On Popular Blufions. 95 



id fortaffe cura diis, ^ divino Minijlerio Principis 

 leBum; accordingly the Emperor fpits on one of 

 his petitioners, and kicks the other, and both are 

 cured on the fpot*. Strada obferves very pro- 



, perly, on this difgraceful ftory, that there was 

 room enough here for Tacitus to have exercifed 

 his talent at conjecture, which he indulges fo 

 freely on other fubjefts; but this perhaps was too 

 eafily to be explained, becaufe ApoUonius, who 

 was the friend of Vefpafian, happened to be in 

 Alexandria, at the time of this miracle, and ic 

 was readily enough conceived that the Emperor 

 might be his pupil f. The fage hiftorian, there- 

 fore, relates the fimple matter of faft. Delrio 

 and Morhoff mention the Saludadores of Spain, 

 who cured difeafes by the touch, breath, faliva, 

 &c. Morhoff fays that Emanuel de Valle de 

 Moura wrote an exprefs treatife concerning them. 

 Another Spaniard, Michael Medina, knew a boy 

 who cured difeafed perfons by touching them J. 

 Dr. Willis afferts that he has known fcrophulous 

 perfons cured, by impofition of hands by the 



Jeventhjon of a Jeventh Jon, when all other remedies 

 failed II . The efficacy of the royal touch, in 

 England, was not only afferted by Tooker and 

 .Willis, but by Wifeman, whofe Treatife on 

 Surgery was the ftandard book in this country, 



• Hiftor. lib. IV. f Prolus. 11. Hiftor. p. 71, & feq, 



X Flen. p. 193; Delrio 24. || Cereb. Anat. p. 159. 



H 2 till 



