Reasons against the practice of inoculating the small-pox: As also a brief account of the operation of this poison, infused after this manner into a wound. By Legard Sparham, Surgeon.

Reasons against the practice of inoculating the small-pox: As also a brief account of the operation of this poison, infused after this manner into a wound. By Legard Sparham, Surgeon.

Table of contents

Title page

TO My Worthy Friend Mr. William Beckett, Surgeon, and F.R.S.

REASONS against the Practice of Inoculating the Small-Pox.

POSTSCRIPT.

§

§

[Page]

REASONS Against the PRACTICE OF Inoculating the Small-Pox.

AS ALSO A Brief Account of the Operation of this Poison, infused after this manner into a Wound.

Audax omnia perpeti

Gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas.

Horat.

By LEGARD SPARHAM, Surgeon.

LONDON, Printed for J. PEELE, at Locke's Head in Paternoster-Ro [...] M.DCC.XXII.

(Price Sixpence.)

TO My Worthy Friend Mr. William Beckett, Surgeon, and F.R.S.

[Page]

DEAR SIR,

I HAD rather permit this little Tract to creep into the World by your Approbation [Page]and Favour, than daringly push it out under the Patronage of some Noble L—d, or Rich Citizen; for Truth wants no such bulky Supports, and Fallacy can never deserve them. Flattery was never my Talent, as appears by my Dedication, in which I purposely omit a Recital of your Vertues and Knowledge; because I would neither offend you, nor trouble the World with a Repetition of what your own [Page]Works have abundantly set forth; but presume rather by this small Offering to strengthen the Ties of our Friendship, than attract by fulsome Panegyrick the Admiration of any.

Accept therefore these Sheets as Pledges of my Wishes for your Prosperity; and how much I have at Heart the Publick Good. The small Interruption this Brevity will give it by your Perusal, may plead my Excuse [Page]for the Trouble and believe me,

SIR, Your Sincere Friend And Humble Servant, Legard Sparham.

REASONS against the Practice of Inoculating the Small-Pox.

[Page]

TO give an Account of the Small-Pox, or to run through the different Sorts and Stages of it, would be too tedious at present; and which having been already done by Men of Eminency in the Profession of Physick, it would be Presumption [Page]and Trifling in me, to offend by a less perfect Account of my own.

THIS Epidemical contagious Disease, contracted from the Inspiration of Air heterogene to our Bodies, betrays itself by Pains of the Back and Head, Weariness in the Limbs, Vomitings, &c. usually two or three Days before the Eruption of the Pustules; after which, for the most part, the Patient feels a Remission of Symptoms: and the kind Maturation of the Pustules generally frees the infected Person in twelve or fourteen Days, unless something unexpected succeeds. In this Distemper, Nature labours with all her Force, to clear the Blood of the Poison, till by degrees she drives it from the Center to the Surface, and [Page]effects an universal Depuration: but how far this laudable Work will be carried on by the new Method of Ingrafting or Inoculating, shall be our next Consideration.

IN order to which, we will presume the Infection of the ordinary way to be with the Air first admitted into the Lungs, whence, by the common Circle of the Blood, by degrees it pervades the whole Body; which Pollution being thus gradually introduced, occasions not such mighty Revels in the Blood, as to take off one in twenty, unless a more Malignant Sort than usual (God be praised) rages in our Clime; and then I fear the Inoculation of such a one would prove as dangerous to us as the worst of the accidental. And [Page]unless the present Method was wholly void of any fatal Symptoms, and the Patient entirely secure in the Experiment, ( * of which we have had a late melancholly Instance to the contrary) it would be the highest Piece of Rashness and Cruelty to give up our Children Sacrifices to the fond Delusion of averting an Ill that may be, by the Anticipation of it at present, when the Prospect of a good Event in this, is as uncertain as it may prove to them in any Period of Life from the other; nay, perhaps the longest may be spun without the Tryal of it at all.

THE instilling of Poison into a Wound has always been accounted [Page]the most destructive of any; for though the Blood thus fermented may betray itself in the shape of the Small-Pox, yet it has always a Resort to a poisonous Fountain, from which it every Moment receives new Supplies: and as by degrees the venomous Particles in the Wound begin to abate of their Fury, the Symptoms become more languid, which though incapable to excite the highest Disorders, yet in their Return may create Obstructions in the smaller Vessels of the Groins, Arm-pits, Joints, &c. the Consequences of which are frequently greater than the Disease itself, and sometimes incurable.

WHICH brings to my Memory an Experiment of a Pretender to Physick, whose Ability consisted [Page]in a Secret to fortify the Stomach against the Attacks of the most malignant Poison: The Curiosity of the Populace soon eas'd him of his Packets, in which was found this plain Direction, Take this, you'll want no other; and indeed he spoke Truth: for the Patient whose Stupidity led him to the Tryal, narrowly escaped with Life; of which, if he makes a Repetition, he justly deserves to lose it. However, the Quack got what he wanted, and the Peoples Safety was the least of his Concern.

IT is very observable in Phagedenical Ulcers, when at any time they appear dryer than ordinary, that the least Portion of Matter lick'd up by the Vessels, excites Fevers, Frenzies, and [Page]other direful Symptoms; and if Nature is not compensated by some critical Swelling, or other Evacuation, the Patient dies: in whom oftentimes the Liver, Spleen, Pancreas, are so affected, as to become monstrously big and knotty. How then can we determine for the Infusion of this Poison, that it shall not produce the like Effects? There is a wide Difference between extravasated Matter in a State of Digestion, and the Poison of the Blood not yet thrown out: the former, as the Yeast or Flowers of fermented Liquors, will in the smallest Proportion subdue large Quantities; when the other whilst it maintains its common Course with the Blood, receives constant Checks from the repeated Additions of that Liquor, and the several Ways of Evacuation; [Page]as is evident from some Instances of the Small-Pox, where the Skin is so sparingly beset with Pimples, as not to exceed five or six in number, and yet the Patient as secure from a second Infection as those who have suffered from a Redundancy of them. Yet even in these, when there shall happen a Recall of that Matter, though inconsiderable in Quantity, the worst of Symptoms arise, and Death oftentimes follows.

THE Degrees of Activity in the Poison of this Distemper, will vary much, according to the Degrees of Exaltation it may receive from the different Juices of different Constitutions, the Stimulus of which will in some be more pointed, and in others less; and the Injuries succeeding, [Page]of course will be adequate to the Nature of these Spicula or Darts, so inimical to the Crasis of our Blood.

WE find in the Poison of the Viper, when thoroughly provoked to an Emission of it, the Salts of that Liquor to be so obdurate and inflexible, that unless some of the Fat of that Animal be instantly instill'd into the Wound made by his Teeth, no Remedy proves equal to the Cure; and if perchance the Patient survives the Accident, I dare be bold to say, a second Attack would prove as fatal as the first.

PERHAPS it may be reply'd, That it is peculiar to the Small-Pox to affect us but once; indeed Experience happily declares [Page]this Truth; for were we subject to the Repetition of it, Life would prove a Burden: and we might well with St. Paul say, Of all, we are the most Wretched. But how far this new Exhibition of it will agree with the accidental Infection, shall be our next Task.

THE rendring a Wound in any part of the Body, and inflaming the same with a poisonous Juice, till by the Irritation of it, each Fibril becomes so fretted, as to produce an Ulcer, is a dangerous Experiment; for that, whatsoever Blood is sent to that Part, will be changed into the Nature of the Leaven in the Sore, which may furnish it with greater Supplies than the Constitution can bear, the Rancour of which increasing every [Page]Moment in proportion to the Ferment made there, the Symptoms will hasten according to the Addition receiv'd, that if a kind Maturation ensues not in a stated time, the Part thus wounded may be in danger of a Gangrene, and the Malignancy of the Sore so complicated, as to communicate the Corruption of the one, and the Infection of the other, at the same time. From whence I need not prognosticate the Event, which would but too evidently infer Death, or at least the Loss of that Member.

WHEN in the natural Way the Matter is gradually thrown out, and is contained under the Skin, where it forms to itself distinct Eminencies or Pustules, receiving their common Capsule [Page]from the Cutis, or true Skin; which pushing forwards, the more watery or thin Substance transpires, and raises the Cuticula into the like Protuberances, that you may plainly discern a Pock contained in a Pock; that in the Cutis holding the grossest Substance, and most fitted for Digestion, according to the Increase of which, is the Bulk of the other. Which Contrivance is admirable; for that the Coldness of the Air frequently damps the more superficial Appearances, which sink and flatten, when by the Use of warm Internals, the inward ones revive, and both are renew'd afresh; at last the thinner Part is perspired, and the thicker left to incrustate and shell off, without any Fears of fresh Supplies of Infection. Nature having by this kind Suppuration [Page]finished her Work, when in the inoculated Way, the Sore shall continue for Weeks after the Pox, and not without Difficulty heal at last. And though the Blood be dispirited and broken from its late Conflict, as not easily to admit a second, or to occasion the same Velocity or Heat, yet such Impressions may be made on it, as to dispose it for Swellings on the Joints, Shoulders, Groins, and other Parts; Consequences confessed by Dr. Nettleton, in his Book to Dr. Whittaker, to have happen'd.

IT is certain that Poison lick'd up by the Vessels from a Wound, will ever produce Effects answerable to its Nature; and those Pustules thrown out by this new Method, are but so many Efforts industriously made to expel the [Page]Enemy; which Method, as often as renew'd, will cause the same Symptoms either to those who have suffered by the natural or artificial Pox, as has been experienced on a Patient at St. Thomas's Hospital; who though he had had them, yet labour'd with the usual Symptoms of their new Method. Nor can Reason justify the contrary; for the Condition of this Matter, thus infused, will always be the same; that unless we could suppose some singular Vertue to remain in the Blood as a proper Antagonist, it would be absurd to think them secure from a second Insection, any more than that the Transsusion of the Blood or Matter of a venereal pocky Person into a sound Habit, should secure him from any future Amour with Impunity. What [Page]though the Symptoms may ape those of the Small-Pox, and the Protuberances of the Skin bear a near Resemblance, yet the Way of Communication differs much. Here the Blood is sated with a gross tenacious Matter, impregnated with the most envenom'd Salts, which will necessarily create Obstructions in the Capillary Vessels; from whence those Pains in the Head: And as the Circulation becomes less free, the Vessels will be more turgid, till by degrees the Pressure affects the Nerves, and the Pains of the Back ensue; which are Symptoms not uncommon to other Distempers, and can be no certain Proof of this.

BESIDES, these inoculated Pustules are thrown out in the manner of those proceeding [Page]from Wines mingled with Arsenick, where the Quantity has been too small immediately to offend the Stomach and Guts, which being mixed with the Blood, innumerable Pustules of bad Aspect, of a fiery red kind, arise like the inocu [...]ated ones, having no regular Increase, or stated Period for their Declension; but depend wholly on the contaminated Fountain (I mean the Wound) to determine both. While those of the natural sort are slowly ejected, and contain at first a Latex, or thin watry Substance, which, from the Heat of the Part, thickens, and converts to Pus usually in the space of nine D [...]y [...] being covered with a thin and fine Pellicle. These Inoculated, are at first produced from Blood, and are of a hard Substance; which shows the [Page]manner of their Propagation to be different from the others; and possibly the Symptoms from this insused Poison, no more than what might have ensu'd from the Infusion of any other: that it may be justly questioned, Whether this artificial Pox so squares with the natural one, as to deserve the same Appellation; much less, from the Mode of its Operation, should it secure to us the Blessing of having it but once. Besides, the fortuitous Contraction of this Distemper being from infected Air, the Vesicles of the Lungs may become so altered and changed, as to their Texture, as not to suffer Violence from the same venenate Effluvia a second time: which cannot be said of a sermented Matter admitted into the Blood by a Sore, that at any time it [Page]should prove innocent, though the same were repeated after a Recovery.

WE will now recite the Symptoms of this inoculated Pox, as set down by Dr. Nettleton in his Book to Dr. Whittaker, and show how inconsistent to Reason and Self-Preservation the Experiment is.

Violent Fevers, Convulsive Fits.

Face and Throat swell'd.

Vomitings, and other bad Symptoms before the Eruptions.

Swellings on the Shoulders, Thighs, and Inguinal Glands, after the Small-Pox was off; with more, too tedious here to be inserted.

[Page]

CONSIDER a little this Train of Symptoms, not inferiour to any of the worst sort from the common Way; yet in a sound and healthy State, by the mercenary and cunning Artifice of some, Wretches are persuaded to change their sound Condition for a diseas'd; their Expectation of one day falling ill, for a certain Sickness now, under pretence of future Security: as if a Person labouring with the Tooth-ach should advise his Friend to the drawing of his, lest one Day he may fall under the like Predicament, the timely Extraction of which would have prevented it; which though not equal in its Consequence, yet altogether as absurd to enforce the Practice.

[Page]

WE have seen South-Sea Schemes, good Parliaments, Bills for preventing the Plague; heard of Plots: but, till now, never dreamt that Mankind would industriously plot to their own Ruin, and barter Health for Diseases. Nay, what is worse, give up little Innocents a Prey to, the most calamitous Ill, from a wrong judged Indulgence of averting a worse; who, could they answer for themselves, I question not but would leave Time and Providence to determine better for them. Would it not be egregiously absurd in a Soldier, whose Life perchance in a Battle might fall a Sacrifice to his Country, first to request his Comrade to season him against Powder and Ball, by making [Page]Experiments at him at some Distance?

THE Life of every one thus inoculated, is as emirently in danger, as in those who suffer from it the accidental Way; as appears by the Symptoms enumerated by Dr. Nettleton to Dr. Whittaker; and the Continuance of it much longer, though perchance the poisonous Wound should occasion no worse Ills than usually expected. And that the Inclinations of Mankind should prompt them to throw a Dye for their Lives, when no Necessity obliges, because there is a Possibility of surviving the Chance, is Matter of the greatest Admiration: sed Gens miserrima ad omne malum praeceps fertur. Our Condition is desperate, [Page]and these Gentlemen, these new Operators are kindly furnishing us with Materials for our Dispatch: Which that Providence may put a stop to, are the hearty Prayers of the Publick's Wellwisher and Friend,

L. Sparham.

Notes

*

My Lord Sandecland's Son, who dy'd of this ne [...] Method.

↵

POSTSCRIPT.

[Page]

WHoever Nettleton and Whittaker are, shall not be our Enquiry now; or whether the Book subscribed Nettleton to Whittaker, was not a Contrivance here in Town, under those Names, to spread the Practice, the following Paragraph (taken out of Nettleton's Book) will best prove the Design:

‘"THERE is one Observation which I have made (though I would not lay any great Stress upon i [...]) that in Families where any have been inoculated, those [Page]who were afterwards seiz'd, ne'er had any ill sort of Small-Pox, but always recovered very well."’

He must be very dull, who cannot construe this.

FINIS.

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Title statement

Reasons against the practice of inoculating the small-pox: As also a brief account of the operation of this poison, infused after this manner into a wound. By Legard Sparham, Surgeon.

Sparham, Legard.

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Publisher

University of Michigan Library

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Date

2012 January

ID [DLPS]

004810507

ID [ESTC]

T9124

ID [DOCNO]

CW106815120

ID [TCP]

K024393.000

ID [GALEDOCNO]

CW3306815120

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ECMS

ID [IMAGESETID]

0090400900

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— Reasons against the practice of inoculating the small-pox: As also a brief account of the operation of this poison, infused after this manner into a wound. By Legard Sparham, Surgeon., Sparham, Legard..

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