Paulus copies freely from Oribasius (Synops. vii, 27.) Upon comparing Oribasius with our author we have ventured to give an interpretation of the last sentence not justified by the text as it now stands, and at variance with the translation of Cornarius. Oribasius does not say that the flour of darnel will scarify the parts (how could he?) but that it will be a proper application after the parts are scarified. Galen (ad Glauc. and Comment. in Hippocr. App. vii. 50,) is the great ancient authority on mortification, and from him Oribasius, Aëtius, Paulus, and all the subsequent writers on this subject have copied. He lays it down as the great rule of treatment, to evacuate the blood which is impacted in the part and prevents the diastole of the arteries. To accomplish this end he directs free incisions to be made, after which the actual cautery is to be applied, at the line of separation between the sound and diseased parts. Celsus is a strong advocate for this practice, which has been revived lately and is much used in France. (See Encyclopédie Méthiodique, art. Gangrène, and Cross’s Sketches of the Medical Schools in Paris.) He states, however, that when the disease goes on spreading, amputation of the mortified limb is the “auxilium unicum.” At the commencement he approves of venesection, if the strength permit, and of a restricted diet; and, afterwards, astringent food and drink are to be given. He also recommends, for gangrene, applications containing arsenic, quicklime, chalcitis, and the like (v, 22.) The practice of the Arabians is little or nothing different from that of the Greeks. Avicenna at the commencement approves of Armenian bole and terra sigillata with vinegar; but if these have not the effect he directs us to empty the part by scarifications, leeches, or opening the veins which lead to it. He then recommends us to apply the flour of beans and the other remedies mentioned by the Greeks. When the disease proceeds, free incisions and the actual cautery must be had recourse to. Alsaharavius recommends us to bleed at first, if the strength permit; then to use powerful caustics and escharotics such as arsenic, quicklime, and sublimed quicksilver; or if these do not succeed, the actual cautery. He approves of early incisions, and of amputation, if the mortification spread. He describes a species of gangrene which seizes the hand and spreads upwards; and relates a case of it in which he refused to amputate for fear of hemorrhage. The same case is related by Albucasis, which certainly amounts to a strong presumptive proof that Alsaharavius was the same person as Albucasis. Rhases inculcates in the strongest terms that when an inflammation threatens to terminate in mortification, it is to be treated by scarifications, stimulant applications, and the cautery. The earlier modern surgeons followed the ancient practice of applying the cautery in cases of gangrene. SECT. XX.—ON HERPES.