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.

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    Thursd. Sept. 15. [List of medical books lent to Mr. Wm. Thomas by the hands of Mr. James Tyrrell.] [The exact time of the earthquake of September 8 by Locke's watch, the Queen's pendulum, and Mr. Tompion's clock. This refers to the following entry in his notebook: 1 Terra Motus. The 8 September 1692 siting with my Lord Cutts's sister in Whitehall she of a suddain in a fright asked me what was the matter whether the house was falling down. It was a plain and very sensible motion not like trembling up and downe, but as it seemd to me a vibrating or swinging motion North and South. How many such swings there were and how long the whole motion lasted I could not tell. For the ladys fright, talkeing and goeing out of the roome which obleiged me to follow with her, hindered me from observing exactly. It was in the afternoon [. . . 2 ] minutes past 2, and soe considerable that there was scarce an house in the town where it was not perceived. J-L.] [The entries for the following years are almost entirely accounts of money spent and received.] 1695 Thursd. Aug. 1. [At Mr. Pawhngs']. Take 4 pints of olive oil. Boyle in p- 2 %s this in the spring soe much adders tongue as will make it green. Infuse in this oyle about midsomer soe many flowers of St. John's wort as you can put into the oil in a body either in the sun 144 days or in a [bain marie] 24 hours. Presse the oyle from the flowers again and after the like infusion presse out the oyle. Then adde to it J- pint each of Gum Elemi, liquid Storax, Venice Turpentine and oyl of Turpentine. Dissolve these in the oyle with a gentle heat. Strain it through a linen cloth and keep it for use. This cures fresh wounds without suppurating. Mrs. Popple. 3 -gth pint each of the gums and Turpentine 4 etc. Wash the wound with a little warm wine and sugar, or wine and oyle and then apply this balsam with lint, and binde it up close, if it cures as it should, there will be noe pain or inflammation and one dressing does it. Wed. Sept. 22 [1697]. Take 1 oz. each of the Roots of Comfrey and (Latini Solomon's Seal. To be boiled in milk like bread and eaten in the morning. 1 B.L., MS. Locke, c. 42, f. 290. 2 Blank in MS. 3 The wife of William Popple, Unitarian merchant, and translator of Locke's Letter on Toleration who was appointed Secretary to the Commissioners of Trade in 1696. 4 Locke had forgotten to put in the quantity of gum, turpentine, etc. He inserted the quantity between the lines, but rather illegibly, so he repeated the quantity again at the end of the recipe. pp.154-60 p. 161
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