19? Of Alterative Medicines. 



the juices, and accelerating the blood*5 

 motions •, and in others by attenuating, 

 or breaking its particles, and dividing 

 thofe cohefions which obQrndl the ca- 

 pillaries, or finer veiiels •, and fo pro- 

 mote the due lecretions of the various 

 fluids. It is ceitain that many have but 

 an indiiTerent opinion of a medicine, that 

 does not operate externally, and gratify 

 their fenfes with a quantity of imagined 

 htanours injected from the body : but let 

 fuch people remember, that there are 

 good humours as well as bad, Vv-hich are 

 thrown off together ; that no evacuating 

 medicine has a power of feieding, or fe- 

 parating the bad from the gooJ : and 

 confequently tb.at they are thrown out only 

 f ^ ^^^ in a proportionate quanLity. Thefe few 



to be pie- , . ^ i_ r rr- • • ^i_ • 



f /,,, hints may be lumcient to convmce the lu- 



lerrea to , ■' , _ , ' 



pulses. dicious reader of the great advantages a- 

 rifingfrom alteratives, and the preference 

 due to them, in moft cafes, over purga- 

 tives ^ nnlefs it could be proved, as al- 

 ready mentioned, that the latter could cull 

 out, and feparate fiom the blood the bad 

 humours {^A^X'j^ leaving the. good behind •, 

 but this eledivc power has long been juff- 

 ly exploded as ridiculous and uncertain, 

 fince it is plain, that all kinds of purging 

 medicines differ only in degree of ft rength, 

 jand operate odierwife upon different 



humours^ 



