John Locke, 1632-1704, physician and philosopher : a medical biography / with an edition of the medical notes in his journals.

  • Kenneth Dewhurst
Date:
1963
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Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: John Locke, 1632-1704, physician and philosopher : a medical biography / with an edition of the medical notes in his journals. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    105/374 page 77
    Friday, Jan. 29. Take some Turpentine, Bolus Armenie, 1 and Frank incense; make an amulet to apply to the pulse. With this my Ld. Dunnegale was cured of quartan ague but it was spring, after having it six or more months. Sat. Jan. 30. 1 made for Sr. Jo. Chichley's 2 wound, a drink with herbs infused in water with about a twentieth part of honey. One part of it filtered, and that which filtered grew sour in two days and the other kept well much longer. Query whether it [... 3 ] was by [ . . . 3 ]. A good part of honey was kept back for it filtered very slowly. Thursd. Feb. 4. Rx 2 parts of pig's lard and 1 part of quick [mercury]. Make an ointment of i| oz. for the first anointing as far as the knees ; 2nd. of 3 ozs. for the upper part of the thigh ; 3rd. of 4 ozs. for the arms ; 4th. of 5 ozs. for the feet, thighs, arms and spine. If too violent salivation follows [bleed] and purge with cassia and senna in moderate dose, but in a large glass if you like. At little repeated. When in a flux the mouth is inflamed, give a gargle of milk or whey, and when the patient can bear it, wine. Take sufficient quantity of honey, cook to required consistency, and make a possett which can be smeared with [mercury] which has been quenched in turpentine. Introduce it and let it be kept there as long as possible—a whole night if possible. Take also quenched [mercury] in purging pills. This is the best way to kill off the worms. Dr. Barbyrac has cured women up to 5 months pregnant with salivation. He has sometimes observed convulsions rising from salivation which he has cured by [bleeding] and purgation. Sat. Feb. 13. Paid Mr. Upton for 2 botles of a pint peice of the Queen of Hungary's water 4 ¿5-9-4, which he sent into England in his case. We paid to La Faveur 5 50s. per pound. Others sel it for 40s. Wed. Feb. 1 7. Aristolochia climatitis 2 or 3 of the seeds are a violent purge. Mr. Paul. 6 Mon. Feb. 22. The instruments to open the breast are : first, a silver pipe designed to book model. [There is a diagram in the journal.] If 1 A bolus was a medicine a little thicker than an electuary (which was a thick syrup). It was taken in pieces the size of a bean. Bolus armeniae was a favourite drug of Alexander of Tralles (sixth century) for epilepsy and melancholy. The original Bolus armena rubra was a species of red earth found in Armenia. But later this bolus was manufactured out of pipe clay and Venetian red (red oxide of lead). 2 His wife gave recipes to Locke on 14/3/77 and 11/10/79. 8 Indecipherable in MS. 4 A distillate of rosemary (for further details see A. C. Wootton, op. cit., vol. n, pp. 296 and 298). 5 Sébastien Matte La Faveur. 6 Probably the Paul who took his M.D. in Montpellier on 7 October, 1677 and is several times mentioned as sending greetings to Locke in the letters of W. Charleton of 1680 and 1681 (MS. Locke, c. 5). Quartan P- 33 (Shorthand) Vulnerary P. 33 (Shorthand) Filtering P. 33 (Shorthand) Venerea pp. 39-40 (Latin and Shorthand) Ascarides p. 40 (Latin) Convulsio Queen of Hungary's water P. 59 Purge p. 60 Empyema pp. 61-2 (Shorthand)
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