OR CONTRACTED SINEWS. 57I 



of bracing or drawing parts together ; laflly, 

 by the aftual cautery, or fire : after thefe, or in 

 conjunftion with thefe, in horfes, the parts ought 

 to be expofed, during a certain period, to the 

 bracing influence of the atmofphere ; in the 

 human animal, to that of water, or the tempe- 

 rate or cold bath. 



I am not ignorant that inftead of retaining 

 the antiquated words, bracers and aftringents, 

 I might have adopted a more faftiionable term 

 from the Darwinian nomenclature, but I mull 

 be bold to fay, that I am averfe to change un- 

 attended with a61ual improvement, whether in 

 morals, politics, or medicine ; and I humbly 

 conceive there is neither improvement nor 

 correclnefs in the fubftitution of the word Sot- 

 bentia, fince many of the proper forbentia are 

 relaxent, and many aftringents cannot properly 

 be called abforbent, although it be true that 

 their fecondary effett is to promote abforption. 

 There appears to me a want of difcrimination 

 running throughout the whole Brunonian fyf- 

 tera. The do6lor's alfertion (Vol. II. p. 735) 

 that bracers and tonics are mechanical terms, not 

 applicable to the living bodies of animals, may, 

 I think, be. experimentally confuted and over- 

 thrown by holding a glafs of rough Port wine 

 in the mouth, or the application of cold water 

 to the relaxed fcrotum. Bracers aft firfl by 



their 



