ASSterilityis in it self aPræternatural Faculty, so I cannot but think, that, in theClassofPræternatural Conceptions, that of aNON-CONCEPTIONmay at last pertinently take place.
NOWI remember theReaderwas referred to thisPlace, by Sect. II. Chap. 5. where I promised to expound the unsuccessfulActofCopulation; as I there briefly did theReverse-Case: And after having all a longthusfar forward, safely conducted theFertileorFruitfulWoman, thro’ the differentTrainsandConsequencesof the successfulAct, I have leftHerin a safeCondition, together with theDearPledgeof herNatural Fœcundity; whilst in the next place, I come now to treat of thePræternaturalBARREN WOMAN.
INorder to which, IFirstobserve, that theJews, and almost all otherNations, deemed it the greatestMarkofInfamyimaginable, for aWoman,to yield no Children; as is evident from theScriptures, howHagar,the fruitful Chamber-Maid,[219]despisedSarah,her barren Mistress, &c. But moreover——
SECONDLY, We may observe, that, upon every provoking Occasion, theLordhimself threatned them with this Curse; asoneof the greatestInstancesof his heavyDispleasure, andOneofthe severestJudgments, that hisVENGEANCEcould inflict on them for theirSins, as is also manifest from repeatedInstancesofScripture, particularly from the Words of theHoly Prophet, saying,[220]They sowe the Wind,and shall reap the Whirlwind:Their Glory shall fly away from theWOMB: Their Root is dryed up, they shall bear no Fruit, &c.
THIRDLY, We may easily conclude that, such aSentencepassing from the Mouth of the most highJUDGE, the SupremePhysician, andOmnipotenthimself, could never be revers’d by theArtorIngenuityofMan: But asChristianshave no Reason to suspect themselves to lay under this accursedSentence, so they may well look nearerHome, and take a view of the many different mediate and immediateCausesofSTERILITYorNON-CONCEPTIONin them.
FOURTHLY, however, before I enter uponthese, I would previously have it noted, that, sometimes theFault, orCauseof theWoman’s not conceiving, lies in theMan; and may proceed from many diverseDiseasesorSymptomsin him, as particularly mentioned, and treated of at large,[221]by the most LearnedSenertus, to which we refer theCurious; Because we have nothing to do with theManin this place: Wherefore that I may return to theWoman, I say——
THEimmediateCausesofSTERILITYin her, are manifest from the veryDefinitionofCONCEPTION: Which, according toGalen,[222]is nothing else, thana Comprehension ofSEEDin the Womb, for the Generation of Man. But here it may be requisite, to explain this generalTermof Comprehension,which I would have understood to implyfour particular Qualitiesof theWomb,viz.Attraction,Retention,Distribution, andFomentation. Hence it is that suchWomenmust needs beBarren, as cannot eitherattractthe effused; orretainthe attracted; ordistributeandalteratethe retain’dSEEDthrough the Parts of theWomb, and excite its latentVirtuetoAction; or lastly, such as cannot duly foment and nourish the sameSEED, when regularlydistributed; andThese, I think, are all the immediateCausesofBARRENNESS: AsThose, for which theSEEDeither cannot beattracted, orretained, ordistributed, orfomented, are the mediateCausesofSTERILITY.
NOW, as to theFirstofThesethen, theAttraction, or theattractive Faculty, may fail in its Dutytwo ways, viz. either because of its ownDebility; or because of some præternaturalImpediment. TheDebilityorImbecilityof this Faculty may proceed either from aDefect of Spiritsin theSeminal Vessels; or from either of theIntemperaturesof theWomb, whetherNaturalorAdventitious: AndImpedimentsmay happen inAttractionmany different ways, such as by a læs’d or extinctVenereal Appetite; by theWoman’s AversionorIndifferenceto herMATE; by the perverseAffectionsof the Mind, such asMelancholy,Grief,Anger,Fear, &c. byCausesof theVagina, orOrificeof theWomb; by aCoalescence,Ulcer,Membrane,CarnousorScirrhous Substance, or any other kind ofTumours; as also by aConstriction,Distortion, orCompressionof theORIFICE; or at last by too muchFat,&c.[223]
SECONDLY, theRetentive Facultymay come short of its Dutythree different ways; namely, either because of its ownImbecillity, or because of somePræternatural Impediments; or because of theObjectitself. TheImbecillityorImpotencyof this Faculty may proceed either from theIntemperatureof theWomb; or from the Abundance of some slimyMucous Humourin the same: And itsImpedimentsmay happen from aProlapsus, anInflammation, an immoderateFlux, theWhites, aGonorrhæa,Worms,Scirrhous, or otherTumours,Ulcers, or theCicatrixof an oldSorein the Body of theWomb; as also from the Amplitude or Laxity of theOrifice, whetherNaturalorAdventitious: WhichAccidentfrequently happens even toChild-bearing Women, sometimes by anAbortion, sometimes by a difficultBirth, and sometimes also by the rudeUsageof an ignorantMidwife, that they cannever more Conceive, until they be dulyCured: Again, theCausemay be in theObject, orSeedit self; when it is eitherimpure,acrid,vitious, and disagreeable to theWomb; or deprived of its naturalHeatandSpirits.
THIRDLY, theDistributiveorAlterative Facultymay be also impugned in itsFunction,1st, by its ownDebility, occasion’d by either of theDiseases, orIntemperaturesabove-mentioned; or 2dly, by the discordingQualitiesof theSeminal Matter; or 3dly, by some certain Disproportion betwixt thatMatterand theWombit self: Since as allSeedsdo not answer alike inone Field, some requiring a Pinguid and LooseSoil, others a Lean and SlenderGround; so it is with theWomband the injectedSEED: For, however fruitful theOnemay be, if theotherbe not of a proportionableFœcundity, noCONCEPTIONcan possibly follow: Hence it is that manyWomenhave been accountedBARRENin their firstMarriage, who have had severalChildrento asecond Husband. Again, assomeSEEDSperish and are quite lost inmoist,clayish, ormarshy Ground, andothersdecay and are burnt up in anAcrid,Sandy, orGravelly Field; So it is also with the HumanSEED: For, in the toocold, ormoistWomb, it is extinguished,and in the tooHotorDryWombit is corrupted[224].
FOURTHLY, the Fomentation, or theNutritive Facultymay be deficient in its Office ofattracting sufficient Alimentto foment and nourish theSeed; which however, is most commonly occasion’d by Want, or Scarcity ofBloodin theWomb, proceeding fromperverse Evacuations,PenuryorNecessity, anAtrophia,Consumption, or the like, or then, in fine, by theImpurity, orvicious qualityof theBlood.
NOWThese, I think, are all the most common, as well as the most prevalentCausesofSterility: Tho’, according toJohannes Anglicus, there are also severalexternal Causes[225]; which however, I shall here pass by in Silence; lest, as some goodWomenare at great Pains to rectify theirbarren Wombs,othersshould thereby take Sinistrous Measures to suppress theirFertility. And in thisClassmay be included theMedicinescall’d by theGreeksφθόυα, because they are endued with certainoccult Qualities, which extinguish theSEEDand obstruct theCONCEPTION[226].
HAVINGthus defin’d the mediate and immediateCausesof reputedSterility, I can scarce, because of either ofthese, call aWomanreallyBarren; Since I have known some of the most difficult ofthese Casesto have been dulycur’d, and diverseWomento have conceiv’d, after many YearsBARRENNESS, and prov’d the JoyfulMothersof hopefulChildren; of which I could give some signalInstances, if I took Pleasure in swelling thisWork: Hence it is, that the great Philosopher and Physician,Daniel Senertus, only disswades theIngenuousfrom undertaking thisCure, in the Cases of viciousHereditary Dispositions, venenatedConstitutions, or other heavyDiseases[227].
MOREOVER, we find that the very best of theAncientshave been at great Pains, in distinguishing exactly thecurable, from theincurableBarren Womb: YeaHippocrates,Galen, &c. have given certain Directions, founded upon the solidTruthsof their Immense Knowledge and Heavenly Wisdom, to try and discover theOnefrom theOther; astheyhave also taught us to Judge of every particularCauseaffecting theCurableWomb. But to facilitate these NiceDiscoveries, I shall subjoin some fewDiagnostick Signs; because except we know the particularCause, we can never pretend to remove it, and without removing theCause, theEffectcan never cease, or becured. Not but that——
IKNOW, that the ingeniousPhysician, undertaking thisCure, requires none of myInstructions; which notwithstanding, I hope, He will allow me to prosecute my Method in treating ofthis Case, as I have done of someothers; andthatthe rather, considering it is generally well known, that sometimesa Fool has put a Wise Man in the right way. Wherefore I heartily wish that some Word may drop from myPen, that may prove instrumental to wipe off the imputedBlemishes, and promote the realGloryofWomen; AndthisI could wish the more, because I am fully convinced that many are ignominiously branded withBARRENNESS, without any sufficientCause: Insomuch, that I verily believe, that, upon an ingenuousTryal, not one real or incurableBARREN WOMB, would be found inTenofthose, which are this Day so reputed. Butà propos——
As I have reduced all theCausesofSTERILITYto the above saidfourCLASSES, so I shall reduce theDiagnosticksto the same number; and therebydemonstrate how it may be easily discover’d, whether theFaultlies in theAttractive,Retentive,Alterative, or in theNutritive Facultyof theWomb; and how every particularCausein any ofthesemay be plainly distinguished,&c.In order to which, then—
TOUCHINGtheFirst,inquirendum est primò, an ad Venerem apta sit Fæmina, & quidem an Veneris Appetitum habeat, & an Membrum virile rectè admittere possit. Horum enim si alterum desit, Causa, cur non concipiat, procul dubio in Attractrice hæret; ut etiam, si statim à Coitu, aut post breve Intervallum semen effluat.I say,Theseare the infallibleMarksof a læs’dAttractive Power, which also denote someFaultof theWomb, such as anoblique Situation, aCompressionof theEpiploonorCawl, or someobdurated Substance, impeding theSEEDto reach the Cavity of theWomb: TheParticularof which is easily to be discover’d; theSituationby the ingeniousTouch; theCompressionof theOmentumorEpiploonhappens only toFat Women; theSubstanceorTumour(of whatsoever kind) if not found in thePassage, lodges in theWombit self.
SECONDLY, If theParty laboursunder any of the aforesaidCausesdebilitating or impeding theRetentivePower;someare manifest to theWomanher self; as in theCasesof any immoderateFlux, aslimyorilluvious Evacuation, aGonorrhæa, theWhites, aFallingof theWomb,&c.othersare obvious to theMidwife’sTouch, as in theCaseofTumours,Ulcers, &c. and inCaseof eitherIntemperature,Dropsy,Inflammation,Worms, &c. all such are abundantly evident to thePhysician, after duly examining, and considerately weighing theDispositionorTemperatureof the whole Bodyin general, and of theWombinparticular.
THIRDLY, if theAlterativeoraltering Facultybe læs’d or impotent, then, after some DaysRetention, anEffluxionof theSEEDhappens, and that eitherbecause of someIntemperatureof theWomb; or of some discordingQualityin theSEEDS, or in theWomb, as above; or lastly, because of aWantorScarcityofBloodfor forming theFOETUS. As to theIntemperatures, I have already observ’d, that, they may be readily distinguished by the ingeniousPhysician; But theDisproportionbetwixt the commixedSEEDS, or betweentheseand theWomb, how much, and in what they may differonefromanother, is not so easily known; because thisFaultmay be as much in theMan, or perhaps more, than in theWoman, as has been already hinted: In thisCase, thePhysicianis to weigh and consider well theTemperaturesof the whole Body, and especiallythatof theGenital Partsof both theManand theWife; and as much as possible, to reducethatof theOne, to the more convenientTemperatureof theOther,[228]correctingBothin what may be found requisite; according to the Direction ofLucretius, in theseVerses:
“Usq; adeo magni refert, ut Semina possint“Seminibus commisceri generaliter apta,“Crassáq; conveniunt liquidis, & liquida crassis.
“Usq; adeo magni refert, ut Semina possint“Seminibus commisceri generaliter apta,“Crassáq; conveniunt liquidis, & liquida crassis.
“Usq; adeo magni refert, ut Semina possint“Seminibus commisceri generaliter apta,“Crassáq; conveniunt liquidis, & liquida crassis.
“Usq; adeo magni refert, ut Semina possint
“Seminibus commisceri generaliter apta,
“Crassáq; conveniunt liquidis, & liquida crassis.
FOURTHLYand lastly, if theNutritive Facultybe faulty, theCaseis plain and manifest; since it generally proceeds from one or more of the followingCauses,viz.fromWantorPenury; aPining awayorConsumption; immoderateHæmorrhagies, whether happening bySuperiourorInferiour Parts; hardLabour; too muchFat, or too muchLeanness: As the same may also happen from anObstructionorSuppressionof theMenstruous Course; or from its vicious or impureQuality; and, in fine, from any severeSymptomorDiseasewhatsoever.
THUShaving discover’d the genuine and preciseCausesofSterility, theCureis as good as half perfected; but that it may be altogether and effectually perform’d, the next thing requisite in this place, would be to treat of everyCauseand its respectiveCureparticularly;[229]but as these do chiefly belong to theDiseasesof thePudendum,Vagina, andWomb; which I have already declin’d entring upon at this time, for theReasonsmentioned in Sect. VI. Chap. VI. I shall here only add ingeneral Terms, that tho’ thebarrenWombis justly compar’d to an insipid, ungrateful, or unfruitfulField, because neither theonenor theotherproduces any thingGoodof it self: Yet as we see thebarren Landsemproved and become fruitful by theIndustryof theHusband-Man; and evenwild Rootsandbarren Treesin time produce plentifully by the Care and Diligence of theGardener; So the HeavenlyArtofPhysickexerts it self strenuously in improving thebarrenWomb, miraculously supplying theDefects, and regularly correcting theDefaultsofNature; restoring or replenishing it with a desirable and gratefulFœcundity: I say, as convenientDungcomforts thesterile Field, so does properPhysickthebarrenWomb; It elevates the low and renovates the exhal’dSpirits; It vanquishes theImbecility, and corroborates theNerves; It reduces thelanguid Heat, and all theIntemperaturesof thegenital Parts, to their respective, due and naturalTemperaments; removing naturally allObstructions, and wonderfully curing all theCauseshindering or withstanding theProcreationofHumaneRace.
AND, in fine, because properDietis of great Service to alter theelementary Qualities, and to convert theBadinto aGood Habitor Body; suchWomenare to be carefully directed to such a JudiciousRegimenofDietand otherways, as is most efficacious and convenient for their Purpose, either ofHealthorGeneration. Now having so far prosecuted my Design, with respect to theBarren, as well as theFruitfulWoman; I, at present, take Leave ofBoth, and come, in the next place, to address my self to theWidow.