Body: | Primitive Physic:
or An Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases
John Wesley
(Preacher, Founder of Methodism)
1747 AD
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In 1747 AD, John Wesley, Preacher, Founder of Methodism, understood
that insanity was caused by sin and noted a case of a young 20 year old man
who went mad "by hearing a sermon of Mr. Wheatley's, fell into great
uneasiness". He went to Bedlam and was treated by Monro who, "blooded him
largely, confined him to a dark room, and put a strong blister on each of
his arms, with another over all his head. But still he was as 'mad' as
before, praying or singing, or giving thanks continually; of which having
laboured to cure him for six weeks in vain, though he was now so weak he
could not stand alone, his mother dismissed the doctor and apothecary, and
let him be 'beside himself' in peace". Another case of madness he
understood was triggered by extreme grief of a mother whose son died.
Wesley stated that the mind can cause the body to get sick. "From fretting
for the death of her son. And what availed medicines while that fretting
continued ? Why, then, do not all physicians consider how far bodily
disorders are caused or influenced by the mind". Susannah Wesley wrote her
son John Wesley about a case where John Monro was treating in Bedlam. She
said, "the man is not Lunatick, but rather under strong convictions of sin;
and hath much more need of a spiritual, than bodily physician". Most
interesting, is her comment that Monro (like most of the largest mad house
keepers) believed that religious devotion was actually a sign of mental
illness: "he presently condemned himself and said, Lord what sin have I
been guilty of, and cry'd to God for mercy, and pardon. This probably may
confirm the Dr. in the opinion of his madness but to me tis a proof of his
being in a right mind". Susannah rejected this and believed just the
opposite and that repentance was the way to cure his madness! But Wesley
also a quack when he stated that the cure for "Lunacy" included his
electric shock machine, drinking herb tea 4 times a day, rubbing the scalp
with vinegar many times a day, drinking vinegar. His cure for "Raging
Madness" included water boarding (fall of water pioneered by Blair in 1725
AD) and feeding them nothing but apples for a month or nothing but bread
and milk for a month. He is most famous for inventing his electro-shock
treatment, which continues even to this day. He believed that this machine
would cure "nervous Cases of every Kind", and treated thousands of people
in many different locations. He said: "how many Lives saved by this
unparalleled Remedy... And yet it is absolutely certain, that in many, very
many Cases, it seldom or never fails". While Wesley correctly understood
that insanity was a spiritual choice, his treatment of shock therapy was
simply a torture device, exactly like water boarding. Strangely, Wesley
used his "electric machine" not only to cure insanity, but many other
medical conditions. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) has been used since
1747 AD to cure insanity.
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The difference is that Wesley did not run electricity through the brain as
is done today, but rather up an arm or leg. Wesley's treatment only
inflicted pain. Chemical Psychiatrists today use ECT to run electricity
through the brain. This causes memory loss and has a stupefying effect. In
2006, psychiatrist Colin A. Ross concluded that "claims in textbooks and
review articles that ECT is effective are not consistent with the published
data". He also found no difference in the cure rates when he tested using
placebos: "real ECT is only marginally more effective than placebo." Today,
ECT is viewed as a short term (30 days) distraction from insanity until the
physical brain recovers from being shocked. Running electricity through the
brain is about as stupid as applying 220 volts directly to your computers
CPU. ECT, applied to the brain causes temporary damage. During the repair
period of the brain, cognitive functions are degraded not improved. ECT is
a way to instantly drop 40 IQ for 30 days. (Primitive Physic: or An Easy
and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases, John Wesley, 1747 AD)
"The outlines of galvanism as a therapy had existed before Galvani.
Earlier in the eighteenth century, John Wesley, an Anglican minister and
leader in the Methodist movement, for instance, used a machine to deliver
electric shocks to his congregation. The first record of a patient with a
clear mental disorder being treated with electric current applied to the
head stems from John Birch, a surgeon at St. Thomas's Hospital in London in
November 1787. The patient, who had many of the classic features of
melancholia, had his head covered with a flannel by Birch who "rubbed the
electric sparks all over the cranium; he seemed to feel it disagreeable but
said nothing. On the second visit, finding no inconvenience that ensued, I
passed six small shocks through the brain in different directions. As soon
as he got into an adjoining room, and saw his wife, he spoke to her and in
the evening was cheerful, expressing himself as if he thought he should
soon go to his work again."" (Shock Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive
Treatment in Mental Illness, Edward Shorter, David Healy, 2007, p 271)
"John Wesley (1703-91) Primitive Physic: or An Easy and Natural
Method of Curing Most Diseases (1747). Wesley is not commonly known for his
medical work, but in fact his interest in the subject was lifelong. His
reading in the field was substantial, and he freely dispensed prescriptions
and advice to those who consulted him during his travels. He particularly
espoused the use of electricity for a wide range of ailments, mental as
well as physical. The 'Preface' to Primitive Physic is used to outline his
views on the origins of disease. Like Rogers, he sees illness as a
consequence of the Fall, and like Cheyne, therefore, he regards mankind as
primarily responsible for its own sufferings: "When man came first out of
the hands of the great Creator, clothed in body as well as in soul, with
immortality and incorruption, there was no place for physic, or the art of
healing. As he knew no sin, so he knew no pain, no sickness, weakness, or
bodily disorder .... But since man rebelled against the Sovereign of heaven
and earth, how entirely is the scene changed! ... The seeds of weakness and
pain, of sickness and death, are now lodged in our inmost substance; whence
a thousand disorders continually spring." The Creator, however, gave us
through nature the simple means to cure these ills, and medical practice of
this kind was available to all, or at least to all men, 'every father
delivering down to his sons, what he had himself in like manner received'.
But 'men of a philosophical turn', particularly those motivated by the
search for profit, have over time contrived so to complicate the art of
healing that physic has become 'an abstruse science, quite out of the reach
of ordinary men'. Only one or two figures win Wesley's praise for
attempting to retain physic's 'ancient standard' -'the great and good Dr.
Sydenham' and 'the learned and ingenious Dr. Cheyne'. The purpose of
Primitive Physic, therefore, was to restore the art of healing to simple
men, for 'Who would not wish to have a Physician always in his house, and
one that attends without fee or reward?' Wesley covers, alphabetically,
most of the ailments common in his day. Mental illnesses are not
distinguished from bodily ones: all suffering derives from man's first
disobedience, and madness is therefore to be stigmatised no more than other
diseases." (Patterns of Madness in the Eighteenth Century, A Reader, Allan
Ingram, 1998 AD, p 98)
"Wesley's dedication to the spiritual welfare of the people was
supplemented by his concern for their physical health. His widely read and
frequently reprinted Primitive physick (1747) provided homely remedies
within the reach of all; The family physician (1769) laid down rules of
health and hygiene; and The desideratum was written to popularise what he
considered the cheapest, safest, and most successful treatment for 'nervous
Cases of every Kind', namely electricity. On 9 November 1756 he recorded
'Having procured an apparatus on purpose, I ordered several persons to be
electrified . . . some of whom found an immediate, some a gradual, cure . .
. Two or three years after, our patients were so numerous that we were
obliged to divide them; so part were electrified in Southwark, part at the
Foundary, others near St. Paul's, and the rest near the Seven Dials . . .
and to this day, while hundreds, perhaps thousands, have received
unspeakable good, I have not known one man, woman, or child, who has
received any hurt thereby'. Wesley's concern that electrical treatment
might go 'out of Use' like so many other fashionable treatments was
unfounded as modern psychiatric history shows. His journal entry for 17
September 1740 pictures a psychiatric consultation by the leading
'mad-doctor' of the day, James Monro, physician to Bethlem Hospital. After
looking at the patient's tongue to ascertain the state of his bodily health
and particularly whether he was suffering from a febrile delirium, a
phrenzy, or mania, Monro turned him over to his apothecary or general
practitioner for treatment according to his prescription. After six weeks
of this when he was so weak 'he could not stand alone' the boy's mother
dismissed the apothecary and decided to let him be "beside himself" in
peace'. Complaint of like treatment of another patient was the subject of a
letter from Wesley's mother Susannah, illustrated in FIG. 85. At this time
the religious fervour induced by some prominent non-conformist preachers as
the Reverend George Whitefield was widely believed to cause mental
derangement and the exhibition or religious ardour - 'proof of . . . a
right Mind' to the faithful - became a sign of 'madness' to doctors. The
entry for 12 May 1759 drawing attention to the part played by psychological
factors in causing persisting aches and pains might have been written
today. It contains the valuable advice that in such cases the physician
ought to enquire specifically for emotional upsets because frequently the
patient herself is unaware of any connection and so could or 'would never
have told had she never been questioned about it'. (300 years of
Psychiatry, Richard Hunter, 1963, p 420)
ELECTRICAL TREATMENT
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(The desideratum: or, electricity made plain and useful. By a lover of
mankind, and of common sense, [1760] London, Flexney pp. iii-vi)
In the following Tract, I have endeavoured to comprize the Sum of what has
been hitherto published, on this curious and important Subject, by Mr.
Franklin, Dr. Hoadley, Mr. Wilson, Watson, Lovett, Freke, Martin, Watkins,
and in the Monthly Magazines. But I am chiefly indebted to Mr. Franklin for
the speculative Part, and to Mr. Lovett, for the practical : Tho' I cannot
in every Thing subscribe to the Sentiments either of one or the other .. .
How much Sickness and Pain may be prevented or removed, and how many Lives
saved by this unparalleled Remedy. And yet with what Vehemence has it been
opposed? Sometimes by treating it with Contempt, as if it were of little or
no Use : Sometimes by Arguments, such as they were; and sometimes by such
Cautions against it's ill Effects, as made thousands afraid to meddle with
it. But so it has fared with almost all the simple Remedies, which have
been offered to the World for many Years. When Sir John Floyer published
his excellent Book on Cold-bathing, many for a Time used and prosited by
it. So did abundance of People by Cold Water, when it was publickly
recommended by Dr. Hancock. The ingenious and benevolent Bishop of Cloyne,
brought Tar-Water likewise into Credit for a season; and innumerable were
the Cures wrought thereby, even in the most desperate and deplorable Cases.
Nor was it a little Good which was done by the Use of Sea-water, after Dr.
Russel had published his Tract concerning it. Indeed each of these did
Wonders in it's turn. But alas ! their Reign was short. The vast Party
which were on the other Side, soon raised the Cry, and ran them down. In a
few Years they were out of Fashion, out of Use, and almost out of Memory :
And the foul, hard named Exotics took Place again, to the utter Confusion
of Common Sense.
Must not Electricity then, whatever Wonders it may now perform, expect soon
to share the same Fate? And yet it is absolutely certain, that in many,
very many Cases, it seldom or never fails . . . And yet there is something
peculiarly unaccountable, with regard to its Operation. In some Cases,
where there was no Hope of Help, it will succeed beyond all Expectation. In
others, where we had the greatest Hope, it will have no Effect at all.
Again, in some Experiments, it helps at the very first, and promises a
speedy Cure : But presently the good Effect ceases, and the Patient is as
he was before. On the contrary, in others it has no Effect at first : It
does no good; perhaps seems to do hurt. Yet all this Time it is striking at
the Root of the Disease, which in a while it totally removes. Frequent
Instances of the former we have in Paralytic, of the latter, in Rheumatic
Cases. But still one may upon the whole pronounce it the Desideratum, the
general and rarely failing Remedy, in nervous Cases of every Kind (Palsies
excepted); as well as in many others.
CONSULTATION WITH DR. MONRO
The journal of the Rev. John Wesley Edited by N. Curnock London, Kelly
[1909-16] Vol. 2, pp. 385-6; vol. 4, p. 313
Wednesday, 17 September 1740. A poore woman gave me an account of what, I
think, ought never to be forgotten. It was four years, she said, since her
son, Peter Shaw, then nineteen or twenty years old, by hearing a sermon of
Mr. Wheatley's, fell into great uneasiness. She thought he was ill, and
would have sent for a physician; but he said, 'No, no. Send for Mr.
Wheatley'. He was sent for, and came; and, after asking her a few
questions, told her, 'The boy is mad. Get a coach, and carry him to Dr.
Monro. Use my name. I have sent several such to him'. Accordingly, she got
a coach, and went with him immediately to Dr. Monro's house. When the
doctor came in, the young man rose and said, 'Sir, Mr. Wheatley has sent me
to you'. The doctor asked, 'Is Mr. Wheatley your minister ?' and bid him
put out his tongue. Then, without asking any questions, he told his mother
: 'Choose your apothecary, and I will prescribe'. According to his
prescriptions they, the next day, blooded him largely, confined him to a
dark room, and put a strong blister on each of his arms, with another over
all his head. But still he was as 'mad' as before, praying or singing, or
giving thanks continually; of which having laboured to cure him for six
weeks in vain, though he was now so weak he could not stand alone, his
mother dismissed the doctor and apothecary, and let him be 'beside himself'
in peace.
Saturday, 12 May 1759. Reflecting today on the case of a poor woman who had
continual pain in her stomach, I could not but remark the inexcusable
negligence of most physicians in cases of this nature. They prescribe drug
upon drug, without knowing a jot of the matter concerning the root of the
disorder. And without knowing this they cannot cure, though they can
murder, the patient. Whence came this woman's pain (which she would never
have told had she never been questioned about it) ? From fretting for the
death of her son. And what availed medicines while that fretting continued
? Why, then, do not all physicians consider how far bodily disorders are
caused or influenced by the mind?
"Dear son. I hope this will find you safe at Bristol, and if you be so kind
as to write as soon as conveniently may be, I thereto rejoice. The reason
of my writing so soon is, I'm somewhat troubled at the case of poor Mr
MacCune. I think his wife was ill advised to send for that wretched fellow
[James] Monroe for by what I hear, the man is not Lunatick, but rather
under strong convictions of sin; and hath much more need of a spiritual,
than bodily physician. However be it, Monroe last night sent him to a
madhouse at Chelsea, where he is to undergo their usual method of cure in
case of real madness; notwithstanding in their treatment of him, he behaved
with great calmness, and meekness, nor ever but once swore at them, for he
presently condemned himself and said, Lord what sin have I been guilty of,
and cry'd to God for mercy, and pardon. This probably may confirm the Dr.
in the opinion of his madness but to me tis a proof of his being in a right
mind.... Dear son, I desire you, and your brother pray for this poor
afflicted man...." FIG. 85 Letter from Susannah Wesley to her son John
about 'poor Mr. MacCune', December 13, 1746 (Methodist Church, London,
Colman Collection). (300 years of Psychiatry, Richard Hunter, 1963, p423)
Primitive Physic:
or An Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases
John Wesley
1747 AD
Preface
1. When man came first out of the hands of the great Creator, clothed in
body as well as in soul, with immortality and incorruption, there was no
place for physic, or the art of healing. As he knew no sin, so he knew no
pain, no sickness, weakness, or bodily disorder. The habitation wherein the
angelic mind, the Divinæ particula Auræ abode, though originally formed
out of the dust of the earth, was liable to no decay. It had no seeds of
corruption of dissolution within itself. And there was nothing without to
injure it: Heaven and earth and all the hosts of them were mild, benign,
and friendly to human nature. The entire creation was at peace with man, so
long as man was at peace with his Creator. So that well might "the morning
stars sing together, and all the sons of God shout for joy."
2. But since man rebelled against the Sovereign of heaven and earth, how
entirely is the scene changed! The incorruptible frame hath put on
corruption, the immortal has put on mortality. The seeds of weakness and
pain, of sickness and death, are now lodged in our inmost substance; whence
a thousand disorders continually spring, even without the aid of external
violence. And how is the number of these increased by every thing round
about us! The heavens, the earth, and all things contained therein,
conspire to punish the rebels against their Creator. The sun and moon shed
unwholesome influences from above; the earth exhales poisonous damps from
beneath; the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fishes of the
sea, are in a state of hostility: yea, the food we eat, daily saps the
foundation of the life which cannot be sustained without it. So has the
Lord of all secured the execution of his decrees, -- "Dust thou art, and
unto dust thou shalt return."
3. But can there nothing be found to lessen those inconveniences, which
cannot be wholly removed? To soften the evils of life, and prevent in part
the sickness and pain to which we are continually exposed? Without question
there may. One grant preventative of pain and sickness of various kinds,
seems intimated by the great Author of nature in the very sentence that
intails death upon us: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,
'till thou return to the ground. The power of exercise, both to preserve
and restore health, is greater than can well be conceived; especially in
those who add temperance thereto; who if they do not confine themselves
altogether to eat either "bread or the herb of the field," (which God does
not require them to do) yet steadily observe both that kind and measure of
food, which experience shews to be most friendly to health and strength.
4. 'Tis probable, physic, as well as religion, was in the first ages
chiefly traditional: every father delivering down to his sons, that he had
himself in like manner received, concerning the manner of healing both
outward hurts and the diseases incident to each climate, and the medicines
which were of the greatest efficacy for the cure of each disorder. 'Tis
certain, this is the method wherein the art of healing is preserved among
the Americans to this day. There diseases are indeed exceeding few; nor do
they often occur, by reason of their continual exercise, and (till of late)
universal temperance. But if any are sick, or bit by a serpent, or torn by
a wild beast, the fathers immediately tell their children what remedy to
apply. And 'tis rare that the patient suffers long; those medicines being
quick, as well as, generally, infallible.
5. Hence it was, perhaps, that the ancients, not only of Greece and Rome,
but even of the barbarous nations, usually assigned physic a divine
original. And indeed it was a natural thought, that HE who had taught it to
the very beasts and birds, the Cretan stag, the Egyptian Ibis, could not be
wanting to teach man, Sanctius his animal, mentisque capacius altæ Yea,
sometimes even by those meaner creatures: for it was easy to infer, "If
this will heal that creature, whose flesh is nearly of the same texture
with mine, then in a parallel case it will heal me." The trial was made:
the cure was wrought: and the experience and physic grew up together.
6. As to the manner of using the medicines here set down, I should advise,
As soon as you know your distemper, (which is very easy, unless in a
complication of disorders, and then you would do well to apply to a
physician that fears God) First, use the first of the remedies for that
disease which occurs in the ensuing collection; (unless some other of them
be easier to be had, and then it may do just as well.) Secondly, After a
competent time, if it takes no effect, use the second, the third, and so
on. I have purposely set down (in most cases) several remedies for each
disorder; not only because all are not equally easy to be procured at all
times, and in all places: But likewise the medicine that cures one man,
will not always cure another of the same distemper. Nor will it cure the
same man at all times. Therefore it was necessary to have a variety.
However, I have subjoined the letter (I) to those medicines some think to
be infallible. -- Thirdly, Observe all the time the greatest exactness in
your regimen or manner of living. Abstain from all mixed, all high seasoned
food. Use plain diet, easy of digestion; and this as sparingly as you can,
consistent with ease and strength. Drink only water, if it agrees with our
stomach; if not, good, clear small beer. Use as much exercise daily in the
open air, as you can without weariness. Sup at six or seven on the lightest
food; go to bed early, and rise betimes. To persevere with steadiness in
this course, is often more than half the cure. Above all, add to the rest,
(for it is not labour lost) that old unfashionable medicine, prayer. And
have faith in God who "killeth and maketh alive, who bringeth down to the
grace, and bringeth up."
7. For the sake of those who desire, through the blessing of God, to retain
the health which they have recovered, I have added a few plain, easy rules,
chiefly transcribed from Dr. Cheyne.
I.
1. The air we breathe is of great consequence to our health. Those who have
been long abroad in easterly or northerly winds should drink some warm
pepper tea on going to bed, or a draught of toast and water.
2. Tender people should have those who lie with them, or are much about
them, sound, sweet, and healthy.
3. Everyone that would preserve health should be as clean and sweet as
possible in their houses, clothes, and furniture.
II.
1. The great rule of eating and drinking is to suit the quality and
quantity of food to the strength of the digestion; to take always such a
sort and such a measure of food as sits light and easy on the stomach.
2. All pickled, or smoked, or salted food, and all high seasoned, are
unwholesome.
3. Nothing conduces more to health than abstinence and plain food, with due
labor.
4. For studious persons, about eight ounces of animal food, and twelve of
vegetable, in twenty hours, is sufficient.
5. Water is the wholesomest of all drinks; it quickens the appetite and
strengthens the digestion most.
6. Strong, and more especially, spirituous liquors, are a certain, though
slow poison.
7. Experience shows there is very seldom any danger in leaving them off all
at once.
8. Strong liquors do not prevent the mischiefs of a surfeit, or carry it
off so safely as water.
9. Malt liquors (except for clear small beer, or small ale, of a due age)
are extremely hurtful to tender persons.
10. Coffee and tea are extremely hurtful to persons who have weak nerves.
III.
1. Tender persons should eat very light suppers, and that two or three
hours before going to bed.
2. They ought constantly go to bed about nine, and rise at four or five.
IV.
1. A due degree of exercise is indispensably necessary to health and long
life.
2. Walking is the best exercise for those who are able to bear it; riding
for those who are not. The open air, when the weather is fair, contributes
much to the benefit of exercise.
3. We may strengthen any weak part of the body by constant exercise. Thus,
the lungs may be strengthened by loud speaking, or walking up an easy
ascent; the digestion and the nerves by riding; the arms and hams by strong
rubbing them daily.
4. The studious ought to have stated times for exercise, at least two or
three hours a day; the one-half of this before dinner, the other before
going to bed.
5. They should frequently shave, and frequently wash their feet.
6. Those who read or write much, should learn to do it standing; otherwise,
it will impair their health.
7. The fewer clothes anyone uses by day or night, the hardier he will be.
8. Exercise first, should be always on an empty stomach secondly, should
never be continued to weariness; thirdly, after it, we should take to cool
by degrees, otherwise we shall catch cold.
9. The flesh-brush is a most useful exercise, especially to strengthen any
part that is weak.
10. Cold bathing is of great advantage to health; it prevents abundance of
diseases. It promotes perspiration, helps the circulation of the blood; and
prevents the danger of catching cold. Tender persons should pour pure water
upon the head before they go in, and walk swiftly. To jump in with the head
foremost is too great a shock to nature.
V.
1. Costiveness cannot long consist with health; therefore care should be
taken to remove it at the beginning, and, when it is removed, to prevent
its return by soft, cool, opening diet.
2. Obstructed perspiration (vulgarly called catching cold) is one great
source of diseases. Whenever there appears the least sign of this, let it
be removed by gentle sweats.
VI.
1. The passions have a greater influence upon health than most people are
aware of.
2. All violent and sudden passions dispose to, or actually throw people
into acute diseases.
3. The slow and lasting passions, such as grief and hopeless love, bring on
chronical diseases.
4. Till the passion, which caused the disease, is calmed, medicine is
applied in vain.
5. The love of God, as it is the sovereign remedy of all miseries, so in
particular it effectually prevents all the bodily disorders the passions
introduce, by keeping the passions themselves within due bounds; and by the
unspeakable joy and perfect calm serenity and tranquility it gives the
mind; it becomes the most powerful of all the means of health and long
life.
LONDON, June 11, 1747
44. An Hysteric Cholic.
Mrs. Watts, by using the cold bath two and twenty times in a month,
was entirely cured of an hysteric cholic, fits, and convulsive motions,
continual sweatings and vomiting, wandering pains in her limbs and head,
with total loss of appetite.
In the fit, drink half a pint of water with a little wheat-flour in
it, and a spoonful of vinegar.
Or of warm lemonade: tried.
Or, take 20, 30, or 40 drops of balsam of peru on fine sugar: if
need be, take this twice or thrice a day:
Or, in extremity, boil three ounces of Burdock-seed in water, which
give as a clyster:
Or, twenty drops of laudanum, in any proper clyster, which gives
instant ease.
45. A Nervous Cholic.
Use the cold-bath daily for three or four weeks.
Or, take quicksilver and acqua sulphurata daily for a month.
Hypochondriac and Hysteric Disorders.
Use cold bathing:
Or, take an ounce of quicksilver every morning, and ten drops of
Elixir of Vitriol in the afternoon, in a glass of cold water.
151. Lunacy.
Give a decoction of agrimony [flowering herb] four times a day:
Or, rub the head several times a day with vinegar, in which
ground-ivy leaves have been infused:
Or, take daily an ounce of distilled vinegar:
Or, boil juice of ground-ivy with sweet oil and white wine into an
ointment. Shave the head, anoint it therewith, and chafe it in warm every
other day for three weeks. Bruise also the leaves and bind them on the
head, and give three spoonfuls of the juice warm every morning. This
generally cures melancholy. The juice alone, taken twice a day, will cure.
Or, electrify: tried.
152. Raging Madness.
Apply to the head, cloths dipt in cold water:
Or, set the patient with his head under a great water-fall, as long
as his strength will bear: or, pour water on his head out of a tea-kettle:
Or, let him eat nothing but apples for a month:
Or, nothing but bread and milk: tried.
153. The Bite of a Mad Dog.
Plunge into cold water daily for twenty days, and keep as long under
it as possible. This has cured, even after the hydrophobia was begun.
Or, mix ashes of trefoil with hog's-lard, and anoint the part as
soon as possible. Repeat it twice or thrice at six hours distance. This has
cured many: and particularly a dog bit on the nose by a mad dog.
Or, mix a pound of salt, with a quart of water. Squeeze, bathe, and
wash the wound with this for an hour. Then bind some salt upon it for
twelve hours. N.B. The Author of this receipt was bit six times by mad
dogs, and always cured himself by this means.
Or, mix powdered liver-wort, four drachms: black pepper, two
drachms. Divide this into four parts, and take one in warm milk for four
mornings fasting. Dr. Mead affirms he never knew this to fail: But it has
sometimes failed.
Or, take two or three spoonfuls of the juice of ribwort, morning and
evening, as soon as possible after the bite. Repeat this for two or three
changes of the moon. It has not been known to fail.
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