( Jrfy ) 
III. An Extract of a Letter from Dr. Helvetius at 
Paris, to Monfieur Duyvenvoorde Embajfador 
Extraordinary from the States -General , and by 
him communicated to the Royal-Society. 
I Am extreamly pleafed, Sir, that you have applied 
your felt to me, for my Advice about the Ule of the 
Partita Brava which has been recommended to you, 
becaufe f can give you a very good Account of it, ha- 
ving been one of the firlt that introduced it in Prance', t 
have made abundance of lucky Experiments about it, 
which have made this Medicine very well known to me : 
wherefore I allure you, you can do nothing better than 
to make tryal of it. 
The P arena Brava is a Root which comes to us from 
Brazil by the way of Lisbon , but which the War has ren- 
dred pretty fcarce ; however it is to be found among the 
good Druggifts, and is fold at Paris for 40 Livres the 
Pound: ’tis call’d in Brazil the Uni verlal Medicine, and 
is made ufe of there in all kind of Diltempers. A Ca- 
puchin Monk, who came from thence, told me that he 
could not give it a greater Character than by alluring me, 
that in all their Voyages they carryed the Gofpel in one 
Pocket and the Pareira Brava in the other. 
Twill be very eafy to convince you, Sir, that the Pa- 
reira Brava is perfectly good in your Diftemper. The 
Rufinefs with you is to reltore the Digellions, to the 
end, that in thefirft Pallages there may not be form’d fo 
much Phlegm and add Crudities, and it is alfo necelTary 
to hinder the Serofity of the Blood from fpreading it felf 
too much upon the Parts, Now as Experience (hows us 
. w ■ that 
