A Brief History of Epidemic and Pestilential Diseases; With the Principal Phenomena of the Physical World, Which Precede and Accompany Them, and Obs

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1799 edition. Excerpt: ... SECTION XVI. Of Contagion and InfeBion. N O point on the subject of diseases has been more agitated among medical writers, than that of the contagion of the plague, inguinal and bilious. Hippocrates has left no decisive opinion on this question, but those who maintain the plague not to be contagious, rely on this silence of the father of medicin, as an argument in their favor. Galen's opinion was clearly in favor of the contagiousness of certain diseases.." Quodque periculosa sit conversatio cum laborantibus pestilenti morboquum nimirum is non secus sit contagiosus, quam scabies aut lippitudo." p. 379. The author doubtless speaks here of other pestilent diseases, besides the inguinal plague, according to the practice of the ancients who gave the name of pestilence to other malignant distempers, when epidemic. His opinion however was that the plague originates in a putridity of the air, inhaled by the breath. "Lues ipsa, ab aeris putredine exorta, per inspirationes insiliens, haud unum aut alterum hominem, fed plures quoque civitates depascit, vastat, et populatur." p. 627. In another passage, he remarks, that pestilent diseases proceed from a state of the atmosphere. "Pestilenteg morbi a coeli statu proficiscantur." This author observed that pestilential epidemics must have some cause more powerful and extensive, than contagion, or infection. 'J Aristotle was clearly of opinion that the plague is contagious, and the reason he assigns why pestilence alone is communicated from person to person, is, that this is the only disease which is, t In another translation, the latter part of this passage stands that; "periculum eaim est, ne concipiatur, ut scabies et lippitudo." common to all men. This is not very clear or satisfactory; but he...