24 INCITANTIA. ART. II. 2 . a. i.- 



known of great fenrice to weak people, and is perhaps the lead 

 noxious of all unnatural ftimuli ; which however, like all other 

 great excitement, may be carried to excefs, as complained of by 

 the ancients. The unmeaning application of the words relaxation 

 and bracing to warm and cold baths has much prevented the 

 ufe of this grateful flimulus ; and the mifufe of the term warm- 

 bath, when applied to baths colder than the body, as to thofe of 

 Buxton and Matlock, and to artificial baths of lefs than 90 de- 

 grees of heat, which ought to be termed cold ones, has contrib- 

 uted to miilead the unwary in their application. 



The ftimulusof wine, or fpice, or fait, increafes the heat of 

 the fyflem by increafing all or fome of the fecretions ; and hence 

 the ftrength is diminimed afterwards by the lofs of fluids, as 

 well as by the increafed action of the fibres. But the llimulus 

 of the warm bath fupplies heat rather than produces it ; and 

 rather fills the fyftem by increafed abforption, than empties it 

 by increafed fecretion ; and may hence be employed with advan* 

 tage in almoft all cafes of debility with cold extremities, perhaps 

 even in anafarca, and at the approach of death in fevers. In 

 thefe cafes a bath much beneath 98 degrees, as of 80 or 85, 

 might do injury, as being a cold bath compared with the heat 

 of the body, though fuch a bath is generally called a warm one. 



The aftivity of the fyftem thus produced by a bath of 98 de- 

 grees of heat, or upwards, does not feem to render the patients 

 liable to take cold, when they come out of it , for the fyftem is 

 lefs inclined to become torpid than before, as the warmth thus 

 acquired by communication, rather than by increafed action* 

 continues long without any confequent chilnefs. Which ac- 

 cords with the obfervation of Dr. Fordyce, mentioned in Sup. 

 I. 5. r. who fays, that thofe who are confined fome time in an 

 atmofphere of 120 or 130 degrees of heat, do not feel cold or 

 look pale on coming into a temperature of 30 or 40 degrees ; 

 which would produce great palenefs and fenfation of coldnefs 

 in thofe, who had been fome time confined in an atmofphere of 

 only 86 or 90 degrees of heat. Treatife on Simple Fever, p. 

 168. 



Hence heat, where it can be confined on a torpid part along 

 with moifture, as on a fcrofulous tamour, will contribute to 

 produce fuppuration or refolution. This is done by applying a 

 warm poultice, which (hould be frequently repeated ; or a plaf- 

 terofrefm, wax, or fat ; or by covering the part with oiled 

 filk , both which laft prevent the perfpirable matter from efcap- 

 ing as well as the heat of the part, as thefe fubftances repel 

 moifture, and are bad conductors of heat. Another great ufe 

 of the ftimulus of heat is by applying it to torpid ulcers, which 



are 



