But if these Considerations should not prove fully effectual, and some Men should be so obstinate as to persist in private Whoring, notwithstanding these Inducements to the contrary; we must then have Recourse toLegalForce, and drive those who are too resty to be led: For tho’ the Laws can’t prevent Whoring, they may yet regulate it; theQuidis not in their Power, but theQuomodois. A Man must eat, but he may be directed how to eat. The strongest Curb can’t stop an unruly Horse, but the weakest will serve to turn him: And the smallest Stream is not to be obstructed, tho’ we can change the Course of the greatest River. So Love, tho’ ever so unruly and headstrong in the general, changes the particular Object of its Passion with the smallest Circumstance; and legal Penalties are no trifling Dissuasives, when the Laws don’t command Impossibilities.
This Argument indeed, of Compulsion, is in a manner supernumerary, and thrown in, as it were,ex abundanti: Forthe Publick Stewsunder this regular Oeconomy, will have so much the Advantage of private Whoring, whether we regard the Ease and Conveniency of Enjoyment, or the Beauty and Variety of Mistresses, that Men’s natural Inclinations will sway them sufficiently without this superfluous Constraint. If there is any Fear of Success, the Danger lies on the other Side; and indeed we have some Colour of Reason to apprehend, lest the whole Body of Lewdness being turn’d upon the Publick, there should want a sufficient Supply of young Women to recruit theStews; which, by that Means, may run into a sudden Dis-repute, and lose a Character that will be difficult to retrieve. But however plausible this Objection may seem at first Sight, we shall find, upon a nearer View, that it only serves to make the Excellence of this Scheme the more manifest.
As there is constantly in the Nation, a certain Number of young Men, whose Passions are too strong to brook any Opposition: Our Business is to contrive a Method how they may be gratify’d, with as little Expence of Female Virtue as possible. But the Difficulty lies in adjusting this Matter, and gaging our young Men’s Affections so exactly, that the Modesty of one Woman may not be sacrifis’d, more than is absolutely necessary for the Preservation of the rest.
The Gallants of this Age, indeed, are not quite so sturdy as that rampantRomanEmperor who deflower’d tenSarmatianVirgins in one Night; but what we want in Constitution, we make up in the Niceity of our Palates; as a squeamish Stomach requires the greatest Variety of Dishes: And some of our Youth are grown such perfectEpicuresin Venery, that they can relish nothing butVirgins: They destroy, it is true, a great deal of Beauty, by browsing only upon the Buds.
But we ought not to judge of these Men’s Abilities by the Number of Women they debauch, no more than we should measure the Goodness of a certain curious Gentleman’s Appetite by his bespeaking several Dozen of young Pigeons, when he only regal’d upon the Rumps: Neither is it intirely from a Wantonness of Fancy, or a luxurious Taste of Pleasure, that Men indulge themselves in making this Havock, but chiefly for their own personal Safety. Young Girls are so giddy, thoughtless, and unexperienc’d, and withal so fond of the Sport, at their first setting out, that they seldom escape a Taint; and a Man is not safe in being constant: Nay, some Men are afraid of venturing even after themselves. By this Means several likely Women, that might do the Publick signal Service, are in a short Time render’d useless: And, by a modest Computation, we are put to the Expence of as many virtuous Women in one Year, as might reasonably serve the Nation six.
Now, thePublick Stewswill regulate this Affair so precisely, and with such critical Exactness, that one Year with another, we shall not have one Woman employ’d in the Publick Service more than is absolutely necessary, nor one less than is fully sufficient.
When this Project is first set on foot, the vast Choice and Variety there is at present of these Women, will give us an Opportunity of making a very beautiful Collection; and will, doubtless, for some Time, occasion a considerable Run upon the Publick; so thatPrivate Whoring, the only Nursery of our Courtezans, may probably remain too long neglected: For the whole Body of our incontinent Youth, like a standing Army, being employ’d in constant Action, there cannot well be spar’d a sufficient Detachment to raise the necessary Recruits.
But however true this may be, we shall thereby suffer no Inconvenience; for if the Supplies of young Women, which we may reasonably expect from the Northern and Western Parts of these Kingdoms, or from such Places as are remote and out of the Influence of thisScheme: I say, if these Supplies should not prove sufficient to answer the Greatness of the Demand, and that the Reputation of theStewsupon this Account, should begin to flag, why then the worst Accident that can befal, is a gradual Relapse into our former State ofPrivate Whoring; and this no farther than is just necessary and to recruit theStews, and thereby make them retrieve their former Character: For every Woman who is debauch’d more than is barely necessary, only brings so much additional Credit and Reputation to theStews, and in some measure atones for the Loss of her own Chastity, by being a Means to preserve that of others; so that whenever the Tide of private Lewdness runs too high, and exceeds the just and ordinary Bounds, it must of Course, by encouraging thePublick Stews, immediately suffer a proportionable Ebb: That is to say, it must be reduced again so low, that there will remain but just a sufficient Quantity to supply theStews; which is as low, as in the Nature of the Thing is possible.
I might here lavish out Encomiums, and take Occasion to dwell upon those many Advantages that will accrue to theNationby this admirable Scheme; but shall only take Notice of this peculiar Excellence, which it has above all other Schemes, that it necessarily executes itself.
But since the Necessity of debauching a certain Number of young Women, is entirely owing to the Necessity of supplying thePublic Stews; a Question may very reasonably arise, whether this Project might not be vastly improv’d, even to the total Extirpation ofPrivate Whoring, by an Actfor encouraging the Importation of foreign Women. This, I must confess, deserves a serious Debate: for, besides the Honour of our Females, which would be preserv’d by such an Act, it might bring this farther Advantage; That whereas most of our estated Youth spend a great Part of their Time and Fortunes in travelling Abroad, for no other End, as it seems by most of them, but to be inform’d in theFrenchandItalianGallantry; they would then have an Opportunity of satisfying their Curiosity in Foreign Amours, without stirring out ofLondon. But I shall leave the Decision of this Matter to abler Pens, well knowing, that a Truth of this Nature, which carries so much the Air of Novelty, will require much better Authority than mine to warrant it.
Let it suffice for the present, that I have fully prov’d what I at first propos’d in this Treatise: ThatPublic Whoringis neither so criminal in itself, nor so detrimental to theSociety, asPrivate Whoring; and that the encouraging ofPublick Whoring, by erectingStewsfor that Purpose, will not only prevent most of the mischievous Consequences of this Vice, but even lessen the Quantity ofWhoringin general, and reduce it to the narrowest Bounds which it can possibly be contain’d in.
After what has been said, it may, perhaps, appear somewhat odd to talk of Religious Objections, as if either Christianity or Morality could possibly object against aScheme, which is entirely calculated for the Welfare and Happiness of Mankind. But since a great many Men amongst us have entertained such whimsical Notions of Religion, as to imagine, that in some Cases, a Law may be unjust and wicked, tho’ it evidently promotes the Publick Good: as if the right Enjoyment of this Life was inconsistent with our Happiness in the next: I say, since many Men of Understanding have suffer’d themselves to be possess’d with this mistaken Principle, I shall, as briefly as may be, answer such Objections as can, with any Colour of Reason, be offer’d.
First then, I expect to be attack’d with that old moral Precept, ofNot doing Evil that Good may come of it. This may be answer’d with another old Saying, equally authentic, and more applicable to the present Purpose, thatof two Evils we ought to chuse the least. The Case is this: A private Member of aSociety, may, doubtless, commit a Crime with a Design to promote the Good of thatSociety, which was partly the Case ofFeltonagainst the Duke ofBuckingham; and this evil Action may possibly answer the Goodness of the Intention, but is universally condemn’d as an unwarrantable Presumption; and falls justly under the Censure of doing a certain Evil, for the Prospect of an uncertain Good. But as to theLegislature, there is a wide Difference; for they, and they only, are intrusted with the Welfare of theSociety: This Publick Welfare is, or ought to be, the whole End and Scope of their Actions; and they are fully impower’d to do whatever they judge conducive to that End. If their Intentions come up to this, they are certainly in their Consciences acquitted: But as to the World, their Actions, that is, their Laws, are judg’d good or bad, just or unjust, according as they actually prove beneficial or detrimental to theSocietyin general: And therefore it is the grossest Absurdity, and a perfect Contradiction in Terms, to assert, That aGovernmentmay not commit Evil that Good may come of it; for, if a Publick Act, taking in all its Consequences, really produces a greater Quantity of Good, it must, and ought to be term’d a good Act; altho’ the bare Act, consider’d in itself, without the consequent Good, should be in the highest Degree wicked and unjust.
As for Instance: A Ship performing Quarantine, and known to be infected, is sunk by a Storm; some of the Crew, half drown’d, recover the Shore; but the Moment they land, theGovernmentorders them to be shot to Death. This Action, in itself, is no less than a downright unchristian and inhuman Murther; but since the Health and Safety of the Nation is secured by this severe Precaution, it is no Wonder, if we allow the Action to be not only justifiable, but in the strictest Sense of Morality Just.
Another Objection, or rather the same set in a stronger Light, is, That altho’ the Welfare and Happiness of the Community is, or ought to be, the only End of all Law and Government, yet since our spiritual Welfare is theSummum Bonumwhich all Christians should aim at, no Christian Government ought to authorize the Commission of the least known Sin, tho’ for the greatest temporal Advantage.
To this Objection, I answer, That it is universally allow’d as one of the greatest Perfections of the Christian Religion, that its Precepts are calculated to promote the Happiness of Mankind in this World as well as the next; if so, then it is a direct Arraignment of the Lawgiver’s infinite Wisdom,i. e.a Contradiction to assert, that, in Matters of Law and Government, the Publick Breach of any Gospel Precept can possibly be for the temporal Good of anySocietywhatever: And therefore we may with Confidence affirm, that no sinful Laws can be beneficial, andvice versa, that no beneficial Laws can be sinful. Now we have already given sufficient Proof of the Benefit thePublicwould receive by licensing theStews, and therefore ought to conclude such Licence lawful; but lest the apparent Wickedness of theStews, should be objected against this general Reasoning, it is fit that we examine this Matter a little nearer.
Fornicationis, no doubt, a direct Breach of aGospel-Precept, and is therefore a Sin; but this Sin, barely as such, concerns theGovernmentno more than the Eating ofBlack-puddings, equally prohibited in thesame8Text. The Reason is this: The Sin consists in a full Intention to gratify a Lustful Desire; which Intention theLegislaturecannot possibly prevent: Penalties indeed may deter Men from gratifying their Desires, at the Expence of the Public, but will rather increase than lessen the Desires themselves. If it is argu’d, that the Sin of the Intention is aggravated by being put in Execution, so much the better for our Purpose; for then the Argument stands thus:
Since the Sin of the Intention is entirely out of theLegislature’s Power, the utmost they can do, with regard to this Sin, is, to prevent its being aggravated by actual Commission.
But thePublic Stews, as we have already prov’d, will prevent as much as possible this actual Commission.
Therefore thePublick Stewswill prevent as much as possible thisSin.
Another Branch of this Objection, without which the Objection itself would be of no Force, is, that the authorizing ofPublic Stewsis a Public Encouragement for People to Whore.
If by People are meant those in theStews, I hope it will be thought no Crime to encourage such People, rather to confine themselves to the Practice of one Vice, than live by committing a Thousand; especially when that one Vice is what they would really practise, whether they were encourag’d or not.
But if any imagine that this particular Licence would be a general Encouragement to the wholeNation, they are certainly mistaken. For, as to the Men, they are already as bad as they can be; if any Thing cures them, it must beSatiety: Let them have full and free Leave to take a Surfeit of unlawful Love, and they will soon learn to prefer the Chaste Embraces of Innocence before the bought Smile of Harlots loveless, joyless, unindear’d casual Fruition.
It is a right Observation, that Restraint does but whet a Man’s Passions instead of curing them.
Exuperat magis, ægrescitque medendo.Æn. 12. And a late ingeniousAuthor, who study’d Mankind, speaking on this Subject, has these Words:To put downPublick Stews,is not only to disperse Fornication into all Parts, but, by the Difficulty, to excite wild and wanton People to this Vice.
It was observ’d atRome, that in the full Liberty of Divorces, there was not a single Instance of one in fifty Years: And thatCatolong’d for his Wife again as soon as she was in another’s Possession.
The Master of Love says positively,
Quod licet ingratum est, quod non licet acrius urit.
AndMartialspeaking to a married Rake,B. 3.Ep. 68. says,
Cur aliena placet tibi, quæ tua non placet uxor? Nunquid Securus non potes arrigere?
I pr’ythee tell me why a WifeThy am’rous Fancy never warms?What! without Danger o’thy Life,Cannot thy Cod-pice stand to Arms?
And again,B. 1.Ep. 74.
Nullus in urbe fuit tota, qui tangere velletUxorem gratis, Cæciliane, tuamDum licuit: sed nunc, positis custodibus, ingensTurba fututorum est. Ingeniosus Homo es.
There’s no Man,Cæcil, in the Town,Would,gratis, have enjoy’d thy Spouse;But how thou art so jealous grown,Lord! what a Croud about the House!You’ve lock’d her up, t’increase her Value;In short, you are a cunning Fellow.
ThePublic Stewswill not encourage Men to be lewd, but they will encourage them to exercise their Lewdness in a proper Place, without disturbing the Peace of theSociety, and with as little Detriment to themselves as possible. And, as to the Women, there’s not the least Shadow of Encouragement: For no modest Woman ever lost her Maiden-head with the dismal Prospect of becoming aPublic Courtezan: And if a Woman is not modest, the licensing of thePublic Stewsis no more an Encouragement for her to practise, than the allowing a certain Number of Hackney-Coaches everySundayis an Encouragement for the rest to ply; when the very Licence, to some, expresly implies a Prohibition of the rest.
Having now sufficiently proved the Institution of thePublic Stewsto be a Political Good, and answer’d all the religious Objections against it; I shall conclude with observing, That I have the Authority ofItaly, the most Politic Nation in the World, to back me in the first Part of my Argument; and the Opinion ofHolland, one of the strictest Reformed Churches, to vindicate me in the second; and that we ourselves enjoy’d the Benefit of this Institution till we were depriv’d of it by the over-hasty Zeal of our first Reformers in the sixteenth Century.
ThePublic Stewswere antiently kept inSouthwark, by an express Licence from the Government, and open Permission both Civil and Ecclesiastical, for they paid regular Taxes to theLord-Mayorof theCity, and to the Bishop of theSee.
We do not find that they were ever molested ’till the 25th ofEdwardthe Third, when, in the Parliament atWestminster, at the Request of theLondoners, saysDaniel, an Act passed, obliging all Common Whores to distinguish themselves, by wearing Hoods striped with divers Colours, or Furs, and their Gowns turn’dinsideout.
This, indeed, was but a Trifle to what they suffer’d thirty Years after byWat Tyler’s Rebellion.
In the fifth ofRichardthe Second,Watmarched up fromDartworth, with a true Spirit of Reformation, fully resolv’d to burn and destroy every thing that oppos’d him: If the Archbishop’s Palace atLambethcould not escape, there was little Mercy to be expected for theStews9; besides, Whoring was not the least ofWat’s Grievances: He began his Rebellion by killing a Collector of the Poll-Tax for being a little too brisk upon his Daughter; and his Antipathy to theStewswas still increased, by theLord-Mayor’s shutting the City-Gates, and denying him Entrance; for he could not revenge the Affront more effectually, than bycutting off so large a Branch of his Lordship’s Revenue.
In short, every thing concurred to the Destruction of theStews, and demolish’d they were.
This Action, however, lostTylerhis Life; forWilliam Walworth, then Lord-Mayor, was the very Man who struck him first off his Horse inSmithfield: For which the King knighted him, gave him 100l.Pension, and added the Dagger to the City-Arms.
Whilst Whoring was in this unsettled Condition, theBishopthought it a good Opportunity to ingross the whole Profit of licensing Courtezans, which occasion’d them fresh Trouble; forJohn Northampton, who succeededWalworth, either piqued at the Bishop’s invading his Right, or out of a real Reforming Principle, for he was a Follower ofWickliff, commenced a severe Persecution. He had his Spies and Constables in every Street, to apprehend Strollers; and such Women as were neither handsome nor rich enough to bribe his Officers, were carried through the Streets in great Pomp, with their Hair shorn, and Trumpets and Pipes playing before them. All this he did contrary to the express Commands of the Bishop, who had several Bickerings with him upon that Head.
This great ReformerJohn Northamptonwas, from his troublesome Temper, nick-nam’dCumber-Town; and as he succeededTylerin the Work of Reformation, so he had like to have met with as bad a Fate: For two Years after he was found guilty of High Treason, without making the least Defence; had his Goods confiscated, and was condemned to perpetual Imprisonment 100 Miles fromLondon: Accordingly he was sent toTentagil-CastleinCornwall.
This dreadfulCumber-Townbeing removed, theStewshad Leisure to re-settle themselves under the Protection of the Church; and enjoyed an almost uninterrupted Tranquillity for 150 Years.
We find, indeed, an Act passed atWestminster, in the 11th ofHen.VI. that no Keepers ofStews, orWhore-HousesinSouthwark, should be impannelled upon any Jury, or keep a Tavern in any other Place.
But the most sensible Blow they ever felt, was the Invasion of theFrench-Pox. TheSpaniardshad brought it from the Islands ofFloridatoNaples, and the Army ofCharlesVIII. when he conquer’d that Kingdom in the Year 1495, transmitted it intoFrance, from whence it had a very quick Passage intoEngland; for there was an Act passed in the latter end ofHenryVII’s Reign, for expelling out of theStewsall such Women as had the Faculty ofBurningMen.
However, we find they still continued in good Repute in the Reign ofHenryVIII.10and yielded a considerable Revenue to theBishopofLondon; forBucer, in one of his Books againstGardiner, taxes him with it asan heinous Crime, that he should receive most of his Rents out of the Public Stews.
After this terrible Accusation, we may easily guess what Quarter ourStewsmet with at the Reformation. But nowBucerhas got his Ends; theStewsare destroy’d; those public Nusances are demolish’d; Whoring is attack’d on all hands without Mercy; and what then? Why, truly, by mere Dint ofReforming, we have reduced Lewdness to that pass, that hardly one Bachelor in the Kingdom will lie with a Woman, if he is sure that she’s not found; and very few modest Women will suffer a Man to get them with Child, unless he makes a Promise to marry.
In short, the Truth is, we are at this present Writing asbadas we can be; and I hope I have fairly shown how we may bebetter.
APPENDIX.
NUMBER I.
RICHARD RAWLINSON, L. L. D. and R. S. S. in his Account ofSouthwark,11informs us, that next to theBear-Gardenon the Bank-Side was formerly theBordello, orStewes, so called from several Licensed Houses for the Entertainment of Lewd Persons, in which were Women prepared for all Comers. They were subject to several Laws and Regulations, and their Manner of Life and Privileged Places, received several Confirmations from the Crown.
In 1162, KingHenryII, in aParliamentheld atWestminster, passed an Act, confirming several Ordinances, Statutes, and old Customs observed in that Place, amongst which the following are remarkable:
That noStew-Holderor his Wife, should lett or stay any single Woman to go and come freely at all Times when she listed.
NoStewholderto keep any Woman to board, but she to board abroad at her Pleasure.
To take no more for the Woman’s Chamber thanfourteenPence.
Not to keep open his Doors upon the Holy-days.
Not to keep any single Woman in his House on the Holy-days, but theBailiffto see them voided out of the Lordship.
No single Woman to be kept against her Will, that would leave her Sin.
NoStew-Holderto receive any Woman of Religion, or any Mans Wife.
No single Woman to take Money to lie with any Man, except she lye with him all Night, till the Morrow.
No Man to be drawn or enticed into anyStew-House.
TheConstables,Bailiffs, and others, were every Week to search everyStew-House.
NoStew-Holderto keep any Woman that hath the perillous Infirmity ofBurning, nor to sell Bread, Ale, Flesh, Fish, Wood, Coal, or any sort of Victuals.
Anno 1345, Stews were licenced by KingEdwardIII. Anno 1381, these Stew-Houses belonged toWilliam Walworth, Lord-Mayor ofLondon, who let them out to someFlemishWomen, and soon after they were plundered byWalter Tyler, and the rebelliousKentishmen, when probably they were put down, and again suffered, and afterwards confirmed byHenryVI. In 1506, KingHenryVII. for some Time shut up these Houses, which were in NumberEighteen, and not long after renewed their Licence, and reduced them toTwelve; at which Number they continued till their final Suppression by Sound of Trumpet, in 1546, by KingHenryVIII, whose tender Conscience startled at such scandalous and open Lewdness. The single Women who were Retainers to, or Inmates in, these Houses, were excommunicated, not suffered to enter the Church while alive, or if not reconciled before their Death, prohibited Christian Burial, and were interred in a Piece of Ground called theSingle-Women’s Church-Yard, set a-part for their Use only. These Houses were distinguished by several Signs painted on their Fronts, as, aBoar’s-Head, theCrane, theCardinal’s Hat, theSwan, theBell, theCastle, theCross-Keys, and theGun.
NUMBER II.
An Attempt to prove the Antiquity of theVenereal Disease,long before the Discovery of theWest-Indies;in a Letter to Dr.James Douglass,M. D.
SIR,
THEUndertaking I am at present engaged in, is to prove that theVenereal Diseasewas known among us, much earlier than theÆra, which has been generally assign’d for its Rise by modern Authors; for it is believed it was not known, at least inEurope, till about the Year 1494. Notwithstanding which, I determine to make it evident, that it was frequent among us some Hundreds of Years before that Date. I could mention several Physicians and Surgeons of Eminence, who have been of the same Sentiments, particularly, the Learned Dr.Charles Patin, who has written a curious Dissertation to prove theAntiquity of this Disease, which is sufficient to excuse me from the Imputation of having started a Novelty, or being at the trouble of quoting antient Authorities before taken notice of, from the most ancient Writers of Medicine; asHippocrates,Galen,Avicen,Celsus, &c. and even theHoly Scriptures. I shall therefore lay aside all those foreign Aids and Assistances, and trace out the Symptoms of the Disease, as they naturally arise, from thefirstInfection to thelastdestructive Period, and shew that, by searching into our own Antiquities, we may be furnished with Instances of the Frequency of the Distemper among us, in all its respective Stages, before ever our Modern Authors dream it had its Appearance inEurope,
I shall begin with thefirstDegree of this Disease, and prove from authentic Evidences, it was anciently call’d theBrenningorBurning; and that this Word has been successively continu’d for many Hundreds of Years, to signify the same Disease we now call aClap; and that it was not discontinu’d till that Appellation first began to have its Rise. The most likely Method to accomplish my Design, will be first to examine those Records that relate to theStews, which were by Authority allowed to be kept on theBank-SideinSouthwark, under the Jurisdiction of the Bp. ofWinchester, and which were suppressed the37thofHen.VIII. For it is impossible but, if there were any such Distemper in being at that Time, it must be pretty common among those lewd Women who had a Licence for entertaining their Paramours, notwithstanding any Rules or Orders which might be establish’d to prevent its Increase: But if we shall find that there were Orders establish’d to prevent the Spreading of such a Disease, that Persons might be secure from any contagious Malady after their Entertainment at those Houses (which were anciently 18 in Number, but in the Reign ofHen.VII. reduced to 12) we may then securely depend upon it, that it was the Frequency of the Disease that put those who had the Authority, under a necessity of making such Rules and Orders. For the same Powers, who granted a Liberty for keeping open such lewd Houses, must find it their Interest to secure, as much as possible, all Persons from receiving any Injury there; lest the Frequency of such Misfortunes should deter others from frequenting them, and so the original Design of their Institution cease; from the entire sinking of the Revenues. Now I find that, as early as the Year 1162, divers Constitutions relating to the Lordship ofWinchester, (being also confirmed by the King) were to be kept for ever, according to the old Customs that had been Time out of Mind. Among which these were some,viz.1.No Stew-holder to take more for a Woman’s Chamber in the Week than 14 d.2.Not to keep open his Doors upon Holy Days.3.No single Woman to be kept against her Will, that would leave her Sin.4.No single Woman to take Money to be with any Man, except she lie with him all Night till the Morning.5.No Stew-holder to keep any Woman that hath the perilous Infirmity of Burning.These and many more Orders were to be strictly observed, or the Offenders to be severely punished. Now we are assured, there is no other Disease that can be communicated byCarnal-Conversationwith Women, but that which isVenereal, by reason that only is contagious; and its evident theBurningwas certainly so: For, had it been nothing else but some simple Ulceration, Heat, or Inflammation, there would have been no Contagion; and that affecting only the Woman, could not be communicated by anyVenereal Congress, and so not infer a Necessity of her being comprehended under the restraining Article. These Orders likewise prove the Disease was much more ancient than the Date above-mentioned; because they were only a Renewal of such as had been before established Time out of Mind.
But to confirm this farther, I find that in the Custody of the Bp. ofWinchester, whose Palace was situate on theBank-side, near theStews, was a Book written upon Vellum, the Title of which runs thus:Here begynne the Ordinances, Rules, and Customs, as well for the Salvation of Mannes Life, as for to aschew many Mischiefs and Inconvenients that daily be lik there for to fall out, to be rightfully kept, and due Execution of them to be done unto any Person within the same.One of the Articles begins thus:De his qui custodiunt Mulieres habentes Nephandam infirmitatem.It goes on,Item, That no Stew-holder keep noo Woman wythin his House, that hath any Sickness ofBRENNING,but that she be put out upon the peyne of makeit a fine unto the Lord of a hundred Shillings. This is taken from the Original Manuscript, which was preserv’d in the Bishop’s Court, suppos’d to be written about the Year 1430. From these Orders we may observe the Frequency of the Distemper at that Time; which, with other Inconveniences, wasdayly like there for to fall out: and the Greatness of the Penalty, as the Value of Money then was, that is laid on it, proves it was no trifling or insignificant thing.
But the bare Proof of there having been anciently such a Disease as was called theBurning, may be thought to be insufficient, unless we were perfectly assured what it was, and how it was in those Times described: I shall therefore do it from an unquestionable Authority, which is that ofJohn Arden, Esq; who was one of the Surgeons to KingRichardII. and likewise to KingHenryIV. In a curious Manuscript of his upon Vellum, he defines it to be, a certain inward Heat and Excoriation of theUrethra; which Description gives us a perfect Idea of what we now call aClap; for frequent Dissections of those who laboured under that Disease, have made it evident, that theirUrethrais excoriated by the Virulency of the Matter they receive from the infected Woman; and this Excoriation or Ulceration is not confined to theOstiolaor Mouths of theGlandulæ Muscosæas has been lately thought, but may equally alike attack any Part of theUrethranot beyond the reach of the impelled malignant Matter. The Heat before described, which these Persons are sensible of, as well now as formerly, is a Consequent of the excoriatedUrethra; for the Salts contained in the Urine must necessarily prick and irritate the nervousFibrillæ, and excite a Heat in those Parts of theUrethrawhich are divested of its natural Membrane; which Heat will always be observed to be more or less, as the Salts are diluted with a greater or less Quantity of Urine; a thing I have often observed in Persons who have laboured under this Infirmity in hot Weather, when the perspirable Matter being thrown off in greater Quantities, the Salts bear a greater Proportion to the Quantity of Urine, and thereby make its Discharge at that Time so much the more painful and troublesome.
Thus we see this very early and plain Description of this Disease among us, to be entirely conformable to the latest and most exact Anatomical Discoveries. Here is no Tone of theTesticlesdepraved, according toTrajanus Petronius; no Exulceration of theParastatæ, according toRondeletius; no Ulceration of theSeminal Vessels, according toPlaterus; no Seat of the Disease in theVesiculæ Seminales, orProstatæ, according toBartholin; nor in those Parts and the Testicles at the same Time, according to our CountrymanWhartonand others, who have falsly fixed the Seat of this Disease, and whose Notions, in this respect, are now justly exploded; but a single and true Description of it, and its Situation, about 150 Years before any of those Gentlemen obliged the World with their learned Labours.
Having, I hope, sufficiently made it appear, theBurningwas a Disease very early among us, and given the Description of it, I shall proceed to say something of the ancient Method that was made use of to cure it. We are not to expect the Measures our Predecessors, in those early Times, made use of, should be calculated for the removing any Malignity in the Mass of Blood, or other Juices, according to the Practice in Venereal Cases at this Time; because they looked upon the Disease to be entirely local, and the Whole of the Cure to depend upon the Removal of the Symptoms: Hence it was they recommended such Remedies as were accommodated to the taking off the inward Heat of the Part, and cure the Excoriations or Ulcerations of theUrethra. The Process for the accomplishing of this, I shall set down from the before-mentionedJohn Arden, who wrote about the Year 1380, His Words are as follow:Contra Incendium. Item contra Incendium Virgæ Virilis interius ex calore & excoriatione, fiat talis Syringa(i. e.Injectio)lenitiva. Accipe Lac mulieris masculum nutrientis, & parum zucarium, Oleum violæ & ptisanæ, quibus commixtis per Syringam infundator, & si prædictis admiscueris lac Amigdalarum melior erit medicina.There is no doubt but this Remedy, being used to our Patients at this Time, would infallibly take off the inward Heat of the Part, and cure the Excoriations or Ulcerations of theUrethra, by which means what issued from thence would be entirely stopt: and this was all they expected from their Medicines, forasmuch as they were entirely unacquainted with the Nature of the Distemper; and did not in the least imagine, but if the Symptoms that first attack’d the Part were removed, the Patient was entirely cured.
I shall now, as a farther Confirmation of what I have advanced, proceed to prove, that by thisBrenningorBurningis meant theVenereal Disease, by demonstrating that succeeding Historians, Physical and Chirurgical Writers, and others, have all along with us inEnglandused the very same Word to signify the Venereal Malady. In an old Manuscript, I have, written about the Year 1390. is a Receipt forBrenning of the Pyntyl, yat Men clepe ye Apegalle;Gallebeing an old English Word for a running Sore. They who know theEtymologyof the WordApron, cannot be ignorant of this. And in another Manuscript, written about 50 Years after, is a Receipt forBurningin that Part by a Woman.Simon Fish, a zealous Promoter of theReformationin the Reign ofHen.VIII. in his Supplication of Beggars, presented to the King, in 1530, says as follows,These be they(speaking of theRomish Priests)that corrupt the whole Generation of Mankind in your Realm, that catch the Pockes of one Woman and bear them to another; that beBurntwith one Woman and bear it to another; that catch the Lepry of one Woman and bare it unto another. But to make this Matter still more evident, I am to observe, thatAndrew Boord, M. D.and Romish Priest, in the same Reign, in a Book he wrote, entitl’dThe Breviary of Health, printed in 1546, speaks very particularly of this sort ofBurning; one of his Chapters beginneth thus,The 19th Chapiter doth shew ofBURNINGof an Harlot; where his Notion of communicating theBurningis very particular. He adds, that if a Man beBurntwith anHarlot, and do meddle with another Woman within a Day, he shallBurnher; and as an immediate Remedy against theBurning, he recommends the washing thePudenda2 or 3 times with White Wine, or else with Sack and Water; but if the Matter have continued long, to go to an expert Surgeon for Help. In his 82dChapter, he speaks oftwosorts ofBurning, theOnebyFire, and theOtherby aWomanthro’ carnal Copulation, and refers the Person that isBurntof aHarlotto another Chapter of his for Advice, what to do,yf he get a Dorser or two, so called from its Protuberancy or bunching out: For I find about that Time the WordBubowas mostly made use of, to signify that sort of Swelling which usually happens in pestilential Diseases.
From hence it appears, theBurning, by its Consequents, wasVenereal; since every Day’s Experience makes it evident, that the ill Treatment of the first Symptoms of the Disease, either by astringent Medicines, or the removing them by cooling and healing the excoriated Parts, will generally be attended with such Swellings in the Groin, which we rarely observe to happen from any other Cause whatsoever.
I shall give a few more Instances of this Disease being call’d theBurning, and conclude. In a Manuscript I have of the Vocation ofJohn Baleto the Bishoprick ofOssoryinIreland, written by himself, he speaks of Dr.Hugh Weston(who was Dean ofWindsorin 1556. but deprived by CardinalPolefor Adultery) as follows; “At this Day is lecherousWeston, who is more practised in the Art ofBrech-Burningthan all theWhoresof theStews. And again, speaking of the same Person, he says, “He not long agobrentaBeggarin St.Botolph’s Parish. The same Author says of him elsewhere, “He had bensore Bittenwith aWinchester Goose, and was not yet healed thereof; which was a common Phrase for the Pox at that Time, because theStewswere under the Jurisdiction of the Bishop ofWinchester.Mich. Wood, in hisEpistlebeforeStephen Gardiner’s Orationde vera Obedientia, printed atRhoan, 1553. gives another Evidence of theBurning. AndWilliam Bullein, a Physician in the Reign of QueenEliz.in a Book he publish’d, call’dThe Bulwark of Defence, &c.printed in 1562. bringing inSicknessdemanding ofHealthwhat he should do with a Disease call’d theFrench Pockes,Healthanswers, “He would not that any should fishe for this Disease, or to be bold when he is bitten to thynke thereby to be helped, but rather to eschewe the Cause of thys Infirmity, and filthy rotten Burning of Harlots.
London, Feb. 4.1717–18.William Beckett,
NUMBER III.
A Second Letter on the same Subject toWilliam Wagstaffe, M. D.
SIR,
BEFOREI engage farther, in proving that theVenereal Disease, when it came to be confirmed, was frequently known among us some hundreds of Years before the Siege ofNaples: I shall endeavour to refute the Opinion of those Persons, who believe it to have had its Rise there, if any such shall remain. True indeed it is, that there have not been wanting several modern Authors, who have asserted it; but I determine to make it appear to be an Error as inconsiderately, and hastily received, as started by some Chimerical Author; who, because several Writers about that time, observing the Disease to begin in thePudenda, separated it from another, with which it was before confounded, must likewise take upon him to assert its being anewDistemper, and to assign a certain Time and Place for its Rise. Now one might with all the Reason in the World expect, that if the Disease had its Original there, it must have been so certainly and infallibly known, that there could have been no doubtful or uncertain Opinions about it, but that the Physicians, who residedinornearthe Place, and those more especially, who interested themselves so far as to write of it, must have, all of them to a Man, agreed upon the Certainty of a thing, the Knowledge of the Truth of which was so easily attainable. But on the contrary,Nicholas Leonicenus, who was the firstItalianPhysician, that wrote of this Disease, and who lived at the very time, whenNapleswas besieged, is so far from acknowledging it to have had its Rise there, from theFrenchSoldiers Conversation with theItalianWomen, and so little did he know of its true Cause, that he does not allow it to be the Consequent of impure Embraces. About this time it was likewise, that PopeAlexanderthe VIth engagedGaspar Torellato write of this Distemper. This Pope was in League withAlphonsusKing ofNaples, againstCharlesVIII. King ofFrance, to prevent his passing thro’Italy, when he went to besiegeNaples; yet this Author is so far from allowing it to have had its Original there, that he tells us, the Astrologers were of opinion, that it proceeded from I know not what particular Constellations. Nor doesSebastianus Aquilanus, who lived at that time, allow it to be any other than an ancient Disease; orAntonius Scanarolius, who wrote in 1498, which was but 4 or 5 Years after that Siege. Nor do several other Authors, then living, say one Word about thisNeapolitanStory. But it seemsUlricus de Hutten, aGermanKt. no Physician, positively affirms this Disease to have had its Rise there; but how he should come to know this, who lived at such a distance from the Place, and they, who were Physicians residing as it were upon the Spot, be ignorant of it, will be as much credited, as his following inconsistent Relation, which will sufficiently prove, how little care he took to be apprised of the Truth of what he wrote. This very Author tells us, the Disease was unknown till the Year 1493, or thereabouts; that he himself had it, when he was a Child, and so consequently that it was hereditary, or from the Nurse. He Wrote his Book of this Distemper atMentz, where it was printed byJohn Schefferin 4to, 1519. Now if we allow him to be but 27 Years of Age, when he wrote, (for he cannot be suppos’d to be less, who before this took upon him to cure his Father of theVenereal Disease, without the Assistance of any Physician or Surgeon,) he must have had the Distemper upon him, according to his own Account, before ever it was in being. Thus we may see, how Persons may be impos’d upon by a hasty and inconsistent Writer, no way qualified for such an Undertaking, and greedily receive in Falshoods instead of Truths, if they will not be at the Pains of consulting the Original Writings of our Predecessors, the only sure Method of overthrowing such chimerical and imaginary Notions.
I have in my former Letters, to Dr.Douglass, sufficiently I think proved that thefirstDegree of theVenereal Diseasewas very common among us some hundreds of Years before it is commonly said to have been known inEurope; there will be no Reason for any body to conceive we were at that time in any measure Strangers to it, when it came to be confirmed; more especially, when we consider the Methods of Treatment in those Times, which consisting principally in topical Applications, many of their Patients could not possibly escape having it confirmed on them. Now when it was in this confirmed State, the Writers of those early times looked upon it as anentirely newDisease, and not a Consequent of any Evil before contracted, because they were not apprised, that thefirstSymptoms being removed, and the Disease to Appearance cured, it should afterwards discover it self in such a manner, as should not seem to have the least Analogy with the Symptoms, that first attack’d a part which had been for a considerable time free from any Misfortune. But because the Symptoms are the only true Characteristicks, whereby we are infallibly able to know one Disease from another, it may be expected, that I produce sufficient Authorities to demonstrate they were all of them known and described by ancient Physical and Chirurgical Writers, just as they appear to be in theVenereal Diseaseat this Day, if I would prove thatDiseaseto be of a much more ancient Date, than is generally thought; and if I do this, I cannot but think it will be satisfactory, since we can have no other way of coming to a Knowledge of any one Distemper, than by its Symptoms. The Method of laying down the exact Succession of them, will be impossible to be reduced to any certain and infallible Rule, there being so great a Variety of Causes, that obstruct such a Regularity; for which Reason, I shall take notice of them in such Order as they most generally appear, which was upon no account to be expected from our antient Writers, insomuch as they mention every particular Symptom by it self, not knowing but that they were independent of each other, and that each of them was a distinct Disease. However, the proving these Symptoms were in being in theseearlytimes, will be as strong an Argument to prove the Antiquity of this Distemper, as if they had been register’d in the most exact Order of Succession, because we shall, upon the strictest Examination, find they are peculiar to theVenereal Maladyonly. I have, I hope, sufficiently made it appear in my former Letter, that thefirst Degreeof thisDiseasewas anciently known among us by the name ofBrening, orBurning; and that it was the same Thing with what we now call aClap, The Symptoms, which are usually its Concomitants, are thePhymosis, andParahphymosis, both which are accurately described, and proper Remedies, for them set down byJohn Arden, Esq; in another Manuscript of his, curiously written upon Vellum, and beautifully illuminated. The imprudent Method of Cure of thisfirst Degreeof theVenereal Malady, is sometimes attended with a Caruncle in theUrethra, which was a Disease very common among us anciently: For not to mention otherearlywriters,Ardengives us the Case of a certain Rector, who had such aSubstance, like a Wart, growing in thePenis, which he saysfrequently happens, and of another which had such anExcrescenceas big as asmall Strawberry, which (says he)proceeded from the corrupted Matter remaining in theUrethra. And indeed there is not any Symptom of theVenereal Disease, that I find so often mentioned as this of theCaruncle, insomuch that it seems to have been more common in thoseearly Times, than atthis Day. But this must be certainly owing to the smooth and oily Remedies they were continually injecting, which, by their relaxing and softning the Fibres of the Part, must necessarily dispose the Contexture of small Blood Vessels, lodged at the bottom of the little Ulcerations, to fill with nutritious Juices, and to extend themselves so, as to form such fungous Excrescences; and so solicitous were they for removing these Inconveniences, that they made use of several Ways by Corrosives and other Methods, to accomplish this end; and a very early Writer among us, has given a very methodical and curious Tract on this Subject, wherein he recommends the removing them by themedicated-Candle, which we use at this Day, and lays down divers other Instructions, in relation to it, which makes it probably the best Discourse on this Subject, that was ever yet written. He takes notice of thosecontumacious-Ulcers, which happen upon theGlansand the neighbouring Parts, which we now callShankers; and the great Trouble our ancient Authors found in attempting their Cure, sufficiently discover them to have had their Original from a Venereal Infection. These several Symptoms of theVenereal-MaladyourearlyWriters are very full in their Accounts of, and others, when theDiseasewas in a more confirmed State, to which they appropriated particular Names, perhaps more significant and expressive than those imposed bymodernAuthors. Thus theBuboesin theGrointhey calledDorsers, which I have given a Reason for before; and theVenereal-Nodeson theShin-Bonesthey termed theBoon-haw, which gives us a perfect Idea, not only of the Part affected, but after what manner it was diseased; for the old English WordHawe, signified a Swelling of any Part. Thus for instance, a little Swelling upon theCornea, was anciently called theHawein theEye; and the Swelling that frequently happens on the Finger, on one side the Nail, was called theWhite-Hawe, and afterwardsWhitflaw. TheProcessthis Author recommends, for the Cure of theBoonorBone-Hawe, is by making use of a Plaister, which had a Hole cut in the midst, to circumscribe it; and applying aCausticof unslacked Lime, and black Soap incorporated together; which Plaister and Bandage were to be secured on the part 4 Hours, and longer, if that was not found sufficient: After this he proceeds to the separating theSlough, &c.This Practice of his seems to have been found out by accident. For he tells us, when he was a young Practitioner, he having applyed both the Natural and ArtificialArsenicto the Leg of a Man, who was his Patient, it so mortified the Flesh, as surprized him; but by proper Digestives, theEscharcoming off, and leaving the Bone bare, he scraped it with an Instrument for several Days, and drest it with Incarnatives, designing to have ingendred Flesh on it; but this proving unsuccessful, he continued to scrape it, till he observed it move under the Instrument; after which having separated it, he found the Sore covered with new Flesh, and that the Bone was 4 Inches in length, 2 in breadth, and very thick, upon the Removal of which the Patient was soon cured. Thus it’s probable this Observation of this great Man led our Predecessors to practice the very same Method; and we do atthis Dayin our Hospitals treat theVenereal Nodeson theShinsexactly as is here described, where we observe the same Appearances, he so long before took notice of; and it is not in the least to be doubted, but theBoon-Hawand ourVenereal Nodesare the sameDisease. By the Appearance of some of the last of these Symptoms, we infallibly judge the Patient has had the Infection upon him a considerable time, and that theDiseaseis making its gradual Advances, to the corrupting and destroying the whole Frame of the Body. That this was the Conclusion of the Miseries of those Persons, who gave themselves up to the deceitful-Delights and Entertainments of lewd-Women, in thoseearly-timesas well asnow, I cannot better prove than by those remarkable Instances you quoted from a MS. inLincoln-Colledge, inOxon, Viz.Novi enim ego MagisterThomas Gascoigne,licet indignus sacræ Theologiæ Doctor, qui hæc scripsi & collegi, diversos viros, qui mortui fuerunt ex putrefactione membrorum suorum genitalium & corporis sui; quœ corruptio & putrefactio, ut ipsi dixerunt, causata fuit per exercitium copulæ carnalis cum mulieribus. Magnus enim dux in Anglia, scil.J. de Gaunt,mortuus est ex tali putrefactione membrorum genitalium, & corporis sui, causatâ per frequentationem mulierum. Magnus enim fornicator fuit, ut in toto Regno Angliæ divulgabatur, & ante mortem suam jacens sic infirmus in lecto, eandem putrefactionem Regi; Angliæ Ricardo secundo ostendit, cum idem Rex eundem Ducem in suâ infirmitate visitavit; & dixit mihi qui ista novit unus fidelis sacræ Theologiæ Baccalaureus. Willus etiam longe vir maturæ ætatis & de civitat. Londonii, mortuus est ex tali putrefactione membrorum suorum genitalium, & corporis sui, causatâ per copulam carnalem cum Mulieribus, ut ipsemet pluries confessus est ante mortem suam, quum manu sua propria eleemosynas distribuit, ut ego novi, anno Dni. 1430.Now what those Instances mentioned fromArden, or these fromGascoigne, who was then Chancellor ofOxford, could possibly be, butVenereal-Cases, I would be obliged to any body to inform me. Certain it is, noDiseasewas ever known to be gotten by the carnal Conversation of Women, which first attacked theGenitals, causing a Corruption and Putrefaction of them, and afterward of the whole Frame of the Body, but that which isVenereal. For nothing is more commonly known at this Day, than that after the Venereal-Engagement with an impure Woman, thePenisis the Part where the Scene is first laid for the succeeding Tragical Appearances; and there, and in the Neighbouring Parts, do the Symptoms of the Disease, as its Retainers, always first assemble, till the malignant Poison taint the Blood and other Juices; which being convey’d over the whole Frame of the human Fabric, if not check’d, soon brings about its total Corruption.
We do not indeed find theDiseasementioned byGascoigne, was distinguish’d by any particular Name: But great Numbers must unavoidably die of theVenereal-Maladyat that time, from the imperfect Knowledge of those who had the Treatment of the first Degrees of it. It must necessarily follow, therefore, that when the whole Frame of the Body had receiv’d a Taint from theVenereal-Poison, so as to occasion its breaking-out in Scabs and Ulcers, almost all over its Surface, it must generally be called by the Name of some particular Disease, whose Appearances had somewhat of an Affinity to it. Now if we examine the Nature of all the Diseases, that attack the Human Body, we shall not find theVenereal-Malady, when it arrives at this State, to bear a greater Similitude to any than the Leprosy, as it is described by the Ancients: Nay, so great was the Analogy betwixt these Diseases supposed to be, thatSebastianus Aquilanushas endeavoured to prove fromGalen,Avicen,Pliny, &c. that thePoxis only one Species of theLeprosy; andJacobus Cataneus, a Writer almost as early as the Rise of the Name of thePox, tells us, ’tis not only possible there may be a Transition from one of these Diseases into the other; but that he sawtwoPersons in whom thePoxwas changed into theLeprosy: That is, from having greatPocksorPustuleson the Surface of their Bodies, from whence thePoxis denominated, to have become Ulcerous or Scabby. This particular State of the Disease anciently put the Surgeons to a great deal of Trouble: For they finding that these Ulcers were of a very contumacious and rebellious Nature, were obliged to make use of great Numbers of Remedies, in order to conquer the evil Disposition of them. But they observed that all of them were useless, unless Mercury was joined with them. Now the dressing each particular Ulcer being so very tedious, they ordered the Patients to daub the Ointments over the Parts which were ulcerated; which done, they were wrapt in Linnen Cloths till the next dressing: But after a few Days they were extreamly surprised, to find their Mouths began to be sore, and that they spit very profusely; but they tell us to their Astonishment, that in a little time the Sores became healed, and the Patients cured. And by this Accident it was the Method ofSalivatingbyUnctionwas first discover’d, which is in so much use among us at this Day. From these and some other Instances I have given of the Industry and Application of our Predecessors, and with what Sagacity they applied every accidental Hint, to the relieving their distressed Fellow-Creatures from the Misfortunes they laboured under; we ought to be led to the highest Esteem and Veneration of them; and so much the more most certainly forasmuch as they were principally our own Country-Men, who, I can prove, not only from several Persons coming fromForeign-Partsto be cured of their Diseaseshere, but for other Reasons, that they excelled most of their Cotemporaries in the Divine Art of Healing. Now altho’ thoseForeign-Authorities, I before mentioned, might be looked upon as sufficient to convince any one, how our Ancestors blended thesetwoDiseases together; yet I shall prove from our own Writers, long before those, that altho’ thePoxwas not only among us, but in distant Nations, anciently confounded with theLeprosy; yet, so exact were our Writers in their Observations of the Infectious Nature of one Species of that Disease, and describing the Symptoms, as was sufficient to lead any Person to the distinguishing between them, so as to separateoneDisease from theother. I shall thereforefirstenquire into the manner how theLeprosywas sometimes said to be gotten in those early Times, and then examine the Symptoms of the Disease, that attacked the Patient.John Gadisden, a very learned and famousEnglishPhysician, who flourished about 1340, in an excellent Work of his, he entitlesRosa Anglica, speakingde Infectione ex Coitu Leprosi, vel Leprosæ, says as follows,Primo notandum quod ille qui timet de excoriatione & arsura Virgæ post coitum statim lavet Virgam cum aqua mixta aceto, vel cum urina propria, & nihil mali habebit; and in another Place speakingde Ulcere Virgæ, he says,Sed si quis vult membrum ab omni corruptione servare, cum a Muliere recedit, quam forte habet suspectam de immunditie, lavet illud cum aqua frigida mixta cum aceto, vel urina propria, intra vel extra preputium. He likewise speaking still of theLeprosy, recommends a Decoction of Plantain and Roses in Wine, to be made use of by the Woman immediately after theVenereal-Encounter; upon which he tells us she will be secure. From hence it is evident some of theirLeprous Women(as they call’d them) were capable of communicating an infectious Malady to those that had carnal Conversation with them; which proves, thePudendaof the Women must be diseased, for as much as we are absolutely assured Infections of that Nature only happen when a sound Part comes to an immediate Contact with a diseased one; for the Symptoms always first display themselves in those Parts, thro’ which the Virulency is first conveyed. Now in a trueLeprosywe never meet with the mention of any Disorder in those Parts, which, if there be not, must absolutely secure the Person from having that Disease communicated to him by Coition withLeprous-Women; but it proves there was a Disease among them, which was not theLeprosyaltho’ it went by that Name; and that this could be no other thanVenereal, because it was infectious; for there is no other Disease that is capable of being communicated this way but theVenereal-Disease, seeing thePudendaare only in that Distemper so diseased as to become capable of communicating their Contagion. I find the learnedGilbertus Anglicus, who flourished about 1360, reasoning concerning the manner how it is possible a Man should be infected by aLeprous-Woman; where if we allow him to call theMalignant Matter, which is lodged in theVagina[the Womans seed] we shall find he acurately describes the very firstVenereal-Infection, by part of the virulent Matters being received into theUrethra; from whence by the Communication of theVeinsandArteries, it is conveyed into the whole Body, after which (says he) ensues its total Corruption. Let us now examine the Symptoms of one sort of their Leprosy, for it must be necessarily divided into different Species, when another Distemper was blended with it, in which we observe such adiversityofappearances; and this I shall the rather do in this Place, because it will furnish us with the next Succession of Symptoms after those already mentioned, as theVenereal-Ozænas, the Ulcers of the Throat, the Hoarsness, the proof of its being communicable from the Nurse to the Child, byHereditary-succession, &c.All which we find to be true in theVenereal-Diseaseat this Day. Our Country-ManBartholomew Glanvile, who flourished about 1360, in his Bookde Proprietatibus Rerum, translated byJohn TrevisaVicar ofBarkleyin 1398, tellsus, someLeprous-Personshave redde Pymples and Whelkes in the Face, out of whom oftene runne Blood and Matter: In such the Noses swellen and ben grete, the virtue of smellynge falyth, and the Brethe stynkyth ryght fowle. In another place he speaks ofunclene spotyd glemy and quyttery, the Nose-thrilles ben stopyl, the wason of the Voys is rough, and the Voys is horse and the Heere falls. Among the Causes of this sort ofLeprosy, he reckons lying in the Sheets after them, easing Nature after them; and others which the first Writers on thePoxlooked upon to be capable of communicating that Contagion: Also,says he, it comyth of fleshly lykeng by a Woman, after that aLeprous-Manhathe laye by her; also it comyth of Fader and Moder; ann so thys Contagyon passyth into the Chylde as it ware by Lawe of Herytage. And also when a Chylde is fedde wyth corrupt Mylke of a Leprous Nouryce.He adds,by what ever Cause it comes, you are not to hope for Cure if it be confyrmyd; but it may be somewhat hidde and lett that it distroye so soone.Thus we see how our Author, under the Name ofoneSpecies of theLeprosy, gives a Summary of the Symptoms of thePox, and the several ways whereby it is at this time communicated. Now when thesetwoDiseases were anciently blended together, and passed under the Name of theLeprosyonly, it must be the real Cause why thatDiseaseseemed to be sorifeformerly; fortwoDistempers passing underoneName must necessarily make it more taken notice of and much more frequent; not but that much the greater Number of those who were formerly said to beLeprouswere reallyVenereal, seems to be very evident; for since thatDiseasehas been separated from theLeprosy, it has drawn off such vast Numbers, that theLeprosyis become as it were a perfect Stranger to us. Those who are acquainted with our English History well know the great Provision which was anciently made throughout allEnglandforLeprous-Persons, insomuch that there was scarce a considerable Town among us but had aLazar-Housefor such diseased. In a Register which belonged to one of these Houses, I find there were inHen.the VIIIth’s time 6 of them nearLondon, (viz,) atKnight’s-Bridge,Hammersmith,Highgate,Kingsland, theLock, and atMile-end, but about 40 Years before I find but 4 mentioned: and in 1452 in the Will ofRalph Holland, Merchant-Taylor, registred in the Prerogative Office, mention is made but of 3, which, with his Legacies to them, are as follow.Item lego Leprosis de Lokes, extra Barram Sti Georgii 20s. Item lego Leprosis de Hackenay(which is that atKingsland)20s. Item lego Leprosis Sti Egidii extra Barram de Holborn 40s, from which it is worth while to note, that theLockbeyond St.GeorgesChurch, and that atKingsland, are at this time applyed to no other use than for the Entertainment and Cure of such as have theVenereal-Malady. Some of our learned Antiquaries have been much concerned to know the Cause why theLeprosyshou’d be so common in those early times, and so little known among us now: But I believe the Reason will be impossible to be assigned, unless we allow, according to the Proofs which I have already brought, that theVenereal-Diseasewas so blended with it, as to make up the Number of the diseased. It seems to have been the same thing with them inFranceas with us: ForMezeraytells us, that the House of theFathersof theMissionof St.Lazarus, was formerly anHospitalforLeprous-People, but that Disease being ceased in this last Age (since thePoxhas been separated from it) theseLazar-Houseshave been converted to other Uses; and it may not be perhaps foreign to my purpose to take notice that the Writde Leproso amovendocontained in theRegister of Writswas (according toCokeuponLittleton) to prevent Leprous Persons associating themselves with their Neighbours, who appear to be so by their Voice and their Sores; and the Putrefaction of their Flesh; and by the Smell of them. Well then, let us examine what Method was to be taken to prevent this noysom and filthy Distemper, the Leprosy; why truly that which would infallibly prevent their getting thePoxafter the usual Method, and that was Castration. It is certain thatEunuchsare rarely or never troubled with the Leprosy, according toMonsieur le Prestre, a Councellor in the Parliament ofParis, who has these Words,Antipathia vero Elephantiasis veneno resistit: Hinc Eunuchi & quicunque sunt mollis, frigidæ & effeminatæ naturæ nunquam aut raro Lepra corripiuntur, & quidem quibus imminet Lepræ periculum de consilio medicorum sibi virilia amputare permittitur. (Cent. I. Cap. 6. de Separatione ex causa Luis Venerea.) AndMezeraysays, he has read in the Life ofPhiliptheAugust, that some Men had such Apprehensions of theLeprosy, (that shameful and nasty Distemper) that to preserve themselves from it, they made themselvesEunuchs. Now it is highly probable that those Persons who submitted to such a painful Operation, having before observed, that those who gave themselves up to a free and unrestrained use of Women, fell at length under such unhappy circumstances; and so found the only measures to preserve themselves from it was to be disabled for such engagements, which sufficiently proves this Species of theLeprosywas infectious; and for the reasons before assigned could be no other thanVenereal; for how the trueLeprosyshould be prevented by such means will be, I believe, impossible for any Person to determine. There yet remains one very considerable Symptom of theVenereal-Maladyfor me to take notice of, because it is looked upon to be the most remarkable in that Disease, which, is the falling of the Nose; but since it has been already proved, that this Disease when it had arrived to such a pitch as to discover it self by those direful Symptoms, as are the immediate forerunners of this, was by the Ancients confounded with theLeprosy, and called by that Name, it must be among the Symptoms of thatDiseasewe are the most likely to meet with it, if any such thing as the falling of the Nose was known among them. Now the most likely Method of coming to a certain Knowledge of the Infallible Symptoms of theLeprosyof the Ancients in its more confirmed State, is to consult the Examinations those unhappy Persons were obliged to undergo, before they were debarred the Conversation of Human Society, and committed to close confinement: But this being a thing some Ages since laid aside, no Author that I know of having the particular History of it, I shall do it as briefly as I can from what Remains I have met with in Records, and other scattered Papers. First then, after the Persons appointed to examine the Diseased had comforted them, by telling them this Distemper might prove a Spiritual Advantage; and if they were found to beLeprous, it was to be looked upon as their Purgatory in this World; and altho’ they were denied the World, they were chosen of God: the Person was then to swear to answer truly to all such Questions as they should be asked; but the Examiners were very cautious in their Inquiries, lest a Person who was not reallyLeprousshould be committed, which they looked upon to be an almost unpardonable Crime: They considered the Signs asUnivocal, which properly belonged to that Disease, orEquivocal, which might belong to another, and did not, upon the appearance ofoneortwoSigns, determine the Person to be aLazar; and this I find to be the Case of the Wife ofJohn NightingaleEsq; ofBrentwoodinEssex, who in the Reign ofEdw.the IVth,An.1468, being reported to be aLazare, and that she did converse and communicate with Persons in public and private Places, and not (according to custom) retire herself, but refused so to do, was accordingly examined byWilliam Hattecliff,Roger Marcall, andDominicus de Seregothe Kings Physicians; but they upon strict Inquiry adjudged her not to beLeprous, by reason the Appearances of the Disease were not sufficient: Some of the Questions put to theLeprous-Persons, which will more fully confirm what I have before advanced, I shall now give as I transcribed them from an Ancient Book of Surgery,yf there were any of his lygnage that he knew to beLazaresand especially their Faders and Moders; for by any other of their Kynred they ought not to beLazares,then ought ye to enquire yf he hath had the Company of any lepress Woman, and yf anyLazarehad medled with her afore him; and lately because of the infect matter and contagyous filth, that she had received of him. Also his nostrils be wyde outward, narrow within and gnawn. Also yf his lips and gummes are foul stynking and coroded, Also yf his voice be horse, and as he speaketh in the nose.Now the Signs which are here mentioned, were looked upon to beUnivocal: And these were they who made theExaminersprincipally determine the Persons to beLeprous; but what Determinations any one would immediately give from such Symptoms now, no Person is surely ignorant of. But even these certain appearances would not always satisfy some Persons, if we may believeFælix Platenusin hisMedicinalandChirurgicalObservations,Lib.3. who tells us, some did not look upon them to be so, till they had an horrible aspect, werehoarseandNosesfell. Likewise in theExamen Leprosorumprinted in theDe Chirurgia Scriptores Optimi, the Author speaking of theSignsof theLeprosyrelating to theNose, begins thus,Si nares exterius secundum exteriorem partem ingrossentur, & interius constringantur, & coarctentur, secundo si appareat cartilaginis in medio corosio, et casus ejus significat Lepram incurabilem. And the before mentionedJohn Gadisdenin his Chapterde Leprasays as follows,Signa confirmationis etiam incurabiliter sunt corrosio cartilaginis quæ est inter foramina & casus ejusdem. Thus, Sir, have I proved we had a Distemper amongus some hundreds of Years before theVenereal-Diseaseis said to have been known inEurope, which was called theBurning; that thisBurningwasInfectious, and that it was thefirst Degreeof theVenereal Disease; that this being common at that time, from their Method of Treatment; thePoxmust be unavoidable: That it had exactly the same Appearances it has now, altho’ they were generally called bydifferentNames, that the Ancients confounded it with theLeprosy; that the vast Numbers ofLeprous-Personsamong us, before theVenereal-Diseasewas separated from it, and the small Number we observe at this Time, is a flagrant Proof of the former; that in describing theSymptomsof theLeprosy, they give us those of theVenereal Malady; and, by mentioning how it is communicated, they describe the Ways by which thePoxis gotten at this Day; that such Remedies were by them recommended to prevent thefirstAttack of theLeprosy, as are at this Time in Use to prevent thefirstSymptoms of thePox; and that the falling of theNose, which has been look’d upon to be the most remarkable Symptom of theVenereal-Disease, was commonly observed in what they called theLeprosyin former Ages.
I am, Sir,Yours, &c.,William Beckett.
New B O O K S,
Printed forE. Curll, inCovent-Garden.
I.THE SCHOOLofVENUS: Or, TheLADY’sMISCELLANY. Being ACOLLECTIONofOriginal Poems,Translations,Tales, andNovels, relating toLoveandGallantry.