YOu know it is grown to an Adage, Medico & Iudici hominem occidere impunè licet: What need then is there of all this trouble about one particu­lar, may those say who un­derstand not the full drift and scope of the Proverb? But let the Interpretation thereof be what you please, yet I am, for mine own part throughly perswaded, that ifcap. 83. de vanit. Scien. Agrippa his scoffe —Saepissimè, & ferè sem­per plus periculi sit à Medico [Page 8] ac Medicinâ, quàm ipso mor­bo—have any truth in it, 'tis as often evidenc'd in the case of the Small Pox as in any other whatsoever: If therefore I present you with such a Method for the curing of them as perhaps till now you never heard of, pray in lieu thereof give me leave to beg a view of your judgment con­cerning it, that so I may see how far the lash of A­grippa's Censure reaches my self: For I do here in­genuously protest, that some have dyed under mine hands of the same disease, whose lives possibly might have been preserved, if [Page 9] this Method, and such Me­dicines be indeed so very proper in the foresaid Ma­lady, as is pretended.

My presumption with­out dispute is very great, but your Candour is so well known to me, that that I'll venture; it would be improper in the highest degree to appeal to any of those who are bylib. 7. Epist. cap. 2. Manar­dus call'd Medici ex Com­mentario, or bylib. 3. de Comp. Med. per Gen. c. 2. Galen [...]: No, no, re­course must be had to a true Son of the Art, who walks the Via Regia on the Legs of Reason and Expe­rience (to uselib. 8. de Comp. Phar. Secund. Loc. cap. 6. Galen's si­militude) and knows how [Page 10] to make use of the Crutch of Analogisme, when the other two are at a nè plus ultrà. This, Sir, was it which pitched my thoughts upon you, whom though it has been mine honour to know for divers years, yet could I never discern which of your foresaid Legs cra­ved the Crutch: Your Rea­son and Experience being so equally paired, that, without the least arrogan­cy, what was said by him of old may be said by you: [...].

On Tuesday the third of Iune last a Gentleman sending for his usual Apo­thecary,Iune 3. acquainted him [Page 11] that he had got cold (as he conceived) by leaving off some clothes, and desired something that might dis­pose him to sweat, hoping thereby his distemper might be removed, as formerly, in in like cases, he had experi­enced. The Apothecary being willing to serve his friend, and understanding he was very costive, advised him to admit of a familiar Clyster in the afternoon, and to bedward he should be furnished according to his desire; whereupon an ordinary Clyster was given, which moved twice, and at night this Draught—Rec. aqu. card. ben. rutae ā [Page 12] ℥iss aqu. cordial. Saxon. ℥i. aqu. theriacal. ʒvi. spiritus croci gutt. iv. syrupi Lujul. papav. erratici ā. ʒvi. To­ward morning he fell into a breathing sweat, and found much ease; but sup­posing that more stools would do him the more good, he took (of his own accord) some Infusion of Damask-Roses in Whey, and had two motions more. That afternoon he sent for the Apothecary again,Iune 4. told him that he was somewhat better, but withal desired to have what he further judged proper in that case; who presently perceiving that the Small Pox were [Page 13] coming forth very fast, wished him to go into bed, and send for a Physitian; to both which motions of his the Patient forthwith yield­ed, and did accordingly: I must here only tell you, that the Gentleman was a­bout 39 or 40 years of age, of a good (save somewhat inclining to a full) habit of body; very temperate he was, one that used much and moderate exercise in overseeing his great store of business: In short, his constitution, before this di­stemper, came as nigh to that they call Temper amen­tum temperatum, as at such an age, and in such an ha­bit, [Page 14] you usually meet with.

The Physitian finding him in this condition, Iune 4. pre­scribes as followeth;— Rec. aqu. papav. rhead. lactuc. ā. ℥i.ss. syrupi garyophil. diacod. ā. ʒvj. olei vitrioli parum, misce, capiat per partes hâc nocte. Rec. aqu. cord. frig. saxon. ros. damasc. ā. ℥i. vini albi. ℥iij. syrupi garyophyll. violarum. ā. ℥i.ss. confect. al­kermes. ℈ij. olei vitrioli ad aciditatem intensiorem. Ca­piat cras ad libitum.

On Thursday nothing else was directed; Iune 5. but on Friday these things were ordered;— Iune 6. Rec. Vini Hi­spanici ℥iiij Aqu. Papav. rhead. fragror. ā. ℥i.ss. ros. [Page 15] damasc. ℥i. aqu. theriacal. ʒvi. syrupi garyophyll. diacodii. ā. ℥ij. confect. alkermes. ʒi. olei vitriol. ad aciditatem inten­sam, capiat per cochlearia: And because great store of sleep was conceived very useful, Rec. diacodii ℥iiij. olei vitrioli ad aciditatem, misce, capiat cochlearia duo in berâ horâ somni, & sic augendo per cochlearia, si minus dormierit.

Rec. herb. salviae. fragr. aquileae, pentaphyll. ros. rub. ā. Þ iij. Coqu. in aqu. f. qu. s. Col^a lbi.ss. adde diamor. mell. ros. ā. ℥iiij. alumin. pi [...]l. ʒij. M. F. Garg. Cap. saepe, & diglutiat aliquantum.

That day and night all [Page 16] the Iulap, and the fou [...] ounces of Diacodium, wer [...] taken; but not finding him the next day to have slep [...] as was expected,Iune 7. the Iula [...] was renewed with tw [...] ounces of Diacodium, an [...] four ounces of Diacodiu [...] more, with Oyl of Vitriol as before; which four ounces, a mischance hapning (if you'l call it so) wa [...] lost in the carriage; so tha [...] having nothing all that day besides the Iulap, but [...] common Poisan, and no [...] yet sleeping as was desired the Pox began to flat, (surely it was for want of th [...] four ounces of Diacodium and all things else run t [...] loss and ruine.

[Page 17] To retrive which, on Sunday this Prescript was given,Iune 8. Rec. Diacodii: ℥iiij Ol. Vitriol. ad aciditatem in­tensam; with Directions likewise to drink Sack now and then, to send them forth again: But that being likely to prove more days work than one, expectation was patiently had till Wednesday, (the great business of procu­ring sleep being by this four ounces likely to be obtained,) save that on Tuesday the former gargle was repeated.Iune 10. On Wed­nesday therefore to do his work effectually,Iune 11. the Oracle dictated thus; Rec. Diaco­dii: [Page 18] ℥iiij Ol. Vitriol. qu. s. this was to be used as for­merly: There went then al­so Diamori. mell. Rosac. ā ℥ij. and the next thing sent for was a Coffin; for on Thursday he fell into a De­lirium, Iune 12. and on Friday a­bout twelve at night he died.Iune 13.

This, S^r, is the Case I implore your Judgment in; and to it shall only add, That there was nei­ther decay of strength, nor bad symptomes con­comitant, other than are before spoke of, which I humbly conceive are not so horrid as in the foresaid disease (at such an Age) [Page 19] Physitians very familiarly meet with in their practice.

I should here, S^r, have put a period to your pre­sent trouble, but that I have a scruple or two more to propose to you; the first is, concerning something that was done before the Physitian came; and the next will be a Quaere or two, concerning what hap­penned after.

Much blame there was laid upon procuring of Stools by the Clyster, and Infusion, because purging in this case cannot but be dan­gerous, as well as Bleeding or Vomiting; witness all the good-wives in a whole [Page 20] Countrey: What wonder then if the Doctor's Pre­scripts failed, when the Pa­tient was so strangely Phy­sick'd er'e he came at him?

It is not my design to vex you with craving satisfacti­on to all the questions which are put about Bleeding, Purging, and e­ven Vomiting in this Dis­ease, (the Judgment of all the Learned Physitians, whose Practice I ever con­vers'd with, hath fully con­vinc'd me, that it is possible for Indications to be so strong as that all three may by a skilful Artist be some­times profitably used,) but I pray, S^r, tell me whether [Page 21] such Purging, at such a time, and in such a case as this, could be indeed so ve­ry hurtful?

He had about four Stools in those two days be­fore the Pox appeared, and one in about fourty hours after, throughout his whole sickness; now what great injury that could do is in my opinion as hard to be imagined, as what good it did, or might have done, is obvious. However I think it may be question'd, whether those Stools (if they did any harm) were not more occasioned by the great quantity of Narcotiques, than by the Clyster, and In­fusion, [Page 22] as we shall hear a­non from the Learned Mer­curialis? And the same may be proposed concern­ing sleep; it seeming ratio­nal to me, that he must have rested better if the Pox had been thrown out, than he possibly could with all this Diacodium, which kept that within his body which must inevitably cause all manner of bad symptomes; and if Sanctorius made his obser­vations aright, this cannot be otherwise, it being one of hisStat. Me­dicin. Sect. 4. Aph. 10. Aphorisms, That Acrimonia perspirabilis re­tenti, vel saepissimè petit ca­put, turbat somnum, & par­tium superiorum perspirati­onem divertit.

[Page 23] I take it at present for granted, that our Variolae, and Morbilli, were, in gene­ral, known to the Greeks under the names of Exan­themata, and Ecthymata, (as Foesius, Gorraeus, Manardus, and indeed almost all a­gree,) and to Celsus, Pliny, and other Ancients, by Pa­pulae, Pustulae, Pituitae Eru­ptiones, &c. Now upon search it will appear, that what their Judgment was is summ'd up thus byLib. 7. Sy­nops. ad Eu­stath. cap. 7. Oriba­sius, —Qui hoc morbo vex­antur, per cutem sunt vacu­andi: nec procul est in altum attrahendum, ut per alvum aut vomitus fiat evacuatio. Sed nemo cogitet me id consilii [Page 24] dare, hujusmodi humores non esse per alvum evacuandos, quia in quibus humorum ple­nitudo infixa est, primùm est adhibenda purgatio; quod si quis non faciet, sed priùs discutere aggredietur, humo­res obstruet potiùs quàm per cutem eva [...]uabit. And that this was Galen's judg­ment also, will appear, if one consult the Case of Lib. 6. Epi­dem. Com­ment. Secun­do T. 30. Simon, who laboured un­der the [...] there he tells us plainly, that if there be any matter redundant it must be taken off by bleeding, or pur­ging, before any discussing Medicines be at all used: Nay, when theLib. 5. Meth. Med. cap. 12. Exanthe­mata [Page 25] were pestilential, all his Patients recovered who purged (and some who vo­mited,) before the Pustulae appeared.

My next scruple is con­cerning the manner of Na­tures throwing out these humours, viz. Whether it be not by way of Crisis? I stand not upon the terms of Ebullitio, Fermentatio, Fusio, Coagulatio, or any other whatever, but only Quaere if there be not from the Principium (Eruptionis) to the Status one continu­ed Crisis? Hipocrates tells us in the foresaid case of Simon (Textu 22. See. Foe­sium) that [...], and [Page 26] Henricus gives the Reason, —In Aph. 20. lib. 1. Quia illa Simonis Exan­themata nihil aliud erant quàm Crisis quaedam in cute vestigia. Fracastorius tells me it is,—Lib. 2. De Morb. Cont. cap. 2. Quaedam quasi Crisis à naturâ facta: And Amatus Lusitanus quotes Avicen thus,—Cent. 3. Curat. 18. in Sehol. Avicenna inquit, & post eum caeteri Medici testati sunt, quòd Va­riolarum, & Morbillorum ad cutem eruptio, quaedam à naturâ non solùm constituta, sed destinata Crisis sit: Well then, if this be true, will it not rationally follow, still to use his words,—Quòd quando natura eam (Crisin) conficere tentat, tunc Medi­cus materiam fluere disposi­tam, [Page 27] condensare, aut à viâ suâ cohibere non debet, sed magis ipsam disponere, ut per eam viam incedat, per quam natura conatur expellere jux­ta illud Hippocratis, Quò Natura maximè vergit, per loca conferentia, eò ducere o­portet; which same Apho­rism, saith Cardan, may be understood two ways,In Aph. 21. lib. 1. Vel de materiâ quae jam excerni incepit, vel quae solùm est in motu; which, if I mistake not, reaches the present Case very fully.

If then Nature ought not to be hindered in this Critical Evacuation, what need could there be imagi­ned of so vast a quantity [Page 28] of Diacodium? (except it were to lull him into a fools Paradise, like theAlpius de Med. Aegypt. lib. 4. c. 1. Aegyp­tians upon eating Affion, or Opium) to pass by the med­ley of simple and com­pound Waters, Wine, Al­lum, &c. where the cou­pling seems something to resemble that of Mezenti­us, whose Cruelty it was to yoke the living with the dead. And if it be as true, that Instante Crisi nihil te­merè movendum (which is to be understood, as I humbly conceive, of any preposterously superindu­ced motion, and not only of purging, vomiting, or bleeding) but at that time [Page 29] the Physitian should rather be a Spectatour then an A­ctor; what great need could be then of White-Wine, Sack and Alkermes, when Nature was doing her own work as well as could be desired?

What use there may be made of Wine in Fevers is not now the question; they who altogether condemn it are as much, I think, be­side the Cushion as Hel­mont is, when he cracks how in few days, nay in few hours, he was wont to cure all Fevers, de victus Ratione. Continuatas & Intermittentes, by rejecting Phlebotomy and giving wine; for there is a time [Page 30] for every thing—Et data non apto tempore, vina no­cent: But I would know of you, whether Forestus hit not right when he thu [...] determin'd it in this parti­cular disease?—Vinumlib. 6. Ob­serv. 64. in Schol. aliquo modo concedi debet, i [...] ne quaquam rubrum sit: imò propter febrem, licèt etiam sit album, in principio dan­dum non est, nisi post tres aut quatuor dies, cùm jam ince­perint Variolae apparere. Ac hoc us que tempus (inquit Guainerius, capite proprio) Vinum omninò vitandum est▪ Et si Vinum dandum est in delicatis ac divitibus post ap­paritionem Variolarum, debet esse album, aqueum▪ atque lympha­tum [Page 31] (eodem sic dicente) poti­ùs medicinaliter quàm ciba­liter, ut Variolarum juvet egressum, idque in parvâ quantitate. Vbi tamen fe­br is vehemens est, & dolor capit is insignis, ab eo absti­nendum, nè in delirium aegri rapiantur.

But what now to quaere concerning the Diacodion I do not well know, there appearing nothing, in my mind, urgent enough to require so much of it: 'Twas conceived he did not sleep enough, that is, he did not sleep always, and what wonder in that? Galen. in Aph. 71. Commen. 4. Vigilant enim magnà ex parte, & graviter se habent, [Page 32] ac febriunt vehementiùs ae­gri, quanto propiùs ad Iu­dicationem accedunt: Nay, pray tell me if it be not much better for the Patient to sleep somewhat less then usual, whilest this disease is in Augmento, then on the contrary?

Hippocrates hath rendred Drowsiness very suspicious to me in acute Fevers; there are but few cases, and those must be well timed, in which I can afford it a good word, because I find that he gives it so many bad ones:in Coac. & aliàs. [...], I should think was ill e­nough, (especially in his sence) and yet it seems to [Page 33] be but a favourable expres­sion in his mouth, who fre­quently calls it [...], yea and [...] too; so that I ever judged it so far from laudable, that I never durst procure it on set pur­pose: Not that I am one of those who decry Ano­dynes; for Opium is, in mine esteem, the best of Medi­cines (you have heard what a courtesie four grains of Laudanum Paracelsi did me some years since) in some cases, if given in due time and dose; but Corruptio optimi pessima holds here too; for the sharper a sword is, there's the more [Page 34] danger when it comes to be wielded by the hand of a mad man: But shall we hear Galen treating how to order Symptomes? After a large and learned Dis­course the result is this— lib. 12. Meth. Med. cap. 1. Si fas est iis remediis, quae morbum sanent, utendo, quod optamus, efficere, abstinen­dum à sapientibus medica­mentis est, quae vocant [...]. Sin ex vigiliis, & viri­bus resolvendis, ad mortis discrimen aeger tendat, tum profectò tempestivè ejus modi medicamentis utare▪ scilicet non ignarus corporis habitum nonnihil ex his laedendum: laesionem tamen, quam mor­tem, potiùs elègendam. And [Page 35] soon after—Hâc nimirum persuasione ipse quoque, ta­metsi omnium maximè ab usu graviter sopientium abhor­rens (consule lib. 5. de simpl. Med. Facult. cap. 19. for it is of this kind of Anodynes he now talks) aliquando tamen ea & Coli­cis exhibeo, & iis qui vel oculorum, vel aurium, vel aliarum partium vehemen­tissimo dolore cruciantur. In­terim verò & cùm aeger ex tenui destillatione, vigiliis, & vehementi tussi urgetur, Pauxillulum ejusmodi medi­camenti offero, &c. And what they are, he there tells us, viz. Quae ex papaveris succo, Styrace, &c. But elsewhere he gives us the Dose of this Diacodion, and [Page 36] the manner of using it, as well as how to prepare it: He approves of Crito and Soranus, their Compositi­ons, one whereof allows ten Heads to every Sextary of water, and the other fifteen Heads to two Sexta­ries; as also of the middle way, wherein eight or nine Heads are to be macerated in each Sextary: He shews us how he made it both with Sapa and Mel, and the different use thereof; and then addes,de Comp. Pharm. sec. Loc. lib. 7. cop. 2. Opus habent maximè hujusmodi Phar­macis ii, quibus tenuis flux­us à Capite ad asperam Arte­riam destillat, non permittens dormire ob consequentem tus­sim: [Page 37] He tells us it is never to be given but when the symptom is urgent; and that is Vrgens, quod majori auxilio opus habet; and in such a case Diacodion nay be given to the quantity of two large spoonfulls,—Au­gebis autem, & minues hanc copiam ad magnitudinem cor­poris cui exhibiturus es, re­spiciens item âd aetatem, & anni horam, &c.

But what, I pray, might Galen's largest spoon con­tain? The reason why I ask, is, because I cannot yet find that it held more than two drachms: To wave many places, consider a lit­le Libr. 7. Meth. M [...]d. cap. 11. one, where discour­sing [Page 38] of Hiera Picra, and its use, he tells us,—Vtilius (que) est eo (Pharmaco) sicco ex aquâ uti duorum parvorum Cochleariorum mensurâ, ubi mediocriter, & medio quo­dam modo, eo uti studemus; nam maximus ejus modus, ac Absolutissimus, est duorum non utique Parvorum, sed Magnorum, potio in aquae temperatae Cyathis tribus: Minimus unius parvi: Whence, I think, this infe­rence may be made, That if Galen's largest spoon con­tained four drachms, then he gave of Hiera Picra an ounce at a dose; which I never yet could see proved; but if four drachms of it [Page 39] was the most he used to give, then his largest spoon contained but two drachms: You must excuse me for calling it Galen's greatest spoon, (though I think indeed it was his greatest,) whereas he uses only these three, Magnum, Parvum, Minimum. Syl­vius, Lacuna, and others, will have it to hold but one drachm, half a scruple, two grains, and two fifths of a grain; others set it at two drachms; but there are none that I see put it er.

Paulus Aegineta, Tralli­anus, Actuarius, and many more, do follow Galen, both [Page 40] in the manner of preparing Diacodion, and in the dose; only Aetius (after he hath also told us,—Datur mode­rata mensura duorum cochle­ariorum; and that we may increase or take from that dose, according to the con­dition of the Patient, &c.) is something more positive, proceeding thus,—Tetrabib. 2. Serm. 1. cap. 133. Certè ex eo quod ex capitibus Pa­paveris Thebaici praeparatur datur ad summum uncia una, talis est descriptio Galeni hu­jus Pharmaci. Exhibeo au­tem ipsum non solum somno indigentibus ad vesperam, & ad tussim; sed etiam insaniâ labor antibus post venaesecti­onem, & febrientibus vehe­menter, [Page 41] & quibus os ven­tris intolerabiliter perustum est, &c. Et non solùm semel, sed iterum; & non solùm in febrium vigore, sed etiam an­te vigorem, & ante manife­stam concoctionem, in quibus Vigiliae, aut caliditas acris & magna hominem affli­gunt; and then tells us, how he tempered it with Ace­tum, Mulsum simplex, Mel Rosaceum, Omphacomeli, &c. as he judged fitting.

De Antid. lib. 3. Mesue prepares it somewhat otherwise, (and his composition we do mostly follow,) allowing sixty drachms of each kind of the heads, black and white, to four pounds of [Page 42] rain-water: We allow eight ounces of the white, and six ounces of the black, so that there is but the dif­ference of eight drachms in the whole composition, in case that defect be not made up again in the pre­paration: Compare out two Dispensatories: Mesue tells us only that it is, Syru­pus ad catarrhum, & tussim, causam insomnii; butAnnotat. in Mesu. Syl­vius is more particular,—Somnum quoque conciliat, tum per se refrigerando & humectando, sumptus uncii­duabus horâ somni; which is the largest dose I have yet read of.

Sir, I have traced thi [...] [Page 43] Diacodion thorow so many Ages, on purpose to ask you this one question, viz. Whether you judge it war­rantable and safe to give six drachms of it, (in such a Patient as is before de­scribed,) with such other things as are before spoke of, the first day the Pox ap­pear; and on the third day to give six ounces of it; and two ounces every day, for five or six days follow­ing? So much was taken at least, and more intended; for of twenty ounces and six drachms which were di­rected, four ounces miscar­ried. Might it not have been the safer way of the [Page 44] two to have closed with Galen, treating of this ve­ry symptome?—lib. 13. Meth. M. cap. [...]1. Iure ergò, cùm in summo incremento sunt, iis vitiis, quae Pervi­gilio, & Delirio infestant, Perfufiones ex papaverum capitibus applicabimus.

But there is one thing must needs be spoke to, which I foresee may be ob­jected; much of what is aforesaid is grounded upon the supposition that our Va­riolae, and Morbilli, were known to the Greeks un­der the Exanthemata, &c. which Mercurialis hath learnedly indeavoured to disprove, (to pass by the contest betwixt Manardus [Page 45] and Valeriola about the Herpetes veterum, whether they be our Morbilli; and that betwixt Marcianus and Valesius, concerning the Pe­ticulae) 'Tis true he has so, and therefore we will not fall out about the name, it being readily confess'd that the knowledge we borrow from the Antients in this Disease, is as small as, al­most, in any other: But yet if I make it appear that Mercurialis his judgment, as to the Nature and Cure of them, was the same with other mens whom I have cited, then certainly that Objection signifies the ve­ry next to nothing; Let [Page 46] us therefore hear that most learned man speak for him­self; lib. 1. de Morb. Puer. cap. 2. Variolae & Morbilli solent plerun (que) ad salutem terminari, eò quòd plerun (que) etiam est veluti Criticus Na­turae Motus: then discour­sing about Phlebotomy, and approving of it, he at length comes to Pharmacie in this manner—Nequa­quam utendum est medica­mentis vehementioribus, tum quia Medicus semper voca­tur, quando jam fervor & ebullitio est in sanguine: tum quia medicamenti operatio turbat materiam ab opere; Cùm enim motus ille sit penè totus criticus, praeceptum habemus à Medicis omnibus, [Page 47] Movente Naturâ nihil agen­dum esse, nisi ipsa imper­fectè moveat; intelligere ve­rò an perfectè moveat in ini­tio non possumus.—Vtor autem Clysteribus, & Glan­dibus, ad alvum ipsam sub­ducendam. Soon after thus, Reliquum curationis horum morborum totum videtur esse positum in auxiliandâ Natu­ra expellente, which is agree­able to what he said be­fore —Quandoquidem Cardo hujus Curationis est hic, ut à partibus internis ad exter­nas revellantur ichores mor­bidi. Nay he goes higher, Caeterùm si rem exactè aesti­memus, multum abest, ut ul­la praeservatio his morbis de­beatur, [Page 48] quandoquidem statim at (que) praecognoscitur hoc ge­nus morbi, duos tantùm sco­pos solent habere Medici; unum, ut auxilientur Na­turae expellenti: ut praeser­vent quominùs in hâc ex­pulsione partes internae, & externae corporis, aliquid pa­tiantur, —A vino abstinen­dum erit, donec penitùs fi­nita sit febris, & omnia ac­cidentia: quod si Pueri, ut morosi esse solent, vinum ve­lint, concedendum est par­cissimè, pauciferum, at (que) in ipso immaceranda sunt olera refrigerantia, ut Endivia, &c.—Moderatus somnus es­se debet, & potiùs vigilan­dum, quàm dormiendum: [Page 49] Abstinendum autem maximè ab ole is omnibus, à Narcoti­cis, at (que) etiam ab emplasticis: A Narcoticis, à Refrigeran­tibus, quia repellunt materi­am intrò, & consequenter Fluxibus Intestinorū (might he not also have said Vigi­liis?) occasionem praebent; which scattered pieces be­ing laid together seem to bespeak the Authors free consent, that the Antients and he agreed in the Thing, only some difference they had about the Name of it.

But a Caution, or two, will be here requisite: First, I do acknowledge thatvid. Arist. in Probl. Sect. 2. 16. sleep promotes sweat, and insensible Perspiration, and [Page 50] consequently that Narco­tiques, if rightly used, do also prove Diaphoretiques: Sanctorius hath observed, as indeed all do, thatSect. 4. [...]ph. 46. Som­no concentrantur humores, unitur calor influens inna­to, &c. Nay, that Perspira­tion is so furthered by pla­cide sleep, that in seven hours space no less then [...]h. 1. Sect. ejusd. fifty ounces may exhale in­sensibly through the pores of a mans body; And Pla­terus his reasons, beside every days experience, do so sufficiently evidence the truth of the latter, that I shall not need appeal to the famous Compositions of Theriaca, Mithridatium, Phi­lonium, [Page 51] Diascordium, &c.

In the next place I am apt to yield that Narco­tiques are, as they call it, corrected by Vinegar, and those things that are Acide; which is done, (as some phrase it) Sulphuris narcoti­ci vim infringendo, by brea­king the strength of, and as it were, fixing the Narco­tique Sulphure: but whe­ther Oyl of Vitriol have the same effect I much questi­on, especially ifde Atram. descript. 6. cap. 15. & 17 Canepa­rius saith true; he tells us that Vitriolum est integra Medicinae Officina, and that its Spirit Vniversale est re­medium, quod maximè ad omnia ferè conducit, and a­mongst [Page 52] others this for one, —Spiritus acidus vitrioli (which comes off betwixt the Phlegma and the Corre­sive Oyl) vigilias aufert, conciliat (que) somnum; and I dare say he was as well skil­led in the Spagyrical Art as our present Doctor: But pray then tell me, whether the giving of Narcotiques with wine doth not very much quicken their opera­tion? I am sure Diascori­des saith, that Hemlock gi­ven with wine works stron­ger, that is, kills sooner; perhaps as much because Wine it self is a Narcotique, as for any other reason; and this conceit seems to be fa­voured [Page 53] by those who are the greatest Patrons of Wine; for Whitaker saith that—Vinum dilutum (I suppose he means the truly [...] of the Anti­ents, by Praedominat cum naturali aquositate in se) vi­detur remedium febri speci­ficè ordinatum— de sanguin. Uvae. pa. 71. 72, 73. Nam ejus qualitate Narcoticâ colligat sensus, & somnum reconcili­at, &c. However, it may be asked, I think, upon very good grounds, whether soporiferous Medicines gi­ven disorderly do not sometimes occasion Deliria and Madness? Observa­tors shew some examples; and, if I mistake not, this [Page 54] is of the same Nature.

The Oyl of Vitriol you see was given in no small Doses, it was directed ad Aciditatem intensam, & in­tensiorem: I can indeed sub­scribe to a great deal of Caneparius his Encomium, Siaequè administretur Spiri­tus acidus vitrioli, omnibus ferè corporis praepurgati af­fectibus medetur, putredinem enim aciditate suâ arcet, ac summà partium tenuitate ob­structiones pellit, sangui­nem (que) impurum reficit, hu­miditates superfluas absu­mit, &c. But then may not some question be made concerning his— Si aequè administretur? I cannot in [Page 55] this case say (though I wish I could) that too much of it doth make way for an Hectique; but considering what lib. de vict. rat. in Aeut [...]. Hippocrates and Comment. 3. in eundem Text. 24. &c. ad 38. Ga­len judge of Oxymel, and its use, me thinks this scruple may be proposed;

If it be true that the more diluted Oxymel be most proper in acute Fevers, and that which is less sharp ( [...]) be the best—Os fauces (que) humectare, sputum educere, sitim sedare, flatum discutere, urinas movere, and least hurtful to the In­testines, Lungs, &c. (parts, of all other, most subject to inconveniencies in this particular Disease) And if [Page 56] the stronger Oxymel, being more intensely Acide ( [...]) doth in some cases do hurt by hindering ex­pectoration (notwithstand­ing that in the general it is a great Incider, and even in stuflings of the Lungs may be very usefull, [...]) and rendring the humor viscous, glutinous, tenacious, or what you'l call it, ( [...]) being it doth more po­tently dry, bind up as it were, and streighten: Nay, considering that evende Victus rat one. Hel­mont tells us how he suffo­cated Feavers by but gi­ving some of these penetra­ting drops (aliquot guttas) in [Page 57] the Patients drink, (not in so large measure as Crollius would have it, whose only boundary is, quòd Dentes non stupefaciant) and that all Acidity, save that in the stomach, isBlas hum. praeternatural and inimicous as infalli­bly curdling the Cruor, e­specially when it is extrava­sated, as in Plurisies, Inflam­mations of the Lungs, &c. (I think he might have ad­ded the small Pox too) and that no Remedies in such cases are proper but those which take off this adventi­tious Acidity (peregrinā aci­ditatem conceptam in Archeo, as hePleur. Fur. there calls it) Quae tollunt acorem, & ad dia­phoresin [Page 58] disponunt cruorem, dolorem pacant, quia acidi­tatem extinguunt; And with­al remembring that Non Calidum, aut Frigidum, &c. sunt Morbi: sed Acidum, Acre, Acerbum, &c. accord­ing to Hippocrates; may not I say, upon those and the like confiderations, this Scruple be proposed, viz. whether Septalius his Cau­tion be not here of some use,Lib. 2. Sect. 37. who in Acute, and Malignant Feavers, advises that acide medicines should be given moderately, to the end they may cool, attenu­ate, absterge, resist putre­faction, promote sweat, and by penetrating, make the [Page 59] more way for other apt Medicaments; but if ta­ken over liberally, do they not by their too much au­sterity, binding and dry­ing, frequently pervert the designs of Nature, and (amongst other bad effects) occasion incurable obstru­ctions, &c.

There are some other particulars in the abovesaid Case, which might not im­properly be taken notice of, but as the learned Ca­saubonus (animadverting upon Athenaeus) seems not much to mind the descri­ption of Hercules his gree­dy eating till he comes to the shaking of his ears, and [Page 60] there fixes a Notemius,— Lib. 10. Pingit autem Epicharmus [...] Herculem tuburci­nantem: qui prae vorandi aviditate faucibus, maxillâ dentibus omnibus & naso quo (que) sonum edat: Sed No­temus quod ait, postremò: [...] nam reliqua plus [...] ha­bent quàm miraculi, So shall I at present pass by things of less remark, which would be troublesome to you in ma­king me the more tedious, contenting my self with the expectation of your defini­tive sentence in those which do not altogether seem to be less then wonderful.

You see, Sir, how easie a [Page 61] thing it was to have patch'd this Rhapsody (if you'l not play the Critick) up to the form of a set Discourse, which yet on purpose I have declined; not that I am of the number of those who (as Sennertus some­where has it) had rather tell tales with the Antients, then speak truth with Mo­derns, (profiteri non eru­buerunt, Se malle cum A­ristotele, vel Galeno, er­rare: quàm cum Recenti­orum aliquo verum dicere) but that if it be my for­tune to be out of the way, I ever loved to have good Company: However, for fear of being hit with Lo­qui [Page 62] nescit, at tacere non potest, I shall but once more beg your pardon, and then take leave to subscribe my self,

NOthing but Obedi­ence can excuse my medling with a Province that has been already by you so perfectly admini­stred: It being as much as to say, to offer to water the Sea, or light a Candle to the Sun. Indeed you, ha­ving forestalled the Mar­ket, have saved me the la­bour of speaking any thing to the purpose; so that no impertinence of mine can want a colourable plea, I being enjoyned to deliver [Page 64] my opinion, and yet no­thing left me to discourse on. Otherwise though it be justly questioned whe­ther Hippocrates, Galen, and the rest of the truly anci­ent, had any explicite knowledge of the Small Pox and Measles; yet be­cause Nurses and old wo­men do pretend to speak Aphorismes of them, and to be able to cure them as dextrously as the best Phy­sitians, I might make bold to put in with that crowd, and venture my rude and crude conceptions of this subject amongst the true Idiotae, the vulgar of the vulgar. And, I know not [Page 65] by what fate, Physitians of late have more lost their credit in these diseases then ever: witness the severe judgment of the world in the cases of the Duke of Gloucester and the Princess Royal; so that now they stick not to say, with your Agrippa, that at least in these a Physitian is more dangerous then the mala­dy: And I wish this late scandal by you related have not strongly helped to confirm them in their misprision. Neither the shortness of my reading and memory, nor the thin­ness of my Library will suf­fer me to deal in Quotati­ons [Page 66] so plentifully as you have done, nor is it your desire: I shall therefore only follow your Commis­sion, and briefly and plain­ly deliver my thoughts concerning the method that was observed in the cure by you related, regu­lating my self more by my own small reason, and the experience of these latter Ages, then by the Autho­rity of the Ancients, who seem in no diseases so ob­scure and imperfect as in these.

As to my opinion of the Doctors Prescripts, in gene­ral, truth forces me to say, that they are extreamly [Page 67] confused; a meer Chaos of Medicines, immethodically thrown together: Frigida ubi certant calidis, humentia siccis, Mollia cum duris, sine pondere habentia pondus. For cooling you have, Aqu. pap. lactuc. frag. ros. dam. diacod. for heating, Alkermes, suf­ficiently bridled by the coolers, for fear it should do good; and, that they may want nothing, there is Syr. Violar. for a purger. For the rest, I shall Answer according to your Quaeries particularly.

First, You demand whe­ther Variolarum eruptio be not a critical motion of Nature, and therefore to [Page 68] be promoted, not hinder­ed. I answer in the affir­mative; and if I erre in this, I think I erre with all mankind; I am sure, with all that I ever heard or read: What can it be less, when it is evidently that evacuation by which, if it rightly proceeds, Nature constantly terminates the disease, and clears the mass of blood in its malign pu­tredinous ferment, and without which it never fails to sink into ruine?

The next Quaere conse­quent to this is about the use of Diacodion in this case: Truly, though I am so far convinc'd by Plater's [Page 69] arguments, and experience, that I cannot wholly con­demn it, because, at least with other Medicines, it provokes sweat egregious­ly; yet this I humbly con­ceive it does not as proper sudorifiques do, by its heat and tenuity of parts, but by accident; that is, part­ly by giving truee to Na­ture in easing pain, and pro­curing sleep, by which the spirits are recruited, and so better enabled to separate and throw off the matter by the pores; partly by u­niting and concentring the same spirits, and, not a lit­tle, by stopping all other evacuations, as Purging, [Page 70] Vomiting, &c. besides that, it is a known and confessed truth, That sleep it self, which it procureth, quâ sleep, hinders all other e­vacuations but those by the skin; only transpiration and sweat it increases.

This is certain, that Dia­codion does extreamly thicken, and, as it were, quag the humours; and this appears, first by its con­sistence, and modus sub­stantiae; for it is Mucilagi­nous and Unctuous, next to Emplastick: Secondly, from its use amongst all men; hence it is given in suffocative Catarrhes, and all manner of violent Flux­es, [Page 71] where the indication is to condense an over-thin and turgent humour. You have very learnedly and largely proved, That all the Ancients, (you might have added, all the Mo­derns that are in their wits) never use it but spa­ringly, and urgente sympto­mate plusquam morbo: but here, by your relation, was no such necessity, no ten­dency to a Delirium or Phrenitis, no intense Fe­ver, but his eruptions at first kindly and hopefull, only that he did not, it seems, sleep altogether so soundly as when he was in health. And though I [Page 72] commend not the Doctor's giving six drachms of it, at the beginning, upon so small an account, yet it might better have been en­dured, if he had not joyn­ed it in Commission with other vehement coolers, which yet more restrained and praecipitated that per­fective and depurative e­bullition and fermentati­on, by which Nature is en­abled first to separate, and then to exclude the pec­cant humour: Nay, though that might be excused, yet after that, to make it his Patients constant diet for some days together, and that in those extravagant [Page 73] doses, I cannot imagine from whom he should learn it, unless from the Turks, when he was at Constanti­nople; and they, you know, make Opium, Diacodions elder brother, their daily bread.

As to your next Quaere, of the use of Wine in this Fever, I find all that I meet afraid of it, because it in­creases the Fever, and in­cites the ebullition too much, and withal drives the humours and vapours to the head, to the great endangering of a furious Delirium or Phrenitis, to which this disease is very subject, it being its most [Page 74] usual Catastrophe, when it proves fatal. Those that speak most favourably of it, do rather indulge than commend it, and that, as you judiciously observe, only after the eruption, very small wine, and very little of it, much diluted, and that too most in respect of the custom of the Patient, according to that Apho­rism in Hippocrates, Consueta licèt paulò deteriora meliori­bus non consuetis minùs mo­lesta sunt. Nor is your conjecture improbable, that Wine, partly by its proper narcotickness, and partly by its thinness of parts, serving it insted of a ve­hicle, [Page 75] may make Diacodion more stupefying then it is by its self; and possibly up­on that account the old Athenians poisoned their condemned persons with Hemlock mixed with a lit­tle Wine; though on the other side Authors report, that good store of Wine is Hemlocks proper Anti­dote: But we will not blame the Doctor for this, seeing it was his principal scope to stupefy and pro­cure rest.

As to your Quaere of this Oyl of Vitriol, (I hope he meant the Spirit, for there is great difference) I cannot believe Caneparius that Spi­ritus [Page 76] virioli acidus doth cause sleep: If that were so, it would be seen every day, its use being so ordinary; and, I could never see any thing in practise to favour such a conceit▪ Perhaps Caneparius (and, you know, Chymists love to speak my­stically) means Extractum Vit. Narcoticum, or Sulphur Vit. Narcoticum, or the like preparations of it; Nor do I think the Doctor so much a Chymist as to adde this Spirit for a corrector of O­pium; I suspect him of no such subtilty, nor possibly would so rude and imper­fect a mixture be able to do it: However, if that were [Page 77] his design, he may thank himself that his Patient ne­ver slept quietly till he slept his last; for, it seems, by this he so over-corrected his Narcotique, that he totally disarmed it, and pulled down with one hand what he built with the other. Nor can I absolutely prohibit the use of Acid things in this Feaver, because, as Willis saith, they coagulate the blood; for, if so, how could they be permitted in other pestilent Feavers, which all, as well as this, de­pend upon coagulation, ac­cording to him; and what more ordinary in those fea­vers, then the use of Acids, [Page 78] as Succus, Limon. Citri, Lu­julae, Aurant: Spiritus Dia­trion, &c. Nay, he him­self with great success uses Spiritus Corn: cerv. Nay, if Acids produced this sad ef­fect, they would not be safe in any kind of Feaver, no not in state of health. Nor doth his experiment evince, that, because these Acid Spirits being poured upon blood reaking hot, and newly taken from the vein, do produce first an Ebullition, then a Coagu­lation of it, therefore they must have the same opera­tion upon the mass of blood, being taken inward; for, as Helmont pertinently [Page 79] observes, they come to the blood much broken and al­tered by the concoctions and ferments of the parts that they pass through in their long journey. Nor do I, with the Chymists, deifie these Acid spirits and Liquors though on the other side, I cannot per­swade my self to believe what Galen, and the rest, say contrary to all experi­ence and themselves, that the stronger Oxymel doth (as you cite them) as it were curdle the Serum san­guinis, and render it viscous and tenacious; for besides that Oxymel is reckoned by themselves, and all men, a [Page 80] great incider and attenua­ter (which is just contrary to curdling) if it had that faculty, both they and we were made to give it in Asth­ma's and other stuffings of the Lungs by tough hu­mors, besides all contuma­cious obstructions of the Viscera, which I conceive depend upon nothing else but viscous and coagulated serum. Nay more, we see Vinegar not to coagulate, but to attenuate serum out of the body; we see how it dissolves other viscous bodies, as the most tena­cious gummes that are: Nay more, how it and its Spirit dissolve the hardest [Page 81] stones, and other cognate Acid Liquors, as Spiritus salis, Nitri, Aq: Reg: Fort: &c. open and dissolve the closest metals: Yet I do not deny, but that over much Acidity by accident may thicken the serum and phlegm, that is, by streight­ening of the Lungs, so oc­casioning the retention of it so long, that by the heat of the part it is made thick and viscous. In summe, my quarrel to the use of Spirit of vitriol in this great quantity is, That being ad­ed to cool Liquors, by its pierceingness and subtilty of parts it renders them far more cooling, and withal, [Page 82] by its astringency (which is eminent in Vitriol, and more or less in all Acids) it beats down and praecipi­tates that defaecative fer­mentation of the blood be­fore mentioned, and more­over hinders Expectorati­on, which is so necessary in this Disease, the Lungs being here always much op­pressed and afflicted, as ap­pears by the dyspnoea almost always accompanying it, and the Cough which for the most part doth both at­tend it, and long survive it▪ not neglecting your other Exceptions against it, as its galling and exul­cerating the stomach, Guts, [Page 83] and other parts, &c. but passing them over as by you pre-occupied.

No wonder then if they flatted and sunk in, I mean the Pox, and the matter running to the head, there insued first deliria, and then death, there being so much industry used by Narco­ticks, Coolers, and Stypticks, to thicken the humours, re­strain the perfective Ebul­lition, and bind in the Spi­rits, the only way to hin­der Eruption; No won­der, I say, that the humours thus retained caused first continued watching, then Deliria or Phrensy, &c. Nor [Page 84] can he clear himself by charging it upon the Clyst­er; for, in the time of E­bullition, clysters are com­mended and used by all men, both to keep the Fea­ver from immoderate in­creasing, and to rid away part of the matter, that na­ture may be the better able to expel the rest; besides that, it is Natures proper Method; for we see, for the most part, this Feaver begins with Vomiting, Stools, or both, which, if they cease before the Erup­tion, make the Disease the shorter and easier, and the Pox the fewer. More­over [Page 85] if this Clyster, or the Patients own Purge of Whey and Roses, had done this mischief, it must have been by causing a loosness (which never insued) and the Pox would pre­sently after have flatted, not at so great a distance of time, whereas then they came out pretty well, and never sunk in till the Doct­or had for some days tried his experiments on him.

Thus I have furnished you with Narcotick Bum­fodder, fit to be preferred to the same Physical place that M^r Doctors Prescri­ptions richly deserve: I must [Page 86] plead a just excuse from your command, and my own, and your want of time; and rest