An Account of Two Books

An Account of two Books. I. Jacobi Barneri, Ph & Med. D. Augustani, PRODROMUS SENNERII NOVI, seu Delineatio Novi Medicine Systematis, &c. Augustae Vindelicorum. A. 1774. in 4o. As the famous Sennertus made it his business to represent in his System of Physick, whatever was known and practised by the Antient Masters of that Art, until his days; so this Author is very desirous, that a System, after the manner of that of Sennertus, might be composed, wherein not only from the new Anatomico-Chymical Discoveries, that are made since the time of that great Physician, the doctrine and practice of the Antient Doctors, delivered in Sennertus, might be examin'd, but also the Doctrines and Practices of the Modern Physicians themselves discussed and considered, that so it might appear, by what truth they are all supported, and how consistent with one another they are; and Students of Physick the better directed what to learn and follow in the same. In order to which great Work, our Author declares, that he who shall duly perform such a task, must be both accomplished in sound Philosophy, and furnished with all kind of Anatomical, Chymical and Practical Knowledge: And therefore not daring to undertake such a Work, which requires the study, industry, observations and experience of more than one age, he thought fit only to publish a Prodromus or Introduction to it, wherein he gives notice; First, that he shall premise to this Work what belongs to the Grounds of the whole Art of Physick, and withal discourse of the Origine and Progress of the same. LII Secondly, Secondly, that that being done, he shall proceed to the Work itself, wherein he professes his resolution of receding from the common Methods of Systems, (not excepting Sennertus himself) in which he judges there hath been delivered a great multitude both of useless speculations and tedious repetitions, rendering the Art very prolix and difficult, to the great retardment and confusion of the Students thereof; whereas, in his judgment, it may, by the advantage of a good method, be so deliver'd, that in a very short time the Grounds of the whole Art may be acquired: All edging, to the honor of the famous Dr. Sylvius, that he taught his Auditors the whole Method of Curing Diseases in Seven Lectures; and citing also that antient Author Theofalus Trallianus for affirming, that the same Art might be taught and learned in the space of six Months: Whereupon he scruples not to engage his honor, that by his Method, (of which he gives the Scheme in this Book) he will teach a man, that is competently instructed in Anatomy and Chemistry, the whole Art of Physick not in six Months, but in so many Weeks. To remedy therefore the complained-of prolixity and difficulty, he pretends to compose a System of Physick, wherein whatever is superfluous shall be laid aside, and particulars reduced to general Heads, and all matters comprehended, which from the first rise of this Art have been published to this very time. In the doing of which he proposeth to himself the following Method. 1. He will deliver, chiefly out of Sennertus, the Doctrine of the Antients concerning all sorts of Distempers, and examine the same. 2. He will consider, what Hofmannus hath written against the Institutionists (as he calls them) and Sennertus himself. 3. He will examine Paracelsus and his followers, especially Severinus. 4. He will weigh what hath been written by some to conciliate the Paracelsian Doctrine with that of the Antients. 5. He will propose the Doctrine of Van Helmont, and declare, wherein he agrees with, and disagrees from him. 6. He will discuss the dogma's of all the Moderns, that are hitherto come abroad, and particularly those of Willis, Sylvius, Barbette, and such others as are deduced from the Harveyan, Gassendian, or Cartesian principles. 7. He will seriously consider, How far the doctrine of the Ancient and Moderns may be reconciled, to the end that we may at last come to some certainty. 8. Lastly, he will deliver his own Judgment of the cause of every known Disease, conform to Anatomico-Chymical principles; declaring, that he shall, where he sees cause, repeat the Causes assigned by his Predecessors, but, where not, deliver new ones. All which Heads, he faith, he hath ready in a Scheme, of which he only gives here a delineation, and that in six parts: The first is the Pathologia, of Diseases and their Causes; which he means to dispatch in three Sections: whereof 1. Shall treat of Diseases, their Differences and Causes in general; and then of Hippocrates his θεών; of the Archeus, Ferments and Idea's; of the Humors according to the Moderns; of the three Principles of the Paracelsians; of the Hippocratical Acid, Sharp, Bitter, Salt; of the Occasional and Accidental causes of Diseases, the Natural and Non-natural things, and the Celestial Influences, &c. 2 and 3. Of Diseases both general and particular, and their Classes, according to his own Method, which is grounded upon that of Hippocrates his distinction of parts into contentae, continentes and impetum facientes; according to which he will treat of all Diseases, as they respect the Spirits, the Juices and Excrements, and the three Venters. The Second is the Semiotica, which shall deliver the signs both Diagnostick and Prognostick from their very Causes both according to the Ancients and Moderns, but especially from the true Principles by him pretended and assumed. And here he will first discourse of the Signs, their fountains, differences and causes in general, the Pulse, Urine, &c. as also the signs of Life and Death, the Crisis and Critical daies, and the like. Then, of the particular and proper Signs of every Disease. The third is the Pharmaceutice; wherein he will treat first of the Materia medica, as it is taken from Meteors, for example, Dew, Manna, Snow, &c.; or from Minerals, Vegetables, or Animals; where he intends to consider, Whether all those Medicines, that are commonly vendible in Shops, are necessary, or sufficient; as also, How, When, and Where divers things, belonging to the Materia medica, are to be gathered; and likewise of the marks of their goodness, the ways of preserving them, the skill of knowing and discerning the vertue and force of Medicines, and the degrees thereof. Secondly, of the Galenical Preparations of Medicaments, both liquid, dry, and of a middle consistence. Thirdly, of Chymical Preparations, concerning which he promiseth to communicate the very method by which he hath performed them, which he calls his Chymia Philosophica, that shall endeavour to give the causes of all those Chymical operations from the genuine principles of Art; declaring, that he will deliver not only the vulgar, but also uncommon processes, and engaging his faith, that he will write what he knows to be confirm'd by Experience itself; further promising his strictures and examinations of false and erroneous processes, together with a way of examining all sorts of preparations and processes, in reference to Medicines; and referring an entire System of Chemistry and the use thereof to his Prodromus of Natural Philosophy. Fourthly, he will treat of the Method of prescribing forms both of Galenical and Chymical Medicines, and mark the Errors so frequently committed in their composition. Fifthly, he will annex to this part his thoughts of common Dispensatories, and substitute a new one of his own, laying by, what, in his opinion, is useless, and taking in what of late hath been discover'd and tried to be useful; applying also the uses of the Medicaments of this his new Dispensatory to the respective Diseases treated of in the rest of his great work. The fourth is the Hygieine, for the Conservation of Health; in which part he thinks there hath been hitherto a great neglect, in that no special regard hath been had to the particular functions of the viscera; which hath induced him to order this part of Physick according to the series of the several digestions made in the Body, and not just according to the classes of the things called Non-natural. This part he divides into four Sections; of which the first is to contain some prolegomena upon this subject; the second to treat of the regimen of Health in general; the third of the same in particular; the fourth, most especially of such Medicines, as are esteemed to be endowed with a peculiar virtue, conducing to long life. The fifth is the Therapeutice, for the Recovery of Health and the Curing of Diseases: And that first in general; where will occur the Empirical way of the Ancients, as also the Galenic, Paracelsian and Helmontian Method; item the recent way of Injection into veins, and the Transfusion of blood. Secondly, in particular; where he intends to discourse of the possibility of an Universal Medicine; as also of the way of curing all sorts of Diseases by peculiar Methods and proper Medicines: Where he purposes to mention and recommend the successful Cures of the famous Dr. Michael, late Physitian of Leipfick, and to impart his select and happy Experiments, &c. The sixth part, shall treat of the Requisites in a good Physitian in his daily practice: To which he will subjoyn a compleat enumeration of all Diseases, which shall take notice of those that have been omitted by common Authors; and last of all, by way of Epilogue to the whole work, the Desiderata in Physick, together with a Method for absolving the study of Physick, and a select Library for that purpose. II: A Description of HELIOSCOPES and some other Instruments, made by Robert Hook, Fellow of the R. Society: London, printed for John Martyn at the Bell in St. Pauls Churchyard, 1675. in 4°. Touching the Contents of this Book, as far as they relate to the Instruments therein described, I need say nothing here: I shall only touch upon some passages in the Post-script of it, in which I find one of these our Tracts concerned. The said Postscript then takes the liberty of reflecting upon a passage in Numb. 112th. of these Transactions, viz. about the Invention of applying a Spring to the Ballance of a Watch, finding fault with the same for not having taken notice, that this Invention was first found out by an Englishman, and long since published to the World, and complaining thereupon of unhandsome proceedings. Now forasmuch as the former part of this accusation doth directly concern the Author of the Transactions, and the latter is so ambiguously worded, as that it may be referr'd to the said Author, as well as to the French Journal des Scavans, it was thought fit to acquaint the Impartial and Candid Reader with the plain Truth of this matter. 'Tis certain then, that the Describer of the Helioscope, some years ago, caused to be actually made some Watches of this kind, yet without publishing to the world a Description of it in print; but it is as certain, that none of those Watches succeeded, nor that any thing was done since to mend the Invention, and to render it useful, that we know of, until Monsieur Hugens, who is also a Member of the Royal Society as well as he is of the Royal Academy at Paris, sent hither a Letter dated Januar. 30. 1675, acquainting us with an Invention of his of very exact Pocket-watches, the nature and contrivance of which which he imparted to us (as he is wont to do other Inventions of his) in an Anagram; which he soon after, in a Letter of Febr. 20. 1673, explained to us by a full description; for which the R.Society thought fit to return him thanks, yet so as to intimate to him, that Mr. Hook had some years ago invented a Watch of the like contrivance. Not long after this there came over in the Journal des Scavans a printed Description of M. Hugens's Invention, together with a Delineation of the Figure of the same, which the Author of the Transactions produced at the publick Meeting of the R.Society, where M.Hook not only saw it, but took a Copy of the Figure itself at the same time, unwilling to let him, that presented it there, take it home without permitting him first to copy it. Which done, M.Hagens's Explication of his own way, together with the Figure thereof, was, at his desire, and after the perusal of the Noble President of the R.Society, printed the 12th. of March 1673, in Numb. 112. of the Transactions; the Describer of the Helioscope well knowing, that it was designed to be published in one of those Tracts; who, if he had given to the Author of them the least intimation, importing that he desired, notice might be taken at the same time of his Invention of the like kind, it would have been certainly done, as hath been done upon other occasions, witness several of the same Tracts, wherein divers Discoveries of this Accuser have been formerly both printed, and vindicated from the Usurpation of others; though indeed it was not necessary it should there be done now, since the said Animadverior could speak for himself in print as soon as he pleased, as having laudably made use of late of the press for publishing himself his own Inventions. This is the very truth of the matter, in which whether there be any thing on the part of the Publisher of the Transactions, that deserves that name of unhandsome proceedings, he very willingly leaves to all Ingenuous Readers to judge: Besides, it might justly be considered, that pregnant and inventive Heads, well versed in Mathematicks and Mechanicks, and furnished with a genuine method of Investigation, may, and not seldom do, fall upon the same Discoveries and Inventions about the same time, especially if their minds have been long addicted to and engaged in the same Researches: Of which, if there be occasion, several considerable Instances may be produced to verify the Assertion. One of which, and fit to be taken notice at present, is, that when the Publisher of the Transactions did, not long since, shew to the Accuser that way of Monsieur Leibnitz, concerning exact portable Watches, which was printed in Numb. 113. of these Tracts, he did acknowledge, that though he had known that way too, ever since A. 1660, yet he never declared it to any body, and therefore could not say, M. Leibnitz had taken it from him. Thus I shall dismiss him, not doubting, but that all Candid Readers will blame him for the expression he uses p. 30. of his said Post-script, which is, that he forbears now to mention any further the carriage of the Writer of the Transactions in this affair: And only adding, that if this Writer of Mechanicks shall think fit to explain what he means by it, he will certainly meet with a full answer, vindicating the Integrity of the Publisher in such a manner, that all impartial and good men shall be abundantly satisfied therewith. —Speque metuque pressi. Horat. LONDON, Printed for John Martyn, printer to the Royal Society, 1675.