beyond their natural tone, but are also prick’d, perhaps, or corroded by the pungent and incongruous parts of the[errata 1] intruded liquor.
And this seems to be the reason, why Aqua fortis, and other saline liquors, if they come to touch the sensitive parts, as in a cut of the skin, or the like, do so violently and intollerably excruciate and torment the Patient. And ’tis not unlikely, but the Inventors of that Diabolical practice of poisoning the points of Arrows and Ponyards, might receive their first hint from some such Instance in natural contrivances, as this of the Nettle: for the ground why such poison’d weapons kill so infallibly as they do, seems no other then this of our Nettle’s stinging; for the Ponyard or Dart makes a passage or entrance into the sensitive or vital parts of the body, whereby the contagious substance comes to be dissolv’d by, and mix’d with the fluid parts or humours of the body, and by that means spreads it self by degrees into the whole liquid part of the body, in the same manner, as a few grains of Salt, put into a great quantity of Water, will by degrees diffuse it self over the whole.
And this I take to be the reason of killing of Toads, Frogs, Effs, and several Fishes, by strewing Salt on their backs (which Experiment was shewn to the Royal Society by a very ingenious Gentleman, and a worthy Member of it) for those creatures having always a continual exsudation, as it were, of slimy and watry parts sweating out of the pores of their skin, the saline particles, by that means obtain a vehicle, which conveys them into the internal and vital parts of the body.
This seems also to be the reason why bathing in Mineral waters are such soveraign remedies for multitudes of distempers, especially chronical; for the liquid & warm vehicles of the Mineral particles, which are known to be in very considerable quantities in those healing baths, by the body’s long stay in them, do by degrees steep and insinuate themselves into the pores and parts of the skin, and thereby those Mineral particles have their ways and passages open’d to penetrate into the inner parts, and mingle themselves with the stagnant juices of the several parts; besides, many of those offensive parts which were united with those stagnant juices, and which were contrary to the natural constitution of the parts, and so become irksome and painfull to the body, but could not be discharged, because Nature had made no provision for such accidental mischiefs, are, by means of this soaking, and filling the pores of the skin with a liquor, afforded a passage through that liquor that fills the pores into the ambient fluid, and thereby the body comes to be discharged.
So that 'tis very evident, there may be a good as well as an evil application of this Principle. And the ingenious Invention of that Excellent person, Doctor Wren, of injecting liquors into the veins of an Animal, seems to be reducible to this head: I cannot stay, nor is this a fit place, to mention the several Experiments made of this kind by the most incomparable Mr. Boyle, the multitudes made by the lately mention’d Physician Doctor Clark, the Hiftory whereof, as he has been pleas’d to communicate to the Royal Society, so he may perhaps be prevail’d with to make publique himself: But I shall rather hint, that certainly, if this Principle
Errata
