A treatise on the plague and yellow fever : with an appendix, containing histories of the plague at Athens in the time of the Peloponnesian War ; at Constantinople in the time of Justinian ; at London in 1665 ; at Marseilles in 1720 ; &c. / by James Tytler, compiler of the medical part of the Encyclopaedia Britannica ; published according to act of Congress.

James Tytler

Date:: 1799

Credit: A treatise on the plague and yellow fever : with an appendix, containing histories of the plague at Athens in the time of the Peloponnesian War ; at Constantinople in the time of Justinian ; at London in 1665 ; at Marseilles in 1720 ; &c. / by James Tytler, compiler of the medical part of the Encyclopaedia Britannica ; published according to act of Congress. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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$the fame reafon, left unburied, to infect and poifon the air with their putridity and corruption. Nothing was heard, night and day, but groans of dying men ; and the heaps of dead bodies continually prefented mourn- ful objects to the living, who expected every moment the fame fate.* The infection reached the Roman camp ; but we do not hear of its being conveyed, at this time, cither to Rome or Carthage. In the time of the conteft with Jugurtha, however, a very terrible ca- lamity took place in Africa. According to Orofius, a great part of Africa was covered with locufts, which deftroyed all the produce of the earth, and even devour- ed dry wood. But, at laft, they were all carried by the wind into the fea, out of which being thrown in vaft heaps upon the more, a plague enfued, which fwept away an infinite number of animals of all kinds. In 4< Numidia only, perifhed eight hundred thoufand men ; and in Africa Propria, two hundred thoufand ; among the reft, thirty thoufand Roman foldiers, quartered in and about Utica for the defence of the laft mentioned province. At Utica, in particular, the plague raged ?' with fuch violence, that fifteen hundred dead bodies *' were carried out of one gate in a day.-}* From the time that the Romans finifhed their Afri- can wars, till they had accomplished moft of their con- quers in Afia, their empire feems to have continued free from this dreadful fcourge ; but foon after the deftru&ion of Jerufalem by Titus, fuch a violent infec- tion feized on the city, that for fome time upwards of twenty thoufand are (aid to have died in it daily. As the Roman arms were carried ftill farther to the eaftward, and ail the countries reduced, to the confines of Perfia, the plague feems to have become more com- mon among them. In the time of Marcus Aurelius, a war was undertaken againft the Parthians, which was carried on by the Romans with great fuccefs, and with no lefs cruelty ; for, though the city of Selcucia opened its gates to the Roman genera], he caufed the inhabi- tants, to the number of four hunched thoufand, to be maflacred, * Uaiv. Hift. vol. \iii. ,+ Id. Vol. xviii.$

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