WOMEN are subject to such regular Evacuations, that 'tis very hard to account for, and assign the Cause there­of. Some have been of Opi­nion, that Nature, by this Flux, propos'd to purge the Blood of the Sex from the Impurities it contracts, thereby to render them more fruitful. Others, by observing the Quali­ties of the Blood which Women in Health [...]ose in their Courses, have been persuaded, that 'tis so far from being an Excrement, or Mass of Filth, that, on the contrary, it is a most pure Blood, and of Consequence, very fit and proper to nourish the Foetus. So much for the Final Cause, or End, for which these Flowings seem ordain'd.

As for the Efficient Cause, the moving, or mechanick Principle, which, in the Fe­male Body produces these Effects, Men do not agree much better about this, than about the Final Cause, and are not much less divided in their Opinions, as to the Manner in which this Evacuation is made, than they are concerning the End, the Mo­tives and Design, which Nature may have in procuring it.

Some Authors, much devoted to Astro­culture, and accustomed to trample under Foot such immediate Causes as they have just at Hand, Objects that are too plain, fa­miliar, palpable, and natural for them to look upon but with Contempt, as Things common, ordinary, trivial; these Men erect the Moon for the efficient Cause, and make her absolute Mistress of the Courses in Que­stion. Others, somewhat more indulgent, and better disposed towards sublunary Cau­ses, have taken Care to make Cavities in the Womb, where they lodge in Ambuscade a certain Ferment, or Leaven, which they have order'd to sally regularly thence every Month, to attack the Blood in its Passage, put the Humours all in Combustion, disturb the Harmony of the Motions, the Exact­ness of the Functions, and, in fine, to play the little Devil, that, full of Malice, bent upon Mutiny, and breathing nought but wild Sedition, is never at Rest, nor lays down his Arms, till he has rais'd in the [Page 3]Blood a tumultuous Agitation, a disorderly Effervescence, a more than ordinary Fer­mentation, and laid under Fire and Gore all the Region of the Matrix, which he makes a Field of Battle, that is, for some Days, to be quite overflown with Blood, and as the Object of his Rage, to appear alto­gether dismal, and in Disorder. They who judge in the most simple, and most natural Way, and, of course, the nearest to Truth, are those who, after the famous Galen, ac­knowledge for Cause and Mover of this Flowing, the Plethora, or Abundance of Blood, among whom, we must confess, that Dr. Freind, an English Physician, has most distinguish'd himself, in a Treatise he has publish'd upon this Subject; which, tho' it be not exempt from Mistakes (as we shall observe in the Sequel of this) is, however, in the main, a valuable Piece, both for the singular Clearness that shines every where throughout the Performance (which makes its principal Merit) and for the great Num­ber of very excellent Reasonings, and es­sential Observations, that we see there dis­play'd in the fairest Light. If one will but vouchsafe to stoop a little, to seek for Cau­ses in the sublunary Empire, and not to be over-smitten with the Charms of the Moon, and dazzled with her mighty Power; in fine, if we'll be impartial Judges, we shall easily side with Galen, and without Hesita­tion, give to the System of the Plethora [Page 2] [...] [Page 3] [...] [Page 4](which has since been so illustrated by Dr. Freind) the Justice due to it, and the Preference it deserves.

Women, in their Courses, do but dis­charge their Superfluity; and, to be con­vinc'd of this, it is enough to observe, that after they have had these Flowings long enough, for Instance, the Space of Five Years, they are no ways disorder'd thereby, but, on the contrary, they continue always alike, hold the very same State, enjoy the same Vigour, and, if you weigh 'em, you'll find 'em no lighter; and yet, in this Time, they have lost a Hundred Pound of purest Blood; as Loss! that should not only weaken them, but consume almost their whole Substance, and reduce them to no­thing, were it any thing else but Superflui­ty. Now, if Women have this Redundan­cy of Blood, this is what we call the Plethora, and the Matter we are seeking. There is therefore this Plethora, or Redun­dancy of Blood in Women; that is prov'd: But how, and by what Means is this Ple­thora contracted in the Persons of the Sex? This is what we now must unfold in two or three Words; Women transpire less than Men; which is prov'd by four Reflections: 1st. Their Bodies are more weak and ten­der; the Parts thereof less robust; the Texture of the Fibres more fine and soft, and less proper for oscillatory Motions; and, in fine, less vigorous; witness their gentle [Page 5]and languishing Pulse; which shews us plain, that the peaceable Blood, moving easy in [...]ts Course, and slowly rowling through the drowsy Vessels, runs not rapidly to the Glands, neither towards the Skin, nor else­where; so that the Secretion of the Hu­mours cannot very much be promoted: Add to this, that the Juices, separated in the Strainers, are not in Haste to issue; because the secreting Pipes have not a systaltick Virtue strong enough to squeeze 'em thro', [...]nd drive 'em forth with Precipitation. [...]dly. The Vessels in Women are of a straiter Orifice. Now, as the Secretion of Humours is more or less abundant, according [...]s the Strainers are bigger or smaller, and the Blood more or less animated, it follows of Course, that, the Motion of the Blood [...]eing less strong at the same time that the Pipes or Organs of Secretion are more [...]treight in the Woman, the Secretion of the Humours must be perform'd more slowly. 3dly. Women are of a moist Temperament, as plainly appears by the Suppleness and Softness of their Skin; now, if the Fibres are so soak'd in Humidity, 'tis because they [...]ave not Vigour enough to rid themselves of [...]t; for that Body must be dry which expels with Force the Juices that come into it, [...]nd discharges a great Part of its Moisture [...]y Transpiration, which is the more abun­ [...]ant in Proportion as the Oscillation of [...]he Vessels is the more vigorous. 4thly. The [Page 6]Fair Sex is not so active, has not so much Exercise; they lead an idle, indolent, se­dentary Life, which does not much excite Transpiration: 'Tis true, we see some Wo­men robust, and ingag'd in hard Labour These, because they are as strong as Men and have a manly Complection and Cha­racter, are call'd Virago's; and such are ex­empted from the usual Courses of Women We have also seen Women-Singers an [...] Dancers exempted from these. But here may be objected what Dr. Andry advance [...] in his excellent Thesis upon Exercise, tha [...] Womens frequent Tattle may supply the Want of other Bodily Labour; and, per­haps, hence it comes, that Women, chat­tering much more than Men, have less Oc­casion for other Excercise. We must ow [...] that Transpiration is assisted by the Motion of the Voice in Conversation; yet these Moti­ons are not so considerable, as not to leave sufficient Matter for Womens Courses. Thu [...] is the Plethora bred in the Sex; whenc [...] Nature is obliged to prepare a Discharge for the superfluous Blood, whose Sally, fo [...] several Reasons, is thro' the Womb; fo [...] this is the Part where the Blood more plen­tifully issues, because of the great Number of Blood-Vessels, which, being wound and interwoven together, spread all over and through the Substance, in a Thousand Warps and Turnings, after a serpentine Manner; and that which the more conveys [Page 7]the Blood this Way, is the Trunk of the [...]escending Aorta, which is remarkably [...]rger in Women than in Men, to the End [...]hat, the Blood flowing more abundantly [...]ownwards, the Foetus may thereby be the [...]etter nourished, and the easier thrust out [...]y the Muscles in Time of Child-Birth. Now, as much Propension as the Blood has [...] descend towards the Matrix, so much [...]as it the greater Difficulty to return from [...]ence; for thither it tends, through the [...]rteries, which jirk it pretty fast along, [...]d the more readily, as the Blood of itself, [...]y its own Weight, concurs to the Motion: [...]ut it returns through the Veins, which have [...]ot the like Force to shove it, besides the [...]sisting Clog of its own Weight, which [...]ey have to conquer; so that 'tis always [...] a Disposition to recoil, suspended as it [...] in the Vessels which labour to make it [...]se; and which, to increase the Difficul­ [...], have not so much as a Place of Re­ [...]rve, to sustain it in its March; and don't [...]pply it with Suckers to facilitate its [...]inful Journey. For this also is a Point to [...] observ'd, that the Veins of the Womb [...]ave no Valves; so that the Blood has a [...]eal of Difficulty to gather in this Viscus; [...]d, of Consequence, has the like Difficulty [...] pass through the Conduits that there [...]rminate. Here it is that I am obliged to [...]ffer in Opinion with Dr. Freind, about [...]e Manner of explaining this Passage; he [Page 8]pretends, that, to make way for the Blood to escape, the Arteries must break in their Extremities, that is, towards these Parts where they take the Name of Capillaries; he undertakes to prove this Rupture by Principles deduced from the Mathematicks whence he draws Conclusions for his Purpose and, in the Manner he goes about it, h [...] seems to reason very securely, and to advance nothing but what seems infallible an [...] undoubted; and his Argument has all th [...] Air of a Demonstration, victorious and unexceptionable. A Geometrician, who was t [...] prove, that all the Angles of a Triangle ar [...] equal to two Right ones, and that th [...] Tangent touches the Circle but in on [...] Point, would not go more boldly about i [...] nor with more Confidence. At the sam [...] Time, the Doctor's Demonstration is fa [...] from Geometrical; and the Geometrica [...] Certainty will, perhaps, be rather found [...] my Side. He advances two Proposition establish'd by Mathematicians: 1st. Th [...] the Force of a Body increases, as it acquir [...] either more Bulk, or more Swiftness, [...] both together, 2dly. If the Force of th [...] Body is superior to that of the Obstac [...] which it encounters, this Obstacle will [...] surmounted. Whence he concludes, th [...] the Force of the Blood augments in th [...] Plethora, because there is together, [...] once, both more Bulk and more Velocity more Bulk, because the Plethora consists [Page 9]abundance of Blood; more Velocity, be­ [...]ause, says he, as there is abundance of [...]lood, provided it be not slow and viscous, [...]t emits the greater Quantity of Spirits, which flow to the Heart and the Arteries, [...]he more briskly to animate them, and [...]edouble their Contractions. Now, the Vessels are to be consider'd as Obstacles that [...]inder the. Blood from extravasing; and [...]uch they continue to be, whilst they are [...]uperior or equal in Force to the Blood [...]hey contain within them; but, when they [...]ome to be over-power'd, and the Strength [...]f the Blood is increas'd to that Degree, [...]s to conquer their Resistance, they straight [...]ield, are readily broken, and open a free [...]assage through the Breaches of their [...]unicks. Now, the Vessels the easiest and [...]ttest to yield, are those of the Womb; [...]hich, being the most attack'd, are least [...]ble to make Resistance; and to compre­ [...]end perfectly well how they give way, one [...]eeds only to take Notice, that the Ple­ [...]hora, at the same Time it augments the [...]orce of the Blood, weakens the Resistance [...]f the Vessels; for, says Dr. Freind, in con­ [...]equence of the big Volume of Blood that [...]eighs upon the Veins and Arteries, not [...]nly on their Sides, but perpendicular, [...]ecause of the winding Disposition of the [...]essels, which, by their Turnings and Counter-turnings, in their Folds and Re­ [...]olds, expose their Angles and Corners to [Page 10]the direct and perpendicular Impulse of the Fluid: By Means, I say, of this big Volume of Blood, the Vessels are stretch'd and dilated, and thereby the Fibres that compose these Vessels leave an Opening be­twixt 'em; so that their Texture being less close and firm, and more press'd upon, they are more dispos'd to separate, and yield to the Attack of the Blood, if it just so hap­pens, that when they are at their weakest, the Blood has more Force than ordinary, as it truly has; since the Plethora gives it more Strength, as we have prov'd, both by Reason of the Blood's greater Bulk and greater Velocity: The Blood therefore will take the Advantage of the Vessels disad­vantageous Situation, which, being violent­ly stretch'd, widen'd, and press'd, lose a [...] great deal of their Resistance, and can offer but a weak Bar against the impetuous Force and Impulse of the Blood. Wherefore, the Barrier being surmounted, because the Fi­bres of the Vessels being widen'd, and but weakly helping each other, nor able to make any great Struggle against thei [...] Disunion, there is but little to hinder the Fluid from breaking its Prison, from tearing their Canals, and extravasing; the more easily, as these winding Canals, that make a Thousand Circumvolutions, are more ex­pos'd to the Strokes of the Blood, being besides destitute of the Muscles and the Fat to uphold, maintain and defend 'em against the [Page 11]Rupture: They must therefore yield to the Impulse of the Blood, and be broken to give it way to escape.

This is the Explication of Dr. Freind, and one can't help agreeing with him in this Part of it, that the Plethora contributes much to the Monthly Courses; at the same Time we must also own, that notwithstand­ing all these Advantages which we have just now attributed to the Blood, yet it ought to be contain'd in a just Measure, and restrain'd to certain Bounds. We must con­fess with Etmuller and Riverius, that an excessive Plethora is more likely to suppress, than to excite the Courses; nay, we may further assert, that this is the most usual, and almost the general Cause of these Sup­pressions that afflict the Sex. The two fa­mous Physicians, we have just now quoted, account for these Suppressions by the ex­cessive Redundance of Blood, which they make the Cause thereof, much in the same Manner as we impute the Stoppage of Urine to the too great Quantity of Liquor gather­ed in the Bladder; which Anology is judi­cious enough; 'tis true, it is not exact, it runs not upon all Four; because (according to the Remark of Dr. Freind, who refutes it) the Bladder is much better furnish'd than the Blood-Vessels are, being fortified with a Tunick firm and fleshy, too strong to be torn and broken by the Affluence of Urine, which coming there to lodge but in [Page 12]a slow, indolent Manner, without any Im­petuosity, is not able to make any great Havock there; all that it does in this Case, is so to stretch the Fibres of the Bladder, that they cannot come to themselves again, and have not Freedom enough to contract in order to expel the Urine. That which also contributes a great deal to the Stop­page is, that the Sphincter of the Bladder, to wit, the Muscle that stops the Passage thereof, has, in this Case, all the Advan­tage, and remains Master of the Field of Battle, because its Antagonist, namely, the Muscular Tunick, which serves to drive out the Urine, being stretch'd, dilated, constrain'd and hinder'd, has not Strength enough to counterbalance the Sphincter, much less to over-power it. In this respect, I shall believe the Parallel betwixt the two Stoppages to be imperfect; but 'tis just at least in this, that it compares a Blood, which issues not from the Vessels, because, oppressing them by its Weight, it leaves them not Play enough to expel it; I say, as it compares this Blood to the Urine that remains in the Bladder, because being there too abundant, it so dilates the Bladder, that it cannot contract to drive it out. On both Sides we see a super-abundant Fluid; a Solid groaning under the Oppressi­on of this Super-abundance; and on both Sides is observ'd a Canal or Reservior, choak'd with its Liquor, which it is forc'd [Page 13]to retain, because it is depriv'd of the Means to discharge it; inasmuch as this [...]iquor, by its excessive Quantity, triumphs [...]ver the Spring of the moving Fibres, [...]hich, by being more stretch'd, lose all [...]eir Power and Play. Therefore our [...]o Authors Comparison is, in this Sense, [...]ery just; and the Reasons we shall alledge [...] the Sequel will help to set off the Ad­ [...]ntage of it, and render its Validity the [...]ore sensible.

Dr. Freind pretends, that the Plethora [...]n never, of itself, cause such a Suppres­ [...]on, and does never cause it, unless when [...]in'd with a Viscosity and Slowness of the [...]ood; for, says he, the Particles of the [...]ood being incorporated, and close link'd [...]gether, form such a gross Body as can by [...] means be insinuated into the Capillaries, [...]here, of Course, it forms an Obstruction: [...]ow, these Vessels being stopt, thro' which [...]e Blood us'd to pass, it remains shut up in [...]e bigger Vessels, which are too strong to [...]ve it Vent through the Rupture of their [...]unicks.

At the same time, according to this Au­ [...]or's Reasons, one might demonstrate, that [...]ese Vessels, big and strong as they are, [...]ght to crack at last, and be broken. For, [...] the big Vessels are more robust than the [...]all, they are also attack'd by a greater [...]antity of Blood. In the natural State, [...]ey are counter-balanced, and in an Equi­librium [Page 14]with the Fluid; but, in the present Case, the Fluid must get the better, be­cause it augments in Strength, by reason o [...] its Bulk being swoln and re-inforced from the Reflux of the Juices that spring out o [...] the Capillaries; whilst the Vessels extremel [...] surcharged, lose their Power, and canno [...] hinder the Interstices of the extended an [...] suffering Fibres from being forc'd by the Affluence of the Blood that seeks an Out-le [...] and, by its exorbitant Mass, has Powe [...] enough to make itself one thro' the Dyke [...] whose Resistance is diminished in proportio [...] as the Strength of the Blood is encrease [...] This is what might be maintain'd on o [...] Author's System, and by his own Proof Among Physicians, there are some who explain the monthly Courses by the Ruptu [...] of the Vessels; others again take a different Road; but it seems as if People we [...] only dreaming over this Point, and shew [...] an Indifference that does not appear to [...] well grounded: Yet, as we have here est [...] blish'd the Sentiment of Dr. Freind, whic [...] is the most in vogue, it may not be ami [...] to say something of another Opinion, whic [...] tho' less common, does not fail, neverth [...] less, strongly to engage us in its Favou [...] The Blood of Women being, for the Re [...] sons we have declar'd, liable to gather [...] the Vessels, it should, of Course, happe [...] that the Blood tending particularly to th [...] lower Parts, and the Veins having no Valve [Page 15] [...]he Arteries may bring more Blood than can [...]e return'd by the Veins. Wherefore, the [...]eins, being fill'd to the Top at a certain [...]me, cannot receive the Blood that is stili [...]ought afresh to them from the Arteries: [...]his Blood being once shut out from the [...]eins, is still less liable to return from hence it came, whither then will it go? [...]hat will become of it? Thither, no doubt, [...]here it finds least Resistance, and that is, [...] the Side of the Lymphaticks; which be­ [...]g only made to admit the Lympha, and [...]nvey it to the Matrix, in order to moi­ [...]en and lubricate this Viscus, are oblig'd [...] yield to the Torrent, to an extraordina­ [...] Extension of their Texture, and suffer [...]olence in their Diameter, in order to re­ [...]ive this superfluous Blood, push'd out from [...]e Arteries, and rejected by the Veins. [...]ow, as the Lymphaticks must terminate [...] some Issue, the Canals, or excretory [...]ucts, destin'd to the Discharge of the [...]ympha, serve here to give an Out-let to [...]e Blood, and discharge it.

This mechanical Account, is it not more [...]sy, more simple, more plain and satisfactory? [...]d does it not more Honour to Nature, than [...]e System of the Rupture of the Vessels? [...] is a constant Maxim with Philosophers, [...]at Nature does every thing by Ways the [...]ost simple, and least expensive. Now, I [...]k, on which of these two Sides it costs [...]e most? In the first Place, does it not [Page 16]impair the Vessels much more, by making them so often to suffer a Solution of their Continuity? Is not this Hurt done to the Substance in its solid Parts too dear a Pur­chase? and the frequent tearing of the vas­cular Tunicks, which must every Month be broken, is not this paying too great a Price for the Exit of this Portion of superfluou [...] troublesome Blood? But by the other Way how will it cost so dear? Only a little En­largement of the Bounds of the lymphatic [...] Arteries, a little Straining of their Diame­ter, which is far from making such Havoc [...] as this Rupture does, yet, at once, does al [...] the Business. But let us carry this Point [...] little further. Dr. Freind pretends to de­monstrate how the Plethora procures th [...] Flux. He has Recourse to the Force [...] the Blood, which over-powers the For [...] of the Vessels; and, to establish in th [...] Blood this Superiority, he says, that the Blood encreases in its Mass and Velocity while the Resistance of the Vessels dimi­nishes; because their Fibres being stretch and widen'd, are thereby depriv'd of the [...] strict Union and Connection, in which con­sists their Force. The Author admits i [...] the Blood a considerable Velocity, and ad­vances, at the same Time, that the Vesse [...] are stretch'd and restrain'd as if the Swift­ness of the Blood did not proceed, from its being so briskly jerk'd, beaten and push forward, by the powerful Oscillation of th [...] [Page 17]Vessels, which being stretch'd and restrain'd, [...]re not able to push the Fluid with so much [...]igour; whence it necessarily follows, that [...]e Fluid must lose of its Velocity, instead [...]f gaining more, as the Author pretends. Dr. Freind would have avoided this Per­ [...]exity, had he taken Care to observe the [...]oving Force of the Blood, and had ex­lain'd himself a little more particularly up­ [...]n it. Rejecting, as he does, the Hypothe­ [...]s of Fermentation, it is to be presum'd he [...]bscribes to the Oscillation of the Solids, [...] in Truth he seems to hint in several Parts [...]f his Book. Now, this System makes the [...]gitation, or progressive Motion of the Flu­ [...]d, to depend upon the systaltick Virtue of he Solid, whose Spring being more or less [...]nimated, makes the Blood and all the Hu­nours move with more or less Precipitation. This is a Principle which we think cannot [...]e denied by Dr. Freind; and yet this Prin­ [...]iple makes against himself, because thence [...] follows, that in Proportion as the Vessels [...]ose of their Ease and Liberty, the Blood, [...]ar from taking the Advantage of their Weakness, to attack and break them, as it does in the Sense of this Author, does it [...]elf abate of its Impulse, and consequently of its Force, and so shares in the Feebleness of the Vessels, instead of triumphing over [...]t. This carries us yet farther.

This Swiftness of the Fluid being a pure Effect of the strong Vibration of the Solid, [Page 18]which at once both contains and chases it, is not a Portion of the Force of the Blood, but of the Force of the Vessels, which, without doubt, are strong enough to defend themselves against the Irruption and Insult of a Humour that has no other Arms than what they vouchsafe to lend it, and which would remain dormant, lazy, languishing, if the Vessels were not so kind as to put it in Motion. Here now, pray what has the Blood to boast of, poor and beggarly in it self! What has it, which it hath not re­ceiv'd? And if it has receiv'd all it hath, wherewith can it prevail? How can it have the Infolence to employ its Strength against those that gave it, and turn its Arms to the Disadvantage of those that arm'd it? Hence we may plainly see, that the Blood having no Assistance but what it borrows, cannot thence take any Advantage against the Ves­sels; so that there only remains its own Mass whence it can draw any Succour. But here visibly falls our Author's Demonstrati­on; for the Force of the Stroke, or of the Percussion, being infinitely greater than any Pressure, as he himself says after Borelli, Vis actûs omni pressione infinitò major est; and the Percussion being the Effect of the Velocity, which 'tis confess'd does not pro­ceed from the Blood's own Force, it conse­quently follows, that the Blood, to break the Vessels, wants just that which is the most proper and conducive to this Effect; so [Page 19]that the Force of the Percussion failing, the [...]lood has no more Force, than from the [...]ressure of its own Mass; and this, 'tis al­ [...]ow'd, is not so powerful by far as the Per­ [...]ussion. Whence, after all, one may judge, [...]at Borelli's Proposition is false in one [...]ense, and in the present Case may be de­ [...]ed; for the Blood swiftly mov'd attacks [...]e Vessels, and yet it is prov'd, that the [...]orce of the Attack is less than that of the [...]essure; because the Pressure comes from [...]e Mass, and the Mass is properly that [...]hich belongs to the Fluid: It is its own [...]oper Force, and it can do more with [...]e Addition of one Degree of Mass, than [...]ith that of twenty extraordinary Degrees [...]f Swiftness; the Reason whereof is evi­ent. 'Tis, for that by its additional De­ [...]ree of Mass, it weakens the Vessel, by [...]idening its Fibres, and rendering them less [...]le to withstand their Dis-union, which it ever can do by its Swiftness, suppose it aug­ [...]ented to what Degree you please. There­ [...]re, the Force of the Pressure, unaccompa­ [...]y'd with that of the Percussion, is the on­ [...] Choice they have, who, after Dr. Friend, [...]plain the Monthly Courses by the Rupture [...]f the Vessels; for, this being pre-suppos'd, [...]e Blood can never be in too great a Mass, [...]d the Excess of the Plethora can never [...]o any thing but Good: The Blood will [...]ave the more Force, as it is the more [...]undant and less hurried; for as soon as it [Page 20]fails of its Swiftness, that will be a Sig [...] that the Vessels have not Spring enough to push it vigorously; and, in this Case, the more Bulk it requires, the more it restrain [...] them, the more it widens their Fibres, and puts them out of Condition to sustain it [...] Weight, to ply to its Volume, and resist it Power; can any thing be more advan­tageous to him than this Situation? In this System let us examine how we may ex­plain the Monthly Suppressions, and wha [...] way we must proceed to remedy the same We are going to observe, that it is not in­different in Practice to make Choice eithe [...] of the Rupture of the Vessels, or of the In­ [...]trusion of the Blood in to the Lymphaticks as one pleases; for these two Systems by no means agree; they offer for the Cur [...] quite different Views and contrary Indicati­ons: It is then very important, heedfully to distinguish them; to chuse one of them and to take great Care which of the two we chuse, and to which of the two we ad­here. This is not to be done with Indiffe­rence, as but too often happens, but very carefully, with the utmost Exactness, and after having maturely thought upon it When the Blood gathers, says the Cap. 10. Author the Pulse then grows more strong, mor [...] lively, more quick, till the Plethora i [...] rais'd to the highest Degree; for there are certain Limits of Plenitude, beyond which [Page 21]the Quantity of Blood cannot augment, without affecting and altering its Quality; Est enim certus quidam plenitudinis gradus, ultra quem, illaesâ qualitate sanguinis, [...]ugeri nequeat quantitas; for the Plethora cannot be long a gathering, without lackening the Pace of the Blood; Plethora enim diú nequit increscere, quin comitem sibi adsciscat sanguinis lentorem: Since, continues he, towards the Approach of the Flux, the Vessels are stretch'd and dilated to the Degree that I have mentioned; be­cause the Quantity, and consequently the Force of the Blood is increas'd almost a Tenth. If the Courses fail twice successive­ry, the Mass of the Blood will be a Fifth Part augmented, unless the Flux be equall'd by some other Evacuations. Therefore, the Pressures which the circulating Fluid makes upon the Sides of the Vessels must augment in Proportion; which said Pressure the Vessels cannot sustain, without being strange­ly put to it, labouring already under the the Load of the Blood that escap'd in the first Month; Adeoque eadem rations in­crescit ea, quâ latera vasorum a fluido cir­culante urgentur, Pressio; quam a vasis citra virium noxam sustineri posse nemo credet, qui quam graviter ea sub primae periodi incursum laborent meminerit: The Slowness of the Blood may be supposed from its great Abundance, which swells so much, that the Vessels, to what Degree so­ever [Page 22]they yield and stretch themselves can­not, without breaking, give it a Space sufficiently vast; so that the Mass of the Fluid is restrain'd and imprison'd in a Vessel, whose Capacity it far surpasses: Lentor al [...] ipsâ copiâ oriri potest, quae it a supra modum intra vasa turgescit, ut ea, utcumque di­stenta, satis amplum sanguini circuland [...] spatium praebere nequeant, nisi penitù [...] dissiliant fibrae, ita tit cum uberior sit, quam pro vasorum capacitate fluidi moles, majo­rem patiatur retinentiam sanguis redun­dans: Who would think that these Rea­sons, which seem to tend to explain the Flux, should end, nevertheless, in proving the Suppression? That to shew how the Menses are stopt, one should make use o [...] all the Conditions requisite to make then flow? These Conditions are on one Side the great Stretching of the Fibres in the Vessels, which hinders them from resisting their Division, and puts them in the nearest Disposition to be dis-united; and on the other Side, the exorbitant Volume of the Blood as compact, as massive, as close in its Texture, as the vascular Fibres are loosened, and which bears hard upon the Sides of the Vessels that contain it; is it not visible, that all the Advantage is here on the Side of the Blood? The Solid is dilated; the Fluid is close knit; behold! here is the Ex­tension and the Pressure that is demanded: As for the Swiftness or Percussion; we have [Page 23]poved, there is no Occasion for it: The [...]luid then has here all the Force it can [...]ave; since it has an enormous Reinforce­ [...]ent of Mass, in which, as we have ob­ [...]rv'd, consists all its Power; and the Solid as weak as it can be; since 'tis own'd by [...]e Author himself, that it cannot, with­it Pain, Citra virium noxam, sustain the [...] eight of the Fluid; and that the Vessels, [...] wever dilated, cannot, without bursting, [...]e a free Space to the Blood: Nisi peni­ [...] dissiliant fibrae: Then what can hinder is Bursting? Why don't we immediate­ [...] see the Fibres crack, they who lose as [...]ch of their Resistance, as the Blood ac­ [...]ires of Strength? All morbifick Suppres­ [...]n, says Cap. 10. Dr. Freind, depends either on [...]e Fault of the Vessels, or on the Fault of [...]e Blood; the Fault of the Vessels consists [...] their Restraint; that of the Blood, in its [...]wness; 'tis agreed, that the Vessels are [...] here in a State of Constriction, but, on [...]e contrary, that they are in great Disten­ [...]n: So here is no Fault of theirs, neither the Blood to blame, if it be slow, for its [...]wness only proceeds from its great Quan­ [...]y, in which all its Strength consists; so at this Slowness, far from impeding, ra­ [...]er provokes the Flux; for, if the Blood [...]s less slow, the Vessels would be less re­ [...]ain'd, more left, as it were, to themselves, [...]d enjoying the Advantage of their Ease [Page 24]and Liberty, as the Blood would have that of its Velocity; they would, by Conse­quence, be less dispos'd to be broken. So, the excessive Plethora, and the extreme Slowness, far from causing Suppressions, cannot, on the System of the Rapture o [...] the Vessels, but rather procure, and fa­vour in the Sex this particular Evacuation Dr. Freind calls it a Vice in the Vessels, to be in a Condition to hinder themselves from being broken; this is indeed a Vice in hi [...] System, and in respect of his Opinion, b [...] absolutely, and in the main, it is none. O [...] the contrary, it is a Frailty, a Dishonour a Defect in them, so to break: For the Vessels to be of a Structure sufficiently foli [...] sufficiently furnish'd and fortify'd, seate sufficiently to Advantage, strong enough t [...] resist the Dis-union of their Fibres, to with stand their breaking, and stoutly to mai [...] ­tain themselves found and whole, this is [...] a Defect, 'tis a Perfection. On the conta­ry, Dr. Freind calls Slowness a Vice in th [...] Blood, which however is none, on his Sy­stem, and according to his Hypothesis, the in the main, and in Fact, it is one; for the Slowness of the Blood, tho' it be absolut [...] ­ly in itself an ill Quality, is a good one the present Case, it being that which give Power to the Blood, and makes it strong It follows from thence, that the Blood ca­never be too slow, nor too abundant, procure the Courses; then how are the [Page 25]stopt? how account we for their Suppressi­ [...]n? Etmuller, Riverius, Dr. Freind him­ [...]elf, agree, that an excessive Plethora may [...]ause this Suppression; but how is this to [...]e explain'd in the Doctrine of our Author? [...] it not evident, that the more enormous [...]e Quantity of the Blood is, the Distenti­ [...]n of the Vessels is made the more consider­ [...]le, and the readier they are to break? [...]n the Hypothesis of the Blood's Intrusion [...]to to the Lymphaticks, nothing is more easy [...] explain than this Suppression; the Blood- [...]essels being stuffed, distended, dilated, and [...]l groaning under the oppressive Weight [...]f their Fluid, have not Play and Liberty [...]nough to expel it into the Lymphaticks, [...]nd to chase it thro' the Pipes that discharge [...]e Excrement, so as the Fluid cannot be re­ [...]oved, chased, drove on, because the prodi­ [...]ious Mass restrains the Solid, stops and weak­ [...]ns its systaltick Virtue; so that it remains [...]agnant in the sanguine Capillaries, for want [...]f a Force strong enough to push it into [...]he Lymphaticks, and, not being able to [...]ake its Way through the excretory Chan­ [...]els, it remains engag'd in the Vessels, which [...]ith its Bulk it oppresses, and makes the [...]ex feel the over-whelming Weight that [...]ttends the Suppression of their Courses.

Every morbifick Suppression, says our [...] Author, which depends upon the Fault [...]f the Vessels, or of the Blood, offers two [Page 26]Indications; the one to open the Canals that are obstructed and stopp'd; the other to correct and reduce the Blood: The Fault of the Canals, continues he, is either to grow hard and stiff by a natural Dryness, or to be contracted by a sudden Coldness, in such wise, that they oppose the Impulse o [...] the Blood, and resist their being broken. To remove this Impediment, according to the Opinion of this Illustrious Physician, we must relaxe the Fibres; but there is an Equi­vocation in this Relaxe, which 'tis wort [...] while to clear up; we usually understan [...] by Laxity or Relaxation, a State opposite to Tension, a State where the Fibres are supple and not stretch'd, where they a [...] freely, and without Restraint; because being sufficiently moisten'd, they are flexibl [...] and pliant; whereas Dr. Freind seems t [...] understand by Laxity, the State of the F [...] ­bres widen'd, pull'd, and stretch'd into [...] strong Distention: So, according to thi [...] Idea, the more the Canals are swell'd wit [...] the Abundance of the Liquid, the more th [...] Fibres will be widened one from another and the more they will be relaxed; whenc [...] it follows, that, to effect the Relaxation taken in this Sense, and on the present Hy­pothesis to make the Menses flow, the sure [...] Means is to draw into the Pipes as muc [...] as one can, wherewith to swell, obstruc [...] stuff and clog them. 'Tis visible, that a [...] this strangely dilating the Vessels, so w [...] ­dens [Page 27]their Fibres, that they scarce touch [...]ne another; and this procures the Laxity [...]hat Dr. Freind demands. The Laxity [...]hat I first mention'd, taken in the natural [...]nd ordinary Meaning of the Word, is quite [...]ifferent from this; and, on the System of Dr. Freind, as much contrary to the Month­ [...]y Courses, as the other is favourable to [...]hem; the one is procured by the Supple­ [...]ess and Flexibility, the other by the Force, [...]he Torture, the Pulling and Stretching of [...]he Fibres: Wherefore, if it be proper, in [...]rder to make the Courses flow, that the Fibres should be pull'd, stretch'd, widen'd, [...]nd forc'd, nothing can be more adverse and opposite to this Flowing, than this State is, where the Fibres are supple, flexible, pli­ [...]ant, at their Ease, their own Masters, un­restrain'd, no way suffering, no way mo­lested. This pre-suppos'd, we are going to see which of these two Relaxations Dr. Friend proposes to us as the Subject of our Consideration; and we shall observe, upon this Occasion, that he does not too well, here, agree with himself; for, as these two Relaxations are incompatible, to admit the one, is excluding the other; tho' Dr. Freind seems as if he would chime in with both. For this End, saith he, name­ly, to conquer the Resistance of the Vessels, and to procure the Relaxation of the Fi­bres, we must apply exterior Remedies moderately warm, such as Fumigations, [Page 28]Baths, and Fomentations, prepar'd with emollient and penetrating Herbs: Ad hunc finem tepidé adhibentur externa Remedia, qualia sunt Suffitus, Balnea, Fomenta, ex­herbis emollientibus, & penetrantibus con­flata. This is proper to procure that Sort of Relaxation which consists in the Supple­ness and Flexibility of the Fibres, but not the other, which consists in the stretching, widening, and constraining them, to render them less able to resist the Impulse of the Fluid: Contractu autem vasorum inhibito, vasorum later a laxiùs explicantur, & fluido impingenti debilius resistunt. If one has a Mind to break the Vessels, methinks 'tis going the wrong Way about it, to make them supple, pliant, tractable, yielding; for the more flexible and yielding they are, the less they are dispos'd to be broken; the more supple, sure the lefs frangible; a dry Cord will sooner break than a moist one; and if Dr. Freind will be pleased to take a little Notice of this, he will observe, that a dry and hard Vessel is more frail and easy to be broke than a pliant, soften'd, moisten'd one; what View then can this able Physici­an have? and what Indication leads him to relaxe the Vessels, by Emollients, such as Baths, Fumigations, Fomentations? I here appeal to the Judgment of this excellent Author himself, so well vers'd as he is in Mechanicks, perhaps I am dazzled with a false Light myself; yet, till I am enlight­ned, [Page 29]I shall always imagine, that the Blood in its Motion will sooner break Vessels hard and dry, which make Head against it, are directly expos'd to the full Strength of its Impulse, to the Force of its Collisions, more within the Reach of its Sallies, more the Mark of its Impetuosity, and of its fiercest [...]nd briskest Attacks, than Vessels softened, which, by their yielding Suppleness, dex­ [...]erously avoid all the Thrusts the Blood can [...]ake against them; as we see the pliant [...]eeds elude the Attack of the most out­ [...]ageous Tempests, whilst Oaks that stand [...]ll butt against them, and stiffly sustain the Assault, lye rooted up, and prostrate upon the Ground, the illustrious Victims, and the magnificent Trophies of the furious Tempest's Power. The Cold-too that [...]iffens the Fibres seems also to render them [...]he more frail, and liable to break. This [...]eing so, who does not see that Desiccatives [...]ere are much more proper than Emollients? [...]ho does not here see, that instead of soften­ [...]g the Vessels that are too dry and hard, [...]d slackening the Fibres that are too stiff, [...]e must maintain them in their Dryness and [...]iffness, and far from diminishing any thing [...] these, we must augment them as much [...] we can; because we shall infallibly ren­ [...]r the Vessels and Fibres more frail, in [...]oportion as we shall render them more [...]y and stiff; the more Violence we do [...]em, the more Stress and Torture we put [Page 30]them to. Emollients, in this Case, seem quite contrary to our Purpose, because they seem more proper to make the Conduits play, by setting them at their Ease, than to make them yield to such a Rupture as our illustrious Author desires. Hippocra­tes he observes, in a Suppression of the Courses, advises to begin with a Purga­tion by Fomentations; suppressis mensibus fomenta purgationi esse praemittenda mone [...] Hippocrates: But if the Purgation operate in the same Manner as they say the Fluxe [...] do, by the Rupture of the Vessels, the Us [...] of Fomentations, far from being serviceabl [...] here, would be hurtful; but as it is confess' [...] that the Purge don't work in this Manne [...] but by quite different Ways; to say tha [...] the Fomentation is useful here, is at th [...] same time to say, that it is not prop [...] for the Fluxes, which differ so much fro [...] the Purgation: We foment before Purgation to make the excretory Ducts more yielding and more disposed to emit their Juices, th [...] they may the better hearken to the Instig [...] ­tion of a Purgative, and be the more e [...] ­caciously persuaded to do what we wou [...] have them: This is our Drift in Foment [...] ­tions, and this does not drive at breaking tearing and disjoining the Fibres, but tr [...] to sooth, temper, refresh and supple the [...] to give the Juices we design to discharge, free, easy, natural Passage thro' the Issue the Pipes destin'd for that Purpose. So th [...] [Page 31] [...]o foment in the Suppression of the Terms, [...]ll the same as in Purgation, is to go against [...]he Indication that prescribes the Rupture [...]f the Vessels; 'tis to have opposite Views, [...]nd take opposite Courses to the System in Question. Dr. Freind observes, that the Vessels are more easy to open in Summer, [...]han Winter; yet they are more stiff, more [...]retch'd, and, of Consequence more frail, [...] Winter; so that their Opening seems to [...]epend less upon the Rupture that the Win­ [...]er favours most, than upon the Disoppila­ [...]on of the Capillaries, which the Summer's [...]eat promotes most, by means of which the [...]lood flows more freely, its Velocity is re­ [...]forced, its Impetuosity is augmented, and [...]e Rapidity it contracts in this charming [...]eason, prepares it the better to pass thro' [...]e Lymphaticks, and to escape thro' the [...]xcretories. Here behold the Flux re-esta­sh'd; let us now come to the Way of re­ [...]oving the second Cause of Suppression, [...]knowledged by Dr. Friend, which de­ [...]ends upon the Fault of the Blood, and to [...]hich he makes an insensible Transition. [...]ut, says he, if the Vessels continue too [...]ng hard, the Plethora, which augments very Day, corrupts, and at last perverts the Blood, whence we have before drawn [...]nother Cause of Suppressions, which is [...]ore frequent: Quod si diutiùs perstiterit [...]asorum durities, Plethora indies accres­ [...]ns sanguini tandem vitium inducit; unde [Page 32]altera, eaque multò frequentior suppresso­rum mensium causa in prioribus deducta est. Here we see, beyond Doubt, the ex­cessive Plethora, which we have shewn was so proper to break the Vessels, acknowledg'd however as the principal Cause of the Sup­pression. This seems to me very hard to clear up. Pray don't forget this last cited Passage, for we shall want you to remem­ber it in the Sequel.

We would re-settle the Courses; 'tis a thick, abundant, viscous Blood that stop them; we must change its Quality. Now the Source of this Quality is its Excess o [...] Quantity; it is this we must fall foul of the Point is to correct the Slowness: Bu [...] the Slowness, 'tis own'd, produces the ex­cessive Plethora; our Affair is then with this Plethora; 'tis this we must first attac [...] Upon this Principle, we immediately con­ceive Bleeding to be of Use. Bellini, a [...] we are told by Dr. Freind, proves, tha [...] Bleeding increases the Motion of the Blood here we should distinguish: Bleeding raise the Fever, and cures it; quickens th [...] Blood, and makes it run slower: Those wh [...] have a right and just Notion of the anima [...] Mechanism perceive the Reason of the [...] seeming Contrarieties; the Vessels bein [...] stuff'd excessively, have not Freedom enou [...] to exert their Oscillations, to kindle the feverish Motions, and to conquer the gre [...] Bulk of stagnant Humours, by hot Strok [...] [Page 33]of Systole and redoubled Vibration, we let Blood, the Resistance is diminished, the Solids are let loose, the Fluids are dis­engaged, the Blood is set a running; this [...]s the Case of an Apoplexy, to which [...]t is wholesome that a Fever should suc­ceed; the Solids, after having been so long [...]ppress'd, are, at last, at their Ease, set [...]t large, and in full Power, and make [...]he agglomerated Fluids that had conspir'd [...]gainst them feel the Force of their Blows, [...]he Effect of their Resentment, and the Experience of their Revenge. The Blood, [...]fter first Bleeding, tho' still abundant enough [...]o vex, irritate, and stretch 'em, yet is no more able to over-power and conquer 'em. Mean while, the Bleeding, having set the Blood in Motion, will in a little time abate [...]ts Sallies, and restrain its Frolicks. The Resistance of the Fluids, that maintains the Solids in their unbridled Oscillations, in proportion as it diminishes, will calm and reduce them to their natural Vibrations; the Fury of the Vessels will abate in pro­portion as the Mass of the Blood diminish­es, because, by how much the Bulk of the Blood is lessened, by so much less Oppositi­on will the Vessels feel; the less, of course, will they be excited to furious Motions, and the more disposed to recover their usu­al Course, their ordinary Oscillations, their natural Motions: Then, as the Blood con­tracts its Slowness from its excessive Abun­dance, [Page 34]the Bleeding diminishing this, shews us how much it contributes to correct the Slowness of the Blood. This being pre-sup­posed, one would think the Doctor should favour this Remedy, and one would not imagine, how, in consequence of his Prin­ciples, he could advance, that in the Begin­ning of a Disease, the Blood being too slow, it should not be proper to let Blood, unless there be Reason to hope, that thereby the Viscidity of the Blood may be corrected; and even tho' there should be an Appearance of this, yet ought not Bleeding to be cho­sen, if any other Method can be thought of, to restore the Blood to its Velocity, without lessening its Volume. But what is strangely surprizing is, to see such a Man as Dr. Friend, in whom sound Judgment takes Place so much of Prejudice, giving into vul­gar Notions and Fancies without Foundation▪ He has Regard to the Weakness of the Per­sons who suffer in these Stoppages, which does not proceed from Inanition, but Over-Repletion; not from a Scarcity, but from a Stock of Forces stow'd in too narrow Com­pass, which only want to be set at large, as they are by Bleeding; a Weakness how­ever, from which a Pretence is drawn, to save that Blood, which wants to be dimi­nished, in order to exert its hidden Force, that is quite stifled by its own Redundancy; a Weakness whence a Counter-Indication is drawn against Bleeding, to cure it, to make [Page 35]its unactive, dissembling Force exert and de­clare itself. Women, they usually say, are so weak in these Suppressions, that they cannot bear Bleeding, which causes such a prompt and brisk Revolution in the Hu­mours: Is not this Language altogether vulgar? 'Tis what the common Sort of Peo­ple usually say thro' Prepossession, rather than Reflection. Dr. Friend also says, Neque [...]oc sané praetermitti debet, quod in iis qui­ [...]us supperssi sunt menses, it a ferè vires im­ [...]ninutae sint, ut sanguinis missionem, à quâ [...]deo expedita inducitur humorum mutatio, [...]ninùs sustinere queant. At this rate, Ple­thoricks should not be let Blood; for the Plethora takes away their Strength; and we see that the more Blood they have, the weaker they are. But this Notion was too unworthy of Dr. Freind, for him to fix for any time upon it; so 'tis not long before he goes off from it; Bleeding happens to fall [...]nto Disgrace; but a few Lines lower, it again recovers its Credit, and in the very same Case where it underwent the Disgrace. Sometimes, however, says our Author, the Blood gives certain Symptoms of its State and Constitution, which, carefully consi­der'd, oblige to open a Vein, and to open it too with Success. One of these Sym­ptoms may be a Pulse full and weak, which is sometimes observed in the Beginning of a Distemper; nothing but Good can come of Bleeding upon this Occasion; for thence [Page 36]results a greater Velocity, and, of Conse­quence, in the Opinion of Dr. Friend, the greater Force of the Blood. Nonnunquam tamen sanguis ea de se praebet indicia, qui­bus siquis diligentùs studuerit, venam haud inauspicatò poterit secare: talis indicii ex­emplum sit pulsus plenus & imbecillis, qui morbo nondum inveterato aliquando observa­tur; itaque ad hunc modum constituto pul­sus venae sectio, si adhibita sit, sanguis mo­mentum intendet. Since a full and weak Pulse allows, and even obliges to bleed, the Weakness of People afflicted with these Suppressions, is not therefore a good Rea­son to forbear Bleeding; for, with a full and weak Pulse, as our Author observes, and which, in his Opinion, prescribes Phlebotomy, Women cannot but be weak: It is not the Weakness then that forbids Bleeding. The Reason Dr. Freind adds to authorize the Precaution he advises, in order to diminish the Blood, is not very sure; he says, that when the Arteries are so full, that the Tunicks are stretch'd, and take up a greater Space, 'tis a Sign that the Humours are not yet thickened; for, if their Mass was considerably thick and sizy in its Texture, it would take up less Room, because its Particles would be less close, and the Arteries thereby less stretch'd. This is however, what a Body cannot trust to, because the Mass of Humours, close thicken'd and condens'd, may happen to be [Page 37]in such Abundance, as to stretch the Tu­ [...]icks to a considerable Dilatation, without [...]bating the Velocity of the Humours, whose Redundance is no way incompatible with [...]heir extreme Condensation. So that, from [...]he Arteries taking up no great Space, there; [...]s no concluding, that the Fluid they con­ [...]ain is very massive; for it may be massive, [...]ompact, and close in its Texture, at the [...]ame time that it is ample, large, and ex­ [...]ended in its Volume. A little Attention [...]ere will shew there is no Repugnance in [...]his. A little further, the Author says, that [...]he vascular Tunicks, unbent by the Bleed­ [...]ng, less resisting the Blood that strikes upon [...]hem, the Force of the Stroke is thereby weakened: Tunicis sanguini affluenti mi­ [...]ùs renitentibus deficit ictûs magnitudo. At this rate, 'tis ill done to bleed, since it weakens the Force of the Blow, which [...]r. Freind makes the principal Promoter of [...]he Fluxes. The Business therefore is not [...]o slacken the Tunicks, nor to render them [...]upple and pliant, but, on the contrary, to [...]tretch them all we can, and to render them [...]tiff, dry, and hard; for Dr. Friend agrees, that in this State they make the most Resi­stance. Now, according to his Account in his 4th Mathematical Proposition, ^* the Mo­tion lost (that is communicated) is propor­tioned to the Resistance; motus deperditus [...]st ut resistentia; but the Force of the [Page 38]Strokes is also measured by the Motion lost: In percutientibus corporibus ictuum magni­tudo motui deperdito proportionalis est. Then, as there is most Resistance made by the Fibres stretch'd, stiff, dry, and hard, the Blood that strikes upon 'em loses still the more of its Motion, since the Motion lost is answerable to the Resistance made: There­fore the Force of the Stroke is the greater in these Fibres; since the Force of the Strokes are suitable to the Quantity of the Motion lost. Therefore, in fine, these Sor [...] of Fibres must sooner crack, than Fibre [...] that are supple, slack, and flexible. Th [...] Blood is supposed abundant, observe her [...] then the Force! the Fibres are suppos'd t [...] be widened and distended, behold Weaknes [...] here! Wherefore, all the Power and Ad­vantage is here on the Side of the Blood Now, if the Force of a Body surmount the Force of the Obstacle it has to encoun­ter, this Obstacle must give way, according to the second Proposition: Si momentu [...] corporis sit majus quam contraria impedi­menti vis, id impedimentum removebitur the Vessels, in this Case, must be broken and cannot hinder the Blood from extravas­ing. Upon these Principles, settled by Dr. Freind himself, methinks, I may, with out the Imputation of too much Presumpti­on, on, defy him to explain the Suppression o [...] the Fluxes by an excessive Plethora, and by the Dryness and Hardness of the Vessels [Page 39]which make too great a Resistance; for all [...]his wonderfully contributes to the Flux, [...]s I think has been heretofore sufficiently [...]emonstrated. Our Author is inclin'd to be [...]f Opinion, that Bleeding should be us'd [...]ather after than before the Purgatives and [...]mmenagogues, which are the Remedies [...]ore especially design'd to promote the re­ [...]ular Courses. The Reason he gives for it [...] that the Purgatives and Emmenagogues [...]eak, refine, and attenuate the gross com­ [...]acted Humours; whence the Blood being [...]ore clear, is more dispos'd to be divided, [...]parated, dislodg'd, and to acquire Force, [...]fter Bleeding: But this Advice seems con­ [...]ary to what he gives before, where he [...]dvises not to let Blood, if there be any [...]ther Means to increase its Velocity, with­ [...]t lessening its Quantity; because in Bleed­ [...]g we diminish the Plethora, which Ple­ [...]ora contributes in a particular manner to [...]e Force of the Flood, and which, if we [...]ave it entire, cannot but augment its [...]ower. Now, since the Remedies which [...]r. Freind would prescribe previous to the [...]leeding, would break the compact Texture [...]f the Blood, rectify that, and, of Course, [...]ive it Velocity, why not stop there? Why [...]eddle with the Plethora, which is so com­ [...]ended, and held so sacred (as we may say) [...] the present System, that we can't be without it? Why not rather spare it, when [...]e have procured the Velocity of the Blood [Page 38] [...] [Page 39] [...] [Page 40]another Way, by other Means than Bleed­ing? Hence we see, that Dr. Freind ha [...] establish'd nothing certain here upon the Matter of Bleeding in Cases of Suppression▪ So we don't know what to stick to, no [...] what to build upon in his System. He doe [...] not explain himself precisely enough; h [...] does not sufficiently dive into, and unfol [...] the Matter: He sometimes loses Sight [...] the Principles to which all should tend [...] and by that means he is led into Perplexi­ties, and falls into Contradictions but to [...] frequently; of all which I shall take [...] Notice; for I do not here pretend to tra [...] Dr. Freind thro' all the Windings and De­viations that appear in his Book.

Before we pass on to an Article so im­portant, as to inquire of the Place where [...] is fit to bleed, whether it be in the Arm [...] in the Foot; I desire it may be call'd t [...] Mind, that the Swiftness of the Blood is th [...] principal Foundation of our Author's System and yet we have prov'd it to be a ruino [...] Foundation; since the Blood cannot app [...] to the Disadvantage and Prejudice of th [...] Vessels, a Strength it receives from them and a Velocity for which it is obliged t [...] them: So that the Doctrine of our Autho [...] is, in that Point alone, sapp'd from the ve­ry Foundation. This is what I desire ma [...] be well remember'd, once for all; for have no Inclination to be troublesome, b [...] repeating it so often over; Lindanus [Page 41]Etmuller counsels, at the Approach of the Courses, to bleed in the Arm; whereas in the actual Course, already begun, he sends you to bleed in the Foot; which he never [...]rders to be done, but in a Course either actually flowing, or suddenly stopp'd: And Etmuller accounts for this Doctrine in the following Manner.

Upon the Approach of the Menses, the Blood being abundant and swell'd, Nature [...]xerts all her Efforts to precipitate it to the [...]ower Parts; but the Conduits being small, [...]annot, on a sudden, yield and open so [...]on; on the contrary, being stretch'd and [...]onstrain'd, they refuse a Passage to the [...]lood; because they are not at Freedom [...]o contract themselves, and make way for [...]he Blood. In this Circumstance, if you [...]leed at the Foot, you draw the Blood [...]ownwards, you charge the Matrix more, [...]ou add Clog upon Clog, and raise the Di­ [...]emper to the highest Degree. On the con­ [...]rary, bleed in the Arm, you divert the [...]lood from the Parts that are opprest there­with; you facilitate its Course, you clear [...]he Ways through which it is to pass; and [...]ou give the Conduits the Suppleness they [...]ant to issue forth the Blood they convey; [...]or the Bleeding at the Foot will never [...]rovoke the Terms, unless they be actu­ [...]lly flowing, or by a sudden Cold, or seiz­ [...]ng Fright, have their Course interrupted. This way of Reasoning Dr. Freind can no [Page 42]wise relish; it has something in it that is strange and shocking to him. Here it is suppos'd, says he, that the Blood is so swell'd and rarified, that it might easily flow thro' [...] the Vessels, if, when 'tis carried downwards, the Plenitude it contracts did not form an Obstacle to its Discharge; that the Vessels, the more they are gorg'd with Blood, are less in a Condition to yield to the Torrent. He rejects this; finds it contrary to Medi­cal Philosophy, and even inconsistent with common Sense. But is this Reproach well grounded? and have not we a Right to make it recoil upon its Author? Etmuller is here accus'd not to have common Sense [...] This Accusation, if it be found unjust, will it not rebound upon Dr. Freind? Shall we have more Respect for him than he has for [...] one of the greatest Masters in Physick? The English Physician is so pre-possess'd with his own Opinion, and so glew'dd, as it were to his own System, that he considers n [...] other's; and takes no Pains to enter into the Sentiments of the German Physician. There is a System which is satisfy'd to make the Vessels yield or burst to give way to the Menses; according to this Idea, it is natu­ral and reasonable, that the more the Ves­sels are swell'd and distended by the Blood the more fit they are to yield and to be broken: But have we not observ'd, tha [...] Dr. Freind himself falls into the same Ab­surdity, which he reprimands in Etmuller [Page 43]have we not observ'd a Case where the Di­ [...]tention of the Vessels being pre-suppos'd, [...]nd the Abundance of the Blood that dilates [...]hem, he still owns a Suppression? We need [...]ut call to Mind what has been lately said [...]pon the Slowness of the Blood. Bye and [...]ye we shall see another parallel Case; so [...]hat it is important not to let flip, without Notice, what he advances here. At the [...]ame Time this System, which we have just [...]ow seen, is not the only one; there is ano­ [...]her which does not make the Vessels yield, [...]ut, on the contrary, makes them act to [...]rovoke the Terms. Now, the Fluxes, on [...]his Hypothesis, not depending on the Ves­sels that yield, but which make the Blood [...]ield to them; not on their conquer'd Forces, [...]ut on their superior Action, on their victor­ [...]ious Power, on their sovereign Empire, on [...]heir triumphant Oscillation: 'Tis not, on [...]his System, a thing contrary to common Sense, that the Vessels should be so much [...]ess fit to procure the Courses, the more [...]hey are dilated and swell'd to Excess; be­cause then, tho' much more easy to be over­come, they are less qualified to ad act and free themselves; which is what is requir'd in this other System. Our Author will have it, that, if the Bleeding in the Foot provokes the Terms that flow, or that are stopp'd in Flowing, it would also recal them, when suppress'd, from their Flux, tho' of a long Standing. This Consequence is not just; [Page 44]but why, says he, in the first Case, does this Bleeding augment the Force of the Blood, in hurrying it downwards, and does not augment it in the second Case, acting still in the same Manner? The Question is not here about the Force of the Blood: Etmuller is not obliged to speak in Conse­quence to the Principles of Dr. Freind; and Dr. Freind is but ill warranted to measure every thing by his own Ideas, and suit eve­ry thing to his own Hypothesis, To do this, he first must prove, that the only way to be taken is that which he has taken; and that his is the only System that can ratio­nally be follow'd: He ought first to have made it impregnable, and not have left such a Hold to be laid on't as he has done; since this System, according to what appears in our Remarks, is by so many Ways so suc­cessfully shaken.

The Bleeding in the Foot excites the Terms that flow, and that are interrupted in flowing; because then the sole Business is to assist the Blood's Determination towards the Uterine Region; the Blood flows; this is a Sign that it is clear'd, refin'd, well-con­dition'd; and that the Vessels are not em­barass'd; now, the Passages, the Issues, the Conduits being free, and clear'd, the new Blood which the Bleeding in the Foot de­termines that way, will easily pass, and without Pain, proceed to its Exit. The Blood that just now flow'd, ceases, and flows [Page 45]no more. In this Case, it is only repell'd; only its Determination happens to be alter'd by some unlucky Accident; and you must recal the Blood to its Determination down­wards. Here you have nothing to conquer [...]ut the Repercussion wrought, either, for Example, by a stopping Cold, or by a seiz­ [...]ng Fright; and this the Bleeding in the Foot does; it determines the Blood towards [...]he Matrix, and restores it to its former Tendency: But a Suppression of a long [...]tanding, being caus'd by the Congestion and Stoppage of the Blood in the Uterine Ca­ [...]illaries, our Business is not here about its Tendency towards the Vessels, but about its Discharge and Enlargement from the Ves­sels themselves: The Matter is not now to [...]ttract the Blood downwards, but to clear [...]way that which is already there, and which is there but in too great a Quantity; [...]ince it is this very Quantity itself that ren­ [...]ers it there so very clogging and trouble­ [...]ome. Dr. Freind agrees, that the Bleed­ [...]ng in the Arm practis'd in such a Case, withdrawing a Portion of the Blood towards [...]he superior Parts, the Conduits of the Womb are thereby in Truth reliev'd; but, [...]ays he, the Diminution of the Plethora [...]bating the Impetuosity of the Blood, the Vessels are not so dispos'd to break, because [...]he Vessels are less extended. This is ano­ther irregular Reason, which supposes we can't take from the Abundance of the Li­quid, [Page 46]without abating aught of its Velocity; which is directly contrary to what the Author owns himself, a little before, in these Words: Igitur triduò anté, consultum perioditempus, secatur vena, ut tum praecipué novus sanguini accrescat impetus, cum aug­menti summam attigerit Plethora. What Stress can we lay, after this, upon the De­cisions of Dr. Freind? What can we reckon upon? To what Principle shall we adhere? The Sentiment of Etmuller is confirm'd by a famous Observation of Riverius upon a Woman whose Terms always stopp'd as often as she was blooded in the Foot, and very largely flow'd when she was blooded in the Arm: This Phaenomenon agrees but little with the ordinary Ideas of Physicians The Doctors of Montpellier have explain'd it by a Mechanism very well contriv'd, but incompatible with the System of our Au­thor; whom one may defy, with all hi [...] Efforts and vast Capacity, to account for this Fact, related in the Second History o [...] the First Century of Riverius's Observati­ons. This Woman, say the Doctors, being Plethorick, and attack'd with a Suppression, caus'd by the prodigious Mass of the Blood, which dilated the Vessels of the Matrix to such a Degree, that they could not suffici­ently use their contracting Power; when, by bleeding in the Foot, the Blood was deter­min'd towards those Parts which were al­ready over-charg'd therewith, the Clog [Page 47]was augmented; and Occasion given to an obstinate Suppression; but when, by bleed­ [...]ng in the Arm, the Blood was invited to the superior Parts, the Vessels of the Uterus were disengag'd: Now, their Plenitude and Distention being diminished, they could con­ [...]ract and play with more Ease, and so pro­ [...]ure the natural and periodical Evacuation, which is made thro' Issues of the Matrix. Dr. Freind intrenches himself in this Sub­ [...]erfuge, which is in a Distinction he makes [...]etwixt a Plethora, which he calls solita­ [...]y, and that which is join'd with a Lentor; [...]nd he says, 'tis only in this that the Pre­ [...]aution of Lindanus, noted in Etmuller, [...]akes Place. He adds, that the Woman, [...]f whom Riverius speaks, was troubled [...]ith this Sort of Plethora; and upon this [...]ottom he approves the Indication which [...]he Montpellier Doctors have taken, and [...]ubscribes to their Practice. The Author [...]hen grows a little more mild towards Lindanus, and declares, that what is rela­ [...]ed by Etmuller takes Place in one Case; [...]e is therefore in the wrong, to cry out so [...]ard against it, and pronounce, without Ground, that there is not common Sense in [...]he Reasoning of that Author. Here he [...]hould make Reparation to his Honour: He agrees, that, in Suppressions, one bleeds [...]irst in the Arm, and then in the Foot; he [...]ssigns for a Reason of this, that the bleed­ [...]ng in the Arm augments the Velocity of [Page 48]the Blood, and bleeding in the Foot aug­ments the Plethora, in regard to the ute­rine Vessels. But is this what he said at first? Might not one prove by his own Prin­ciples, that the Consent he gives to this Practice is not very rational? Let us call to Mind what Dr. Freind hath said; does not common Sense require, that the more the Vessels are swell'd, the more they are sup­pos'd to yield, crack and break? Ne com­munis quidem sensus ferret, vasa quò magis sanguine distenta sint, eo minùs esse ad ce­dendum facilia. Now, in the Plethorick Woman we are talking of, when she is blooded in the Foot, this augments the Swelling of the uterine Conduits, which are thereby more disposed to break, and give way; yet the Doctors of Montpellier caused the Woman to be blooded in the Arm and, by this Bleeding, one will say with Dr. Freind, it is true, that the uterine Pas­sages are clear'd of their Stoppage and Op­pression; but as the Impetuosity of the Blood languishes by the Diminution of the Ple­thora, the Vessels are render'd less liable to break, because they are then less extended Sectâ Brachii venâ, cum nonnihil sursu [...] revellitur, liberantur quidem ab oppression [...] viae uterinae, sed impetu ob Plethoram im­minutam languente, haud ita facile dissili unt vasa, quia minùs sunt distenta. Th [...] Slowness and the Viscidity of the Blood is according to our Author, a Reason not t [...] [Page 49]bleed; and Bleeding does no good in Sup­ [...]ressions, save when the Particles of the Blood are enough disengaged, and not very [...]enacious; because then they easily shift [...]heir Place, and are perswaded to what he [...]alls Dimotion. Now, he agrees, that the Blood of the Woman we talk of was vis­ [...]ous, slow, and tenacious; how then, on his [...]rinciples, can he allow her to be blooded? [...]ne has only to compare what he has ad­ [...]anced with the Explications he now gives, [...]n Occasion of this Woman, to see that all [...]on't agree, and that the System which is [...]ffered to us, as incontestable, and as a [...]rst Principle avow'd by every body, is not [...]ell supported. I should have a great many [...]ore Remarks to make upon it, but I con­ [...]e myself to this precise Reflection, which [...]ay furnish many more: If the Flowing of [...]e Menses could be wrought by the Rup­ [...]re of the Vessels, it would be more parti­ [...]larly done when the Vessels were the most [...]angible; now, the Vessels are most frail, [...]hen they are the most extended; but they [...]re the most extended, when they; are the [...]ost gorg'd with Blood; and they are more [...]org'd with Blood, by bleeding in the Foot, [...]an by bleeding in the Arm; therefore, [...]eeding in the Foot stuffs them more with [...]lood, stretches them more, and makes [...]em more frangible. Then, as bleeding [...] the Foot renders the Uterine Vessels [...]ore frail, and more ready to be broken, [Page 50]it should, in the Woman we are speaking of, provoke the monthly Flux. If this Flux is wrought by the Breaking of the vascular Tunicks, the Blood is excessively abundant, it has all that it can want to prevail; the Vessels on their Part are dilated and stretch'd to the last Degree; so here is all that's want­ing to conquer them; the, what hinder [...] them from being broken? and since the bleeding of the Foot, in stretching them disposes them more than ever to burst, is i [...] not evident, that it favours, and ought eve [...] necessarily to produce the Flux, if thi [...] must be explain'd by the Rupture of the Ves­sels? I omit several Irregularities, to finis [...] this Discussion with two Words of Observa­tion upon some Histories of Fact, relate by our Author, concerning Suppression. Th [...] first History is of a Girl Eighteen Years old yet without her Terms, who complain'd [...] a great Pain in her Loins, Knees, and An­cles; she had Difficulty in breathing, Squea­mishness, and Gripes; her Heart, upon th [...] least Exercise, panted; her Complexion wa [...] lively and florid; her Pulse weak an [...] slow; she was very much afflicted with the [...] Symptoms for about Six Months: Dr. Frein [...] did not find here any Indication for Bleed­ing, he only propos'd to break and refin [...] by Attenuants, the viscous Texture of th [...] Blood.

But is it not a wise Precaution, when th [...] Vessels are too much stretch'd, and th [...] [Page 51]Blood too thick, sizy and stiff, to unbend the Vessels; and to diminish the Volume of the Blood, in order to facilitate the Action of [...]ncisive Remedies, that they may lay more Hold upon the massive Humours? Is it not [...]isquing a great deal to undertake to rarify [...] Blood which we don't diminish in the Vessels, whose Sides we cannot further [...]tretch, and all whose Space the Blood, by [...]ts Thickness, now takes up? Where then will be Space for it in its Rarefaction? But [...]his is the Means, one will say, to make [...]he Uterine Capillaries crack; but this is [...]lso the Means to burst other Vessels too: This Practice makes us justly fear the Rup­ture of other important Vessels, and of con­sequence terrible Hemorrhages. Besides, it [...]s enough, if we consult the Motions of Phy­sick, to perswade us, that a Mass of Juices, thick, gross, glewy and compact, resists too much the Action of Attenuants, and the Virtue of Incisives, for them to be able to [...]ay hold of, penetrate, and thrust themselves thereinto: They can do no more in this Case, but shove, struggle, and rummage in this Mass, instead of insinuating nicely into the Pores, wriggling subtilly, and without Noise, into the Interior of the Substance, so to separate with as much Efficacy, as little Disturbance, the Particles thereof. Bleeding, which is preparative to the Use of Opium, and which the most secures us in it, as has been clearly proved in the judicious Re­flections [Page 52]that have been made thereupon, should, for the same Reasons, be a Prepa­rative for Emmenagogues, and secure their Success.

Bleeding then might have been apply'd in curing the sick Person in Question; every thing seem'd to indicate this, and, above all, the Difficulty of breathing, the Palpitation of the Heart, and the ruddy Colour of the Face; but the Obstruction which appear'd in the Region of the Matrix, whither the Blood had flow'd with too much Precipitati­on, and where it had contracted a powerful and well-knit Body, requir'd the Bleeding to be not in the Foot, but in the Arm; therefore it seems, that had the Patient been bled in the Arm, one might have thereby freed the lower Parts, that were gorg'd, and, as it were, suffocated; and, by un-corking them, one might have engag'd them to yield readily to the desired Evacuation. Dr. Freind, however, declares, that he did not think fit to employ this Remedy, by reason of the Weakness of the Girl, and because he apprehended, by this means, he might diminish, instead of augmenting the Blood: But these are Conjectures too weak and light to divert from the Use of a Re­medy indicated, in other respects, by such pressing Motives; the Weakness, above all, is not in itself, as we have already shewn, a good Reason to omit Bleeding. Our Au­thor, in his third Observation, gives us the [Page 53]History of a Washer-woman, of a sanguine Complexion, about Twenty Four Years old, who, in washing with her Terms upon her, was seiz'd with a Fit of Coldness; she was also washing her Legs with cold Water; wherefore, the Flux having been here re­ [...]ell'd by the Cold, her Terms disappeared [...]or a Year, without any great apparent Consequence. Dr. Freind accounts, by her great Fatigue and Labours, for the little [...]rejudice this seem'd to do her Health: [...]ut, about the End of the Year, she felt a [...]ery considerable Change; such as, a great Heaviness and Weakness, the Action of the [...]tomach infeebled, the Function disorder'd, [...] Pain in almost all her Limbs, a Cough, a Difficulty of Breathing, a Paleness, a Swel­ [...]ing of her Legs, where so hard a Tumor [...]red, that it was impossible, by any Plaster [...]r Cataplasm, to soften it, or to bring it [...]o Suppuration; and her Pulse became fee­ [...]le, and languishing. The Patient would [...]ave prevented all these Accidents, if, at [...]he Time of her Flux's Repercussion, she [...]ad got herself blooded in the Foot, ac­cording to the Remark of Lindanus, and [...]he Reflections of Etmuller. Dr. Freind, who, in all Likelihood, did not see the Washer-woman, but in the Time of the inve­ [...]erate Suppression, took from the Tumor an [...]ndication to make her be bled in the Arm; which he owns did no great good; but bleeding in the Foot, tho' a long time after [Page 54]the Interruption of the Flux, wou'd perhap [...] have had better Success, in regard to the Source of the Suppression which seems to require this Bleeding, and which we the more readily believe, as the Blood shews no Appearance of gathering, slakening and Congestion, in the Uterine Conduits; and if it don't flow that way, this seems to be net so much through any Clog or Impedi­ment that might be there contracted, as for want of its being determined towards those Parts. And what justifies this Thought o [...] mine is, the Remark it self of Dr. Freind who explains how the Suppression might have been so long a Time inoffensive, by the great Exercise of the Washer-woman which did not allow much Time for th [...] Blood to sojourn, stagnate, corrupt, and stick in the Uterine Region, so tost an [...] jumbled as it was, and by Consequence re [...] ­der'd more transpirable by the Woman Agitation. There seems then nothing her wanting to the Blood, but a proper Deter­mination towards the Matrix, which is fa­vour'd and promoted by bleeding in the Foo [...] and that ought here to have been done ac­cording to the Notions I offer; which, after all, are but Conjectures I venture to mak [...] and submit, with all my Heart, to th [...] Judgment of Physicians, among who [...] Dr. Freind shines in so distinguish'd a Ran [...] This able Physician, who judg'd it not co­ [...]venient at first to use this Bleeding, did u [...] [Page 55] [...]t towards the End of the Distemper, after Purgatives and Emmenagogues, to give the [...]inishing Stroke to the Cure, and so compleat [...]is Work. Four or Five Days after this Bleeding, her Terms appear'd, the Patient [...]ecovered her rosy Colour, and all the Ac­ [...]idents vanished. Now we have nothing [...]eft to do, but to apply to the Emmena­ [...]ogues the Inconvenience that Dr. Freind [...]nds in bleeding, in Relation to the Sup­ [...]ressions: This will pin up the Basket, and hew that his Principles clash, and that his System, tho' display'd with all the Clear­ [...]ess, and prov'd with all the Reasons that [...]t is susceptible of, don't appear well sup­ [...]orted. When, says he, after Bellini, ^* a [...]eady Removal of the Blood follows after bleeding, or when the Blood is so rarified, that its Particles are dis-unitedy and easily divided one from another, this Liquor ac­quires a Velocity that fortifies its Power, [...]ecause the animal Spirits, enlarg'd and free, flow to the Heart in a chearful Abun­dance, and the Blood, broken and subtiliz'd, makes less Resistance against the Action of the Vessels: But, if no Removal follows, the Quantity of the Blood being abated, the Velocity is so likewise; and so the Blood loses of its Force. It were to be wish'd, insinuates Dr. Freind, that Bellini [...]had establish'd a constant Token, a certain Sign of this Constitution of the Blood, that [Page 56]suffers a Removal by bleeding, and of that other which does not suffer any thereby; because, for want of knowing this State and Disposition of the Blood, the Physician cannot be sure in what manner Bleeding will change it, and modify its Motion for the better or the worse. By reason of this Uncertainty and doubtful Success of Bleed­ing, we must abstain therefrom, unless the Violence of Accidents inforce it: For if, in letting Blood, we render it more slow and compact, not only fewer animal Spirits will arise from it, and so the Stroke of the Beating of the Heart will be the more weak, but the Obstruction that afflicts the Capillaries, and holds 'em Captives, will ga­ther new Force. Therefore, in the Begin­ning of the Suppression, Bleeding does not seem to be indicated, unless one plainly sees the Means to break infallibly the com­pact Texture of the Blood, and to redouble its Force by renewing its Velocity; let us examine, according to his Model, the Acti­on of the Emmenagogues, that makes a Part of the Alteratives, and then consider, after ^* Dr. Freind, if the Action is more certain, and the Success more allured. How says he, can the same Force surmount such different Resistances? How can a Remedy act in so uniform a manner, when the Sub­jects upon which it operates are so unlike? There is nothing more ridiculous than to [Page 57]expect from a Medicament a constant Acti­on, a faithful Energy, an infallible and per­manent Virtue, since it is not strange or [...]epugnant for one and the same Remedy [...]o produce contrary Effects. Suppose, for Example, the Disposition of the Blood be [...]uch, that the greater Part thereof is ex­ [...]remely vitiated, and the Lentor too obsti­ [...]ate to be conquer'd by the Force of Atte­ [...]uants; in this Case, if we apply a Reso­ [...]utive or Subtilisant, it has no Effect but upon the thinner Part of the Blood, which [...]t melts and refines, till it makes it pass in [...]bundance thro' the Strainers, that is, thro' [...]he Glands and the Filtres of Secretion; so, [...]he most subtle, or finest Parts of the Blood [...]eing discharged by the Force of the Me­ [...]icine, the Remainder of the Mass will [...]hereby be but the more compact, thick, [...]nd close. Do but observe, how the Dia­ [...]horeticks, those powerful Attenuants, do [...]metimes even augment the Lentor, and [...]he Grossness of the Humours, as we see [...]y Experience. Quomodo enim eadem vis [...]iversa longé momenta queat pervincere? [...]uomodo similis semper esse posset agentis [...]ergia, cùm it a dissimilis prorsus sit corpo­ [...]is in quod agitat Natura? Constantem hanc medicamentis sperare efficaciam, ita ri­ [...]iculum est, ut nihil mirum sit, si etiam ab [...]dem medicamento educi possit effectus con­ [...]arius: Concipiamus enim earn esse sangui­ [...]is crasin, ut pars ejus longè maxima in­signiter [Page 58]lentescat, cohaeret aequè in eâ momen­tum validius sit quam quae ab attenuantium biribus resolvi queat. In hoc casu, si adhi­veatur medicamentum resolvens, eam qui­dem sanguinis partem, quae minus lentescit, ita fundit & attenuat, ut per glandulas ex­cretorias uberiùs extrudatur: ita medica­menti vi, eliminatis particulis tenuioribus, crassior erit reliqui sanguinis compages: ad hunc modum, uti & docet experientia, len­torem aliquando augent Diaphoretica. Yet must we not exclude Resolutives, because of their doubtful Success, and uncertain Is­sue: Dr. Freind makes often use of them, without Hesitation, at the same time that he should either abstain from them, or not use them, but with such Precautions as him­self prescribes in bleeding: We must before­hand be assured of the State of the Blood know, in that Point, what we have to go upon, have Tokens that denote the Degre [...] of Lentor or Viscidity requisite to be carri­ed off by the Emmenagogues. As we a [...] admonished, that we must have some o [...] these Signs that mark to us the Degree o [...] Thickness capable of being corrected by the bleeding, for want of which the first Re­liefs are no more practicable than the last they are both alike uncertain: Then, upo [...] what Account is the one preferr'd to th [...] other? This should have been clear'd up Dr. Freind should have instructed us in thi [...] and in this, as well as many other thing [Page 59]but for the Death of the illustrious Author, we had Reason to hope from him further Lights. He flatters himself, that this fine Phaenomenon about the Courses can no way be explain'd, but by his Principles; yet I have ventured upon other Principles, and the System of the red Part of the Blood being engag'd in the Canals of its white Part, the prevailing Opinion of Dr. Helve­tius; and which he has so much illustrated on the Subject of the Small Pox, of which he has so learnedly and usefully treated: A System! which gives Light into the Ex­plication of the Hemorrhages and Inflamma­tions, and which so perfectly agrees with the animal OEconomy, and natural Mecha­nism. This System, I say, yields in nothing to that which Dr. Freind has given us, not only as the best, but as the only one. From the Principles I have already laid down, every one may make his Remarks upon the other Parts of the Author's Book, which I have not touch'd; and 'tis likely, that with [...]ow much the more Attention and Care one shall apply to this, the more the Weak­ness of his Reasoning will appear, and the Uncertainty of his Hypothesis. From the Reflections that have been hitherto made, [...]t may be gather'd, that 'tis, by no means, an indifferent Matter in Practice, to adopt indifferently, the System of the Rupture of the Vessels, or that of the Intrusion of the Blood into the lymphatick Canals: It is of [Page 60]the highest Consequence, to chufe either the one or the other, to list on one Side or the other, and to appear more than ordina­rily engaged or concern'd therein. If the Dispute here was only about some insipid, barren Point of Speculation amusing per­haps to the Curious, but altogether useless, and without Influence on Practice, those who regard things only as they are useful, might perhaps slumber over it: But as our Business here is about a capital Point, which affects and concerns Practice to the highest Degree; since in the two Hypotheses the Manner of Cure is quite different; this ought to awake the Attention of all Practi­tioners, inspire them with an extraordinary Relish for the present Subject, and rouze them totally out of their Indifference. Some will perhaps attack the fundamental Princi­ple of these Reflections, which is, that the Blood owes its Velocity to the Impulse, and systaltick Virtue of the Solids; they will tell me, that the Vessels may be enormously distended and stretch'd to Excess, and still the Fluid which they contain may move on with Impetuosity, by virtue of the Medi­caments that act upon it, that break its Texture, bruise its Mass, correct its Visci­dity, quicken its Lentor, and separate its Parts; whence may result an Increase of its Force, a Renewal of its Velocity, and all this independent of the Oscillation of the Vessels, which still remain stretch'd, con­strain'd, [Page 61]and, as it were, captive. This has been proved by a Number of Experiments: A Mixture has been made of the Blood newly drawn from the Artery of a Dog, with several Druggs, which Mixture has given Occasion to various Phaenomena. The Blood mixt with the Spirit of Salt Armoni­ [...]c, was of a beautiful Red, and fine Consi­ [...]tence, mixt with a Decoction of Savin, or Horehound, it appeared of a deeper Red, and of a finer Substance; with Sydenham's Liquid Laudanum, it was of a brighter Co­ [...]our, than with the Decoction of Savin, tho' not of a much finer Substance; with the Distilled Water of Rue, or Wormwood, it [...]ontinued very fluid from the First till the Thirteenth of February. A Mixture was [...]lso made of the Serum of Human Blood with the Tincture of Aloes drawn with Mint Water, with a Decoction of Savin, a De­ [...]oction of Gentian, Spirit of Tartar, of Saffron, of Turpentine, of Guaiacum, and of Hartshorn; the Oil of Turpentine, of Guaiacum, of Lavender, and of Cloves: By means of these Druggs successively ap­ply'd, the Serum held fluid many Days, but nothing render'd it near so fluid and so fine, [...]s the Decoction of the Jesuit's Bark. We have been also assured of the Working of Medicines upon the Blood, by Injections and Intromissions into the Body of a living Ani­mal: We need but consult thereupon the [...]4. Chap. of the Emmenology of Dr. Freind, [Page 62]which proves by unquestionable Experiments, that the Blood is altered, changed, modifi­ed, attenuated, broken, refin'd, set in Mo­tion, and render'd fluid, by the Power of Emmenagogues: Therefore the Fluid hav­ing another Mover than the Oscillation of the Solid, may be moved rapidly, impetu­ously, and precipitately, even when this Os­cillation is languishing, feeble, and impo­tent: Therefore the Blood may have the Advantage of Mass, Velocity, Pressure and Percussion: Therefore, the Vessels being enormously dilated, weakened, and con­strained, may be forc'd by the Action of the Blood, an Action which it has independent of the Vessels, and from which they can draw no Advantage; a Stroke consequent­ly which it can give them, without being accused of Ingratitude, and without incur­ring the odious Reproach of turning it [...] Power against those who gave it. This Stroke the Vessels will be unable to resist and be forc'd to yield to it, broken, dis­arm'd, and overwhelm'd, not by the Power which they (the Vessels) lend to the Blood since they have none to lend, but by that which the Blood has borrowed elsewhere This is what may be objected against me and certainly I have given the Objection al its Weight, and wish heartily it might screen Dr. Freind from any Attack. I agree, that Medicines act upon the Humours, and inspire them with divers Qualities; but it is proper [Page 63]to observe first, that this is not always im­mediately, nor without the Participation of [...]he Solids. The first Operation of Reme­ [...]ies inwardly taken is upon the Stomach, [...]nd thence spreads thro' the whole Genus [...]ervosum, whereof this Viscus is a Part; [...]nd consequently it is not strange, that the [...]tomach should transmit the Modifications [...]nd the Impressions which it receives. The [...]uickest Operation of Medicines, and the [...]riskest Revolutions they cause, are due to [...]he sudden Emotion which the Solids ac­ [...]uire, when they are affected by the Medi­ [...]ines, Smoke raises the Vapours, and cures [...]hem; the Sprinkling of cold Water, the [...]are Taste of good Wine, recovers from a Swoon, recals the straying Soul, and re­ [...]ores the lost Faculties. Remedies often­ [...]imes make no Change in the Blood, but by means of the Solids, which they first change, and whose Tone they alter, so that they [...]ecome more elastick, or more moderate, [...]ccording to the Action of the Remedies, [...]hat work and drive on the Fluids with more [...]r less Heat; whence ensues in the Blood more or less Refinement and Celerity. Dai­ [...]y Experience proves the great Share the Solids have both in the Disease and in the Cure; they are the Lords of the Animal OEconomy, the Principle of every Good, and of every Evil there.

But now, after those general undeter­mined Ideas, which it is good to advance, [Page 64]let us descend to something more particular, which more nearly regards the Difficulty we have been forming. Upon this I have two Reflections to make; the first, that the Virtue of Medicines has nothing at all to do with a State of Health. In the Case of an ordinary and natural Flowing, the Blood then makes its own Way through the Tu­nicks of the Vessels, yet is not put in Mo­tion, nor push'd, nor made fluent, refin'd and fluid, by the Power of the Medicines; therefore, if it has Celerity, it owes this to the Oscillation of the Solids, which, with redoubled Strokes of Systole, impart to it its present Motion, and accelerate its Flowing: For, I believe, it will be granted, without Difficulty, that the Blood which is not broken, agitated, and attenuated, by Remedies, can be no otherwise so, but by the Means of the Vessels; so that, if it is in Action, it must owe this Action solely to the Spring and Vibration of the Solids; what other Cause, on the present Hypothesis, can move the Blood? what other Mover, what other Principle can give any other ways Agitation to this Fluid? Does it move itself? Has it in its own Stock wherewitha [...] to put itself in Play? Does it draw its Power from its own Choice? I appeal to Dr. Freind himself, who undermines the Foundation of the Blood's intestine Power, and who, from the Beginning of his Work, gives a mortal Blow to the Fermentation [Page 65]already so much discredited, and the finish­ing Stroke to the Disgrace of this unhappy Hypothesis, by the desolating Refusal of his Protection to it, leaving it helpless in black Despair, and reducing it to a Condition ut­terly abandon'd. The absurd Hypothesis, says he, of the Fermentations and Leavens is scarce any more in Vogue; 'tis even a long Time since the soundest Part of the Learned have banish'd it out of their Writings: Sed exolevit ferè hodie absurda illa de fermentis Doctrina, & a sanissimis saltem scriptori­bus, jamdiù explosa est. See then this Idol of the new Physick, and of the modern Philosophy, neglected, abandon'd, over­whelm'd! What a Spectacle! a Doctrine which attracted such a Crowd of Partisans [...]ecomes deserted and forlorn; the predomi­nant Hypothesis, the sovereign Doctrine, the reigning Opinion, is falling into Widow­hood, into Contempt and Slavery; is made a Tributary, languishing in Obscurity, and sighing all alone, finding none to comfort her in her Misery, and to raise her from the Ground, where she miserably grovels: Even those that listed under her Standard are asham'd to defend her Cause, quit her Side, and leave her in the Lurch. The Ways by which it was pretended to explain all the Animal OEconomy, Ways beaten and re­beaten with so much Pomp and Solemnity, are now no more frequented; the Niches of the Ferments are destroy'd, and the Fer­ments, [Page 66]even the Instruments of Fermentati­on, are taken from her, poor Thing! she has not allow'd her a Space ample enough to make her Pushes and her Sallies in; pent in Canals too streight, in Places too close for her; where she undergoes the Cruelty of being oppress'd and stifled, destitute, in these inextricable Difficulties, of all Relief, and unable to defend herself; all her Charms are fled from her; and her armed Adversa­ries have laid violent Hands on all that be­longs to her, depriving her of all that she can desire, or that can give her any Ad­vantage O ye that have run thro' all the different Hypotheses! consider if there is one of 'em all so cruelly treated, and that languishes in a Situation so very deplorable as hers. What! says one, the Doctrine of the Ferments is no more in Use! and the Literati have hiss'd it off the Stage; sad Case! Is this the Fermentation that a while ago made such a Figure! Can you know her again by this Picture, you that used so to idolize her! you that still are so fond of her, is it possible, Sirs, that this can be the Object of your Delight and tenderest Ad­dresses! This Offal, this May-game, this Bitch with a Bottle at her Tail, can this be your Favourite Mistress! Can you own this your Idol in so disguis'd a Metamorphosis Fermentation is then in Disgrace with Dr. Freind; and according to him, with al [...] the best Authors too. Then he can't admi [...] [Page 67]in the Blood a Virtue proper to make it cir­culate; it is therefore allow'd to believe, that the Motion, the Swiftness of the Blood, in the natural State of Health, is the Effect of the Action of the Vessels that press, push, and hurry it; and the Acknowledgment of Dr. Freind, who rejects this Fermentation, [...]eads to this Thought, conducts to this Consequence. This just comes to what we [...]ave been demonstrating, that the Blood [...]annot make an ill Use of the Celerity which [...]t has from the Vessels, thereby to break [...]hese; whence it follows, either that the [...]erms can never naturally flow, without [...]he Aid of Medicines; or that the Velocity [...]f the Blood is not necessary to the Flux, [...]ut is even contrary to it. If the Fluid [...]aturally holds its Celerity from the Solid, [...]hich hastens its Way; and if, by Virtue [...]f this Celerity, the Fluid cannot break the [...]olid, as hath been prov'd; then, of ne­ [...]essity, Nature alone cannot push the Terms, [...]nless it be the Abundance, and not the Ve­ [...]city of the Blood that makes 'em flow. [...]et Dr. Freind makes the principal Mover [...]f the Flux to consist in the Swiftness of [...]e Blood; and the principal Hinderance, [...]nd ordinary Cause of the Suppression, to [...]onsist in its Slowness. So that it does not [...]em possible, on the Principles of this Au­ [...]or, to explain how the Flowing of the [...]erms is procur'd by Nature alone. The [...]econd Reflection I have to make is, That [Page 68]the Fluids attenuated, bruised, and broken; by the Force of Emmenagogues, do not so strongly oppose the Action of the Solids; the Blood render'd supple, flowing, and docile, by these Medicaments, suffers itself to be led, subdued, and jerk'd along by the Vessels, which, finding no more, as before, an invincible Obstacle in the gross and com­pact Mass that the Remedies have reduc'd and subtiliz'd, recover their Ease, resume their Vigour, and set themselves at Liberty▪ Whence we see, that the Emmenagogues at the same Time that they set the Bloo [...] at large, set also the Vessels at their Ease too. Now, being at their Ease, 'tis evident, that they are not so liable to b [...] broken; yet the Blood, upon which th [...] Remedies act, might be so abundant, tha [...] it could not swell and rarify, without forcing the Canals to burst: In this Case, if th [...] Medicines melt and rarify it, it seems tha [...] they will infallibly occasion the breaking [...] the vascular Tunicks, which, as they cannot stretch any further, must needs crac [...] But we have observ'd, that the Blood, a [...] riv'd to such a Pitch of Abundance, to such [...] Degree of Grossness, is not fit to be wroug [...] upon by Attenuants, because these can la [...] no Hold of it: We have observ'd, in th [...] Circumstance, the Usefulness, and even th [...] Necessity of Bleeding, to set the Attenuan [...] at Work; therefore, in an excessive P [...] thora, in an extream Viscidity, Emmen [...] gogues, [Page 69]being equally as impotent as the Vessels, are as little able to do any thing as these are. That which hinders these from strongly contracting, hinders also those from fastening upon the thicken'd Humours; whence it seems to follow, that the Blood cannot apply even the Velocity which it receives from the Emmenagogues to break the Vessels; because the Remedies cannot animate it so much as it shou'd be, but with the Assistance of the elastick Vessels. They do not indeed import Fluidity; but this is not progressive Motion, the Motion of Cir­culation, which is not to be obtain'd but by the systaltick Virtue of the Vessels. The Blood attenuated by Emmenagogues, may well become Fluid; but it cannot acquire Velocity, save only by being push'd, beaten, and jerk'd along. According to Dr. Freind, the Stroke of the Blood is that which makes its greatest Strength: Now, the Stroke, that is to say, the Briskness of the Shock, the Violence of the Percussion, does not precisely come from the Fluidity; but, because the Fluid is strongly struck upon by the Solid, which Blows it again retaliates, and, in its Turn, re-buffets the Solid; there­fore, if the Vessels were flat and unactive, in Torture, and in Captivity, and the Fluids left to the sole Action of the Attenuants, these Fluids would not receive Force enough wherewith to strike upon the Solids; they would acquire but an indolent Fluidity, [Page 70]only a Dis-union of their Parts, a Dissoluti­on of their Mass, incapable of any great Effects; they could not contract that Impe­tuosity necessary to give Strength to their Blow, Briskness to their Shock, Power and Force to their Percussion. Our Author him­self deduces the Velocity of the Blood from the vehement Pulsation of the Heart, and of the Arteries; a Pulsation produc'd, as he says, by the Affluence of the animal Spirits: Whereas, these animal Spirits them­selves can be nothing but the Work and Effect of the Spring of those Parts that agitate and push them to the Degree of Fineness which they have. Therefore the Velocity of the Blood is the Effect of the Expulsion of the Vessels; wherefore, it can­not make Use thereof to break them: There­fore, if Emmenagogues excite the Flux of the Menses, this cannot be by the Velocity which they impart to the Blood; but rather by the Swelling, the Rarefaction, the dis­orderly Turgescence which they produce therein; by the Means of which the vascu­lar Tunicks give way, not to the Force of the Percussion, but to the Excess of their own Dilation. Another Difficulty might be started against me; the Vessels, in the Effort they make to drive on with Swift­ness and Percipitation the Blood subjected to their Power, may they not break them­selves? Are they not even more liable to be broken, being active than unactive; by [Page 71]Exercise, than Indolence; by Fatigue, than Repose? Are not they who labour hardest, most expos'd to the Misfortune of bursting Veins and Arteries? Have not we seen Vessels broken by the Shocks of a violent Cough, and the cruellest Hemorrhages produc'd by the Heat of a burning Summer? It is not there­fore strange, that the uterine Vessels, tho' vi­gorous enough to animate the Blood, shou'd yield to the Blow of which themselves are the Cause; and their Vigour, far from forti­fying and defending them against their Burst­ [...]ng, only renders them more proper, more fit and dispos'd for it. I own the Vessels may be [...]roken by their own Pains and Fatigue; but [...]t must be also confess'd, that it is by Accident when this Misfortune happens, and that these are Cases for which none undertakes to give [...]nvariable Rules, and Geometrical Demon­ [...]trations, such as Dr. Freind has attempted to give us; there is too much Uncertainty in the Rupture of the Vessels; and 'tis too fortuitous a Case, to draw and deduce thence an Effect [...]o sure, so constant, so natural, so regular, as the Phaenomenon of the Monthly Courses. Besides, the Rupture of the Vessels is not a thing so common as one imagines; bleeding at the Nose, spitting of Blood, Accidents very frequent and vulgarly attributed to Ruptures, don't so much denote broken Vessels, but ra­ther such as meet discharging Canals, that terminate in the Sanguines; and do not so much declare the Extravasation of the Blood, [Page 72]as its Passage into the Emunctories. Why, indeed, so few Ruptures in the slenderest, tenderest Fibres within the Body, which are remote from Places of Discharge, whilst we discover so many and so often just by the Issues, near the Excretories, and in the Blood-Vessels, most within the Reach of the Outlets, most known and best remark'd? This Obser­vation justly intimates that which is attribu­ted to the Rupture of the Canals, is usually but the Effect of the Intrusion of the Blood into the Lymphaticks. These seem to me the strongest Objections that can be made against me; and the proper Answers to be made to them: Dr. Freind's System, therefore, cannot be defended, and still lies under the same Difficulties.

Yet, after all, can't flatter myself, that I have, with any Solidity, taken up so learned a Man as Dr. Freind: What I have hitherto advanced I look upon it rather as a Web of Objections to be answer'd, than as a Criticism to be redoubted: If I have not attack'd my Author with Advantage, I shall at least have the Glory of having studied him with Application. It is always good to betake ourselves to the best Authors, 'tis pleasant to contemplate their Beauties; and even when we attack them unsuccess­fully, yet don't we apply thereto, without reaping an Advantage. But, should my Objections be made with some Foundation, I would not take it amiss to be compared [Page 73]to a rebellious Child, who battles its own Nurse, because, by her succulent and well-condition'd Milk, she has supplied him with the Strength to do it. Foster'd by the Reading of Dr. Freind, imbu'd with his Lessons, improv'd by his Knowledge, en­lighten'd by his Light, I have made use thereof against himself. I own, I should have had no Success in engaging him, if I had not improv'd by studying him; if I had not gather'd my Knowledge from reading and meditating him; and if, before I made War upon him, I had not learnt my Disci­pline under him. If we gain a Victory over good Authors, 'tis because themselves supply us with the Means to gain it.