452 On Phyftognomy. 



moft all the chemical philofophers of the day), went ftill 

 farther, and adopted the notion that every fubftance in 

 nature, had either external fignatures immediately difcern- 

 ible, or internal fignatures which fire or menftrua alone 

 %vouId bring to view, denoting its connexion with fome 

 fidereal or celeftial archetype. 



The latter divifion will of courfe rank among the reveries 

 of the thcofophills whom I fhall notice prefently. The 

 former, almoft as fanciful, and to the full as unfounded, 

 was an opinion adopted by a very large clafs of literati who 

 did not fall into the other notions of the myftics. Indeed 

 the doftrines of fignatures in this fenfe, can hardly be con- 

 fidered as originating in this sera ; traces of its adoption 

 being to be found among the writings of fome of the wifeft 

 of the ancients : thus Pliny the elder * mentions the marble 

 ophites, fo called from its being fpotted like a ferpent, as 

 fovereign againft the bite of that animal, and the hamatites - 

 or blood-ftone, as a remedy for hemorrhage. 



In afcertaining the fuppofed medicinal cfFedl indicated by " 

 thefe imputed refemblances, the philofophers of the period 

 in queftion do not feem to have been very fcrupulous. 

 Amono- plants for inftance, fome were valued for their re- 

 femblance to certain parts of the body, and regarded as 

 univerfally good againft the difeafes of thofe parts ; fuch as 

 the roots of fquills, walnuts, cucumber, &c. for diforders 

 of the head ; liverwort for thofe of the liver : dentaria, for 

 the teeth: orchis, fatyrion,.<i'C. as aphrodifiacs : while 

 others were deemed efficacious againft particular complaints, 

 on account of their refemblance to the diforder itfelf as 

 pilewort, againft the hemorrhoids : the echium or fcorpio- 

 Ides, the ophiogloffum and the ophiofcorodon wereprefcri- 

 bed as remedies againft the venomous bites of thefe animals 

 on account of fome fancied fimilitude to fcorpions and fer- 

 pents; while the aconite and other poifonous plants were 



• Hift. Nat. lib. XXXVI. 



recommended 



