Bury, Lancashire.
_Spontaneous Combustion_ (Vol. vii., p. 286.).--I presume H. A. B.'s
question refers to the human body only, because the possibility of
spontaneous combustion in several other substances is, I believe, not
disputed. On that of the human body Taylor says:
"The hypothesis of those who advocate _spontaneous_ combustion,
is, it appears to me, perfectly untenable. So far as I have been
able to examine this subject, there is not a single
well-authenticated instance of such an event occurring: in the
cases reported which are worthy of any credit, a candle or some
other ignited body has been at hand, and the accidental ignition
of the clothes was highly probable, if not absolutely certain."
He admits that, under certain circumstances, the human body, though in
general "highly difficult of combustion," may acquire increased
combustible properties. But this is another question {392} from that of
the possibility of its purely spontaneous combustion. (See Taylor's
_Medical Jurisprudence_, pages 424-7. edit. 1846.)