Volume 1

A medicinal dictionary; including physic, surgery, anatomy, chymistry, and botany, in all their branches relative to medicine. Together with a history of drugs ... and an introductory preface, tracing the progress of physic, and explaining the theories which have ... prevail'd in all ages / By R. James.

  • James, R. (Robert), 1703?-1776.
Date:
1743-1745
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A medicinal dictionary; including physic, surgery, anatomy, chymistry, and botany, in all their branches relative to medicine. Together with a history of drugs ... and an introductory preface, tracing the progress of physic, and explaining the theories which have ... prevail'd in all ages / By R. James. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    out Succefs it was a capital Crime. Great Improvements, therefore, were not to be expected, whilft this Law f bffted ' Ariftotle, in the fecond Chapter of the third Book of his Politics, informs us, that, after the fourth D iv of the Difeafe’ the Phyfician might begin to do fomething for the Relief of the Patient ; but that if he attempted any thin’* before that Time, it was at his own Peril ‘ But Arijlotle treats this as an idle and pernicious T aw tho’ others Hand up in its Vindication. Ifocrates, in his Encomium on Buftris, gives us the following fuc- cind Account of the Medicine of the Egyptians: “ The Priefts, fays he, who enjoy many Advantages, (Ifup- “ tore he means fo many as to put them above the NeccJJity of confidering themfelves more than their Patients) have, « f0yr the Reiief of the Afflicted, invented a Syftem of Phyfic, which does not prefcnbe dangerous Medicines* “ but fuch as may be ufed as fafeiy as their daily Food : Hence it is, that the Egyptians are a People of found “ and robuft Conftitutions, and live to a very great Age. ■ ou r * c u a/t From what has been laid, we may form a Judgment of the Dignity of the Egyptian Phyficians, of the Man¬ ner in which they were fo liberally provided for, and how their Practice was not lo much direded by any real Tudmnent they themfelves had in Phyfic, as according to a flandard written Law ; from which we may perhaps reafonably enough conclude, that their Theory was fixed*, that the Memory had a greater Share in it than the Tud°rnent • and that the Phyfician could not, with Impunity, go beyond the Bounds of the facred Books, But* to be more particular, we fhall take a View of the State and Condition of each Branch of Phyfic among them. As for their Phyfiology, then, it is obvious, that its Perfection mult have borne a. Proportion to the State of Anatomy •, fince it is principally to be learned from frequent and repeated Diflechons of the human Bodyi What the State of their Anatomy was, may be feen under the Article Anatomia, Diogenes Laertius informs us, that they believed Animal Bodies to confift of the four Elements, and quotes Manetho for his Authority. Seneca alfo allures us, that they divided the Elements into Male and Female. They, farther attributed a great Influence to the heavenly Bodies over thofe of Men •, and divided the human Body into thirty fix Parts all which were confecrated to fo many Gods or Demons, who were the Authors of Health or Diforders in the refpeCtive Parts they had under their Patronage ; for this Reafon thefe Demons were by them worfhipp’d and appeafed by certain Incantations. They alfo thought thefe Demons might be reconciled to them by engraving their Hieroglyphics on Herbs and Stones. This feerns to be the Bafis, as it were, of Magic* and the mam Hinge on which the Whole of it turns. The DoCtrine of Climadenc Years, or what Pliny calls the Scanfilis Annonrn Lex, may pofiibly derive its Origin from the Egyptians ; tho others, with more Probabi¬ lity deduce it from Pythagoras ; and Pliny afcribes it to AEfculapius. All thefe Opinions may be right 5 for Pythagoras might, and probably did, borrow his DoCtrine of Numbers from Egypt, or fome of the Eaftern Nations. What the State of their Pathology was, we may in fome meafure infer from what has been faid •, for the Caufes of Difeaies were referr’d to Demons, who were the Diipeniers of Health and Difeafes. Some are of Opinion, that their Pathology muft have received confiderable Improvements fiom the Opportunities the Em- balmers had of viewing and infpeCting the human Vifcera. Herodotus, and Diodorus Sicuius, think, that their oblervino- thefe Vifcera to be varioufly corrupted, laid a foundation foi their believing, that Difeafes were pro¬ duced by the Sub fiances taken for the Nourifhment and Support of the Body. This might, perhaps, be the Foundation of their particular Regimens, with refpeCt to Diet, in older to guard themfelves againll Difeafes . Hence, alfo, might arife their Ufe of Clyflers, purgative Draughts, Failings, and Vomits, with a View of pre- ferving themfelves from Difeafes, by removing their firfl Caufes. This M.ethoci they ufed, according to Hero¬ dotus , for three Days fucceflively each Month *, or, according to Diodorus Siculus, with an Intermiflion of three or four Days. Each of thefe Authors may have given a faithful Account of the PraCtke of the Time in which he lived, tho5 their Relations differ. Thq Egyptians, according to Pliny and jElian, learned the Ufe of Clyflers from the Bird Ibis, whofe Beak was fo form’d by Nature, that fhe could commodioufly introduce it into her Anus, and injeft a Fluid for cleanfing her Inteflines •, and this, together with their other Methods of evacuating the Body, were from them propagated to other Nations. It is alfo probable, that FriCtions, Baths, and Oint¬ ments, were originally ufed among the Egyptians, before they were known to the Greeks. Herodotus was of Opinion, that the found and healthy State of the Egyptians was owing to the Conftancy of the Seafons, fince the Atmofphere, in their Climate, is fubjeCt to no remarkable Changes or Alterations j fo that their pieforvative Method might, on this Account, be attended with the greater Succefs. Before we leave the Diet of the Egyp- tians, we fhall obferve, that, whatever fome Authors have afferted, the Eating of Fkjfh was common among them, tho’ under certain ReftriCtions and Limitations. Thus Herodotus informs us, “ That the Priefts had “ Plenty of every thing; that they lay under no Necefiity of fpending any thing of their own Fortunes 5 “ they were daily fupplied with Beef and Goofe from the Altars ; that they had Wine furnifhed them but that “ they were not allowed to eat Fifh ; and that Beans were not fown in all the Land. Hence probably the famous Prohibition of Pythagoras, with refpeCt to this Vegetable. But tho5 the Egyptians ufed Flefh for Food, yet they were under greater ReftriCtions, in this Particular, than mofl other Nations; for what the Legiflators of one Country allow’d, was, for political Reafons, exprefly prohi¬ bited in others. The Drink commonly in Ufe among the Egyptians was the Water of the River Nile, which, Plutarch informs us, was held in great Efleem by them, and rendered thofe who drank it very corpulent. Hero¬ dotus tells us, that the Soil of Egypt is not proper for the Culture of Vines •, fo that the Wine ufed by their Kings and Priefts muft have been imported from other Nations. We may form a Judgment of the i emperance of th t Egyptians, from the Method of Life injoined even Kings;, who, according to Diodorus Siculus, “ lived upon “ Ample Food, and a moderate Quantity of Wine, which could neither produce Repletion nor Intoxication : In “ fhort, fo moderate a Regimen was preferibed, that the Laws, relating to this Particular, feemed rather to be <c the Directions of a fagacious Phyfician, than the Injunctions of a Legiflator.” To this Frugality and 1 em¬ perance the Children were inured from their very Infancy. As for their bodily Exercifes, they were widely different from thofe of the Greeks, fince as Diodorus Siculus informs us, it was not cuftomary among them to learn Mufic and Wreftling; for they were of Opinion, that by the daily Exercifes of the Palejlra, a genuine Health was not generated, but a fhort-lived Strength, highly dangerous to young People. . • ; . In common Life they were extremely ftudious of Cleanlinefs, and, in this refpeCl, follow’d the Example of the Priefts; who, according to Herodotus, had their Bodies fbav’d all over every third Day, and wore always, when in the Exercife of their Offices, clean Linen Garments to prevent the Generation of Vermin, and the Contraction of Sores. We alfo learn from the fame Author, that Shaving was univerfally in Ufe among the Egyptians, and that it was cuftomary with them to go with their Bodies either not at all, or very flightly cover d. 4