A treatise on madness / By William Battie.

  • Battie, William, 1704-1776.
Date:
1758
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: A treatise on madness / By William Battie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    [4] fician, who being prejudiced by the iuppoled caufe couched in the name of the diftemper he has to deal with at every new or full Moon attenuates, evacuates, or alters the peccant hu mours by medicines peculiarly adapted to the black or fplendid Bile, &c. In order therefore to avoid this mifchievous confuiion of fentiment as well as language, and that we may fix a clear and determinate mean ing to the Word Madnefs ; we muft for fome time at leaf! quit the fchools of Philofophy, and content ourfelves with a vulgar apprehenfion of things; we muft rejedt not only every fuppofed caufe of Madnefs, but alfo every fymptom which does not neceftarily belong to it, and retain no one phenomenon but what is eflential, that is without which the word Mad becomes nuga tory and conveys no idea whatever : or, in other words, no definition of Madnefs can be fafe, which does not, with regard at leaft to fome particular fymptoms, determine what it is not, as well as what it is. Firft then, though too great and too lively a perception of objects that really exift creates an uneafinefs not felt by the generality of men, and therefore difcovers a preternatural ftate in the inftruments of Senfation, and tho’ fuch uneafi nefs frequently accompanies Madnefs, and is there fore