Medicina Gymnastica: or, A treatise concerning the power of exercise, with respect to the animal oeconomy; and the great necessity of it in the cure of several distempersFuller, Francis
Science
Medicina Gymnastica: or, A treatise concerning the power of exercise, with respect to the animal oeconomy; and the great necessity of it in the cure of several distempers
Fuller, Francis
Exercise therapy -- Early works to 1800
These Citations plainly shew, that he thought those sugar’d Compositions
no apposite Remedy for Persons in such Circumstances, but that whatever
Remedy is made use of, it ought to be made to dilute as much as possible;
which does agree with the Reason, which I shall shew anon, for the
plentiful use of those mild Vegetables. I have made these Citations at
large, that what I have said may not be thought to be any Figment of
mine, but that I may appear, that I have Precedent as well as Reason on
my Side. But to return to the Root I was upon—Besides the mixing of Sugar
with Liquorice, to what purpose is the Aqueous part of its Juice exhal’d;
what harm would that soft _Lympha_ do to People, who have a continual
Thirst upon ’em? To what purpose must the Juice be inspissated, in order
to acquire an Acrimony by lying, not to speak of its Adulterations?
These are things which I could not forbear animadverting upon, because
they put us out of the right use of a Medicine, than which there is not
perhaps a greater _Analeptick_ to be found, if it were taken in the
same quantity as other Juices are taken. A Medicine that is a kind of a
Balsam _in Ficri_, and the most likely to be wrought up to Perfection in
the Blood, and of which the Fresh Juice ought undoubtedly be taken to a
Spoonful or two several times a day. But thus it is, we give a thing the
Name of Physick, and then stand aghast at it, and take it with Guard and
Circumspection, as if it were not possible that any thing should prove a
Medicine, and yet be taken in an Alimentary way.
There is another Plant, the _Cynogloss_, which seems not unlikely to be
of Use in this Case, because it seems to have something of a like Gleamy
Substance in it; it has been deliver’d down to us under some mistaken
Notions, as if it caused Sleep, which perhaps have been occasion’d by its
Cooling and Styptick Quality; but a late Author of unquestion’d Judgment
and Experience has us’d it pretty much in Decoctions with _Turnips_,
and says, it has no such quality, but recommends it to People in this
Distemper; to these may be added some of our Vulneraries, of which there
is great Variety of all Rates, of all degrees of heat; and among ’em one
of the Temperate sort, never enough to be valu’d, _viz._ the _Comfreys_,
and which in Consumptions, upon spitting of Blood, may be expected to do
great things; These Roots may be so manag’d by a good hand as to be eat
as Food. The Female Retailers of Physick would perhaps take it Ill, if
among these things I should forget their Preparations of _Turnips_ and
_Snails_, which may all have their time of being serviceable, either as
Food or for Variety, and what is more, all these things are Compatible
with a Milk Diet too; these things may be taken in small quantities at
different times from the taking of the Milk; tho’ if taken with it, they
could cause no Coagulation, and so a mild and Medicated Chyle may be
continually passing into the Blood to the great Advantage of the Sick.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account