COMATA. 361 



by increasing the heart's contractions, proves a means of con- 

 veying heat to the affected parts, and any danger that might 

 arise from the quicker circulation is obviated by the succeeding 

 sweats. But it is not in our power to excite a proper fever ; 

 for I imagine that authors, when speaking of this, mean nothing 

 more than raising, by stimuli, a velocity of pulse and circula- 

 tion. And here I must observe, that there are some stimuli 

 that act upon the nervous system without affecting the heart 

 and vessels in any degree ; and others that act powerfully on the 

 sanguiferous system without having great influence upon the 

 nervous system. Hence, I would divide stimuli into nervous 

 and inflammatory : these are not, however, quite disjoined 

 nervous stimuli cannot be long applied without bringing the 

 heart and vessels into consent, and vice versa. But, as the effects 

 of the inflammatory are more permanent, and are particularly 

 improper in the case of compression, we should avoid them as 

 much as possible in this disease, and confine ourselves to the 

 nervous.'" 



MCLXX. With respect to the whole of these internal stim- 

 ulants, it is to be observed, that they seldom prove very power- 

 ful ; and wherever there is any doubt concerning the nature 

 or state of the disease, they may readily do harm, and are often, 

 therefore of ambiguous use. 



