226 OBSTACLES TO THE 



AS i do not pretend to underfland the fub- 

 je6i: of this piece, and therefore cannot 

 fay how far the obftacles to the advancement 

 of phyfic charged upon the Swedes fubfifl in 

 this countrey, or whether all thofe obftacles, 

 which the author has mentioned, be real or not, 

 my fole motive for tranflating it was to draw it 

 out of that obfcurity in which it was buried 

 amongft many other pieces, relating to curiofi- 

 ties of natural hiftory. I think i may be al- 

 lowed to fay a piece is buried in obfcurity, 

 which is only known to a few, who happen to 

 be in the way where fuch curiofities are talked 

 of i and an attempt to fpread it over the na- 

 tion cannot but be right, if the dodrine be fo- 

 lid, and affe6ls our praclitioners. 



Tho' as i faid i do not pretend to underftand 

 the fubje6l of this piece *, yet i hope the learn- 

 ed reader will excufe me, if i add one obftacle 

 more to the foregoing lift : it is the notion 

 which has and i believe ftill does prevail a- 

 mongft fome phyftcians^ that the do^rine of 

 fpecifics is groundlefs^ and took its rife merely 

 from ignorance in natural philofophy. I will 

 not undertake to treat this fubjedt, as the im- 

 portance of it deferves; and therefore fhall 



refer 



