made a Full-fet, will be published in time convenienta There will also be added the Reprefentation, which, on occafion of one diftemper, which was become almost epi demical, he thought himself obliged to lay before both Houses of Parliament, intitled, A Propofal for a General Flux, to exterminate at one blow the P-x out of this kingdom. But being weary of all practice on foetid Bodies; from a certain niceness of Constitution, (especially when he attended Dr. Woodward through a Twelvemonth's courfe of Vomition) he determined to leave it off entirely, and to apply himself only to diseases of the Mind. He attempted to find out Specificks for all the Paffions; and as other Phyficians throw their Patients into sweats, vomits, purgations, etc. he caft them into Love, Hatred, Hope, Fear, Joy, Grief, etc. And indeed the great irregularity of the Paffions in the English Nation, was the chief Motive that induced him to apply his whole ftudies while he continued among us, to the Diseases of the Mind. To this purpose he directed, in the first place, his late acquired skill in Anatomy. He confidered Virtues and Vices as certain Habits which proceed from the natural Formation and structure of particular parts of the body. A Bird flies because it has Wings, a Duck fwims because it is web-footed: and there can be no queftion but the aduncity of the pounces and beaks of the Hawks, as well as the length of the fangs, the sharpness of the teeth, and the ftrength of the crural and maffeter mufcles in Lions and Tygers, are the cause of the great and habitual Immorality of thofe Animals. * ift, He obferved, that the Soul and Body mutually operate upon each other, and therefore if you deprive the Mind of the outward Inftruments whereby she usually * Μεσσητήρες μιας expreffeth expreffeth that Paffion, you will in time abate the Paffion itself, in like manner as Castration abates Luft. 2dly, That the Soul in mankind expreffeth every Paffion by the Motion of fome particular Mufcies. 3dly, That all Mufcles grow ftronger and thicker by being much used; therefore the habitual Paffions may be difcerned in particular perfons by the strength and bignefs of the Muscles used in the expreffion of that Paffion. 4thly, That a Muscle may be ftrengthened or weakened by weakening or ftrengthening the force of its Antagonift. These things premised, he took notice, That complaifance, humility, affent, approbation, and civility, were expreffed by nodding the head and bowing the body forward: on the contrary, diffent, diflike, refufal, pride, and arrogance, were marked by toffing the head, and bending the body backwards: which two paffions of affent and diffent the Latins rightly expreffed by the words adnuere and abnuere. Now he observed that complaifant and civil people had the Flexors of the head very strong; but in the proud and infolent there was a great overbafance of ftrength in the Extenfors of the Neck and the Muscles of the Back, from whence they perform with great facility the motion of toffing, but with great difficulty that of bowing, and therefore have juftly acquired the Title of fiff-necked: In order to reduce fuch perfons to a júft balance, he judged that the pair of Mufcles called Recti interni, the Maftoidal, with other flexors of the head, neck, and body, must be strengthened; their Antagonists, the Splenii Complexi, and the extenfors of the Spine weakened: For which purpose Nature herself feems to have directed mankind to correct this Mufcular Immorality by tying fuch fellows Neck and Heels. Contrary to this, is the pernicious Cuftom of Mothers, who abolish the natural Signature of Modefty in their Daughters, by teaching them toffing and bridling, rather than than the bafhful pofture of Atooping, and hanging down the head. Martinus charged all hufbands to take notice of the Pofture of the Head of fuch as they courted to Matrimony, as that upon which their future happiness did much depend. Flatterers, who have the flexor Muscles fo ftrong that they are always bowing and cringing, he fuppofed might in fome measure be corrected by being tied down upon a Tree by the back, like the children of the Indians; which doctrine was ftrongly confirmed by his obferving the ftrength of the levatores Scapula: This Mufcle is called the Muscle of Patience, becaufe in that affection of Mind, people shrug and raise up their shoulders to the tip of the This Mufcle alfo he obferved to be exceedingly ftrong and large in Henpeck'd Husbands, in Italians, and in English Minifters. ear. In purfuance of this Theory, he fuppofed the conftrictors of the Eye-lids must be ftrengthened in the supercilious, the abductors in drunkards and contemplative men, who have the fame steady and grave motion of the eye. That the buccinators or blowers up of the cheeks, and the dilators of the Nose, were too strong in Cholerick people; and therefore nature here again directed us to a remedy, which was to correct such extraordinary dilatation by pulling by the Nofe. The rolling amorous Eye, in the Paffion of Love, might be corrected by frequently looking through glaffes. Impertinent fellows that jump upon Tables, and cut capers, might be cured by relaxing medicines applied to the Calves of their Legs, which in fuch people are too ftrong. But there were two cafes which he reckoned extremely difficult. Firft Affectation, in which there were so many Mufcles of the bum, thighs, belly, neck, back, and the whole body, all in a falfe tone, that it required an impracticable multiplicity of applications. The fecond cafe was immoderate Laughter: When any of that rifible species were brought to the Doctor, and when when he confidered what an infinity of Muscles these laughing Rafcals threw into a convulfive motion at the fame time; whether we regard the fpafms of the Diaphragm and all the mufcles of refpiration, the horrible ritus of the mouth, the diftortion of the lower jaw, the crifping of the nofe, twinkling of the eyes, or fpherical convexity of the cheeks, with the tremulous fuccuffion of the whole human body: when he confidered, I fay, all this, he used to cry out, Cafus plane deplorabilis ! and give fuch Patients over, CHA P. XI. The Cafe of a young Nobleman at Court, with the Doctor's Prefeription for the fame. AN eminent Inftance of Martinus's Sagacity in difcovering the Distempers of the Mind, appeared in the cafe of a young Nobleman at Court, who was observed to grow extremely affected in his fpeech, and whimfical in all his behaviour. He began to afk odd queftions, talk in verse to himfelf, fhut himfelf up from his friends, and be acceffible to none, but Flatterers, Poets, and Pickpockets; till his Relations and old Acquaintance judged him to be fo far gone, as to be a fit Patient for the Doctor. As foon as he had heard and examined all the symptoms, he pronounced his diftemper to be Love. His friends affured him that they had with great care obferved all his motions, and were perfectly fatisfied there was no woman in the cafe. Scriblerus was as poffitive that he was defperately in love with fome person or other. "How can that be ?" (faid his Aunt, who came to ask the advice) " when he converses almost with none but himself?" Say you fo? he replied, why then he is in love with himself, one of the most common cafes in the world. I am aftonished people do not enough attend this Disease, which has the fame caufes and fymptoms, and admits of the fame cure with the other: efpecially fince here the cafe of the Patient is the more helpless and deplorable of the two, as this unfortunate paffion is more blind than the other. There are people who difcover, from their very youth, a most amorous inclination to themfelves; which is unhappily nurfed by fuch Mothers, as, with their good-will, would never fuffer their children to be crossed in love. Eafe, luxury, and idleness, blow up this flame as well as the other: Conftant opportunities of conversation with the perfon beloved (the greatest of incentives) are here impoffible to be prevented. Bawds and pimps, in the other love, will be perpetually doing kind offices, fpeaking a good word for the party, and carry about Billets-doux. Therefore I afk you, Madam, if this Gentleman has not been much frequented by flatterers, and a fort of people who bring him dedications and verfes? "Q Lord! Sir, (quoth the Aunt) the house is haunted with them."--There it is, (replied Scriblerus) thofe are the bawds and pimps that go. between a man and himself. Are there no civil Ladies, that tell him he dreffes well, has a gentlemanly air, and the like? "Why truly, Sir, my Nephew is not aukward." --Look you, Madam, this is a misfortune to him; In former days these fort of lovers were happy in one refpect, that they never had any rivals, but of late they have all the Ladies fo-Be pleased to answer a few queftions more. Whom does he generally talk of? Himfelf, quoth the aunt. Whofe wit and breeding. does he most commend? His own, quoth the Aunt.— Whom does he write letters to? Himself.-Whom does he dream of? All the dreams I ever heard were of himfelf. Whom is he ogling yonder? Himself in his looking-glafs.--Why does he throw back his head in that languishing pofture? Only to be bleft with a smile of himfelf as he paffes by.--Does he ever steal a kifs from |