515 
LEPROSY, 
faded with fcabies, or fome external defaedation of the 
tkin. “Nay,” he fays, ‘'net one in ten of them is truly a 
leper, or afflicted with the legitimate elephantiafis.” And 
he adds the authority of a phyfician at the Hague, who 
had, with him, lamented the careleffnefs or ignorance of 
the public examiner at Haerlem, by whom a great number, 
who were the fuhjefts of fome ordinary cutaneous erup¬ 
tion, were declared leprous. But, above all, Reidlin, who 
was phyfician to the leper-houfe at Augtburg, affirms that, 
out of fifty-nine cafes, lie faw but one which was elephan¬ 
tiafis, and that in a flight degree ; all the reft were in- 
ft.ances of the pfora and lepra of the Greeks. It is proba¬ 
ble, moreover, that, in addition to all the ordinary cuta¬ 
neous difeafes, which were thus denominated leprofy, the 
fcurvy itfelf (we mean the true fcorbutus, which was for¬ 
merly fo well known in our fleets, and which appears to 
have been not unfrequent in the middle ages, during pe¬ 
riods of fcarcity and famine) was confounded with the 
fame difeafe. This idea was thrown out by Hoffman. 
Profeffor Sprengel alfo fufpeCts that thofe forms of leprofy, 
which have been called mal de la rofa in Afturia, and pel¬ 
lagra in Lombardy, were fcoybutic ; and many analogies 
between the two difeafes are pointed out by Raymond. 
Thefe leprous complaints began to decline in number 
and violence, in Italy, about the end of the fifteenth cen¬ 
tury, and in France, and Europe in general, in the fix- 
teenth. In the middle of the fifteenth century, indeed, 
the tubercular difeafe, elephantiafis, was almoft unknown 
in Italy; for Ant. Beniveni, who died very old at the 
beginning of the fixteenth, obferves, that he once law at 
Florence a ftranger a defied with elephantiafis; a difeafe, he 
fays, fcarcely ever feen (in his time) in Italy, and aimoft 
unknown to phyficians. At the beginning of the fix- 
.te'enth century, Alex. Benedetti and Joh. de Vego omit 
the tubercular leprofy from the lift of difeafes, mention¬ 
ing it only curforily, and not from experience ; but the 
latter fpeaks fully of rnorphaa, impetigo, Paras, alopecia, mal 
morto, and other difeafes that have been claffed with le¬ 
profy. About the middle of the fixteenth century, Fran¬ 
cis I. ordered the number of lepers in each maladrerie, or 
lazaretto, to be reported ; and, after appropriating a fuffi- 
cient fum for their fupport, ordered the remainder of their 
revenues to be given to the grand almoner, for general 
life. In the feventeenth century, leper-houfes' were If ill 
continued, (though fimilar meafures had been generally 
adopted fince the decline of the difeafe throughout Eu¬ 
rope,) and were greatly abufed by the adrniflion of beg¬ 
gars, and idle vagrants of all defcriptions, who employed 
every fpecies of trick to imitate leprofy, or to produce ap¬ 
pearances of cutaneous difeafe. The elephantiafis itfelf, 
however, ftill occafionally appeared, of which feveral re¬ 
corded cafes are referred to by Henfler. Some writers, in¬ 
deed, have fuppofed, that the changes, which took place 
from the clofe of the fifteenth century downwards, were 
rather changes of names than an actual difappearance or 
diminution of leprofy ; and that the venereal difeafe, which 
was firft noticed at that period, was in faCt the leprofy with 
a new appellation. Indeed, fome authors actually deno¬ 
minated the morbus Gallicus, or fyphilis, a leprofy ; as Cam- 
panella, who treats of it among other leprous difeafes, un¬ 
der the title of lepra Gallica. But, although the fecon- 
dary fymptoms of fyphilis might be miftaken for ieprofy, 
or called leprous, in common with other ulcerations and 
cutaneous aifeftions, in a confiderable number of inftances, 
and for fome time ; yet, as the learned and able Aftruc, 
after Leonicenus and others, has ffiown, there were fo many 
points of obvious and decided difference, in the fymp¬ 
toms and progrefs of the two difeafes, as rendered fuch a 
confufion to any great extent improbable. Neverthelefs, 
when we reflect upon the unvarying adherence to ancient 
authority, which characterized the profeffion for centuries 
after the revival of learning; and when we confider, that 
the mealies and fmall-pox, for inftance, were deemed the 
fame difeafe, including alfo fcarlet fever, fo late as the 
time ot Diemerbroeck ; we (hall readily conceive how flow 
Vol. XII. No, 848. 
the early phyficians would be in acknowledging a new dif¬ 
eafe which had not been mentioned by the Arabians; and 
with what facility they might confound it with the old, 
under a denomination fo vaguely interpreted as that of 
leprofy. 
At all events, we are entitled to infer, from the preced¬ 
ing view of the fubjeCl, that, during the middle ages, moll 
erroneous notions prevailed refpecfing the leprofy ; and 
that the terrors of the ancients, refpeCling the contagious 
and unclean nature of leiice and elephantiafis, were trans¬ 
ferred almoft indifcriminately to every chronic cutaneous 
difeafe, whether fcaly, fcabby, puftular, or ulcerous, con¬ 
tagious or non-contagious, which then occurred. And, 
as we are now well acquainted with the latter claffes of 
difeafe, and know that all the forms of fcaly difeafe 
are void of any infectious quality, we mult be finished, 
on the one hand, how miftaken was the charity, which 
ereCled thoufands of hofpitals, and appropriated immenle 
treafures, for the maintenance of thole who were affeCted 
by thefe diforders, and for the fancied fecurity of the heal¬ 
thy ; while, on the other, we fee the cruelty and abfur- 
dity of the regulations and ceremonies, which were inlti- 
tuted in regard to fuch patients, fomewhat after the man¬ 
ner of thole enjoined in the thirteenth chapter of Leviti¬ 
cus, for the Jewifli lepers. In faft, a perfon affeCted with 
the real or fuppofed leprofy was treated like a dead body; 
funeral obfequies were performed, and mafles faid for the 
benefit of his foul. The whole is thus defcribed by a 
French writer : “ A prieft, clothed in a furplice and ltoie, 
repaired with the crofs to the leper, who was prepared 
for the ceremony. The holy minilter began by exhort¬ 
ing him to bear patiently, and in a fpirit of relignation 
and penitence, the incurable affliction with which God had 
flricken him : he then befprinkled the fufterer with holy 
water, and conducted him to the church. Here the leper 
put off his ordinary clothes; and, having put on a black 
habit prepared for the purpoie, fell on his knees before the 
altar, between two treftles, and heard mafs; after which 
he was again fprinkled with holy water. This ceremony, 
it will be remarked, differed very little from that which is 
ufually performed at funerals. While the leper was con¬ 
ducted to the church, the fame verfes were fung as at bu¬ 
rials ; and after the mafs, which was alfo the fame as that 
which was performed for the dead, the Libera was fung, 
and the leper was then conducted to the houfe deftined 
for him. When he had arrived, the prieft again exhorted 
and confoled him, and threw a (hovel-full of earth on his 
feet. The hut (wdiere there was no lazaretto) was fmall, 
and was furniffled with a bed and bedding, a veffel for wa¬ 
ter, a cheff, a table, a chair, a lamp, a towel, and other 
neceffaries. He was prefented with a cowl, two Ihirts, a 
tunic, and a robe called houjfe, a little calk, a funnel, a 
rattle (des eliquettes), a knife, a flick, and a girdle of cop¬ 
per. Before the prieft quitted him, he interdicted him 
from appearing in public without his leper’s habit and 
naked feet; from going into churches, mills, or where 
bread was cooking ; from walking his hands and clothes, 
& c. in-the wells and brooks; from touching any commo¬ 
dities that he defired to purchale at market, except with 
a flick, in order to point out the article wanted; and from 
entering houfes, or taverns, for the purpofe of purchafir.g 
wine, as he had only the privilege of remaining at the 
door, of alking for what he required, and receiving it in 
his little calk. He was farther enjoined not to draw water 
but with a proper veffel; never to reply to the queftions 
of any one who met him on the road, unlefs he was to lee¬ 
ward, in order that the inquirer might not be infeded by 
his breath, and the contagious odour exhaling from his 
body ; never to place himfelf in narrow roads ; never to 
touch children, nor to give them any thing which he had 
touched ; never to appear in public meetings ; and never 
to eat or drink with any but lepers. In fhort, thefe wretch¬ 
ed people were regarded as dead among the living : their 
children were not baptized at the fonts ; and the water 
employed at their baptifm was thrown into lonely places. 
* P When 
