The next I shall recommend, is a Cutaneous Exercise; _Chafing of the
Skin_, or as we usually call it, the Use of the _Flesh-Brush_. It is
very strange that this Exercise, which was in such universal request
among the Ancients, of which they have wrote so copiously, have given
us so many Rules and Distinctions for the use of it, which they put in
Practice, in almost all Distempers, and without which, scarce any Man of
tolerable Circumstances pass’d a day, either in Sickness or in Health; I
say, it is strange, that what was so much esteem’d by them, should be so
totally neglected and slighted by us, especially when we consider that
their Experience agrees so exactly with our Modern Discoveries in the
Oeconomy of Nature, _viz._ That there is so great a disproportion between
the Evacuations perform’d by the Skin insensibly, and all the others put
together; that the first exceeds all the rest by many Ounces. One would
be apt to think, that this Theory should convince us, that the Ancients
did find their Account in those diligent Frictions, and that they really
answer’d their Expectations in the several Cases, in which they made
use of ’em; and that we, who live in a Colder Climate, have much more
reason to expect great advantages from this Method, if we would use it
to some purpose, with Continuation and close Repetition. If a Person
happens to be a little more costive than ordinary, what a Concern is he
in for it? What Doses of Purging Physick are repeated to take off this
suppos’d Evil; which at the same time is frequently obviated by a larger
_Diaphoresis_, which at such times is often sensible in the Palms of the
Hands, and very often not sensible, but yet real, and to the greater
Benefit of the Person, than a Laxity of the Intestines would have been.
But if six or eight Ounces of the _Materia Perspirabilis_ is kept in,
which is of far worse Consequence, than the like Weight of the _Fæces_;
no body is very solicitous about that: and if it discover it self in a
Cold or Headach, presently there is Recourse to Purgatives; and if it
be the Summer time, perhaps the Purging Waters are drank so long _de
die in diem_, till Nature lose the way she has been accustom’d to; and
perhaps never comes to be able to make the same Discharges for Quantity
by insensible Perspiration, as she did before she was thus violently
forc’d out of her way. This was not the way of the Ancients, they were
for stimulating and soliciting that part, which was primarily defective,
that they might reduce it to an Ability to make its wonted Discharges;
so that where there is a great Lett of insensible Perspiration, which
in some Cases is easily discover’d by the Smoothness and Dryness of
the Hands, it is certainly most natural to endeavour to stimulate the
Glands of the Skin by rubbing; which by the Colour it brings into the
Skin, Sufficiently shews what it is able to do, if us’d long enough.
And certainly we ought to have regard to this sort of Discharge above
others, because it can supply the Defect of others, better than any of
the others can supply the Defect of this; and because it is perform’d by
those Vessels, which are by all now allowed to be the grand Emunctory of
the Body, that is, by the true Skin, and all its innumerable Glands.
These Reasons are so Natural, that I can’t imagine what should have
hinder’d the putting this Method in Practice in some Cases at least,
unless it be, what I have somewhere observ’d before, the general
Impatience of most People, who can’t be brought to think well of a
Method which does not surprize with some present Alteration, without
considering, that if such a Method will after a time cause a good
Alteration, it is worth their while to wait for it, and perhaps the best
Course that the Nature of the Case will admit of. Now that the Efficacy
of a _general Chafing_ may be made to appear so valuable, as to encourage
any one to wait for the Effects of it, let us but consider it in a
particular familiar Case, which is the Cure of a _Ganglion_, a Tumour in
a Tendon, occasion’d by some extravasated Juices between the Coats. This
little white Swelling is commonly taken off by frequent Rubbing; and tho’
no Alteration appear for a Week or two, yet if you persist longer, it
certainly vanishes; which plainly shews, that if _Chafing_ can produce
such an Effect, in a Part which is cold, and comparatively exanguous,
what may we not expert from it, when apply’d to the _Cutis_, which is so
warm and succulent, and ready to give forth such copious Exhalations?
This Instance, in my Opinion, does sufficiently illustrate the thing,
tho’ we see the good Effect of it in another Case too, _viz._ The
_Rickets_, which is caus’d by the neglect of exercising and _Chafing_ the
Limbs of the Child, and which every Nurse knows may be Cur’d by so doing,
if it has not been of long Continuance; or at least that those Exercises
are equally prevalent with all the Internal Administrations.
If these things are so, why should not we carry on this Method to some
of the other Cases too? Why should not we go to work even in a true
Rheumatism, after the Inflammation is abated; to fetch out the _Mucous
Gelatinous_ Substance, which has been thrown put into the _Interstices_
of the Muscles? This course would mould and break that Viscous Matter,
and render it more fit to be absorb’d and carry’d off, or discuss’d, by
dilating the Membranes, and making ’em more fit for a Transpiration; and
withal would secure the Cutaneous Parts, from too great a Flaccidity, by
keeping up the Spring of the small Fibres; whereas warm Fomentations,
tho’ they procure a wonderful Transpiration, yet they are apt to leave
the part relaxed, and sodden in a manner, if they are apply’d too often;
and thus it is easie to imagine, how proper this Course is in the other
Nervous Scorbutick Rheumatism, and what good Effect it will produce, if
us’d with Discretion, at proper Seasons; with other Exercises likewise.
There are moreover some _Atrophies_ where this is like to prove of
singular Use, by reason of the στεγνωσις (as _Galen_ calls it, in his
third Book, _de Sanitate Tuendâ_) the dryness and stiffness of the Skin,
which at that time, seems to be fix’d to the part that it covers, and
not to fit loose as at other times, and the Pores are obstructed, and
the Skin of a different Hue, from what it is in most other Cases. Here
it’s easie to perceive that _Chafing_ must be of wonderful consequence,
the reason of which _Galen_ gives us in a Chapter or two in the
abovementioned Book, where he Treats expresly of this very Affect.
_Lastly_, it must needs be very beneficial to those Hysterical and
Hypochondriacal People, who are very Fat; and upon that account, cannot
use much Exercise, and have reason to be cautious, how they venture into
the Cold Bath, and therefore I have not perfunctorily advanc’d this
Method, where I have already treated of that Case, but upon good grounds;
as these People can’t well bear any of the sensible _Evacuations_, it is
but necessary we should have recourse to the promotion of the insensible
one; and perhaps if we knew the true cause of that Distemper, it would
be found to arise in great part, from some Lett in that insensible
Perspiration, and therefore it would be proper to endeavour the Removal
of such an Obstruction by outward Means, because so few internal ones
are agreeable; and if any one thinks the Breathing, that is caus’d by
_Chafing_, too trivial to be call’d an Evacuation, they may be fully
inform’d out of _Hippocrates_ and _Galen_, that they thought it to
deserve that Name, and therefore they distinguish’d one degree of it
for attenuating of gross Bodies. If therefore this can be brought to
appear a sufficient Evacuation for these People, it is certain it is
most conducive upon other accounts; because it raises and cherishes the
Spirits at the same time. Upon this account of refreshing the Spirits,
the Ancients made it a great part of their Ἀποθεραπία, that is, their
Method for refreshing _Athleticks_, after their violent Exercises; and
every Old Woman now among us, falls to rubbing the Limbs of any body that
happens to be taken with an Hysterick Fit, for it diverts the Spirits
from flowing too much to the Parts affected, and long acting upon the
Extremity of those most sensible Fibres of the Skin, must needs agitate
the Spirits considerably, and give some Strength likewise to those Parts
that are so _Chafed_.
A great deal more might be added on this neglected Subject; but I think
I have said enough to prove what I above asserted, _viz._ The exquisite
Agreement, between the Practice of the Ancients, and our Theory of the
_Cutaneous_ Parts; and if this will not encourage any to hope for the
like Advantage from the same Methods now in our days, nothing that I can
say more will avail.
_Of being Exercis’d to bear_ COLD.
The next and last _Gymnastick_ Method I proceed to, is the Use of the
_Cold Bath_; if any should wonder to find me rank this, among the several
sorts of Exercise, they may consider, that it was ever reputed for one
among the Ancients, and not without Reason; since it makes the Spirits
recoil, and act with more united Vigour, upon the Subject-matter of the
Disease, and so a Cure may be made by them alone, without any Medicinal
Virtue, receiv’d through the Pores, as in other outward and Topical
Applications; this comes up to the Notion of an Exercise, because it
enables Nature to accomplish the Work of Healing her self.
I shall not attempt to account for the Advantages of this Practice,
because that has been done already so copiously by Sir _John Floyer_
and Dr. _Baynard_, and the World has already begun to experience the
good Effects of it, and there are Examples enough, every where known, to
justifie the recourse to it, in the Cases to which I apply it; and ’tis
to be hop’d now, that Men will begin to consider the Folly and Mischief
of the too warm Regimen, which in health does often prepare ’em for
Sickness, and in Sickness does often increase the Disease, and hasten
Death, a Regimen which would be much more proper, for one that is to have
a sudden passage into a warm Country, than for us who are to prepare our
selves for the bearing of the Cold; a thing which we cannot fly from,
and therefore ought to resist it; and which is not so formidable or
dangerous, as for a great while has been thought. The Inhabitants of this
Nation formerly went Naked, and were more Healthy than we are now; and
the People of _Canada_, and all the Cold Continent behind _Newfoundland_,
go much after the same manner, without any Inconvenience from it, but
are rather fortifi’d against the Accidents they would be subject to, if
their Pores were too much open’d and relax’d by too much warmth; and
we may very well distinguish the Rational, from the Savage Part, by as
thin a Habit as Decency will permit. It is a strange thing, that People
should be fond of suppling their Skins, and keeping their Pores too
open; as if a Man did not as really perspire, when there is no sensible
Moisture upon the Skin, tho’ not so much, as when he is all bedew’d with
Exhalations, which should not be sent out in so great Quantity, but upon
brisk Exercise. If Men knew how much Sweat impairs the Skin, and inclines
it to wrinkle, as _Sanctorius_ tells us in one of his _Aphorisms_, they
would be fully perswaded, that Nature can make her Discharges by finer
and better ways, than those which are so perceptible, and that Flannel is
scarce necessary or convenient on this side Old Age. The nervous parts of
the Skin have certainly a very great Elasticity, and are capable of being
strengthned by good and suitable Management, even to a Habit, as well as
those of other Parts; and we see, that when the Glands of the Skin do
throw out a very sensible quantity of Sweat in some particular Parts,
these Parts grow accustom’d to the Air, or other Moisture, and receive
little or no hinderance in their discharges from it; as we see the Palms
of the Hands shall sweat copiously, notwithstanding the External Air
immediately striking upon ’em; and none are more Strong and Healthy, than
those who are wont to have their Feet wet without changing their Shooes
and Stockings for it. The Stomach plac’d in the midst of the Body, and
consequently exquisitely warm, is so adapted, as to bear large Draughts
of the Coldest Liquor, without the least Damage, unless the Body has
been extremely heated; and tho’ its Office seems to require great and
continual Heat, yet it is not obstructed in it, by the admission of Cold
things, nor are its Glands benumn’d or constring’d, so as to hinder
the Secretion of digesting Juices; and can we suppose the Fabrick of
the Skin less perfect, and exquisite, when by its position it is to be
immediately subject to the effects of the External Air? Can we think its
Vessels are not endu’d with a strength sufficient to answer the Force and
Weight of the incumbent Air? And its Glands of such a make, as that the
Particles they strain shall be of so fine a Texture as to pass the Skin,
when it seems to us to be too close to permit any transition? We make but
indifferent use of a very good Theory, that _Sanctorius_ has furnish’d us
with, if we give way to these Thoughts, and encourage too frequently the
promoting of Sensible Perspirations; which, be they in never so small a
degree, are the effect of some Violence upon Nature, and consequently not
to be compar’d with the other more Even and Regular Secretion.
Besides, we may argue from the Effects of too much Heat, and from the
Distempers of Hot Countries, to instance but in one Disease (which when
it seizes any one among us, their chiefest Care is to be secur’d from the
Cold,) and that is the Colick, which is the Epidemical Distemper of Hot
Countries, not of Cold, and so common at _Surat_, that about Noon the
whole Town shall smell of _Assa Fœtida_, which they mix in most of their
Dishes, to preserve ’em from that Tormenting Distemper, which the Heat of
the Air does not exempt ’em from, but exposes ’em to it, by rarefying the
Blood and Humours, and opening their Pores; by which Method I don’t doubt
but many a one among us has brought an Accidental Colick to be habitual;
for being scar’d by the first Fit, they have endeavour’d to secure
themselves from another, by these very Means which prove most likely to
bring it on. If any one thinks this strange, let ’em remember what hapned
when Muffs were worn universally, some Men were wont to let ’em hang upon
their Bellies for the most part; and I have heard a Healthy Man complain,
that upon leaving off his Muff for a day or two after such a Custom, he
has been grip’d; from which any one in the World will infer, that the
keeping the Part too warm, prepar’d it for the Ill Effect of the Air, and
that the same may happen in any part of the whole Body; so that it is a
Folly for People, in most Cases where the Lungs are not concern’d, to
nurse up a Distemper, which was at first perhaps in great part owing to
a tender way of living, and by continuing that Course of Life, must be
rather encreas’d than perfectly rooted out. A great deal more might be
urg’d, if my Scope would permit me, to induce People to believe the good
effects that will follow upon the Exercising themselves in bearing _Cold_.
I shall proceed next to shew, what was the Opinion of the Antients,
concerning Exercise in the Cure of several Distempers, and shall collect
their Sentiments as briefly as possible; that as in a Sketch they may
appear at one View.
_The PRACTICE of the ANCIENTS._
We find then that much about the time of _Hippocrates_, the _Gymnastick_
Method began to be introduc’d into the Art of Physick; whether it was
brought up by the School of the _Cnidians_, or any other Society of
Physicians, or whether _Herodicus_ first joyn’d it to the Dietetick, and
so brought it into Request, I shall not undertake to determine; but we
find by _Hippocrates_, in his _third_ Book, _de Dietâ_, _Sect. 12._ That
with some sort of Glory he assumes to himself the Honour of bringing that
Method to a Perfection, so as to be able to distinguish Πότερον τὸ σιτίον
κρατέει τοὺς πόνους, ἤ ὁι πόνοι τὰ σιτία, ἢ μετρίως ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα.
_Utrum cibus superat labores, aut labores cibos, aut moderatè inter se
habeant_; as he expresses it. Pursuant to this, we find him in several
places of his Works, recommending several Sorts of Exercises upon proper
Occasions; as _first_, Friction or _Chafing_, the Effects of which he
explains in his _Second_ Book, _de Diæta_, _Sect. 42._ And tells us, that
as in some Cases it will bring down the Bloatedness of the Solid Parts,
in other Cases it will incarn and cause an Increase of Flesh, and make
the part Thrive; for, says he, _Carnes Calefactæ ac siccatæ alimentum
in seipsas per venas trahunt, deinde augescunt_. He advises Walking, of
which they had two Sorts, their round and streight Courses. He gives his
Opinion of the Ἀνακίνηματα or Preparatory Exercises, which serv’d to
warm and fit the Wrestlers for the more vehement ones. In some Cases
he advises, the Παλὴ, or common Wrestling, and the Ἀκροκείρησις, or
Wrestling by the Hands only, without coming close. The Κωρυχμαχία, or the
Exercise of the _Corycus_, or the hanging Ball. The Χειρονομίη, a Sort of
dextrous and regular Motion of the Hands, and upper parts of the Body,
something after a Military manner. The Ἀλίνδησις, or rowling in Sand; and
once we find mention’d with some Approbation the Ἤπειροι Ἵπποι, _Equi
Indefiniti_, by which I suppose he means Galloping, long Courses in the
open Field. These various Exercises are more amply describ’d by several
Authors, and _Mercurialis_ has Collected a very good account of ’em; they
may seem strange to those who don’t consider what great Expences the
Ancients were at in Building Academies, or Places every way convenient
for these purposes; and as odd as some of these may be thought by us
now, they were as commonly practis’d in those days, as Cupping is now in
our _Bagnio’s_. And tho’ _Hippocrates_ gives his Direction concerning
these things, after his usual manner, in short Terms, yet ’tis plain he
depended much on ’em, because he so frequently inculcates the Distinction
of this or that sort of Exercise, to such and such a Distemper; and the
People of those Times might find greater Benefit from those Exercises,
than we do now from some of ours, which I doubt not are altogether as
good; because they apply’d the Exercise to such or such a Medicine as
the Physician thought fit, which gave it a greater Energy; and after
its Operation had recourse to another milder Method, to take off the
Heat or Disorder which might have been caus’d by the Medicine. In
these Practices they were so dexterous and successful, that tho’ their
Ætiology strictly taken, was wrong, yet if a Man diligently attends to
their Reasoning from Effects, he may be satisfi’d, that they were able by
these Methods to do some wonderful Cures; and indeed they sometimes had
such surprizing Success, that the abovemention’d _Herodicus_, an Eminent
Master of Exercises, thought he could Cure all Distempers by those Means,
and went Empirically to work upon the Bodies of those who put themselves
under his Care, and was so extravagant, as to attempt to Cure Fevers by
such Methods, for which he is ridicul’d by _Hippocrates_, in the _Sixth
Book_ of his _Epidemicks_, and the _Third Section_.
As for _Galen_, he follows _Hippocrates_ in this, as close as in
other things, and declares his Opinion of the Benefit of Exercises in
several places; his _Second_ Book, _de Sanitate Tuendâ_, is wholly
upon the Use of the _Strigil_, or the Advantage of Regular _Chafing_;
he has wrote a little Tract, _de Parvâ Pilâ_, wherein he recommends an
Exercise, by which the Body and Mind are both at the same time affected.
In his Discourse to _Thrasibulus_, which is a Dispute, whether the
Preservation of the Health properly belongs to the Art of Physick, or
to the Gymnastick Art, he inveighs against the _Athletick_, and other
violent Practices of the _Gymnasium_, but approves of the more moderate
Exercises, as subservient to the Ends of a Physician, and consequently
part of that Art.
The other _Greek_ Writers speak much the same thing, and the Sense of
most of ’em in this matter is contracted in _Oribasius_’s Collections.
I shall only take Notice that they rely’d much on Exercise in the Cure
of the _Dropsie_, wherein we almost totally neglect it; _Porrò motus,
si quid aliud_ (says _Trallian_, one of the latest of ’em) _Hydropicis
conducit, præcipuè qui fit per Mare, Equum, & Lecticam iis autem qui
viribus constant, etiam Itio est utilissima_; which is no more than what
_Hippocrates_ has advis’d before, in his _de internis Affection_. _Sect.
28._ He orders for one that has a Dropsie ταλαιπωρεέτω περιόδοισι πολλισι
δι’ ἡμήρης, _Laboret circuitus multos de die._ And he makes use of the
same Word in his Epidemicks, and almost always when he speaks of the
Regimen of a Dropical Person, implying that tho’ it be a labour for such
People to move, yet they must undergo it; and this is so much the Sense
of _Hippocrates_, that Mons. _Spon_ has Collected it into one of the New
_Aphorisms_, which he has drawn out of his Works. _Celsus_ says of this
Case, _Concutiendum multâ Gestatione Corpus est_; and in another place,
_Facilius in Servis quàm in Liberis tollitur, quia cum desideret famem,
sitim, mille alia tædia, longamq; patientiam, promptius his succurritur,
qui facilè coguntur, quam quibus inutilis libertas est_. I have made
choice of these Citations, that I may not be thought to have apply’d the
Use of Exercise to the Cure of the Dropsie, without Precedent; and if the
Ancients in their Practice found the good Effects of it, we have much
more reason to expect greater Advantage from such Measures, since we have
a Medicine we use in this Case, which seems particularly to demand it; I
mean the Chalybeate, of which I have already spoke elsewhere.
But to return to my former Design; not only the _Greeks_ but the _Latin_
Writers also, are full of these Methods. The _Romans_ rather exceeded,
than came short of the _Greeks_, in the Prosecution of _Gymnastick_
Courses; and _Asclepiades_, who liv’d in the Time of _Pompey_ the Great,
was the Man who brought them into the most Universal Request. He call’d
Exercises _the common Aids of Physick_, and wrote a Treatise, _de
Frictione, & Gestatione_, which is mention’d by _Celsus_, in his Chapter
_de Frictione_, but the Book is lost. He carry’d these Notions so far,
that he invented the _Lecti Pensiles_, or Hanging Beds, that the Sick
might be rock’d to sleep; which took so much at that time, that they
came afterwards to make these Beds of Silver, and they were a great part
of the Luxury of that People; he had so many particular ways to make
Physick agreeable, understood so well the Τὸ Βέλπον of his Profession,
was so exquisite in the invention of Exercises to supply the Place of
much Physick, that perhaps no Man in any Age ever had the happiness to
obtain so general an Applause; and _Pliny_ says, he by these means made
himself the Delight of Mankind.
About his Time the _Roman_ Physicians sent their Consumptive Patients to
_Alexandria_ in _Ægypt_, and with very good Success, as we find by both
the _Pliny’s_; this was done partly for the Change of Air, but chiefly
for the Sake of the Exercise by the Motion of the Ship, and therefore
_Celsus_ says, _Si vera a Phthisis est, opus est longâ Navigatione_; and
a little after he makes _Vehiculum & Navis_ to be two of the chiefest
Remedies; and I am apt to believe they were the more inclin’d to make
use of the Sea-Carriage, as an Exercise, for the sake of the Vomiting,
which happens at the Beginning of it, that they might thereby supply
their Want of gentle Emeticks, which at times are so beneficial in that
Distemper, in which scarce any of the Emeticks which they then knew,
can be us’d with Safety, and it was a great part of their Industry and
Sagacity to make good what they wanted in Pharmacy by other Means. As for
the other more common Exercises, that were daily practis’d, as it is very
manifest from _Celsus_, _Cælius Aurelianus_, _Theodorus Priscianus_, and
the rest of the _Latin_ Physicians. And we don’t want Instances of the
Cures wrought by these means. _Suetonius_ tells us, that _Germanicus_
was Cur’d of a _Crurum Gracilitas_, as he expresses it, I suppose he
means an _Atrophy_, by Riding; and _Plutarch_ in the Life of _Tully_
gives us an account of his Infirmness, and that he recovered a great
Measure of Health by Travelling, and excessive Diligence in Rubbing
and _Chafing_ his Body; and he himself in his _Brutus, seu de claris
Oratioribus_, relates his Case, That he was so weak, that his Friends
and Physicians advis’d him to leave off Pleading, which struck him so,
that he thought he would undergo any Fatigue, rather than lose the Glory
of his Profession, and so betook himself to Travelling, which with other
regular Courses brought him to his Health again. _Pliny_, _lib. 31.
Cap. 6._ tells us _Annæas Gallio_, who had been Consul, was Cured of
a Consumption by a Sea Voyage; and _Galen_ gives us such Accounts of
the good Effects of particular Exercises, and all People so unanimously
apply’d themselves with Patience and Resolution to these Practices, that
it cannot be suppos’d, but they must have been able to produce great and
good Effects.
If any one should ask me how it comes to pass that Riding, which I have
substituted as equivalent to any or all the Exercises of the Ancients,
in the Case of Sickness, was so little regarded by their Physicians, but
other less valuable Exercises insisted on; it may be reply’d, that the
Ancients could not recommend Riding to weak People, because of their
manner of Riding; they had not the same convenience, as we have; for in
those days they rode without Stirrups, which must needs be tiresome to
weak Persons. We find by comparing of Medals, that the Stirrup was an
Invention of a much later date, than any of the Authors I have quoted, I
think by about Seven Hundred Years; so that Riding was only an Exercise
for Healthy and strong Men; besides Horses were not so common in the
_Levant_, or in _Italy_, as they are with us; they were reserv’d for
Military Men, or at least for Men of Plentiful Fortunes, and the Ass and
the Mule serv’d for common Carriage; the Horse was a formidable Creature
to People that were not accustom’d to him, and especially to weak
Persons. We see such a Jolly Fellow as _Martial_, could advise his Friend
_Priscus_, to have a Care how he hunted, _Lib. 12. Epig. 14._
_Parcius utaris, moneo, rapiente Veredo_
_Prisce, nec in Lepores tam violen ter eas._
And in the Close of the Epigram,
_Quid te fræna juvant temararia! Sæpius illis,_
_Prisce, datum est equitem rumpere, quam Leporem._
And that this Humour still remains in those Countries, tho’ we have a
better way of Riding, is evident from Dr. _Baglivi_, who tells us in
the _Corollaries_ of the _8th_ Chapter of his _first_ Book, _de Fib.
Motrice_, That he Cur’d two Hypochondriacal Persons, _Hominem Nobilem
ac alium Divitem_, a Gentleman and another rich Man, that he says were
desperately Ill, by Riding on Asses in the Country Air; and I believe
all will agree to think they were desperately Ill, who could despense
with the Ass-trot, when their Circumstances would have afforded them
the Carriage of a better Creature. The _Italians_ plainly discover
likewise, how little they are addicted to Horsemanship, in that Proverb
of theirs which says, _That a Galloping Horse is an open Sepulchre_; and
according to this Opinion, they manage their Horse-Races at _Florence_,
for they make their Horses run without Riders upon ’em, something after
the manner of a Paddock-Course; and to make ’em run the faster, they clap
a Saddle upon ’em, cover’d with a Sort of Tinsey Stuff, that may make
a fluttering with the Motion of the Horse, and fright him that he may
run the faster; and instead of Stirrups, there hangs down Straps from
the Saddle, at the end of which, there are Balls full of sharp Spikes,
which leap up and down, and prick the Horse as he runs. This ridiculous
way of Running their Horses, shews how great is the Prevalence of that
habitual Timorousness, which keeps ’em from the Enjoyment of the best and
most useful sort of Riding, as the Ancients could distinguish very well,
as we find by _Oribasius_, in his Chapter _de Equitatione_, who after
he has said, that Riding slowly was tiresome, (which was for want of
Stirrups) he goes on to tell you, _Si vehementer impellatur_ (viz. Equus)
_quamvis totum corpus laboriosè concutiat, tamen aliquid utilitatis
affert, siquidem magis quam omnes aliæ Exercitationes, Corpus et
præsertim Stomachum firmat, et sensuum instrumenta purgat, eaque reddit
acutiora_. This is a sufficient _Encomium_ of Riding, coming from the
Mouth of one of the Ancients, who relied so much upon other Exercises,
tho’ we in these Northern Parts want no Recommendation from them, of a
thing so much experienc’d by our selves; only we slight and neglect this
Advantage, as we do many others, because it is common.
I have now with sufficient Brevity, consider’d how much the Ancients
depended on the Assistance of Exercises in their Practice; and I leave
it to any one, that is not prejudic’d, to judge whether this may not
pass for one Reason, why they cur’d so well with so bad a Theory, and
such indifferent Materials; when we, with our Circulation and Splendid
Pharmacy, are not perhaps able to outdo ’em proportionably to our larger
Acquisition of Knowledge; I say, I think this may be one Reason, for
I know there is another may be alledg’d likewise, and I think I speak
without any undue Aggravation.
The Power of Exercises us’d at proper Seasons, and with great and exact
Patience, must needs be very great; and if it be true, that in the
_Roman_ Common Wealth there was no profess’d Physician for the first Five
Hundred Years, there is no way to account for it but by their incredible
Temperance, and Variety of Exercises; the few Chronical Distempers they
had among ’em, were in all likelyhood, for the most part subsequent to
Acute Distempers, which no Temperance can always prevent, and the little
vegetable Physick, which they could not but know, with their resolute
and indefatigable Application to some of their Exercises, might suffice
to help ’em to get clear of ’em. This may perhaps by some be thought
rather a Gloss than an Argument, who do no duly consider their wonderful
Patience in this respect; the _Pletherismus_, and _Pitylismus_, two odd
uncouth Exercises mention’d by _Galen_, are sufficient to convince any
Man, that they that would heartily drudge at them in the middle of the
_Stadium_, would do any thing that was possible to recover their Health,
and might expect the very utmost Benefit that could be obtain’d from the
various Motion of the whole, or any part of the Body.
I will grant, that they carried these things too far, the whole Education
of the _Athletæ_ was blameable; I will grant likewise that they were
too Nice in the Exercises for the Preservation of Health; I can’t
admire _Pliny_’s Course of Life, which he gives us an Account of in the
_Thirty sixth Epistle_ of his _Ninth_ Book. _Ubi hora quarta vel quinta
(neque enim certum dimensumq; tempus) ut dies suasit, in Xystum me, vel
Cryptoporticum confero, reliqua meditor & dicto, vehiculum ascendo, ibi
quoque idem quòd ambulans, aut jacens, durat intensio, mutatione ipsa
refecta paulum redormio, deinde ambulo, mox orationem Græcam Latinámve
clarè & intentè; non tam vocis causa, quam Stomachi lego, pariter
tamen & illa firmatur iterum Ambulo, ungor, exerceor, Lavor_. Nor can
I approve of _Spurinnas_ abundant Regularity, as _Pliny_ relates it in
his _first_ Epistle of his _third_ Book, he tells us, thus _Spurinna_
manag’d himself, _Ut manè lectulo contineretur, hora secunda indueretur,
ambularetque millia passuum tria, mox legeret, vel colloqueretur, deinde
consideret, tum vehiculum ascenderet, peractisq; ita septem millibus
passuum, iterum ambularet mille, iterum resideret, vel se Cubiculo aut
Stylo redderet; ubi hora balnei nunciata foret, (quæ erat byeme nona,
æstate octava) in sole, si caruisset vento, ambularet nudus, dein pila
moveretur vehementer, & diu; postmodùm lotus accumberet, & paulisper
cibum differret_. This is a great deal too much, this is over-doing, Life
is not worth such anxious Regularity, a generous Negligence is much more
preferable in a State of Health; but if a Man happens to be seiz’d with
a Distemper of such a Nature, that Exercise is absolutely necessary to
the Removal of it, he would be wanting to himself, and very much to be
blam’d, if he should think any Fatigue too great to be undergone for the
sake of a Recovery; and I fansie there is scarce any Man in this Case,
but would take Pains enough, provided he thought they would not be in
Vain, which most People are now apt to suppose, because the World has
lost the Sense of the Efficacy of Exercises, since the _Goths_ over-run
the Southern Nations of _Europe_, and abolish’d and suppress’d many of
their Customs, that they might the easier introduce their own; so that
in this respect we are in opposite Extreams, if they prosecuted these
Measures too much, we do too little; and I am very sensible how difficult
a thing it is, with the best of Arguments, to influence those who are
propense to the contrary of what you propose. And we are so habituated
to other Methods and other Expectations, have so many Conveniences for
Support and Palliation under a Sickness, that most People are supinely
content rather to rub on in a Sickly Condition, that does not carry the
greatest Danger with it, than resolutely endeavour by vigorous Means
to be quite deliver’d from it. And if it be a Distemper that threatens
immediate Peril, these Means are presently thought too trivial to have
any Weight in the Cure, and People can with more Ease despair of Help,
than struggle with Pain in hope of an uncertain Cure; so that in some
Cases, it may be very well said of the Wise, the Rich, the Valiant, and
the Mighty, as was formerly said of one of King _David_’s Generals; who,
because he was kill’d upon a Surprize, (which yet no Humane Precaution
can always prevent,) was lamented with that severe _Epicedium, Died
~ABNER~ as a Fool dieth_?