaken’d or Hop’d the Fits , (the Cafe, in 
 my Opinion, being chiefly an obftru&ed 
 f chirr ons Liver') with Calomel Purges, Gum 
 and Aloetick Pills , phiinqiiinated Bitters , 
 and fometimes Foetids and Volatiles, only as 
 a prefent Relief. Thefe were the principal 
 Remedies which reliev’d, and, at laft, cur'd 
 him ; but what chiefly accomplifh’d the Cure, 
 was that (of his own Accord, I not daring 
 to offer fuch an Advice to one who was fofar 
 advanc’d in Life) he enter’d into a Trimming 
 Diet , chiefly of Milk and Vegetables , with weak 
 Broths and Fifh but fometimes, and two or 
 three Glaffes of Wine at Dinner only, which 
 Regimen I much approv’d of and encourag’d. 
 After he had recover’d a tolerable good 
 State of Health, I advis’d him, both on his 
 own, and the Account of fome others of his 
 Honourable Family, to finifh the Cure , by 
 fpending a Seafon or two at Spa, and win- 
 tering in Italy j and now, by the Divine 
 Blefling, he is as Stout and Healthy as any 
 Man of his Age can poflibly be, being free 
 from all his Nervous Symptoms , unlefs on 
 Accidents, and then by the fame Method 
 and Medicines eafily reliev’d. 
 
 Case 
 
Of Nervous Cafes , See. 277 
 
 Case III. 
 
 A Knight Baronet of an Antient Family, 
 by keeping bad Hours, in attending upon 
 the Bufinefs of the Parliament , and living 
 freely about Town, had fo worn down his 
 Conftitution, that he run into an habitual' 
 Diarrhoea , attended with extreme Flatulence, 
 Lownefs , Opprejfion, Watchfulnefs , and In- 
 digeflion. Thele conftantly returning upon 
 the leaft Excefs, or catching Cold, had quite 
 enfeebled and enervated a formerly robuft 
 and healthy Conftitution, even into almoft a 
 Nervous Atrophy. He had confulted again 
 and again the moft eminent of the Profeftion, 
 but all the Benefit he reap’d was only a 
 temporary Relief, or having a Drag put upon 
 the Wheel, to prevent its running too faft 
 down the Hill. He at laft came to Bath , 
 and was for a conliderable Time under my 
 Diredlion, to try if he could by any Means 
 be aflifted to a lafling Cure , he being then 
 not far paft the Meridian of Life, tho’ wafted 
 and reduced from a round , , mufcular , and 
 brawny Natural Frame, almoft to a Skeleton ; 
 and his Alimentary Fube being fo much re-, 
 lax’d, that the moft moderate common Meal 
 of Butcher’s Meat was too much for him, and 
 run off Crude , leaving him quite funk and 
 flat. I was unwilling to advife him to a 
 total Milk and Vegetable Diet , being uncer- 
 
 T 3 tain 
 
zy 8 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 lain if he would perfevere, and knowing 
 well the Danger of a fudden Return } but put 
 him into a ‘Trimming one, allowing him white 
 Meats fome Days, and only light Pudding, 
 with Milk and Seeds other Days, with two 
 or three Glaffes of Claret at Moon , and 
 Bath Waters tepid in a Morning, but 
 Brijlol Waters at Meals, and only Vegetable 
 Seed Meats , with Milk, for Breakfaft and 
 Supper ; giving him, at the fame Time, Ve- 
 getable Aftringent Medicines, and fometimes 
 gentle Vomits , Tejlaceous Powders, and toafled 
 Rhubarb with Diafcordium. Under this Re- 
 gimen and Medicines , (with conftant riding a 
 Horfeback in the Forenoon,) he grew bet- 
 ter by Degrees, his Diarrhxa became more 
 moderate, his Spirits brisker, and his Sleep 
 longer and founder. He continued thus the 
 whole Winter , and next Summer , tho’ thin 
 and low, yet not to fuch a Degree as before ; 
 in the hot Weather he drank Spa Water, 
 with a liquid, weak Jpuinyuinated Chalybeat. 
 Next Winter I advis'd him to go to the 
 South of France , where he continued a Year 
 or two, under the fame Regimen and Medi- 
 cines, came Home much mended in Flejh and 
 Spirits, and by Degrees acquir’d an Athle- 
 tick State of Health ; and has been thefe 
 twenty Years a hale, ftrong, fine Gentleman, 
 on common plain Diet, with due Temperance, 
 
 Case 
 
Of Nervous Cafes , See. ly p 
 Case IV. 
 
 A Worthy Merchant of the North of Eng- 
 land, came here to Bath for my Advice, in a 
 molt deplorable State, viz. a total Lofs of 
 Appetite, exceeding low Spirits : He had 
 Rigors and Night Sweats, a fix’d Melancholy , 
 terror, and Dread , a violent Headach , and 
 a want of Natural Sleep, with Paintings and 
 Paralytick Numbneifes, and, in a Word, all 
 the Symptoms of the mentioned fecond Stage' of 
 thele Nervous Diforders. I repeated Vomits 
 often, gave him phiinquinated Bitter Wines , 
 Liquid Chalybeate, fo me times Hi era Pi era, 
 Tindure of Rhubarb with Bark, Aromaticks and 
 Bitters of feveral Sorts, fometimes the Gum 
 with Aloetick Pills ; Bath Waters in a Morn- 
 ing, and Pyrmont, with but a little Wine at 
 Meals, and elpecially a rigid, alternate, vege- 
 table, and young Animal Food Diet, with con- 
 ftant Exercife of one Kind or other. Under 
 this Method he got perfectly well and chear- 
 ful in five or fix Months, and has continued fo 
 thefe feveral Years. 
 
 Case V. 
 
 A young Lady from the Wejhern Sea - 
 Coaft came here miferably opprefs’d with 
 Sinking , Lownefs , Porraceous Vomitings, 
 frequent Rigors and Chills, fucceeded by 
 
 T 4 feverijh 
 
280 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 j feverijh Heats, Rejllefnefs and Jnxiety. I 
 try’d gentle Vomits , Fhiinquinated Bitters , 
 with and without Rhubarb , feveral Kinds 
 of the flighted: Chalybeats , as Atfc Mart. 
 Vitriol. Mart. Elixir Vitrioli , and Tintlura 
 Mntiphthijica , 6^ and Pyrmont Waters, Vin . 
 Chalybeatum , with Volatiles andFoetids, and va- 
 rious Kinds of Bitters, but all without Succefs. 
 I found, upon Obfervation, that fhe was 
 always word about five or fix in the After- 
 noon, to wit, after the great Meal, and that 
 her feverijh Paroxyfms came on as the Day 
 wore out, and rofe higher in the Courfe of 
 the Digeftion, till towards the Morning. I 
 learned likewife, that lhe eat and drank too 
 heartily and fully for one of her Conftitution 
 and Complaints, three times a Day, (the 
 Bath Waters, and the mention'd Medicines 
 giving her a Craving.) Upon this, being 
 fatisfied that all her Symptoms proceeded 
 from her Difficulty in Digeftion, (as almoft: 
 all fuch hyfleric Cafes do) I confin’d her to 
 Broths, with light Pudding, and the finall 
 frefh River Filh, and at Dinner only, and 
 Milk and Vegetable Food for Breakfaft and 
 Supper, allowing her little or no Wine, but 
 Spa or Fyrmont Waters for Drink at Meals ; 
 for I have always found Bath in the 
 Morning, and Spa or Pyrmont at Dinner, 
 a mofl: effe&ual Method in fuch Cafes. By 
 continuing the mention’d Diet and Medi- 
 cines, as the Symptoms indicated, in two 
 
 Months 
 
Of Nervous Cafes , &c. 181 
 
 Months fhe became perfe&ly wqII and free 
 of all her Lownefs , Fain tings, Fits , and 
 feverfh Heats , and went away freih, chear- 
 ful and ftrong, 
 
 Case VI. 
 
 A Gentleman of fine Parts, grieveufly 
 afflicted with the Gout, and with a perpe- 
 tual Lownefs , Sinking , and Oppreffion , both 
 in Fits and the Intervals: to wit, a conftant 
 Sicknefs and Reaching before the Forma- 
 tion, and after the Fit was over ; and for a 
 long time after, a much longer (than is com- 
 mon) Si chief, Inappetency , Weaknefs, and 
 greater Lamenefs : fo as to be one half of 
 the Year almoft under its Effe&s ; and being 
 weary of a Life under fuch Miferies, he was 
 willing to attempt any thing probable to 
 mitigate them. But being juftly afraid of a 
 total Milk and Vegetable Diet , left by relaxing 
 and cooling too faft, the thus inflamed Solids, 
 he might give occafion to the Bilious and 
 Goutifh Humours and Salts, to flow too faft 
 upon the common Shoar of the Stomach and 
 Bowels , and there to beget Sicknefs , Pain , and 
 Danger ; therefore a trimming and middling 
 Diet being propos’d, chiefly of light, freih 
 River Fifh, (as leaft inflaming, and not over- 
 enriching the Juices) alternately with Milk 
 and Vegetables: and every Day the Value of 
 a Pint of fome generous, foft, balfamick 
 
 Wine, 
 
The Englifh Malady. 
 
 Wine, (as Sack, Canary, or Palm) he readi- 
 ly and cheerfully enter’d upon it. This Me- 
 thod abated both the Violence , Duration, and 
 Frequency of his Fits in a few Years, 
 without any Danger ; and by Degrees 
 effectually remov’d thefe Vomitings andSick- 
 neffes with which the Fits began and termi- 
 nated : efpecially, by almoft every Night 
 taking a few Spoonfuls of a Rhubarb and 
 Bark Bitter, made on Wine with Aroma- 
 ticks, in the Intervals ; and he has now only 
 a very tolerable, ihort, regular Fit once a 
 Year, and foon gets about his Bulinefs again, 
 and is in likelihood to go cn with Health 
 and Strength to a great Age. 
 
 I cannot omit here toobferve, that if any 
 Perfon defigns, either for the Sake of Health , 
 Long-Dfe , or Freedom from Difeafes, to re- 
 gulate his Diet, I univerfally prefer to all 
 others this trimming Method, of an alternate 
 Diet of Milk and Vegetables one Day, and the 
 other plain or young Jnimal Food, and a mo- 
 derate Portion of Wine ; for if his Cafe requires 
 his defeending ftill lower, yet this trimming 
 Diet will be the belt and fafeft firft Step 
 to begin with ; and if his Recovery there- 
 by be fo perfect, that he may rife to a 
 higher Diet, this will make the Fran fit ion 
 fafer; and even thofe who love palatable 
 and delicious Foods, to a great Degree, 
 will bear a Maigre Day more eafily, when 
 
Of Nervous Cafes , See. 285 
 
 they know they fhall have a Gandy one the 
 next ; and I have known thofe, who from 
 a weak Nervous and Cachetic Habit have 
 arriv’d to a confirm’d State of Health, noble 
 Spirits, and great Age, by this Trick alone ; 
 fo that Falling and Abftinence in this Man- 
 ner, might feem not more a religious than it 
 ought to be reckon’d a medical Inftitu^- 
 tion, 
 
 CHAP. 
 
284 The Englifh Malady: 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Of Nervous Cafes, requiring a Jlrifi 
 and total Milk , Seed, and Vegeta- 
 ble Diet. 
 
 Case I. 
 
 A Young Lady under my Dire&ion, 
 being naturally of a tender and 
 delicate Conftitution, had by a Mal- 
 Regimen , and too flrong and high Food while 
 at a Boarding School at London , fallen into 
 hyjlerick Dil'orders of all the Forms and 
 Shapes were everobferv'dor defcrib’d ; fome- 
 times Laughing , Dancing , and all Jollity , 
 at other times Weeping, Crying, Sighing, and 
 Melancholy ; often fhe was taken with Faint- 
 ing Fits and Convulsions : now in great Chills, 
 again Hot and Feverijh ; fometimes great 
 Quantities of pale, at other times but a little 
 high-colour' d Water; fometimes CofiiveneJ’s to 
 an Extremity, at other times purging and 
 Jlippery Bowels; and moft, if not all thefe 
 Symptoms, fometimes three or four times in 
 
 twenty.* 
 
Of Nervous Cafes , See. 285 
 
 twenty-four Hours, infomuch that ignorant 
 People thought it Witchcraft and Inchant - 
 ment. Various Nervous and Antihy (lerical 
 Medicines had been preferib’d by the Phy - 
 (ictan in Ordinary at London , which had 
 relieved and eas’d her for a Time, but ftill 
 fhe relaps’d in a Month or two ; and Ride- 
 ing , Country Air , and even Changes of that 
 Air were try’d with little or no Succefs. 
 At laft, her Parents being under the greateft 
 Concern about her, and fearing left her Fa- 
 culties (which were above Mediocrity) might 
 be impair’d by fo tedious and unaccountable 
 a Diftemper, put her intirely under my Care, 
 with an abfolute Power to do by her, both in 
 Diet and Medicines , as I fhould think beft. 
 I firft try’d all the common Nervous and An- 
 tihyferical Medicines over again, under a 
 common Diet, with no Manner of Benefit. 
 But tir’d out at laft, I refolved to put her 
 upon an entire Vegetable Diet , without Flejh , 
 Fijh , or fermented Liquors ; Milk fhe lik’d 
 not, befides, by its Curdling on a bilious 
 Stomach , it both inflated and made her more 
 fick; the only Medicines I ever after ufed 
 in the whole Courfe, were gentle Vomits , 
 when the Bile feem’d to be gathered or flow 
 (which fhe always found by a greater De- 
 gree of Sicknefs, Oppreftion, and a greater 
 than ordinary Headach that recurred Month- 
 ly) and a conftant Courfe of Cinnabar , frefh 
 and finely levigated, half a Dram Morning 
 
 and 
 
 3 
 
2 86 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 and Night for a long Time, and once a 
 Week the Pilul. Gummof. & de Aloe lota 
 J p. ce, with Bath Waters in a Morning 
 in the temperate, and Pyrmont in the hot 
 Weather: fometimes Riding a Horfehack , 
 other times Walking , as Ihe could beft like, 
 or could bear them. After the firft Month 
 of this Diet and Medicines , fhe never had 
 any one Fit more to be oblerved ; fometimes 
 indeed Ihe had a good deal of Lownefs , 
 Headachy or Sicknefs , but a Vomit always 
 relieved her. By going on fteadily in this 
 Courfe, Ihe grew fenfibly better every two 
 or three Months, and in lefs than two Years 
 was perfe&ly cured of all her Complaints, 
 and then returned to common Life, though 
 with great Care, Caution , and exaSl tem- 
 perance, drinking not above a Glafs or two 
 of Wine a Day, and for moft part eating 
 only the tender, young Animal Foods , be- 
 ing but of a tender Fabrick and weak Con- 
 flitution by Nature, though now Ihe is per- 
 fectly Well y Chearful , and Healthy . 
 
 Case II. 
 
 A Voting Lady of an Honourable and Opu- 
 lent Family, and of the moft diftinguifh’d 
 Merit, and the fineft Parts I ever knew in 
 the Sex, had from her Parents inhe- 
 rited 
 
Of Nervous Cafes } See. 287 
 
 rited weak Nerves , which, for want of 
 due Care and proper Management, brought 
 on at lafl: the moft violent, extreme, and 
 obftinate Nervous Paroxyfms , (with their 
 whole Circle of » Symptoms) I had ever feen. 
 She had been naturally of a thin Habit , but 
 of a fudden had grown exceffively Fat ; and 
 had had often Threatnings, and fometimes 
 pretty long Seizures of the fame Clafs of Dif- 
 orders before; which from time to time other 
 Phy ficians, and often I, had cured by the com- 
 mon Medicines, viz. Vomits , Volatiles , Cha- 
 ly beats, Bitters , Pyrmont and Bath Waters y 
 with gentle Evacuations . But at laft all 
 
 thefe Nervous Symptoms became fo extremely 
 obftinate, frightful, and painful, that nei- 
 ther I, nor any other of her Physicians (of 
 whom Ihe had confulted many) could pro- 
 cure her any lafting Reprieve. She came 
 at laft to Bath, where I had often had the 
 Honour to dired her, and the reft of the 
 Family for many Years; the Waters with 
 Apainquhiated Bitters , and c Pilul. Gummof. 
 cum Aloe lota , at firft gave her the moft fen- 
 fible and longeft Relief, but at laft they 
 fail’d alfo. I afterwards try’d the greateft 
 and moft extenfive Variety of Nervous Me- 
 dicines, I had ever us’d in any fuch Cafe, 
 ftnee I firft pra&ifed Phyfick. I try’d over 
 and over all the Tribe of the Nervous , An- 
 tihyf erica! , and De - objlruent Medicines, 
 
 Bitters , 
 
 3 
 
288 The Englifh Maladt. 
 
 Bitters, Volatiles , Chalybeats, Foetids , Al- 
 teratives ; all Kinds of Evacuations, (as 
 Bleeding, Blijlering, Vomiting again and 
 again) together with the Ponderous, Mineral 
 and Mercurial Medicines of all the proper 
 Preparations, and at laft even Opiates them- 
 felves, combined with all th q Ant ihy fieri cks ; 
 Indeed every thing I had ever ufed, heard of, 
 or read in approv’d Authors, and each of thefe 
 for a Time fufficient for Trial. Notwith- 
 ftanding all this, her torturing Headachs , 
 her conftant fcr earning Fits, burning Heats, 
 Jleeplefs Nights , Terrors, and other inex- 
 prefiible Sufferings, were intolerable and in- 
 fupportable. I was in the utmoft Concern 
 and Anxiety about her, and knew not what 
 Hand to turn me : for tho’ other Physi- 
 cians had been join’d, yet, I having been 
 hitherto always fuccefsful in the Family, they 
 did me the Honour to place a particular 
 Confidence in me, and I was as heartily and 
 warmly defirous of ferving them fuccefsful- 
 ly. At laft (after above a Year fpent un- 
 der this Method and thefe Medicines) I 
 told them and her, that I had but one 
 thing more to propofe, which I had done 
 long before, but that Ihe had been often 
 and ftrongly caution’d and warn’d againft 
 it, and I was afraid neither fhe nor her 
 Friends would willingly come into it, after 
 fo many, fo weighty Remonft ranees a- 
 gainft it, and from thofe whofe Duty it 
 
 was 
 
Of Nervous Cafes , See. 289 
 
 was todired her, fo that I was willing to have 
 effected the Cure by the common Means and 
 Medicines, but found they would not do ; 
 and therefore I told her at laft plainly, 
 that the only Hopes of her Recovery was 
 from a total Milk and Vegetable Diet, and 
 Abftinence from all fermented Liquors, but 
 as a Cordial. I met indeed with a readier 
 Compliance on all fides than I had expeded j 
 and accordingly the Lady went chearfully 
 into a total Milk and Vegetable Diet, and in 
 lefs than three Months Ihe was much better, 
 in fix Months tolerably well, and in nine 
 Months almofi: perfedly well j this chiefly 
 by her cool Diet, for after fhe enter’d upon 
 it, fhe had occafion to take very few Me- 
 dicines, fo that fhe went away with no 
 other Directions, but the Continuance of 
 gentle Vomits when required, Pyrmont Wa- 
 ters for her common Drink, and Perfeve- 
 rance in her Diet : with the Gum and Aloe- 
 
 tick PUL on tranfient Diforders. The pon- 
 derous Medicines fhe had long taken at firfl, 
 had made the Liver pervious, (which had 
 been evidently obitruded before,) fo that 
 there was conftantly Choler poured out into 
 the Stomach fora long Time after, which made 
 Vomits fometimes neceflary to difeharge it. 
 I hear fhe continues extremely well, without 
 any means but her Diet and thefe few 
 Medicines on Occafions with Exercife, and 
 grows more hardy, adive, and chearful, as 
 
 U I was 
 
2<?o The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 I was certain fhe would, and doubt not 
 file will long continue fo. 
 
 Case III. 
 
 A Gentleman of Fortune , and an Officer of 
 Dijlintiion in the Army, was affli&ed with 
 the moft painful and frightful Colicks I had 
 ever known, which often terminated in Eft - 
 leptick Fits. Some of his Family, about the 
 fame Time (viz. the Meridian ) of Life, had 
 died of the fame Sort of convulfive and ner- 
 vous Colick , which had juftly made him the 
 more cautious and careful. He came here 
 to Bath , to put himfelf under my Di- 
 rection : I at firft try’d with the Waters, 
 all the common Nervous Medicines, as Quin- 
 quin ate d Bitters , Volatiles , Fcetids , and Al- 
 teratives of the mineral Tribe of all 
 Kinds, and in all the Shapes I could con- 
 trive •, befides conftant riding, on Chalyheats 
 (which always makes them more effec- 
 tual) but all without Succefs : So that 
 
 I have often feen him rolling on the 
 Ground in Agonies , crying out to put an 
 End to his Pains any how. Nothing gave 
 him Eafe, except great Dofes of warm 
 Opiats in ftrong Nervous Cordials , and 
 they always left him difpirited, low, and 
 reftlefs, even to Extremity. I was willing 
 to try every thing firft, before I propo- 
 fed the la.fl Remedy ; ' lor I never found 
 
 any 
 
Of Nervous Cafes , Sc c. 29 i 
 
 any one would come into it, till their 
 Sufferings were extre?ne , and that they 
 found nothing elfe would do, and fo were 
 brought to be willing to purchafe Eafe at 
 any Rate. Gold may be bought too dear ; and 
 as long as common Remedies , and common 
 Life will do, I own, it is not reafonable to 
 expeSt that any fhould fubmit to uncommon 
 and extraordinary Methods. Dying alone, is 
 not fo terrible to an honed: and good Man ; 
 tho’ all the Bounces about it, I have fbme- 
 times heard, feem really unnatural , and pals 
 with me for nothing ; the Author of our 
 Nature has wifely implanted the Terror of 
 Death in us, to fupport our Endeavours of 
 living under the many Miferies and Misfor- 
 tunes of our prefent Imprifonment ; the only 
 Misfortune is, when we come too late in the 
 Application of this lajl Remedy , and the 
 Time is elaps’d for a perfect Recovery; 
 This Gentleman , being one of finely cultiva- 
 ted Parts , as well as of good, found natural 
 Senfe, comply’d more readily than I expe&ed 
 from a Gentleman of his Profejjion : when I 
 propos’d a Milk and Vegetable Diet , as the 
 foie Means left for his total Recovery front, 
 all his Complaints, and for a firm State of 
 future Health. When he enter’d upon itiat 
 firft, his Appetite was quite gone, fo that 
 he lived in it for fome time on the lead: I ever 
 knew a Man do* I have known him pais 
 many Weeks , and form Months , with a little 
 U % Bohea 
 
lyz The Englifh Malady, 
 
 Bohea tfea, and a fmall Cup of Milk, with 
 about half a Penny Roll, without Butter, for 
 Breakfaji : and about a Bint of boil’d Milk, 
 with fcarce a whole Roll for Dinner \ and 
 his Supper (if any) was two or three Spoon- 
 fuls of Homy boil’d and skim’d in a Pint of 
 Water, with a Slice or two of a Penny Roll 
 toafted ; and he told me, he found Honey 
 thus boil’d in Water, and thus skim’d and 
 defecated, one of the moft heartening and 
 enlivening Meals he could then take ; and 
 certainly this is an excellent Method to take 
 off the Rawnejs , Crudity , and Colicking 
 Quality of Honey, which being a Kind of Na- 
 tural Balfam or infpiffated Juice of the Meal 
 of young Vegetables on the BloJJ'oms of Plants ; 
 is confequently, when thus boil’d, skim’d, 
 and diluted, a moft excellent tender Food 
 for weak Stomachs. After palling a Winter 
 at Bath, to inure him to this Regimen, re- 
 peating Vomits and warm Opiats on Pa- 
 roxyjms, Rideing, and Drinking the Bath- 
 Waters, 1 fent him through the South of 
 France Into Italy, where, being out of the 
 Way of Temptation, and an ingenious, well- 
 educated Gentleman , he paffed his Time both 
 agreeably and ufefully ; and after about two 
 Years ftay, he brought Home with him a 
 found, firm Vegetable Conftitution, and a 
 Stock of ufeful Knowledge, for the Orna- 
 ment of the Country herefidesin, and has been 
 now Healthy for many Years ; (and Father 
 
Of Nervous Cafes, &c. 295 
 
 of fine Children,) by continuing his Vegetable 
 Diet. 
 
 Case IV. 
 
 A Gentleman of fVahs , of ftrong natural 
 Parts and great Ingenuity, but defeended of 
 a Gouty Family, was early in Life feized 
 with that Diforder, which in a few Years 
 rofe to fuch Height, that he was almoft con- 
 ftantly confined to his Bed by it, at leaft for 
 eight or ten Months in the Year ; and when 
 his Hands, Feet, Knees, Hips or Shoul- 
 der 'Joints were not affe&ed, it was in his 
 Head, Stomach, or Bowels, lb that he had 
 no Eafe but from pouring down conftantly 
 great Dofes of ffcrong fVi ues. Drams, or 
 Cordials. Thus wearied out, crippled, and 
 crucified, he came here to Bath, to be un- 
 der my Direction; ready and willing to fub- 
 mit to any Difcipline or Self-denial I lhould 
 preferibe, to get, at leaft Eafe, if not rid, of 
 fo tormenting a Diftemper, As he was in 
 this Difpofition, I put him immediately on a 
 Vegetable Diet, (it being in Summer, and he 
 then in his lucid Interval.) Befides the Diet , 
 I gave him a medicated opening Wine, wjth 
 Rhubarb , Quinquina, Aromaticks and Bitters ; 
 (or a Kind of Lower's Tintfure, without Steel ) 
 this, with the Waters, I defigned lhould 
 cleanfe the Primes Vice throughly, and leften 
 fhe Quantity and -Acrimony of the Arthritick 
 U 3 Salts 
 
294 Th e Englifh Malady. 
 
 Salts by degrees. He continued here four or 
 five Months, drinking the Waters, and ufeing 
 this Medicine, by which his next Fit was lefs 
 painful and dureable ; and he has kept to this 
 Regimen , and thefe Medicines, under fome 
 Form or other, at times, ever fince. In the Fit 
 I ordered him to drink plentifully of Jmall 
 Sack Whey or Sage Pojf'et , with Hartfhorn 
 Drops, and to live moftly on the Seed and 
 Meal Meats then, (as Bread , Budding , Water- 
 Gruel \ Panada, Rice , and Sago, with or 
 without Milk ;) in the Intervals of the Fits , 
 on Milk , Fruit, Roots, and Herbs, and to 
 take often the medicated Wine I have men- 
 tioned, and on Occafions the Bath Waters, 
 with the conftant Ufe of the Flejh Brufh . 
 By this Method he has not only recovered 
 the Ufe of his Limbs in a great 
 in the long Intervals, is as light J'ome , chearful , 
 and happy as any Man can be, after having 
 been fo long crippled by fo violent Hereditary 
 a Biftemper. His Fits are with very mode- 
 rate Pain and little Inflammation , and their 
 
 • J . • . 
 
 coming on and going off, is with little or no 
 Sicknefs. He looks healthy , hearty, and 
 chearful, and, I believe, would not change 
 his prefen t Life, for his paft, for the greatefi: 
 fenfual Gratifications ; he is now yearly grow- 
 ing better, and is like to hold it out to a great 
 and green old Jlge ; whereas formerly, under 
 fhe Management he was forced to ufe for 
 
 u Wh Rdief> 
 
Of Nervous Cafes , See. 295 
 
 Relief, he could have held it but a very- 
 few miferable Years. 
 
 Case V. 
 
 A dignified Clergyman , of great Learning 
 and Worth , well known by his excellent 
 Works , had naturally a great deal of Spirit 
 and Fire , but by a fe dent ary and fludiom 
 Life, had brought on Flatulence , Giddlnefs , . 
 Opprelfion, Lownefs, and Anxiety to a great 
 Degree, by which he had been long op- 
 prefTed. He had been always very tempe- 
 rate, of a flight tender Make, but of late 
 had grown very thin, dry, and was run- 
 ning almofl: into a Scorbutical and Nervous 
 Atrophy. I had advis’d him formerly in the 
 beft Manner I could, fometimes the Gum 
 Fills , with an Ahetlck , fometimes Sylphium , 
 or Steel and Bitters , and fometimes Spa, 
 Pyrmont ,' or Bath Waters, by which he had 
 been much reliev’d ; but at laft none of 
 thefe, nor any thing I could fuggeft, would 
 have any dureable Effect. In fine, I told 
 him, that nothing, in my Opinion, but a 
 total Milk and Vegetable Diet could effectu- 
 ally and entirely cure and reftore him, which 
 he readily and chearfully complied with, 
 and entered upon diredtly, being, as I faid, 
 thin and temperate , and without grofs Hu- 
 mours. So he had no Reafon to expedt any 
 Jdifp amatory Fits by this Method . And with no 
 U 3 other 
 
2 $6 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 other Affiftance from Art, but fometimes 
 an Aloetick Fill, or the Rheum ghiinqui- 
 natum, he got in a very fhort Time eajy , 
 chearful , of full and free Spirits, and capa- 
 ble of any Degree of Application and Study, 
 without Wearinefs and Oppreffion, and 
 without the Neceffity of that Pajiing Life of 
 Horfe- Service, fo neceffary to carry off the 
 fuperfluous Load in others, under the fame 
 Kind of Complaints, and in a full and free 
 Diet. He is now like to continue long 
 healthy, chearful, and lively. 
 
 Case VI. 
 
 A Gentleman’s Lady of Oxfordfhire, of as 
 much Virtue, Piety, Charity, and good 
 Senfc, as any one I ever was acquainted 
 with, came here to Bath, for fchirrous Knots 
 and Tumors in her Breaft, which both I and 
 other Phyfcians believed to be a Threatning 
 or Beginning Cancer. I tried here with her 
 Cinnabar, Milliped, Lenitive Fie Liu ary, Dia- 
 cajfa cum Manna , and other cooling and loft 
 Openers, with a regulated young Animal 
 Food Diet, and a very little Wine, under 
 the Courfe of the Bath Waters, which fhe 
 purfued here for many Weeks with great 
 Exa&nefs and confiderable Benefit. I ad- 
 vifed her to continue the fame Medicines at 
 Home, with AJfes Milk and Brifiul W'aters , 
 which fhe perfifted in all that Winter ; but 
 
 towards 
 
towards Spring her Pains and Shootings be- 
 came more intenfe and frequent, being 
 attended with a Cough, by which flic began 
 to be alarmed, as far as one of her admirable 
 Patience and Refigndtion could be. I then 
 told her plainly, that nothing but a total 
 Milk and Fegetahle Diet could fave her from 
 a Cancer , which fhe moft implicitly fubmit- 
 ted to, and has continued in ever fince, and 
 is now become the moft lively, eafy , and 
 chearful Lady alive, being a publick Blefling 
 to her Neighbours and poor T s wants , and a 
 Happinefs to all her Friends and Acquaint- 
 ances. 
 
 I. Tt ANY more Cafes I could men- 
 l\/| tion, of fuch as, in the like 
 -k ▼ -A, Diflempers with thefe here fpe- 
 cified, have a&ually obtained under my 
 Dire&ion a lajling and folid Cure, by a Regi- 
 men 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
2p8 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 men of Diet and fuch Medicines , as I have 
 hinted. But if thefe will notfatisfy my Rea- 
 der, Volumes of Cafes would not; they will 
 be fufficient for the Candid Miferable and Sin- 
 cere ; the Captious Healthy , and the Diffident , 
 nothing I can fay will fatisfy. It is certain 
 none will undertake fuch a Method , till they 
 have found all others vain and ineffe&ual ; 
 nor can I blame any one for fo doing : If the 
 Gratification of their Palate and Tafle be of 
 greater Pleafure to them than their Sufferings 
 are of Pain, they are as yet unfit for any fuch 
 Regimen or Method ; they muftbe worfe , be- 
 fore they can be better . I think it pretty cer- 
 tain from the Way of Living of the lower Rank 
 of all Nations, that fuch a Regimen will not 
 dire&ly kill or Jlarve any thing but Dijlem- 
 pers : Unlefs the Wound bea&ually mortal and 
 incureable in its own Nature and Degree : and 
 even then it will prolong their Days , and make 
 their Paffage lefs miferable and painful, than 
 any other Method ; and I daily fee many 
 wretched Perlbns complaining , grumbling , and 
 inwardly curling the Creator of the JJniverfe 
 for their Miferies and Sufferings, who I am 
 morally and medically certain, bring all their 
 Wretchednefs on themfelves, by conftantly 
 over-loading, burfting and cramming the poor 
 pajjive Machine : and who, by the Methods and 
 Medicines I have mentioned, might be made 
 eafy^chearful, and happy , tho’ not perhaps al- 
 ways at jirjl, (unlefs they have few Humours 
 
Objections confideved. 299 
 
 or Salts in their Juices) yet furely in fome Time. 
 A vegetable Patient of mine, very juftly ob- 
 ferved to me, that whereas before, he could 
 never truft his Appetite'sLongingsor Craving, 
 while on an animal high Diet, without fuffer- 
 ing to Extremity : Now he found, he might 
 fafely and fecurely truft Nature and Appe- 
 tite, without Danger, Fear or Suffering. 
 Others I have known, who having entered 
 upon, and being in fome Degree recovered by 
 this Method and thefe Medicines, yet have 
 continued Weak, Poor, and Valetudinary all 
 their Days, for Want of Reflation and Per- 
 fever ance in it, by being divided and frightened 
 by the unexperienced Gainfayers . But in about 
 thirty Years Practice, in which I have in fome 
 Degree or other, advifed this Method in pro- 
 per Cafes, I have had but two Patients , in 
 whofe total Recovery, I have been miftaken, 
 and theirs were both fcrophulous Cafes , where 
 the Glands and Tubercules were fo many, fo 
 hard and impervious , that even the ponderous 
 Remedies and Diet joined, could not difculs 
 them, and they were both alfo too far gone 
 before they entered upon them ; and I have 
 found deep fcrophulous Vapours, the moft ob- 
 ftinate and perverfe of any of this 'Tribe of thefe 
 Diftempers : and indeed nothing can poffibly 
 reach Inch, but the. ponderous Medicines, joined 
 with a liquid , cool, foft Milk and Seed Regi- 
 men ; and if thefe two do not in due Time, 
 I can boldly affirm it, nothing ever will. 
 
 II. One 
 
The Englifh Malady. 
 
 300 
 
 II. One of the moft terrible Objections, fome 
 weak Perfons make againft this Regimen and 
 Method , is, that upon accidental 'trials , they 
 have always found Milk, Fruit , and Vegetables 
 fo inflate, blow them up, and raile fuch Tu- 
 mults and tempefls in their Stomach and Bow- 
 els, that they have been terrified and affrighted 
 from going on. I own the truth and Faff to 
 be fuch in fome as is reprefented : And that in 
 Stomachs and Entrails inured only to hot and 
 high Meats and Drinks, and confequently in an 
 injlammatory State, and full of Choler and 
 Phlegm, this Senfation will fometimes happen y 
 juft as a Bottle of Cyder ox fretting Wine, when 
 the Cork is pulled out, will fly up, fume, and 
 rage : And if you throw in a little Ferment or 
 Acid, (fuch are Milk, Seeds, Fruit and Vege- 
 tables to them ) the Effervefcence and tempefl 
 will exafperate to a Hurricane. But what is 
 Wind, Flatulence, Flegm, and Choler? But 
 flopp'd Perfpiration, fuperfluous Nourifhment, 
 inconco&ed Chyle of high Food and ftrong Li- 
 quors, fermenting and putrifying? And when 
 thefe are fhut up and cor k’d, with ftill more and 
 more folid, ftrong, hot, and Jlyptick Meats and 
 Drinks, is the Corruption and Putrefk&ion 
 thereby leflened? Will it not then at laft 
 either burft the Veffel or throw out the Cork 
 or Stoples, and raife more lafting and cruel 
 tempefls and tumults ? Are Milk and Vegeta- 
 bles, Seeds and Fruits, harder of Digeftion, 
 
 more 
 
Objections confedered. 301 
 
 more Corrofwe , or more capable of producing 
 Chyle, Blood , and Juices, lefs fit to circulate , 
 to perfpire, and be fecreted ? But what is to be 
 done > The Cure is obvious. Begin by De- 
 grees, Eat lefs Animal Food : the moft tender 
 and young, and drink lefs ftrong fermented Li- 
 quors for a Month or two; then proceed to a 
 trimming Diet, of one Day Seed and Vegetables , 
 and another, tender young Animal Food ; in 
 the mean Time take frequent gentle PVa/h- Vo- 
 mits, and Rhubarb and Bark Stomach Purges ; 
 drink Mineral and Chalybeat Waters, and Aque- 
 ous Bitters ; take Teflaceous Powders and Al- 
 kaline Earths, and then by Degrees Aide into a 
 total Milk , Seed , and Vegetable Diet : Cooling 
 the Stomach and Entrails gradually, to fit 
 them for this foft, mild, fweetening Regimen ; 
 and in Time your Diet will give you all the 
 Gratification you ever had from ftrong , high , 
 and rank Foods and fpirituous Liquors: And 
 you will enjoy to the Bargain at laft, 
 Eafe, free Spirits , per fed Health , and long 
 Life. Milk of alt Kinds, and Seeds , are 
 jfitteft to begin with in fuch Cafes, when 
 dried, finely ground and drefs’d, and con- 
 fequently the leaf! flatulent. Leffen the 
 Quantity even of thefe, under what your 
 Appetite would require, at leaf! for a Time. 
 Bear a little , and jorbear. Virtue and good 
 Health are not to be obtain’d without fome 
 Labour and Pains againft contrary Habits. 
 It was a wild Bounce of a Pythagorean , who 
 
 defy’d 
 
 3 
 
yoz The Englifli Malady. 
 
 defy’d any one, to produce an Inftance of a 
 Perfon who had long lived on Milk and 
 Vegetables : who ever cut his own Throat , 
 hang’d or made away with himfelf • who had 
 ever fuffered at Tyburn , gone to Newgate , 
 or to Moorjields , (and he added profanely) 
 or would go to Hell hereafter. 
 
 III. Another doughty Objection againft a 
 Vegetable Diet , I have heard has been made 
 by learned Gentlemen : And is, that Vegeta- 
 bles require great Labour , ftrong ExerciJ'e , 
 and much Atlion, to digeft and turn them 
 into proper Nutriment , as (fay they) is evi- 
 dent from its being the common Diet of 
 Day-Labourers , Handy-Craftfmen , and Farm- 
 ers : This Objection I Ihould have been 
 aftiamed to mention, but that I have heard it 
 came from, the Men of Learning ; and they 
 might have as juftly faid, that Free-Jlone 
 is harder than Marble , and that the Juice of 
 Vegetables makes ftronger Glew than that of 
 Fijh or Beef l Do not Children and young 
 Perfons, that is , tender Perfons, live on 
 Milk and Seeds , even before they are capa- 
 ble of much Labour and Exercife ? Do not 
 all the Eajtern and Southern People, live in- 
 tirely almoft on them ? The Afiaticks , 
 Moors , and Indians , vvhofe Climates incapa- 
 citate them for much Labour, and whofe 
 Indolence is fo juftly a Reproach to them ? 
 Are there lazier and Itfs laborious Men than 
 
 the 
 
 3 
 
Objections conftdeved . 30 $ 
 
 the Highlanders and Native Irijb ? The 
 Truth is, Hardmfs' of Digejlion does princi- 
 pally depend on the Minutenefs of the Com- 
 ponent Particles : as is evident in Marble and 
 precious Stones ; and Animal Subftances be- 
 ing made of Particles that pafs through innu- 
 merable, very little, or infinitely / mail excre- 
 tory Duliis) muft be of a much finer texture, 
 and confequently harder and tougher in their 
 Compofition, than any Vegetable Subftance 
 can be : And the Flejh of Animals that 
 live on Animals are like double diftill’d 
 Spirits, and io require much more La- 
 bour to break, grind and digeft them : 
 And indeed, if Day-Labourers and Handy- 
 Craftfmen were allowed the high, ftrong 
 Food of Men of Condition : And the quick 
 and much thinking Pcrfons' were confined to 
 the Farmer and Ploughmens Food, it 
 would be much happier for both. 
 
 IV. The lafl Objebiion I fhall take Notice 
 of againft a Milk and Vegetable Diet , is, that 
 it breeds Phlegm , and fo is unfit for tender 
 Perfons of cold Conftitutions, efpecially 
 thofe whofe predominant Failing is too much 
 Phlegm : But this Obje&ion has as little 
 Foundation as any of the precedent; Phlegm 
 is nothing but fuperfluous Chyle and Nou- 
 rilbmen-t, or the taking down more Food, 
 than the Expences of Living, and the Wafle 
 of the Solids and Fluids require ; the People 
 
 that 
 
304 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 that live moft on fuch Foods, (the Eaflern 
 and Southern People, and thofe of the Nor- 
 thern I have mentioned) breed lefs Phlegm 
 than any others. Superfluity will always 
 produce Redundancy , whether it be of Phlegm 
 or Choler ; and that which will Digeft the 
 moft readily, will breed the left Phlegm, (as 
 is evident from infinite Experiment and the 
 beft Phdofophy) fuch are Milk , Seeds , and 
 Vegetables. Generally fpeaking, the Phlegm 
 in the Glands, in the Lungs, and on the 
 Stomach , is nothing but the Vifcofy of the 
 Serum of the Blood, and that which will 
 leaft produce Vifcofity, will produce leaft 
 Phlegm , it is true, by coolipg and relaxing 
 the Solids, the Phlegm will be more readily 
 thrown up and difcharged ; more, I fay, by 
 fuch a Diet , than by a hot, high, caujlick, 
 and reftringent one; but that Difcharge is a 
 Benefit to the Conftitution, and will help it 
 the fooner and fafter to difpumate and purify, 
 and fo to get into perfed good Health ; 
 whereas by Uniting thefe up, the Cafe or 
 Cask muft fly and burft 16 much the fooner. 
 
 Y. The only material and l'olid Objedions 
 againft a Milk, Seed, and Vegetable Diet 
 are, Eirjl, That it is particular and unfocial, 
 in a Country where the common Diet is of 
 another Nature: 'But I am lure Sicknefs , 
 Lorjonefs, and OppreJJion is much more lb ; 
 and I fhould never ad vile any one to fuch a 
 
 Diet , 
 
Objections conjiderd. 305 
 
 Diet, who can do tolerably under a common 
 one : Tho’ thefe Difficulties happen only at 
 firft, while the Cure is about : for when good 
 Health comes, thefe Oddnejfes and Speciali- 
 ties will vaniffi, and then all the contrary to 
 thefe will be the Cafe. Secondly , That it is 
 weakening, and gives a Man lefs Strength and 
 Force than common Diet. It is true, that 
 may happen at firft alfo, while the Cure is im- 
 perfect ; but then the greater Activity and 
 Gayety which will enfue on Health, under a 
 Milk and Vegetable Diet , will liberally fupply 
 that Defect, if real ; and I fhould never ad vile 
 any one to luch a Diet , whofe Manner of 
 Living and Occupation requires great Mecha- 
 nical Force, Labour, and Strength; for they 
 feldom or never can want fo poor and low a 
 Diet for this Diftemper, becaufe their Labour 
 and Fxercife drawing off and antidoting the 
 Faults and Inconveniencies of a full, ftrong, 
 and free Manner of Living, will prefervethem ; 
 fo it will never be required or be neceffary or 
 fit for thz governed, but the governing', never 
 for thofe whofe Excellence lies in their Limbs , 
 but thofe whofe Superiority lies in their Heads 
 and thinking Faculties ; never for the AStive^ 
 but for the Sedentary. But thirdly , The molt 
 material Objection againft fuch a Diet, is, that 
 it cools, relaxes, foftens, and unbends the Solids 
 at firft, fafter than it corrects, thins, and 
 fweetens the Juices, and fo brings on greater 
 Degrees of Lownefs, than it is defigncd to 
 
 X Cure, 
 
6 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Care, and fo finks inftead of railing. But this 
 Objedion is not univerfally true, for there 
 are many I have treated, who without any 
 Ruby Inconvenience , or confequent Lownefs , 
 have gone into this Regimen , and have been 
 free from any OppreJJioiiy Sinking , or any 
 Degree of Weaknefs ever after; and they 
 were not only thofe who have been gene- 
 rally Temperate and Clean , free from Hu- 
 mours and Sharpnefles ; but who on the 
 Decline of Life, or from a naturally weak 
 Conftitution or Frame, have been opprefs’d 
 and funk, from their Weaknefs and their 
 Incapacity to digefi common Animal Food y 
 and fermented Liquors. Thofe who have 
 been very Voluptuous , or very Grofsy when 
 this cooling Diet has loofened their grofs 
 Humours , acrid Bile and (harp Serum y mull 
 fuffer in throwing thefe off ; but I have fug- 
 gefted Means conftantly to relieve thefe 
 Symptoms. Bark , Rhubarb , Bit ter j, Steely 
 and Chalybeat Mineral Waters , will always 
 keep up the Tenfion of the Solids in a De- 
 gree fufficient for fuch a Diet ; and I 
 very much queftion if any Diety either 
 hot or cooly has any great Influence on the 
 Solidsy after the Fluids have been intirely 
 fweetened and balmifed. For then I have 
 always found the Solids return to much 
 the fame State of Strength and Springy 
 they were in before the Diftemper; and 
 all the Fundions return to the fame ‘Tenor. 
 
 Sweeten 
 
Col Townfhendj Cafe, 30? 
 
 Sweeten but and thin the Juices , the ref will 
 follow of Courfe. 
 
 
 The Cafe of the Honourable Colonel 
 Townfliend. 
 
 f^Olonel Townfhend , a Gentleman of excel- 
 ^ lent Natural Parts, and of great Honour 
 and Integrity , had for many Years been 
 afflicted with a JSfephritick Complaint, at- 
 tended with conftant Vomitings , which had 
 made his Life painful and miferable. Dure- 
 ing the whole Time of his Illnefs , he had 
 obferved the ftricteft Regimen , living on the 
 fofteft Vegetables and lighteft Animal Foods , 
 drinking AJfes Milk daily, even in the Camp : 
 and for common Drink Brifol Water, which, 
 the Summer before his Deaths he had drunk 
 on the Spot. But his Illnefs increafing, and 
 his Strength decaying, he came from Brifol 
 to Bath in a Litter, in Autumn, and lay at 
 the Bed- Inn. Dr. Baynard (who is fince 
 dead) and / were called to him, and attend- 
 ed him twice a Day lor about the Space of a 
 “Week, but his Vomitings continuing Hill 
 incelfant, and obftinate again!! all Reme- 
 X 2 dies, 
 
go 8 Tile Englifh Maladt. 
 
 dies, we defpaired of his Recovery . White 
 he was in this Condition, he fent for us 
 early one Morning: we waited t>n him, with 
 Mr. Shrine his Apothecary (fince dead alfo) ; 
 we found his Senfes clear, and his Mind 
 calm, his Nurfe and feveral Servants were 
 about him. He had made his Will and 
 fettled his Affairs. He told us, he had fent 
 for us to give him fome Account of an 
 odd Senfation , he had for fome Time ob- 
 ferved and felt in himfelf : which was, 
 
 that compofing himfelf, he cou’d die or 
 expire when he pleas’d, and yet by 
 an Effort, or fome how, he could come 
 to Life again : which it feems he had 
 fometimes tried before he had fent for 
 us. We heard this with Surprize , but 
 as it was not to be accounted for from now 
 common Principles , we could hardly be- 
 lieve the Fact as he related it, much left 
 give any Account of it : uniefs he fhotild 
 pleafe to make the Experiment before us, 
 which we were unwilling he fhould do, 
 laft, in his weak Condition, he might 
 carry it too far. He continued to talk very 
 diftindly and fenfibly above a Quarter 
 of an Hour about this (to Him) fur- 
 prifing Senfation , and infilled fo much 
 on our feeing the Trial made, that we 
 were at laft forced to comply. We all 
 three felt his Pulfe firft: it was diftind, tho* 
 foiall and threedy : and his Heart had 
 
Col. TownOiend^ Cafe • 309 
 
 its ufual Beating. He compos’d himfelf 
 on his Back, and lay iri a Bill Pfifture 
 fome time : while / held his right Hand, 
 Dr. Baynard laid his Hand on his Heart, 
 and Mr. Shrine held a clean Looking- 
 glafs to his Mouth. I found his Pulfe 
 
 fink gradually, till at laft I could not 
 feel any, by the tnoft exad: and nice 
 Touch. Dr. Baynard could not feel the 
 leaft Motion in his Hearty nor Mr. Shrine 
 the leaft Soil of Breath on the bright 
 Mirror he held to his Mouth ; then each 
 of us by 'Tarns examin’d his Arm, Heart 
 and Breath , but could not by the niceft 
 Scrutiny difeover the leaft Symptom of 
 Life in him. We reafon’d a long Time 
 about this odd Appearance as well as 
 we could, and all of us judging it in- 
 explicable and unaccountable, and finding 
 he ftill continued in that Condition, we 
 began to conclude that he had indeed 
 carried the Experiment too far, and at 
 laft were fatisfied he was actually dead, 
 and were juft ready to leave him. This 
 continued about half an Hour, by Nine 
 a’Clock in the Morning in Autumn. As we 
 were going away, we obferv’d fome Motion 
 about the Body, and upon Examination, 
 found his Pulfe and the Motion of his 
 Heart gradually returning : he began to 
 breath gently and fpeak foftly : we were 
 .all aftonifh’d to the laft Degree at this 
 
 X 3 miexpetled 
 
310 The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 unexpected Change, and after fome fur- 
 ther Converfadon with him, and among 
 ourfelves, went away fully iatisfy’d as 
 to all the Particulars of this Fad, but 
 
 confounded and puzled, and not able to 
 form any rational Scheme that might ac- 
 count for it. He afterwards called for 
 his Attorney , added a Codicil to his JVill , 
 fettled Legacies on his Servants, re- 
 ceived the Sacrament, and calmly and 
 
 compofedly expir’d about five or fix a’Clocfc 
 that Evening. Next Day he was opened, 
 (as he had ordered) his Body was the 
 
 foundeft and bell made I had ever feen ; 
 his Lungs were fair, large and found, his 
 Heart big and ftrong, and his Intejlines 
 fweet and clean ; his Stomach was of a 
 due Proportion, the Coats found and thick, 
 and the villous Membrane quite entire. 
 But when we came to examine the Kid- 
 neys, tho’ the left was perfectly found 
 and of a juft Size , the right was about 
 four Times as big, diftended like a blown 
 Bladder , and yielding as if full of Pap ; 
 he having often pafs’d a Wheyifh Liquor 
 after his Urine, dureing his lllnefs. Upon 
 opening this Kidney , we found it quite 
 full of a white Chalky Matter, like Plaijler 
 of Paris , and all the flefhy Subftance dif- 
 iolved and worn away, by what I called 
 a Nephritick Cancer. This had been the 
 Source of all his Miferyj and the fympto - 
 
 matick 
 
2 )r. Cranftoun's Cafe . 3 1 1 
 
 matick Vomitings from the Irritation on 
 the confentient Nerves , had quite ftarved 
 and worn him down. I have narrated the 
 Fads, as I faw and obierved them deli- 
 berately and diftin&ly, and fhall leave to 
 the Philofophick Reader to make what In- 
 ferences he thinks fit ; the Truth of the 
 material Circumftances I will warrant. 
 
 The Cafe of the learned and inge- 
 nious Dr. Cranftoun, in a Let- 
 ter to the Author at his Dejire } in 
 2 )r. Cranftoun’s own Words . 
 
 Jedburgh, Sept. 20, 1-32. 
 
 DEAR SIR , 
 
 Y OURS of May laft was moft agree- 
 able : I am much oblig'd to, and at the 
 fame Time charm’d with, that mafierly 
 Reafoning in fuch mafiy Exprefiions, as 
 brings the moft fubtile Speculations in a 
 Manner to the Senfes, in plain Concep- 
 tions, vaftly like the Simplicity of Nature , 
 which is never perplex’d, however much 
 
 X 4 £0 
 
1 x i The Englifli Malady. 
 
 lb our Accounts of it may be. What 
 you are pleafed to communicate, of a 
 Treatife you defign for the Prefs, gives 
 me great Pleafiire. A C lafs of Difeafes 
 lb univerfally frequent, and fo peculiarly 
 the Cloud and Bane of the moft worthy 
 and valuable Lives ; deep fet in the Oeco- 
 nomy and fo little gained upon by 
 Medicine : faperjicially treated by its Pro- 
 ■fejfors, and carekjly or weakly trifled with 
 by the Patients; demands and well de- 
 ferves a Majler s Hand. I rejoice to find 
 the Task undertaken, by one equally 
 qualify’d to do Juftice to the Subject, 
 and Good to Mankind. For my own 
 Part I fhajl never refled upon the mile- 
 Table Di ft refs I have fuffer’d, but with 
 grateful Remembrance of that kind Hu- 
 manity, wherewith you communicated your 
 frank and friendly Advice. The clear 
 diftind Knowledge, from fmall imperfebfc 
 Hints, you had at firfl: of my Diftemper, 
 was equally furprizing, with the pofitive 
 Affurance of Succefs, with which you prelfed 
 to perfuade and encourage my following 
 your Method of Care ; nothing but ma- 
 ture Experience and well-taken Obferva- 
 tions, upon certain Principles of Science , 
 cou’d have warranted, or fupported a Predic- 
 tion more like prophetick Security , than 
 ■phyfical Progno flick, which hitherto has 
 
 anfwer’d ; as I have faithfully the Con- 
 dition, 
 
2)r. CranAourus Cafe 3 \ -y 
 
 d'ition.~And now Dr. Dr. Infandum ! —Jubes 
 remvare Dolorem. But as fo good a Friend's 
 Commands are facred, if it may in the 
 lead be ferviceable to your Purpofe, I 
 fhall, befide what you know already, 
 give a fhort AbflraPt, as I can now re- 
 coiled:, of the Origin and Progrefs of 
 my Difeafe, wherein, without the lead 
 Reafoning, Conjecture or Term of Art , 
 1 fhall coniine it to a fimple Narration 
 of molt effential Matters of Fall, without 
 troubling you with every Circumftance 
 and Symptom , which however proper to 
 the true Hijiory of a DiJeaJ'e , would be 
 too tedious and perhaps fuperfluous here. 
 And tho’, at bed, I'm always at a vaft 
 Lofs for Language and Expreflion, I mull 
 beg you’ll forgive my carelefs Freedom 
 in this : While I write with Eafe and 
 
 Opennefs to a Friend : if you can but take the 
 Meaning, I hope whatever Ufe you pleafe to 
 make of it, you'll be fo kind as to treat 
 me and it as your own. 
 
 (1) A Conftitution rather trattable than 
 ftrong, nor fubjed to confiderable Difor- 
 ders, except fuch tranfient Symptoms of a 
 Colluvies Serofa , upon Cold or Errors in 
 Life, as commonly denominate a fcurbu - 
 tick Habit , never afflided fince Childhood 
 with any formed Difeafe, till at Leyden, 
 | got an autumnal Quartan in 1715s then 
 
 Epidemical 
 
314 ST& Englifh Malady. 
 
 Epidemical in Holland ; which gave eafy 
 Way to the Cortex , and the whole fuc- 
 ceeding Winter had no Relapfe ; but that 
 fame Winter I firft fuffer'd by Gripes and 
 Purging, which always feiz’d me early in 
 the Morning without the leaft further 
 Trouble through the Day. The follow- 
 ing Spring Sealon, a Return of the Jgue 
 in a tertian Type, carried off that Symp- 
 tom, which never return’d more for fe- 
 veral Years, to interrupt good Health, 
 in purfuing my Bulinefs with confidera- 
 ble Fatigue, carelefs altogether of either 
 Diet , or Expofures to all Airs in all Seafons 
 without much Inconvenience. 
 
 (2) About Spring Time 1727, I began 
 to be vifited now and then with an odd 
 uneafy Senfation in the right Side, between 
 the falfe Ribs and Spine of the Ilium , or, as 
 I judged, at the Seat of the Coecum , which 
 feldom came up to acute Pain ; but of 
 various Feelings, fometimes of Goldnefs, 
 at other Times of Heat, and often it felt 
 like vermicular Motions, or fpafmodick 
 Workings in that Part; and thefe Symp- 
 toms would fometimes be communicated 
 to the external .teguments, at other Times 
 fpread inward to the Bowels in different 
 Commotions. This Trouble, without much 
 further affe&ing the Body, came and went 
 at firft a long Time, but, always irri- 
 tated 
 
2 )r. Cranftoun’s Cafe. 315 
 
 tated by Cold, became at laft more con- 
 ftant through the whole Summer, when 
 I draggd about with a great deal of Trouble; 
 now become moreuniverfal, as frequent chilly 
 cold Horrors , fick Periods , with a quick 
 fmall Pulfe and dry Mouth, infuperable 
 Coldnefs in the Extremities , even in the 
 hotteft Days, &c. 
 
 The Beginning of Autumn 1 727, after 
 being much expos'd to cold rainy Wea- 
 ther, my former Complaints formed more 
 directly into Gripes , and lick Throws in 
 the Guts ; which often arofe from, or at 
 leaft moft affeded that firft Seat of Trou- 
 ble in the right Side, and fettled into 
 periodical Returns, which were about the 
 Evening Sun-fet: and the fame Hours in 
 the Morning : which Periods , or I may 
 call them Paroxyfms , continued always 
 till by repeated Evacuations of crude Foe- 
 ces and glutinous Lentor the Intejlines 
 were throughly evacuated. But retaining 
 an Appetite lharp enough, and being to- 
 lerable eafy in the Intervals, without mind- 
 ing its Progrefs or Confequence, I perfi- 
 fled in my ordinary Courfe of Living and 
 Bufinefs, tho' with fevere Incommodement, 
 and daily Aggravations from Cold: till 
 the Middle of Otdoher , when the Seafon 
 turning Bitter Cold and Wet, all the 
 Symptoms increafed, attended with a La- 
 tent 
 
^16 The English Malady: 
 
 tent Fever , I was difabled at once and 
 confin’d. 
 
 (3) Thus, tho 5 better and worfe, I con- 
 tinued after the fame Manner all the Win* 
 ter in great Diftrefs ; opprefs’d with in- 
 numerable Symptoms , which partly arofe 
 from the Genius of the Difeafe, and partly 
 from its Effects on the Oeconomy , and 
 io more common to an exhaufted Con- 
 ftitution and debilitated Nerves ; which need 
 not be enumerated here. When the Dif- 
 eafe was not diverted from its Courfe by 
 Medicine, Management or an exceflive Fever , 
 that fometimes made its Violence conti- 
 nual without Regularity ; the Dyjenterick 
 Symptoms feem’d generally inclined to pe- 
 riodical Exacerbations , which commonly be- 
 gan in the Morning early about four or five, 
 end kept near the fame Evening Hours. 
 The Gripes and ‘ Purging were ufhered 
 in with a mortified Coldneft, efpccially 
 in the Extremities; deep felt in the ten- 
 denous Parts: the Gripes thro’ all the Guts , 
 but chiefly the Colon , and that on the 
 right Side, which foon after affected the 
 Rectum with wringing Violence, and rigid 
 Prejfiure on Dejection ; after one Motion, 
 no more quiet, but by repeated Irritation 
 all the mucous and crude Contents were 
 difeharged, after which the fucceeding Stools 
 were furprizingly different, at different 
 
 Times: 
 
2 )r. Cranftoun ? 5 Cafe. 3 \y 
 
 Times: liquid purely, or Crafs, in all the malig- 
 nant Variety of Colours and Confidence that 
 has ever been obferved in that Difcharge ; and 
 while that Matter was moving in its Defcent 
 thro’ the Guts, the horrid Senfations, Rigors, 
 Heart-lick Throws, &c. which attended its 
 Progrefs, always prognofeicated the virulent 
 Appearance. 
 
 After this Courfe of feveral Hours was 
 finifhed, there was fomeRefpite till the Inte- 
 rims were again replete, or the new Time of 
 Accefs approached, when the fame Scene was 
 repeated. In the mean Time the Urine was 
 variable, of a deep faturate Colour, when the 
 lever was fenfibly high, with a lateritious y 
 dusky or dark Sediment fometimes, elpeci- 
 ally when the Purging was retarded or aba- 
 ted ; good Quantities of crude, limpid, or 
 greenifh tindur’d Urine , of a bitter acrid Pun- 
 gency ; often attended with nervous Affec- 
 tions, forordinary about ioor 12 a’Clockofthe 
 Day, the Urine would cometo fomeSeperation: 
 towards the Evening more crude and limpid, 
 and the fame again at the Morning Period. 
 
 For Ordinary, when the Fever was 
 moderate and no immediate Naufea affed- 
 ing the Stomach, the Appetite was to- 
 lerable • fometimes fharp and an unnatural 
 Craving, with an ungrateful acid Tafte in 
 the Mouth ; but eating was but laying 
 
 in 
 
3 i 8 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 in a new Load, rather to be prelTed 
 down in new Commotions than digefled. 
 Little Thirft, except fometimes, when a 
 Drynefs of the Mouth, &c. or feveriflj 
 internal Heat, made it unquenchable. Com- 
 monly a rigid Drynefs of the Skin, tho’ 
 oft-times Symptomatick Flufhes of Sweat, 
 rarely universal and natural : which when 
 it happen’d of a critical kindly Sort with 
 gentle urinous Difcharge, feldom fail’d of 
 doing Service. By labouring thus thro’ 
 the whole Winter, you may believe I 
 was pretty much exhaufted and emacia- 
 ted, with confiderable Swelling, of the 
 Legs, &c. 
 
 ME D I C INE (S’, I us’d feveral to little 
 Effect, Rhubarb , or the gentleft Stimulus enra- 
 ged all the Symptoms ; all eafy gentle 
 Aftringents of every kind had no Effect, 
 and flrong ones, as DecoCt. DiaJ'cord. with 
 tferra Japonica , proved violent Catharticks ; 
 Injections of any kind, when the Difeafe 
 rag’d, promoted it; Opiats only, tho’ not 
 always, check’d the Purging ; but only 
 by filling the Adtion of irritate Fibres, 
 the Load was accumulated for a redoubled 
 Difcharge : and in the mean Time moft 
 always produced a Naufea , Vomiting, with 
 many other nervous Symptoms , till their 
 retentive Power was gone, and never failed 
 
 effedtually 
 
2)r. Cranftoun’s Cafe. 319 
 
 effectually to debar Sleep, tho' by quieting 
 Pain, it gave eafy -watching Reft. 
 
 (4) About March 1728, with the Affi- 
 ftance of Opiats , the Dileafe began to abate, 
 and at laft the Purging went off, but left the 
 Syflem vaftly debilitated ; and fubjed to 
 many Diforders, proper to fuch a State; 
 however I pafs’d the Summer and next 
 Winter without the Dyfentery ; but in con- 
 tinual Hazard of a Relap fe, and little Con- 
 firmation of Health or Strength. All that 
 Time I made choice of the moft drying 
 Food, and red Wines in fmall Quanti- 
 ties ; with a fimple Intention to abftradb 
 from the Materies Morbi , and corroborate 
 the primes Vis, abftaining from whatever 
 might be faid to moiften or relax. 
 
 (5) Towards the End of Simmer 172^, 
 the old Symptoms (2) began to recur. I 
 negleded them, ftill expofing to the au- 
 tumnal Colds, till all came to the fame 
 Heights as before; (3) went through the 
 fame Courfe of Diftrefs that Winter with 
 little effential Variation, fave what might 
 arife from the greater Violence of the 
 Difeale, and lefs equal Strength in the 
 Subjed. Except a few Weeks of Refpite 
 from the Dyfentery that Spring , without 
 which it is likely Nature had yielded. I 
 had no more Intermiffion all the Summer 
 
 1730, 
 
320 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 i 7 30, the Difeale rag’d with more HeaL 
 and Thirft, &c* 
 
 Bur the warm Seafon allow’d me to drag 
 a feeble and diftreffed Body abroad, and 
 that as far as Airbridge ; I made Trial of 
 the Waters there, you know, without any 
 Succefs, returning to London in as great Di- 
 ftrefs as ever; I wanted much to be deter- 
 min’d, doubtful if I fhould be carried towards 
 Bath or Home : I then firft made free with 
 a CharaLier I was a little acquainted with by 
 the Prejs y and asked your Opinion : by a 
 fpeedy and kind Return, you diffuaded me 
 from Bath , upon good Reafons, confirmed 
 by Experience, and with a friendly Warmth , 
 advis’d a Method of Living , as the only Cure 
 remaining, prefTed by molt encouraging Af- 
 furance of Succefs, if I was not beyond the 
 Power of natural Agents. I obey’d, came 
 Home through a Journey of the greateft Di- 
 flrefs ever one travelled, and immediately be- 
 gan your Method , of -a Milk and vegetable Diet , 
 but the Difeafe rag’d with fuch Violence,, 
 and natural Strength was fo far gone, that 
 I was not able to obferve any Rules with 
 Exa&nefs. Ail the Symptoms (3) formerly 
 mentioned were aggravated with feveral 
 Changes, which I cannot particularly re- 
 late, only, in general, more fenfible Heat, 
 Thirft, and evident Fever , then had ever 
 been before. 
 
 Ax 
 
 j 
 
2 )r. Cranflotin’s Cafe. 3 2 i 
 
 At this Time, fan. 1731. when exhauD 
 ted more than ever, the Purging, by a little 
 Aftiftance of Opiats , after a Day’s Naufea 
 and Vomiting, was abated, which preferved 
 the remaining Life. I then began to be 
 exact in Diet, reftricting it only to Milk and 
 Grdins of Rice , Millet , 6tc. and abdicated all 
 animal Food; in about fix Weeks or two 
 Months, the Dyfentery gave Truce, in which 
 Time I was often fretted with frangurious Sym- 
 ptoms. I fometimes took Notice of one Rfice- 
 vomenon in the Urine, which I never remem- 
 ber to have feen, or heard, or obferv’d before, 
 which was the (Pellicle, which it commonly 
 carry’d on the Top, was powdered with ex- 
 ceeding fnlal l fbinewg Particles , like Gold- 
 daft', the Sides of the Glafs befet with the 
 fame, and the mucous Cloud in the Centre 
 wrought full of them : Thefe glittering 
 
 Atoms, when gathered on the Finger, had 
 the Feeling of fine hard Duft, and the Urine 
 faturate with thefe, at its firft Evacuation, 
 would fparkle and rife in the Glafs ; at fuch 
 Times there was deep Diforder in the Oeco- 
 nomy and nervous Syjlem. 
 
 (6) The Beginning of next- March 1731. 
 the Seafon being a fharp Froft, after fome 
 Days of chilly mortify’d Cold, I was feiz’d 
 with a heavy Stupor and feverifh Heat, with 
 a Return of the Dyfentery ; by this Time, 
 feeble, and little able to ftand the Shock: the 
 
 Y Stomach 
 
yzz The EngUfli Malady. 
 
 Stomach felt loaded, which came to a Vomit- 
 ing of a heavy Pituit : the SenSe of a fluf- 
 fing Load ftill remaining, I took a Vomit, 
 which discharg'd a vaft Quantity of crude 
 FJegm , clear and glaffy, juft as the unbroken 
 White of Eggs ; ftill the Weight at Stomach 
 continued, the Fever increafed with biteing 
 Heat and great Thirfh, a Pi life feeble, unequal 
 and quick \ at the lame time a languid In- 
 flammation feized my Throat, and Parts 
 about it : A little after appeared an Eruption 
 of Flpthce in the Mouth, especially on the 
 Tongue, which was all over thick fet, with 
 very Small pellucid Pearl- coloured Puflles : 
 thefe were attended with a great Salivation of 
 crude, infipid crafs Stuff, Such as I had vo- 
 mitted ; the dpthce remained conftant, the 
 Sinking and Riling as the Fever varied, moff 
 Part higheft at Night. After about a Week, 
 the yjpthco changed their Colour to pale-red, 
 then darker, Sometimes livid, and at laft a 
 black Depreftion on the Top of every one of 
 them. By this Time, natural Strength was 
 juft a going, moftly Supported by SlJJes 
 Milk , which too I was reftrained from by 
 reafon of the great Effufion of Urine, which 
 it provok’d. Scarce able to move out of Bed, 
 after two or three Weeks thus on the Brink 
 of Di (Solution, it pleafed God to fet the 
 Bounds !" The Symptoms all gradually, flowly, 
 and infenfibly declined, and the Dyfentery 
 went off at the Same Time. 
 
 VII. I 
 
Dr. Cranftoun 'sCafe. 
 
 VII. I refolutely, as foon as capable of a 
 Diet, held myfelf clofe to your Rules of 
 bland vegetable Food, and elementary Drink ; 
 and, without any other Medicine, fave fre- 
 quent chewing of Rhubarb , and fometimes 
 a little Cortex. I pafled laft Winter and this 
 Summer without a Relapfe of the DyJ'entery ;■ 
 and, tho’ by a very flow Advance, I find 
 now more Reftitntion of the Body, and Re- 
 gularity in the Oeconomy , on this primitive 
 Aliment , than ever I knew from the Begin- 
 ning of this Trouble. This encourages much 
 my Perfeverance in the lame Method , and 
 that fo religioufly, as to my Knowledge, 
 now for more than a Year and half, I have 
 not tailed any thing that had animal Lifer 
 There is Plenty in the vegetable Kingdom, 
 and Milk taken itfelf, affords Variety : And, 
 fay it were otherwife, Health fhould be 
 thought an eafy Purchafe at a little Reftric- 
 tion of I’dfte , did not its principal Enjoy- 
 ment fhamefully confift in Pleafure of Senje. 
 
 Every one, upon the moll obvious Con- 
 ^derations, may be convinced of the great 
 Influence that Aliment rhu'ft have on the 
 Crajis and Conftitutiofi of our Bodies, which 
 it daily fupplies, and of which, at laft, it 
 becomes corftitaent Materials. And yet for 
 want of dueAttention to this noble Branch of 
 Medicine , or from a vicious Indulgence, and 
 Weaknefs of Refolution, how often is our 
 Y a Prattle# 
 
3 14 The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 Practice rendered miferably unfuccefsful ? 
 and in many, the moft confiderable chronical 
 Diftempers, degenerates into meer I’rijiing or 
 Quackery. 
 
 I have too much tried your Patience with 
 an unpolifhed but faithful Relation of FaBs, 
 and muft leave fuch Speculations to more 
 Experience and a better Judgment. 
 
 When it is not mifpending your Time* 
 you'll believe, I hope, it is real Plealure, as well 
 as improving, to have a Letter from my good 
 Friend j being moft fincerely, Dear Doctor ? 
 
 Tour ageciionate-) 
 
 and obliged humble Servant^ 
 
 W. Cranstoun. 
 
 I Chose to give this Cafe in the Doctor s 
 own Words, thinking it would be more fatif- 
 fadory in its native Drefs ; for tho’ He mo- 
 deltiy thinks it might want a little of the mo- 
 dern polifhing, yet the ftrong good Senfe, the 
 nice Obfervations, and unaffeded Simplicity, 
 is infinitely preferable to all Varmjh , and 
 fhews him equally an excellent Fhyfician , and 
 a Man of Probity. Other Cafes of the fame 
 Kind under my Care, I have from feverat 
 Gentlemen of the Faculty , which fhall be pro- 
 duced (if neceftary) in due Time, after ob- 
 taining their Permillion. 
 
The Author's Cafe. 32 j 
 
 The CASE of the Author . 
 
 § I. IT Was born of healthy Parents, in 
 the Prims of their Days, but dif- 
 pos’d to Corpulence , by the whole 
 Race of one Side of my Family. I palled 
 my To nth in clofe Study, and almoft con- 
 ftant Application to the abflraTted Scien- 
 ces, (wherein my chief Pleafure confifted) 
 and confequently in great Temperance and a 
 fedentary Life ; yet not fo much but that I 
 fometimes kept Holiday , diverted myfelf 
 with the Works of Imagination, and roufed 
 Nature by agreeable Company and good 
 Cheer\ but, upon the Highteft ExceJJes, I 
 always found flippery Bowels, or a Spitting 
 to be the Crife whence afterwards, on Re- 
 flexion, I concluded, that my Glands were 
 naturally lax, and my Solids feeble ', in which 
 Opinion I was confirmed, by an early Shakeing 
 of my Hands , and a Difpofition to be eafily 
 ruffled on a Surprize. Upon my coming to Lon- 
 don, I all of a fudden changed my whole Man- 
 ner of Living ; I found the Bottle-Companions , 
 the younger Gentry, and Free-Livers , to be 
 Y 3 the 
 
3 16 The EngliOi Malady. 
 
 £be moft eafy of Accejs , and moft quickly 
 fufceptible of Friencjbip and Acquaintance , 
 nothing being necellary for that Purpol'e, but 
 to be able to Rat luftily, and fwallow down 
 much Liquor ; and being naturally of a large 
 Size, a cheerful Temper, and tolerable lively 
 Imagination , and having, in my Country Re- 
 tirement, laid in Store of Ideas and Faffs, by 
 thefe Qualifications I foon became careffed 
 by them, and grew daily in Bulk , and in 
 Friend fliip with thefe gay Gentlemen and 
 their Acquaintances : I was tempted to con- 
 tinue this Cotirfe , no doubt, from a Likeing , 
 as well as to force a Frade , which Method I 
 had obferv’d to fucceed with fome others- 
 and thus conftantly Dineing and Supping in 
 Faverns, and in the Houles of my Acquain- 
 tances of Fajle and Delicacy , my Health was 
 in a few Years brought into great Diftrels, 
 by fo fudden and violent a Change. I grew 
 exceflively y^Y, Jhort-breatb'd, Lethargic and 
 Lijilefs. 
 
 § II. The firft lenfible Shock I had, was 
 an autumnal intermittent Fever \ this I con- 
 quer’d in a few Weeks with the Bark , 
 which, at that time, I found exceeding 
 frefh , thin , Cinnamon- coloured , and curled'. 
 This fort (as I know from long Experience) 
 greatly contributing to the Speed and Cer- 
 tainty of the Cure of fuch Diftempers, being 
 more eafily digefted, and entering more rea- 
 
The Author s Cafe. 3 27 
 
 dily into the Mafs of the Blood, while the 
 Stomach is fpoilt by a Difeafe , and the Juices 
 under a preternatural Ferment . For one 
 Year I went on tolerably well, .tho* as it 
 ■were jumbled and turbid , and neither fo Yew 
 in my Faculties, nor io gay in my Temper: 
 But next Autumn I wasfuddenly feized with 
 a vertiginous Paroxyfm , fo extreamly fright- 
 ful and terrible, as to approach near to a Fit 
 of an Apoplexy, and I was forced 4 n k to lay 
 hold on the Ports of my Bed, for fear of 
 tumbling out, as I apprehended. After im- 
 mediate Bleeding and Vomiting (whereby its 
 Violence was abated) I thought -it might be 
 owing to an anomalous Fit of my relapfing In- 
 mittent , and thereupon took about four Oun- 
 ces of this fine Bark in 48 Hours, hut with- 
 out any fenfible Benefit or Injury, I found 
 after this, fome fmall Returns of my Vertigo 
 (in Bed efpecially) on lying on a particular 
 Side, or preffmg upon a particular Part of my 
 Head ; but by Degrees it turned to a con- 
 ifant violent Head-ach , Qiddmefs , Lownejs 
 Anxiety and Terror, fo that I went about 
 like a MalefaPlor condemn’d, or one who ex- 
 pected every Moment to be crufhed by a 
 ponderous Inrtrument of Death, hanging 
 over his Head. At this time I left off 
 Suppers of all kinds, and have never refum’d 
 them fince ; then, even at Dinner, eating 
 but a fmall Quantity of anhnal Food, and 
 drinking very little fermented Liquor, well 
 Y 4 knowing^ 
 
328 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 knowing, that Difeafes muft always be 
 cur’d by their Contraries. On this Occafion, 
 all my Bouncing , protejling , undertaking Com- 
 panions forfook me, and dropt off like au- 
 tumnal Leaves : They could not bear, it Teems, 
 to fee their Companion in fuch Mifery and 
 Piftrefs, but retired to comfort themfelves 
 with a cheer -upping Cup, leaving me to pafs 
 the melancholy Moments with my own Ap- 
 prehensions and Remorje. Even thofe who 
 had fhar’d the beft Part of my Profufions, 
 who, in their Neceffities, had been affilted by 
 my falfe Generofity, and in their Diforders 
 relieved by my Care, did now entirely relip- 
 quifh and abandon me ; fo that I was forc’d 
 to retire into the Country quite alone, being 
 reduc’d to the State of Cardinal tVolJey, when 
 he faid, that if he had ferv’d his Maker as 
 faithfully and warmly ap he had his Prince^ 
 he would not have forfaken him in that Ex- 
 tremity ; and fo will every one find, when 
 Union and Friendjhip is not founded on folid 
 Virtue , and in Conformity to the Divine 
 Order , but in Jenfual Pleafures and mere 
 Jollity. This filly Circumftance I mention, 
 becaufe 1 thought then, it had fome Share in 
 my fucceeding Melancholy , 
 
 $ III. I retir’d, I fay, to the Country, 
 into a fine Air, and liv’d very low : I had a 
 Set on made in my Neck, which 1 carried 
 about for many Months; I took frequent 
 
 Vomit jj 
 
The Author $ Cafe. 319 
 
 Vomits , and gentle Purges, try’d Volatiles , 
 Fcetids, Bitters, Chalybeats , and Mineral 
 Waters, and had the Advice of all my Phy- 
 sical Friends, but with little or no fenfible 
 Benefit; my Head-ach, Giddinefs, Watchings , 
 Lownejs , and Melancholy rather increafing on 
 me. I had by chance heard of the great Be- 
 nefit, which one of my particular Acquain- 
 tances had reap’d from fome active mercurial 
 Medicines (tho’ prefcrib’d by a very inl'uffi- 
 cient Practitioner) in a violent ftupifying 
 Head-ach, which I had Reafon to believe came 
 by the fame Intemperance; thefe I refolv’d 
 to try. I firft took 20 Grains of what is call’d 
 the Princes Powder, which gave me twelve 
 Vomits, and near twice the Number of 
 Stools ; and I had certainly perifhed under 
 the Operation, but for an Over-dofe of Lau- 
 danum after it. In two or three Days more, 
 I took 1 1 Grains of Furbith-mineral, which 
 had not quite fo violent an EfFed; after 
 that I took 10 Grains of Calomel, twice a 
 Day, for about ten Days together ; this put 
 me into a Petit Flux de Louche : After which 
 in three Weeks Time I got abroad lightfomer 
 indeed, and lels confus’d, tho’ ftill very bad, 
 and fcarce any thing better, but not worfe; 
 but two Months after that, I found an extream 
 Sicknefs in my Stomach, which obliged me to 
 take frequent Vomits, thefe now pumping up 
 Oceans of Choler , which they had never done 
 any Degree before ; Whence I concluded, 
 
 that 
 
"The Englifh Malady. 
 
 that the ponderous Remedies I had taken, had 
 opened my obftruded Liver , Gall-bladder , 
 and Porus Biliarius , and broken the Cohe- 
 fion of the vifcid Juices. 
 
 $ IY. While I was thus (as I have faid) 
 forfaken by my Holiday Friends, and my 
 Body was, as it were, melting away like a 
 Snow-ball in Summer, being deje&ed, me- 
 lancholy^ and much confin’d at home, by my 
 Courfe of mineral Medicines, and Country 
 Retirement, I had a long Seafon for undi- 
 fturbed Meditation and Refetfion ( my Fa- 
 culties being then as clear and quick as ever) 
 which I was the more readily led into, that 
 I concluded myfelf infallibly entering into an 
 Unknown State of Things. Having had a liberal 
 and regular Education, with the Inftrudion and 
 Example of pious Parents (who, at firft, had 
 defigned me for the Church) I had preferv’d 
 a firm Perfwafion of the great and fundamen- 
 tal Principles of all Virtue and Morality'. 
 viz. the Exigence of a fupreme and infinitely 
 perfett Being , the Freedom of the Will , the 
 Immortality of the Spirits of all intelligent 
 Beings, and the Certainty of future Rewards 
 or Punifhments. Thefe Dodrines I had ex- 
 amined carefully, and had been confirmed in, 
 from abfradled R’eafonings, as well as from 
 the belt natural Philofophy , and fome clearer 
 Knowledge of the material Syftem of the 
 World in general, and the JVijdom , FitneJ's 
 
 and 
 
The Author's Cafe. 33a 
 
 and beautiful Contrivance of particular 
 Things animated and inanimated \ fo that the 
 Truth and Neceffity of thefe Principles was 
 fo riveted in me (which may be feen by the 
 fir ft Edition of my Philofophical Principles , 
 publifhed fome Years before that happened) 
 as never after to be fhaken in all my Wander- 
 ings and Follies :• And I had then the Confo- 
 lation to refled:, that, in my loofeft Days, I 
 had never pimp’d to the Vices ox Infidelity of 
 any, but was always a determined Adver- 
 fary to both. But I found, that thefe alone 
 were not fufficient to quiet my Mind at that 
 Jundure, efpecially when I began to refled: 
 and confider ferioufly, whether I might not 
 (through Car ele (fiefs and Self-fuff ciency, Vo - 
 luptuoufnefs and Love of Senjuality , which 
 might have impaired my Spiritual Nature) 
 have negleded to examine with fufficient 
 Care: If there might not be more required of 
 thofe, who had had proper Opportunities and 
 Leifure ; if there might not, I fay, be higher 
 more noble, and more enlightening Prin- 
 ciples revealed to Mankind fomewhere ; and if 
 there were not more encouraging and enliven- 
 ing Motives propofed, to form a more exten- 
 five and Heroic Virtue upon, than thofe ari- 
 ftng from natural Religion only (for then I 
 had gone little farther than to have taken 
 Chrijlidnity zxx&Rev elation on frufi) and la fly y 
 if there were not Iikewile fome clearer Ac- 
 counts difcoverable of that State I was then 
 
 (i 
 
3 $2 The Englifti Malady. 
 
 ( I thought ) apparently going iqto, than 
 could be obtained from the mere Light of 
 Nature and Philofophy. Such were my Re- 
 flexions in this my melancholy Retirement, 
 and this led me to call to Mind, which , of 
 all my numerous and various Acquaintances, 
 I could wilh to refemble mojl , now in thele 
 my (to me feemingly) approaching lafl Mo- 
 ments ; and who among all thofe of my par- 
 ticular Acquaintances, was He , who being of 
 found natural , and duly cultivated Parts, had 
 moft ftriXly and conftantly liv’d up to their 
 ConviXions, under the commonly received 
 Principles, and plain Confequences of Chri- 
 ftianity. In a Word, who it was I could re- 
 member to have had received, and lived up to 
 the plain Truths and Precepts contain’d in 
 the Gofpels , or more particularly in out Savi- 
 our’s Sermon on the Mount . At that Time 
 among many whom my Memory fuggefted to 
 me, I fix’d on one, a worthy and learned 
 Clergyman of the Church of England , fuffici- 
 ently known and diftinguifhed in the Philo - 
 fophical and Theological World (whom I dare 
 not name, becaufe he is ftill living, tho’ now 
 extreamly old) ; and as in ftudying Mathe- 
 maticks , and in running over (as I was able) 
 Sir Ifaac Newton’s Philofophical Works, I 
 had always pickt out, and mark’d down the 
 Muthors and Writings moftly ufed and 
 recommended by thofe others, and by him, 
 becaufe I thought they could belt judge of 
 
 fuch j 
 
The Author's Cafe. 333 
 
 fiich ; fo in this Cafe the more quickly to 
 fettle my Mind , and quiet my Conference , I 
 refolved to purchafe, ftudy, and examine 
 carefully fuch Spiritual and Dogmatic Authors , 
 as I knew this venerable Man did moft ap- 
 prove and delight in. In this Manner I col- 
 le&ed a Set oj religious Books and Writers , of 
 moft of th zfrftAges fince Chrifianity , recom- 
 mended by him, with a few others of the 
 moft Spiritual of the Moderns , which have 
 been my Study , Delight and Entertainment 
 in my Retirements ever fince ; and on thefe I 
 have formed my Ideas , Principles and Senti- 
 ments: lb as, under all the Varieties of Opini- 
 ons , Sells, Difputes and Controverts , that of 
 late , and fince the Earlieft Ages, have been 
 canvaffed and bandyed in the World, I have 
 fcarce ever fince been the leaft lhaken, or 
 tempted to change my Sentiments or Opini- 
 ons, or fo much as to hefitate in any material 
 Point. This tedious, perhaps impertinent 
 Circumftance I mention, becaufe the Fright , 
 Anxiety , Dread and Terror, which, in Minds 
 of fuch a Turn as mine (efpecially under a 
 broken and cachedlick Conftitution, and in fo 
 atrocious a nervous Cafe ) arifes, or, at 
 leaft, is exafperated from fuch Refle&ions, 
 being once fettled and quieted, That after 
 becomes an excellent Cordial , and a conftant 
 Source of Peace , Tranquillity and Cheerful - 
 nejs, and fo greatly contributes to forward 
 the Cure of fuch nervous Difeafes ; For I ne- 
 ver found any fenfible Tranquillity or A- 
 
 mendmentj 
 
334 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 mendment, till I came to this firm and fettled' 
 Reflation m the Main, viz. To negletf nothing 
 to Je cure my eternal Peace , more than if I had 
 been certified I fhould die within the Day : nor 
 to mind any fhing that my J'ecular Obligations 
 and Duties demanded of me kjs , than if I had 
 been enjured to live fifty Dears more. This, 
 tho’ with infiniteWeaknefs and Imperfection, 
 has been much my fettled Intention in the 
 Main fince. 
 
 § V. The Spring following I was advifed 
 and preffed by all my Friends, and the Phy- 
 Jicians I confulted, to try the Bath Waters. 
 I went there accordingly, for the firft Time, 
 as a Patient ; and, for many Weeks, was 
 much relieved both in my Stomach and Spi- 
 rits by them : And tho’ in the Opinion of 
 the World, I liv’d very temperately, yet by 
 increafing the Quantity of my Plnimal Food, 
 and flrong Liquors (my Appetite being now 
 ftronger and more craving, and my Spirits 
 brisker, from the drinking of the Waters (in 
 the Space of four or five Months, I was 
 heated fo, as to apprehend a Heblic. I then 
 changed the Bath for Briflol Waters, re- 
 trenched my Diet , and increafed my daily 
 Rideing and Exercife, and continued fiome- 
 times gentle Vomits : by which I paft that 
 Year better than the former, tho* far from 
 well j but, on the Return of the next Spring, 
 fome Symptoms were exafperated, infomuch 
 that their Severity, the Continuance of my 
 
 Mi fe vies. 
 
The Authors Cafe. 335 
 
 Miferies, and the conftant Complaints, com- 
 mon to Hypifh People, made Life a Burden, 
 to myfelf, and a Pain to my Friends. I ac- 
 cidentally met with a Clergyman, who told 
 me of a wonderful Cure, which Dr. fay lor of 
 Croydon had wrought on himfelf in an Epi- 
 leptick Cafe , by a total Milk Diet. This Hint 
 accidentally dropt, wrought fo on me, that 
 I began to recoiled; a great many Things, 
 that before had efcaped me without much 
 Reflection. I had read in Dr. Sydenha?n , 
 that in violent and obftinate Hyfterick Fits 
 and Colicks, he had, with great Succefs, pre- 
 fcribed a total Milk Diet , as the laft and 
 fureft Remedy. Dr. Fit cairn, my Mafter and 
 Friend, in his Dilates had recommended it as 
 the only infallible Cure in an inveterate Scur- 
 vy, Cacochimy and totally vitiated Juices : And 
 I myfelf knew it to be the only Remedy in the 
 Gout , a confirmed Heffiic and Confumption , 
 and had feen Miracles wrought by it in fuch 
 Cafes ; befides, I knew nervous Diftempers 
 of all Kinds, differed only in Degrees. All 
 thefe Confiderations determined me, next 
 Day, in the Middle of Winter, to ride to 
 Croydon to advife with Dr. Taylor perfonally. 
 I found him at home, at his full Quart of 
 Cow’s Milk (which was all his Dinner.) He 
 told me, he had had the Advice of all ther 
 moft eminent Phyficians of his Time about 
 London , and had taken all their Medicines, 
 and all he had ever read or heard of, for his 
 
 Epilepfy % 
 
3 3 <5 The Englifh Malady. 7 
 
 Epikpfy, but with lo little Succefs, that he 
 ufed frequently to be feized with it on the 
 Road, while he was rideing in the Country 
 about the Bufincfs of his Profeflion, fo that 
 dropping from his Horfe, he remained fenfe- 
 lefs, till by the next Waggoner or Paflenger 
 he was carried to the neareft Houfe ; and that 
 both his Life and Faculties had been in the 
 utmoft Danger by it ; but that, on reading 
 Sydenham , he had firft dropt all fermented 
 Liquors, whereby his Fits became lefs vio- 
 lent and frequent, and then, by Degrees, he 
 had given over ail animal Food , living in- 
 ti rely on Cow- Milk, with which, at firft, he 
 ufed only to take a few Drops of Sal volatile 
 or Harts-horn , or a Spoonful of compound 
 ePoeony Water, to prevent its curdling ; that, 
 in a Year or two his Fits had entirely left 
 him : and that now, for feventeen Tears , he 
 had enjoyed as good Health as human Na- 
 ture was capable of, except that once in a 
 damp Air and foggy Weather, rideing thro’ 
 FJJeX) he had been feized with an Mgue, 
 which he had got over, by chewing the Bark. 
 He told me, he could then play fix Hours at 
 Cricket on Banftead-Down , without Fatigue 
 or Lownefs, and was more atfive and clear in 
 his Faculties and Senjes than ever he had been 
 in his Life before. He informed me alfo of 
 a great many Perfons he had cured of invete- 
 rate Diftempers by this Diet , and particularly 
 that he had removed the Barrennefs of fome 
 
 great 
 
The Author s Cafe . 3 3 7 
 
 great Families by it, who before had wanted 
 Heirs. 
 
 f. VI. Having thus fully fatisfy’d all 
 my Doubts and Difficulties, I return'd to 
 London , fully determin'd to enter upon this 
 Courfe, for which I was fufficiently before 
 prepared, by the low Animal Diet , and 
 fmall Quantity of fermented Liquors, I had 
 of a long Time been accuftomed to. I 
 drank Cow-Milk from the Park every Morn- 
 ing, and engag’d a Milk Woman, at a 
 higher Price than ordinary,' to bring me 
 every Day as much pure and unmix’d, as 
 might be fufficient for Dinner and Breakjajl ; 
 (for, as I mentioned before, I had given over 
 all Kinds of Suppers, and never after re- 
 fum’d them, having always found myfelf 
 worfe on the fighteft Attempts that way at 
 Night, tho’ even in Milk and Vegetables.) 
 I uled Seeds, Bread, mealy Roots , and Fruit 
 with my Milk indifferently, taking them all 
 to be pretty near of the fame Nature and 
 Clals of Foods : Milk being Vegetables im- 
 mediately cook'd by Animal Heat and Organs, 
 and diredtly (without going the Circulation) 
 drawn from their Chyle, or from an Emulfwn of 
 Vegetables in the Stomach. I thought fcarce any 
 grown Perion was fo delicately fram'd by Na- 
 ture, or that I was not reduced to fuch extreme 
 Weaknefs, that infnitejimal Errors, could do 
 great Hurt ; and therefore I continued all thefe, 
 
 Z for 
 
The Englifh Malady. 
 
 for a little Variety, left I fhould be cloy’d hy 
 only one Kind of Food ; and ever fince have 
 ufed and prefcribed Milk and Vegetables indif- 
 ferently, in extreme low and dangerous Cafes 
 only, when fufficiently prepared by Culinary 
 Heat and Organs, and amperfuaded they differ 
 little in their Nature. In five or fix Months 
 I was confiderably recovered ; only upon the 
 Glands being loaded, and the peccant Matter 
 of the old Habit being thrown upon the chy li- 
 fer ous Duel, and theconftantly enfuing Op- 
 prefiionand Reftlefnefsthereupon • I was forced 
 to cleanfe them often by a gentle Vomit, or an 
 udloethh Pill, which as conftantly reftored me 
 to my ufual clear and free Spirits, and to a 
 good Appetite for my then Food. 
 
 VII. By this Time I had been ex- 
 tremely reduced in my Flefh, and was be- 
 come Lank, Fleet and Nimble; but ftill, 
 upon any Error even in this low Diet, I 
 found more or lefs Oppreftion and Lownelk 
 Next Spring tho’ I began to feel a conftant 
 Fain, fix’d in the Pit of my Stomach, which I 
 miftook for a Pulmonary Cafe, and therefore 
 became ftill more temperate and abftemious 
 even in this my Milk and Seed Diet. Dure- 
 ing all this Time, I generally rode a 
 Horfeback -ten, or fifteen Miles a Day, 
 both Summer and Winter ; in Summer on 
 the Downs at Bath , and in Winter on the 
 Oxford Road from London, I began more fre- 
 quently 
 
T he Author s Cafe . j 3 p 
 
 quently then to take an Aloetick Pill \ once 
 in ten or fourteen Days, (for Rhubarb never 
 agreed- with me) which always gave me 
 great prefent Relief in my Stomach , and 
 consequently in my Spirits. All this Time 
 I followed the Bufmcfs of my Projej[Jion t 
 with great Diligence and Attention, in Sum- 
 mer at Bath , and in Winter at London , ap- 
 plying myfelf more particularly to chronic 
 cal , and especially to low and nervous Cafes t 
 they Teeming more immediately to concern 
 my felf, and offering more frequently at 
 Bath , where all of that Kind, in both 
 IJlands, arriye fiift or laft, who can afford it. 
 
 §. VIII. The Pain in the Pit of my Sto- 
 mach, being now conftant, violent, and 
 Teeming to increafe, I began to think of 
 Dr. "Baylor’s Chewing the Bark to cure his 
 Ague ; and knowing it to be fo foyereign a 
 Remedy in Stomach and Nervous Cafes, I 
 got Tome of the fin-eft, and chewed about 
 half a Dram of it twice or three times a 
 Day, on an empty Stomach ; and in ten Days 
 or three Weeks at moll, I found To wonderful 
 a Change on my whole Man, as to Spirits s 
 Chearfulmfs , Strength and Appetite, by it, that 
 1 thought it Enchantment , and could Scarce 
 believe I was myfelf ; and had I been much 
 Enthufiafiically given, would have accounted 
 it Miraculous , being naturally one of thefe 
 Duick-Thinkers, who have a great Senfibi- 
 ■ Z 2 lity'" 
 
34° Englifli Malady. 
 
 lity either of Pleafure or Pain. My Juices 
 being thin, fvveet, and fluid by the Diet , it 
 feems there was nothing wanting to the per- 
 fecting Health, but the winding up and 
 bracing the Solids, for which the Bark was 
 fpecijick. From that Time forward I en- 
 creas’d in Spirits , Strength, appetite and 
 Gaiety , till I began to find a Craving and 
 infufferable Longing for more Solid and 
 Toothfome Food , and for higher and 
 ftrongcr Liquors ; but being well apprifed 
 of the Danger of too fudden and quick a 
 i franjition, from a low to a high and fuller 
 Diet 5 I proceeded at fir ft with great Cau- 
 tion and Warinefs, eating only the Wing 
 of a finall Chick, and drinking but one 
 Glafs of white Wine (for 1 found all red, 
 and efpecially French , by a grating on my 
 lax Stomach and Guts , keep me awake 
 three or four Hours in the Night) all that 
 Summer and the next Winter (which I pafs’d 
 at London) I enjoyed perfect good Health 
 and Spirits, tho’ I had ufed little or no Ex- 
 ercife ; but notwithstanding all my Caution, 
 I had certainly gone too faft and too far 
 into this new animal Diet j for the Spring 
 following I was feized with a depuratory 
 Fever , which notwithftanding all the Skill 
 and Care of my Brethren, the Phyjjcians , 
 lafted above ao Days, and the Medicine 
 (after the univerfal Evacuations) that had 
 the greateft Share in my Recovery, was, I 
 
The Authors Cafe. 341 
 
 think, large Draughts of warm Barley Water or 
 fmall Sack-W hey , acidulated with Gas Sulph . 
 which was advis’d by Dr. Baynard , towards the 
 latter End of my Fever \ this, at lad, threw me 
 into a profufe Sweat, which laded above three 
 or four Days, and reduc’d me fo extremely 
 low, that for fome Time i liv’d chiefly on 
 French Claret, with Water and toafted Bread, 
 this being the only Food I could relifh ; and 
 tho’ I never exceeded half a Pint, or at 
 mod a Pint of Wine a day, mixed with Wa- 
 ter, yet having ufed myfelf to fo little for a 
 great while before, this fmall Quantity kept 
 me perpetually HeBtcal and Reftlefs for 
 many Weeks, even after the Crije, : fo that 
 I began to think I had done wrong before, 
 in uleing myfelf to fo little Wine; and 
 therefore to fee are againd fuch an Accident 
 for the future, I began (after my perfect 
 Recovery) to inure myfelf by Degrees to 
 .more Wine, gradually dropping or leffening 
 the Quantity of my Milk and Vegetables , and 
 by flow Degrees and in moderate Quantities, 
 living only on the lighted and tendered 
 animal Food for fome Time, and at -lad 
 gradually went into common Life, with great 
 Freedom , but exact common ‘Temperance. 
 
 <£. IX. But the long and violent depur at ory 
 Fever, which I did not get over entirely in 
 lefs than fix Months, had fo drain’d, drench’d 
 and waded roe, that upon my total Recovery 
 
 £ 3 m Y 
 
The Englifli Malady. 
 
 my Appetite being infatiable, I fuck’d up 
 and retain’d the Juices and Chyle of my Food 
 like a Sponge, and thereby fuddenly grew 
 flump, fat and hale to a Wonder ; but indeed 
 too fall. However, for near twenty Years, I 
 continued foher , moderate and plain in my 
 Diet, and in my greateft Health drank not 
 above a Quart, or three Pints at moft, of 
 Wine any Day, (which I then abfurdly thought 
 necelfary in my Bulk and Stowage , tho’ cer- 
 tainly by far an over Dofe ) and that at Din- 
 ner only, one half with my Meat, with 
 Water, the other after, but none more that 
 Day, never tailing any Supper, and at Break- 
 fall nothing but Green Tea, without any 
 Eatable ; but by thefe Means every Dinner 
 necelfarily became a Surfeit and a Debauch , 
 and in ten or twelve Years, I fwell’d to fuch 
 an enormous Size, that upon my laft Weigh- 
 ing I exceeded 32 Stone. My Breath became 
 fo Ihort, that upon llepping into my Chariot 
 quickly, and with fome Effort, 1 was ready 
 to faint away, for want of Breath, and my Face 
 turn’d Black. At Aynhoe ( waiting on the late 
 Honourable Mrs. Cartwright ) and going up 
 only one Pair of Stairs, with high Steps, 
 haftily, by pulhing my Breath a little too 
 violently, to make room for thofe that were 
 following, I was immediately feiz’d with a 
 Convulfwe Afhrna , returning by repeated 
 and llrong Infpirations, Fits and fmall In- 
 tervals, which lafted above a Quarter of an 
 
 Hour, 
 
The Author s Cafe. 345 ' 
 
 Hour, lo that I thought to have died on the 
 Spot ; but by Evacuations and low Living 
 I got rid of this Diforder alfo, in fome De- 
 gree, tho’ after that, I was not able to walk 
 up above one Pair of Stairs at a Time, 
 without extreme Pain and Blowing, being 
 forced to ride from Door to Door in a Cha- 
 riot even here at Bath ; and if I had but an 
 Hundred Paces to walk, was oblig’d to have 
 a Servant following me with a Stool to reft on, 
 
 §. X. About this Time (twelve Years 
 after my firft Recovery) my Legs broke 
 out all over in Jcorbutick Ulcers , the Ichor 
 of which corroded the very Skin, where it 
 lay any Time, and the fore Parts of both 
 Legs were one continued Sore. I had the 
 Advice and Care of many of the mo ft emi- 
 nent Surgeons in England , none of whom 
 could heal them up even in three Years. 
 Tir’d out at laft, I took AEthiops Mineral 
 for four Months, in the mid ft of Winter: 
 half an Ounce at lead: twice a Day, and a 
 Purge with twelve Grains of Calomel once a 
 Week, obferving a much lower Diet than 
 before ; I found that the Mercury had not 
 only colour’d the Money in my Pocket, and 
 the Buttons in my Shirt ; but to all my Ob- 
 fervation, the very Subftance of the AEthiops 
 was tranfpir’d upon the Plaifter , every 
 Day, when my Legs were drefs’d, viz. to- 
 wards the End of the Cure; at leaft, the Ap- 
 pearances feem’d to me, on the Plaifters, like 
 Z 4 a Steam 
 
544 < % 7 oe Englifh Malady. 
 
 a Steam or Smoke from Sulphur and Mercury , 
 and was quite different from what it had been 
 before I began that Courfe: This I was per- 
 fectly allured of, tho’ I did not then think of 
 making fuch a critical Obfervation, as that 
 this Inftance might ferve as a Proof, that the 
 JLthiops paired through the Habit; tho’ I am 
 certain fince, from repeated Objervations , that 
 every Preparation of Mercury , and even the 
 Crude itfelf, in Time, and in fome lax Habits, 
 will Salivate in fome Degree or another : and 
 that Mercury , in its minute ft Particles and in- 
 fenfible Stearns , does penetrate the folid Parts of 
 all living Animals , as inflammable Spirits moft 
 certainly do. After this Courfe, my Legs heal- 
 ed perfedly, with common Dreflings, and have 
 continued found ever fince ; my Health was 
 likewife very good for four or five Years after. 
 But continuing thefamefull, tho’ (commonly 
 accounted) temperate Diet , and tiling little 
 or no Exercife, I became at laft Heavy , 
 Dull and Lethargick to an extream Degree, 
 efpecially after Dinner ; and the Midjummer 
 1723. I was feiz’d with a fevere Symptoma ■? 
 tick Fever , which terminated in the moll 
 violent Erifipelas , and with the largeft and 
 full eft Blifters all over my Thighs, that I had 
 ever feen. I fuffered extremely in the Sympto- 
 matick Fever , by violent Headaches^%y at Sick- 
 pejffes and Sinking ; and having lately had two 
 full-bodied Patients, who had died of Mor- 
 tifications from that Diftemper, I was much 
 frightened at mine-' My Blood was then, I 
 
 foundj 
 
The Author s Cafe . 345 
 
 found, one continued impenetrable Mafs of 
 Glew , and my Erifypelatous Inflammations 
 were fo painful (and attended with Luwnejs , 
 Sinking and Inquietude ) as reduc’d me to the 
 very laft Degree of Mlfery. I had always 
 refolv’d, upon any great Change in my 
 Health, to return to my old Friends , Milk 
 and Vegetables, and to abftain from Wine in 
 a great meafure, provided I had but fuffici- 
 ent Warning by any Chronical Illnels. I 
 then made a long Journey in a Coach, and 
 liv’d on Milk and white Meats , drinking 
 Briflol Water, and only a Pint of Wine a 
 Day, by which I was fomewhat relieved, 
 tho’ not fo much as to conquer my Fears or 
 my Sufferings; fo that having continued this 
 Method for two Months, I began gradually 
 to leffen the Quantity of my Animal Food 
 Hill more, and at la ft, to live entirely on Milk 
 and Vegetables : This, infomeTime,mademy 
 Spirits vaftly better ; but ft ill, for two Years, 
 I was regularly and periodically feiz’d every 
 third Month, almoft to a Day, with this Eri - 
 fypelas , the Symptoms of which were indeed 
 not fo grievous as at firft, tho’ Hill attended 
 with violent Headaches , a Svniptomatick Fe- 
 ver for forty-eight Hours before the Erup~ 
 tion } large Blifters full of Scorbutick Ichor , 
 and great Lownefs for the Space of a Week; 
 after which I recovered my priftine State. 
 But I was always obliged to vomit before 
 the Eruption, to pnfh it out: And relieve 
 the Headach and Fever : and to purge after 
 
 it 
 
54^ Sfi&f Englifh Malady. 
 
 It was over. Thus I went on for feven or 
 eight Months, wafting daily, but at the fame 
 Time recovering Spirits, A&ivity, and the 
 ’life of my Limbs. I had all that Winter had 
 a flight Pain in the back Tendon of my left 
 Leg, reaching down to my Heel, which in 
 March following terminated in a regular Fit 
 of the Gout , in the Joint of my big Toe ; 
 this confin’d me a Fortnight or three Weeks, 
 and it had no fooner left that Place, than 
 It fieiz’d my Shoulder 'Joints , where it con- 
 tinued for above a Month. I pafs’d the 
 reft of the Summer pretty tolerably, but 
 for thefe periodical Returns of that Erifypelas , 
 which continued very regular, above two 
 Years. About the Michaelmafs of that Sum- 
 mer, I was feiz'd with fuch a perpetual 
 Sicknefs , Reaching , Lownefs y Watchjulnefs , 
 Emulation y and Melancholy , continuing fix 
 or eight Months : that Life was no longer 
 fupportable to me, and my Mifery was al- 
 rnoft extreme. 
 
 $ XI. At laft, my Sufferings were not 
 to be expreffed, and I can fcarce deferibe, 
 or reflect on them without Horror . A per- 
 petual Anxiety and Inquietude , no Sleep nor 
 Appetite, a conftant Reaching , Gulping , and 
 fruitlefs Endeavour to pump up Flegm , IVind y 
 or Choler Day and Might: A conjlant Colicky 
 and an ill Tafte and Savour in my Mouth and 
 Stomach, that overcame and poifoned every 
 
 Thing 
 
i The Author s Cafe. 3^7 
 
 Thing I got down ; a melancholy Fright and 
 Pannick , where my Rcafon was of no Ufe to 
 me: So that I could fcarcebear the Sight of my 
 Patients, or Acquaintances, that had not been 
 daily about me, and yet could not bear being 
 a Moment alone, every Inftant expeding the 
 Lofs of my Faculties or Life ; and furely no- 
 thing but Almighty Power preferved them 
 both, fuch as they are. I had a conftant 
 violent Pain in the Neck of my Stomach , and 
 was obliged almoft every Week to take a 
 ffrong Emetic &, without which I could not 
 enjoy a Moment’s Eafe, belides daily urging 
 with my Finger, or chewing Tobacco. I had 
 Recourie to my old Friend the Quinquina in 
 feveral Shapes, but to no Purpofe. I drank 
 Bath Waters without fenfible Relief. I 
 went out in my Chariot, in the coldeft Winter 
 Weather, for four Hours every Day; but 
 nothing mitigated my Suffering. At laft I 
 tried the Fattids , the Gums , the Volatiles and 
 Vipers Powders (not indeed regularly and 
 fteadily) but all in vain. In fine, I had Re- 
 courfe to Opiats , which I knew' were a flow 
 Poifon ; but one wil flick at nothing for 
 even a Moments Refpite in fuch Extremi- 
 ties. This, inftead of relieving, aggravated 
 my Miferies ; for fo foon as the ftupifying 
 and confounding Effeds of them were over, 
 my Anxiety and Sinking was lb extream 
 after, that I was forced to repeat them fo 
 <sften, and in fo large Pofes, that I was juft? 
 
34$ The Englifh Malady: 
 
 ly afraid, left by their becoming fo familiar, 
 they would, at laft, lole even the poor, di~ 
 ftrading, uncomfortable Relief they afforded 
 me ; yet all this Time, I attended indeed (in 
 a Manner) the Bufinefs of my Profejfion , and 
 took Air and Exercife regularly in the Day- 
 time ; but in luch a wretched, dying Condi- 
 tion as was evident to all that law me. I had 
 many different and contradidory Advices, 
 from my Friends and Acquaintances, who 
 oblerved my Mifery; but I neither could, 
 from the Nature of my Diftemper, nor from 
 the ill Effeds jhe fmalleft Tryals of any 
 Thing propoled, were attended with, conti- 
 nue them any time. I well knew my Cafe was 
 the Gouty and Enfypelatous Matter retired, and 
 drawn into my Stomach and Bowels : I like- 
 wife knew, that if I took hot and ftrong 
 Medicines and Cordials to drive them out (as 
 is ufual) I fhould thereby lofe all the Pains 
 I had taken, and the Benefit of the Abfti- 
 nence I had gone through, to thin and fweeten 
 my Blood and Juices, to open the Obftruc- 
 tions, and to obtain an Extirpative Cure , if 
 poffible there might be Time enough remain- 
 ing for it ; but the worft was, my Stomach 
 would not retain any Medicine, for they 
 had a prelent ill Effed, by making my Suf- 
 ferings more intenfe; however, I was per- 
 fwaded then to take a little ftrong warm YVine 
 made with Spices , and to have Bread and 
 this Wine mixed for my Dinner : Conti- 
 nuing 
 
The Authors Cafe, 349 
 
 nuing Tea, with boiled Milk, and toafted 
 Bread for Breakfaft; but all this time I had 
 no fenfible Relief. My Family and Relations 
 preffed me cxtreamly to go for London (where 
 I had not been for many Years) to pafs the 
 Dead of the Winter among my old Acquaint- 
 ances and Friends, for Amulement and Diver- 
 fion only: but to this I was extreamly averfe, 
 apprehending I might be teized to change 
 my Regimen , and fneer’d at by the Free- 
 livers ; and being convinced, from former 
 Experience, that if my Life was to be fav’d, 
 it was only by this Regimen , at leaft, if 
 my Time of Difblution was come, 1 knew 
 I ffiould die under lels Mifery by it, than 
 by any other Means. 
 
 XII. However, at laft, to prevent 
 Friendly Feazing, and the Character of Obfti- 
 nacy, 1 promifed to be pafive , and to be go- 
 verned by them ; fo in the Beginning of De- 
 cember 1725, I let out, and with great Diffi- 
 culty got to London. Next Day after my Arri- 
 val, I lent to the very learned \ ingenious, my very 
 worthy Friends , Dr .Jrbnthnot, and Dr. Brox - 
 holm, who, at my Delire, brought with them 
 Dr. Mead and the late Dr. Freind , with Dr. 
 Douglas and Dr. Campbell all Gentlemen of 
 great Learning, Worth and Experience. 
 They unanimoufly advifed'me to try a warm 
 chaly'beat Ele&uary, with Pyrmont Waters, 
 and by all Means to drop my Opiats \ for as 
 
 to 
 
^5 o tfhe Englifli Malady. 
 
 to Cathartics , which were mentioned, they 
 fo exceedingly funk and ruffled me, that 1 
 was always dying under them. This Method 
 being reafonable and juft, I followed fome 
 time, continuing tho’ the fame Regimen of 
 Diet : And tho' fome of thofe Gentlemen and 
 others thought I might have then, with 
 Safety, changed my Diet , very flowly, at leaft. 
 Yet having pafted through the fame Courfe 
 twenty Years before, and having buffered to 
 fuch Extremity, and in a younger and more 
 vigorous Part of my Life, and ran the utmofi: 
 Hazard, even by a very flow and gradual 
 Change: And knowing the Danger others had 
 undergone by the like Change • I was firmly 
 fefolved to continue my Regimen , happen 
 what w'ou’d ; and indeed when all this was 
 reprefented to t'hefe Gentlemen and my other 
 Friends , none had the Courage to prefs it • 
 much leis to urge it, in io injolent and fneer - 
 big a Manner as fome, who ridicule all Shame 
 and Truth , have thought fit falfily to repre- 
 lent it. I have once or twice, in nine or ten 
 Years, been tempted to eat an Ounce or two 
 of young tender animal Food, but with fuch 
 fenfible Suffering and Oppreffion after, that I 
 have relolved never more to make the Tryal : 
 And I have known others much younger than 
 I, on whom a potch’d Egg , under fo long and 
 ftribt a vegetable Diet y for an Epileptick Cale, 
 has had a difagreeable Effed. As the Winter 
 advanced, meeting with fome true Sylphium 
 
The Author s Cafe . 3 j i 
 
 to join with thefe other Medicines, I became 
 fomevvhat eafier and more chearful by the 
 Spring, though almoft every Month I was 
 forc’d to have Recourfe to a ftrong Vomit to 
 clear the Glands : But by thefe warm chaly- 
 beat Medicines, and the vitriolick Waters, 
 and drinking near half a Pint, or rather 
 a Gill of Port a Day, I had, by the May 
 following, forced out fuch a Fit of an 
 Erijypelas , as the belt and moft experienced 
 Surgeons (who then treated me) had never 
 feen the like : the whole Leg, Jhigh^ .and 
 Abdomen being tumifed , incrajied , and burnt 
 almoft like the Skin of a roafied Pig : And 
 fuch a Quantity of Ichor iffued from it, as 
 was not to be exprelfed j at laft it ended in 
 a linuous Ulcer in my Leg, which confined me 
 near two Months, and the Jinking Effects 
 were not quite worn off in almoft fix ; how- 
 ever I palPed the next Winter again in Lon- 
 don much better, and in the Spring was ex- 
 treamly eajy , active and gay ; for from the 
 Time of this laft and moft fevere erifipelatous 
 Paroxyfm , I reckon I mended daily: For this 
 had the fame Effed upon my whole Confti- 
 tion now, as the depuratory Fever before- 
 mentioned had then, both being the Crijt 
 and Period of my Diftemper, and the Begin- 
 ning of my perfect Recovery. This was 
 above fix Years fince, tho’ I became not per- 
 fectly well till the Spring following, and in- 
 deed 
 
3 5 1 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 deed not abfolutely fo, till about four Years 
 ago. 
 
 XIII. Upon the Whole, as in my 
 Nervous and Scorbutica!, Diforder, 1 had 
 continued my Milk, Seed, and Vegetable 
 Diet, with proper Evacuations, for above 
 two Years, before I obtain’d a compleat Re- 
 covery, lb in this laft Illnefs, I had obferv’d 
 the fame Regimen near twice as long, be- 
 fore my Health was perfe&ly eftablifhed * 
 being in the fir ft Cafe twenty Years younger 
 than in the laft ; tho v my Exccffes were 
 much more violent in the Time preceding 
 my ftrft Illnefs, than between that and the 
 laft, having, during all that Interval, fcarce 
 once been heated with Wine, and never eat- 
 ing Animal Food but once a Day. But my 
 exceeding Bulk and Want or Inability of 
 neceflary Exercife, and a continued, tho’ tem- 
 perate Fulnefs, with the Difference of twenty 
 Years in my Age, concurred to make the 
 Paroxyfms even more diftra&ing and painful, 
 as well as more durable in this laft Cafe. 
 And after all I have faid of my Exceffes, 
 efpecially in Liquor, if it be confidered, that 
 I was near thirty Years Old before I drank 
 fcarce any thing ftrong, at leaft, for a Con- 
 tinuance : and that for near one half of the 
 Time fince, viz. from Thirty to Sixty , I 
 fcarce drank any ftrong Liquor at all : It 
 will be found, that upon the Whole, I 
 
 drank 
 
The Author s Cafe. 353 
 
 drank very little above a Pint of Wine, or 
 at moft, not a Quart one Day with ano- 
 ther, fince I was near thirty : And I was ne- 
 ver fix times in my Life overtaken with 
 Wine, and fcarce ever tailed any diftilled 
 Liquors, but as a Medicine, however mix’d 
 or brew’d. Always believing them to be 
 actual Cauteries, and almoft diredt Foifon 
 to an Animal Habit, from their Nature, 
 and the Delicacy of the animal Machine : 
 And during that whole Time, I fcarce 
 ever eat Animal Food above once a Day. But 
 Temperance is a mere relative Thing; and 
 by much Obfervation I find, that notwith- 
 ftanding my large Size , I was not made to 
 bear Animal Food and fermented Liquors , in 
 any Quantity, without fuffering to the laft De- 
 gree. But 1 believe none will ever be brought 
 to fuch a Regimen as mine is now, without 
 having been firft extremely Miferable; and 
 I think Common Life, with Temperance, 
 is belt for the Generality, elfe it would not 
 be Common. But extreme Cafes require ex- 
 traordinary Remedies. 
 
 £. XIV. I found I never began to reco- 
 ver fully and laftingly, either firft or laft, 
 till my Blood had entirely loft its Size (which 
 I came to know by an accidental Occafion 
 for opening a Vein) and all the former Ha- 
 bit (except the mere Organical Membranes 
 and Solids) was wafted, wore away, and 
 A a difcharged 
 
354 ^ oe Englifli Malady, 
 
 difcharged by Evacuations , Diet and Exer-- 
 eife ; for I had wafted and loft of my former 
 Size and Bulk, in this laft Illnefs, almoft one 
 third in Weight and Meafure: and had pafs’d 
 through a State of entire bodily Purification, 
 and a true Cychs Metafyncriticus , both iirft and 
 laft, before I began to recover and fill up 
 again. Vomits were the firft Evacuations 
 that with any Relief, or without infinite 
 Ruffling, I could bear: and fo foon as I could 
 endure gentle Stomach Cathartics , I began 
 already to mend but no fooner had I reco- 
 vered any Degree of Eafe and Freedom, but 
 my Appetite and Digeftion returned to their 
 ufual Stint towards my new Food, and Vomits 
 were no longer neceffary nor indeed theft}!, 
 they being only required to lqueeze the in- 
 ternal Glands, open OhflruBions , arid pump 
 op the Wind, C holer, and Phlegm from the 
 j Alimentary ‘Cube when lodged there. 
 
 §. XV. Upon any Accident, Diforder, 
 or any greater Opprellion or Anxiety than 
 ordinary, arifing naturally in the Courfe of 
 the Cure, 1 found that living even much 
 Joiner under my Milk and Vegetable Diet for 
 two or three Days at leaft, would always 
 help me out again, and reftore me to my 
 ufual Serenity and Freedom, (for I found 
 Temperance neceffary even in this, as well 
 as a higher Diet, tho’ Exceffes were not at- 
 tended with fuch extreme Suffering) and 
 
 fcarce 
 
The Authors Cafe. 35 ^ 
 
 fcarceany time lefs than three Days would do 
 it ; for tho’ all my Symptoms were lefs levere 
 under it, yet I found by indulging a falfe 
 appetite, or a liquorifh Palate even in it, 
 that 1 exafperated thele milder Symptoms, at 
 leaft to fuch a Degree, as was fufficient to 
 convince me, that the Stomach and digeflive 
 Organs were the primary and principal De- 
 linquents, Sufferers , and Patients, in moll, if 
 not in all nervous Symptoms, tho’ this was 
 not always lenlible and manifeft : And that 
 by ufing them tenderly, 'and abftemioully, alL 
 the reft of the Animal Fu nil ions were propor- 
 tionably reliev’d. And, I think, I never once 
 departed from the Simplicity of the Alimentary 
 Gofpel, and indulged in Onions and Garlicky 
 viz. the poignant, hard, fpicy ,oxun$uousS[ ege- 
 tables, with much Butter or Oil, or in a greater 
 Quantity than ufual, even of the common ones 
 for any Time, but that I fuffered Pains and 
 Penalties in Proportion. 
 
 (J’.XVI. I found all my Rejllefnefs, Watch- 
 ings, and want of Tranquillity or found 
 Sleep, to be owing entirely to Inflation , ftored 
 up Wind and Flatulence, constantly urge- 
 ing and ftimulating as it were with its Spring, 
 Flajiicity and Points, the tender fenlible 
 Membranes of the Stomach and Guts , and 
 the whole Glands and Membranes of the 
 Abdomen \ for upon Faffing Home Tim e, Eating 
 yery little, or very thin, light and foftFood, 
 A a 2 or 
 
356 "The Englifh Malady. 
 
 or on ufing a great deal of more Exercife , to 
 urge the Perjpiration , and to throw off and 
 dilcharge this Wind, Vapour, or Jharp Steams , 
 I found my Sleep return in a greater Degree • 
 and I am bold to fay* where no manifeft 
 Fever, acute Fain, interrupted Circulation , 
 or fpoil'd Organ is the Gale, that want of 
 Sleep and natural Rell proceeds from the 
 Dil'orders of the Jlhnentary Vube , continual- 
 ly, tho’ perhaps not fenlibly, {Emulated by 
 this Vapour. And hence it is, that AJJ'a, 
 fcctida , Volatiles , Foetid Gums, gentle Diapho- 
 retics and Opiats , procure Sleep ; merely 
 by encrealing and promoting Perjpiration , 
 and expelling this twitching Vapour or Steam, 
 for which they ought chiefly to be ufed ; 
 and this lerves to lhew the Neceflity, and 
 infinite Preference of Exercife to all Anodyne 
 Medicines whatl'oever, and even to Cordials, 
 Diaphoreticks and Volatiles, except as a pre- 
 fers Relief, Whip or Spur only. 
 
 §. XYIL Want of Appetite and Digeftion 
 moftly proceeds from the Thicknefs, Groff- 
 nefs, and Vifcidity of the Juices and of the 
 whole Mafs of Blood ; every Vein and Ar- 
 tery thereby becoming like lo many Black- 
 Puddings, or leathern Pipes, fluff’d with a 
 glezuy or tenacious Fluid : by which all 
 
 the Secretions being more fcanty, and lels 
 being expended by them, lefs can be re- 
 ceived thro’ the Lacleals into the Blood; 
 
 which 
 
The Authors Cafe. 357 
 
 which (hews the Neceffity and Preference of 
 the ponderous and deobftruent Medicines to 
 procure an Appetite and Digeftion, even to 
 Bitters , Cordials or Chaly beats themielves : 
 whofe Efficacy principally lies in (Lengthen- 
 ing the Solids, and winding up and contract- 
 ing the Fibres , to make them play, and com- 
 prefs with greater Force the circulating Fluids, 
 which can never folidly anfwer the Intention 
 of Digestion and Appetite. And accordingly 
 by Agile kfi her, AEthiops , Cinnabar, but el'pe- 
 cially by Mer curias Alcdifatus , and other mer- 
 curial Preparations, I have been always able to 
 cure the Diforders of the .Alimentary Fube, In- 
 appetency, and even Colicks , when fcarce any 
 other Method or Medicine could effeCt it. 
 And feeing, by a thin, cool Milk and vegetable 
 Diet long continued, I found my Appetite 
 full as good as before, and likewife my 
 Strength , Affinity, Flefo and Complexion, and 
 every Power, Organ and Faculty reftor’dto as 
 great a Degree as I could juftly expeCt at my 
 Time of Life, had no fuch Diforder ever hap- 
 pen’d ; it appears that the Fluids are chiefly 
 and primarily the Seat of Diforders : and 
 that when they are fufficiently Jweetened and 
 diluted, they generally leave the Solids with a 
 lufficient Force and Spring to play fuch 
 Fluids off, and circulate them fully and free-* 
 ly and then all the Animal Functions, and 
 the Exercife of the Faculties will again be 
 pleafantly and regularly performed, as in 
 A a 3 perfeCl 
 
5 5 8 EngliiTi Malady. 
 
 perfect Health 5 for good Health fuppofes 
 this State: which does not depend on the Kind 
 of the Diet , though mechanical Strength does. 
 So that fuch a Diet is only proper for the 
 thinking , fpeculative and fedentary Part of 
 Mankind, and not for the acdive, laborious 
 and mechanical. 
 
 §. XVIII. A f t e r I began to recover, I 
 found little Alteration from Cold or Heat , 
 Wet or Dry , Summer or Winter Seafons, 
 efpecially as to my appetite , Spirits or 
 Sleep • at leaft not near fo much as I ufually 
 found in my belt Health on thefe Occafions, 
 under a full animal and fermented Liquor 
 D let j fo that I can fit, and walk, and be 
 abroad in all Weathers, Seafons or Times of 
 the Year, Day or Night, without much 
 Dread or Hazard of Cold, and with little 
 Difference of Cloathing, providing I keep 
 my Stomach and chiliferous 'Tube clear and 
 clean 5 which often put me in mind of the 
 Saying of a Roman Emperor , who affirmed, 
 that Spitting, Coughing, Excreation , Eradia- 
 tion, Pawning, and the like, were Symptoms 
 and Effects of mere Lazinefs and -Luxury. 
 
 §. XIX. After I had perfeftly recovered, 
 obferying, that {till, on liquid, flip per y Stools, 
 from craming 1 was fomewhat Ids lively and 
 chearful, and rather more grip’d and in- 
 flated) I refolved to change my half Pint or 
 17 GUI 
 
The Author s Cafe. 35 9 
 
 'Gill of Port at Dinner, into the fame Quan- 
 tity of Florence, thinking it more binding 
 and aftringent. I ate at the fame Time a 
 good deal of more Butter with my Ve- 
 getables, and Plenty of old rich Cheefe ; 
 and likeing Nuts extremely, .! procur’d 
 from Abroad and at Plome, great Plenty of 
 all Kinds, as Filberts , Wall nuts , Chef nuts , 
 Almonds, &c. eating them in great Quanti- 
 ties after Dinner, by way of Defert. I 
 went on all Winter, and for eight or ten 
 Months in this Regimen extremely well • and 
 out of Wantonnefs , to try what my Confuta- 
 tion could now bear, I indulged freely (tho 5 
 in thefe only) together with my ufual Milk 
 and Vegetable Diet. But after my common, 
 flight, vegetable Fjt of the Gout, (which I ftili 
 have in the Spring , without neceffary Confine- 
 ment, tho’ for an Hour, or altering either Re- 
 gimen or Cloathing , or any other Circu enhance, 
 but a Lamenefs for a few Days) I had firft a 
 Touch of my Erifypelas on my Leg; after that 
 I feemingly catch’d Cold, and began to be lick 
 at my Stomach, Reaching, Inflated, Low-fpi - 
 rited and Colick’d , with reftleis Nights, and al- 
 moft all thofe aifmal Symptoms I had gone 
 through in my late long illnefs. I foon found 
 my Error , and that my Conftitution could not 
 bear even that flight Alteration without fevere 
 Sufferings. I had a violent humorous Cough, 
 and threw up great Quantities of grols vifeid 
 Flegm, which I knew to be the Nuts, not 
 A a 4 ft 
 
l6o The Englifh Malady. 
 
 fo fufflciently digefted and attenuated, as to 
 become thin enough to circulate freely thro" 
 the fmall Veffels : but were thrown off, and 
 defpumated upon the larger Emundiory and 
 open Glands. In a Word, I luffer’d all the 
 Kind of Mifery I had formerly, tho’ not 
 with quite fo much Violence and Duration- 
 I went through the former lelfer Purgation 
 again : Repeated Vomits , took frequent Sto- 
 mach Purges , chew'd Bark, return’d to the 
 Simplicity of my former Regimen , leffening 
 their Quantities, and drinking no Wine 
 (which I now have dropped for ever, but as 
 others ufe Spirits , for a Cordial , if wanted) 
 and drinking firft Briflol and then Bath , and 
 after Pyrmont Water, as the Defluxion abated ; 
 by thefe Means I got quite well in about three 
 Months, viz. in the Jagujl after ; and fince 
 that Time, I thank God, I have gone on in 
 one conftant l > enor of Diet, and enjoy as good 
 Health, as, at my Time of Life (being now 
 Sixty) I, or any Man, can reafonably expedl, 
 and have learned that young tender animal 
 Food is lefs dangerous, in a fmall Quantity^ 
 than hard , hot,Jpicy and oily Vegetables. 
 
 XX. I know not if it be worth the 
 mentioning, that during my Recovery , about 
 four Years ago, I was thrown, or rather 
 threw myfelf, out of my Chariot (upon the 
 Fore- Kories being frighted, and the Coach- 
 man being thrown off his Box) and falling 
 
 on 
 
The Authors Cafe . 3 61 
 
 on my Head, was taken up dead and fenfe r 
 lefs, being wounded in my Temple, and the 
 Wheels of the Chariot having entirely fhav'd 
 my Eye-Brow. But on being blooded, I 
 found my Spirits and Stomach moftly affected 
 with it. I grew, for fome fhort Time, low, 
 feeble, and loft my Appetite ; but in two or 
 three Months recovered to a Miracle, from 
 what wouldhavekiirdanother with bad Juices, 
 and have continued perfectly well ever fince. 
 
 (f XXI. My Regimen, at prefent, is Milk, 
 y/ith Tea , Coffee, Bread and Butter, mild 
 Cheefe, Salladin , Fruits , and Seeds of all 
 Kinds, with tender Roots (as Potatoes, Tur- 
 nips, Carrots ) and, in fhort, every Thing 
 that has not Life, drefs’d, or not, as I like 
 it ; (in which there is as much, or a 
 greater Variety than in animal Foods:) fo that 
 the Stomach need never be cloyed. I drink no 
 Wine , nor any fermented Liquors, and am 
 rarely dry, moft of my Food being liquid, 
 moift, or juicy ; only, after Dinner, 
 I drink either Coffee or green Tea, but 
 feldom both in the fame Day, and fome- 
 times a Glafs of foft fmall Cyder. The thinner 
 my Diet is, the eafier, more cheerful and 
 lightfomel find myfelf; mv Sleep is alfo the 
 founder, tho’ perhaps fomewhat fhorter than 
 formerly under my full animal Diet : But thenl 
 am more alive than ever I was, as foon asl awake 
 and get up. I rife commonly at Six, and go to 
 
 Bed 
 
%6i The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Bed at Ten. The Order I find in this Diet* 
 from much Experience, is, that Milk is the 
 Jighteft and beft of all Foods, being a Medium 
 between animal Subllances and Vegetables ; 
 drefs’d Vegetables, lels windy and griping, than 
 raw ; ripe Fruit than unripe \ the mealy Roots 
 more than the fibrous \ and the dry than the 
 crude Vegetables. I find much Butter , Cream , 
 fat and oily Vegetables, and Specially Nuts 
 both hard of Digeftion, fluffing and inflating.. 
 When I am dry (which is rarely) 1 drink 
 Bath , Briflol or Pyrmont Water. 
 
 $ XXII. I a m heartily afhamed, and 
 humbly beg Pardon of my polite and delicate 
 Headers ( if any fuch ffiould deign to look 
 into this low Tattle , contrary to my In- 
 tention.) I know how indecent and J hocking 
 Egotifm is, and for an Author to make him- 
 felf the Subjed of his Words or Works, efpe- 
 cially in fo tedious and circumftantiated a 
 Detail : But fo various and contradictory have 
 been the Reportsof, and fneersonmy Regimen, 
 Cafe and Sentiment j, that I thought thus much 
 was due to Tfuth, and neceffary for my own 
 Vindication^ and perhaps it may not be quite 
 ufelefs to fome low, dejfonding, valetudinary , 
 over-grown PerJ'on , whole Cafe may have 
 fome Refemblance to mine; which every 
 one’s has in fome Degree, that has a mortal 
 Tabernacle , fubjed to, and affiided with nervous 
 Diforders, by a miftaken Regimen x or heredi- 
 
 tary 
 
The Author s Cafe. 363 
 
 Cary Misfortune : and I have, on that Account, 
 written this in a plain narrative Stile, with the 
 feweftTerms of Art poffible, without fiippofing 
 my Reader, or file wing myfelf to have look’d 
 ever into a physical Book before ; thinking this 
 Manner and Stile might be moft inftru&iv-e 
 and beneficial to common valetudinary Read- 
 ers : and tho’ fome may not have quite my 
 Bulk and natural Strength, or have run into 
 fuch Excefjes , or have not begun to manage 
 fo early in Life as I did firft, yet they will 
 only for that require leffer or greater Dofes 
 of the fame Method , Medicines and Manage- 
 ment; and if it have not quite fo full and 
 perfect an Effed, as, under God , it has had 
 with me, (tho’, perhaps, the worft Subjed and 
 the molt difficult Cafe poffible, for fo abfo- 
 lute a Cure ) yet it may, and will always have 
 a better than any other Method ( I mean 
 only in fo deplorable and excruciating a Cafe 
 as mine was) and if it cannot cure , it will 
 certainly reprieve , and make the Sufferings 
 of all fuch miferable Perfons mbre tolerable: 
 as I have experienced once and again, in the 
 moft. eminent Degrees : who, from the moft 
 extreme Mifery , do now enjoy as perfeffi 
 ■Health ,2 lS much. Hid ivity zn&CheerfulneJs, with 
 the full, free and perfed Ufe of my Faculties'. 
 a Facility of Study , and of going about the 
 Bufinefs of my Frofeffion ; and, in ffiort, of 
 every rational Function of Life , as I was ever 
 capable of in my belt Days : and indeed 
 
1^4 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 of every Thing worth living for as a free 
 and rational Intelligence ; every Thing, I lay, 
 except that I cannot eat and drink fo highly 
 and voluptuoufly as I have formerly-, and, if 
 I know my Heart (which I am lure Ido not 
 fully) tho’ I were to b t eternal and unaccount- 
 able, I {hould live (at leaf! wilh to live in 
 the Main and as to Diet ) as I now do, and 
 would not willingly and deliberately go thro’ 
 the fame Mifery , for the mere Gratification 
 of my Senfes only ; no, not to obtain the 
 Dominion of our Syflem , and all the Glories 
 and Pleafures in it. What I may happen to 
 do, God only knows ; I am too old, 1 hope, 
 to make any new Tryals and Changes in 
 this my bodily Regimen ; and indeed to 
 what Purpofe ? being as well as any, and 
 much better than molt are at my Time of 
 Day: And therefore, with God’s Grace , 
 if my Health , Senjes and Love of Virtue 
 continue with me the fame, I fhall, I 
 hope, go on in the Method now defcribed, 
 and live , and, I hope, die in continual Gra- 
 titude to the Be (l of Beings , who, by an 
 over-ruling Providence , and, as it were, by 
 meer cafual Hints , far beyond the Reach of 
 my Penetration , has irrefiftably (as I fhould 
 almoft fay, if I felt not my own Liberty') 
 directed the great Steps of my Life and 
 Health hitherto. 
 
 Mifericordias Domini in sternum cant aba ■« 
 
 fhe 
 
The Conch (ion. 
 
 
 The CONCLUSION. 
 
 A FTER all the Pains I have taken, i 
 have not yet got fo large a Share of 
 Enthujiajm , as to hope, by thefe my 
 poor Labours , to do Good to any, except, per- 
 haps, to a few poor, low, valetudinary , dying . , 
 miserable Creatures, who have not the Cou- 
 rage magnanimoujly and glorioufly to fuffer, 
 pine, and putrify. The Brave , the Bold , the 
 Intrepid , the Heroic , who value not Pain , 
 who can fuffer for Diver [ion, and who prefer 
 Death with a Bounce , to Life, on fuch Con- 
 ditions as I propofe : and choofe rather to 
 extinguijb now, than forty or fifty Years 
 hence, will heartily defpife and pity me and 
 my Lucubrations. Nunquamperfuadebis etiamfi 
 perfuajeris. You fhall never convince tho’ you 
 convidft me. I have heard of a great modern 
 Bhilofopher, celebrated for his Wit, Wealth, and 
 high Living , who ufed, in the Sun -fine of his 
 Days, to boa ft, that if 'Temperance and Abfli- 
 nence could make a Man live half a Century 
 longer, in Gayety and Mirth, it were worth 
 the While then to deny one’s Appetites ; but 
 for Ten or a Dozen of Years more, it was but 
 a poor Bur chafe-, and yet I have been told, 
 that the fame Hero , when his Time came , would 
 
 have 
 
%66 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 have parted with his great Eftate for a Re- 
 prieve of a few Years. I own I am one of 
 thofe poor mean-fpirited Wretches , who am 
 contented to live as long as Nature defign’d me 
 to laft, and defire to fubmit with the utmoft 
 Peace and Refgnation I can arrive at when 
 that Period is expired; but for Pain , Sicknefs , 
 and efpecially for OppreJ/ion, Anxiety and Low- 
 iiefs avoidable, they are my mortal AverJjon^ and 
 no Means would I refufe to avoid them, but 
 thofe, which, I am convinced, would infal- 
 libly bring me into greater Mifery and Suf- 
 fering ; and yet, if I miftake not my own 
 Nature, I have the Appetites , Pajfions , and 
 Feelings common to other Men ; and I ufu-' 
 ally ask mvfelf the Queftion, and look into 
 my own Pleart for an Anjwer , to any thing 
 propoled concerning human Appetites , Paj- 
 fions and Feelings that are natural and not 
 forced: and give little Credit to what others 
 fay contrary to fuch Sentiments. It is true 
 indeed, there are as many and as different De- 
 grees of Senfbility or of Feeling, as there are De- 
 grees of Intelligence and Perception in human 
 Creatures ; and the Principle of both may be 
 perhaps one and the fame. One fball luffer more 
 from the Prick of a £ P/w, or Needle , from their 
 extreme Senfibility , than others from being run 
 thro’ the Body; and th t frft fort, feem to be 
 of the Clefs of thefe Jfhiick-Fhiilkers I have 
 formerly mentioned ; and as none have it in 
 their Option to choofe for themfel ves their own 
 
 particular 
 
fhs Condufion. 167 
 
 particular Frame, of Mind; nor Confutation of 
 Body ; fo none can choofe his own Degree of 
 Senfibility. That is given him by the Author 
 of his Nature , and is already determined; and 
 both are as various as the Faces and Forms of 
 Mankind are. 1 imagine therefore, there muft 
 be required a particular Make and Frame , both, 
 of Mind and Body, to determine any one to 
 receive heartily and purfue (i eadily this (as it 
 were) material Metaphyficks of a Regimen . 
 Therefeems tobe neceffary, previous to a Con- 
 vidion of the Benefit and Neceffity offuch a 
 State of Purification^ a fe nefai quoi , to make 
 Men .comprehend, embrace, and profecute this 
 Self-denying Dodrine, for the fake of fuch in- 
 fenfible Trifles , as Health , clear Faculties y 
 Cheerfulnejs , Activity, and Length of Hays , 
 when they are in Danger. If this corporal Sen- 
 fibility , as well as intellectual Delicacy is want- 
 ing, they will prove but lhort-li v’d, diffident and 
 daftardly material Spiriiualifs , and fall away 
 in the Time of c f rials, tho’ he that hath Ears to 
 hear will hear : and good and found Threfhing „ 
 great and extream Mifery , Fain , Lownefs , and 
 Anxiety , will go a great Way to beget this 
 Senfibility and Conviction ; for the Means us’d 
 by infinite fVifdom and Goodnefs towards re- 
 claiming his wandering Creatures , feem only 
 to be either Love or P uni foment : that thofe 
 whom Love will not draw and allure, Punt fo- 
 ment may drive and force ; but neither Frame , 
 Difpqftion, Organ , nor Faculty can make their. 
 
 Objedsj 
 
368 The Englifli Malady. 
 
 Objects, or alter their Nature, which arc 
 'Things given and determined. The immu- 
 table Laws of Nature ,< and the Relations of 
 Things are con ft ant , and will fubiift in their 
 Order, notwithftanding our Errors , Mi flakes, 
 or Prejudices. And it will be eternally true, 
 fo long as we have fuch Bodies, that only 
 Temperance and Abftinence , Air , Exercife , 
 Diet, and proper Evacuations can prefer veLife, 
 Health , and Gayety , or cure Chronical Difeales : 
 I mean in general and in the main ‘ and the 
 contrary will always deftroy them ; and that 
 they will ever mutually expel one another, 
 like Eire and hVater. Even Homer , three 
 thoufand Years ago, could obferve, that the 
 Homolgians (thele Pythagoreans , thefe Milk 
 and Vegetable Eaters) were the longefl liv'd, 
 and h one f eft of Men. Milk and Honey was 
 the Complexion of the Land of Fromife , and 
 Vegetables the Diet of the Paradifiacal State: 
 And lince fuch a Diet will (if any thing) 
 certainly cure, by the ConfeiTion of all Phy- 
 Jicians , learned and unlearned, ancient or mo- 
 dern, High or Low-livers, the Gout , the Con - 
 fumption, and the Scurvy , and fuch like atro- 
 cious, otherwife incureable and mortal Dif- 
 tempers ; it will be eternally true alfo, Gfaod 
 potefi majus potefi minus, or that, what will do 
 to the greater, will do the lefsofthe lame Kind: 
 And let the Brave and Bold , the Free-living 
 and Free-thinking Profejfors fneer or rail as 
 they pleafe, there muft be an eafier, fimpler, 
 
 and 
 
and more natural Way of preferring Heafepp 
 and Cheerfulnefs , of lengthning Life and cure- 
 ing Dfempers , than that founded on deep 
 Re fear ches, tedious Details , fludfd Ingenuity , 
 and Fine fling, elfe the Poor , the Illiterate , the 
 Laborious , and the Solitary (the far moft, if 
 not the leaft corrupted Part of our Species) 
 would be, of all Men, the moil miserable 
 when Pick. And accordingly it is obferve- 
 able, that Hippocrates , Galen , Celjus , and 
 others of the primitive Fathers op' Phyfick 
 cured by ^/>, Exercife , Diet , and Evacua- 
 tion moftly, if not only, even as fuccefsfully, 
 (tho’ not quite fo foon perhaps) as we by all 
 our Mathematicks , Natural Philojophy , Chy- 
 miftry , Anatomy , Knowledge of the Materia 
 Medica , and Animal Oeconomy. Far be it from 
 me, to lelfen the Value and Neceflity zzczy, of 
 thofe Divine Sciences ; for fince our Luxury 
 has kept Pace with our Knowledge \ the OZ>- 
 ftinacy and Violence , the Number and Degrees 
 of our Difeafes have increaled proportio- 
 nally; and therefore He that would honeftly 
 and fuccefsfully practife Phyfick , on the A?- 
 and Dijeafes now as they'are, ought to 
 know all thefe mentioned Sciences, to the 
 greateft Degree he can poffibly, to enable 
 him even to alleviate , mitigat , lejjen or care 
 thefe unnatural and infernal Diftempers now 
 extant \ and that Phyjfician will never arrive 
 at true, natural and beautiful Simplicity , 
 either of the theory or Practice of Phyfick , 
 
 B b who 
 
370 The Englifh Malady. 
 
 who has not pafled thro’ endlefs Multiplicity 
 in Study, Obfervation, and Experiment in 
 thefe Sciences \ fuch a Simplicity is the 
 greateft Contradi&ion to Lazinefs y Foreign 
 Studies , Negligence , Incuriojity and Ignorance 
 in the ProfelTion ; but fueh a Simplicity (pro- 
 duced by reje&ing Need-nofs) when (if ever) 
 attained, is worth a Million of thefe little falje 
 and foreign Ar ts fometimes us’d to rife in it ; 
 for it is, in Truth and Reality, an Eminence 
 of Light and Tranquillity . 
 
 Difpicere , unde queas alios pajjtmque videre , 
 Err are atque viam palantes queer ere vitce. 
 
 Lucret. 
 
 FINIS . 
 
 erratum. 
 
 Page 294, Line i 8 3 for and read but. 
 

 
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iJh. 
 
 /tTSS 
 
 Ex Lib. ] . F. Fulton