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how little care he took to be apprifed of the Truth 
of what he wrote. This very Author tells us, this 
Difeafe was unknown till the Year 1493, or there- 
abouts j that he himfelf had it, when he was a Child, 
and fo confequently that it was hereditary, or from 
the Nurfe. He wrote his Book of this Didemper at 
Mentz> where it was printed by John Scheffer in 41c, 
in the Year 1519. Now if we allow him to be 
but 1 7 Years of Age, when he wrote, (for he cannot 
be fuppos’d to be lefs, who before this took upon 
him to cure his Father of the Venereal Difeafe, with- 
out the A fliftance of any Phyfician or Surgeon,,) he 
mud have had the Didemper upon him, according to 
his own Account, before ever it was in being. Thus 
we may fee, how Ferfons may be impos’d upon by a 
hady and inconfident Writer, no way qualified for 
fuch an Undertaking, and greedily receive in Fai- 
fhoods indcad of Truths, if they will not be at the 
Pains of confulting the Original Writings of our Pre- 
deceffors, the only fure Method of overthrowing fuch 
Chimerical and imaginary Notions. 
But to come to what is principally defigned in this 
Letter; If I have, Sir, in my former diffidently pro- 
ved, that the fird Degree of the Venereal Difeafe was 
very common among us fome hundreds of Years, be- 
fore it is commonly faid to have been known in Europe 1 
there will be no Reafon for any body to conceive we 
were at that time in any meafure Strangers to it, 
when it came to be confirmed; more efpecially, when 
we confider the Methods of Treatment in thofe Times, 
which confiding principally in topical Applications, 
many of their Patients could not polfibly efcape ha- 
ving it confirmed on them. Now when it was in 
this confirmed State, the Writers of thofe early times 
looked upon it as an entirely new Difeafe, and not a 
^ 2 Con- 
