The plague no contagious disease; or, The infection of the plague seldom, if ever, communicated by touching of persons infected, or, of goods broughts from infected places, but the productive cause of the plague a fault of the air ... With some hints for the prevention and cure of the plague / [Anon].

  • Manningham, Richard, Sir, 1690-1759.
Date:
1744
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The plague no contagious disease; or, The infection of the plague seldom, if ever, communicated by touching of persons infected, or, of goods broughts from infected places, but the productive cause of the plague a fault of the air ... With some hints for the prevention and cure of the plague / [Anon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    [ *3 ] IN the Plague we ask, how is the firft Man infefted ? and may not the Injeffion of the Plague be received without the Concurrence of fome Things emitted from infetted Perfons ? Yes, fure , from unwholeforne Air, and it may be demonitrated from the Nature of the Plague, that it is never, or very rarely, com* municatedfrom one Perfon to another : And the Proof of the Fa£t may be taken from Cap¬ tain Graunfs Bills of Mortality, from the fudden Jumps which the Plague then made, leaping in one Week from 118 to 927, and from thence again the very next Week to 852, which Effects muft furely be rather at¬ tributed to Change of the Air, than of the Constitutions of Mens Bodies, otherwife than this depends upon that; fo that the Contagi¬ on of the Plague depends more upon the Dif- pofition of the Air, than upon the Effluvia from the Bodies of Men. This is truly a De- monftration, and every one who underffands the Manner of Captain Graunt's Reafoning, muft acquiefce in the Truth of it. The Senie of it is this, the Captain is enquiring, whether the Steams coming out of our Bodies, or Air, are the principal Caufes of fp reading the Plague, which he determines by the foregoing Argument, in Favour of the Air; for every body knows how changeable the Air is, which by its dif¬ ferent Changes from better to worfe, can fpeedily make the Plague more grievous and general; on the other Hand, its Changes from a worfe to a better Conftitution, can make