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

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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$to the third, thofe who undertake to banilh Demons, and remove the Diforders of the Mind ; to the fourth 7 * „ ,V,(V mch as are impotent, and incapacitated for Generation ; to the fifth, thofe who bamffi Difeafes ill Cl'3\'‘ftaJihefj^are heldTn neater Efteem than any of the reft-, to the fixthClafs belong Surgeons, or t'.eir Infancy,and , h , h; Han(js . t0 the feventh, thofe who avert old Age, and prevent Baldnefs; ^ thofe^^ho knew how m cure the feveral Diforders incident to the Head and Ejrg Over each of thefe Caffes fome Deity prefides, as a Patron, and tutelary God: This imaginary Power thefe PhyfiaanS wor- fl in andinhis Name they exhibit their Medicines. Thus the Wind prefides over the Difeafes of Children; fh p, and. m ms 1 am y ^ Wounds made by venomous Animals; the Air is helpful in bamftung Water our the D'tcrus a g . h s p,-efldes over thofe who banifli the firft Attacks of Dif- Diforders of the Eyes and Head, as a kind of tutelary <J°Thev affirm that every one has three principal Difeafes born, at it were with him The fiift of thefe is liit) amim,tnat every in[heB(. the,fecond is called Bitlum, that is, a Vertigo or Fool- called^w™, that is. Wind o . Impurities of the Humours : And thefe Difeafes, happening iffineis; me third is denorn^M d ^4 particular State and Condition of the Patient, and either trom \ ai rous Caules, p dlcir primitive Diforders, and thofe arifing from them ; from one of i i • r ^ ct- in nnrp nil and fuffer the Oil to drop off the Straw into the Urine : Ir the Drop fub- ‘K™* fh^Patfent'che?- 'but if it floats on the Surface, they confidently affirm, that the Patient will UveS formintT'thdir Prognoftics they pay a great Attention to the Stars; and the Phyfician, when going to vifit hi pitfent lupXfoufyRegards Auluriesfconfiders Birds, and every Objeft that occurs the Meffenger that calls him himfelf, and the particular Pofture in which he was found by the Perfon who called him. t^’hey ^vT very1accurate Directions with regard to the Choice of Medicines, the fKesWhe,* J^tobcvri duced the Times of Catherine;, and the Method of keeping them; as alfo how each of them ought to be pro pared,' .and JXed aC Preparation. They alfo lay <fn Direflions with regard to- ffich StMances as they eat and drink, determine how long they remain good and wholfome and fpe,a%° fhoHd fervino- them They prefcribe a moft accurate Regimen for their Patients, determine how much they iho cl deep or wake in fuchor inch particular Diforders, how often they fhouldcleanfe their Teeth, or wafh theirMouth, in what manner they ought to lodge, and how it is proper for them to up. , . , r- j <rrcuewen They cultivate Chymiftry, which, they affert, was delivered to them in four Books by the God Tfcbuwen. They treat of Mercury, Sulphur, Antimony, and other Minerals-, of Salts, Vitriol, and_ Alum, of Corals, Gems and Metals ofthe Inftruments ufed in Chymiftry, and the Method of performing its various Procefles. They have feveral compound Medicines, and prepare univerfal Pills but they exhibit every Medicine in a e 1- cle appropriated to its Nature and Defign. For particular Difeafes they alfo injoin a particular Regimen, Mo of them are Strangers to Venefeftionand perform Scarifications very rarely, and that in a very unfkilful manner. They fcarce know any thing of Iffues and Clyfters : But foch of them as live intermix d with the Europeans, gra¬ dually adopt Venefeftion, and other Branches of our Practice. . - +>. „„ In the Preparations of their Medicines, which is their Chymiftry, they almoft conftantly ufe the Dung Urine of Cows: This, no doubt, is owing to the high Opinion they entertain of the San&ity of thefe Anim . They alfo ufe dry Cow-dung inftead of Coals. With them there is no Diftindion between Phyficians and Apo¬ thecaries, but the fame Man who prepares, alfo prefenbes the Medicines. The Phyficians muft,with them, be inroll’d in the Books of theBramines and every one muft, as in Egypt, remain in his ftated Condition, and exer- cife that Branch of the Art his Anceftors had done before him. It is obvious, that thefe Eafterti INations, in many things, with regard to Phyfic, agree not only with each other, but alfo with the Medicine of the mtiznt Egyp¬ tians. It were to be wifhed, that Wagadafajlirum, that antient Book, were tranftated into Latin, and pubhihed; fince it is not to be doubted, but, from it, we might learn a great many Particulars relating to the Median s imported from the Eaftern Nations: Perhaps alfo it might be found to differ little from the Books ol Hermes, which the Egyptians looked upon as their Standard of Pradice. . , . c Tho’ we are obliged to take our Accounts of the State of Medicine among the Chinefe and Malaoanans^ from modern Authors, yet we may reafonably believe, that Phyfic, in thefe Nations, is ofavery old Date, fince it is in a manner interwoven with their Religiofl. We have alfo Reafon to believe that Medicine retained its antient Form in thefe Nations, till tht Europeans began to trade with them -, efpecially if we add this Circumltante, that they are univerfally known to be rigoroufly attached to their antient Forms and CuftomS. ^ f I muft not finifh theHiftory of the Medicine of remote Nations, without obferving, that, of all the People ot whom Hiftory gives us any Information, the Americans appear to have aftedthe moft prudently, and, with refped to Phyfic, to have been the wifeft People of whom we have any authentic Accounts -, becaule it is mdii- putably better to have no Theory at all, than one which is bad, and capable of introducing Eirors into Antonio di Solis, fpeaking of Montezuma, Emperor of Mexico, fays, That he took a particular Care to trans¬ plant into his Gardens all the choice Simples that benign Climate produced, where the only Study ot the 1 hyh- cians was to attain to the Knowledge of their Names and Properties. They had Herbs for all kinds of Pains and Infirmities and in the Juices and Application of thofe Herbs confided all their Remedies, with winch they effected furprifing Cureshaving, by long Experience, found out their Virtues, and which, without 1 mgui ing theCaufe of the Diftemper, they applied, to the Patient’s great Benefit and Relief. , The King freely diftributed to all, who had Occafion for them, fuch of his Simples as tfere prefenbed by the Phyficians, or defired by the Sick j and ufed to inquire if the Patient had received any Bene it t ere ro , either gratifying a fort of Vanity he had in the fuccefsful Operation of his Mfedicines, or believing tha fill’d the Obligation of a Sovereign, in taking fuch Care of the Health of his Vaffals. The fame Author, in another Place, fpeaking of the Sicknefs of Cortez, informs us, that the ° n „prh< all the beft Phyficians of their Country, whofe Skill confifted in the Knowledge and Choice of^lc ’ which they applied with a wonderful Difcernment of their Virtues and Effedts, varying the Medicine according to the Condition and different Turns of the Diftemper, and to them he was entirely beholden torlusture .tor making ufe at firft of wholfome cooling Simples, to corred the Inflammation, and mitigate the ra™’ c$

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