ESSAY III.
Altho’there be a great Variety of InternalPoisons, as wellMineralasVegetable; yet they do all of ’em seem to agree in their Primary Effects, and Manner of Operation; and as the Teeth or Stings ofVenomousAnimals do constantly infuse a Juice into the Wound they make, by which the Mass of Blood is infected; so the Force ofTheseis chiefly confined to the Stomach andPrimæ Viæ; and tho’ it may in some Cases be Communicated Farther, yet the Principal Mischief is done in These Parts.
Deleterious Medicines, says Dioscorides,are many, but the Alterations made by them in the Body, common, and but few(110).
Of all this kind, those of aMineralNature are the most violent and deadly, the greater Gravity and Solidity of their Parts giving to these a Force and Action surpassing the mischief ofVegetableJuices; and therefore whereas noxious Plants do vary their Effects in different Creatures, so as to prove harmless, nay, perhaps Beneficial and Nutritive to some, as Hemlock they say is to Goats(111)and Starlings(112), and Henbane to Hogs(113), the Strength of the Stomach in These Animals being sufficient to Conquer and Divide such Corrosive Substances, and their Blood perhaps requiring to be recruited by such warm and active Particles; A Mineral Malignity is not, at least so far as we know, conquerable by any, but becomes universally hurtful and destructive.
We shall here give the first Place toMercury Sublimate.
This is no other than a Mixture ofQuicksilverwithcommon Salt. The way of preparing it, as ’tis made atVenice, from whence great quantities are sent into other Countries,Tacheniushas given Us in hisHippocrates Chymicus(114); as to which we must observe, that tho’ there be always added a proportion ofSalt-Petre, andCalcin’d Vitriolto the other Ingredients, yet these do not enter into the Composition, but only serve to facilitate the Work; as abundantly appears from this Experiment, That Mercury sublim’d with the same Proportion of Nitre and Vitriol withoutMarine Salt, neither receives any increase of its Weight, nor acquires any malignant Quality.
The Effects of thisPoisonwhen taken are, violent Griping Pains, with a Distension of the Belly, Vomiting of a slimy, frothy Matter, sometimes mixt with Blood, and Stools of the same, an intolerable Heat and Thirst, with cold Sweats, Tremblings, Convulsions,&c.as will appear from the following History(115).
To a large Dog was given a Drachm ofMercury Sublimate, mixt with a little Bread; within a quarter of an Hour He fell into terrible Vomitings, casting up frequently a Viscid, frothyMucus, every time more and more Bloody, and purged the same downwards; till tired and spent with this hard Service, He lay down quietly as it were to Sleep, but Died the next Morning.
TheAbdomenbeing opened, a great quantity of extravasated Blood was found between the Liver and Stomach, and between the duplicature of theOmentumabout the Stomach; the Guts as well as the Stomach were distended, and full of a frothy BloodyMucus; on the outside they were of a livid Colour, within all over red, and inflamed down to the veryRectum; The Fibrous Coat of the Stomach being taken off, between that and the Nervous one, grumous Blood was found in several Places; the like was discovered here and there in the Intestins between the same Coats.
The sameSymptomswith these, and manifest Signs of a burning Corrosion followed withUlcersin the Bowels,Baccius(116)observ’d in a young Man Poison’d bySublimate, mixt with his Meat.
What we are here chiefly to examine is, how from Ingredients singly Innocent and Harmless, so Mischievous a Compound can result; for as the Case is very plain with respect toSalt, so is it likewise now Notorious enough, thatQuick-silverit self, which the Ancients,Dioscorides,Galen,Pliny, &c. have unjustly rank’d among Poisons, is in many Diseases inwardly taken of very safe and beneficial Use; and that not only when disguised withSulphur,Sugar, &c. butCrude, without any Correction, or vainly pretended Mortification.
This theArabianPhysicians first gave the hint of;Avicen,(117)having observ’d, thatThey who drink It in a large quantity receive no hurt, its weight making a free Passage thro’ the Body. This was Incouragement enough for the Practice of giving whole Pounds of It in theIliac Passion; which is oftentimes done with good Success, without any frightful Symptom accompanying the Advantage receiv’d from its Ponderosity.
Afterwards it plainly appear’d that this Mineral, tho’ not taken in so great a Dose as could immediately force its way thro’ the Intestins, even when it was lodged for some time in this or that Part, was not at all hurtful by any Corrosive or Malignant Quality. AndFallopius(118),Brasavolus(119), with others of great Note, confirmed its harmless Efficacy in the Cure of theWorms, not only in adult Persons, but even in the more tender Constitutions of Children.
Nor are these the only Cases in which good Service may be had from this Weighty Fluid; he that rightly considers the State of the AnimalOeconomy, the various Alterations it suffers from the Stagnation of its more Viscid Juices in the smallest Canals, and how much the Impulse and Force of the Circling Blood, by which Obstructions are to be removed, must be increased by its carrying along with it such Particles as theMercurial Globuli, will perhaps see good Reason to allow, that the prudent and cautious Management ofQuicksilvermay do that in some obstinate and dangerous Diseases, which we cannot promise our selves from any other of our known Medicines whatsoever.
But I am not to insist on this Head; and the learnedAuthorof theNew Theory of Fevers(120), has already most ingeniously explain’d theMechanismby which such Effects as these are produced in the humane Body. It suffices to my present purpose, to have proved that pureMercuryis not Poisonous or Corrosive; and therefore not only have I seen Two Ounces of It given every Day for One and Twenty Days together, without any Inconvenience at all; but found once some quantity of It in thePerinæumof a Subject I took from the Gallows for a Dissection (whose rotten Bones quickly discovered what Disease it was had required the Use of it, and that I suppose chiefly in External Application by Unction) without any Marks of Corrosion of the Part where it was lodged.
Tho’ withal we may upon this Occasion remark, that the extreme Gravity of this Mineral alone, however serviceable it may be in other Respects; yet when it happens in so great a Quantity to Obstruct the Capillary Ducts, as that the Force of the Circling Fluid is not sufficient to Wash it away, must necessarily induce Symptoms troublesome and bad enough, asSpasms,Contractions,Palsies, &c. which They do commonly Experience, who have either been too often dawbed withMercurial Ointments, or for a long time imploy’d in rubbing theQuicksilveruponLooking-Glasses; for the Internal Use of It will never produce any such Mischiefs.
As forSublimatethen, most certain it is, that theSalineParticles do impart to theMercurythis Malignant Quality; or to speak more properly, That theSaltreceives from theMercurial Corpusclessuch an Increase of its Gravity andMomentum, as renders its Cutting Corrosion more Effectual and Penetrating; for the manner after which this Matter is done, is plainly this.
TheGlobulesof theMercury, tho’ so minutely divided by the Action of the Fire, as to rise in the form of aFume, yet are still Solid and Ponderous Bodies; ’tis all one to the present purpose, whether We suppose ’em perfectlySphærical, or with the LearnedGulielmini(121)Sphæroidical, for in both Cases, by reason of their extreme Parvity, being perhaps Simple and Elementary Bodies, they will easily be lodg’d in the Pores and Interstices of theSaline Crystals; which being compos’d of theAtomsofSalt, variously bySublimationcombin’d and united, are a kind of CuttingLamellæor Blades; the force of which could never have been very penetrating, upon the account of their Lightness and easie Dissolution, if theMercury, without blunting their Edge, or breaking their Figure, did not lend ’em an Additional Weight, and thus at the same time strengthen their Action, and prevent their quick Solution by the Juices of the Stomach; which cannot now disjoin their Compounding Parts, because the Vacuities into which they should, in order to do this, insinuate themselves, are already possess’d, and taken up by theMercurial Globules.
In short, TheseCrystals, which are to be considered as so many sharp Knives or Daggers, Wounding and Stabbing the tender Coats of the Stomach, and thus causing excessive Pains, with an Abrasion of their NaturalMucus, and (upon the constant Sense of Irritation) continual Vomitings,&c.must of necessity, sticking here and there in the capillary Vessels, stop the Passage of the Blood in several Places, whereupon it Stagnates, and there follow little Inflammations, which growing higher and higher, terminate quickly in perfect Ulcers and Gangrenes; and these though singly very small, yet many in number, do all together make up one continued and incurable Mortification.
This being the Nature ofSublim’d Mercury, it may not be amiss to enquire, how it comes to pass, That This same Compound resublim’d withlive Mercuryin the Proportion of Four Parts to Three, (for theSublimatewill not take up an equal quantity) especially if the work be repeated Three or Four times, looses its Corrosiveness to that Degree as to become not only a Safe, but in many Cases, a NobleMedicine. For I do not see that any of the Chymical Writers have hit upon the true Solution of thisPhænomenon.
Here then it is to be considered, That the Action of theSaline Crystalsdepending upon their Solidity and Largeness, these must necessarily, by every subsequent Sublimation, be broken into smaller and smaller Parts; theMercurial Globules(for the Reasons given by theAuthor(122)of the forementionedTheory of Fevers) arising more quickly and easily than theSalts, quit the Interstices in which they were lodged, and theCrystallineBlades are divided every time more and more by the force of the Fire; whereupon a new Combination of Parts succeeds; and although there be a greater Proportion of theMineralto theSaltsthan before, which makesDulcify’d MercurySpecifically heavier than theCorrosive; yet the broken pieces of theCrystalsuniting into little Masses of differing Figures from their former Make, those CuttingPointswhich were before so sharp, are now either quite lost, or at least, by reason of their Bluntness, cannot make Wounds deep enough to be equally mischievous and deadly; and therefore do only Vellicate and Twitch the sensible Membranes of the Stomach to that Degree, as excites them to an Excretion of their Contents and Glandular Juices, upwards or downwards, according as the force of Irritation is greater or less.
Thus a violentPoisonis mitigated into aVomitorPurge; nay, it may easily happen (especially in Robust Constitutions, and if the Bowels be at the same time by any means defended against the Stimulating Power of the Medicine) that this Twitching may be so slight, as to be almost insensible, and hardly troublesome; and then theMercurial Globulesbeing freed indeed from most of theSaline Partsin their Passage thro’ thePrimæ Viæ, but still having a mixture of some few of them, are quickly conveyed into the Blood, where by their Motion and Weight they must necessarily dissolve the Preternatural Cohæsions of all the Liquors, particularly of Those which Circulate in the smallest Canals, and are most Viscid and Tenacious, making ’em more Fluxile and Thin, or of more easie Secretion; whereupon all the Glands of the Body are, as it were, set to Work, and Scoured of their Contents; but theSalivalOnes especially, being many in Number, very large and wide, and the Juice they separate of a Tough and Ropy Substance, so that a considerable quantity of It is accumulated before it is forced out at the Orifices of the Ducts. These Effects will be most remarkable inThem, and aSalivationor Spitting must continue so long, till the Active Mineral Particles are thro’ these and the other Passages discharged out of the Body.
As the Difference between MercuryCorrosiveandDulcifiedlies in a greater and lesser Degree of Operation and Force, so this same Consideration distinguishes the severalPreparationsof this Mineral from each other; which tho’ very many, yet do all vary their Effects in the Body, only according as theMercurial Globulesare differently combined withSalts, and thePointsofThesemore or less broken by the Action of the Fire, in the Burning of Spirits upon Them, and such like Managements: And therefore however dignified with the great Names ofArcana,Panacææ,Princes Powders, &c. They do not afford Us any thing Singular and Extraordinary, beyond what we may with equal Advantage promise our selves from some or other of the most common and usualProcesses.
We may also fairly conclude from this Reasoning, that the safest way of raising aSalivationis byInternalMedicines; since whatever Mischiefs can be apprehended fromThese, may in a greater degree follow from theExternalUse ofMercury; not only because, as We have already hinted, the MineralGlobulesbeing intimately combined with Salts in the several Preparations given inwardly, will by the Irritation of These, be easily and fully thrown out at the Organs of Secretions, till the Blood is quite discharged of its Load; whereas, in all the Dawbings with Mercurial Ointments, We can never be certain that none of the heavy Particles are left lodg’d in theIntersticesof theFibresorCellsof theBones; But also, in as much as by computing the Portion ofMercuryin all the Doses necessarily to promote a Spitting, and the Weight of the same Mineral usually apply’d when this is done by Unction, it will appear, that the quantity in the latter Case vastly exceeds that in the former, and consequently that the Inconveniencies to be feared will be in the same proportion.
Therefore this External Management ofMercuryis only to be allow’d of, where either the Case will bear the Violence of such a Method, or outwardUlcersandTumorsrequire a particular Cure byLiniments, &c.
Nor is it improper to Remark that, We do hereby see how the Use of this Mineral comes to produce that Effect so often complain’d of, (tho’ not always with Reason) of making the Bones Foul or Carious. For, if theLaminæorFibresof These are already so much broken and spoiled by a Disease, as that the Circulation of the Fluids thro’ ’em can’t be maintain’d, they must necessarily be corrupted more by the Weight of theMercurial Globules; tho’ here also it is plain, that theoutwardUse of this Remedy will be more to be blamed than theinward.
And indeed, as the earliest Use ofMercurywas inUnguentsandEmplasters, so most of the Prejudices and Out-cries against It are owing to Effects produced this way. For the first attempts of the Cure ofVenereal Maladiesby this Remedy, were learned from theArabians(123), who having recommendedMercurialOintments in theLepraorScabies, gave a handle to theItalianPhysicians to try theirEfficacy, in removing the Foulness of the Skin from a new and terrible Contagion; neither were they sparing of their Liniments, which they continued to rub in for 12, 15, nay, sometimes for above 30 Days together(124). So that it is no wonder if they often met with very untoward Symptoms from so severe a Treatment, and if, (as some of them(125)do affirm) they now and then foundMercuryin the rotten Bones of their Patients, who had, it may be, suffered too much both from their Disease and their Physician.
Thus much ofMercury. Let Us in the next place examineArsenick, about the Nature and Composition of which Authors are very much puzzled.
This, in short, is eitherNativeorFactitious, and each of Three sorts,Yellow,Red, andWhite. TheNative Yellowis what the Latins call’dAuripigmentum; and thisOlaus Wormius(126)makes Threefold. TheRedis theSandarachaof theGreeks. TheWhitewas not known to the Ancients; and indeedTheophrastusseems only to have known theRed; butDioscoridesdescribes bothRedandYellow;Nicanderhad no Knowledge of either; The only Mineral Poisons He mentions areLithargeandCeruss.
OrpimentandSandarachadiffer only by their greater or lesser Concoction in the Earth; and therefore fromOrpimentBoiled in a close Pot Five Hours in a Furnace Fire, is made theFactitious Sandaracha, as perfect as theNatural(127).
TheFactitious Yellowis made from the Crusts of theNatural Orpiment(128).
TheNative Whiteis more rare, but found plentifully in some Silver Mines inGermany(129).
But theWhite Factitiousis of the most common Use of all; and it is, asAgricolatells us, no other thanOrpimentagain and again sublimed with an equal part ofFossile Salt, till it is brought to a Whiteness.
OrpimentandSandarachaare mostly found in Mines of God; and all Metallic Writers do agree them to be the best Signs of the Richness of the Vein. This is Ground sufficient for theChymiststo takeArsenickfor the Subject Matter of their great Work, as they call It; and they have very fondly accommodated some Ænigmatical Lines in theSibylline Oracles(130)to thisMineral. Tho’ the Interpretation be strained, and not fairly made out, (theAuthorof these Verses, whatever he might mean, being indeed Discoursing of the Name of theDivine Powerit self) yet very true it is, that this great Expectation fromArsenickis as old at least asCaligula; that is, of more ancient Date considerably than the far greatest part of those Suppositious and Ill-contrived Compositions which do now bear the Name ofOracles: For that Covetous Emperor, asPlinyrelates(131), ordered a great quantity ofOrpimentto be wrought upon, that He might extractGoldout of It, and made some; but as it usually happens in such like Attempts, the quantity did not answer the Expence.
It is more to our purpose to take notice, that the laterPretendersto thisPhilosophy, by finding their threePrinciples,Salt,Sulphur, andMercuryin this Body, will lead Us into its true Nature and Composition.
For whether We takeOrpimentorSandaracha, either of them will afford aRegulusor Mercurial Substance, more pure than that ofAntimony. The manner of extracting ItLemery(132)has taught; and to This indeed the Mineral owes its great Ponderosity.
The Inflammability and Smell ofArsenickare sufficient Proofs of its aboundingSulphur, which may without much difficulty be separated from It(133).
That it consists of someSaline Partswe are assured by Its Solution in common Water(134); and it is upon the account of These that It does more happily promote theFlowingof Metals than any otherSalt-Pouderswhich the Workmen make use of: Wherefore some have called It a coagulatedAqua Fortis.
From all this it appears, that Authors do vainly Dispute wherein the Noxious quality ofArsenickresides, since the Case here is plainly much the same with that ofSublimate Corrosive; and as the Salts there, together with the Mercurial Particles, do compose pungentCrystals, so without all doubt theRegulusof this Mineral gives a like force to theSaline Bodies, which without this weight could be but of small Effect. The main difference is, that inArsenickwe have an addition ofSulphur, which does not only strengthen the Action of the other Parts, in that as aVinculumit keeps them united together; but consisting besides of many hot and fiery Corpuscles, promotes the Inflammation of those Wounds which the CrystallineSpiculamake in the Membranes of the Stomach.
Upon the Score of such a Texture and Make as this,Arsenickmakes no Ebullition either withAlcaliesorAcids(135); andastheRegulusof It being cleared from most of its Salts, is by much less hurtful than the crude Mineral it self;soon the other Hand, theFactitious White, in which there is a much greater Proportion of the Saline to the Metallic Parts, is the most Violent of all the kinds, superiour in Force toMercury Sublimate.
The several Histories related byWepfer(136)do put this out of Question; It is sufficient to our Purpose to mention One.
A Dog having eat some Fat mixt withWhite Arsenic, died the next Day; The upper Part of the Stomach, when opened, was red and inflamed, the Coats thinner than ordinary, the bottom of It was covered with a fætid Slime, and some Pieces of Fat; the Thin Guts were so Corroded as to be Pervious in Three Places, Two of the Ulcers so large that they would easily admit aBean. The Cavity of theAbdomencontained a yellowishIchortinged with Blood.
The Case being thus, one would wonder what should induce Authors to prescribe so Corrosive a Mineral to be worn upon the Pit of the Stomach, as anAmuletagainst the Plague. This Trick we may well believe to be Dangerous, whenLionardo di Capo(137)tells Us of a Child a kill’d by the Violent Vomiting and Purging, occasion’d from a slight Wound made in the Head by aCombwet with Oil in whichArsenickhad been infused; for the Pores of the Body being opened by Heat and Exercise, some of the NoxiousEffluviamay easily Insinuate themselvs into the Part; accordinglyCrato(138)observ’d an Ulcer of the Breast caused by this Application;Verzascha(139)Violent Pains, and fainting Fits;Diemerbrock(140), and Dr.Hodges(141), Death it self.
The Truth of the Matter is, This Practice seems to owe its Origine to a Mistake(142), some of theArabianPhysicians had commendedDarsiniworn in a Bag for a Preservative in Plague time; This in their Language signifiesCinnamom; but theLatinInterpreters retaining the same Word in their Translations (as was frequently done), one or other afterwards not understanding its meaning, anddeceivedby the likeness of the sound, substituted in its PlaceDe Arsenico, as ifDarsiniwere all one withZarnich. The Authority of the first Author served to propagate the Error; nor were Those wanting who reason’d upon the Matter, and found it agreable to their Philosophy, that this Mineral should draw to it self and concenter theArsenical Effluviaout of the Air, and thus secure the Body from their Infection; These being, as they imagined, the Common Cause of Pestilential Diseases.
Having thus particularly Discoursed of the Nature of these Two Poisons, I shall not need to insist upon any more out of theMineral Kingdom.
All ofThembear some Analogy to the former, and are more or less Dangerous, according as theirSaltsreceive a differing Force from theMetallicParticles. For this Reason as we have observed, that the most Virulent may be mitigated by breaking thePointsof theSaline Crystals; so on the other Hand, the most Innocent Minerals may become Corrosive, by combining Them withSalts, as we see in the several Preparations ofSilver,Antimony,Iron, &c.
Poisonous Plants.
To Proceed therefore toVegetables; the most Notorious ofThesefor Venomous Juices among the Ancients wereCicutaandAconitum.
OurŒnanthe Cicutæ facie,succo viroso, whichWepferhas described by the Name ofCicuta Aquatica, and of the dismal Effects of which in some Children, who by mistake did Eat of It, He has wrote a large Volume, was very probably theCicutaso much in use of old, especially atAthens, forKilling. At least the Violence ofThismakes It a much fitter Instrument of Death than the commonHemlock, which is not by far of so Malignant a quality.
Tho’ we must withal allow differingClimatesvery considerably to heighten or abate theVirtuesofPlants. And it is not altogether Improbable, that the Poison with which theAthenianstook away the Lives of Malefactors was an inspissated Juice compounded ofThatofCicutaand other Corrosive Herbs(143).
But be this as it will; The Alterations whichWepferobserved the Roots ofŒnantheto make in the Body, were a Violent Pain and Heat in the Stomach, Terrible Convulsions, with the Loss of all the Senses, Distorsion of the Eyes, and flowing of Blood out at the Ears, the Mouth so fast shut that no Art could open It, Efforts to Vomit, but nothing thrown up, frequent Hick-Coughs, with a great Distension and Swelling, especially at the Pit of the Stomach; and when Death had concluded the Tragedy, a continued Running of green Froth at the Mouth.
Stalpart van der Wielgives Us the like account of Two Persons kill’d at theHagueby the sameRoots(144).
In aDog, who for Experiment’s sake died by thisPoison, The Stomach when opened was found quiteConstringed, and shut up at bothOrifices, Its inward Surface red, with livid Spots here and there; The Intestines were empty; only theRectumcontained a little greenishMucus.
Thus it appears, that this Plant consists of Hot, Acrious and Corrosive Parts, which by Rarefying the Juices of the Stomach, and Wounding Its Nervous Membrane, are the Cause of all those Disorders which do immediately follow.
For upon the Sense of a violentIrritationandPain, the Fluid of the Nerves is presently in large quantities determined to the Part affected; and this, if theStimulusbe not over great, will be only to such a Degree as is sufficient, by contracting the Fibres of the Stomach, and Muscles of theAbdomen, to throw off the Cause of the DisagreableSensation; but the uneasieTwitchingbeing too terrible to be born, the Mind, by a kind of surprize, does withHasteandFuryas it were Command the Spirits thither; Thus the Business is over-done, and the Action of the Fibres becomes so strong, that the Orifices of the Stomach are quite closed; so that instead of discharging the Noxious Matter, TheTormentis made greater, and the wholeŒconomyput into Confusion.
This forcible Contraction of the Muscles was the Reason that one of the Children whichWepfersaw, madeUrinein the midst of the Agony, to the height of Five or Six Foot, with a strength and violence Surprising to the Spectators.
Nor is it any wonder, if in theseCircumstancesall Sense be lost, Blood gush out at theEars,Nostrils, &c. the Parts being all torn and broke by the Violence of theConvulsions; which tho’ they began in the Muscles of the Belly, must at last prevail in the Members too, till the whole Fabrick is shock’d and overturn’d; and some of theCorrosive Saltsperhaps getting into the Blood, and by the Rarefaction of It Distending the Vessels, The Membranous Coats of which being already overstretched, will the more easily give way, and let out their Fluid.
The Case ofAconitumis much the same; this is ourNapellusorMonkshood; and its Effects do so nearly agree with those now related ofŒnanthe, that I shall not need to recite Them; the Experiments ofWepfer(145)are full and convincing. And indeedasall theHistorieswhich this sameAuthorhas so carefully given Us of Trials made with several Vegetable Poisons,Solanum,Nux Vomica,Coculus Indicus, &c. on different Creatures, do put it out of all doubt, that the common Mischief ofTheseis a Twitching and Inflammation of the Stomach;soit appears from hence, thatVirulent Plants, although they may be distinguished even from one another byparticular Virtues, do howeverKillby a like Operation and Force, which differs chiefly in Degree fromThatof Noxious Minerals.
And therefore in order to know what theSpecifick Qualitiesof any suchHerbsare, they must be given only in very smallDoses; and then perhaps it would appear, that they are not made (as some do imagine) to be Deleterious and Destructive, but for very Good and Beneficial Uses; as we do particularly Experience in the Case ofOpium.
Nor is it at all strange, that theSymptomsfrom aVegetable, and from aMineralVirulency, should be so different, although of the same kind, and only of unequal force; for the more solid Parts ofMinerals, eroding the Coats of the Stomach, induce a perfect Mortification and Gangrene, and thus do their Work at once; whereas the weaker Salts ofPlantscan make but a slighterExcoriation, upon the painful Sense of which those Agonies and Convulsions that follow do rather gradually exhaust the Strength; and thus the Animal is not kill’d so speedily, nor with the sameAppearances.
Upon this Score, tho’ Mineral Poisons do not pass thePrimæ Viæ, Vegetable ones in some Cases possibly may; just as We find Those Medicines which have a great Degree of Irritation presently to induce aVomiting; whereas the sameTwitchinga little weakened suffers them to pass into the Intestines, andWorkdownwards by Stools.
By this We may perhaps give some Guess at the Nature of thosePoisons, with which They tell Us theNativesin some Parts ofAfricaandIndiaare so expert at Killing, that they can do It in a longer or shorter time as they please. These are most probably either theFruits, or the InspissatedJuicesof Corrosive Plants, which inflaming the Bowels, may cause little Ulcers there, whose Fatal Consequences, we know, may very well be slow and lingering.
This I am the rather induced to believe, because an IngeniousSurgeon, who liv’d inGuinea, told Me, that theAntidoteby which theNegroeswould sometimes Cure Those who werepoisoned, was theLeafof anHerbwhich purged both upwards and downwards. For by this means the Stomach might be cleared from the adhering Corrosive Parts of the Venom. Yet I can hardly think it possible at the same time that they should be able, by varying the Composition or Quantity of theDose, to ascertain the Time in which It shall Kill, to a Week, Month,&c.nor indeed have I ever met with any Person who could Attest This, to be Matter of Fact.
Tho’ repeated Trials and Observations may help one well practised in such Tricks to give notable Conjectures in this Point.
The Ancients indeed pretended much the same thing with theirAconitum, of which They seem to have made a kind of Secret and Mystery; as we learn fromTheophrastus(146), who says,The ordering of this Poison was different, according as It was designed to Kill in Two, Three Months, or a Year: But this he relates only as a commonTaleorOpinion, and not as a Story to which Himself gave any manner of Credit.
It is very plain; that the commonCureof allPoisonsof this kind, must be by freeing the Stomach, as soon as possible, from the Corrosive Vellicating Particles, and defending the Membranes from their Acrimony, by such Things as are of a a Smooth, Oily and Lubricating Substance.